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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "EN 200-2"
COURSE NAME: "Introduction to Literature"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2015
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Shannon Russell
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 110 with a grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Presupposing no previous knowledge in particular of literature, the course deals in an intensive manner with a very limited selection of works in the three genres of fiction, drama, and poetry. Students learn the basic literary terms that they need to know to approach literary texts. They are required to do close readings of the assigned texts, use various critical approaches, and write several critical essays on specified readings.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Students are introduced to the basic tools of literary analysis and appreciation and are asked to apply these to the analysis of a limited selection of texts from four genres: poetry, short story, drama and the novel.  
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students should gain an appreciation of the basic means and modes of literary analysis so that they may apply these to later in-depth courses in English literature or other subjects requiring reading and critical thinking and interpretation.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
The Norton Introduction to Literature Portable 11th edition VariousNorton978-0-393-92339-1     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
3 Essays of 5-6 pages each.Each essay should be 5 pages, double-spaced and typed, using MLA citation style and format.15% each 45% in total
In-class poetry, prose and drama analysisFour take-home writing assignments involving detailed analysis of poetry, prose and drama. The purpose of these exercises is to reach an understanding of literary terms and tropes, conventions, rhetorical modes, and narrative, dramatic and poetic devices. Students will be given a set of questions based on their reading and will be expected to spend no more than 2 hours answering these questions in short answer format. 20% (5% each)
Participation  15%
Final Exam 20%

-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 cours
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
Students who miss more than 3 classes, whether or not officially excused will be required to produce and additional 6 page essay assignment to be arranged with the instructor and due no later than the second last week of classes.  Those who choose not to do the assignment will have their overall grade reduced.

You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
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

Please see the Moodle Course for a more detailed syllabus including readings, discussion points, assignments and other materials.


Week 1   WHAT IS LITERATURE?

Tues. Sept. 1

Introduction to the course and its requirements
"The Elephant in the Village of the Blind"
"20/20"

Thurs. Sept. 3  Reading Fiction

Read the Chapter on Fiction.  Come prepared to talk about the graphic novel excerpt "The Shabbat" from Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and
"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver.

Week 2 SHORT STORY

Tues. Sept. 8 Plot

Read the two sample writing responses to Raymond Carver's "Cathedral".  Consider those responses and then write your own short response (a few short paragraphs) in which you consider whether or not you think the narrator has changed, and how you know this from the evidence of the text. We won't be discussing this in class, but please hand this assignment in to me at the beginning of class.  I will consider this piece as a diagnostic exercise that will allow me to assess your writing and thinking abilities.  It will not count as an assignment for your final grade.

Read the section on Plot in your Anthology and Guy de Maupassant's "The Jewelry".  Using the questions in Sample Writing Reading Notes found on pages 47-49 outline your responses to this story, and then answer the questions about Plot found on page 66 along with the Questions you find at the end of the story.

Thurs. Sept 10  Character

Read the chapter on Character in your Anthology and do the exercise on p. 127-28 on Direct and Indirect characterization.  Then ready both stories “Recitatif” by Tony Morrison and “Good People” by David Foster Wallace.  Consider the questions about character you find on p. 130 in relation to both stories.  Then choose one of these stories and consider whether the characters tend to be more flat or round, static or dynamic, highly individualized or nearly indistinguishable?  Is indirect or direct characterization more important in the story? Why and how is the author’s treatment of character appropriate to the story?

Week 3 SHORT STORY

Tues. Sept. 15 Setting

Read the chapter on Setting in your Anthology, including the stories "The Lady with the Dog" by Anton Chekhov, Amy Tan's "A Pair of Tickets," and Judith Ortiz Cofer's "Volar." Consider how setting works in each of these stories. In what story is setting most effective for placing the characters and why?  Could the same story be told as effectively using a different setting or is setting integral to its meaning?  Give evidence from the text to support your answers.

Thurs. Sept. 17  Symbol and Figurative Language

Read the chapter on Symbol and Figurative Language in your Anthology. 
Read Nathanial Hawthorne's "The Birth-Mark" and Edwidge Danticat's "A Wall of Fire Rising"
Take-home assignment given today.

Week 4  SHORT STORY 

Tues. Sept. 22    Theme

First Take-home assignment due (5%)

Read the chapter on Theme in your Anthology.  
Read Aesop's "The Two Crabs," Yasunari Kawabata's "The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket," and Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat."

Thurs. Sept. 24

Read Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" and John Updike's "A&P"

Fri. Sept. 25  (Makeup day for Nov. 26th)

Read Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour", Franz Kafka's "The Hunger Artist" and Gabriel Garcia Marquez "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"

Week 5  NOVELLA

Tues. Sept. 29  

Short story discussion continued. Introduction to the novel.

Thurs. Oct. 1 Henry James A Turn of the Screw 

Available On-line. See Moodle for link.

Week 6  NOVELLA

Tues. Oct. 6  Henry James A Turn of the Screw  FIRST ESSAY DUE (15%)

Thurs. Oct. 8  Henry James A Turn of the Screw

Week 7 DRAMA

Tues. Oct. 13

Read the chapter on Drama in your anthology and Susan Glaspell's Trifles.  Formulate answers to the questions that follow the play.

Thurs. Oct. 15
Read Ibsen's A Doll House
Take home assignment given today.

Week 8 DRAMA

Tues. Oct. 20  Second Take-home assignment due (5%)

Ibsen's A Doll House 

Thurs. Oct. 22

Shakespeare Hamlet

Week 9 DRAMA

Tues. Oct. 27

Shakespeare Hamlet

Thurs. Oct. 29  

Shakespeare Hamlet

Week 10  POETRY

Tues. Nov. 3  SECOND ESSAY DUE (15%)

Read Chapter on Poetry: Reading, Responding, Writing

Thurs. Nov. 5  Speaker

Read the chapter and poems in the section on Speaker in your Anthology.

Week 11  POETRY

Tues. Nov. 10  Situation and Setting

Read the chapter on Situation and Setting and all poems in that section.

Thurs. Nov. 12 Theme and Tone

Read the chapter on Theme and Tone and all poems in that section.
Take-home assignment given today.

Week 12 POETRY

Tues. Nov. 17 Language:  Word choice and order      Third Take-home assignment due (5%)

Read the chapter on Language in your Anthology and all poems in that section.

Thurs. Nov. 19  Visual Imagery and Figures of Speech

Read the chapter on Visual Imagery and Figures of Speech in your Anthology and all poems in that section.
Fourth Take-home assignment given.

Week 13 POETRY

Tues. Nov. 24  Symbol       Fourth Take-home assignment due (5%)

Read the chapter on Symbol in your Anthology and all poems in that section.


Thursday Nov. 26  THANKSGIVING  No Class

Week 14 POETRY

Tues. Dec. 1
THIRD ESSAY DUE (15%)

Poetry analysis continued

Thurs. Dec. 3 

Summing up

FINAL EXAM -- TO BE SCHEDULED (20%)