English 204 Great Books: Literature

Section 03, Fall 2002

9:30-10:45 a.m.

399 Millett Hall

Joe Law 

344 Millett Hall

Phone: 775-2155 

E-mail: joe.law@wright.edu

Office Hours: 8:30-9:50 MW and by appointment
 

Note: Because my responsibilities as Coordinator for Writing Across the Curriculum often require me to be away from the office, it would be wise to call ahead, even during my regular office hours. This quarter I will also be interim director of the University Writing Center (031 Paul Laurence Dunbar Library). I will usually be there in the afternoon. In any case, Iím usually on campus until 5:00, so it shouldn't be hard to arrange a time to meet.


 

This syllabus and the policies outlined here are also available through the English department web page: <http://www.cola.wright.edu/Dept/ENG/english.htm>


 

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Euripides. Medea. Trans. Rex Warner. New York: Dover, 1993.

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Trans. Stanley Appelbaum.ÝNew York: Dover, 1996.

Maupassant, Guy de. The Necklace and Other Short Stories. New York: Dover, 1992.

O'Connor, Flannery. 3 by Flannery O'Connor New York: Signet, 1983.

Pushkin, Alexander. The Queen of Spades and Other Stories. Trans. T. Keane. New York: Dover, 1994.

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. New York: Dover, 1995.

Any grammar handbook, such as Harbrace College Handbook, St. Martin's Guide to Writing, etc.


 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

English 204 (Great Books: Literature) introduces selected masterpieces of poetry, drama, and fiction from the Western literary tradition from the Greeks to the twentieth century, viewed in their historical context and read for their enduring interest. In addition to discussing their reading in class, students will write brief responses to their readings, write two slightly longer papers (three to four pages), and take a final exam. These assignments are described in more detail elsewhere in this syllabus.


 

POLICIES AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

General Education: English 204 is part of Area II (The Western Experience) in the General Education program required for all baccalaureate degrees at Wright State University. This program has three broad, overarching goals:

to sharpen critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as a basis for life-long learning;
to cultivate an awareness of the moral and ethical insight needed for participation in the human community;
to increase knowledge and understanding of the past, of the world in which we live, and of how both past and present have an impact on the future.
Writing Across the Curriculum: The Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program at Wright State University has three principal goals:

 
to use writing to explore and better understand course content. 
to give students opportunities to improve their writing skills.
to introduce students to the different ways writing is used in different fields of study.
English 204 is one of the four designated writing intensive courses in the General Education portion of the Writing Across the Curriculum program. In addition to your grade for those courses, you will also have an entry on your transcript to indicate that you have satisfied the writing intensive requirements of those courses. (If you do not pass that portion of a class, only the course grade will appear on your official transcript.) To receive that credit in any writing intensive course, you must make a C or above on the writing portion of your grade. In this class, in which grades are based almost entirely on writing, the writing intensive grade and course grade will be the same.


 

Course Grade: The assignments listed above will determine the grade: papers, 60%; reading responses, 20%; drafts, 10%; final exam, 10%. Grading standards for the finished papers are included with this syllabus, as are guidelines for the reading responses and for drafts. Be sure to read them carefully. Grading criteria for reading responses and drafts differ considerably from grading criteria for papers.
 

Late Work: As a rule, I do not accept late assignments. Late work will be accepted only in the case of a documented illness or university-related absence. In the case of the latter, students should make arrangements with me in advance of the absence. Typed/printed reading responses must be turned in at the beginning of the class meeting when they are due. If you do not have the paper ready when class begins, please do not submit it later in the day.


 

Attendance: Attendance and participation are expected of all students. Much of the work in the course will be carried out in class discussion. Missing a class means that you cannot benefit from the comments of other students and that other students cannot benefit from yours. I will take attendance at the beginning of each class. 


 

Tardiness: Class will begin as scheduled. Late arrivals disrupt class, so please be on time. Students who arrive late will not receive additional time to complete any activities already begun, such as a reading quiz. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class; if you are late, it is your responsibility to see that my record is corrected that same class period. 


 

Editingskills: Since this is a literature class rather than a grammar course, I will not be teaching grammar per se; however, it will affect grades on assignments. It is the responsibility of all students to proofread and edit their own work before it is submitted. Any student who does not exhibit proficiency in editing throughout the semester should not expect to pass the course.


 

Paper format: All assignments written out of class (including reading responses) must be typed (or processed) on 8 1/2 by 11" white paper with 1" margins on all sides. All papers should be double spaced. Your name, my name, the course number and section number, and the date should appear in the top left corner of the first page above the centered title. All pages (including the first) should be numbered as illustrated on the sample first page attached at the end of this syllabus. 


