Sample Syllabus 3

English 220: Principles of Literary Study
Section 21, Spring 2002, Murray 114, TTh 8

Alex Bain
Murray Hall 027
Office Hrs: Murray 101A, Th 6:15-7:15 and by appt.
Office Phone: 732-932-8538
email: abain72@yahoo.com

Goals of the Course
English 220 is a course in the techniques of narrative analysis, with the primary goal of helping English majors become better critical readers of both prose fiction and the theoretical contexts surrounding fictional narratives. We will therefore focus primarily on several fundamental practices of critical reading:

--paying attention not only to the impressions and ideas that we receive and develop as we read, but also to the specific strategies, devices, and methods which produce those impressions and ideas (even beyond the intentions of the author);

--reading not only for plot, character analysis, and theme, but also for the structures which determine those elements and set them in motion across a field of other textual/social elements (e.g., cultures, ideologies, national literary traditions);

--exploring the ways in which literary criticism aids and complicates our reading practices and our approach to the nature, structures, challenges, and pleasures of fiction.

In addition, 220 is designed to provide intensive experience in class discussion and critical writing. To achieve this, we'll focus on a fairly limited set of texts and read them slowly and carefully. We'll explore several critical contexts and methods in some detail, pose questions to the texts and to one another in our discussions, and do a good deal of writing.

Required Texts (all available at Recto & Verso Books, 98 Albany St.)
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein [1831 version] (Oxford World's Classics)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables [1851] (Penguin)
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man [1916] (Penguin)
Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost [2000] (Vintage)
Xeroxes (available from me): Ben Rice, "The Specks in the Sky"; Edgar Allen Poe, "The Purloined Letter"; Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Minister's Black Veil"; Virginia Woolf, "Kew Gardens"; Jorge Luis Borges, "The Garden of Forking Paths"; Critical Terms Packet

I recommend using the editions given above. Whichever edition of Frankenstein you get, be sure it uses the 1831 version of the text.

Course Requirements
3 Papers [5-7 pp. each]: 75% [of total grade]
3 Responses [2 pp. each]: 15%
Attendance; Participation; Additional Writing: 10%. Consistently poor performance in this area will be disproportionately weighted against your final grade.
One appearance at my office hours...though you can come as often as you like.
*You must successfully complete all assigned work to pass the course.*

Schedule
Tues. 1/22 Introduction
Thurs. 1/24 Critical Terms I: "A Story-Shaped World"; Rice; In-Class Writing

Tues. 1/29 Poe; Hawthorne
Thurs. 1/31 Critical Terms II: "Story-Shaped Readers"; Response #1 due

Tues. 2/5 Woolf; Borges
Thurs. 2/7 The Short Narrative, concluded; In-Class Writing

Tues. 2/12 Frankenstein (all book divisions TBA)
Thurs. 2/14 Critical Terms III: "The Self in Language and Narrative"; Response #2 due

Tues. 2/19 Frankenstein
Thurs. 2/21 Frankenstein

Tues. 2/26 Frankenstein
Thurs. 2/28 Critical Terms IV: "Discourses..."; Response #3 due

Tues. 3/5 Seven Gables
Thurs. 3/7 Seven Gables

Tues. 3/12 Seven Gables
Thurs. 3/14 Seven Gables; Paper #1 due

3/18-3/22 SPRING BREAK

Tues. 3/26 Portrait
Thurs. 3/28 Critical Terms V: "Imaginative Geographies"

Tues. 4/2 Portrait
Thurs. 4/4 Portrait

Tues. 4/9 Portrait
Thurs. 4/11 Critical Terms VI: "Knowing, Narrating, Ending"

Tues. 4/16 Portrait; Paper #2 due
Thurs. 4/18 Anil's Ghost

Tues. 4/23 Anil's Ghost
Thurs. 4/25 Anil's Ghost

Tues. 4/30 Anil's Ghost
Thurs. 5/2 Mandatory Draft Workshop on Paper #3; Conclusions

Mon. 5/6 Paper #3 due in my mailbox by 5PM

Policies
1. Written Work. You will write 3 Papers for this course, as well as three Responses and some In-class Writings. Each Paper will count for 25% of your final grade; the complete percentages are listed above, as are the page requirements. All written assignments done outside of class must be typed in double-spaced, 12-pt. Times font, proofread and spell-checked, stapled, titled (no title pages), and handed in on time. Late assignments will be penalized 1/2-letter grade per day (not class). Extensions will not normally be granted except in instances of family emergency or severe, documented illness. When possible, please arrange such extensions with me before the due date. I will not accept papers emailed to me. Written work turned in late will not receive comments. In-class written work missed cannot be made up without documentation of absence.

2. Attendance. Three unexcused absences will affect your grade; more than five absences is automatic grounds for failure-REGARDLESS OF REASON. If outside circumstances cause you to miss more than 5 classes, you must consult your Dean to work out a solution. This is a late class. It will begin promptly so that it can end on time. Being more than 10 minutes late to class will count as 1/2 of an absence, as will leaving early, unless previously approved by me.

3. Participation. This is a discussion class. Active, responsible participation will help your grade and your understanding; lack of participation, as noted above, will hurt. Please be prepared to articulate questions, pose problems, offer readings, and engage with your peers and with me on a fairly regular basis. Participation also means being willing to share your written work with the class and to comment on the work of others. The fundamental way to ensure lively and productive classes is by...

4. Keeping up with the reading. Short stories and Critical Terms material should be read multiple times before class. Read the packet with special care, grappling with key terms and exploring their relation to what we're reading at the moment and to what we've already covered. We will discuss roughly 1/4 of each novel on each day. If it begins to look as if people aren't doing their best to keep up with the reading, I will use quizzes and additional In-Class Writings to assure preparedness.

5. Plagiarism. You will receive a handout on the University's plagiarism policy within the next week. Read it and be sure you understand the definition of plagiarism. Anyone caught committing academic fraud will be turned over to his or her Dean.

FOR THURSDAY 1/24
Please write the following information on the notecard I've provided and return it to me. If you don't want your phone # distributed to the class, note this on the card.

Name-and what you prefer to be called
Local phone # (Contact # you're willing to share with the class)
Other # where I can reach you in an emergency (e.g., home) [won't be distributed]
e-mail address
Where you're from-in NJ, or elsewhere, or both
What year and college you're in
Previous English courses taken and area(s) of interest in and outside the major
Previous writing courses taken, along with any "non-academic" writing interests
Last book you've read; last movie you've seen