SYLLABUS
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will serve as an introduction to a number of different literary
genres, including poetry, prose, drama, and graphic narrative. Attention
will be paid to historical, cultural, and literary contexts as appropriate.
STUDENT LEARNING GOALS
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Identify and understand various characteristics of literature;
• Apply techniques of literary analysis to short stories, plays, poetry,
and novels;
• Use literary study to develop skills for careful reading and clear writing;
• Demonstrate understanding of the social and historical contexts in which
various literary texts have been written;
• Read and discuss literature on the levels of both plot and theme.
REQUIRED TEXTS
The Seagull Reader: Literature (ISBN: 039392677X)
Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (ISBN: 0802135161)
Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot (ISBN: 0802130348)
Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (ISBN: 0224063979)
GRADING POLICY
Your work in this class will be evaluated by two short (4-5) page papers and
a take-home final exam, as well as by your class participation. Detailed
information on the papers and the final will be provided in class.
Each paper and the take-home exam will be worth 25% of your grade. The remaining 25% of your grade will be derived from class participation, attendance, and reading quizzes.
LATE PAPER POLICY
Late papers will lose a full letter grade for each day they are late, to a
maximum of three days, after which a grade of 0 will be received. Weekends
count.
No late papers will be accepted for the final exam.
Except in truly extraordinary circumstances, papers will not be accepted by email.
ATTENDANCE AND CLASS PARTICIPATION
An essential part of this course is class discussion. As such, it is important
that you come to class every day having read the required reading and prepared
to discuss the material.
Attendance in this class is mandatory. You are allowed three unexcused absences over the course of the semester. After that, your final grade will drop half a letter grade for each additional unexcused absence.
Upon the seventh unexcused absence, you will receive a failing grade for the course.
Tardiness is also unacceptable. Excessive tardiness will negatively affect your participation grade. Please arrive on time.
EMAIL
Students in this class are required to check their email account at least once
a day in case there are any last-minute announcements or disruptions.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
Students are expected to abide by the terms of the student code of academic
conduct, available in your undergraduate bulletin or online at http://studentconduct.uncg.edu.
I urge you all to examine this material, and consult me with any questions
you may have about plagiarism and academic integrity before it becomes an
issue.
Ignorance of what constitutes plagiarism is not an acceptable excuse for plagiarism. Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in an automatic failing grade for the assignment. The moment you feel yourself tempted to cheat, for any reason, please, come see or email me instead.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Any changes to this schedule will be announced in class as they become necessary.
Additional material will occasionally be distributed in class.
Monday, August 15 FIRST DAY OF CLASS
Wednesday, August 17 INTRODUCTION TO FICTION
SR: Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants”
Friday, August 19 SR: Raymond Carver, “Cathedral”
LAST DAY OF DROP/ADD
Monday, August 22 SR: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Wednesday, August 24 SR: John Updike, “A&P”
Friday, August 26 SR: Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”
Monday, August 29 SR: Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man Is Hard
to Find”
Wednesday, August 31 SR: Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where
Have
You Been?”
Friday, September 2 SR: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “A Very Old Man With
Enormous
Wings”
Monday, September 5 LABOR DAY—NO CLASS
Wednesday, September 7 SR: Frank O’Connor, “Guests of the Nation”
Friday, September 9 SR: John Cheever, “The Swimmer”
Monday, September 12 Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Genesis
Wednesday, September 14 Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit,
Exodus
Friday, September 16 Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Leviticus
Monday, September 19 Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit,
Numbers and Deuteronomy
Wednesday, September 21 Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit,
Joshua
Friday, September 23 Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Ruth
Monday, September 26 FIRST PAPER DUE
INTRODUCTION TO POETRY
SR: Bruce Springsteen
SR: Allen Ginsberg, “Howl” (handout)
Wednesday, September 28 SR: Robert Frost
Friday, September 30 SR: Sylvia Plath
Monday, October 3 SR: Langston Hughes
Wednesday, October 5 SR: Emily Dickinson
Friday, October 7 SR: T.S. Eliot
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW
Monday, October 10 FALL
BREAK—NO
CLASS
Wednesday, October 12 SR: Elizabeth Bishop
SR: Wallace Stevens
Friday, October 14 SR: William Butler Yeats
SR: Dylan Thomas
SR: Seamus Heaney
Monday, October 17 SR: William Carlos Williams
SR: E.E. Cummings
Wednesday, October 19 SR: Marianne Moore
SR: Rita Dove
SR: Marge Percy
Friday, October 21 SR: Galway Kinnell
SR: Billy Collins
SR: Yusef Komunyakaa
Monday, October 24 SECOND PAPER DUE
INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA
SR: William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act I
Wednesday, October 26 SR: William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act II
Friday, October 28 SR: William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act III
Monday, October 31 SR: William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act IV
Wednesday, November 2 SR: William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act V
Friday, November 4 SR: William Shakespeare, Hamlet Acts I-V
Monday, November 7 Samuel Becket, Waiting for Godot Act I
Wednesday, November 9 Samuel Becket, Waiting for Godot Act I
Friday, November 11 Samuel Becket, Waiting for Godot Act I
Monday, November 14 Samuel Becket, Waiting for Godot Act II
Wednesday, November 16 Samuel Becket, Waiting for Godot Act II
Friday, November 18 Samuel Becket, Waiting for Godot Act II
Monday, November 21 Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
Wednesday, November 23 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY—NO CLASS
Friday, November 25 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY—NO CLASS
Monday, November 28 Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
Wednesday, November 30 Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
Friday, December 2 Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
Monday, December 5 Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
FINAL EXAMS DUE IN CLASS