Literature and Society

Literature and Society

English 183G-01 (6977)

Instructor: Paul Driskill

Meeting Times: MWF 11:00-11:50 and M 12:00-12:50 | Location: McCormack M02-0213

Office: W-06-0005 (6th floor of Wheatley)

Office Hours:

Email:

Course Description: This course introduces the complex relationship between literature and society. Close analytical reading of literary works with special attention to a writer's social milieu and choices of form (including figurative language and representations of speech), and how readers in varying social contexts have read and used the work. Special attention will be paid to the issues of race, dystopia, and science within this course.

Texts Required: All texts should be available in the bookstore.

Ellison, Ralph.Invisible Man. Second Vintage International Edition, March 1995. ISBN 0-679-73276-4. Copies on Amazon used between 2-15 dollars (depending on quality). Not as many of these as the other texts. New are more expensive (closer to 20).

Atwood, Margret.The Handmaid's Tale. First Anchor Books Edition, April 1998. ISBN 0-385-49081-X. Copies on Amazon for between 4-6 dollars, new and used.

Shelley, Mary.Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Penguin Books, 1992. ISBN-13: 978-0-141-43947-1. Copies on Amazon for between 4-8 dollars, new and used.

Class Wiki:

If something on the wiki does not download, search it. Most of the shorter texts we are reading exist online (I know because I found them!). I will not accept the “I couldn’t download / find it” excuse (unless many students are having trouble).

Grading by Percentage:

Discussion Sheets / In-class Writing: 25

Participation: 10

Essay 1: 15

Essay 2: 15

Essay 3: 25

Final Essay: 10

Discussion Sheets: More often than not, you will be expected to answer questions or prompts I provide. There will rarely be more than 6-7 questions designed to make you think more critically about the text. These will (I hope) also help you in the composition of papers by prompting you to think thematically and make connections between different parts of the novel and how the novel might fit within its social context. I will explain how these are graded in class.

Attendance: Required. 5 excused absences, meaning I do not need you to give me an excuse. Beyond 5 and there will be serious repercussions to your grade. HOWEVER, absence does not excuse missed assignments. If you miss in-class writing (which I do a lot of), you lose those points. If you miss homework, you lose those points.

Beyond 7 absences (more than two weeks’ worth of class)and you will automatically fail.

If you are more than 15 minutes late you are absent. If you are just five minutes late but consistently, we need to talk.

Talk to me: I try to make myself as available and as approachable as I can and as is appropriate for the course. If you are worried about anything (needing to miss a class, death in the family, struggling with an assignment, upset by a reading) talk to me. NOTHING BAD CAN HAPPEN FROM TALKING TO ME as long as you are reasonable and respectful. I am reasonable and I am always willing to work with students. Only remember that I must be fair—I cannot grant excessive leeway without doing an injustice to the other members of the class who work hard.

Extra Credit: Never one to discourage eager students, I may periodically offer extra credit. If a student comes to me asking for extra credit, I will be very skeptical. Students who have missed many classes or assignments surrender the right to extra credit. Extra credit is there to improve the grades of those who are doing the regular work of the class, not to replace work and not as a last-ditch effort to pass the course. Extenuating circumstances (severe illness, a death in the family) that are legitimate and somehow documented will be taken into consideration.

Papers: Papers are to be submitted electronically. I do this for several reasons. (1) It is easier to keep track of, less papers for me (and you) to shuffle through. (2) I comment more efficiently on PDFs using the comment feature than a printed out document. (3) I can see the development of your paper through various drafts and whether you have used my comments. (4) We are not restricted to submit only during the class period and I am not limited to returning only during the class period. (5) It allows me to have a “first come first serve policy,” meaning if you get in a paper to me early, I can read it and possibly get it back to you earlier. This encourages you to get the work done more quickly and allows me to stagger my grading rather than having to do it in a big chunk. (6) Invalidates the “I couldn’t get to a printer” excuse. (7) Saves you money (you don’t have to print!). (8) Good for the environment!

Writing Process: For each paper you can expect to do PRODUCTIVE group work (typically in the second hour of Monday classes). You will also turn in a 2-page draft—I must be strict on length otherwise I won’t be able to turn around drafts efficiently. We will always be working together on papers. You will always receive feedback from multiple sources (your peers and me).

Grading: Grading is not comparative—I will neither drop nor raise your grade depending on the performance of others in the class. Your work stands on its own. Regarding your effort and whether it should earn you an A, part of being a college student is learning how to work hard… although I cannot quantify and therefore cannot grade effort, if you feel you put in a great deal of work and did not receive the grade you deserve, COME TALK TO ME. Although I cannot promise anything, I am not averse to altering grades OR ACCEPTING REVISIONS as long as they are completed in an agreed-upon timeframe. Improvement in your academic writing and critical reading during the semester, however minor it may be, is one of the goals of the class. If you are improving, your grades will reflect this. Finally, regarding grammar and punctuation, I am not one of those professors who deducts for these errors, at least not at the 100 level. If I can understand your writing and you demonstrate a reasonable and consistent freshman-level mastery of the English language, you need not worry. Words get spelled wrong, commas misplaced.

