EN222, Introduction to Literature
Section F, MWF 9:00-9:50, meets in Thogmorton 208
Fayette, Main Campus
Fall 2018
Instructor: Bob Boon
Email: rboon@centralmethodist.edu Office: CU 425 Hours: MWF 12:00-12:50
CMU MISSION STATEMENT: Central Methodist University prepares students to make a difference in the world by emphasizing academic and professional excellence, ethical leadership, and social responsibility.
COURSE DESCRIPTION (PREREQUISITES AND COREQUISITES): This course examines ways of understanding the meaning of character in human life through the study of literature. All sections will introduce students to fiction, poetry, and drama, but each section will be designed around each instructor’s chosen theme-based readings or around a general introduction to literature. Prerequisite: EN120 or EN110/111.
TEXTBOOKS:
The Norton Introduction to Literature, 12th ed. ISBN: 9780393938913
OBJECTIVES/STUDENT LEARNER OUTCOMES:
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
Recognize and respond to a variety of literary genres.
Understand and engage in the process of literary analysis.
Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, and creative-/critical-thinking.
Consider the historical, linguistic, and cultural contexts in which the literature was written and discuss how the literature functions within those contexts.
Better understand yourself as a reader, having (re)examined your personal, political, and cultural concerns.
Develop your understanding of human nature in order to assess issues and solve problems from a variety of perspectives
DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS
Short story essay: Though we will do much informal writing about short stories, for this paper please write a more formal essay analyzing one of the stories from the choices I’ll give you. For this essay, we will focus on character. This is not a research exercise—I’m interested in your careful reading and interpretation of the story itself. 3 pages, typed, double-spaced.
Film project/presentations: This is a group project. I’ll ask you to choose a movie from a list, watch it, consult with your group, and present your ideas to the class. We will mostly focus on plot structures in this exercise. Aim for a 15 minute presentation. Do, if possible, show a short clip of the film to illustrate a key idea. Please also turn in an individual, 1-page overview of your ideas about this film.
Poetry group presentations: This is a group project. I’ll provide a list of poets and help you get sorted into groups. Your goal is to research and then present the class with an account of the poet’s life and writing career, and share one or more poems with the class. Our prime goal here is to encourage an appreciation of kinds of poetry. Aim for a 15 minute presentation.
Go see a performance! Please make plans to attend a live performance at the Little Theater. Alt-plans, if you just can’t get there—I’ll give you some other choices at Stephens College and at MU. Or, you might go see a film at the True False Film Festival. After watching the performance, please write a one page review of what you’ve seen. Due by the end of Week 14.
Inscape activity: I’ll hand out various editions of Inscape, and ask everyone to read and report on at least one piece of writing in each (poem, story, drama). Please turn in a 1-page overview of what you find and your reaction.
Analysis of a drama: Please write an analysis of one/more of the plays we are reading in class. I’ll provide a specific list of questions to work from. 3 pages.
GRADING
Assessment of Student Learning:
Your final grade in the class will be largely determined from these activities:
Short story essay 20 points
Film project/presentation 20
Poet presentation 20
Go see a performance! 10
Inscape 10
Analysis of a drama 20
In-class writing/activities, as time permits. Points open-ended
Grading Scale:
100%-90% = A 69%-60% = D
89%-80% = B 59%/below = F
79%-70% = C
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES POLICY: “Central Methodist University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or federally defined disability/state defined handicap ("disability"). This includes but is not limited to recruitment and admission of students, educational programs, services, activities, financial aid, and scholarship programs. The University complies with all federal and state non-discrimination requirements.”
The procedures, described in the university’s catalog, are intended to guide and assist faculty, staff, and students in complying with this policy and in determining reasonable accommodations to be made for the federally defined disability claimed. All materials and information regarding disabilities will be governed by the University’s normal policies regarding privacy.
