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English 202:

World Literature II

Fall 2006

Dr. Gavin Richardson

Room: BAC 43; Time: 9:25-10:40 TR

Office: A-17; Office Phone: 661-5317

Office Hours: 1:00-2:00 MWF and by appointment

E-mail: grichard@uu.edu

Pre-Requisites: English 111, 112

Homepage: http://www.uu.edu/personal/grichard/

Lawall, Sarah, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 1650-The Twentieth Century.  2nd ed. Package 1 (Vols. D, E, & F). New

    York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001.

Course Description:

nglish 202 will introduce you to a number of masterpieces from a variety of cultures, beginning with the Enlightenment in Europe and continuing to the present day. Our most basic goal is to read and enjoy some great literature, but English 202 is also designed to allow you to cultivate your own intellectual interests in the world around you.

Union University’s highest mission is to integrate faith and learning, and English 202 will offer you many opportunities to do so. By examining the literary expression of other faiths we may better understand what makes Christianity distinctive, and by examining the influence of Christianity upon literature, we may come to understand the important role Christianity has played in firing the artistic imagination of the Western world. In English 202, “religio et eruditio” is more than a motto.

Finally, this class is designed to help you read analytically and express your ideas more successfully in speech and writing. In order to achieve these goals you must make a significant commitment to this course. Your reading load will average between 15-30 pages per class meeting, so you need to budget your time accordingly. Coming to class well prepared and willing to discuss the assigned material will make English 202 a better experience for everyone.

For those of you pursuing your teaching certification, this course will help you:

Ø                   Emphasize the social, philosophical, aesthetic, and historical dimensions of literature.

Ø                   Understand regional, colloquial, cultural, and national diversity in language and literature.

Ø                   Know a wide range of literature from many periods and various genres and relate that knowledge to class reading and class writing.

Ø                   Make connections among various literary selections and between literature and other fine arts.

Ø                   Relate a wide range of print and visual texts, both classical and contemporary, to students’ lives.

ATTENDANCE:

You may not earn an A with more than 2 unexcused absences.

You may not earn a B with more than 4 unexcused absences.

You may not earn a C with more than 6 unexcused absences.

You may not earn a D with more than 8 unexcused absences.

If you are absent while representing Union in an official capacity, you may have this absence excused with a written statement from an appropriate authority.  If you are absent due to illness, I will excuse the absence provided that a physician or nurse provides a statement saying that you were too ill to attend class.  Even excessive excused absences may prevent you from fulfilling basic requirements of this course, so please stay healthy! 

EVALUATION:

Exam 1..........................................................................................20%

Exam 2..........................................................................................20%

Exam 3 (Final) .............................................................................25%

Essay..............................................................................................25%

Discussion questions and participation..........................................10%

The grading scale for this course is detailed in the Union University Undergraduate Catalogue (A 95-100; B 85-94; C 75-84; D 65-74; F 64 and below). All assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments are penalized 1/3 letter for each school (not class) day late. You are responsible for getting me your papers regardless of unfavorable circumstances such as computer glitches. All work must be submitted in order to pass the course. Notify me if accommodations need to be made for disabilities of any kind.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:

Plagiarism can be broadly defined as using the ideas or words of others in your paper without proper acknowledgment. Using information from other term papers, websites, or even standard research tools without source citation is a serious breach of academic integrity, and ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism is no excuse. When in doubt, please consult your instructor about the appropriate use of quotation marks, paraphrase, and parenthetical citation. Flagrant acts of plagiarism (e.g., downloading all or portions of a paper from the Internet without proper citation, handing in the work of another as your own, repeated instances of plagiarism, etc.) shall result in a failing grade for the course and possible further disciplinary action taken by the University. Punishment for other forms of plagiarism may range from failing the assignment to failing the course. Union University “upholds the highest standards of honesty” (2002-2003 Undergraduate Catalogue 22), and the English department’s policy regarding plagiarism is an attempt to preserve these standards.

CRITICAL ESSAY:

You will write one 3-5 pp., typed and double-spaced critical essay in this course. Details about this assignment can be found on the forthcoming assignment sheet.

