[This Syllabus Still Under Construction. Use with Caution, Frequently Conferring with Your Professor.—RWH, 8/27/06]

 

ENGL 2145-02

Fall 2006

W 6:30-9:15p, EB235

Professor Robert W. Hill

Office Hours in EB 117: Monday/Wednesday, 12-12:20p, 6-6:20p, often online, and by appointment.

Phone and voicemail: (770) 423-6346

E-mails: rhill@kennesaw.edu AND­­ rhill41@gmail.com (always send to both addresses)

RWH website at KSU: http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rhill

WebCT: http://vista.kennesaw.edu

Nicenet (CLASS KEY = 6Z73225EZ4): http://www.nicenet.org  

 

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH STUDIES. This course introduces students to the reading, writing, research, and critical strategies essential to the KSU English and English Education majors. The course draws connections among the four content areas in the English Department (Literature, Language, Writing, and Theory) and focuses on their relationship to broader social and personal contexts, enabling students to make informed choices about their program of study and their careers. If you have already taken either Engl 2140 or 2150, do not take this class.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS:

 

Bishop, Elizabeth. “At the Fishhouses.” 25 Nov. 2005  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15209.

---. “In the Waiting Room.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15211.

---. “One Art.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15212.

Brooks, Gwendolyn. “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi. Meanwhile,
a Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://poetlaureate.il.gov/brooks_bronzeville.cfm.

---. “The Lovers of the Poor.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://poetlaureate.il.gov/brooks_lovers.cfm.

---. “We Real Cool.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://poetlaureate.il.gov/brooks_we.cfm.

Chesnutt, Charles W. The Marrow of Tradition. 1901. 13 Nov. 2005 http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=49181.

Dunbar, David, and Brad Reagan. Debunking9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up to the Facts. New York: Hearst, 2006. ISBN 158816635X.

Edson, Margaret. Wit. New York: Faber, 1999. ISBN 0571198775.

Gibaldi, Joseph.  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed.  New York: MLA, 2003. ISBN 0-87352-986-3.

Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2005. ISBN 0131344420.

Hopkins, Gerard Manley. “Pied Beauty.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/134.html.

---. “The Windhover.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://www.bartleby.com/122/12.html.

Shakespeare, William. Sonnet XXIX [“When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes”]. 25 Nov. 2005 http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem1855.html.

---. Sonnet LXXIII [“That time of year thou mayst in me behold”]. 25 Nov. 2005 http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem1864.html.

---. Sonnet CXXX [“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”]. 25 Nov. 2005 http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem1873.html.

Melville, Herman. “Benito Cereno.” 1856. 13 Nov. 2005 http://books.mirror.org/melville/benitocereno/.

Mississippi Masala. Dir. Mira Nair. Writ. Sooni Taraporevala.  Perf. Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury. Goldwyn, 1991.

Ohmann, Richard. “Teaching and Studying Literature at the End of Ideology” from English in America: A Radical View of the Profession (New York: Oxford UP, 1976]. 27 Aug. 2007 http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/ohmann.html.

Richter, David, ed. Falling into Theory: Conflicting Views on Reading Literature. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin’s, 1999. ISBN 0312201567.

Smoke Signals. Dir. Chris Eyre. Writ. Sherman Alexie. Perf. Adam Beach, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard. Miramax, 1998.

Stevens, Wallace. “The Idea of Order at Key West.” 13 Nov. 2005 http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Poetry/Stevens/The_Idea_of_Order_at_Key_West.html.

---. “Of Modern Poetry.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://skreak.com/stevens.php.

---. “The Plain Sense of Things.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://skreak.com/stevens.php.

---. “Sunday Morning.” 25 Nov. 2005 http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Poetry/Stevens/sunday_morning.html.

