Section: ENGL273G-03Instructor: Alyssa Luck
Time: TTh 2:00-3:15pmEmail:
Room: McCormack 02-0616Office: W06-44
Office Hours: T&Th 3:30-5:00pm, or by appointment
Course Description: What is fiction? Why do we read it? What can it represent, reveal, or reevaluate about our lived experiences? These are the types of questions we will be exploring in this course. To begin this exploration, we will investigate the basic structural elements of fiction—plot, character, setting, etc.—as well as examine the relationship between the form and content of fictional works. Thenwe will enter into the scholarly conversation surrounding fiction by introducing some literary theory and criticism into our discussion. Ultimately, we will explore how all these elements enhance our enjoyment when engaging with fiction.
Course Goals: By the end of this course, students will be able to:
- utilize the language of literary studies
- perform insightful close readings of texts
- confidently engage with literary criticism and basic theoretical texts
Required Texts:
Gioia and Kennedy, An Introduction to Fiction 11th Edition(ISBN 978-0-205-68788-6)
Plath, The Bell Jar(ISBN 978-0-060-83702-0)
Kunkel, Indecision(ISBN 978-0-812-97375-4)
Auster, Karasik, and Mazzucchelli, Paul Auster’s City of Glass(Graphic Novel, ISBN 978-0-312-42360-5)
Course Grade Breakdown:
In-class Assessments: 15%
Formal Papers (3 total): 60%(10%, 25%, 25%)
Attendance and Participation: 10%
Final Project: 15%
The Intermediate Seminar Program
About: The Intermediate Seminars offer students with 30 or more credits the opportunity to work on essential university capabilities in small-sized courses that are often thematic or problem-oriented and interdisciplinary in nature. Designed in part to help students prepare for the Writing Proficiency Requirement, Intermediate Seminars put special emphasis on critical reading, thinking, and writing. They focus on other essential capabilities as appropriate to the course and might therefore include attention to library research and information technology, collaborative learning, oral presentation, and academic self-assessment. Students who practiced reading, writing, and critical thinking in a First Year Seminar at UMass Boston will practice them at a more advanced level in the Intermediate Seminar.
Only ONE Intermediate Seminar may be taken for credit. If you have taken another G200-level course in any department at UMB, you cannot receive credit for this one.
Prerequisites: English 101, English 102, First Year Seminar (or waiver), and 30 credits. The First Year Seminar is automatically waived for students who enter UMB with 30 or more transfer credits. Because these are intensive reading and writing courses, some students may find it helpful to enroll in CRW 221 to further develop their skills with college-level writing before taking an Intermediate Seminar. Discuss your situation with the instructor if you have any questions about these prerequisites or your readiness for the work in this course.
The Writing Proficiency Requirement: Except for students in the College of Management, all UMass Boston undergraduates complete the University’s Writing Proficiency Requirement through the Writing Proficiency Evaluation (WPE). The Writing Proficiency Requirement is not the same as the writing placement test you may have taken when you entered UMass Boston. The WPE can be met through either an examination or a take-home essay submitted along with a portfolio of papers written for UMB courses. See the WPR website ( for more details about the exam and portfolio options and dates. Students who have not already satisfied the WPR should arrange to take the exam or submit a portfolio shortly after completing this course.
Assessment of Intermediate Seminars: In addition to course evaluation forms that are routinely administered at the end of each course at UMass Boston, Intermediate Seminar students are asked to complete a self-assessment questionnaire addressing their progress as critical thinkers and writers. Additionally, each term an assessment committee will look at randomly chosen student writing from a small sample of Intermediate Seminars. Please save all your writing in this course so that, if you are chosen, you will have your work available. The purpose of this evaluation is to improve the program and to improve particular courses as necessary, not to evaluate individual students. You may remove your name from your papers if you prefer to submit them anonymously.
