WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Phoenix Campus
Wayland Baptist University Mission Statement: Wayland Baptist University exists to educate
students in an academically challenging, learning-focused and distinctively Christian environment
for professional success, lifelong learning, and service to God and humankind.
Course Name:
Term and Year:
Name of Instructor:
E-mail:
Class Time & Location:
ENGL 3303 Studies in Fiction (Dystopian Literature)
Winter 2014-Microterm
Monique Winfield, M.A.
Monique.Winfield@wayland.wbu.edu
Monday/Wednesdays, 5:30 – 9:40 p.m., (11/10-12/20) Luke AFB
Catalog Description: Topics vary to include special studies in American, British, and European
short stories and novels.
Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor
Required Textbook and Resources:
Title
Author &
Publisher
Prices*
Fahrenheit 451: 60th Anniversary Ed.
ISBN:
13: 978-1451673319
10: 1451673310
Ray Bradbury
Amazon Used
$9.79
OPTIONAL:
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
ISBN: 9780060009427
Thomas C. Foster,
Harper
Amazon Used
3.90
B&N New
12.54
*You do not have to buy the exact copy
that I am using for the novels; however,
it does make class discussion a bit
easier.
Course Outcome Competencies: Upon the conclusion of this course, students actively engaged in
learning will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the ability to read critically and communicate persuasively about the works
selected.
2. Discuss the overall topic for the course and suggest how this topic is represented in each
of the select pieces.
ENGL 3303 Winfield
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3. Demonstrate knowledge of a literary genre and how the genre is linked to the select
pieces of literature.
4. Conduct research on a topic related to a select piece of literature, articulate and support a
thesis, and follow through with appropriate documentation.
5. Connect major events in history to the selected readings.
Attendance Requirements: As stated in the Wayland Catalog, students enrolled at one of the
University’s external campuses should make every effort to attend all class meetings. All absences
must be explained to the instructor, who will then determine whether the omitted work may be made
up. When a student reaches that number of absences considered by the instructor to be excessive,
the instructor will so advise the student and file an unsatisfactory progress report with the campus
dean. Any student who misses 25 percent or more of the regularly scheduled class meetings will
receive a grade of F in the course. Additional attendance policies for each course, as defined by the
instructor in the course syllabus, will be discussed at our first meeting.
Academic Honesty: University students are expected to conduct themselves according to the highest
standards of academic honesty. Academic misconduct for which a student is subject to penalty includes
all forms of cheating, such as illicit possession of examinations or examination materials, forgery, or
plagiarism. (Plagiarism is the presentation of the work of another as one’s own work.) See the current
catalog for sanctions.
Disability Statement: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is
the policy of Wayland Baptist University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any
educational program or activity in the university. The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as
the coordinator of students with a disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation
requests at (806) 291- 3765. Documentation of a disability must accompany any request for
accommodations.
Course Requirements and Grading Criteria:
Grading Percentage
Grading Scale
Mini-Paper #1 (Historical)
15%
A=
90 - 100 %
Mini-Paper #2
(Theme/Lit Devices)
15%
B=
80 - 89 %
C=
70 - 79 %
Mini-Paper #3
(Speculative Fiction)
15%
D=
60 - 69 %
F=
below 60 %
Class Discussion
20%
Dialectical Journal
20%
Final Exam
15%
ENGL 3303 Winfield
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Reading Assignments
You have reading assignments from the novels and/or short stories each week. The week’s reading
assignments are listed as “Independent Reading” for the following week. Reading should be
completed before the beginning of class each week. Each student will come to class with their
dialectical journal entries to guide class discussion
Be prepared to answer the following, which we will discuss in class:
1. What is the meaning/significance of the title?
2. What is the setting (time and place)? Does it change? How?
3. What, briefly, is the plot? Are there any back stories or flashbacks? Flash forwards? What are
they? What do they help explain in the story?
4. Who are the main characters? Minor characters? How do we learn about them?
5. What themes do you find? How do they connect with the genre of dystopian literature and/ or
modern society
6. How would you describe the author’s style? Make note of any eye-catching literary devices the
author uses, such as epiphany, foreshadowing, irony, metaphor/simile, onomatopoeia, oxymoron,
pun, personification, symbolism, allusion etc.
Dialectical Journals
For the novel we read in class, you will keep an electronic Dialectical Journal that tracks your
analysis of the reading. You will identify a quote and make a prediction, ask an open-ended
question, analyze for theme, make a personal connection, or analyze for characterization, symbol etc.
The novel will require 15 entries. Examples will be given on the first day of class.
Short Papers
There will be 3 short literary papers due this semester. These papers will be 2 pages in length and
written using proper MLA protocol. A rubric and specific guidelines for the papers will be discussed
during the first week of class. These papers will become sections of your final paper.
ENGL 3303 Winfield
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Tentative Schedule:
Week 1
10 Nov Discuss: Close Read Strategies, Course Syllabus, Dialectical Journaling
Requirements, Lit Elements Review
Week 1
12 Nov Independent Read- “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury (PDF) Week #1 Content
Folder.
Movie Clip: Bradbury Interview
Discuss: “The Pedestrian”
Paper Prep: Thesis Statements and Incorporating Quotes
*You may also want to begin reading Part #1 (The Hearth and the Salamander)
in Fahrenheit 451 to get a head start on the reading.
17 Nov Independent Read: Part I of Fahrenheit 451
Discuss: 451 and Articles: The Shallows
19 Nov Independent Read: “There Will Come Soft Rains” Ray Bradbury (PDF) Week
#2 Content Folder
Discuss: Short Story “There Will Come Soft Rains” Technology/Warfare/Nature
and Paper Debrief
Paper #1 Due to Safe Assign
24 Nov No Class
26 Nov No Class
1 Dec Independent Read: Part II of Fahrenheit 451 and
Discuss: Part II of Fahrenheit 451 and Related Article
3 Dec Independent Read: Short Story “The Veldt” Ray Bradbury (PDF) Week #3
Content Folder
Discuss: “The Veldt” Parenting/Electronics/Empathy
8 Dec Independent Read: Part III of Fahrenheit 451
Discussion: Fahrenheit 451
10 Dec Independent Read: “Harrison Bergeron” Kurt Vonnegut (PDF) Week #4
Content Folder
Discussion: Short Story/Mediocrity/Equality and Paper Debrief
Paper #2 Due to Safe Assign
15 Dec Independent Read: “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson (PDF) Week #5 Content
Folder
Discussion: Short Story/Tradition/Scapegoating
Film: ESPN 30/30 Catching Hell
17 Dec Final Exam; Final Paper Due December 20
Week 2
Week 2
Week 3
Week 3
Week 4
Week 4
Week 5
Week 5
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