English 325: Dimensions of Writing and Literature

Class Meeting Time:  W 7:20 to 10:00 PM 

Class Meeting Place:  250 Robinson Hall A

Recitations:  W 5:55-7:10 PM in Enterprise Hall 178

English 325 is designed to help you develop your sense of what English majors and minors actually do.  What sorts of questions do we ask?  What sorts of methods do we use?  What does it mean to think of English as a field of study?  And yes, what can you do with an English degree?  (Get used to this last question!)  For many of you, this course will be something like a reintroduction to literature and literary study, one that will broaden and deepen your understanding of English studies and give you ample opportunities to practice and develop your skills as imaginative, persuasive critical thinkers and writers.  In each of our class meetings as well as in Wednesday evening "recitations" with guest lecturers (most but not all from the English Department), we'll talk together about these bigger-picture questions.  At the same time, we'll linger over the telling smaller-picture details and moments that make particular texts so amazingly enjoyable and memorable:  the fine points of narrative structure, poetic form, point of view, figurative language, and much more.  All in all, we'll talk—and this is definitely a talking class—about how texts produce meaning, how they connect to one another, and how they are always situated within certain social, cultural, historical, political, and ideological contexts.

English 325 is a six-credit course, which means you should expect to do the work of two regular courses for this class.  The mandatory recitations on Wednesdays account for some of the extra workload; you are expected to attend these lectures and you will be responsible for the material presented there.  English 325 is also reading- and writing-intensive, and throughout the semester you will read (and reread) dozens of authors and write thousands of words yourself.

English 325 is required for all English majors and minors, and a final grade of at least a C is required to remain in the program.  This course also fulfills George Mason University’s General Education Synthesis Requirement, which requires that the class "link issues in the student’s major to wider intellectual and community concerns."  To this end we will spend several weeks of the class on a single text, James Joyce's bittersweet love story "The Dead."  We will approach this text from a number of perspectives, connecting its thematic concerns to a variety of social and cultural questions.  And each of you will attend an on-campus live performance of an adaptation of "The Dead."  We'll also join with many other classes across campus in reading and discussing the spring 2006 Text and Community text, Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, in which a young college graduate from Annandale vanishes into the Alaska wilderness.  Here, too, you'll be required to go to at least one of the various public events associated with Text and Community (in addition to the two recitations on this text).  Finally, because this is a Synthesis class, as a prerequisite or co-requisite to English 325 you must have completed all university and college general education requirements by the end of the semester.  Otherwise, you are not eligible for English 325.

REQUIRED TEXTS

• The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Ninth Edition, eds. Alison Booth et al.
• The Dead, James Joyce (Bedford/St. Martin's)—you must have this edition
• Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer (Anchor Books)

REQUIRED EVENTS

• attendance at a live performance of "James Joyce's 'The Dead'" at GMU's Mainstage
• attendance at one Text and Community event (in addition to recitations on the T&C text)

WRITTEN WORK and CLASS PARTICIPATION

1.  Three public journals of about 300 words each, or about one full page.  In these journals you can say and do whatever you want, provided that you make some sort of claim or claims about one of the readings for the day and that you make specific references to the text you're discussing.  Bring in SIX copies of each public journal:  one for Dr. A. and five for random distribution to other members of the class.

2.  Three thought papers of about 500 words each, or about two full pages.  These are opportunities to think on paper about course texts and class discussions (including recitations); I will provide topics for you.

3.  Two five-page essays, about 1300 words each, on topics to be announced.  Note that a complete draft of the second five-page essay is due on the last day of class, and that you will then turn in the final draft of this essay as part of your portfolio.

4.  One five- to seven-page synthesis essay, focusing on "The Dead," in which you will both construct a critical argument of your own and incorporate the critical work of professional scholars.  This essay must be turned in as a full draft on March 22.  After receiving constructive suggestions from your classmates and from Dr. A., you will revise your draft and turn in a polished final essay on April 5.

5.  Class participation.  You are expected to come to each class meeting (including every recitation) fully prepared to participate in the work of the class.  This means that you should show up having completed and thought about all of the assigned readings for that day.  It also means that you should be ready to voice your thoughts about the readings.  Always bring the right book/s to class with you, as we will do a fair amount of unannounced in-class writing focusing on the readings.

