English 210: Introduction to Literature
English 210: Introduction to Literature
Summer 2011
Defining the Literary Experience
Jason T. McEntee, Associate Professor and Head
SDSU Department of English
012N Scobey Hall; mailbox: 016 Scobey Hall
Phone: 688-5191
E-mail: Please use the D2L e-mail feature; you may also e-mail me at
Should you have questions regarding this course, please contact me immediately through e-mail.
REQUIREDTEXTS
PLEASE NOTE: All texts will be available for you at the bookstore. In addition, I have included the ISBN numbers so that you can obtain the edition that I will refer to in our discussions. BEWARE: If you obtain a different version of the text, you are on your own in terms of locating the pages (and corresponding passages) to which I will refer, and in all papers, exams, etc., in which you refer to a different edition, you must tell me the edition from which you are citing.
Leaves of Grass (1855). Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass: The 1892 Edition. New York, Bantam Books, 1983. ISBN: 0553211161
"The Yellow Wallpaper" and "Turned." Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper.New York: Dover, 1997. ISBN: 0486298574
Mao II (1991). DeLillo, Don. Mao II. New York: Penguin Books, 1991. ISBN:0140152741
Animal Farm (1946). Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Signet, 1996. ISBN: 0451526341
Maus I (1992). Spiegelman, Art. Maus I. New York: Pantheon Books, 1992. ISBN: 0394747232
Patriotism (1960). Mishima, Yukio. Patriotism. New York: New Directions Publishing, 1995. ISBN: 0811213129
A Room of One’s Own (1929). Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own. New York: Harvest Books, 1989. ISBN: 0156787334
ABOUT THIS COURSE
"‘You have a twisted sense of the writer’s place in society. You think the writer belongs at the far margin, doing dangerous things. In Central America, writers carry guns. They have to. And this has always been your idea of the way it ought to be. The state should want to kill all writers. Every government, every group that holds power or aspires to power should feel so threatened by writers that they hunt them down, everywhere.’"—Charlie to Billy Gray in Mao II (97)
Through a handful of novels, poems, and short stories, we will attempt to define our sense of place—in a culture, a community, a nation, and even the world—by examining the "Literary Experience." That is, how can literature help us understand our relationship to, and understanding of, how we as individuals fit into a larger socio-cultural (and even political) network; in turn, how can we take this understanding and connect it to such issues as gender/sexuality, race, class, politics, and patriotism? By using literature as our guide, we will examine how authors can give us insight into how humans experience passion, anger, resentment, love, hatred, and happiness (to name a few)—all of which will allow us to examine what it means not only to live in America but also to be an American and share in the Literary Experience. This course will challenge you to make connections between early periods in literature leading up to contemporary literature. This course is a writing- and reading-intensive course. To this end we will discuss and practice strategies for effective argumentation—focusing specifically on those skills necessary for writing about literature.
From the course descriptions: Engl 210: Introduction to Literature, 3 credits, offered Fall, Spring and Summer semesters. Readings in fiction, drama, and poetry to acquaint students with literature and aesthetic form.
COURSE POLICIES, ASSIGNMENTS, ETC.
GRADING: I grade with a standard grading scale: 100-90=A; 89-80=B; 79-70=C; 69-60=D; and 59-0=failing. I will grade each assignment and exam on a point system.
LATE WORK: I do not accept late work, regardless of the reason. This is an on-line course, so it is your responsibility to get things to me on the assigned date by the assigned time. Plan ahead. If you have an emergency and you are unable to complete your work on time--and you must provide documentation for this--I will allow you to make up missed work within a reasonable time frame.
PLAGIARISM: Zero tolerance policy. Two kinds of plagiarism exist: 1) intentional (the representation of the ideas or words of another as your own); and 2) accidental (an error in citing a source properly). Both are inappropriate. Accidental plagiarism will affect your grade severely; intentional plagiarism will result in grade of zero on the essay, and I will prosecute to the fullest extent possible as instructed by the university (which might include failure of the course, expulsion from the university, or both). If you have any questions about how to properly cite a source, please see me before you turn in an assignment.
ASSIGNMENTS: ALL assignments must be completed in order to pass this course.
Reader-Responses (35 percent; 100 points each X 7 responses): Several reading assignments will have a corresponding prompt, which I will post on our course page. You will post these responses on our course page, following my lead. These responses will contribute to our overall discussion, and it is your responsibility to develop responses that are detailed, organized, and clearly written. I will assign a score of ZERO to late, superficial, or incoherent responses. All rules of grammar and syntax apply. I hold you accountable for creating clear, concise prose that demonstrates a collegiate level of style and sophistication. I will not look favorably upon entries riddled with grammatical errors (such as misspelled words, sentence fragments, punctuation problems and subject/verb agreement problems). I reserve the right in all cases to assign a score of zero (or a failing grade) to essays that are grammatically illegible.
Participation (10 percent): I will post questions/prompts that pertain to our readings. You will find these questions in the “Discussion” section of D2L in the morning. You will need to post your response by the time specified in the prompt. Late, superficial, and/or incoherent (grammatically or otherwise) will result in a zero for that response. Respond faithfully, with an appropriate collegiate effort, and you will do fine.
Mid-Term Exam (25 percent): I will post the exam on our course page
Final Exam (30 percent): Cumulative; I will post the exam on our course page.
DISABILITY NOTICE: If you are a person with a disability and need accommodation in order to participate in this class, please inform me and make arrangements with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) in West Hall. To schedule an appointment with the Coordinator of Disability Services, please call 688-4504.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Please note: While this schedule gives due dates for most reading and all major assignments, I have not chiseled the outline in stone. If we need more time to complete a task or to pursue a point of interest, we will—within reason—take it. However, I will never move an assignment up from its original due date. In addition, if you have a different edition of Whitman, your page numbers may not match up accordingly.
Dates: July 5th-August 1st:
July:
5 & 6: Introductions/Syllabus/Question & Answer Session. Whitman: Introduction (xv-xxiii); all poems (1-10); “Occupations” (170-7); “Populous City,” “Facing West,” and “Adam” (90-1); “Astronomer” ( 219); “President” and “Eagles” (220-1); “Captain” (271-2); “Prostitute” (311) and “Song of Myself” (22-73).
7: Whitman Discussion Post due; begin reading DeLillo and finish by Monday, the 11th.
8: Whitman Response Due.
11: DeLillo Discussion Post due; read Gilman “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Turned” for Thursday, the 13th.
12: DeLillo Response Due.
13: Gilman Discussion Post due. Read Orwell for Friday the 15th.
14:Gilman Response Due.
15: Orwell Discussion Post due.
16/17: Work on Orwell Response and Mid-Term Exam.
18: Work on Orwell Response and Mid-Term Exam.
19: Orwell Response due. Work on Mid-Term Exam. Read Spiegelman for the 25th and Mishima for the 26th.
20: Work on Mid-Term Exam and readings/writings.
21: Mid-Term Exam Due.
22: Work on readings/writings. Read Woolf for the 28th.
25:Spiegelman Discussion Post due.
26:Spiegelman Response Due; Mishima Discussion Post due.
27:Mishima Response due.
28: Woolf Discussion Post due. Work on Final Exam.
29: Work on Final Exam.
30/31:Work on Final Exam.
August:
1:Final Exam Due.