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English 1100: Introduction to Literary Interpretation (HC)
Meeting time, place:
CRN:
Instructor:
Office and Hours:
Mailbox:
Email:
MW 10am—11:50am, Brown Hall 4030
41574
Ms. Ilse Schweitzer
914 Sprau; Hours: MW 12-1pm, place TBD, also by appointment
English office (6th floor of Sprau Tower)
ilse.a.schweitzer@wmich.edu
Course Description (as per catalog):
An introduction to the study of literature, aimed at developing abilities to read literature and
write about it with skill, sensitivity, and care. Students will read poetry, drama, and prose fiction,
and through the writing of several papers will be introduced to terms and methods of formal
study of literature. Prerequisite: at least a “B” in English 105 or the equivalent. ***This course
falls into Distribution area I, Fine Arts.***
Required Materials
Kalaidjian, Walter, Judith Roof and Stephen Watt, eds. Understanding Literature: An
Introduction to Reading and Writing. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern
Language Association, 2003.
Murfin, Ross and Supryia M. Ray. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. 2nd ed.
New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
$5 photocopy fee card from the WMU Bookstore (Bernhard Center).
1+ blue/green test books (in time for final exam)
Access to computer: to find campus computing labs, go to http://www.wmich.edu/labs/
Paper, notebook, pens, stapler, whatever else you need…
**I have started a blog for this class, available at http://lituniverse.wordpress.com/
Online materials and document files can be found there.
Course Objectives:
Students will:
1. be introduced to a variety of literary works in genres of poetry, short fiction, and drama.
2. become familiar with the basic vocabulary of literary analysis.
3. acquaint themselves with different critical approaches to literature.
4. try out interpretations of texts in a classroom setting and actively participate in civilized
conversations about literature.
5. become acquainted with the avenues of research open at the WMU library, and use
library resources effectively in a researched paper.
6. demonstrate improvement and revision of writing skills in papers of various lengths and
formats.
7. learn to use correct MLA-style documentation.
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Course Work:
 Participation: You will be expected to complete the readings assigned for discussion
every day. I will note the frequency and quality of your contributions to class discussion.
 Response Papers: You will have 3 response papers due, each of 2-page length (NO
LONGER!) These responses must have a thesis and coherent argument, and must cite
sources using correct MLA format. As these have a firm page limit, you should not
waste space with an introductory paragraph, but state your thesis immediately. The first
paper is due in the first month of class (see syllabus); the last two are due at your leisure.
You MUST turn in all response papers in order to pass this class. I encourage you to use
these responses as springboards for your longer papers, but you may not cut and paste
text.
 Papers: Students will produce three academic papers of 5-6 pages:
1. a thesis-driven close reading of a prose passage.
2. a reimagining of a scene from Hamlet or The Tempest in a different setting, with the
script rewritten in modern English, along with a 2-page explanation of your production
choices and changes.
3. a researched, thesis-driven paper exploring a particular theme in at least one poem and
another text (you may write on two poems, or one poem and one short story or play).
You will need to turn in prospectus for this paper as well.
MLA format must be used for all. You will submit a rough draft of the first paper to me
and also sign up for a conference with me to discuss that paper (you will receive points
for that conference). I encourage you to visit my office hours at any point during the
semester to discuss your papers!
 Quizzes: I will most likely give reading quizzes from time to time to make sure that
everyone is keeping up with the readings.
 Searchpath: You must complete the Searchpath tutorial and quizzes on the WMU library
webpage. Go to the library website (www.wmich.edu/library/), point to the “Help” menu
and select “Searchpath.” There are six modules; it shouldn’t take more than an hour to
complete. The program provides an option for you to email your results to me… please
do so! You will need to have results sent to me by October 1. This counts towards your
exam/quiz grade.
 Presentation: You will work in a group to present once in class; the presentations will
focus on a school of literary criticism. You must also create and turn in an informational
handout, for which you will be graded. I will do a “model” presentation early in the
semester to give you an idea of what I’m looking for.
 Final exam: Our final exam will be held on Tuesday, December 9 from 8-10am, in our
regular classroom.
