English 104: Approach to Literature
Fall 2011 Syllabus
English 104-01: Approach to Literature
Fall 2011
MWF 10:00-10:50
Classroom: BRYN 114
Instructor: Michael Bedsole
Email: mrbedsol@uncg.edu
Office: MHRA 3210A
Office Hours: Wed. and Fri. 11-12
(Or by appointment)
I: General Overview
Course Description:
This class will serve as an introduction to literary studies, in which we will explore fiction, poetry,
and drama in an attempt to better understand how literature works. Of course, stories and poems arise
only within particular contexts, and as such, we will focus not only on the formalist elements of these
various genres, but will examine the socio-historical and cultural matrices out of which literary works
emerge. As literature is a product of human reactions and responses to the world, we will also remain
sensitive to the human element in the work, acknowledging the existential component that underlies
or motivates any given text.
Student Learning Goals:
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identify and understand varied characteristics of literature;
Apply techniques of literary analysis to texts;
Use literary study to develop skills in careful reading and clear writing;
Demonstrate understanding of the diverse social and historical contexts in which literary texts
have been written and interpreted.
Required Texts:
Booth, Alison and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. New York:
Norton, 2010. (ISBN: 978-0-393-93426-7)
Hamilton, Sharon. Essential Literary Terms: A Brief Norton Guide with Exercises. New York:
Norton, 2007. (ISBN: 978-0-393-92837-2)
II: Class Expectations
General Expectations:
As college students, you are expected to conduct yourselves as adults. You must come each day
prepared for class. This means bringing writing materials and copies of that day’s readings. If you
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come to class unprepared, I reserve the right to count you absent for that day. I expect professional,
courteous behavior towards myself and your fellow classmates. This course is intended to encourage
student involvement and dialogue. Inappropriate behavior detracts from this goal. Accordingly, I
expect you to respect when others are speaking, and to listen and engage in the classroom
conversation. Sleeping in class is unacceptable, as is engaging in non-class related activities, such as
doing work for another class or pleasure reading. Cell phones/iphones or other hand-held devices
must be turned off, as no texting or calls are allowed. Laptop use is forbidden, except for students
who have made prior arrangements with me. When in use, laptops may only be used for class-related
activities. Any other use will result in the forfeiture of your ability to use a laptop in this class.
Academic Integrity:
“Academic integrity is founded upon and encompasses the following five values: honesty, trust,
fairness, respect, and responsibility. Violations include, for example, cheating, plagiarism, misuse of
academic resources, falsification, and facilitating academic dishonesty. If knowledge is to be gained
and properly evaluated, it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty. Deceit and
misrepresentations are incompatible with the fundamental activity of this academic institution and
shall not be tolerated” (from UNCG’s Academic Integrity Policy). To ensure that you understand the
university’s policy on academic integrity, review the guidelines and list of violations at
<http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu>. I expect you to abide by the Academic Integrity Policy. Should
you not, you risk severe penalties, including a zero on the assignment or a zero for the course.
Attendance Policy:
You are expected to be present and punctual for each class. Entering the room after class has begun is
distracting and detracts from the learning experience. Do not come to class if you will be more than
ten minutes late. This will count as one of your absences. Also, three tardies will equal one absence.
You are allowed up to three absences, each of which I will consider “excused.” However, each
absence after three will result in your final class grade being lowered by half a letter grade, no matter
the reason for your absence. (In case of emergencies, please contact me as soon as possible to inform
me of your situation.) Per department policy, missing six classes will result in a zero for the course.
This is not intended to be punitive, but merely to reinforce the importance of class attendance. If you
do miss class, it is your responsibility to discover what assignments you missed, and to make up any
missed work immediately. Lastly, I must inform you that, by state law, you are permitted “two
excused absences due to religious holidays, which do not count toward your total allowed absences,”
although you must inform me of these holidays prior to your absence.