EXAMS:

There will be three exams which will consist of objective and short essay questions. You will have 75 minutes to complete each of the first two exams, and two hours to complete the Final. Major sections on previous exams have been: 1) Dates; 2) Identification and discussion of critical terms and characters; and 3) Identification and discussion of key passages. There is no spoon-feeding in this class; when we pause to discuss a critical term, a key passage, or prominent character, that’s your cue to pay close attention and take a few notes. The final will also feature a long essay which will likely be cumulative, as required by the University. There will be no alternates given for these exams. If you anticipate that an excused absence will conflict with an exam, please speak with me well ahead of time. You are responsible for furnishing your own bluebooks (exam booklets), which can be purchased at Lifeway

STUDY QUESTIONS:

In lieu of quizzes, I will assign a study question per class meeting to help guide your reading and make sure all students are keeping up. On occasion I will ask to see your responses, which will be graded on a √-,√, and √+ basis, roughly equivalent to an C, B, and A. However, the Study Question is not merely a policing measure; often the question will deal with a core concern, a critical term, or a key passage which will help you better engage the text and which you will see again on an exam or as part of a writing assignment option.  Study questions also serve as springboards into class discussion. If you are absent on the day I take up these questions, you may hand in a late assignment only if your absence is excused.

CELL PHONE ETIQUETTE:

This class is a “No Cell Phone Zone.” Please turn off all cell phones.  If you must have your phone on, please set it to buzz/vibrate.

EMAIL:

I often use email to communicate information regarding this course to the class at large, and I email the class via a Webadvisor option that allows me to send a note to all student accounts at once. You should regularly check your student email account, or you should make sure that all Union email is forwarded to an account you do check (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.). See computing services on how to forward email.

ABOUT OUR TEXTS:

A required text means precisely that—required. Each student is required to have his or her own copy of the required textbook in the appropriate edition. The admittedly high cost of textbooks has prompted some students to consider book sharing. However, in an English course, such a plan is not good in theory, and even worse in practice. I am skeptical that a shared book can serve two students well, especially when one student has it at midnight on Monday and the other hasn’t finished his/her reading yet for the next day.

Furthermore, your course text provides you with more than just the subject matter. Each student ideally will engage in dialogue with the textbook, jotting notes, questions, reactions in the margins, not merely highlighting passages. If your textbook pages are clean and blank, you’re doing something wrong. A shared book does not allow for this individuated engagement with the text. In college, this is how we read—with pen or pencil in hand. If you’re concerned about the buyback potential of your book, use a pencil. But hopefully you will be more concerned about how much you’re learning in this class, which is why you came to Union instead of going to a much cheaper university a few miles down the road. Does it make sense to pay $20,000/ year to go to college, only to go cheap on the main thing, your course material?

While I am sympathetic to the cash-strapped student (I was one too not long ago), I do require each student to have his or her own textbook. After the third day of class, failure to possess your own copy of the required text will result in a 5 point participation grade penalty for each day you do not have a book.

MISCELLANY:

As per a departmental requirement, I keep all exams and papers for one year. You should also keep a copy of all out-of-class work in case I lose anything. This syllabus and first-day handout may be revised as necessary. I encourage you to call me in my office or at home (668-4888; 8:00 am-10:00 pm, please) if you need anything. If you have any concerns about this course, don’t wait until the last minute to voice them—talk to me while we can take steps to make this course a positive experience for you. My office, A-17, is located in PAC in the glassed-in Humanities Vestibule near the art gallery and wellness center, across from the language lab. Once you enter the humanities area my office is down the second corridor to the left, the last office on the left.

ENGLISH 202: WORLD LITERATURE II

Dr. Richardson

FALL 2006 SYLLABUS

Read all relevant author/text headnotes prior to the work on the syllabus.

Note: All PowerPoint lectures can be accessed from any network computer; simply open the Richardson folder on the O: drive.  To print multiple slides per page, click on FILE>PRINT and the choose “Handouts” at the “Print What:” menu option.

“Omnia disce, videbis postea nihil esse superfluum.”

                                                         --Hugh of St. Victor

[“Learn everything. Afterward you will find that nothing has been superfluous.”]