The purpose of this course is to help you develop ways of thinking about reading and writing and to engage texts with a critical and creative eye. Over the semester, we will read a variety of different kinds of writing, and you will write extensively in and out of class. As well, we will undertake the writing process, and all writing is a process that involves brainstorming, revision, peer reviews, writing workshops, conferencing with me, and most of all, your imagination and energy. I have every confidence that you will all become successful, confident writers, and I am here to help you in all the stages of your writing process over the semester.
You will write for yourself and others, offer suggestions to your peers on their writing, discuss texts in your groups and with the class, and develop ideas in your reading response journal, in-class writing time, free writes, and writing projects. Much of your success in this course will depend on your participation in group work and in class discussion, which will help you to articulate ideas more clearly. Having the ability to think critically by developing your writing, reading, and speaking skills will also help you to build confidence as a writer, a researcher, and a presenter. Writing is a process, and I am here to help you in that process, which will develop not only throughout this semester in this course but throughout your life, even after college.
Learning Goals:
Critical Thinking: Are my ideas original? Is my prose interesting and active?
Clarity: How clear are my ideas? Do they make sense logically?
Cohesion: Do the parts of my essay cohere? Do I need a transition between ideas,
sentences, and/or paragraphs?
Texts and Requirements:
A UNCG Spartan Email Account and Access to Blackboard
UNCG Composition Department, Writing Matters
E-Reserves
Class Handouts
Documents on Blackboard: blackboard.uncg.edu
Internet Websites listed on syllabus
Assignments:
A Weekly Critical Reading Response/Double Entry Journal: 1 page each
Myth: 2-3 pages
Midterm Portfolio: 5 (1 page) entries
Critical Analysis Paper: 3-4 pages
Final Portfolio: 5 (1-2 page) entries
Research Presentation with Annotated Bibliography: 5 non-internet sources (see
me if
you want to use an academic journal); annotated bibliography
In-Class writing assignments and assignments you design, with your group, for
the class
Group work and activities during weekly group meetings
Attendance:
Come to class, and come to class prepared, which means: bring your materials,
including printouts, handouts, e-reserves, books, and response journal to class
EVERYDAY. We work on our writing in class everyday, and every missed class
is a missed opportunity for valuable input from your group members and from
me. Frequent absences also show a lack of commitment that I will reflect in
your final grade. I understand you may be ill, and I will allow 3 absences,
period. How you use these is up to you, but be advised that any more than these
will be excused solely at my discretion and will probably involve extensive
documentation on your part. If you have a medical condition, commute from a
long distance regularly, or have any other issue that may make you late or
absent from my class regularly, see me now. Every absence over 3 results in
a deduction of 3 points per absence. On the sixth absence, I reserve the right
to drop you from the course. If the third absence occurs within the first three
weeks of class, I also reserve the right to drop you from the course.
Grading:
I will not give you a letter grade on response journals, presentations, portfolios,
essays, or in-class writing assignments but assign points to each. I also
deduct points when I see that you have not read assignments, participated
in class, or met with your group in the assigned time. I do not accept work
via email unless I specifically request email submissions, and I do not accept
late work. The assignments you turn in to me will receive either a check
or minus. There is no loss of points if you receive a check. If you receive
a minus (or do not turn in assignments), I deduct 2 points from your final
total at the end (e.g., if your final point total is 90 but you have 5 minuses,
your final point total will be an 80, which is a B-).
*Please Note: you are automatically given points for participation unless you
do not participate, in which case I deduct points at my discretion for lack
of participation I see in class and in groups. I take a participate grade for
every class, and everyone is expected to contribute to the discussion in every
class. Otherwise, I will assume you are not prepared for class and will deduct
participation points for that day. I have a 100 point scale, and every assignment
has a point value:
Myth with Visual: 20 points
Midterm Portfolio: 20 points
Research Presentations (optional visual): 20 points
Final Portfolio: 20 points
Critical Analysis: 20 points
*Remember, participation is automatically given to you and plays a big role in our class. It is your responsibility to ensure you do not lose those points.
Point Distribution:
A 94-100 B 84-86 C 74-76 D 64-66
A- 90-93 B- 80-83 C- 70-73 D- 60-63
B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69 F 60 and below
The Writing Center: Another great resource for you. I recommend that you go
there to get individual feedback on your writing. It is located at 101 McIver
Building.
Web address: www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter
Hours: M-Th, 9am-8pm; Friday, 9am-3pm; Sunday, 5pm-8pm; Telephone: 334-3125
Readings and Assignments (Subject to Change):
Week One:
Introduction to the course. Set groups. How to write a critical journal.
Readings on Blackboard: Emerson, “The American Scholar,” Joseph
Campbell, “Four Functions of Mythology”; Harmon and
Holman, “Myth”
Week Two:
Start Group Meetings
*First Paper Assignment: Myth with Visual for Presentation
Readings on Blackboard: Creation Myths: “Genesis 2:4-23”; “Pelasgian”; “Chamelion”; “Yaulmani
Yokut”; “Spider Woman”
Online Text: Ovid, from The Metamorphoses:
Book 3, Metamorphoses on Echo and Narcissus: http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/o/o9m/book3.html
Comparative Text (Handout): Fred Chappell, “Narcissus and Echo”
Book Six, “Tereus, Procne, and Philomela”: http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/o/o9m/book6.html
Comparative Texts: Timothy Kendall “The Nightingale”
Week Three:
Grimm’s Fairy Tales: http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/
Cinderella: http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/016.txt
Blackboard Readings: James Finn Garner, “The Politically Correct Cinderella”;
Liz
Schelps, “Cinderella: Politically Incorrect?” Anne Sexton: “Cinderella”
Friday: Writing Workshop, Midterm Portfolio Review
Week Four:
*Papers and Presentation of Myth due on Wednesday
*Start Research Presentations
Friday: MLA citation style
Week Five:
Wednesday: Coleridge, “Christabel”
Welch, Dennis M. “CHRISTABEL, KING LEAR, AND THE CINDERELLA
FOLKTALE”
http://libproxy.uncg.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=9609035561
Friday: *Midterm Portfolios Due (portfolios should include entries from week
five)
Week Six:
*Research Presentations
Week Seven:
*Research Presentations
Week Eight:
*Start Critical Analysis Paper
Shakespeare, Othello
Comparative Text: Giraldi Cinthio, “The Moor of Venice,” pp. 151-161
Week Nine:
Othello, Continued
Edward Pechter “Too Much Violence”: Murdering Wives in Othello”,
pp. 366-387
Mafe, Diana Adesola : “From Ògún to Othello: (Re)Acquainting
Yoruba Myth and Shakespeare's Moor” http://libproxy.uncg.edu:2060/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=13874054
Week Ten:
Aphra Behn, Oroonoko
Comparative Text: Mary Beth Rose, “Gender and the Heroics of Endurance
in
Oroonoko,” pp. 256-264
Week Eleven:
Oroonoko, continued
Comparative Text: Olaudah Equiano, from The Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789),
pp. 178-
185
Charlotte Sussman “The Other Problem with Women: Reproduction and Slave
Culture in
Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko,” pp. 246-256
Week Twelve:
Byron, “The Prisoner of Chillon”
Friday: **Final Portfolios Due
Week Thirteen:
Monday Meeting: Peer Review of Individual Papers in Groups
Wednesday and Friday Workshop: Critical Analysis Paper
Week Fourteen: Course Evaluations, and Final Paper Due