The Text | The Course | Importance of Reading | Goals | Class Activities | Quizzes Conversation | Papers | Final | Class Involvement | Late Papers | Attendance | Expectations Prerequisite

"And how could I endure to be a man, if man were not also poet and reader of riddles and . . . a way to new dawns." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

"We live by images. . . . When the image is new, the world is new." --Gaston Bachelard

THE TEXT
The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Volume 2, Ed. Lawall, et al.
(Available at the University Bookstore.)

THE COURSE

In this class we will read some engaging literary texts from about 1750 to the present that, if you carefully attend, will challenge you to re-evaluate your values and re-imagine your life.

Our reading will be the springboard for conversation with each other. Together we will try to understand how these texts reflect and react to their times; we will also be looking at these texts from the vantage point of our current cultural moment.

Your main job as a student is to read attentively, to work out your thinking by writing, and to actively involve yourself in class activities. What happens in class is as important as what happens outside class when you read the works and write about them. If at any point you do not know what is required of you, please let me know.

We will be asking what, if any, relevance do these texts have for contemporary readers? Several topics from these former periods still occupy our concerned attention: the impact of industrialization (technology) on the earth and on the quality of daily cultural life; the conflict between eros and the increasing mechanization of our lives; the critique of "philosophical idealism," which posits an ideal world beyond this one; the dramatically changing roles of women and men; questions of selfhood, subjectivity and identity; the rise in "individuality" resulting in personal alienation; the increase of rational discourses and the loss of the sacred and the goddess; the silence of God in the face of unmentionable human suffering; the death of God; the clashing of cultures, especially the conflict between the West and so-called "primitive" or "third world" cultures; questions of tradition and revolution; John Keats' concept of soul-making; the revaluation of religious and cultural values.

To borrow an image out of Yeats, do we behold in these texts a "troubled mirror" for our own lives?

THE IMPORTANCE OF CRITICAL AND ACTIVE READING

Each time we meet you will be responsible for having read a particular selection. Bring the text to class each time we discuss (and sometimes write about) the selection. Be prepared, during our class discussions, to point to passages or sections of the piece that struck you as particularly significant or memorable.

Which passages, sentences, images, or words struck you or had resonance for you? Where (if anywhere) did you get bogged down or lost as your were reading? Is there anything you need clarified or would like to discuss? Do you have any questions about the text?

There is one "simple" prescription for active reading. It is: Ask questions while you read--questions that you yourself must try to answer in the course of reading. It is very important that you read attentively and critically in this class. To help you read more critically, keep a pen or pencil in your hand or nearby; if you come across something that seems significant or puzzling or something that you'd like to bring up in class discussion, put a mark in the margin or circle the page number so that you can find it later.

Sometimes I will require you to write out your thoughts and your questions about the selection under consideration. You'll need to refer to specific parts of it. If you don't have marks on the piece, or some system you invent to keep track of your thoughts while reading, you'll have no way of getting back into the book. There will be a book in your hand with plenty of pages, but no record of what you found to be worth a second look. I'll want you to do this for all the assigned reading this term.

THE GOALS OF 200-LEVEL LITERATURE CLASSES

To learn interpretive skills that can be used in all courses and applied to all forms of textuality.

• To build critical approaches for discerning relationships between texts and their original and present intellectual, social, and political contexts.
• To analyze how discourses such as those of race, gender, class, ethnicity, age, nationality, and ecology--as well as the general construction of subjectivity--are produced and communicated by texts.
• To demonstrate an understanding of the material presented in class through class discussion and through formal writing assignments.
  To better understand yourself in relation to our culture through reading, writing, and reflecting.

THE CLASS ACTIVITIES

Readings appear in rough chronological order, so that you can better understand historical contexts and draw cultural comparisons. Reading assignments vary in length from pages of poetry to over 40 pages for each class day, and some are selections from longer works.

I have intentionally kept the reading requirements at a reasonably "comfortable" level, because to do well in this course you must keep up with the reading. The general rule of thumb is to spend approximately three hours per hour-long class meeting doing required reading, studying, and writing; that means you should spend about nine (9) hours per week doing the reading/writing/thinking for this course (some weeks may be more demanding, some less demanding).

One of the goals of the course is to heighten your sensitivity to literature and ideas and the language that embodies them; to understand the readings you have to spend time and effort. Plan your reading and writing time carefully. If you can develop serious, consistent study behavior, your life will be much easier and your grade will inevitably be higher.

THE QUIZZES AND INFORMAL WRITING

To insure that we are all at least potentially capable of participating in class discussion, numerous very short quizzes will be given over the term; they will cover assigned reading material. They will be brief, easy, and sometimes unannounced. They will be an easy grade, assuming you keep up with the reading, which is, of course, vital to your success in this class anyway.

One excellent way to initiate dialogue is through your questions and responses to the readings. Asking questions and responding openly are essential to the understanding of any text.

I will sometimes ask you to write an informal response to a question about the reading or I will ask you to write a question (or questions) about the work being considered. These "freewrites" and questions will not be given a letter grade, but you will of course be given credit for them, and they are essential to your success in this class. At times, you will work collaboratively with other classmates.

