~ ~LIT 165 Syllabus ~ ~

Introduction to Literature WCU/lit165/FALL 2001

Instructor: Stacy Tartar Esch

OFFICE:
PHONE: (English Dept. Secretary) 436 - 2822
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:

Course Description
This introductory level literature class is designed to help you acquire the tools for understanding, appreciating, and writing about quality literature. This semester you will learn some basic concepts about literary technique and innovation as we explore three genres: poetry, drama, and fiction. You'll be expected to develop your objective critical thinking skills as you read, analyze, and discuss a variety of stories, poems, and plays.

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

Writing Requirements
This is a writing emphasis course; therefore, several essays as well as a final paper will be assigned and graded rigorously for both form and content.

A total of three examinations will be distributed throughout the semester and will be weighted as follows:

ASSIGNMENT / PERCENTAGE OF GRADE / APPROXIMATE DATE DUE
Fiction Exam / 20% / Late September
Drama Exam / 20% / October
Poetry Exam / 20% / Late November
Final Paper / 20% / Finals week
Quizzes & Classwork / 20% / throughout

Each exam will include a take-home question(s) and may also include an objective, in-class test to gage the student's understanding of relevant concepts and reading comprehension. The take-home questions will be evaluated based on the writer's ability to focus, organize, and develop ideas in response to the given question(s). Points may be deducted for incorrect grammar, spelling, punctuation, or for weak style, depending on the frequency of error. Points will not be deducted for expressing opinions which differ from the instructor's! In fact, if you express your ideas clearly, logically, and persuasively, you may gain more than a few for demonstrating your ability to develop original ideas.

Several options will be presented in detail to meet the requirement for the final paper. One option is to do a research paper based on some interesting aspect of one or more literary works that you choose. Another option is to do an in-depth analysis of one or more literary works the way such an analysis is described in your textbook (p. 1460-64).

Quizzes in both objective and essay format may pop up at any given time during the semester to assess preparation and comprehension. Your average at the end of the semester is your final quiz score. Absence on a quiz day will hurt your average!

Policies

Attendance: Students are expected to attend every class having read the assigned material. Any student who misses more than the equivalent of two weeks of class will have his/her average lowered appropriately at the instructor's discretion. Be advised that it is not always possible to make up work missed due to absence. 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. Occassional 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 Papers: All work must be turned in on the due date. Late papers are penalized one point for each day late. If I am not available, place it in my mailbox. If an emergency arises that truly prevents you from handing in your work, and you are serious about continuing in the course, it is your responsibility to contact me immediately.

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:
97 - 100 = A+
93 - 96 = 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). 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
Henrik Ibsen A Doll's House (1142)
Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman (1314)
Shakespeare, Hamlet

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