AcadiaUniversity Faculty of Arts

English 1413 B1: Writing and Reading Critically

Regular Session 2006-2007 (Fall Term)

MWF, 9:30 pm-10:20 pm. (Slot 2) Location: BAC 206

Instructor: Dr. Jon Saklofske
Email: / Office: 423 BAC
Office Phone: 585-1442
Office Hours: 2:00-3:00 p.m. MWF or by
appointment

Course Description and Objectives:

This course will introduce you to the study of literature in English through close readings, comparative considerations and an exploration of the form, content and context of a number of representative literary works. The purpose of this course is to enjoy our encounter with poetry, prose and drama from various historical periods while exercising and improving our skills in comprehension, composition and independent critical thought.

Required Course Materials:

1. Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Toronto: The Modern Library, 2002.

2. Mamon, Elaine, Janice Peritz and Melanie Rubens, eds. A Writer’s Resource: A Handbook for Writing and Research. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2006.

3. Stott, Jon, Raymond Jones and Rick Bowers, eds.The Harbrace Anthology of Literature. 4th Edition. Toronto: Nelson Thomson, 2006.

Assignments and Evaluation:

Students are expected to attend class, to participate in class discussions, to keep up with assigned readings, to read carefully and critically and to fully participate in the technological components of the course. Please note that the last day to drop first term courses without academic penalty is October 27. Your final grade will be based on the following partial grades:

15%: Essay #1: (1200 words/ 4 pages minimum)Due Oct. 4

10%: Essay #2: In-Class Essay (600 wordsminimum)WrittenNov 1st

20%: Essay #3: (1500 words/ 5 pages minimum)Due Nov. 22

15%: MOO Project (due by the final day of classes)

10%: Attendance, Participation, Quizzes, Group Work.

Sub-Total: 70%

+30%: Final Exam

Total: 100%

  • The essay assignments are to be word-processed, double-spaced, and make use of a 12-point font. Each essay should be written in a clear, concise and formal manner and will consist of a central thesis supported by a well-structured argument. Topics will be provided for the essay assignments through ACME (except for the in-class essay) in the first week of the course. Essays will be evaluated for both content and style. Please use the MLA format for documentation in your papers, making use of MLA citation style and including a Works Cited page. Strategies and formatting guides can be found in the required text, A Writer’s Resource, and can be found at:
  • Except for the in-class essay, all essay assignments should be submitted to me electronically via ACME.
  • The In-Class Essay will be handwritten during class time on the scheduled date and will be closed book (no textbooks, notes, computers or other material allowed).
  • Final Exam: There will be a mandatory final examination scheduled during the April examination period. The final exam will be worth 30% of your final grade.

Penalties:

  1. Late Assignments: Papers are due before the end of class on the specified due date. After class is considered late. It is your responsibility to contact me as soon as possible regarding late or missed assignments. Late assignments are subject to a penalty of 1/3 letter grade per day (including weekends) unless you are granted an extension due to documented medical or compassionate circumstances (i.e a “B” paper that is handed in two days late would receive a mark of “C+”). As well, late assignments will be graded, but will include no written commentary. Late essays not submitted electronically MUST be date stamped and submitted to me via the English Department Office (Room 415, BAC). I do not accept papers submitted under my office door. Please ensure that papers uploaded to ACME folders are visible to you in those folders after uploading (If you can't see it, then I can't access it).
  1. Plagiarism: Please refer to the section entitled "Academic Integrity" on pages 28-29 of the 2006-2007 Calendar for AcadiaUniversity's policies regarding plagiarism. Note that penalties for plagiarism include rewriting work, receiving a failing grade for a particular assignment, failing the course or being dismissed from the university. Please be aware that faculty members reserve the right to utilise software or websites to test student assignments for the presence of plagiarised material. Although some class time will be spent learning how to avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism, when in doubt, ask me for advice or go to
  1. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. More than 3 unexcused absences per term will result in a significant deduction from your participation mark.

Please note that I will not accept assignments submitted or completed after the last day of lectures.

Course Outline

  1. Poetry
  1. Form: The Sonnet
  2. Content: a. Speaker, Tone, and Irony

b. Figurative Language, Imagery and Symbol

  1. Context: Native Canadian Poetry
  1. Drama
  1. Oscar Wilde. The Importance of Being Earnest
  1. Prose
  1. Short Fiction
  2. Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass

English 1423 B1: Tentative Reading Schedule

(Readings may be supplemented or modified as the term progresses)

September / 6 / Introduction
8, 11 / Introduction to Poetry
13, 15, 18 / Poetic Form: The Sonnet
  • Edmund Spenser “One day I wrote her name upon the strand” (29-30)
  • Michael Drayton “Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part” (31)
  • William Shakespeare “Sonnet 18” (35) and “Sonnet 130” (37)

20, 22, 25, 27 / Poetic Content I: Speaker, Tone and Irony
  • Alfred, Lord Tennyson “Ulysses” (161-63)
  • Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” (164-5)
  • Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz” (259) (Group Work)

October / 29
2, 4 / October 4: Essay#1 Due
Poetic Content II: Figurative Language, Images and Symbols
  • Tom Dawe “The Bear” (339-342)
  • Wallace Stevens “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird”
(
6, 11, 13, 16 / Poetic Context: Native Canadian Poetry
  • Louise Halfe “My Ledders” (376-77)
  • Marilyn Dumont “Letter to Sir John A. Macdonald” (379-380), “The Devil’s Language” (380-381)

18, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30 / Drama:
Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest (525-575)
November / 1 / Essay #2: In Class Essay
3, 6, 8, 10, 15, 17 / Prose: Short Stories
  • Herman Melville ‘Bartleby the Scrivener” (910-937)
  • Charlotte Perkins Gilman “The Yellow Wallpaper” (987-999)
  • Thomas King “Borders” (1166-1174)

December / 20, 22, 24, 27, 29
1 / November 22: Essay #3 Due
Prose: Novel
  • Lewis Carroll Through the Looking Glass

4 / Moo Project due by today
Review