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THE CONVERSATION

Conversation--another word for dialogue--is the center of this course, and it may take a variety of forms. The texts we read enact a conversation with each other and with the culture in which they were written.

After (and during) our reading, we will have a conversation about what you find most interesting and insistent in the texts. I will also ask you to write out your thoughts, feelings, and questions about the works.

The opportunity to share ideas through writing and discussing is perhaps the greatest good of the college experience. I would like you to see your writing as a kind of conversation with me and with the other class participants; your writing is a way to continue the dialogue of the class.

THE PAPERS

Three short papers (between 3 and 5 pages) are required. They will challenge you to reconsider, evaluate and investigate your ideas and values in relation to the readings. I recommend that you use a word processor to write and revise papers.

USE THE FOLLOWING PAPER FORMAT:

Leave a 1 inch margin on both sides of the page??and double space. Use at least a 12 point font (preferably Times New Roman). Place your name, English 204, date, and my name in the top right-hand corner of the first page. Number pages (starting on page "2"--do not number page one) on the upper, right-hand side.

Before you print your final copy, make sure to take a minute to spell check and grammar check your paper. Failure to follow this procedure will result in a 1/2 letter grade reduction.

The writing assignments will ask you to respond to literary works. What I ask you for--in your work--is a good effort, a thoughtful effort, an honest effort. Plagiarism--using the words or ideas of anyone (friend, writer, parent, lover) other than yourself, and pretending those words are your own--constitutes failure for the course. (We will discuss ways that you can avoid inadvertent plagiarism by using paraphrasing and documentation.) The department statement of plagiarism follows:

"Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another person without giving the person credit. Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes; a simple listing of books and articles is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in the academic setting."

The idea behind the course, after all, is to get you to come to understand yourself and others better through literature, language, interaction, and communication that is authentic. To do well in this class, you will need to spend a lot of time writing--and revising.

If you feel your writing is not as good as you'd like it to be, this is your chance to get some practice and feedback. I will be available to discuss your writing when you make arrangements to see me. The Writing Center, located in Robinson A116, will also provide feedback and assistance.

THE FINAL EXAM

There is one final examination designed to test your understanding of the salient ideas, themes and styles in the works we examine. You will be asked to identify as precisely as possible short passages from the texts and to discuss them with reference to our class discussions and your own interpretation.

You will also be asked to define and illustrate key literary terms that have arisen in class discussions as well as identify characters/figures in the works and discuss their significance.

CLASS INVOLVEMENT AND ITS RELATION TO EVALUATION

I am required to evaluate your work, and so I want to challenge you to do your best work. You are taking a class not just taking exams and writing papers. To take the class is to become involved. Consistent and rigorous involvement in class discussions is expected, vital, necessary.

An infrequent cut is your business, but frequent and sustained absences prevent you from becoming an organic, functioning part of the class. What you say in class, ways that you help energize the class with your presence and your participation, seem to me to be as important a factor in arriving at a final grade as the work you do on paper.

If you miss a class for any reason you are responsible for the material discussed in class, the class assignment and for the prompt submission of any requirement due that period. Late papers are discouraged. (I reserve the right to grade late papers at my convenience, which means that I may not get to them until very late in the semester.) Quizzes and exams cannot be made up.

Remember: it is your work (which includes active participation) that is being evaluated not your potential or your past performance in other English classes.

I will follow these percentages in determining your final grade:

• Paper #1: 15%
• Paper #2: 20%
• Paper #3: 20%
• Quizzes and informal, in-class writings: 20%
• Discussion/class activities (including presentations and collaborative activities) -- 10%
• Final exam -- 15%

LATE PAPERS:

Papers must be given to me at the beginning of the class period to be considered on time. For each day a paper is late, it will be reduced one letter grade. (A paper is considered one day late if it is not given to me at the beginning of class or if it is placed in my mailbox on the day it is due.)

If you know your paper will be late, please contact me directly or through e-mail so we can discuss it before the paper is due. I can easily be reached by e-mail: dyoung6@gmu.edu

ATTENDANCE:

People who regularly come to class invariably do well, so for your own benefit, please try to make it to every class. Coming late to class is a nuisance and should be avoided if at all possible. If you need to talk to me about class business, please wait til after class to discuss with me; don't take up class time if your questions concern only you. However, questions that are relevant to everyone are much welcomed.

EXPECTATIONS AND GRADES

Following is a list of all the things I see as fundamental, basic, necessary for you to do well in this course. These are some of the things I see as leading to learning. If you do them all you are very likely to do quite well in the course.

• come to class regularly
• come to class prepared
• come to class on time
• turn in all work on time
• good, honest, constructive effort in class discussions
• read every reading assignment carefully and actively, marking passages and reflecting on the main features of each piece
• substantively revise and copy edit all major papers, revealing obvious effort and investment (no more than a few writing errors)
• attend, think, reflect, question

PREREQUISITE

The prerequisite for this course is a minimum grade of "C" in English 101 (or equivalent) and English 201 (or equivalent).

Robinson A401B | 703-993-2783 | dyoung6@gmu.edu

Last update: May 7th, 2004