The Art of Fiction
Fall 2014
Instructor: Ashley Anthony
E-mail: Ashley.Anthony001@umb.edu
Office: Wheatley-06.44
Office Hours: Tu 2-3pm; Wed/Th 11-12pm
Section: ENGL 273G-04
Time: TuTh 12:30-1:45
Room: M02-0616
Course Description: This course will provide students with an introduction to themes
and forms of fiction. Close analytical reading of short stories and novels with special
attention to an artist’s historical and cultural milieu and choices of form (including
thematic repetition and variation, narrative point of view, setting, characterization,
plot and action, imagery, figurative language, and representations of speech) will be
the focus of this course. Emphasis will be placed on writing critical and interpretive
papers. Please note: Students may receive credit either for this course or for ENGL
C204 (The Nature of Literature: Fiction), but not for both. Capabilities addressed:
Reading, writing, critical thinking, information technology, oral presentation.
THE INTERMEDIATE SEMINAR PROGRAM
About: Intermediate Seminars offer students with 30 or more credits the opportunity
to work on essential university capabilities in small-sized courses that are often
thematic or problem-oriented and interdisciplinary in nature. Designed in part to help
students prepare for the Writing Proficiency Requirement, Intermediate Seminars put
special emphasis on critical reading, thinking, and writing. They focus on other
essential capabilities as appropriate to the course and might therefore include attention
to library research and information technology, collaborative learning, oral
presentation, and academic self-assessment. Students who practiced reading, writing,
and critical thinking in a First Year Seminar at UMass Boston will practice them at a
more advanced level in the Intermediate Seminar.
Note: Only ONE Intermediate Seminar may be taken for credit. If you have taken another
200G-level course in any department at UMB, you cannot receive credit for this one.
Prerequisites: English 101, English 102, First Year Seminar (or waiver), and 30
credits. The First Year Seminar is automatically waived for students who enter UMB
with 30 or more transfer credits. Because these are intensive reading and writing
courses, some students may find it helpful to enroll in CRW 221 to further develop
their skills with college-level writing before taking an Intermediate Seminar. Discuss
your situation with me if you have any questions about these prerequisites or your
readiness for the work in this course.
ART OF FICTION
Prof. Anthony
The Writing Proficiency Requirement: Except for students in the College of
Management, all UMass Boston undergraduates complete the University’s Writing
Proficiency Requirement through the Writing Proficiency Evaluation (WPE). The
Writing Proficiency Requirement is not the same as the writing placement test you
may have taken when you entered UMass Boston. The WPE can be met through
either an examination or a take-home essay submitted along with a portfolio of papers
written for UMB courses. See the WPR website for more details about the exam and
portfolio options and dates. Students who have not already satisfied the WPR should
arrange to take the exam or submit a portfolio shortly after completing this course.
http://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/undergraduate_studies/writing_proficiency
Support Services for Intermediate Seminar Students: The Academic Support
Office offers both individual tutoring and drop-in workshops for students who need
help with the critical reading, thinking and writing skills necessary for success in
General Education courses such as this one. More information is available online or at
the Campus Center office (CC1-1300).
http://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/academic_support/tutoring/rwssc
The Ross Center for Disability Services (CCUL-0211) provides accommodations and
educational resources for students with demonstrated needs, as outlined on their
website. Should you be eligible for these services, you should contact the Ross Center
right away so that their staff can help you identify appropriate accommodations in this
and other courses.
http://www.umb.edu/academics/vpass/disability/
If it appears that you might not pass this Intermediate Seminar and if the instructor
cannot determine how to support your success in the course, the instructor might
inform one of the University advisers working with the Student Referral Program.
This strictly confidential program is part of an early warning system designed to help
students address personal and academic difficulties that may interfere with their
progress in the University.
POLICIES AND ASSESSMENT
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a particularly serious violation, as outlined in the Academic
Honesty section of the code (section VI), and will not be tolerated in this class. An act
of academic dishonesty, plagiarism can include actions such as presenting another
writer’s work as your own work; copying passages from print or internet sources
without proper citation; taking ideas off the internet, modifying them, and presenting
them as your own; or submitting the same work for more than one course. If you
plagiarize, you will fail this course. Plagiarism cases will be referred to the Chair of
the English Department. Also note that plagiarism can result in further academic
sanctions such as suspension. UMass Boston’s Code of Student Conduct defines
plagiarism: http://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/policies/code/
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Prof. Anthony
Civility in and out of the classroom: An educational institution is a unique cultural
space: here, the open sharing of ideas is not only possible, but valued above all else.
