English 2600-3: Critical Introduction to Literary Forms: Modes and Manners of Representation
WBB 617~ T, H 10:45-12:05
Neal Carroll:
Mailbox: LNCO 3500
Office: LNCO 3805~Office Hours: T, TH 3:00-4:00 or by appt.
Course Description, Objectives and General Requirements
One might safely assume that English majors, or students interested enough in literature to take a course at the university level, enjoy reading, and perhaps even recognize some intrinsic value in books and literature (whether there is any such value or not). Why? What makes us as individuals, and as a culture, place such an enormous value on something that, as Plato has pointed out, is inherently notreal or true? Why has every culture through history produced some form of spoken or written art form that might be considered literary? Why do we bother to study these literary productions at every educational level, and care so much about them as a culture? I think one route toward answering these not inconsequential questions lies in a consideration of representation, or what the Greeks called mimesis. Why do humans represent, and for what purposes? Is representation instructive and necessary, as Aristotle thought, or an insidious corruption, as Plato believed, that must be banished from a healthy society along with its progenitors, the poets?
We will explore these questions, and others, en route to fulfilling this course’s main objective, which is to act as an introduction to literary forms and terminology that English majors and students interested in literature will use in subsequent literary study. This course is designed to provide you with the specialized“tools” needed to think, speak and write about literature in its various forms. In addition, this class is designed to expand your ability to think critically and engage in multi-sided inquiry. As such, participation in class discussion is not only encouraged, but mandatory. Like all English courses, English 2600 is reading and writing intensive. Please complete all readings for the day the readings are listed in the syllabus. Be prepared to discuss the material in class. Do not fall behind on the readings. Students will complete three short essays of two pages each, as well as two formal critical essays of five pages each. I will administer regular quizzes on the reading. In addition, there will be a mid-term and a take home final exam.
Required Texts
Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio. New York: Viking, 1996.
Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Drama, and Writing. Sixth Edition. San Francisco: Pearson/Longman, 2007. *Packaged w/ an accompanying Handbook of Literary Terms. (You will refer to the handbook of terms often!)
Woolf, Virginia. To the Lighthouse. New York: Harcourt, 2005.
***Additional materials available on Web CT as indicated on syllabus***
Course Requirements, Assignments & Grading Breakdown
Terminology: You will find a list of literary terms on Web CT. For the most part, I will not teach, and we will not discuss, these terms in a programmatic fashion in class. Rather, we will spend our time and energy discussing the texts we’ve read together with the understanding that the important terminology and the ideas these terms represent will arise in a more “organic” manner during our discussions. Nonetheless, it is your job to stay current and assimilate these terms into your understanding as we encounter them. Be prepared to be tested on literary terms: They will often be included in the weekly quizzes.
Short essays: You will complete threeshort (two double-spaced pages in 12 pt. font) essays and submit each in class on the day it is listed as due on the syllabus. The first of the essays will be an analysis of either the Plato and Aristotle or Glaspell’s short play Trifles. The two remaining essays will be argument papers in which you establish a thesis or claim about a certain work, then support that argument through close readings of the primary text. The argument papers can be used as development for the two longer critical essays.(15%)
Quizzes: There will be regular, brief quizzes on the readings and terms. I will drop each student’s lowest grade at the end of the semester. There are absolutely no makeup quizzes. (10%)
Critical essays: Two lengthier (five double spaced pages in 12 pt. font) critical essays will be assigned over the course of the semester. We will discuss these in more detail as the need arises. Assignment guidelines will be posted on Web CT. (15% each)
NB: All essays must follow MLA guidelines to format your work and document your sources (see 1495-1501 in Literature). Use 1” margins and 12 pt. Times New Roman font on 8.5” x 11.5” paper.
Mid-Term Exam: The mid-term exam will consist of identification, short answer and short essay questions on literary terms, concepts and texts read or discussed throughout the semester. (15%)
Final Exam: There will be a take-home final exam. The final exam will be comprehensive and will consist of a number of essay questions on the literary works we’ve encountered during the course of the semester. The final exam will be typed and should be approximately 12-15 double spaced pages in length when completed. (20%)
In-class participation: This course is discussion based and should be interactive. As such, active in-class participation is required. (10%)
Course Reading and Assignment Schedule
1/11: Course Introduction
1/13: Reading: Plato, “Book X” from the Republic (Web CT); Reading: Aristotle, excerpts from Poetics (Web CT)
1/18: Reading: Literature 806-809, “Reading a Play”; 809-819, Susan Glaspell, Trifles; 820-824, “Analyzing Trifles”
1/20: Reading: Literature 852-859, “The Theater of Sophocles”; 860-897, Sophocles, Oedipus the King; Read 1357-1433, “Writing About Literature,” etc. Pay close attention to the sections on “Explication” & “Analysis” 1385-1391 for the upcoming assignment
1/25:Reading: Literature 898-902, “Critics on Sophocles”; finish Sophocles, Oedipus the King; Due: Short essay # 1: Write an analysis paper on one of the two following topics. Make sure you support your analysis with textual evidence: 1) How do Plato’s and Aristotle’ respective theories of mimesis differ? Explain how these differences inform their respective receptions of art. 2) Glaspell’s play Trifles explores, among other things, what she sees as a fundamental moral or ethical contradiction in American society. Analyze this paradox as it is presented in the text.