Support Services: The Academic Support Office offers both individual tutoring and drop-in workshops for students who need help with the critical reading, thinking and writing skills necessary for success in General Education courses such as this one. More information is available online ( or at their Campus Center office (CC1-1300).
The Ross Center for Disability Services (CCUL-0211) provides accommodations and educational resources for students with demonstrated needs, as outlined on their website ( ). Should you be eligible for these services, you should contact the Ross Center right away so that their staff can help you identify appropriate accommodations in this and other courses.
Finally, if it appears that you might not pass this Intermediate Seminar and if the instructor cannot figure out how to support your success in the course, the instructor might inform one of the University advisers working with the Student Referral Program. This strictly confidential program is part of an early warning system designed to help students address personal and academic difficulties that may interfere with their progress in the University.
Policies and Assessment
Student Plagiarism and Classroom Behavior: Students are expected to abide by the University’s Code of Student Conduct in all their classes at UMass Boston ( Plagiarism is a particularly serious violation, as outlined in the Academic Honesty section of the code (section VI), and will not be tolerated in this class. An act of academic dishonesty, plagiarism can include actions such as presenting another writer’s work as your own work; copying passages from print or internet sources without proper citation; taking ideas off the internet, modifying them, and presenting them as your own; or submitting the same work for more than one course. If you plagiarize, you will fail this course. Plagiarism cases will be referred to the Chair of the English Department. Also note that plagiarism can result in further academic sanctions such as suspension.
In addition to the specific violations of student conduct itemized in section VII of the code, we urge all students to be mindful of broad standards of civility. Offensive and insulting behavior undermines the sense of community that the Intermediate Seminars strive to build. Class discussion and group projects can be productive only in a climate of respect for the opinions and beliefs of all. A healthy exchange about issues may include disagreement about ideas, but it must not demean the character or background of the individuals holding those ideas.If you engage in uncivil behavior, such as making inappropriate comments to your professor or fellow students in the classroom, out of the classroom, or via email or social networking sites, you can be referred to the Chair of the English Department for sanctions that can include the lowering of your course grade. You can also be referred to the Dean of Students
Email:I will frequently be sending out emails for class to your UMB email addresses. These emails will contain important information for the course including readings, class cancellations, assignment updates, and any other notifications I may need to send to the entire class. Please check your UMB email regularly or follow the instructions here: ( to forward your UMB email to another email address.
Wiki:The class wiki can be found at: required readings for this course will be posted on the class wiki as well as digital copies of this syllabus and all essay assignments. Please download any readings marked on the reading schedule as PDFs and bring a printed or electronic copy with you to class.
Attendance and Participation (10%):This is a discussion-based class and the only way you can contribute to that discussion is to be present. Therefore, you are only allowed three (3) absences (there are no “excused” or “unexcused”—you just get three). After the third absence your grade will drop one half of a letter grade (e.g., from a B+ to a B) for each additional absence up to two. Once you reach six (6) absences you will fail the course.Please note that incompletes are rarely offered, as they are reserved for students who are unable to complete a small portion of the course at the end of the term due to an extreme circumstance such as illness. Incompletes are not allowed to replace a significant amount of coursework or absences. UMB’s incomplete policy can be found at:
As this is a discussion-based class, your participation is not only encouraged, but also expected. Just showing up is not enough to earn an A for participation, you must actively contribute to class. Participation can take many forms: answering and posing questions, participating in group activities, drawing the class’ attention to exemplary passages in the text at hand, and anything else that may enrich our discussion. You may also visit me in my office hours (or make an appointment) if you have any questions, concerns, or just want to continue the discussion.
A note on technology in the classroom: computers and e-readers are permitted in the classroom. However, if these devices become a distraction to you or anyone else, they will no longer be allowed. Cellphones should be off and away during the entirety of class.
In-class Assessments (15%):There will be ten (10) in-class assessments throughout the semester to serve as reading checks and help you engage with the assigned texts in specific ways. The form of these assessments will vary and include such exercises as reading quizzes, short writing prompts, and brief explications of quotes. These assessments will be given withoutprior notice.