Intellectual exchange depends on showing respect for your instructor and peers,
taking responsibility for your own course contributions, and demonstrating a mature
understanding that learning can involve disagreement over ideas and assessment. If
you engage in uncivil behavior, such as making inappropriate comments to your
instructor or fellow students in the classroom, out of the classroom, or via email or
social networking sites, you can be referred to the Chair of the English Department
for sanctions that can include the lowering of your course grade. You can also be
referred to the Dean of Students.
Cellphones and Electronics: Computers and e-readers will be permitted in the
classroom. However, if these devise become a distraction (to you or anyone else),
they will no longer be allowed. Cellphones should be off and away for the entirety
of the class.
Email: I will frequently be sending out emails for class to your UMB email
addresses. These emails will contain important information for the course including
readings, class cancellations, assignment updates, and any other notifications I may
need to send to the entire class. Please check your UMB email regularly or follow the
instructions (http://www.umb.edu/it/getting_services/email/office365/o365_forward)
to forward your UMB email to another email address.
Class Wiki: Additional required readings that are not included in the books on the
following list will be posted as PDFs to our course wiki space. You must bring your
marked-up printouts of these texts with you to class on the days for which they are
assigned. Failure to do so will negatively affect your participation grade.
The wiki can be found at http://engl273g-anthony.wikispaces.umb.edu/
Attendance and Participation (10%): This class is centered on discussion and the
only way to contribute to the discussion is to be present. As such, you are allowed
four (4) absences. After the fourth absence your grade will drop one half of a letter
grade (e.g. from a B+ to a B) for each additional absence up to two. If you reach
seven (7) absences you will fail the course.
Please note that incompletes are rarely offered, as they are reserved for students who
are unable to complete a small portion of the course at the end of the term due to an
extreme circumstance such as illness. Incompletes are not allowed to replace a
significant amount of coursework or absences. UMB’s incomplete policy can be
found at: http://www.umb.edu/registrar/academic_policies/incomplete_policy
As this is a discussion-based class, your participation is not only encouraged, but also
expected. Participation can take many forms: answering and posing questions,
actively participating in group activities, drawing the class’s attention to exemplary
passages in the text at hand, drawing the class’s attention to a connection between
texts, and anything else that may enrich our discussion. You may also visit me during
office hours (or make an appointment) if you have any questions, concerns, or just
want to continue the discussion.
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In-Class Assessments (20%): There will be several in-class assessments throughout
the semester. These assessments not only serve as reading checks, but they also help
you engage with the assigned texts in specific ways. The form of these assessments
will vary and include such exercises as reading quizzes, short writing prompts, and
brief explications of quotes. These assessments will be given without prior notice and
cannot be made-up if the event of an absence.
Formal Papers (50%): You will be expected to complete three (3) formal writing
assignments as follows:
1. A close reading (2-3 pages) [of a character from a short story] (10%)
2. An essay (5-6 pages) that juxtaposes [two short stories] (15%)
3. An essay (5-6 pages) that engages with scholarly criticism (25%)
Final Project (20%): This project will require you to use the skills and terms that we
have discussed throughout the semester. It will include a short presentation and
writing piece. A more detailed description of the final project will be distributed as we
get nearer the assignment date.
Submission of Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of class and
only hard copies will be accepted. An assignment received later than 12:30 on the day
it is due is considered late and will be automatically marked down one full letter grade
(e.g., from a B+ to a C+). If you know in advance that you are going to be absent
when an assignment or formal paper is due, you may submit your work to me either in
person or by dropping it in my departmental mailbox (located in W-06-52) before the
due date. Each student is allowed one (1) assignment extension without penalty. To
take advantage of the extension you must contact me (via email or office hours) no
less than 24 hours before the assignment is due.
Final Note: Professor Cheryl Nixon is the supervisor of the Intermediate Seminar
English courses. Please expect occasional visits to our class from Professor Nixon, as
well as from other Intermediate Seminar instructors.
Required Texts: All books required for this course are available for purchase in the
campus bookstore. For classroom purposes, you must have the exact editions that are
in the bookstore. If you purchase your books online, be sure that your copies have the
same ISBNs as those listed below.
