~ ~ LIT 165 Syllabus ~ ~

Introduction to Literature WCU/lit165/SPRING 2002

Instructor: Stacy Tartar Esch

OFFICE: Main Hall, 417
PHONE: 610-436-2220 (or 436-2822, English Dept. Secretary, for emergencies only)
MAIL/LATE PAPER DROP: Main Hall, English faculty mailroom on the fifth floor
EMAIL: stacy@brainstorm-services.com
WEB: http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu
OFFICE HOURS: Monday and Wednesday mornings, 8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Course Description
This introductory level literature class is designed to help students acquire the tools for understanding, appreciating, and critically analyzing three genres of imaginative literature: fiction, poetry, and drama. Throughout the semester, you will learn basic concepts related to literary technique and innovation. You'll be expected to exercise your objective critical thinking skills as you read, analyze, and discuss a variety of stories, poems, and plays. Please note that LIT 165 is no longer a writing emphasis course and ENG 121 is no longer a prerequisite.

Required Texts
Meyer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading • Thinking • Writing, Fifth Edition, Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Course Requirements
Students are expected to carefully read and analyze all assigned work prior to class, and to actively participate in all class exercises, discussions, and presentations. Preparation and active participation in class are a significant portion of your semester grade (see below).

Students will be expected to complete four examinations (including the final exam) as well as occasional quizzes, homework and classwork exercises, in-class response papers, and informal oral presentations.

ASSIGNMENT / PERCENTAGE OF GRADE / APPROXIMATE DATE DUE
Fiction Exam / 20% / Late February
Drama Exam / 20% / March
Poetry Exam / 20% / Late April
Final Paper / 20% / Finals week
Quizzes & Classwork / 20% / throughout

Each Exam will include 30-50 multiple choice, true/false, and matching items designed to gage the student's ability to recall, comprehend, and analyze literary works assigned as well as understand and apply concepts related to the literature assigned. These concepts will be drawn both from the textbook and material provided in class. The instructor will provide study guides before each exam. Motivated students may pursue supplemental (extra credit) writing assignments to accompany exam grades (after consulting with the instructor).

Quizzes (usually objective T/F questions) may pop up at any given time during the semester to assess preparation and reading comprehension.

Response papers may also pop up at any given time to assess your level of engagement with the material assigned. A fairly typical kind of response paper prompt might be a question like, "What do you think you'll remember most about X three days or three years from now?"

Policies
Attendance: Students are expected to attend every class having read the assigned material. Any student who misses more than four class periods can expect to receive a lowered grade. For instance, missing five classes will lower your final grade one-half step (B = B-). Missing six or more classes will lower your final grade one whole step (B+ = C+). Missing more than six classes will lower your final grade two whole steps (C = F). Students with serious problems or medical emergencies should notify the Dean of Students, who will contact your instructors about any necessary adjustments. Please be advised that it is not always possible to make up work missed due to absence, but you should pursue the possibility by contacting me immediately when you know you'll be absent or when you return. Coming to class late: Although I'd rather you come to class late than not at all, chronic lateness to class is disruptive and unacceptable. Please have consideration for your classmates and for the instructor if you are entering the classroom late. Occasional tardiness is not a problem but if it becomes habitual, those lateness will be recorded as absences and you will run a higher risk of receiving a lowered or failing grade for the course.

Late Assignments: All assigned work is expected on its due date. Late papers are penalized, and when students are clearly negligent, not accepted. Students are encouraged to email the instructor any assignment you have failed to bring to class. If I receive it on the day it is due, I won't count it late. (stacy@brainstorm-services.com)

Make-up Exams: Students are responsible for being in class on test days. Students may make up an exam only if special arrangements are made in advance. Students who have made no special arrangements in advance may not be permitted to take a make-up exam, or the make-up exam may be severely penalized.

The Writing Center
If you are having trouble with a writing assignment, do not hesitate to bring your problem to my attention or bring your essay to the Writing Center in Main 203. The Writing Center offers free professional tutoring to any student who is writing a paper for any course offered by the college. The staff will help students develop methods to find a topic, organize their ideas, revise a rough draft, or proofread a final draft for standard grammar and punctuation. Tutors will not serve as your proofreaders, however; their aim is to help you develop your own skills. No appointment is needed.

Support Services
I will make accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have a disability, please make your needs known to me and contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at 436-3217. Sufficient notice is required to make such accommodations possible.

Final Grades
I'll calculate your final grade based on your three exam scores, your final paper score, and your quiz scores. Students who actively participate in class discussions can in most cases expect a boost to their final grade.

Your final percentage will be converted to a letter grade as follows:
93 - 100 = A
89 - 92 = A-
87 - 88 = B+
82 - 86 = B
79 - 81 = B
77 - 78 = C+
72-76 = C
70 - 71 = C-
68 - 69 = D+
62-67 = D
60 - 61 = D-
59 - below = F

Reading Schedule
The reading schedule which appears below for each genre may change slightly during the course of the semester. Selections may be substituted or added. Any changes will be announced in class.

Throughout the semester I will post supplemental reading materials, any changes to the required reading list, as well as class lectures or handouts on my website (http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-lit). I encourage you to check this site regularly, in addition to reading the required material listed below.

Please note that the selections listed below are not always presented in the order we will study them. Please listen carefully in class for specific reading assignments.

FICTION
The Story of an Hour (10), A Sorrowful Woman, (33), A&P (480), Eveline (427), Bartleby the Scrivener (110), Miss Brill (226), The Birthmark (277), How to Tell A True Love Story (459)
Popular Mechanics (238), Girl (438)--student selections will be added to this list.

POETRY
Dust of Snow (handout/web)
Much Madness Is Divinest Sense- (761)
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers (handout/web)
The Mother (handout/web)
Mother to Son (handout/web)
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer (907)
A Simile (handout/web)
That Time Of Year Thou May'st In Me Behold (902)
Winter Trees (handout/web)
My Papa's Waltz (701)
Dulce Et Decorum Est (610)
Death of the Ball Turret Gunner (573)
next to of course god america i (643)
The Unknown Citizen (874)
Rite of Passage (737)
The Golf Links (handout/web)
Richard Cory (640)
Me Up At Does (handout/web)
Rain (handout/web)
The Red Wheelbarrow (734)
Those Winter Sundays (532)
A Noiseless Patient Spider (629)
L (A (547)
Catch (536)
The Panther (In the Jarden Des Plantes, Paris) (611)
The Secretary Chant (531)
One Perfect Rose (699)
First Party at Ken Kesey's with Hell's Angels (739)

DRAMA
Sophocles, Oedipus (981-1073)
Henrik Ibsen A Doll's House (1137-1202)
Shakespeare, Hamlet, Othello, or Looking for Richard

Extra Credit options may exist for interested students. See the instructor for further details.