Disabilities: 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. 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.

Classroom behavior and plagiarism: Always be respectful of other students and of your professor—don't shout over other students or me, don't use your cellphone or your computer for non-class-related activities, and certainly don't put anyone down. We can be respectful while discussing difficult subjects by focusing our comments on the topic, not on an individual.

Plagiarism (the un-cited reproduction of another's work) will not be tolerated. Plagiarism can at the very least result in the failure of a paper and, at the most, expulsion from the university. Plagiarism is theft. It is an act of desperation—failing a paper because you didn't finish it is preferable to turning in a plagiarized work. If you find yourself thinking “I have no way to finish this paper other than to plagiarize,” talk to me.

Schedule (subject to change!)

Monday / Wednesday / Friday
Labor Day, no class / 9.7 Intro day / 9.9
Due: What is the relationship between literature and society?
Handout: Syllabus
9.12 (1.1—elements of literature)
Read: “Slave on the Block” (Wiki)
DS / 9.13 Add/ Drop Ends / 9.14
Read: “Brownies” (Wiki)
DS / 9.16
Read: Cultural material
9.19 (1.2—Invisible Man: How to read to write)
Read: IM 3-70
DS
Handout: Analysis and synthesis tip sheet; MLA tip sheet. / 9.21
Read: IM 71-97
DS
Handout: Paper 1 assignment
Handout: Paper 1 brainstorming sheet / 9.23
Read: IM 98-135
Due: Bring in completed paper 1 brainstorming sheet and be prepared to discuss.
9.26 (1.3—Invisible Man: thinking thematically)
Read: IM 136-195
DS / 9.28
Read: IM 196-250
(This is a lot of reading, do your best. No discussion sheet!) / 9.30
Read: IM 251-295
DS
10.3 (1.4 Contextualizing Invisible Man)
Read: IM 296-355
Due: ??? / 10.5
Read: IM 356-382
DS / 10.7
Read: IM 383-422
DS
10.10 (1.5 Writing about Invisible Man)
Columbus Day, no school / 10.12
Read: IM 423-534
Due: Using your early brainstorming sheet and the themes discussed in class, bring in an expanded brainstorm incorporating the latter portions of the novel. Be prepared for discussion / group work. / 10.14
Read: Finish IM
Due: 1-2 page summary of IM.
10.17 (1.6 Paper 1)
NO READING
Due: 2pg draft for Peer review / 10.19
NO READING
Due (via email or blackboard anytime today): Revised draft for professor review, to be returned with comments 10.21 / 10.21
10.24 (2.1 Utopias and Dystopias)
Due (via email or blackboard anytime today): Final draft of paper 1
(May read one of the two short stories in class to clear up time for starting HMT) / 10.26
Read: “Harrison Bergeron” and “2BR02B” (wiki) – both short
DS
EXTRA CREDIT: Begin reading HMT and come in with questions, passages, themes. (Counts as +1 DS) / 10.28
Read: HMT 1-41
(No other assignment, just read!)
10.31 (2.2 Handmaid’s Tale)
Happy Halloween!
Read: HMT 41-141
DS (covers 1-141) / 11.2
Read: HMT 142-189
DS / 11.4
Read: HMT 190-233
DS
Handout: Paper 2 assignment sheet
11.7 (2.3 Contextualizing HMT)
Read: HMT 234-295 (end)
Due: Brainstorm for paper 2
Group work—planning for paper draft due 11.9 / 11.9
NO READING
Due (via email): 2pg. draft of paper 2 to be returned 11.11 with comments. / 11.11
Veterans Day No Class
NO READING, JUST FINISH PAPER
11.14 (Frankenstein)
Due (via email): Final draft of paper 2 anytime today.
Handout: “Reading Frankenstein and its Contexts” / 11.16
Read: Reading Frankenstein and its Contexts” / 11.18
Read: Fstein14-50
DS
11.21 (The Terror of Science: Promethean Readings of the Future)
Read: Fstein 50-112
DS / 11.22
Read: Fstein 113-151 / 11.23 Pass / Fail / With-drawal / 11.24 Thanksgiving break!
11.28 (Using cultural context to understand Frankenstein)
Read: Finish Fstein
NO OTHER HOMEWORK / 11.30
Read: Finish Fstein
One page brainstorm for paper three.
Handout: Peer review worksheet / 12.2
Due: 2 pages for peer review
12.5
Due (via email): Paper three / 12.7 ????? / 12.9 ????
12.12 ???? / 12.14 (last day of classes) ????