Grading Breakdown by Assignment:
Papers
Participation and class activities:
Response papers
Exam and quizzes
Presentations:
25%
25%
20%
20%
10%
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Grading for Course:
Please note that WMU uses combined grades instead of +/93-100: A
82-87.9: B
72-77.9: C
88-92.9: BA
78-81.9: CB
68-71.9: DC
60-67.9: D
59.9 or below: E (fail)
Other Policies…
 Attendance: is expected. I will allow 3 absences before I deduct from your final grade.
Each absence after 3 will be an automatic deduction of 4% from your final grade. More
than 6 absences results in automatic failure of the class.
 Deadlines / Late work: Papers are due at the start of class on the dates set forth in the
course schedule. Printers break and computers crash… so be sure to start your work
ahead of time and to plan to deal with minor (and major) inconveniences. One letter
grade will be lost for every calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. if the paper is due
on Monday the 1st and you turn it in Wednesday the 3rd, the grade will be reduced by 2
letters). I will not accept papers via email. Class activities cannot be made up at a later
date.
 RESPECT is the first rule of our classroom. Students should respect themselves enough
to express their own opinions and questions, and should treat each other with the same
courtesy. Further, you should take responsibility for what you learn in this classroom—
be an active listener and participant!
Policies on Plagiarism:
IF YOU PLAGIARIZE, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY FAIL THIS COURSE.
WMU defines incidents of academic dishonesty as:
 Cheating (intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized material, information,
notes, study aids or other devices or materials in any academic exercise)
 Fabrication (the intentional invention and unauthorized alteration of any information or
citation in an academic exercise)
 Falsification (a matter of altering information)
 Multiple submission (submission of substantial portions of the same work [including oral
reports] for credit more than once without authorization from instructors of all classes for
which the students submits the work)
 Plagiarism (intentionally, knowingly, or carelessly presenting the work of another as
one’s own [i.e. without proper acknowledgement of the source])
 Complicity (intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to commit
an act of academic dishonesty)
Academic Integrity and a Statement from the Professional Concerns Committee: You are
responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the
Undergraduate Catalog that pertain to Academic Integrity. These policies include cheating,
fabrication and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism (plagiarism is the unacknowledged use
of another person’s words or ideas), complicity and computer misuse. If there is a reason to
believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the office of
Student Judicial Affairs. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you
believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult
with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an
assignment or test… for further information, consult student handbook, p. 274.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
***Schedule is subject to change except during the final two weeks of class***
UL = Understanding Literature
BG = Bedford Glossary
Due Date
W, 9/3
Reading Assignment
Introduction to class and syllabus; Wired’s Six Word Short Stories (check out
more on the Wired website:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/sixwords.html)
M, 9/8
UL: introduction to reading fiction (pp. 4-8), “An Occurrence at Owl Creek
Bridge” (pp. 113-119) and “Sonny’s Blues” (pp. 175-198)
BG: plot, anachrony, prolepsis, analepsis, in medias res
W, 9/10
UL: intro to character (pp. 23-24), “Cathedral” (handout), and “A Good Man is
Hard to Find” (pp. 406-417), “Writing about Literature” (pp. 2222-2232)
BG: character, protagonist, antagonist, anti-hero
M, 9/15
UL: intro to narrator / pov (pp. 121-124), “The Yellow Wallpaper” (pp. 140151), “Bigfoot Stole My Wife” and “I Am Bigfoot” (handout)
BG: point of view, narrator, unreliable narrator, omniscient point of view
DUE: Response paper #1
W, 9/17
UL: intro to image, motif, symbol (pp. 231-232), “Araby” (328-332)
BG: symbol, motif, image, Modern period, New Criticism
M, 9/22
UL: “The Fall of the House of Usher” (pp. 68-82)
BG: setting, Gothic and Gothic novel, psychological and psychoanalytical
criticism
Student presentation day (Psychoanalytical Criticism)
DUE: drafts of paper #1
W, 9/24
UL: intro to language and style (pp. 345-346), “Hills Like White Elephants” (pp.
