English 201 is designed to help you enjoy reading more, by learning about some important ways different kinds of texts speak to us. We'll be looking in particular at texts that often make meaning in quite rich and complex ways. While these texts can be challenging, the pleasures of reading them are also often greater. And developing an understanding of texts of this kind has other rewards as well, since it sharpens our skills of reading and analysis, and writing and speaking, in ways that help in everyday situations: at school, work and in our personal and political lives. In short, these are useful skills you can also take to the beach.

In addition to practicing the habits of careful and thoughtful reading, and learning some key ideas and terms used in literary studies, you'll also sharpen your writing and argumentative skills through your work on a series of exercises and short essays.

Course requirements: reading responses, quizzes, three exercises, three short essays, a final.

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Schedule of readings and events:

Note: this schedule is subject to change (I will give warning, however).
 

DATES	READINGS AND EVENTS	DUE DATES
Jan. 27	Course introduction
Feb. 1	Some opening questions: What is literature? Why do we read it? Study it?  Read NIL, 2-4; stop on page 4 after you read the last full paragraph (paragraph 3) on that page. Also read Márquez, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" (NIL, 379-84)
	FICTION
Feb. 3	Plot: Atwood, "Happy Endings" (NIL, 26-28); Cheever, "The Country Husband" (NIL, 29-47)	Exercise 1 assigned
Feb. 8	Point of View: Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado" (NIL, 75-80); begin reading James, "The Real Thing" (NIL, 107-24) (we'll discuss the "The Real Thing" on Feb. 8, but it's longer, so get a head start on reading it)
Feb. 10	Characterization: finish reading James, "The Real Thing" (NIL, 107-24)	Exercise 1 due
Feb. 15	Setting: Dokey, "Sånchez" (NIL, 151-60); Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily" (NIL, 431-438); also read "Deciding What to Write about" (NIL, A35-38 and A53-54; the "A" pages are near the back of the NIL)	Paper 1 assigned
Feb. 17	Symbols: "Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown" (190-99); Beattie, "Janus" (200-203); also read "From Topic to Rough Draft" (NIL, A39-43)
Feb. 22	Peer exchange/discussion of writing  Read "From Rough Draft to Completed Paper" (NIL, A44-47). You should also start the reading for Feb. 24 "Sonny's Blues" (NIL, 47-70), since this is a longer story	First version paper 1 due
Feb. 24	Theme: Baldwin, "Sonny's Blues" (NIL, 47-70)
Feb. 29	Conferences--no class. Meet in my office for individual conferences, to be scheduled.
March 2	Conferences--no class. Meet in my office for individual conferences, to be scheduled.
	POETRY
March 7	"Language: Precision and Ambiguity" (NIL, 696-709; but omit reading Finch, "There's No To-Morrow" on 697). Also read Armour, "Hiding Place" (NIL, 711) Kinnell, "Blackberry Eating" (NIL, 936-37)	Paper 1 due  Exercise 2 assigned
March 9	"Metaphor and Simile" (NIL, 713-721). Also read Pound, "In a Station of the Metro" (NIL, 969), Jin, "The Past" (NIL, 892-93) Arnold, "Dover Beach" (NIL, 671-72) and Shakespeare, "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" (NIL, 794)
Spring Recess
March 21	"The Sounds of Poetry" (NIL, 739-41 only); "External Form" (NIL 782-786 only; on page 786 stop after you finish the Wordsworth sonnet there); "Stanza Forms" (NIL, 796); also read Brooks, "First Fight. Then Fiddle." (NIL, 792), Thomas "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" (NIL, 797), Reed, "beware : do not read this poem" (NIL, 800), Randall, "Ballad of Birmingham" (NIL, 880-81)
March 23	"Tone" (NIL, 620-624 only); also read Whitman, "I hear America Singing" (NIL, 978); Ginsburg, "A Supermarket in California" (NIL, 954-55); "Riot Act, April 29, 1992" (NIL, 881-82) and Pastan "To a Daughter Leaving Home" (NIL, 666)	Exercise 2 due Paper 2 assigned
March 28	"Poetic 'Kinds'" (NIL, 646-851); "Glück, "The Wild Iris" (1), "Snowdrops" (6), "The Red Poppy" (29), also read "Responding" and "Writing about Poems" (NIL, 609-11).
March 30	Writing and revision	First version paper 2 due
April 4	No class; but see Glück on April 5
April 6	Marvell, "The Garden" (NIL, 963) Glück, "The Garden" (16), "Matins" (25), "Vespers" (56); also discussion of April 5 Glück reading	Paper 2 due
April 11	Glück, "Midsummer" (34-35), "Vespers" (36), "Vespers" (37), "Early Darkness" (45), "Harvest" (46), "Retreating Light" (50-51), "Vespers" (52), "The White Lilies" (63); also, come with your favorite poem from The Wild Iris	Exercise 3 assigned
	DRAMA
April 13	"Drama: Reading, Responding, Writing" (NIL, 992-994; stop on 994 at break in middle of the page); Sophocles, Antigone, lines 1-862 (NIL, 1524-43)
April 18	Sophocles, Antigone, lines 863-end (NIL, 1543-56)	Exercise 3 due
April 20	Sophocles, Antigone: two productions on video (viewed in class)
April 25	Miller, Death of a Salesman, act 1 (NIL, 1446-78)	Paper 3 assigned
April 27	Miller, Death of a Salesman, act 2 (NIL, 1478-1514)
May 2	Writing instruction and revision	First version paper 3 due
May 4	Miller, Death of a Salesman, requiem (NIL 1514-16); wrap up
May 8	No class	Paper 3 due

