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:
I may occasionally lecture for a portion of a class, but we will also
open up class time to discussion, to observations about the ideas
presented in a text, about its style, its uses of language, its puzzling
qualities--whatever grabs our attention. I am interested in your ideas.
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.
Quizzes:
Quizzes will pose questions about the day's assigned reading that
are objectively and readily answerable if you have read attentively.
They will be given irregularly. If you are absent you may not make
up a quiz.
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, a question about plot would not be appropriate
while an observation about the use of a certain image or the reasons
behind a puzzling sequence of events in the plot would be. You may
also wish to speculate about 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 one typed page will be required
for each week of the course. The responses will be collected at the
end of class. 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: 1=A; 2 =B; 3=C; 4=D; 5
or more=F.
Group Presentations:
The plays we are reading were first written to be heard and seen,
and they changed each time they were performed. In order to get some
experience of the plays as dramatic performances, I will ask each
of you to work in a small group to present on the performance of a
scene or part of a scene available for viewing on videotape or DVD.
Your job will be to review the assigned movie, pick a clip from it,
and then show and discuss the clip in class. Please see and print
out these online staging criteria
(such as costuming, blocking, delivery of lines) for help analyzing
the clip and planning your discussion. However: do not in
your class discussion just go through an unrelated list of aspects
of the production! Instead, develop a thesis to focus your
discussion, based on what binds the choices the production made. I
will ask you turn in to me a typed, two-page essay
that explains the group's argument about the clip and the details
of the performance that support it (as with your class discussion
this essay should focus around a thesis; it should not give an unrelated
list of details). This essay is written by the group and
due on the day of the presentation. All the group
members are expected to work together on this presentation and the
essay, and will receive a single grade for their work.
Paper Deadlines:
Each paper will be due twice: the first time in class at the paper
workshop scheduled one week after each paper is assigned, and the
second time one week following that. During the workshop you'll have
a chance to trade papers with fellow students and raise questions
or give each other suggestions for revision. You'll have the second
week to revise your paper, based on this input and on your own rethinking
and rewriting. The second week after the paper is assigned both the
revised and original version of the paper 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.
Late papers: You need to have your first paper done
on time so that you can work on it in the paper workshop. I also expect
that the final versions will be handed in on time. Late final versions
will be graded down a half grade for each day late. On late first
versions, see below under "paper standards."
Paper Standards (final and first versions):
Each paper should be about five pages long, typed with standard margins,
spacing and type size. It should be carefully proofread and
neatly presented. The paper 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.
I'll grade the paper on basis 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. Remember that because
everyone has two tries at the paper, I will accordingly have higher
expectations for the final version.
Paper Helps:
During the scheduled workshops, you'll have a chance to give and get
advice on your papers. 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, any kind study aid and resources
found on the internet.
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 require you to recall and synthesize ideas from the
entire semester, as well as to demonstrate your skills as a close
reader. It will likely also address any plays (e.g. Henry V)
that you've had no chance to write about. It will be held in class
on May. 10 from 7:30-10:15 p.m.
Grading:
The final grade will be derived as follows:
| Quizzes |
8 % |
| Reading Responses |
11 % |
| Group Presentation |
7 % |
| First Paper |
14 % |
| Second Paper |
20 % |
| Third Paper |
20 % |
| 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!
GRADE CRITERIA FOR ESSAYS
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 |