ENGL 2800 TMWB (80330)Great Works Ifall 2014

ENGL 2800 TMWB (80330)Great Works Ifall 2014

ENGL 2800 TMWB (80330)Great Works IFall 2014

English 2800 – Spring 2015

Great Works of Literature I

Instructor - Michael S. Miller Section TMWA (55141)

Email - Mon/Wed 7:45 – 9:25 p.m.

Office Hours - VC 7-290 I - M/W 6:30-7:30 Room VC 8-135

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course offers a survey of some of the most widely read and important works of world literature, from ancient Sumerian epic to the Early Modern period in Europe. Through close reading, guided discussion, writing, and oral presentation, we will interpret, analyze, and evaluate works critically in terms of their genre, style, literary conventions, and historical and geographic contexts.

This is a communication-intensive course. We will use both formal and informal writing, in-class discussion, oral presentations, and individual projects, not only to assess your learning and participation, but, more importantly, as tools to engage critically with texts and practice sharing your ideas and insights with the class and beyond.

Learning GOALS

Students who successfully complete the Great Works courses should be able to

  • interpret meaning in literary texts by paying close attention to authors’ choices of detail, vocabulary, and style;
  • discuss the relationship between different genres of literary texts and the multicultural environments from which they spring;
  • articulate a critical evaluation and appreciation of a literary work’s strengths and limitations;
  • present their ideas orally;
  • write critical essays employing
  • a strong thesis statement,
  • appropriate textual citations,
  • contextual and inter-textual evidence for their ideas.

Required Texts

  • The Norton Anthology of World Literature, third edition, Package 1 (Volumes A, B & C)
  • Our course blog at http://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/english2800mmiller2015spring/

expectations

Reading: Plan adequate time for reading. You will have anywhere from 30 to 50 pages of reading per class period, including primary texts and background reading, so plan ahead. You will be graded in part on your preparedness and participation in class discussion, which includes having a copy of the day's readings and demonstrating, by your responses to discussion questions, quizzes, and in-class writing, that you have read them. From time to time, I will assign additional short readings to compliment the readings on the syllabus.

Writing

I will assign 3 types of writing in the course of the semester:

1) Blogging. Each student will write 2 posts of 2 to 3 paragraphs to be published on the class's Blogs at Baruch site. You may base your post on one of the discussion questions I post on the blog, or a topic of your choice. In addition, each student will respond to at least 2 other students' blog posts. I will ask for volunteers for each week's posts.

2) In-Class Writing. We will have several in-class writing assignments (short essays written in response to a prompt on our readings up to that point) or reading quizzes. These in-class essays/quizzes will be unannounced and can occur on any class day. For some of these in-class assignments, you will be allowed to reference your text. If you’re absent or late on the day of an in-class essay/quiz, you will receive a grade of zero. There are no make-ups for in-class writing assignments, but I will drop your lowest in-class essay/quiz grade.

3) Formal Writing. You will draft and revise one close reading of 3-4 pages, and one fully developed analytic essay of from 6-8 pages. You may base your essays on ideas you started to develop in your blog posts or in-class writing.

Grading: Final grade will be based on the following:

  • Preparedness for and Participation in Class – 20%
  • In-class writing and quizzes – 20%
  • Blog Posts and Responses – 20%
  • Formal Essay – 20%
  • Final Exam – 20%

Attendance: Every absence beyond 3 class periods, for any reason, will lower your grade by one letter grade. You will be docked 1/2 period for every 20 minutes of missed class you accumulate (coming late, leaving early, leaving during class, etc.). Missing more than 30 minutes of any class period will count as an absence for that period.

POLICIES

Academic Honesty

Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college's educational mission and the students' personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned. For a full description of Baruch College's policies on academic honesty, visit http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html

Accommodations for Student with Disabilities

Students with disabilities may be eligible for a reasonable accommodation to enable them to participate fully in courses at Baruch. If you feel you may be in need of an accommodation, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at (646) 312‑4590.

COURSE SCHEDULE[*]

Week 1

Wed 1/28Introduction to the Course; Intro to Oral and Narrative Verse

Week 2

Mon 2/2The Epic of Gilgamesh Intro, Tablets I-V (Norton A 95-124)

Wed 2/4The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablets VI-XI (Norton 124-151)

Week 3

Mon 2/9The Hebrew Bible Intro, from Genesis (Norton A 151-174)

Wed 2/11The Hebrew Bible: from Genesis, Exodus, & Job (Norton A 174-218)

Week 4

Mon 2/16Presidents' Day - NO CLASSES SCHEDULED

Wed 2/18Homer, The Iliad Introduction, Book I & VI (Norton A 222-256)

Week 5

Mon 2/23Homer, The Iliad Books VIII, IX & XVI (256-283)

Wed 2/25Homer, The Iliad Books XVIII, XXII & XXIV (284-331)

Week 6

Mon 3/2Sophocles, Oedipus the King lines 1 - 1049. (Norton A 707-731)

Wed 3/4Sophocles, Oedipus the King lines 1050 - end. (Norton A 731-747)

Week 7

Wed 3/11"Early Chinese Literature and Thought" (Norton A 1311-1319)

Classic of Poetry Introduction and Poems (Norton A 1320-1330)

Draft of Close Reading Due

Week 8

Mon 3/16

Wed 3/18"Circling the Mediterranean: Europe and the Islamic World" (Norton B 3-17)

"The Christian Bible: The New Testament Gospels" (Norton B 18-33)

Week 9

Mon 3/23The Qur'an Intro and Selected Text (Norton B 71-98)

Ibn Ishaq, from The Biography of the Prophet (Norton B 98-107)

Wed 3/25Beowulf Introduction and lines 1-835 (Norton B 107-130)

Week 10

Mon 3/30Beowulf lines 836 - 1798 (Norton B 131-153)

Revised Close Reading Due

Wed 4/1Beowulf lines 1798 - end (Norton B 153-182)

Week 11

Mon 4/13The Thousand and One Nights (Norton B 552-574)

Wed 4/15The Thousand and One Nights (Norton B 574-605)

Week 12

Mon 4/20Christine de Pizan, from The Book of the City of Ladies (Norton B 781-803)

Wed 4/22"India's Classical Age" & "The Classical Tamil Lyric" (Norton B 837-846; 855- 858). Akam Poems (859-869). Param Poems (869-871)

Week 13

Mon 4/27"Japan's Classical Age" (Norton B 1073-1081)

Sei Shōnagon, from The Pillow Book (Norton B 1127-1153)

Draft of Final Paper Due

Wed 4/29 "Encounter with Islam" (Norton C 3-11)

Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples (Norton C 12-46)

Week 14

Mon 5/4Sunjata (Norton C 47-74)

Wed 4/6William Shakespeare, Hamlet Intro & Act 1 (Norton C 652-678)

Week 15

Mon 5/11William Shakespeare, Hamlet Acts 2 & 3 (Norton C 679-719)

Wed 5/13Hamlet Acts 4 & 5 (719-751)

Revised Final Essay Due

Final Exam - TBA

Miller1 of 4

[*] The schedule is subject to change depending on the pace of our reading, discussions, and other classroom activities.

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