Fall 2001 
12:30 TTh
Dr. Limouze <henry.limouze@wright.edu>
116 HS

Objectives: 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 take quizzes on the reading, write short reading responses, take midterm and a final exam, and write a short paper.

1. sharpen critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as a basis for life-long learning;
2. cultivate an awareness of the moral and ethical insight needed for participation in the human community;
3. 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 Goals: 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 General Education. 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. If you receive a C or above in the course, you should receive writing-intensive credit.

Class schedule

9/13 Introduction to the Course: Narrative and Character

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9/18 Edgar Allan Poe, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (the first "detective story" ever written), "The Gold-Bug," "The Tell-Tale Heart"

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9/25 Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb," The Final Problem" 

9/27 Sophocles, Oedipus Rex (trans. Young)

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10/2 Sophocles

10/9 Midterm

10/11 Beowulf (trans. Seamus Heaney)

Anglo Saxon Helmet

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10/16 Beowulf

10/18 Beowulf

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10/23 William Shakespeare, Hamlet 

10/25 Hamlet

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10/30 Hamlet

11/1 Hamlet

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11/6 Virginia Woolf, Monday or Tuesday: Eight Stories (complete): focus on "A Society" and "An Unwritten Novel"

11/8 Woolf, focus on "Kew Gardens" and "A Mark on the Wall"

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11/13 Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths: "Death and the Compass," "The Garden of Forking Paths," "The Library of Babel," "The House of Asterion"

11/15 Borges, "The Circular Ruins," "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote," "Funes the Memorious," "The Sect of the Phoenix"

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11/20 Borges, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," "The Immortal," "The Zahir," "The God's Script," "Borges and I" Paper Due

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11/27 --  FINAL EXAMINATION IN OUR CLASSROOM, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

There will be a reading journal and/or a quiz on the reading at least once a week. The midterm and the final will include short answer and essay questions. The paper will be a revision and expansion of one of the journal entries or quiz responses. You must attach to your paper a disk with a readable copy of your paper in electronic format (Word for Windows preferred).

Regular attendance is a requirement of this class. It will be taken nearly every day, first by a traditional roll call, later on with a sign-in sheet. Students who come late to class and miss the roll call or sign-in sheet will be counted absent.

This TTh class meets only 20 times during this quarter—if you miss only two classes, you miss 10% of the course. Therefore, I will enforce the following policy on attendance:

Academic honesty is likewise essential to the fair and successful conduct of class, and academic dishonesty will be punished. Academic dishonesty includes various kinds of cheating, copying the work of another student in a test or quiz, handing in the same or a similar paper for two or more different classes without obtaining the prior permission of all instructors, and "plagiarism."

Generally, plagiarism is defined as the use of the words or ideas of another as if they were your own. It can range from the simple incorrect citation of a source (often accidental) to the copying of an entire paper from a friend or from a printed source. Please understand that while one accidental case of incorrect citation can result in a lesser penalty, two or more "accidents" can begin to look suspicious. To avoid plagiarism you should always (1) fully document a source every time you use any words or ideas from that source, and (2) additionally use quotation marks or block quotation format whenever you directly use actual words, phrases or longer passages from a source.

Penalties for academic dishonesty can be severe; in most cases the work will receive a grade of zero. For a final assignment (like the final paper and the final exam in our class), the penalty for academic dishonesty will be a grade of F for the course.  And all cases of academic dishonesty are reported to the Office of Student Affairs.  For more information, see the University Policy on Academic Integrity, which discusses principles, processes and penalties in depth.

Because my responsibilities as Chair of the English department sometimes require me (at short notice) to meet with students and faculty or to be away from the office, it would be wise to call or email me to schedule a meeting, even one during my regular office hours. I check email every day (including weekends) so you should be able to reach me fairly quickly that way.

Changes to the syllabus, readings, schedule, and policies may be necessary during the quarter. I will try to give you plenty of warning if any change occurs.