St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo
Department of English
Engl 108F 02 – Fall 2013
The Rebel
SJU 3027 – Th 6:00pm – 8:50pm
Course Outline
Instructor:
Office:
Email:
Office Hours:
Diana Lobb
STJ 1026
df2lobb@uwaterloo.ca
TTh 2:30 – 3:30pm (or by appointment)
Course Description:
Catalogue:
A study of various works of literature in which the protagonist is a rebel against existing
norms. The course will examine a number of rebel types and concepts, moral
implications, and final outcomes either in successful realization or in tragic defeat.
Section:
Acts of rebellion can be small or large; private or public; individual or collective. In this
course we will look at how the idea of “rebellion” in a particular moment and place is
reflected in literary works. The works we will be reading engage with figures of the
“rebel” and “rebellion” and the expression of dissent from mainstream ideals and
values. Looking at literary works written in England, the United States and Canada and
drawn from the seventeenth century to the present, our examination of the figure of
the “rebel” will investigate how ideas of rebellion and dissent are important to
understanding the definition of what is “normal” in a particular society and how
particular writers have attempted to shift that “normal” ideal.
Learning Objectives:
To develop analytical reading skills.
- To develop essay writing skills.
- To develop critical thinking skills.
Required Text:
English 108F Section 02 Courseware
Stephen King, Different Seasons
Lawrence Hill, The Book Of Negroes
Stephanie Collins, The Hunger Games
George Orwell, 1984
Class Schedule:
Date:
Readings:
Sept. 12th Introduction and Orientation
Sept. 19th King, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption"
Sept. 26th King, "The Body"
Oct. 3rd
Oct. 10th
Oct. 17th
Oct. 24th
Stein, “Identity: A Poem,” Piercy, “What’s That Smell in the
Kitchen?,” Halfe, “Body Politics”
Wilmot, “The Disabled Debauchee,” Nugent, “Smoke, Lilies and
Jade,” Ginsberg, “Howl”
Dubois, “A Mild Suggestion,” Hughes, “Harlem,” Dumont, “Letter to
Sir John A MacDonald,” Nichol, "The Long Weekend of Louis Riel”
Hill, The Book of Negroes
Important Notes:
Test submission of essay
draft to Turnitin
Essay Writing Overview
Essay 1 Due
2
Oct. 31st
Nov. 7th
Nov. 14th
Nov. 21st
Nov. 28th
Film: The Loving Story
Burns, “Scots Wha Hae,” Guevara, “A Child of My Environment,”
Malcolm X, “The Ballot or the Bullet,” Orwell, “Reflections on
Gandhi”
Collins, The Hunger Games
Orwell, 1984
The Hunger Games and 1984 and exam review
Essay 2 Due
Marking Scheme:
Participation: 5%
Assignments: 10%
Essays:
50%
Final Exam:
35%
Assignments & Evaluation:
5% Attendance and Participation
You are expected to be in class and on time. The grade is equally weighted between attendance and
participation. You should be prepared for class fully and thoughtfully, and participate in an active and
engaged way during class. Active participation in this class requires participation in on-going classroom
discussion and group work and being respectful of others’ contributions to the ongoing intellectual
inquiry taking place during the class. Remember, it is difficult to participate if you do not regularly
attend class.
10% Reading Journals:
Journal responses are due at the beginning of each week. Respond to the readings from the previous
week discussing your impressions of the readings and how they fit (or do not fit) into your ideas about
the figure of the rebel. Keep the entry short (generally no longer than a page, handwritten). Try to
engage the material analytically but also be sensitive to and honest about your impressions. The journal
entries provide you with an opportunity to engage with the material of the course within the context of
your own experiences. Have fun with them.
Journal entries will be marked on a modified pass/fail basis (ie A/B/fail).
25% Essay 1 – due Oct. 17th
6-8 pages
Narrative strategies are the techniques that authors employ to shape their communication with their
readers. These techniques can include (but are not limited to): narrator’s point of view; the construction
of the implied audience by the text; character development; the structural
organization of the
work; the contents of the narrative and their sequence of representation; word choice. In any work we
will read this term, examine the narrative strategies employed. Consider which strategies the author
employs and what effects the author is able to achieve using his or her own strategy. Your essay should
consider the overall effect of particular narrative strategies within the individual works and how it
affects your overall interpretation of the text.
