Ashley Johnson,
Instructor
Office Hours:
Office: 136G McIver
Office Phone: 334-4697
MWF ·
1:00-1:50 · McIver 225
“You owe reality nothing and the truth about your
feelings everything.”
--
Richard Hugo’s The Triggering Town
Welcome to English
104. Literature makes up a considerable
amount of the written culture that informs our experience. Interpreting and coming to some
understanding of literature also provides an excellent metal proving ground for
developing and applying skills of organized and penetrating thinking that you
will be asked to perform in any class you take, as well as outside of class in
the real world. In a class such as this
the notion of a right or wrong answer, aside from basic facts, is a bit
different; it is not about the goal of the correct interpretation, it’s about
the process of coming to an interpretation.
In your class participation and written work, therefore, you are graded
on displaying this process; a well-constructed and well-considered argument
displays this process. What something means
then will be a function of your interpretation, the context of the work, and
whatever we can bring to that work.
This is a course where
you will need to be an active participant.
It is my goal to hear from each of you during each class period as we
discuss ideas about our readings. You
will frequently work in small groups and may occasionally present to the class
in groups or individually.
Writing and evaluating arguments
Communicating clearly and effectively
Evaluating and using relevant information
Understanding aims and methods of intellectual discourse
Evaluating different viewpoints
The Bedford Introduction to Literature
Two Novels (to be announced)
Other:
Articles on E-Reserve
Because
this class is centered on in-class discussion, group work, and in-class
writing, attendance is required. Missing
more than two classes, being late for more than two classes, or leaving early
for more than two classes for ANY reason will lower your participation grade
dramatically. If you miss more than
six classes, for any reason, you will not pass the course. Being late is not acceptable; you will lose
points if you are late for class.
Using
someone else’s ideas or words as your own on any assignment is plagiarism. It is a violation of the Academic Integrity
Policy as defined in the student handbook (pg. 213) or at www.uncg.edu/saf/studiscp/Honor.html
and will be treated as such. If you are
concerned about inadvertently violating this policy, please see me before
completing the assignment. For further
clarification read pg. 102 in Writing Matters.
Respect
for others is expected. Any behavior
that distracts (eating, talking, while others are talking, etc.) or is
disrespectful (personal attacks, etc.) is unacceptable. Students may be asked to leave the classroom
if they choose to act in such a way. Cell
phones and pagers should be turned off during class time. You can be reached during class at the
department phone number (334-5311) in case of an emergency.
You
will be required to write a one to one and half page reader response journal
entry for each and every reading. These
will be collected every class unless otherwise specified and receive a check
plus, check or check minus. Those entries that receive a check minus must be
revised. All entries will be collected
at the end of the year for a final journal grade.
20% Daily Reading Responses/Final
Journal
50% Take Home Essay Tests (4 essays
– 2-3 pages, one for each genre)
Late work is not accepted.
If
you have a disability that could affect your performance in this course or for
which you need accommodation, please contact me and/or the office of Disability
Services at 334-5440.
The
Writing Center is located in 101 McIver.
It is open Monday-Thursday 9:00-8:00 and Friday 9:00-3:00. You may make an appointment by calling
334-3125. The Writing Center is very
valuable resource for your writing in this class and for your other classes.
Use
the following format for all drafts of essays: Double-space, 1” margins all
around, and 12 pt. Times New Roman font.
Each page should have the writer’ s last name and page number in the
upper right corner.
Fall
2002: English 104.09 Calendar (subject
to change)
8/19 –
Introduction/Syllabus
8/21 – Reading Poetry BIL 671-691, 708-714, Terms Handout
w/ A Garden in Kentucky
8/23 – Words BIL 715-722, Those
Winter Sundays 672, My Papa’s Waltz 880, Daddy 1177
8/26 – A
Late Aubade 731, Sex Without Love 739-740, A Decadent’s Lyric
739
8/28 – Images
BIL 752-760, The Fish 682-684, Root Cellar 757
8/30 – In a
Station at the Metro 773, Deer Among Cattle 767, First Party at
Ken Kesey’s with Hell’s
Angels 930
9/2 – NO
CLASS
9/4 – Figures of
Speech BIL 775-786, John and Mary 796, Blue Spruce 798,
Love Calls Us to the
Things
of this World 1188-1119, Africa
1145
9/6 – Sounds
BIL 832-843, The Trains 850
9/9 – Frost
BIL 995-1003, Mending Wall 1004, After Apple Picking 1008,“Out,
Out-“ 1012, Fire
and
Ice 1015, Design 1018, Home
Burial 1005-1008
9/11 – Hughes BIL
1032-1037, Dance Africaine 1040, Jazzonia 1041-1042, Dream
Boogie 1052,
Harlem 1053, Democracy 1054
9/13 – James
Dickey, Handout
9/16 –
Sharon Olds, Handout
9/18 – Richard
Hugo, Handout
9/20 – Poetry
Final Due. William Mathews, Handout. No Journal Due.
9/23 – Reading
Fiction BIL II-22, 43-44
9/25 – Setting
BIL 150-152, Soldier’s Home 152-157, Nebraska 160-163
9/27 – Theme BIL 247-250, Miss Brill
259-262, Eveline524-527
9/30 – Plot BIL
64-66, The Flowers 73-74, A Rose for Emily 75-81
10/2 – Character
BIL 99-100, Enough 144-149, A & P 606-610
10/4 – Symbolism
BIL 220-222, The Secret Lion 223-227, Battle Royal 231-240
10/7 – Tone
BIL 282-285, Love in L.A. 263-265, Popular Mechanics 286-287.
10/9 – Points
of View BIL 173-174, Gish Jen 178-186, New York Day Woman
216-220
10/11 – Fiction Final
Due. BIL 381-382, Good Country People 395-409. No Journal Due.
10/14 – NO
CLASS – Fall Break