 

RECOMMENDED TEXT:

Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2002. ISBN 0-312-39749-6.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:  

  1. Focusing on the four content areas in the English Department (Literature, Language, Writing, and Theory) and their relation to the broader context of English Studies and its interpretive practices, this course examines formal conventions of three major literary genres (poetry, fiction, and drama) and many of the theoretical and critical strategies that inform contemporary literary criticism. 
  2. In addition to emphasizing the reading, writing, research, and analytical skills vital to a major in English, the course also addresses various disciplinary issues, such as the construction of literary value; the roles that gender, ethnicity, race, and sexual orientation play in reading, teaching, and interpreting texts; and connections among the humanities, politics, and the so-called “real world.” 
  3. With the pervasiveness of electronic media in our contemporary culture, we are also obligated to practice at least minimal competence with computers and computer research in this course—thus, our required online response writing.
  4. Throughout the semester, students will be encouraged to recall their own experiences in English classes and to reflect upon just what it means to be an English/English Education major.
  5. Simply, to enjoy the study of English and the exchange of ideas and information with other members of an academic literary—that is, reading—community.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

During the course of the semester, students will:

(1)  perform a “close reading,” or explication, of a literary work;

(2)  write a critical essay;

(3)  take three objective tests on genre-specific and literary/critical terms;

(4)  write a documented research essay;

(5)  engage in weekly online response writings; and

(6)  present an oral report for the final exam. 

In addition to these requirements, students are expected to read the assigned materials in their entirety, to participate actively in class discussion, and to attend class regularly.  The requirements break down as follows:

·                 The Close Reading—600-750 words, formatted and documented in accordance with MLA style—asks you to analyze a poem in accordance with the principles and practice of New Criticism.  These principles and their application will be discussed in class.

·                 The Critical Essay you’ll write this semester will analyze a text from a particular theoretical/critical perspective and employ at least two relevant secondary sources.  The essay should be 1200-1500 words, formatted and documented in accordance with MLA style. I will suggest some topics for this essay, but, upon consultation with me, you may pursue one of your own.

·          The Objective Tests will cover generic and critical terms/vocabulary/nomenclature/jargon (e.g., personification, point of view, deconstruction, discourse community) described in your textbooks and in class discussion.  These will be short-answer tests.

·                 The Research Essay you’ll write this semester, employing at least three relevant secondary sources, should be 1800-2000 words formatted and documented in accordance with the MLA style.  In it, you will explore at length one of the theoretical, pedagogical, or professional issues raised in class.  The topic you select will depend upon your own particular interests: if, for example, you are interested in literary theory, you might take a theoretically informed approach to a literary text; if you are an English education major, you might discuss how one or more of the issues discussed in class affects teaching.

·                 For the Final Exam, you will make a brief presentation of the substance of your research essay and your reflections on the experience of researching and composing it.  I will distribute a guideline for this report shortly before the date of the final; the presentation itself should be no less than three and no more than five minutes in length.  A short written statement (no longer than one page) of your presentation is due on the date scheduled for our final.

·                 Class Participation is a vital part of your learning experience and crucial to the success of this course as a whole.  Our class will be a collaborative enterprise, with students actively contributing to our classroom community’s understanding of the texts and topics we’ll explore throughout this semester.  Obviously, one cannot contribute much to discussion without first having read the material, nor can one participate at all without attending class.  Thus class participation—raising questions or responding to discussion, offering answers, thoughts, or suggestions—together with REGULAR ATTENDANCE, will be important factors in determining your final grade for the course.  Two or more unexcused absences constitute grounds for lowering your final grade, as does excessive TARDINESS or early departures; more than three absences, excused or unexcused, will result in a failing grade for the course. In the event that you are late, it is your responsibility to inform me after class.  Otherwise, you will be counted absent.

Final Grades will be factored as follows:

Close reading                          10%
Critical essay                          15%
Research Essay                       30%
Objective Tests                       15%
Response Writing                   10%
Class Participation                 10%
Final Exam                             10%

ACADEMIC HONESTY & CLASSROOM CONDUCT: 

Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University’s policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards.  Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an “informal” resolution by a faculty member, perhaps resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct’s minimum one-semester suspension requirement or worse. (Pertinent hyperlinks to more university information on this subject are readily visible on my main web page: http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rhill).

ENGLISH STUDIES: HISTORY AND DISCIPLINE

Focus:  What is English Studies?  When did English become a “discipline”?  What does it mean to “study” English, and how is the KSU English major organized?