25% Essay 2 – due Nov. 14th
6-8 pages
The texts we will read in the course demonstrate how different authors struggle with the idea of
rebellion and the relationship between the individual and the collective. Some works suggest that if
rebellion is individual, it can risk being rejected by the collective, but, others suggest that if rebellion is
collective, it risks becoming a means for oppressing the individual. In any two works that we have read
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this term, compare and contrast the different approaches the authors take to the relationship of the
individual and the collective in the context of rebellion. Your essay should consider the strategies that
the authors employ to communicate their concerns/convictions and the potential benefits and risks of
rebels and rebellion.
35% Final Exam – scheduled by Registrar’s Office
Correspondence:
Students using email to contact me must include their first and last names, student number, and course
in which they are enrolled in the email subject line. Email is an efficient method to contact me to
arrange for appointments or to ask simple questions (i.e. questions that require a yes or no answer).
Most questions arising from this class, however, will require face-to-face discussion and should be dealt
with in class or during my office hours. If you are unable to attend my scheduled office hours please
contact me to arrange an alternate meeting time. Essays and assignments submitted by email, or as
email attachments, will not be accepted.
UW POLICY REGARDING ILLNESS AND MISSED TESTS
The University of Waterloo Examination Regulations
(www.registrar.uwaterloo.ca/exams/ExamRegs.pdf) state that:
 A medical certificate presented in support of an official petition for relief from normal academic
requirements must provide all of the information requested on the “University of Waterloo
Verification of Illness” form or it will not be accepted. This form can be obtained from Health
Services or at uwaterloo.ca/health-services/student-medical-clinic/services/verification-illness.
 If a student has a test/examination deferred due to acceptable medical evidence, he/she
normally will write the test/examination at a mutually convenient time, to be determined by the
course instructor.
 The University acknowledges that, due to the pluralistic nature of the University community,
some students may on religious grounds require alternative times to write tests and
examinations.
 Elective arrangements (such as travel plans) are not considered acceptable grounds for granting
an alternative examination time.
PROFESSOR’S POLICY ON LATE ASSIGNMENTS/ESSAYS AND MAKE-UP TESTS
Late Essays: Essays are due in hard copy at the beginning of the class noted in the schedule and
electronically to Turnitin via the LEARN website for the course. All late assignments will be penalized 3%
per day, including weekends (i.e. Saturday and Sunday = 6%). Late papers must be signed and dated by
one of the secretaries in the main office and submitted to the departmental mailbox (St. Jerome`s 2nd
floor). Please note that essays will not be accepted via e-mail or after the term’s last day of class.
Make-up Tests/Extensions: Except in extraordinary circumstances, all extensions must be requested by
the Friday of the week prior to the essay’s due date. I reserve the right to request appropriate
documentation to support the request for extension (e.g. doctor’s note).
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OTHER INFORMATION
Academic Integrity: In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of
Waterloo and its Federated University and Affiliated Colleges are expected to promote honesty, trust,
fairness, respect and responsibility.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing
academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an
action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism,
cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course
professor, academic advisor, or the Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred,
disciplinary penalties will be imposed under St. Jerome’s University Academic Discipline Policy and UW
Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students
should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline, http://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-proceduresguidelines/policy-71.
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has
been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. In such a case, contact the St.
Jerome’s University Grievance Officer.
Appeals: A student may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under St. Jerome’s
University Academic Discipline Policy or Grievance Policy if a ground for an appeal can be established. In
such a case, contact the St. Jerome’s University Appeals Officer.
Academic Integrity website (Arts): http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/arts/ugrad/academic_responsibility.html
Academic Integrity Office (UW): http://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/
Note for students with disabilities: The AccessAbility Services (AS) Office, located in Needles Hall, Room
1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students
with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic
accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the AS Office at the beginning
of each academic term.
Turnitin.com: Plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) will be used to screen assignments in this course.
This is being done to verify that use of all material and sources in assignments is documented. In the first
week of the term, details will be provided about the arrangements for the use of Turnitin in this course.
Note: Students must be given a reasonable option if they do not want to have their assignment screened
by Turnitin. See http://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/integrity-waterloo-faculty/turnitin-waterloo for
more information.