English 106-03
Introduction to Poetry
Spring 2002
Class: TR, 2:00–3:15, 323 McIver E-mail: jlfunder@uncg.edu
Instructor: Julie Funderburk Office: 136-F McIver
Phone: 334-5837 (sorry no voice mail) Hours: By appointment; W 11–1
Overview:
This course will help you better appreciate poetry. We will read and analyze poems, concerning ourselves with theme, language, sound, structure, technique, style, and more. We will explore poems written in the 15th century, poems published this year, and poems composed in between. This will be a discussion-based class with lectures.
Student Learning Goals:
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
Identify and understand varied characteristics of poetry, apply techniques of literary analysis to texts, and use literary study to develop skills in careful reading and clear writing. This course will be broad and foundational in nature; it will not assume extensive previous knowledge of poetry.
Texts:
Do not try to substitute other editions of the text. Please inform me if the bookstores do not have sufficient stock. (I’ll let you know when the Carl Dennis book arrives.)
The Norton Anthology of Poetry, shorter 4th edition. Ferguson, Salter, and Stallworthy, eds.
Ranking the Wishes, Carl Dennis.
Poems available to you online through Blackboard at http://bb.uncg.edu. Print copies to bring to class with you.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
Attendance:
Attendance is required. You are ‘forgiven’ two absences. After that, each absence effects your grade, even if your reasons for missing the class are legitimate. After a third absence, any additional absence lowers your final grade one letter. Missing more than five classes will make it almost impossible to pass the course; logic will necessitate that you be dropped. If you are absent, you are responsible for obtaining any materials and completing any assignments prior to the next class meeting. You are responsible for information covered in your absence and for any deadlines, regardless of an absence. Tardiness will lower your grade.
Requirements:
You are required to come to class having read the material, ready to actively participate in class discussion. This is time-consuming, as I expect you to read the poems assigned at least twice so that you understand the text before we begin to uncover it further. Have comments, responses, and questions about the poems ready to share with the class. You should always bring your book and any relevant Blackboard handouts with you. There will be one midterm, one final examination, one small-group presentation, a number of writing assignments (including one two-page essay and one three-page paper), and at least one quiz.
Grading:
Participation (contribution to class discussion, attendance, attentiveness, quizzes) = 10%
Presentation: 15%
Midterm Exam: 20%
First Writing Assignment: 15%
Second Writing Assignment: 15%
Final: 25%
Late work policy: You must make prior arrangements to hand in an assignment one day late, and you lose a letter grade. After that, I will not accept the work. No exceptions. All writing assignments must be typed or computer generated.
Writing Center:
This course requires that you write about literature, but it is not a writing course. For help with written assignments, note that the Writing Center is located in 101 McIver and is open Monday–Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m., and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You may make an appointment for individualized instruction by calling 334-3125, or you can simply drop in, bringing your work-in-progress with you. Consultants in the writing center are a valuable resource. By bringing drafts and questions to the Writing Center, you gain access to consultants who can offer a perspective, an audience, a “listening eye.”