First Day of Class: Stuff and tone

Week 1 (August 23):  

1.     David Richter, “Why We Read: The University, the Humanities, and the Province of Literature”

2.     Bring copy of KSU undergraduate catalogue

3.     For next week’s class: (a) email to me info about which three essays from Richter that you will read immediately; (b) browse Harmon’s Handbook and bring your list of recommended items for us all.

STUDYING ENGLISH: WHAT AND HOW WE READ

Focus: What is “language,” and how does it work?  What kinds of books do English majors read, and why?  What is “the canon,” and who gets to decide?  Are there “right ways” to read a text?

Week 2 (August 30):  

1.     Richter, “What We Read: Aesthetic and Political Issues in the Canon Wars”

2.      Henry Louis Gates, Jr., “Canon-Formation, Literary History, and the Afro-American Tradition: From the Seen to the Told”

3.      Dennis R. Preston, “Myth 17: They Speak Really Bad English Down South and in New York City”

4.      Richter, “How We Read: Interpretive Communities and Meaning”

5.      Patrocinio Schweickart, “Reading Ourselves: Toward a Feminist Theory of Reading”

6.     Stanley Fish, “Is There a Text in the Class?”

7.     Davida Charney, “The Effect of Hyper-Text on the Process of Reading and Writing”

POETRY

Focus: What kind of language is “poetry,” and how does it work?  Are there terms, techniques, and conventions unique to the genre?  How shall we read, write, and talk about poetry?

Assignment: Objective Test #1

Week 3 (September 6):

Week 4 (September 13):    

READING CLOSELY: POETRY AND NEW CRITICISM

Focus: What is a “close reading,” and how is it done? What makes a close reading different from any other kind of reading?  What’s “new” about New Criticism?

Assignment: Close Reading Essay

 Week 5 (September 20):

STRATEGIES FOR READING AND INTERPRETING TEXTS:

LITERARY THEORY

Focus: Why “theory,” and what is it for?  What’s the difference between literary theory and literary criticism?  What does literary theory have to do with reading and writing about literature?

Week 6 (September 27):  

  1. Richter, “Introduction: Falling Into Theory”
  2. Susan Sontag, “Against Interpretation” (2118 ff.)
  3. Andrew P. Debicki, “New Criticism and Deconstruction: Two Attitudes in Teaching Poetry” (2119 ff.)
  4. Peter Rabinowitz, “On Close Readings” (2122 ff.)
  5. Annette Kolodny, “On the Commitments of Feminist Criticism” (2118 ff.)

FICTION

Focus: What is fiction?  Are there terms, techniques, and conventions unique to the genre?  What is the difference between “fiction” and “non-fiction”?  How shall we read, write, and talk about fiction? 

Assignment: Objective Test #2

Week 7 (October 4):  

Week 8 (October 11): October 13 = LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW WITHOUT ACADEMIC PENALTY:    

WRITING AS AN ENGLISH MAJOR

Focus: How and what do English majors write?  What are the differences between summary, explication, and analysis?  What is MLA style of citation, and how is it used?

Assignment: Critical Essay

Week 9 (October 18):    

DRAMA

Focus: What is drama?  Are there terms, techniques, and conventions unique to the genre?  What is the difference (or the relationship) between a play and its performance?  How shall we read, write, and talk about drama? 

Assignment: Objective Test #3

Week 10 (October 25): 

Week 11 (November 1): 

Week 12 (November 8):  

WRITING THE RESEARCH PAPER

Focus: What do English Majors need to know, and how can they find out?  What kinds of sources are available to English Majors?

Assignment: Research Paper

Week 13 (November 15): 

  1. Library Workshop

ENGLISH STUDIES AND INTERDISCIPLINARITY:  LITERATURE, POLITICS, AND CULTURE

Focus: How do cultural and historical conditions affect literary texts and the ways in which we read them?  What is the difference between the “literary” and the “non-literary”?  Can strategies for analyzing literary texts be applied to other forms of writing or communication, e.g., visual, electronic, or digital?

