Fall/Winter 2009-10 Department of English
ENGL 1000H: Genre, Text, Context [Precludes additional credit for FYSM 1004]
Schedule: Wednesday/Friday 16.05-17.25 Location: Please confirm on Carleton Central
Instructor: Matt Brillinger Office: 1919DT Office Hours: Wednesday, Friday 2:30-3:30 Phone: (613) 520-2600x2308 email: [email protected]
Description
What is literature for? Why do people write—and read—poems, plays and novels? One approach to answering these questions involves focusing on what literary works do, both for the individual and for society. Poems astonish and inspire; plays challenge and criticize; novels educate and amuse. Reading a range of British and American poems, plays and novels, we will analyze how literary works shape the reader and society, linking effects to causes as we explore literature’s psychological and social functions. Highlighting in turn eight aspects of fiction—structure, social criticism, characterization, genre, theme, narration, humour and cultural critique—we will begin to understand both what literature does and how it does it. This is a writing-attentive course (see definition below).
Required Texts
Inexpensive editions are available at Octopus Books, 116 Third Avenue.
J. D. Salinger, Nine Stories John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums Robert Penn Warren (ed.), Six Centuries of Great Poetry Virginia Woolf, Between the Acts Walter Mosley, Little Scarlet Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day Margaret Edson, Wit Jerzy Kosinski, Being There Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club
Schedule
FALL TERM
September 11 Introduction September 16 Form; “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” September 18 John Steinbeck; Of Mice and Men September 23 Of Mice and Men September 25 Of Mice and Men September 30 Social Criticism; “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut;” Essay #1 due October 2 Jack Kerouac; The Dharma Bums October 7 The Dharma Bums October 9 University Day at Carleton October 14 The Dharma Bums October 16 Essay Writing October 21 Neoclassicist Poetry October 23 Neoclassicist Poetry October 28 Romantic poetry October 30 Romantic poetry November 4 Characterization; “Just Before the War with the Eskimos” November 6 Virginia Woolf; Between the Acts November 11 Between the Acts November 13 Between the Acts November 18 Genre; “The Laughing Man;” Essay #2 due November 20 Walter Mosley; Little Scarlet November 25 Little Scarlet November 27 Little Scarlet December 2 J.D. Salinger; Short Fiction December 4 Review
WINTER TERM
January 6 Theme; “Down at the Dinghy” January 8 Muriel Spark; The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie January 13 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie January 15 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie January 20 Narration; “For Esmé—with Love and Squalor” January 22 Kazuo Ishiguro; The Remains of the Day January 27 The Remains of the Day January 29 The Remains of the Day February 3 Drama; “Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes;” Essay #3 due February 5 Margaret Edson; Wit February 10 Wit February 12 Wit February 17 Reading Week February 19 Reading Week February 24 Humour; “De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period” February 26 Jerzy Kosinski; Being There March 3 Being There March 5 Being There March 10 Culture; “Teddy;” Essay #4 due March 12 Amy Tan; The Joy Luck Club March 17 The Joy Luck Club March 19 The Joy Luck Club March 24 Essay Writing March 26 Modernism and Postmodernism March 31 Literary Criticism April 2 Review
Terms of Evaluation
Components of Grade: Essay #1 10%; Essay #2 15% Essay #3 10% Essay #4 15% Exam #1 20%; Exam #2 20% Attendance/Participation 10%
Essays
Essay #1 Why does Seymour Glass commit suicide? (1000 words) Essay #2 Choosing a poem from Robert Penn Warren’s book, identify the poem’s Neoclassicist and/or Romanticist elements. (1500 words) Essay #3 Why does Sandy betray Jean Brodie? (1000 words) Essay #4 Choosing one of J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories, discuss three of the story’s key elements (1500 words)
Submitting Essays: Assignments may either be submitted in class or dropped off at the English Department drop box (18th floor of Dunton Tower). Do not email essays without prior permission. You are required to keep a backup copy of any work you submit.