III: Assignments
Assignments:
Student assessment will consist of a number of components, including major exams, short (and pop)
quizzes, out-of-class and in-class writing assignments, free-writes, and participation. As this is a
literature course, you may expect a good deal of reading, all of which you are expected to keep up
with throughout the semester. Late work will not be accepted. If you are absent on a day that a quiz is
given, you will not receive credit for that quiz.
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Exams:
You will have three exams this semester, the first two of which will focus on our fiction and poetry
units, respectively. The last exam, which also will serve as your final, will focus in part on our drama
unit, but will also contain cumulative material drawn from the entire semester. Each of the exams will
contain short and long answer, identification, and multiple choice questions. Identification questions
will ask you to identify various aspects of a passage (i.e., provide the speaker, context, author, and
source text). We will review for each exam as a class.
Multiple Short Writing Assignments/Quizzes:
In addition to these exams, you will be responsible for numerous (weekly) short writing assignments.
Some of these will be in-class, others out-of-class, some group driven, others based on your
individual reflections. These responses will consist of 150-250 word mini-essays based on our
readings. Sometimes I will provide questions/prompts for you to consider; other times, I will
encourage your spontaneous reflections on a given text. In addition to these assignments, be prepared
for (weekly) pop quizzes based on our readings or discussions.
Participation:
This is a discussion-based course. You must come to class each day prepared to contribute to
discussion, which means that you must not only stay caught-up with our readings, but must be
prepared to speak about them as well. Make sure that you’re highlighting passages as you read. Jot
down questions that you have or observations that you make as you go along. If you engage with our
authors at home, that will better ensure that you are able to engage with your classmates here. Free
writes are generally considered a part of your participation grade, although I may from time to time
collect these and grade them as short writing assignments.
Grading Rubric:
Exam I: 20%
Exam II: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Multiple Short Writing Assignments/Quizzes: 20%
Participation and Group Work: 10%
IV: Other
Disability Services:
Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to see me about accommodations as
soon as possible. If you believe you could benefit from such accommodations, you must first register
with the Office of Disability Services on campus before such accommodations can be made. The
office is located on the second floor of the Elliott University Center (EUC) in Suite 215, and the
office is open 8am to 5pm, Monday – Friday. Telephone: 334-5440; email: ods@uncg.edu.
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The Writing Center:
Although this course requires no paper, I’d still like to draw your attention to the Writing Center. If
you feel you need assistance for any aspect of writing, from outlines to polished drafts, Writing
Center tutors are always available to work with you one-on-one. Along with your questions, please
make sure to bring a hard-copy of your work with you to each session.
Location: MHRA 3211
Phone: 334-3125
Website: http://www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter/
V: Course Schedule
BB: Blackboard
N: Norton Introduction to Literature
ELT: Essential Literary Terms
*This schedule is subject to change.