KSU FALL BREAK, November 22-26: NO KSU CLASSES

Week 14 (November 29): 

  1. George Will, “Literary Politics”
  2. Stephen Greenblatt, “The Politics of Culture”
  3. Morris Dickstein, “On the Social Responsibility of the Critic”

WRITING WORKSHOPS AND PORTFOLIOS

Week 15 (December 6—LAST DAY OF KSU FALL CLASSES): 

  1. Writing Workshops
  2. Assembling Portfolios

FINAL EXAM:
Wednesday, December 13, 5-7pm:
Oral Presentation of Research Paper

Here are several ways we’ll establish and maintain an active learning community during this semester:

(a)            Inform me immediately about your access to and skill with computer technology;

(b)            Follow our evolving syllabus at my KSU web site and its reiterations in Nicenet and WebCT;

(c)             Send a “Here I am” message to BOTH my e-mail addresses above, including your most accessible telephone number(s);

(d)            Using the Class Key that I will announce the first day (Class Key: 6Z47607E62), join our class at http://www.nicenet.org;

(e)             Using your WebCT number and PIN number, join our Web CT class at http:/courses.kennesaw.edu;

(f)              Spend at least fifteen minutes once a week online, writing thoughtful responses to our readings/viewings, class discussions, classmates’ writings, etc., being sure all the while to maintain civil, respectful, considerate rhetoric in dealing with our co-workers in this important enterprise. (I will read everything but will intrude rarely.) Do NOT duplicate responses, but you must have roughly equal numbers of responses at each site.

(g)            Meeting only twice a week, we need always to attend class unless a genuine emergency prevents (usually medical).

RESPONSE WRITING:

“Response writing” includes in-class writing assignments and online responses. These will not be graded for grammar, spelling, mechanics, etc., but for their regular, conscientious contribution to our ongoing class discussion. Bluntly, either it’s done or it isn’t. These are graded twice, A or F, at midterm and at the end of the course. Unless otherwise instructed, you should post these responses to Nicenet or WebCT for classmates’ edification and delight. Spend at least fifteen minutes twice a week online, writing thoughtful responses to our readings/viewings, class discussions, classmates’ writings, etc., being sure all the while to maintain civil, respectful, considerate rhetoric in dealing with our co-workers in this important enterprise. (I will read everything but will intrude rarely.) Do NOT duplicate responses, but you must have roughly equal numbers of responses at each site.

[I must say that it grieves me to have to lay out such prescriptive, quantitative details. Writing these responses should become second nature, proceeding from your active engagement in this conversation of scholars. When and if you think of this assignment as a task to be completed only with numerical exactitude, you have already limited the way you can be drawn into genuine exchanges with your classmates and—to speak somewhat abstractly—with ideas. Engagement is really the key—honest engagement, which will inevitably produce more than the minimum of “assignments met.” As students of yourselves as well as of subject matter, you ought to feel some obligation to think about how and why you think the way you do. Playing on the relatively safe testing-ground of academia, you’ll gain much more strength and subtlety by entering the game without the impediment of legalistic numbers-counting.—RWH, 10/17/03, ditto 8/27/06]

Response writings serve several functions in this class. They can be the basis for class discussion when they are written at the beginning of class; they can guide your preparation for the following class when they are written during or at the end of the period. Those responses written at the end can also indicate to me material that needs further explanation or development at the next meeting. I expect you always to use those writing assignments to develop your ideas and to improve and strengthen your writing abilities. They serve you as an ongoing dialogue with yourself about issues raised in the course and in the process of our ideas’ evolving in class discussions.

 

EXPECTATIONS:

I expect students to take their work seriously, to come to class prepared and willing to participate, and to treat peers and their ideas with respect.

Formal writing assignments, especially the documented essay, must demonstrate good academic writing practices as well as a serious effort to deal with writing problems that may have been pointed out in earlier written work.

In addition to my comments on your papers and in class lectures, I will be glad to work with you during office hours to facilitate your improvement as a writer. You may also go to the excellent staff in the Writing Center (located on the second floor of the English Building: 770-423-6380) to improve on those elements of the writing process that give you trouble.

I expect students to read well, think well, write well, and speak well as members of this English Studies community. And enjoy the ride.—RWH, 1/7/04 (ditto, 11/25/05, and 8/27/06).