 

Academic honesty: All work submitted must be your own, with outside sources properly acknowledged. Academic dishonesty includes copying another's work, turning in someone else's work as your own, allowing a tutor to write part or all of your paper, or allowing someone else to use your work in this same manner. If you are unsure about your work in this matter, talk to me before you submit the paper, not after.


 

Special accommodations: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment to see me as soon as possible. We should make adjustments at the beginning of the course.


 

University Writing Center: Writing Consultants in the Writing Center (031 Library) are available to assist you as you work on your papers. Be sure to take a copy of your assignment with you when you go. The Writing Center also has a cluster of networked computers available for student use. (Word processing instruction and assistance are also provided.) The service is free to all WSU students. To get more information about hours and the services provided, call 775-4186. 

Reading and Assignment Schedule

All readings should be completed by the date they are scheduled for class discussion.

(RR) = Typed/printed response to reading due at the beginning of class

09/19 Thursday--Introduction to course


 

09/24 Tuesday--Pushkin, "The Snowstorm"

09/26 Thursday--(RR) Pushkin, "Queen of Spades"


 

10/01 Tuesday--Pushkin, "Queen of Spades" (concluded); Shakespeare, The Merchant
of Venice, Act 1 

10/03 Thursday--Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Acts 1 and 2


 

10/08 Tuesday--Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Acts 2 and 3; last day to drop a class without a grade

10/10 Thursday--(RR) Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Acts 4 and 5


 

10/15 Tuesday--Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Acts 4 and 5

10/17 Thursday--(RR)Maupassant, "The Necklace" and "A Piece of String"


 

10/22 Tuesday--DRAFT DUE; Maupassant, "A Way to Wealth" and "The Horla";
last day for all but freshmen to drop a class with a grade of W

10/24 Thursday--Kafka, The Metamorphosis


 

10/29 Tuesday--Kafka, The Metamorphosis (concluded); workshop with draft

10/31 Thursday--PAPER 1 DUE; Euripides, Medea


 

11/05 Tuesday--Euripides, Medea

11/07 Thursday--(RR) Euripides, Medea


 

11/12 Tuesday--DRAFT DUE; in-class work with O'Connor; last day for freshmen
to drop a class with a grade of W

11/13 Thursday--(RR) O'Connor, "The Comforts of Home"


 

11/19 Tuesday--O'Connor, "The Enduring Chill"

11/21 Thursday--PAPER 2 DUE; O'Connor, "Revelation" 


 

11/26 Tuesday--(RR) Review for exam, course evaluation (bring #2 pencil)


 

FINAL EXAM Tuesday, December 3, 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.



ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING

Reading Responses

These short assignments are meant to encourage you to develop your analytical skills and to allow you to take a more active part in class discussion. At the beginning of each class meeting marked with a (RR) on the reading schedule, turn in a response to what you have read. If you do not have your response ready at the beginning of class, do not give it to me later in the day. Likewise, I will not accept a response if you are not going to be in class or if you arrive at the end of the class. All responses must be typed.


 

I will provide a specific prompt I want you to respond to. If all goes as I hope, you may be able to use one of these responses as the starting point for the slightly longer papers you will be asked to write. Each response should be between 100 and 200 words long. (The text on the sample page at the end of this syllabus is 156 words long.) 


 

Grading: Each response will be worth 10 points. As long as the entry is typed, is on topic, responds to all parts of the prompt, is free from factual error, and meets the minimum length requirement, you will automatically receive 7 points. The other 3 points will be given on the basis of content and presentation. I'll be as generous as I can with those points--the writing doesn't need to be polished, but edit out major sentence errors (fragments, comma splices, run-ons) and run a spell check. A response that is not typed will receive no more than five points. 

Drafts

I'll ask that you submit a typed draft about a week before the paper is due. The draft is meant to give you a chance to think through your approach to the topic that you will be writing about. My comments on the draft will be focused on your ideas and ways you might develop them further as you continue writing. If you submit a typed draft of at least 500 words at the specified time, you will receive the full number of points available. Those points have no relation to the grade the final version of the paper will receive. 

Papers

Each paper will be 750-1000 words long (approximately 3-4 typed pages). Papers will be analytical or interpretive, using evidence from the text to support your analysis or interpretation.  Grading Criteria for papers

Final Exam

The final exam will be used to wrap up the course, probably by focusing on the goals of General Education. You will be able to use the texts we have read and your notes.