To request reasonable accommodations for a disability, students must fill out and submit the application and information forms and provide professional documentation of the disability (These forms can be found at http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/learning-teaching/disability-accommodations.php). The information must be received by the staff of the Center for Learning and Teaching before reasonable accommodations are provided. Please see the website for the Center for Learning and Teaching for more information (http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/learning-teaching/ )
CLASS CONDUCT: In class, we need to be alert to being civil and courteous to others. Partly this means being prepared for the day’s work; partly this means staying reasonably focused on our activities. So, you shouldn’t be on Facebook or Snapchat or Twitter or whatever other social media, not even texting, during class. No earplugs. Do use your iPad, but if you abuse the privilege, you may be asked to leave class and not return until we meet with your advisor.
ATTENDANCE: Regular attendance is not only expected, but is vital to academic success. We will have activities every class that add to the overall learning experience. In general, except for official school activities, I do not excuse any absences. However, please let me know if there are exceptional circumstances.
Like every teacher, I expect everyone to be in class each day and to arrive on time. And because this class depends on your active participation, it’s especially important that you be here to contribute. Of course, I understand that sometimes the circumstances of life may cause you to miss class (and maybe even to be a little late once or twice, but surely not every day). If you miss more than eight classes, however, your chances of getting at least a D will be in jeopardy, and so I reserve the right to drop you from the class, lower your final grade, at my discretion, or fail you in the course. In general, except for official school activities, I do not excuse any absences. However, please let me know if there are exceptional circumstances.
Tardiness: If you are more than 10 minutes late, you are simply absent. The same applies for leaving before the class is over.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: I tend to make frequent use of the Announcements in myCMU. You are responsible for information and course materials in the Announcements.
MAKE-UP AND LATE WORK: We have a fairly tight schedule, and so a caution—late work will put you at many disadvantages throughout the course, not only in terms of grades. Not being prepared is more than a little rude to the group and class members who depend on your active contribution. So, I do reserve the right to penalize or refuse entirely any late work throughout the semester. Do not email papers without asking me first.
WRITING CENTER: Please take advantage of the Center throughout the semester. This extra attention to your writing can make a significant difference in what you learn about writing. Schedule appointments here: http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/english/writingcenter.php
COURSE SCHEDULE: This schedule is subject to change or modification, though hopefully we will stay close to this outline. Readings should be done prior to class. Note that short stories are mostly listed online, with pdf files. If you have a device that can reliably access these, great; if not, you might find a way to print the stories. I’ll decide on specific poems later, when I know you all a bit better.
Week 1 (August 20-24)
Course introduction
“Girl” and “Story of an Hour” (this once, don’t read these ahead of time)
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”/749
“Hills Like White Elephants”/784
“The Jewelry”/821
Week 2 (August 27-31)
“The Things They Carried”/711
“Shiloh”/811
“Cathedral”/32
“Where are you going…”/125
“The Veldt”/314
“Meet the President!”/326
Week 3 (September 3-7)
M. Labor Day
“Trifles” (don’t read this before class)
“The Yellow Wallpaper”/673
“Jesus Shaves”/488
Week 4 (September 10-14)
“Sonny’s Blues”/93
“A & P”/163
set up Group Movie Projects
“A Rose for Emily”/778
“The Birth-Mark”/365
“Volar”/294
“Good Country People”/572
“Puppy”/181
Week 5 (Week 5 (September 17-21)
Group Movie Project presentations
W and F—no class. I’ll be on the Missouri River
Week 6 (September 24-28)
Group Movie Project presentations
Group Movie Project presentations
Short story essay due / Poetry—to be arranged
Week 7 (October 1-5)
Poetry—to be arranged
Week 8 (October 8-12)
Poetry—to be arranged // set up groups for Poet presentations
Week 9 (October 15-19)
M. Fall Break—no classes
Poetry—to be arranged
Week 10 (October 22-26)
Poet presentations
Poet presentations
Poet presentations
Week 11 (October 29-November 2)
Film: Much Ado about Nothing (1993, 112 minutes)
Continue Much Ado
Finish Much Ado
Week 12 (November 5-9)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act I-II
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act IV
Week 13 (November 12-16)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V / begin A Raisin in the Sun
continue A Raisin in the Sun
finish A Raisin in the Sun
Thanksgiving Break
Week 14 (November 26-30)
to be arranged…
A day with the CMU literary magazine, Inscape
Week 15 (December 3-7)
to be arranged…
F. Analysis of a drama essay due