6.  Portfolio, to be handed in during finals week.  Your portfolio will include:

a.  all in-class writings and public journals you have done for the course;

b.  a clean copy of one of your three thought papers;

c.  clean copies of paper #1 and your synthesis essay;

d.  the final draft of your second five-page paper;

e.  a new piece of writing, around 800-1200 words (three or four pages) minimum, that describes, analyzes, and reflects on the work you've included in your portfolio and on the course as a whole.

Note:  To receive a grade (and your six credits) for this course, you must complete every graded out-of-class assignment (#1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 above).

GRADING

• Three Public Journals:  15%
• Three Thought Papers:  15%
• Two Critical Essays:  30%
• One Synthesis Essay:  20%
• Final Portfolio:  10%
• Class Participation:  10%

For Each Piece of Writing

• A+ (100), A (96), A- (92)
• B+ (88), B (85), B- (82)
• C+ (78), C (75), C- (72)
• D+ (68), D (65), F (50), No essay (0)

For Final Grades

• 94-100=A
• 90-93=A-
• 86-89=B+
• 83-85=B 
• 80-82=B-      
• 76-79=C+ 
• 73-75=C 
• 70-72=C-   
• 60-69=D
• 0-59=F

SPRING 2006 SCHEDULE

I.  Ways of Naming and Shaping:  Form, Structure, and Genre

Wednesday, January 25

• Professor Kristin Samuelian, "How We Read"
• Introductions:  students, Dr. A., course
• Groupwork on "Introduction" (pages 1-9 of Norton textbook, xeroxed)
• Reading Out Loud:  "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros (xerox)

Wednesday, February 1

• Professor Robert Matz, "Literary Form:  The Example of the Sonnet"
• "Flight Patterns" (49-61) by Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d'Alene)
• "Fiction:  Reading, Responding, Writing" (12-14)
• "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin (449-451)
• "Poetry:  Reading" (595-598) and "Responding" (601-606)
• "External Form" (777-789).  Be prepared to identify & defend your favorite sonnet!
• Thought Paper #1(on "Flight Patterns") collected

Wednesday, February 8

• Professor Mark Sample, "From Scrolls to Scrolling:  The Technology of the Text"
• "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce (507-513)
• Poems from various historical periods and contexts (to be determined)

Wednesday, February 15

• Professor Margaret Yocom, "'Have You Heard the One about the Babysitter who. . .?':  Folklore, Contemporary Legends, and Oral Tradition"
• "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner (467-474)
• "Love Medicine" (327-342) by Louise Erdrich (Anishinaabe)
• "My Father's Song" (637) by Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo)

Paper #1 collected

II.  Ways of Seeing:  Point of View, Performance, and Interpretation

Wednesday, February 22

• Professor Keith Clark, "'A Beat Beneath the Beat':  Point of View in 'Sonny's Blues'"
• "Narration and Point of View" (120-128)
• "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin (88-110)
• "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor (364-375)
• "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri (284-298)
• Public Journal #1 due:  bring SIX copies
• Attend one of the GMU Players' performances of "James Joyce's THE DEAD"—Mainstage, February 23 through March 5

Wednesday, March 1

• Professor Jessica Scarlata, "Point of View in Film"
• Video clips from Raising Arizona and other movies (suggestions welcome!)
• "The Dead" by James Joyce (21-59)—read this first!
• "Introduction:  Biographical and Historical Contexts" (3-20)—read this second!
• Thought Paper #2 (on point of view in O'Connor or Lahiri) collected

Wednesday, March 8

• Professor Rick Davis (College of Visual & Performing Arts), "Producing James Joyce's 'The Dead'"
• "The Dead" Case Study:  "A Critical History of 'The Dead'" (63-84)
• "The Dead" Case Study:  "Reader-Response Criticism and 'The Dead'" (125-149)
• Public Journal #2:  six copies

Wednesday, March 15

Spring Break!!

Wednesday, March 22

• Professor Steven Weinberger, "Alien Language"
• "The Dead" Case Study:  "The New Historicism and 'The Dead'" (150-177)
• "The Dead" Case Study:  "Feminist Criticism and 'The Dead'" (178-205)
• "Drama:  Reading, Responding, Writing" (1044-1046)
• Trifles by Susan Glaspell (1046-1055)
• Full draft of synthesis essay workshopped and collected

Wednesday, March 29

• Professor Jennifer Atkinson, Poetry Reading
• Poetry Grab-Bag:  come prepared to read/perform one Norton textbook poem out loud.
• (Dr. A. hereby claims the one on pages 672-673.)
• The Piano Lesson by August Wilson (1205-1262)

III.  Ways of Connecting:  Texts and Communities

Wednesday, April 5

• Professor Kyoko Mori, "The Narrator in Nonfiction"
• "How It Feels to be Colored Me" by Zora Neale Hurston (938-941)
• "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane (343-359)
• Other readings to be determined
• Synthesis Essay collected

Wednesday, April 12

• No 5:55 Recitation—time off in exchange for attending a Text & Community event
• Into the Wild ("Author's Note" and pages 1-97)
• Public Journal #3—six copies. . . .!