Other important dates:

Feb. 1	Last day to drop a course with no tuition liability
Feb. 7, 8 pm	Last day to add a course
Feb. 25, 5 pm	Last day to drop a course without dean's permission.
May 11, 10:30 am - 1:15 pm	Final for this course

 
 
 
 
 

Course policies:
 

Readings:

The readings for each class are due on the date listed above. Approach each assignment actively by always reading with a pen or pencil in hand. Note words, phrases or sentences that interest you, that seem significant in the context of the work, or that you have questions about. Jot down in the margins any questions or ideas you have about a particular point or the work as a whole. This practice will help you come prepared to discuss the plays in class and get the most out of class discussion; it will also help you become a more skillful reader of literary texts in general.
 

Participation

and Attendance:

One of the benefits of courses in English is that they are relatively small. If you are in other, larger classes that consist mainly of lecture, in this class you will be able to participate in active discussion with other students. As much as possible we will open up the class to such discussion, to our observations about the ideas presented in a text, about its style, its uses of language, its puzzling qualities--whatever grabs our attention. Contribution to class discussion will not be formally calculated into grades, but I will take participation into account for grades that are borderline. If you aren't in class, you can't participate in discussion, nor will active class participation wholly excuse excessive absences.
 

Reading Responses:

The reading responses are meant to help you read carefully, to prepare for class discussion and to aid you in finding starting points for your essays. A reading response should either ask a question about or observe some aspect of the reading that is not answerable by a fact. For example, asking who dies at the end of the story "The Zebra Storyteller" would not be an appropriate question, since the answer is an easily observable fact. But asking how we are meant to feel about that death, or why the story is so brief, would be appropriate, since these questions are open to speculation and debate. You might also wish to consider how your question or observation would matter for other moments in the text, or why it seems an important matter to consider. A reading response of a about a half page to a page will be required for each day's reading, and collected at the end of class (the responses need not be typed). I will frequently begin class by asking some of you to read out your responses. I will read all your responses and grade them on a credit/no credit basis. They will get credit if they are turned in at the end of class and meet the criteria above. Grading will be based on the number of no credits: 0-3=A; 4-5=B; 6-7=C; 8-9=D; 10 or more=F. I will also use responses to keep track of who was in class for a particular day, so if you were in class but did not do a response (say it's not so!) let me know you were there. If you are absent you may not make up a reading response.
 

Quizzes:

Quizzes will pose questions about the day's assigned reading that are objectively and easily answerable if you have read attentively. They will be given irregularly. If you are absent you may not make up a quiz.
 

