The Public Space and the Private Space in the Study of Literature
Space needs to be made visible by foregrounding its ideological content, to
illustrate how it can be made to hide consequences, how relations of power
and discipline are inscribed into the apparently innocent spatiality of our
environment.
Brian Jarvis, 52
Course Description
“This course will help students with critical reading and analysis of fiction,
poetry, and drama with an emphasis on a variety of major themes and their relevance
to contemporary life” (Writing Matters, 98).
Texts
Kelly, Joseph, editor. The Seagull Reader: Literature. NY: W. W. Norton & Company,
2005.
The complete reading schedule will depend on the class progress so you are
expected to be present in class and open to new directions. You should bring
the text to each class. Handouts will be transmitted through email (Blackboard).
You should have access to a printer and check your email regularly. When you
receive a handout, print it out and bring it to class.
As with any English class, a dictionary and an English writer’s handbook are necessary references. These books should be in each student’s personal library and you should know how to use them. If you have any questions about which books to use or how to use these reference materials, please let me know.
Class Requirements
? class participation (25%)
? exams (25% [10%, 15%])
? weekly assignments (25%)
? research essay (25%)
All work handed in for this class must be work undertaken especially for this
class. No papers should be presented if they have been used for another class
or if they are written for another course’s assignment.
Please familiarize yourself with the University’s guidelines for each
grade; these can be found in the Student Handbook.
Office Hours
I will be present in my office during office hours. Please use this time to
seek clarification about the course or conference about your progress. You
can schedule a meeting with me at other times if my office hours are not
convenient for your schedule.
Students with Special Needs
Students with disabilities will be accommodated. Please notify me or call Disability
Services at 334-5440 if there are impediments to your attendance and progress
in this course. If English is your second language and you would feel more
comfortable in an ESL course, please let me know so we can make arrangements.
Student Learning Goals
ENG 104 will be broad and foundational in nature; this course will not assume
extensive previous knowledge. The aim of ENG 104 is to enable the student
to:
? identify and understand varied characteristics of literature
? apply techniques of literary analysis to texts
? use literary study to develop skills in careful reading and clear writing
? demonstrate understanding of the diverse social and historical contexts in
which literary texts have been written and interpreted (from the UNCG English
Department).
The Writing Center
The Writing Center is located in 101 McIver and is open Mondays through Thursdays,
9:00 am to 8:00 pm, Fridays, 9:00 am through 3:00 pm, and Sundays, 6:00 pm
through 9:00 pm. There are instructors there who can help you with all aspects
of papers, from planning and organizing to editing and revising. You can
take any writing assignment to the Writing Center – it is not just
for English classes. You can call for an appointment (334-3125) or just drop
by with questions. This is a wonderful resource and each student is strongly
encouraged to take advantage of it.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is intentionally or knowingly representing the words of another
as one's own in any academic exercise. Plagiarism may occur on any paper,
report, or other work submitted to fulfill course requirements. Plagiarism
can be:
a. Failure to cite references, which includes intentional or obvious failures
to properly cite sources; and,
b. Submitting as one's own work done by or copied from another. This includes
work done by a fellow student, work done by a previous student, or work done
by anyone other than the student responsible for the assignment [adapted from
the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy (http://saf.dept.uncg.edu/studiscp/
Honor.html)].
Students caught plagiarizing will be punished according to the process outlined
in the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy.
Class Participation
All students are expected to participate in the daily progress of this class.
Attendance is critical to achieving the goals of this course. Missing more
than three classes will result in a lowering of your final grade; missing more
than seven classes can result in your dismissal from the course. Being late
to class two times equals one absence. If you are more than ten minutes late
for class you will be counted absent.
If you miss class it is your responsibility to ask a fellow student for any material you might have missed. There will always be an assignment for each class.
Late work is not accepted. If you notify the instructor in advance of problems with your attendance or your ability to complete assignments, then the policy can be modified for individual cases.
Weekly Assignments
There will be one 350 word essay due each week. These essays should be written
on a single subject that arises from our work in class. Whether treating
one work we have read or a more general theme visible in several works, these
essays will be graded on intellectual content as well as composition. Therefore
you need to have an identifiable thesis, correct grammar and spelling, and
you must address any grammatical issues that I bring to your attention. If
you have more than six spelling and grammar mistakes your paper can only
receive, at best, a C grade.