364-367), and “A Rose for Emily” (pp. 373-380)
BG: diction, style, connotation, feminist criticism, gender criticism
Student presentation day (Feminist and Gender Criticism)
M, 9/29
UL: “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” (pp. 472-476) and “Happy
Endings” (handout)
BG: reader-response criticism, magical realism
Student presentation day (Reader-Response Criticism)
W, 10/1
UL: on postmodernism (pp. 490-492, 513), “How I Contemplated My Life…”
(pp. 522-533), intertextuality (pp. 558-559), and selections from “My Cousin, My
Gastroenterologist” (pp. 600-604)
BG: postmodernism, metafiction, intertextuality, pastiche
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M, 10/6
“The Man in the Black Suit” (handout) and UL: intro to drama (pp. 1362-1385)
BG: genre, drama
DUE: Paper #1
W, 10/8
UL: intro to tragedy (pp. 1395-1405), first half of Oedipus Rex (pp. 14071419)… stop at “Scene II”
BG: tragedy, chorus
M, 10/13
UL: second half of Oedipus Rex (pp. 1419-1446)
BG: catharsis, hamartia
W, 10/15
UL: intro to Shakespeare (pp. 1468-1475) and acts I, II of Hamlet (pp. 14751520)
BG: Renaissance, Elizabethan Age
M, 10/20
UL: Hamlet acts III, IV (pp. 1520-1564)
W, 10/22
UL: Hamlet act V (pp. 1564-1582)
BG: new historicism
Student Presentation Day (New Historical Criticism and Cultural Materialism)
M, 10/27
UL: The Tempest acts I-III (1587-1628)
BG: comedy, romance
W, 10/29
UL: The Tempest acts IV-V (pp. 1628-1647)
BG: Postcolonial lit and criticism
Student Presentation Day (Postcolonial Criticism)
M, 11/3
UL: “Wit” (pp. 2181-2217)
Last day to withdraw from classes
W, 11/5
UL: “Introduction: Reading Poetry” (pp. 692-696), Barrett Browning’s “Sonnet
43” (p. 1119), Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” (p. 1126), Donne’s “Batter My Heart”
(p. 1133), Glück’s “Purple Bathing Suit” (handout)
BG: poetry, lyric
M, 11/10
“Figurative Language” (pp. 727-732), “A Bird Came Down the Walk” (p. 736),
“The Sick Rose” (p. 751), “This is Just to Say” (p. 1283),
BG: metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, simile
DUE: Paper #2
W, 11/12
UL: “Prosody” (pp. 799-802), “Rhyme” (pp. 807-810), “Meter and Rhythm” (pp.
810-816), “Pied Beauty” (pp. 1223-24), “The Raven” (pp. 1251-1254), “Kubla
Khan” (pp. 805-806)
BG: meter, rhyme (and any other terms you’re confused about!)
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M, 11/17
UL: “Poetic Forms” (pp. 817-826), “Sonnet 130” (p. 1263), “Do Not Go
Gentle…” (pp. 1273-74), “One Art” (pp. 1181-1182), “Writing about Poetry” (pp.
2240-2245)
BG: sonnet, blank verse, quatrain, free verse, ballad form
W, 11/19
Speakers and Dramatic Monologues. UL: “My Last Duchess” (pp. 11891190), “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (pp. 1211-1214), “The Lamb” (p.
750), “The Tyger” (pp. 1183-1184), “London” (p. 868), handout with further
Blake poems
BG: Romantic period (English), persona, dramatic monologue
M, 11/24
Metaphysical Poetry. UL: “The Sun Rising” (pp. 1206-07), “Sonnet 10” (p.
1207), “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning” (pp. 745-46), handout with further
Donne and Marvell poems
BG: metaphysical poetry, metaphysical conceit
W, 11/26
The Harlem Renaissance. UL: “Race and Representation” (pp. 956-958),
“Poetry and the Harlem Renaissance” (pp. 961-970), “We Wear the Mask” (p.
971), “The Harlem Dancer” (p. 971), “Critical Perspective: On DoubleConsciousness” (pp. 974-976), “If We Must Die” (handout)
BG: race, cultural criticism, Harlem Renaissance
Student presentation day (African-American and Ethnic Criticism)
Thanksgiving break begins at noon
M, 12/1
catch-up on poetry; LIBRARY RESEARCH DAY (tentative)
DUE: Prospectus for paper #3
W, 12/3
Feminism and Representations. UL: intro pp. 1056-1058, “To the Virgins” (p.
1058), “The Birth of Venus” pp. 1072-1073, “Homage to My Hips” p. 1075, “The
Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor” (pp. 1076-1077)
December 8-12: FINAL EXAM WEEK.
FINAL EXAM: Tues, Dec. 9 from 8-10am, same place.
Paper #3 due FRIDAY, December 12 at NOON in the English dept.