Paper

Due Dates:

I expect students to hand in their work on time. Late papers will be graded down a half grade for each day late.
 

Paper

Standards:

All papers--both essays and exercises--should be typed with standard margins, spacing and type size. They should be carefully proofread and neatly presented. The exercise and essay topics will relate to issues we have discussed in class, and you are encouraged to bring to bear class discussion in your writing. You are also encouraged to expand on these discussions and credit will be given for new ideas.
 

Revision of Essays:

There are two kinds of papers in this class: three short exercises (usually one page long), and three essays (usually three pages long). While revision of the exercises will not be formally structured into the course (you should, however, do this revision on your own) you will have an opportunity to get help in class on revising each of the three essays. To give you this opportunity, each of these three essays will be due twice: the first time in class at the paper exchange scheduled one week after each paper is assigned, and the second time one week following that. During the exchange you'll have a chance to trade your essays with fellow students and raise questions or give each other suggestions for revision. You'll have the second week to revise your essay, based on this input and on your own rethinking and rewriting. The second week after the essay is assigned both the revised and original version of the essay will be handed in to me. I hope that this system will build revision, so necessary to good writing, into the structure of the course.
 

I'll grade the paper on essay of the revised version only, but I will expect the original version to be your best initial attempt at the topic. Original versions not done, not typed or obviously incomplete will result in a half letter grade reduction in the evaluation of the final paper. It would not be fair for other students to have to read work that is not your best; additionally, it is in your interest to write as good an original version as possible, so that your second version is even better.
 

Please note that there will be no opportunity to revise your work for a new grade after the final version is handed into me, so take advantage of the revision process and all the help you can get with it before you turn your paper in!
 

Paper Helps:

During the scheduled essay exchanges, you'll have a chance to give and get advice on your work. Additionally, I encourage you to come see me at my office hours or to make an appointment to see me. When we meet, try to have a draft of the paper you are working on. This will give us something more concrete to talk about. There is also available a Writing Center at Robinson A116 that can provide you with further individual attention to your writing. I encourage you to take advantage of this excellent facility.
 

I would also suggest that you give yourself plenty of time to work. Writing a paper at one sitting is, for most people, unpleasant, and the results are not likely to be satisfactory. Start early!
 
 

Plagiarism:

Since this class emphasizes the development of your own close reading and interpretive skills, you are not encouraged to consult secondary sources. If you do choose to look at such work, however, you must cite, using a standard citation format, all the articles, books or other sources that your own writing draws on, either directly or indirectly. Such sources include (but are not limited to) introductions to editions of the texts we're reading and any kind study aid.
 

Also note that uncited sources will constitute plagiarism even if they ended up in your work without your conscious knowledge (e.g. you forgot you read the material; you confused your own notes with notes on a source), since part of the scholarly responsibility that comes with using secondary sources is keeping track of which words or ideas were yours and which came from a source. If you do not wish to take on this responsibility then you should not consult secondary sources.
 

I will take all suspected cases of plagiarism to the Honor Committee.
 
 

Final:

The final will consist of short answers, close readings, and one or two longer essay questions. It will provide a review of material covered in the class, and give you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of key ideas and skills in the study of literature.
 

Grading:

The final grade will be derived as follows:

Reading Responses	10 %
Quizzes	7 %
3 exercises @ 6% each =	18%
3 essays @ %15 each =	45%
Final	20%

 

Please come see me if you have any questions about grading, the syllabus or the class. I look forward to having the chance to meet you. Best wishes for a good semester!
 
 

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A Specific, complex and/or striking thesis, thesis developed without digression through the course of the paper, consistently precise, sensitive and/or striking interpretations of the text, crafted prose, no major mechanical problems

B Specific thesis, thesis generally developed through the course of the paper, consistently good interpretation of text, competent prose, minor mechanical problems
 

C Has a thesis, but one that needs greater specificity or complexity, thesis developed with some digression or repetition, some good interpretation, some mechanical problems
 

D Very general thesis, thesis development digressive or repetitive, plot summary or thoughts/speculations not based on textual evidence, major mechanical problems
 

F No thesis or thesis development