Formal Papers (60%):You will be expected to complete three (3) formal writing assignments as follows:
1.)A close reading (1-2 pages) of a character from a short story (worth 10% of your final grade)
2.)An essay (5-6 pages) that engages with scholarly criticism (worth 25% of your final grade)
3.)An essay (5.5-6 pages) that juxtaposes the two novels we will be reading this semester (worth 25% of your final grade)
All papers are due at the beginning of class and only hard copies will be accepted.
Do not email me your papers.
Final Project (15%): The final project will be a short presentation that will focus on our final text of the semester, City of Glass.This project will expect you to utilize most of the skills and terms we have discussed throughout the semester.
Final Note:Professor Cheryl Nixon is the supervisor of the Intermediate Seminar English courses. Please expect occasional visits to our class from Professor Nixon, as well as from other Intermediate Seminar instructors.
Reading Schedule*
*Subject to change at instructor’s discretion.
Unit One: Short Stories
Week One: Attempted Escapes
Jan.28: Review Syllabus; Atwood, “Happy Endings” (482-485); Chopin, “Story of An Hour” (516-517)
30: Cather, “Paul’s Case” (491-504)
Week Two: Bounded Societies
Feb. 3: Add/ Drop Ends
4: Assign Paper # 1 (2-3 pgs)
Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (436-447);
6: Vonnegut, “Harrison Bergeron” (215-220);Jackson, “The Lottery” (247-252)
Week Three: Conflicted Individuals
Feb.11: Paper #1 Due
Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” (36-40); Paz, “My Life with the Wave”(348-352)
13: Faulkner, “Barn Burning” (155-167); Volpe, “Myth in Faulkner’s ‘Barn Burning’” (695-696)
Week Four: Historic Presents
Feb. 18: Assign Paper #2
Walker, “Everyday Use” (455-461); Excerpts of critical articles on Alice Walker’s “Everyday
Use” (464-470)
20: Walker “Strong Horse Tea” (PDF)
Week Five: Literary Critics
Feb. 25: Hooker, “Reanimating the Trope of the Talking Book in Alice Walker’s ‘Strong
Horse Tea’” (PDF)
27: Thesis Workshop
Unit Two: Novels
Week Six: The Bell Jar
Mar. 4: Draft Workshop: Paper #2 Draft Due
6: Paper #2 Due
Ch. 1-3 (1-37)
Week Seven: The Bell Jar
Mar. 11: Ch. 4-8 (38-98)
13: Ch. 9-12 (99-153)
Week Eight: SPRING BREAK
Mar. 18: NO CLASS
20: NO CLASS
Week Nine:Bell Jar & Indecision
Mar. 25: Finish Bell Jar: Ch. 13-20(154-244)
27: Indecision Prologue and Ch. 1-3 (3-44)
Week Ten: Indecision
Apr. 1: Ch. 4-8 (45-96)
3: Ch. 9-14 (99-136)
Week Eleven: Indecision
Apr. 8: Ch. 15-20 (137-183)
10: Course Withdrawal; Pass/Fail deadline
Paper # 3 assigned
Ch. 21-22 (187-204)
Week Twelve: Indecision
Apr. 15: Ch. 23-24 and Epilogue (205-241)
17: Indecision & Bell Jar Wrap Up
Thesis Workshop
Unit Three: The Graphic Novel
Week Thirteen: Introduction to Graphic Novels
Apr.22: Draft Workshop: Paper #3 Draft Due
24: Paper # 3 Due
Introduction to Graphic Novels
Week Fourteen: City of Glass
Apr. 29: City of Glass w/ at least 3 typed questions
May 1: City of Glass
Week Fifteen: City of Glass/Final Projects
May 6: City of Glass; Final Project Presentations
8: Final Project Presentations
Week Sixteen: City of Glass/Final Projects
May 13: Final Project Presentations
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