1. Introduction to Fiction
Kennedy and Gioa
Publisher: Pearson
ISBN: 0205687881
paperback
3. The Woman Warrior
Kingston
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0679721886
paperback
2. Norton Critical Edition of
Stevenson, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr Hyde
Publisher: Norton
ISBN: 0393974650
Paperback
4. To Have and Have Not
Hemingway
Publisher: Scribner
ISBN: 0684818981
paperback
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Prof. Anthony
Syllabus Draft
English 273: Art of Fiction
UNIT ONE: THE SHORT STORY and the ELEMENTS OF FICTION
Week One: Plot
Sept:
02 (Tu) – Microfiction (reading in class)
05 (Th) – Chapter 1: Reading a Story
“A&P” by John Updike
Week Two: Point of View
Sept:
09 (Tu) – Add/Drop ends
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
(Assign Paper#1)
11 (Th) – “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner
“Rose” by Bret Lott (on the Wiki)
Week Three: Character
Sept:
16 (Tu) – Paper #1 due
“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (read in class)
“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood (read in class)
18 (Th) – Student’s Choice
Week Four: Theme
Sept:
23 (Tu) – “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
“On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien
25 (Th) – “Shiloh” by Bobbie Ann Mason
“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston
(Assign Paper#2)
Week Five: Symbol & Setting
Sept:
30 (Tu) – “Araby” by James Joyce
Oct:
02 (Th) – “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin
Week Six: Workshop Week
Oct:
07 (Tu) – re-read “Shiloh” and “Sweat”
Paper #2 Introduction Due
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09 (Th) – “A Clean Well Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway (Setting)
Workshop Day
Other Short Stories:
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“Greasy Lake” by T. Coraghessan Boyle
“The Tell-tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates
“Saboteur” by Ha Jin
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
UNIT TWO: FROM SHORT STORY to NOVEL
Week Seven:
Oct:
14 (Tu) – Paper #2 Due
“No Name Woman” from The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong
Kingston (read in class)
16 (Th) – “White Tigers” from The Woman Warrior
Double-entry notebook Due
Week Eight:
Oct:
21 (Tu) – Add/Drop ends
“Shaman” from The Woman Warrior
“A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe” from The Woman Warrior
Double-entry notebook Due
23 (Th) – Summary class for The Woman Warrior
Double-entry notebook Due
UNIT THREE: THE NOVEL and CRITICISM
Week Nine:
Oct:
28 (Tu) – Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to
“Dr. Lanyon’s Narrative”
30 (Th) – DJMH to “Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case”
(Assign Paper #3)
Week Ten: Criticism Week
Nov:
04 (Tu) – Henry James’ “The Art of the Presentation” (Norton 101)
Judith Halberstam’s “An Introduction to Gothic Monstrosity” (Norton
128)
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Prof. Anthony
06 (Th) – Paper #3 Introduction Due
Thesis Workshop
Week Eleven: Paper Workshop Week
Nov:
11 (Tu) – Veteran’s Day: NO CLASS
13 (Th) – Paper #3 Rough Draft Due
Other Articles:
 Patrick Brantlinger’s “An Unconscious Allegory about the Masses and Mass
Literacy” (Norton 197)
 Katherine Linehan “Sex, Secrecy and Self-Alienation” (Norton 204)
 Anne Lepine’s “Hyde and See in an Age of Surveillance” (wiki)
 Harriet Hustis’s “Hyding Nietzsche in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Gothic of
Philosophy” (Wiki)
UNIT FOUR: HEMINGWAY
(With a visit to the Ernest Hemingway Collection at JFK Library & Museum)
Week Twelve:
Nov:
18 (Tu) – Paper # 3 Due
To Have and Have Not (to page 50)
20 (Th) – To Have and Have Not (to page 111)
Week Thirteen:
Nov:
25 (Tu) – To Have and Have Not (to page 148)
27 (Th) – Thanksgiving Recess
Week Fourteen:
Dec:
02 (Tu) – To Have and Have Not (to page 222)
04 (Th) – To Have and Have Not (to page 262)
Week Fifteen: Final Project Presentations
Dec:
09 (Tu) – TBD
11 (Th) – TBD
(Dec 15 – 19: Final Exam Period)
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