EN 222, Fall 2019
Professor: Bob Boon
Office: Cuples 425
Office phone:
Email: rboon@centralmethodist.edu
Office Hours: MWF 11-11:50, and by appointment
COURSE INFORMATION
EN 222, C Intro to Literature
Fall 2019
Classic 100, MWF 2-2:50 pm
Final Exam Schedule: Wed. Dec 11, 1:30-3:30 pm
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION
EN222 Introduction to Literature. 3 hours. This course introduces students to the study of literature, developing essential skills in critical thinking, textual analysis, and composing in multiple modalities. Through an investigation of literary genres and/or movements, student will also explore a variety of cultural and/or historical contexts, expanding students’ engagement with, understanding of, and respect for the diverse human experience. Prerequisite: EN120 or EN110/111.
TEXTBOOK INFORMATION [all of these are required]
The Word for World is Forest. Ursula K. Le Guin. Tor Books, Second ed., 2010. ISBN-10: 9780765324641, ISBN-13: 978-0765324641
People of the Whale. Linda Hogan. W. W. Norton & Company, Reprint ed., 2009. ISBN-10: 0393335348. ISBN-13: 978-0393335347
Kindred. Octavia E. Butler. Beacon Press, 2004. ISBN-10: 0807083690, ISBN-13: 978-0807083697
A Streetcar Named Desire. Tennessee Williams. New Directions, 2004. ISBN-10: 9780811216029, ISBN-13: 978-0811216029
Virtual Light. William Gibson. Spectra, 1994. ISBN-10: 0553566067, ISBN-13: 978-0553566062
The Left Hand of Darkness. Ursula K. Le Guin. Ace, 2000. ISBN-10: 9780441007318, ISBN-13: 978-0441007318
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.
CMU LEARNING OUTCOMES
Communication (articulate, multimodal, professional)
- Students are articulate, able to speak and write clearly and effectively.
- Students are multimodal, able to interpret and express ideas through multiple modes of communication.
- Students are professional, able to adapt to and interact with others in a confident, responsible, and engaged manner.
Curiosity (discover, analyze, create)
- Students can discover, explore, and seek solutions based on accumulated knowledge and current research.
- Students can analyze, evaluate, interpret, and summarize data.
- Students can create and innovate using critical thinking and collaborative skills.
Community (serve, respect, lead)
- Students will serve others and be ethical and informed citizens.
- Students will understand and respect diversity, including other’s viewpoints, positions, and beliefs
- Students will lead creatively and collaboratively to produce positive changes in the broader world.
STUDENTS REQUIRING SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONS
Central Methodist University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual preference, 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 Center for Learning & Teaching at Central Methodist University is committed to ensuring nondiscrimination and equal access to all programs, service, and activities for qualified students with a disability. It is the responsibility of any student who wishes to claim a disability and seek an accommodation to file official documentation confirming the disability and a completed Disability Services Student Information Form with the Center of Learning and Teaching prior to seeking any accommodation based on the disability.
GRIEVANCE POLICY
Central Methodist University has established a grievance policy and process designed to provide students and others with a process to resolve potential issues. This policy and process is established to provide persons with an avenue to file a written concern and to establish a process to track and implement changes as a result of said concern. For more detailed information, consult the CLAS catalog at: http://www.centralmethodist.edu/academics/catalog/clas-catalog/policies/index.php.
If an issue cannot be solved through consultation with the faculty or division chair, students can report an incident/issue within 30 days of the event via the online web form https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?CentralMethodistUniv&layout_id=3
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND ACADEMIC CONDUCT
ACADEMIC CONDUCT: Any student found guilty of academic misconduct on any assignment, quiz or exam in this class will earn a zero for that assignment, quiz or exam. Furthermore, that student will come under the auspices of the Academic Conduct Policy of CMU. It is the student's responsibility to review and understand the CMU Academic Conduct Policy. Plagiarism falls under this code. I have no sense of humor nor forgiveness for any plagiarism. At best, plagiarized work will receive a zero and be formally reported to the Provost. Plagiarized work cannot be done over. Severe or repeated episodes of plagiarism will likely guarantee an F in the course.
“Study Guides”—from the start, let me define a special type of conduct violation for this class. I do expect students to actually read the texts. I will consider any use of study guides or online summaries (such as Cliff notes, or Sparknotes or Shmoop or blog summaries or whatever…) to be a form of academic dishonesty—whether in papers, or to “just get an idea of what’s going on,” or last minute instead of reading—any use at all will be considered a form of academic dishonesty, and may be reported to the Provost as such.
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. Film etiquette—no electronics out at all!
Do be civil—we will discuss a number of controversial issues. You certainly don’t have to agree with everyone, or with me, but we do need to discuss issues, to argue productively, not insult or name-call. But you know these things.
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 late to class, you may be marked tardy. For every 2 tardy marks, I’ll deduct 1 point from your final course grade.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
I tend to make frequent use of the Announcements in myCMU. You are responsible for information and course materials in the Announcements.
CLASS CANCELATION
If there is a weather emergency, please check the CMU website for school cancellation. If I have a personal emergency or illness, I will attempt to post that in the course 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
GRADING
We will use the standard grading scale. In general, I do not round up any grade percentages, unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
100%-90% = A
89%-80% = B
79%-70% = C
69%-60% = D
59% or below = F
ASSIGNMENTS AND POINTS BREAKDOWN
DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS
Plagiarism exercise: Please go to this website, http://www.lib.usm.edu/plagiarism_tutorial/, which contains a plagiarism tutorial. Work through the exercises, and take the test at the very end. Print that result for me, sign it, and turn it in.