These essays must be typewritten, using MLA Guidelines (http://library.uncg.edu/depts/ref/handouts/mla.html).
Research Essay
The research essay must adequately address a critical issue that interests
the student during the course of the semester. This essay can (and probably
should) arise from issues addressed in the weekly essays and must incorporate
library research. The paper should be at least five pages long and follow
the MLA Guidelines. The topic must be approved by the instructor.
Exams
There will be a midterm and a final exam. The formats of these exams have not
been decided, though usually the midterm is more objective (definitions,
identifications, short answers) and the final exam is usually an essay exam.
The Learning Spirit
We are all here to learn and you should come to class prepared to participate.
Your preparation is necessary to help the class find its direction. I am
determined that we have fun while we fulfill the requirements and goals of
ENG 104. Although we might disagree, always treat others in the classroom
with respect. Rudeness will not be tolerated.
Fall 2005 Calendar
Day Date Assignment
M 8/15 Week 1: Introductions (xvi-21)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” (page 128)
Edgar Allan Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” (page 282)
W 8/17
F 8/19
M 8/22 Week 2: Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (page
244)
Stephen Crane, “The Open Boat” (page 68)
O. Henry, “The Furnished Room” (page 147)
W 8/24
F 8/26
M 8/29 Week 3: Raymond Carver, “Cathedral” (page 28)
William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily” (page 93)
Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” (page 142)
W 8/31
F 9/2
M 9/5 Labor Day Holiday
W 9/7 Week 4: Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried” (page
226)
Eudora Welty, “A Worn Path” (page 338)
F 9/9
M 9/12 Week 5: Alice Walker, “Everyday Use” (page 328)
John Updike, “A & P” (page 321)
John Cheever, “The Swimmer” (page 43)
W 9/14
F 9/16
M 9/19 Week 6: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (page
110)
Edith Wharton, “Roman Fever” (page 347)
W 9/21
F 9/23
M 9/26 Week 7: Introduction to Poetry (363).
Poems by Christopher Marlowe (page 531), Robert Herrick (page 489), Andrew
Marvell (page 533), John Donne (page 442), and Sharon Olds (page 539).
Poems by William Blake (page 415), John Keats (page 508), Gwendolyn Brooks
(page 421).
W 9/28
F 9/30
M 10/3 Week 8: Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (page 430), William Wordsworth
(page 588), Gerard Manley Hopkins (page 491), Robert Browning (page 425), and
E. E. Cummings (page 436).
10/5, Midterm Review
10/7, Midterm Exam
W 10/5
F 10/7
M 10/10 Fall Break
W 10/12 Week 9: Poems by Emily Dickinson (page 438), Walt Whitman (page 582),
and Allen Ginsberg (page 474).
F 10/14
M 10/17 Week 10: Poems by William Butler Yeats (page 595), T. S. Eliot (page
451), William Carlos Williams (page 585), and Marianne Moore (page 537).
Poems by Robert Frost (page 461), Wallace Stevens (page 569), and Billy Collins
(page 432).
W 10/19
F 10/21
M 10/24 Week 11: Poems by Langston Hughes (page 502), Seamus Heaney (page 486),
Elizabeth Bishop (page 410), W. H. Auden (page 406), Robert Lowell (page 527),
and Marge Piercy (page 542).
Introduction to Drama (601).
William Shakespeare, Hamlet (page 686).
W 10/26
F 10/28
M 10/31 Week 12: Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest (page 886).
W 11/2
F 11/4
M 11/7 Week 13: Susan Glaspell, Trifles (page 949).
Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie (page 964).
W 11/9
F 11/11
M 11/14 Week 14: David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly (page 1101).
W 11/16
F 11/18
M 11/21 Week 15: Conclusion.
W 11/23 Thanksgiving Break
F 11/25
M 11/28 Week 16: Conclusion
12/2, Research Paper Due
W 11/30
F 12/2
M 12/5 Week 17:
T 12/6 Reading Day
W 12/7 Final Exam, 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm