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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 299"
COURSE NAME: "Special Topics in English Literature: The City and the Writer"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session I 2017
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Nathalie Handal
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MTWTH 2:00 PM 3:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 110 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
An in-depth treatment of a current area of special concern within the field of English Literature. Topics may vary.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The City and the Writer is a laboratory for studying Rome, works written about it as well as creating new works inspired by it. We will explore different neighborhoods and their history and meet different inventors. On these walks and lectures, students get the unique opportunity to meet numerous residents from theater makers, designers, architects, artists, filmmakers, feminists, actors and comedians, and chefs. Discussions will revolve around private and public spaces, ruins and constructions, traditions and modernity, memory and hyphenated identities, literature and society. The class will integrate film, photography, painting among other medias, to enrich the visual study of Rome. The city is the stage that will inspire students’ new works.

Class will be a series of writing workshops, walks, lectures, and discussions. New works—poems, short stories, short plays or films—that will serve as a map for possible journeys as they reinvent and talk back to centuries of debates on culture and literature. This course is a composite of creative writing, theater, urban, cultural, and Diaspora studies. A cross-disciplinary and cross-border conversation that examines how urban life and the cityscape create imaginative spaces, and the way words create cities. 
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the completion of this course, students will gain knowledge of creative works produced by major writers about Rome; gain knowledge of cultural and literary Rome as well as have the opportunity to meet creative local minds; work on their research and editorial skills, and produce a portfolio of their own work inspired by Rome. 
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
   
   
   
Attendance and Class Participation essential to fully partake in the journey. 25%
Portfolio 1 (short)  25%
Final Portfolio and Reading/Performance  40%
Reading/Performance/Presentation  10%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the c
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
Attendance and class participation required and part of the grade.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

WEEK ONE (Focus: SEE): Every week students walk (field trips in different neighborhoods in Rome), meet creative residents, write their reflections and impressions in their Rome Journal (journals serve as a source for their portfolios), improve research skills, generate story angles, edit, discuss, workshop. Weekly focus on a sense and a theme (Beauty and Art; Food; the Self and the City; Translating the City; History and Memory; Ethnic Rome—migration and integration, immigrants and exile; Italian migrant literature). To be announced and aligned with field trip and guest(s).

WEEK TWO (Focus: HEAR): Every week students walk (field trips in different neighborhoods in Rome), meet creative residents, write their reflections and impressions in their Rome Journal (journals serve as a source for their portfolios), improve research skills, generate story angles, edit, discuss, workshop. Weekly focus on a sense and a theme (Beauty and Art; Food; the Self and the City; Translating the City; History and Memory; Ethnic Rome—migration and integration, immigrants and exile; Italian migrant literature). To be announced and aligned with field trip and guest(s).

WEEK THREE (Focus; TASTE): Every week students walk (field trips in different neighborhoods in Rome), meet creative residents, write their reflections and impressions in their Rome Journal (journals serve as a source for their portfolios), improve research skills, generate story angles, edit, discuss, workshop. Weekly focus on a sense and a theme (Beauty and Art; Food; the Self and the City; Translating the City; History and Memory; Ethnic Rome—migration and integration, immigrants and exile; Italian migrant literature). To be announced and aligned with field trip and guest(s).

WEEK FOUR (Focus: SMELL) Every week students walk (field trips in different neighborhoods in Rome), meet creative residents, write their reflections and impressions in their Rome Journal (journals serve as a source for their portfolios), improve research skills, generate story angles, edit, discuss, workshop. Weekly focus on a sense and a theme (Beauty and Art; Food; the Self and the City; Translating the City; History and Memory; Ethnic Rome—migration and integration, immigrants and exile; Italian migrant literature). To be announced and aligned with field trip and guest(s).

WEEK FIVE: (Focus: TOUCH) Every week students walk (field trips in different neighborhoods in Rome), meet creative residents, write their reflections and impressions in their Rome Journal (journals serve as a source for their portfolios), improve research skills, generate story angles, edit, discuss, workshop. Weekly focus on a sense and a theme (Beauty and Art; Food; the Self and the City; Translating the City; History and Memory; Ethnic Rome—migration and integration, immigrants and exile; Italian migrant literature). To be announced and aligned with field trip and guest(s).

*Students will have the opportunity to participate in The Best of “The City and the Writer” project, an exciting literary undertaking. “The City and the Writer” for Words without Borders magazine is a column that has a vast following and has featured well-known and emerging writers from around the globe.