Essay: Your Reading History: For this essay, please explore your experiences with reading. That is, talk about the different kinds of books and plays and poems (and other things) that you have read. Which were assigned? Which on your own? Which were painful? Which exciting? What do you hope to avoid? What do you look forward to reading? 3 pages, typed, double- spaced.
Illuminations: These will be brief (3-5 minute; perhaps a few minutes more if you have a short video to go with your information) reports on context or content related to the books we are reading. I’ll have a list for you shortly. Key for these is timeliness—we’ll need this info while we’re reading, not long afterward.
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 the movie and your ideas to the class. At least in my warped imagination, each of these movies will comment on the book that we are reading at the time. I’ve tried to schedule these in the middle of each book, so you might not totally see the relationship at the time. That’s ok. Your main goal is to give the class a clear feel for what’s going on in the film, so you do need to tell us who the characters are, where/when the story is set, and what actually happens. Aim for a 15-20 minute presentation. Do show a short clip or two from the film to illustrate a key idea (if at all possible, not a trailer). Each of you should also turn in an individual, 1-page overview of your ideas about this film.
Book Review: We will talk more about what goes into a book review, but for now, this is a group project. Each group will deal with a different book that we are reading. The book review itself should take the form of a podcast or video that your group will share with the class. These will be due a week or so after we finish reading the book in class. Key here is for each member of the group to participate, in some clear way. The group doesn’t need to all have the same opinion or ideas about the book. In fact, a dispute might be one way to frame your review. Aim for 15-20 minutes.
Responses: These are short, informal papers. These are not at all meant to be thesis-driven, 5-paragraph essays, and should equally not be simple summaries of what we have read. Instead, I’m looking for the ideas that the readings and discussions inspire. What connections do you make? What strange brainstorms thunder through your mental landscape? What serious issues in the world does a book push you to think about? Things like that. 2 pages each, typed.
Go see a performance! Please make plans to attend a live performance at the Little Theater, or another live event on campus, such as a poetry reading. 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. I’ll post announcements of approved events. These won’t include a high school performance back home.
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.
Reflection Essay: At the end of the semester, I’d like you to think back through your reading experiences in this class (and perhaps your movie experiences, as well). What have you learned? Has your history of reading shifted in any new direction? What has meant the most to you? 3-4 pages, typed.
Reading Quizzes: Ok, I hate quizzes, and consider them a waste of my time. That said, I plan to conduct this as a discussion class, which only works if a sufficient number of people have read the material every day. So…I won’t surrender on this expectation that you read, consistently. Quizzes will be a response to…not enough preparation. It would be great if we never have a single one. It would be sad, but possible, for us to have quizzes on 40+ days… Hmm…
N. b., Paper format: all papers should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, and stapled. I prefer Times New Roman. Page lengths: when a paper assignment asks, for example, for 2 pages, that means two full pages; a partial second page will not get full credit. Yes, go find a stapler!
GRADING
Assessment of Student Learning:
Your final grade in the class will be largely determined from these activities:
Plagiarism exercise: 3
Essay on Reading history 15
Illuminations 5
Responses (3 x 15 each) 45
Book Review 20
Film project/presentation 20
Go see a performance! 10
Inscape 10
Reflection essay 20
In-class writing/activities, as time permits
Reading Quizzes (0-45) Points open-ended
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. When we are reading a section of any of our textbooks, please bring your book to that class. Outside readings will be given as copies in class, or as web links. Notice that I haven’t included the grammar chapters on the schedule. We will address grammar, depending on general class needs.
Week 1 (August 19-23)
Course introduction
The Word for World is Forest, Chapter 1 // Sign up for Films and Illuminations
The Word for World…,Chapter 2 // Sign up for Book Reviews
Week 2 (August 26-30)
Film presentation: Apocalypse Now
Continue The Word for World is Forest
Week 3 (September 2-6)
M. Labor Day, no classes
The Word for World is Forest—Book Review
People of the Whale
Week 4 (September 9-13)
Film presentation: Whale Rider
People of the Whale
Kindred
Week 5 (September 16-20)
Film presentation: Beloved
Kindred
People of the Whale—Book Review
Week 6 (September 23-27)
M and W, no class. I’ll be on the Missouri River. See paddlemo.org
Kindred—Book Review / A Streetcar Named Desire
Week 7 (September 30-October 4)
A Streetcar Named Desire
Film presentation: Thelma and Louise
Week 8 (October 7-11)
Film: Much Ado about Nothing
Week 9 (October 14-18)
M. Fall Break, no classes
Much Ado about Nothing
Film presentation: Shakespeare in Love
Week 10 (October 21-25)
A Streetcar Named Desire—Book Review
Virtual Light
Week 11 (October 28-November 1)
Virtual Light
Film presentation: [I can’t decide. Pick one: Matrix, Inception, Ready Player One, Eagle Eye]
Week 12 (November 4-6)
Film: tbd…
Week 13 (November 11-15)
The Left Hand of Darkness
Virtual Light—Book Review
Week 14 (November 18-22)
Film presentation: Boy Erased
The Left Hand of Darkness
Thanksgiving Break
Week 15 (December 2-6)
Inscape day
Last day to turn in Performance paper
Reflection essay due