*Additional readings may be assigned
*Unless otherwise noted, all short stories, poems, and plays are drawn from the Norton
Introduction to Literature
Day
In-Class
Week 1:
Mon., Aug. 22 Introduction to the Course
Wed., Aug. 24 Introduction to Fiction
Fri., Aug. 26
Plot and Structure
Week 2:
Mon., Aug. 29 Voice/Narration/Point of View
Wed., Aug. 31
Fri., Sept. 2
Setting and Tone
Week 3:
Mon., Sept. 5
Wed., Sept. 7
Labor Day Holiday: Class
Cancelled
Fri., Sept. 9
Symbol and Figurative
Language
Readings
N: 1-16; ELT: xiii-xvi; 8-12
ELT: 167-178; N: 79-87; Baldwin’s
“Sonny’s Blues” (92-114); Faulkner’s “A
Rose for Emily” (681-688)
ELT: 112-122; N:156-160; Hemingway’s
“Hills Like White Elephants” (166-169)
Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” (432457)
ELT: 150-153, 156-162; N: 225-226;
Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog”
(231-242)
Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” (161166); Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
(608-619)
N: 308-313; Hawthorne’s “The BirthMark” (313-323); Byatt’s “The Thing in
the Forest” (324-338)
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Week 4:
Mon., Sept. 12
Wed., Sept. 14 Character
Fri., Sept. 16
Week 5:
Mon., Sept. 19 Theme
Wed., Sept. 21
Fri., Sept. 23
Exploring Contexts
Week 6:
Mon., Sept. 26
Wed., Sept. 28 Short Fiction Review
Fri., Sept. 30
Exam 1
Week 7:
Mon., Oct. 3
Introduction to Poetry
Wed., Oct. 5
Theme and Tone
Fri., Oct. 7
Speaker/Voice
Week 8:
Mon., Oct. 10
Wed., Oct. 12
Fall Break: Class Cancelled
Danticat’s “A Wall of Fire Rising” (339350)
ELT: 125-144; N: 179-186; Faulkner’s
“Barn Burning” (186-199)
Wharton’s “Roman Fever” (114-123)
ELT: 154-155; N: 351-354; Garcia
Marquez’s “A Very Old Man with
Enormous Wings” (371-376)
Crane’s “The Open Boat” (355-370)
N: 543-546; Joyce’s “Araby” and
“Eveline” (547-555)
Joyce’s “The Dead” (556-584)
ELT: 13-20; N: 820-825 (Browning,
Ramsay, Pastan); 846-850 (Pound,
Donne)
ELT: 68-104; N: 854-861 (Piercy,
Snodgrass, Gunn, Knight, Blake)
N: 878-879 (Hardy), 886-892
(Wordsworth, Lorde, Burns, Brooks,
Whitman), 1040-1042 (Shelley)
Language and Structure
N: 971-992 (Shakespeare, Burns, Donne,
Owen, Dickey, Lawrence, Parker, Frost,
Dunn)
N: 1052-1074 (Thomas, Rossetti, Keats,
Brooks, Milton, Browning, St. Vincent
Millary)
Putting It All Together . . .
N: Eliot’s “The Lovesong of J. Alfred
Prufrock” (1115-1119); Browning’s “My
Last Duchess” (1318-1319); Coleridge’s
“Kubla Khan” (1320); Gray’s “Elegy in a
Churchyard” (1329-1332)
Wed., Oct. 19
Exploring Contexts
Fri., Oct. 21
Week 10:
Mon., Oct. 24
Blake (1195-1212) and Dickinson (11601167)
Yeats (1170-1183)
Poetry Review
Fri., Oct. 14
Last Day to
Drop w/o
Academic
Penalty
Week 9:
Mon., Oct. 17
6
Wed., Oct. 26
Fri., Oct. 28
Week 11:
Mon., Oct. 31
Wed., Nov. 2
Fri., Nov. 4
Week 12:
Mon., Nov. 7
Wed., Nov. 9
Fri., Nov. 11
Week 13:
Mon., Nov. 14
Wed., Nov. 16
Fri., Nov. 18
Week 14:
Mon., Nov. 21
Wed., Nov. 23
Fri., Nov. 25
Exam 2
Introduction to Drama
ELT: 1-7; N: 1382-1394 (including
Glaspell’s Trifles); N: 1437-1446
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex
N: 1557-1571
N: 1571-1587
N: 1587-1597
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
N: 2128-2158
N: 2158-2181
N: 2181-2193
Hamlet
Hamlet
Hamlet
N: 1701-1739
N: 1739-1760
N: 1761-1777
Hamlet
Thanksgiving Holiday: Class
Cancelled
Thanksgiving Holiday: Class
Cancelled
N: 1778-1794
Week 15:
Mon., Nov. 28 Film(s): Comparing Versions of
Hamlet
Wed., Nov. 30 Film(s): Comparing Versions of
Hamlet
Fri., Dec. 2
Drama Review
Week 16:
Mon., Dec. 5
Semester Review
Last Day of
Classes
Wed., Dec. 7
Final Exam
12:00-3:00