Wednesday, April 19

• Interdisciplinary Panel on Into the Wild: Professors Michael O'Malley (History), Julia Nord (New Century College), and Eric Gary Anderson (English)
• Into the Wild (98-203)
• Thought Paper #3 (on Into the Wild) collected

Wednesday, April 26

• Professor Alok Yadav, "What is English?," plus presentations from English Department concentration coordinators
• Readings to be determined

Wednesday, May 3  last class meeting

• No 5:55 Recitation—time off to work on final project
• Full Draft of Paper #2 workshopped in class

POLICIES:  DEADLINES, LATE WORK, ATTENDANCE

Deadlines

Reading.  All reading assignments for this class must be completed as indicated on this syllabus and/or as announced during class.  Please read each assignment carefully and completely before class, write down your thoughts about the readings, and come to class ready to talk, write, and ask questions about what you've read.

Papers.  All written work will be due in class when I ask for it (not after class, and not anytime that day).  As we all know, hard drives can crash and printers can run dry when you least expect them to.  Nothing is more frustrating than a last-minute technological meltdown or an unexpected long line at the computer lab; please be sure to set aside extra time for all this and more.

If you have been taken seriously ill, sucked into a vortex, and/or abducted by bug-eyed aliens who, although technologically sophisticated, don't have access to e-mail, please let me know and we'll talk about possibly allowing you to hand in your paper after the due date without penalty.

I will accept late papers up to four calendar days (not class meetings) after the due date, but will dock late work one full letter grade for each day the paper is late.  For example, a "B" paper turned in two calendar days late will receive a "D".  Even so, keep in mind that an "F" paper still counts for 50 points; better to hand in the paper anyway than to take a zero.  I reserve the right to make exceptions to this rule, at my discretion, for students facing serious difficulties.

Attendance.  I expect and strongly encourage you to suit up and show up for class.  Especially in small classes such as this one, your participation in the day-to-day work of the class is crucial.  This work cannot be made up; you have to be in class to hear what others have to say, to voice your own ideas, to do the in-class writings, to take notes, etc.  Attendance problems can and probably will lower your course grade significantly, cause you to learn less than you should, and give you a shakier foundation for your English major or minor coursework; your absences from class may also cause problems for your classmates.  I don't anticipate any such problems, but if you do run into difficulties that I should know about, please let me know in advance (if possible) or contact me by e-mail or telephone during, and we'll do our best to work something out.  The rule of thumb here is that you should try to communicate with me as problems arise.  I also suggest that you get the email addresses and phone numbers of a few other people in the class, so you can contact them if needed.

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND THE GMU HONOR CODE

All work done for this class must be your own.  Period.  Please keep in mind that plagiarism is a violation of the GMU Honor Code.  Plagiarism means using words, ideas, opinions, or factual information from another person or source without giving due credit.  This includes Internet sources.  In other words, plagiarism is a form of fraudulently claiming someone else's work as your own, and as such is the equivalent of cheating on an exam—a serious academic offense.  Plagiarism is grounds for failing at least the assignment, if not the course.  If you are not 100% clear about what you should document, consult with me.  When in doubt, document.  (Adapted from the English Department Statement on Plagiarism)

Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes; a simple listing of books and articles consulted is not sufficient.  Nor does rearrangement of another person's phrasing (paraphrase) release one from the obligation to document one's sources.

To review the English Department Statement on Plagiarism, please go to the Writing Center website:

writingcenter.gmu.edu

Like you, I am bound by the honor code to report suspected plagiarism to the Honor Committee.  For a description of the code and the committee, please consult the GMU Catalog.  The relevant section is available online at:

www.gmu.edu/catalog/apolicies/#Anchor12

GMU INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITY POLICY

Students with documented disabilities are legally entitled to certain accommodations in the classroom.  Please contact me as soon as possible so that we may make sure your needs are met.  The Disability Resource Center is located in Student Union Building I, Room 222.  Phone:  703-993-2474.