1/27: Reading: Literature 1027-1032, “The Modern Theater”; 1032-1084, Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House
2/1:Finish Ibsen, A Doll’s House; Reading: “Interpreting Texts” from Text Book: An Introduction to Literary Language (Web CT)
2/3:Reading: ; Reading: Literature 13-24, 316-318, “Plot,” “Short Story”;25-40, 142-145, 74, “Point of View”; William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily,” Edgar Allan Poe, “The Tell-tale Heart”
2/8: Reading: Literature 75-77, 84-87, “Character”; Katherine Mansfield, “Miss Brill”; Reading: Literature 114-121, 137, “Setting”; T.C. Boyle, “Greasy Lake”
2/10: Reading: Literature 138-141, “Tone and Style”; 157-158, “Irony”; 312-316, Jorge Luis Borges, “The Gospel According to Mark”; Henry James, “The Jolly Corner” (Web CT)
2/15: Reading: Literature 173-175, 225-236, 325-336; Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”; Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”
2/17:Reading: Literature 189-191, 208-224, “Symbol”; Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”; Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery”
2/22: Reading: James Joyce, “The Dead” (Web CT); Bruce Avery, “Distant Music: Sound and the Dialogics of Satire in ‘The Dead’” (Web CT).
2/24:Finish “The Dead”
3/1: Reading: Literature 409-430, “Reading a Poem”; Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” 418; Gerald Manley Hopkins, “Pied Beauty” 488, “Spring and Fall” & “The Windhover” 760
3/3: Due: Short Essay # 2: (Topic TBD); Reading: Literature 553-568, “Rhythm,” 471-481 “Saying and Suggesting”; Reading: Literature 482-499 “Imagery,” 501-518 “Figures of Speech”; John Keats, “To Autumn” 765
3/8:Reading: Literature 569-582 “Closed Form,” 450-454 “Words” (Pay particular attention to the sonnets for class discussion). Sonnets by Mallarme, Baudelaire and McKay (Web CT).
3/10:Reading: Literature 586-601 “Open Form”; 605-616 “Symbol”; Critical Casebook on Emily Dickinson, 682-693
3/15: Due: Critical essay # 1, on either Drama or the Short Story; Reading: T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” 711-715; Literature 716-722 “T.S. Eliot on Writing” and “Critics on ‘Prufrock’”
3/17:Mid-Term Exam
3/223/24:No Class—Spring Break
3/29:Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio
3/31:Finish Winesburg, Ohio; Criticism on Anderson (TBD) (Web CT)
4/5:Reading: William Wordsworth, “Tintern Abbey” (Web CT)
4/7: Reading: William Wordsworth, from The Prelude(1805)
4/12:Due: Short essay # 3: (Topic TBD); Finish Wordsworth; Criticism on Wordsworth (TBD) (Web CT)
4/14:Reading: Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse. Be at least through Part 1, “The Window.”
4/19: Reading: be at least through Part 2, “Time Passes” of To the Lighthouse; Erich Auerbach “The Brown Stocking” from Mimesis (Web CT)
4/21: Reading: Finish Woolf.
4/26: Course roundup; exam overview. Hand out final exam. Due: Critical essay #2
Wednesday, 5/4 Final Exam due in my mailbox by noon
Course Policies
The American with Disabilities Act requires that reasonable accommodations be provided for students with physical, sensory, cognitive, systemic, learning, and psychiatric disabilities. Please contact the instructor or teaching assistant of this course at the beginning of the semester to discuss any such accommodations you deem appropriate.
Incompletes
The English Department offers Incompletes only under extraordinary circumstances.
Course Withdrawals
See this semester’s Class Schedule for deadlines and procedures.
Plagiarism Policy
The English Department’s standard sanction for plagiarism is a failing grade (E) for the course in question. See sections II and V of the Student Code for details. If you are having trouble with this course or specific assignments and deadlines, please see me! Together, we can come up with solutions better than cheating.
Important Note on Potentially Offensive Course Material
Absolutely no content accommodations will be made. Scholarly engagement with literary, theoretical, and other cultural texts (possibly including short viewings of R-rated movies or television programs) sometimes requires encountering material from outside an individual’s philosophical, religious, political, or personal comfort zones. Please be advised that this course may contain such material. Students who feel that this may be a matter of concern should consult with the instructor immediately after this first class session.