Confirmation Essay was Received: Once I have your essay, I will enter a note in the WebCT gradebook indicating your essay arrived safely.
Late Essays: A penalty of 2% is deducted each day an essay is late. Essays finished on Saturday or Sunday may be submitted by email.
Grade Scale:
Letter %
A+ 90-100
A 85-89
A- 80-84
B+ 77-79
B 73-76
B- 70-72
C+ 67-69
C 63-66
C- 60-62
D+ 57-59
D 53-56
D- 50-52
F 0-49
Exams
Exam #1 Formal Exam at end of Fall Term (three hours) Exam #2 Formal Exam at end of Winter Term (three hours)
Books on Library Reserve
An Introduction to Fiction X. J. Kennedy
Studying the Novel Jeremy Hawthorn
WHAT IS A “WRITING-ATTENTIVE” COURSE? Students will write at least one examination.
Students will write a minimum of two graded writing assignments per term, in which they are expected to do the following:
develop an argumentative thesis across an essay
develop complex ideas using correct and effective expression according to academic English practice
use and cite evidence from primary texts appropriately
develop literary skills through close critical analysis of texts from a variety of genres
develop fluency in genre-specific literary terms of analysis
Students will be introduced to issues in secondary research (such as critical evaluation of and citation of secondary materials).
A portion of class time will be devoted to developing and improving essay writing skills.
Student Services Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course must contact a coordinator at the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities to complete the necessary Letters of Accommodation. After registering with the PMC, make an appointment to meet and discuss your needs with me in order to make the necessary arrangements as early in the term as possible. Please note the deadline for submitting completed forms to the Paul Menton Centre is November 6th, 2006 (for fall and fall/winter term courses) / March 9th, 2007 (for winter term courses).
Other helpful resources include the Writing Tutorial Service (404ML), Student Life Services (501 Unicentre), and the Student Academic Success Centre (302 Tory).
Plagiarism and Instructional Offenses
Please see the section on “Instructional Offenses” in the Undergraduate Calendar.
The Undergraduate Calendar defines an act of plagiarism as an attempt “to use and pass off as one’s own idea or product the work of another without expressly giving credit” to the original author. Any act of plagiarism will be prosecuted to the full extent of the guidelines set our in the Undergraduate Calendar. Penalties may include expulsion from Carleton University; they will certainly include expulsion from this course.
The Undergraduate Calendar specifies that the act of submitting “substantially the same piece of work to two or more courses without the prior written permission of the instructors from all courses involved” constitutes an Instructional Offense punishable under the guidelines set out in the Undergraduate Calendar. Please note: “Minor modifications and amendments, such as changes of phraseology in an essay or paper, do not constitute a significant and acceptable reworking of an assignment.” No piece of work written for another course will be accepted for credit in this course.
For Religious Observance:
Students requesting academic accommodation on the basis of religious observance should make a formal, written request to their instructors for alternate dates and/or means of satisfying academic requirements. Such requests should be made during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist, but no later than two weeks before the compulsory academic event. Accommodation is to be worked out directly and on an individual basis between the student and the instructor(s) involved. Instructors will make accommodations in a way that avoids academic disadvantage to the student.
Students or instructors who have questions or want to confirm accommodation eligibility of a religious event or practice may refer to the Equity Services website for a list of holy days and Carleton’s Academic Accommodation policies, or may contact an Equity Services Advisor in the Equity Services Department for assistance.
For Pregnancy:
Pregnant students requiring academic accommodations are encouraged to contact an Equity Advisor in Equity Services to complete a letter of accommodation. The student must then make an appointment to discuss her needs with the instructor at least two weeks prior to the first academic event in which it is anticipated the accommodation will be required.
General Guidelines
1. Turn off cell phones upon arrival at class. 2. Do not arrive late to class. If you arrive late due to unforeseen circumstances, minimize the disturbance by finding a seat close to the door. 3. Students are encouraged to make use of the instructor’s office hours.