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:
ENGL 3303 Studies in Fiction (Coming of Age in America)
Winter 2010
Name of Instructor: Kim Jobe, M.A.
Phone:
E-mail:
623-258-5207 (Call 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. or text any time) kim.jobe@wayland.wbu.edu
Class Time & Location : Mondays, 5:30 – 9:40 p.m., Central Park Forest
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
Coming of Age in America:
A Multicultural Anthology
Author
Frosch, Mary (editor) New Press, 1994
The Red Badge of Courage Crane, Stephen
Publisher* ISBN *
1-56584-146-8
W. W. Norton & Company 978-039393075-7
Little Women (first part) Alcott, Louisa May W. W. Norton & Company 978-039397614-4
To Kill a Mockingbird
Sula
Lee, Harper
Morrison, Toni
HarperPerennial
(50 th anniversary ed.)
Plume (Penguin)
978-006093546-7
0-452-28386-8
*I have listed the publisher and ISBN of the versions I am using. You may use another (though our page numbers might not match).
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.
3.
Demonstrate knowledge of major literary movements and how these movements are 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. Write it as a “book review.”
5.
Make a presentation on the same selected literary work.
6.
Connect major events in U.S. 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. (NOTE: All writing assignments are assessed using
SafeAssignment.)
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.

ENGL 3303 Jobe
Course Requirements and Grading Criteria:
Grading Percentage
Book Review*/Presentation
Literature Journal*
30%
20%
Reading Quizzes (Blackboard)
Participation in class
Discussion Board (Blackboard)
Final Exam (Blackboard)
20%
10%
10%
10%
NOTE:
*Students will upload all writing assignments to
SafeAssignment via Blackboard.
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Grading for Course
A
= 90 - 100 %
B =
C =
80 - 89 %
70 - 79 %
D =
F
=
60 - 69 % below 60 %
You have short stories and novels alternating weeks. Since you will probably get through the short stories more quickly than the novels, you may start reading the novels early, if you wish. Just remember to work on your literature journal while you are reading, whenever you are reading.
The point of the literature journal is to get you to read critically—to think about what you’re reading while you’re reading it—and to write about literature. Write throughout the week, while you are reading. I expect to see at least one full page of writing (typed, single spaced with a blank line between paragraphs) each week. Some of the questions you should address include the following:
1.
After reading the first sentence , what do you think this book or story is going to be about?
After you read the whole thing, do you still think so? Why or why not?
2.
Why do you think the author choose to start the book or story this way?
3.
Who is the main character ? Why do you think so?
4.
List and briefly describe the significant characters as they appear in the beginning of the book or story. If they change, describe how (and when).
5.
What is the setting (time and place)? Does it change? How? Are there any back stories or flashbacks ? Flash forwards ? What are they? What do they help explain in the story?
6.
Who is the narrator ? What kind of narrator is she or he (first, second, or third person; limited or omniscient; subjective or objective)? What verb tense does the narrator use? (Why does that matter?) How would the story or book be different if the narrator were different?
7.
What, briefly, is the plot ?
8.
How does this book or story fit the theme “coming of age in America”? Does it have any other themes?
9.
What is the meaning/significance of the title ?
10.
How would you describe the author’s style ? Describe any eye-catching literary devices the author uses, like epiphany, foreshadowing, imagery (visual, auditory, kinetic, olfactory, gustatory, tactile), irony, metaphor/simile, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, pun, personification, symbolism, etc. (Quote the examples.)
Since this is a journal
, you don’t need to worry about transitions or opening and closing paragraphs.
Do practice using topic sentences for your paragraphs, though, and try to spell and punctuate correctly. (Each of the points could be a paragraph.) If you have a full page on each reading assignment (book or section of stories), you will get full points, but try to answer as many of the questions as you can, even if you go over a page. The more you put into this, the more you will get out of it. ( Note : Journal entries should be single spaced with one blank line between paragraphs with a font size of 11-12 points. Please use the question number in the paragraph! Each week’s journal should be a separate word processing document, and you will upload the files via
SafeAssignment in Blackboard. The link to SafeAssignment will be in the Course Content folder for the week the journal is due.)

ENGL 3303 Jobe 3
The discussion questions will be from something at the beginning of the reading or a particular literary device used by the author (and quoted from the text), so be sure to answer the discussion questions early in the week (Tuesday or Wednesday) so you have time for discussion the rest of the week. I expect each person to start one thread and to post at least eight multi-line, thoughtful replies to others (not just “I agree!”) for full points.
The short quizzes will be about the assigned reading as a whole , so you should not take a quiz until you have finished reading. The quizzes will be in Blackboard, in the Course Content folder for the week the reading was due.
Select a book about coming of age in America with the ethnicity of your choice. Frosch lists some in “Suggestions for Further Reading” at the back of her book. Talk to me about what you want to do before you start reading and writing. In this 3-5 page report or review you will need to cover many of the same points you are using in your literature journal, plus background information (historical, social, political, economic contexts) and information on the author. Since this is the “research paper” for this class, you also need to cite information from at least three outside sources. See OWL for suggestions on a book report ( http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/703/1/ ) or book review
( http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/704/1/ ) for suggestions. We will be using MLA. See
OWL ( http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/11/ ).
Your presentation should take about 20-30 minutes and should introduce the class to your book and author. You may use audio-visual materials, if you wish. (For that matter, you can do a multisensory presentation if it’ll help us understand your book better.) I will give you a rubric before the presentations are due.

ENGL 3303 Jobe
Tentative Schedule :
Week 1 8 Nov Do before class:
Buy the books and bring them to class. Read the “Foreword” and “Preface” in Coming of Age.
Otherwise, do not read ahead.

Introduction of class content and procedures.

Using Blackboard.

Introduction to fiction, long and short.

Keeping a literature journal.
 Reading and writing together: “The Jacket” in Coming of Age in America
Week 2 15 Nov Do before class:
Read : The “Fitting In” section of Coming of Age
Write : Literature Journal entry for each story.
Discuss : Questions #1 and 2 on the Discussion Board in Blackboard
Quiz : Quizzes #1 and #2 in Blackboard
Week 3 22 Nov Read: The Red Badge of Courage
Write: Literature Journal entries
Discuss: Question #3
Quiz : Quiz #3
Week 4 29 Nov Read: The “Family Matters” section of Coming of Age
Write: Literature Journal entry for each story
Discuss: Question #4
Quiz : Quiz #4
Week 5 6 Dec Read: Little Women (part 1 only)
Write: Literature Journal entries
Discuss: Question #5
Quiz : Quiz #5
Week 6 13 Dec Read:
The “Affairs of the Heart” section of
Coming of Age
Write: Literature Journal entry for each story
Discuss: Question #6
Quiz : Quiz #6
Week 7 3 Jan Read: Your selected book
Write: Research book report and presentation
Discuss: Question #7
Quiz : Quiz #7
Week 8 10 Jan Read: To Kill a Mockingbird
Write: Literature Journal entries
Discuss: Question #8
Quiz : Quiz #8
Week 9 17 Jan Read: The “Crisis” section of Coming of Age
Write: Literature Journal entry for each story
Discuss: Question #9
Quiz : Quiz #9
Week 10 24 Jan Read: Sula
Write: Literature Journal entries
Discuss: Question #10
Quiz : Quiz #10
Week 11 31 Jan No Class. Final exam in Blackboard must be completed before 1/31.
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