Course Description:
In this introductory course in literature we will read a variety of short stories, novellas, and novels and explore strategies for the analysis and interpretation of fiction, paying special attention to both its cultural contents and such basic elements of the genre as point of view, character, plot, setting, and language.
Learning Goals:
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
Required Texts:
Fiction 100
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Lover
Fight Club
Policies and Procedures:
Attendance: Regular attendance and participation is crucial to the success of this course. I take issues of prompt, prepared attendance very seriously. If you aren’t in class, you can’t learn from class discussion nor do we have the chance to learn from you. Miss three classes, you’ll be docked a letter grade. Miss six classes, you’ll be dropped from the course. I also have no tolerance for tardiness; it disrupts class. Don’t do it.
Class Participation: Though there will be occasional lectures, this course is primarily discussion based. This means that participation is MANDATORY. A lack of participation will significantly affect your grade. Come to all classes prepared to talk about the reading materials. When a majority of the class has not done the reading, class discussion is curtailed and a quiz results. Class etiquette is extremely important for this course (and all courses!). We will be having several small and large group discussions. It is extremely rude to carry on another conversation while someone else is talking, whether it is me or one of your classmates. If you can’t possibly pay attention, you should leave, and I reserve the right to ask students to leave the class at any time.
Critical Vocabulary: There is a glossary of literary terms in the back of the Charters anthology. Terms need not be memorized all at once but as they come in relation to the reading. Exams will include questions on these literary terms.
Academic Integrity Policy: All work submitted to the course must abide by the Academic Integrity Policy, which is covered in the UNCG Student Handbook.
The Writing Center: The Writing Center is located in 101 McIver, and is open Monday-Thursday, 9:00am-8:00pm, and Friday, 9:00am-3:00pm. You may make an appointment by calling 334-3125, or you can simply drop in, bringing your work-in-progress with you. It is highly encouraged that you utilize this resource.
Grading:
Exams (midterm and final): 35%
2 Papers (4-6 pages each): 35%
Class Participation/Attendance: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Class Schedule:
Week 1:
Aug 15: Intro to course. Syllabus.
Aug 17: Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are you Going, Where Have you Been?”
Aug 19: Sherman Alexie, “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”
Week 2:
Aug 22: Raymond Carver, “Cathedral”
Aug 24: Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
Aug 26: Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”
Week 3:
Aug 29: James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues”
Aug 31: Lorrie Moore, “How”
Sept 2: Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants”
Week 4:
Sept 5: Labor Day. No classes.
Sept 7: The Lover
Sept 9: The Lover
Week 5:
Sept 12: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”
Sept 14: Toni Cade Bambara, “The Lesson”
Sept 16: Paper #1 due
Week 6:
Sept 19: Tillie Olsen, “I Stand Here Ironing”
Sept 21: Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery”
Sept 23: John Updike, “A&P”
Week 7:
Sept 26: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Sept 28: Frank O’Connor, “Guests of a Nation”
Sept 30: Exam prep
Week 8:
Oct 3: James Joyce, “The Dead”
Oct 5: James Joyce, “The Dead”
Oct 7: Midterm Exam. Midterm Letters due
Week 9:
Oct 10: Fall Break
Oct 12: Joy Williams, “Taking Care”
Oct 14: F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Winter Dreams”
Week 10:
Oct 17: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Oct 19: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Oct 21: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Week 11:
Oct 24: film
Oct 26: film
Oct 28: film
Week 12:
Oct 31: film
Nov 2: Tobias Wolff, “Powder” and “Yes”
Nov 4: Paper #2 due
Week 13:
Nov 7: Edgar Allen Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado”
Nov 9: Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Gimpel the Fool”
Nov 11: Susan Minot, “Lust”
Week 14:
Nov 14: William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily”
Nov 16: June Spence, “Missing Women
Nov 18: Anton Chekhov, “The Lady with the Dog”
Week 15:
Thanksgiving Break
Week 16:
Nov 28: Fight Club
Nov 30: Fight Club
Dec 2: Exam prep
Week 17:
Dec 5: Eudora Welty, “Why I Live at the P.O.”
Dec 7: TBA
Dec 9: Final Exam. Final Letters due.
Happy Holidays!