SUNY Fredonia
Division of Arts and Humanities
ENGL 106: The English Major--An Introduction
Spring 2008
TTh 9:30-10:50 am
Fenton 175
Office: Fenton 265; TTh 3:30-4:30, W 9-12, F 1-4:30, and by appointment; 673-3856
E-mail: simon@fredonia.edu (work days); brucesimon18@yahoo.com (other)
Web Page: www.fredonia.edu/department/english/simon/
Course ANGEL Space: https://angel.fredonia.edu/frames.aspx
About the Course Web Site
This web site is designed to help you get as much out of this course as possible--you can use it to find out how you will be graded, how to use the course ANGEL space, what reading and writing assignments are due and when, and how to use the world-wide web for research. Please take the time during the first week of classes to read this page carefully and to familiarize yourself with the other pages for this course. Please get in the habit of checking back to this web site to keep track of changes to the tentative schedule (see below) and to find advice on assignments, as well as to surf the ever-expanding list of links to interesting web pages related to the course. And please contact me any time (see above for my coordinates) if you have ideas about how to improve these pages or the course as a whole. I hope you enjoy taking this course as much as I enjoy teaching it!
I. Course Description
An introduction to the major areas within and current approaches to literary studies, including literary history, canon formation, and the multiple functions of literature and writing. This 1.5-credit seminar introduces students to the goals, requirements, structure, components, and content of the English major at SUNY Fredonia. It is designed to open the many different fields of English studies to new majors and to help students develop a context for the courses they may already have taken and will be taking throughout their careers as English majors at Fredonia. Along the way, we will explore effective modes of library research, strategies for integrating secondary sources, and terms and concepts that are fundamental to literary analysis. This is a required course for the English (323) major.
II. Rationale
In ENGL 106, as in most courses offered by the English Department, the goals of the professional programs are integrated with specific course and general education goals. Achieving these goals (described in Section IV below) will require us to foster academic skills and intellectual habits of reading closely and carefully, thinking critically and creatively, listening actively and attentively, speaking thoughtfully and concisely, and writing clearly and analytically--skills and habits useful to everyone, but of particular importance to future teachers.
III. Textbooks. The textbooks adopted for this course are:
IV. Course Objectives and Outcomes.
ENGL 106 is designed to prepare students for their future endeavors as English majors and beyond. Students will develop an understanding of the history, purposes, and domains of the discipline of English studies and of the current goals, requirements, structure, components, and content of the English major at SUNY Fredonia. To achieve these goals, students will
V. Instructional Methods and Activities
The methods used in the classroom will include lecture, in-class writing, guided discovery, open discussion, cooperative group work, and other discussion-oriented activities.
VI. Evaluation and Grade Assignment
A. Methods.
Attendance/Preparation/In-class Participation (20%). Regular attendance to and thoughtful participation in class are crucial to your enjoyment of and success in this course. If there is absolutely no way for you to avoid missing a class, you must contact me ahead of time or soon after your absence, preferably by email. Even more important than showing up on time, of course, is coming to class prepared and focused. I expect you to read what has been assigned for a given date at least once by the time we begin to discuss it in class. This is a discussion rather than a lecture course, after all; although I will provide some context and background for our reading, the bulk of class time will be spent in small- or large-group discussions and activities.
Your grade for this segment of the course will be based on a combination of your attendance, the quality of your participation in class and on the course ANGEL space (described below), and your preparation, effort, and improvement over the course of the semester. As there is no final exam in this course, think of my evaluation of your preparation/participation as a different but equally important method of assessing your overall performance in the course. Due to the importance of attendance and participation, more than two unexcused absences will hurt your preparation/participation grade and each non-emergency absence after the third will lower your final course grade by a full grade (e.g., with four absences a B+ will become a C+; with seven, it will become an F). Please see Section VIIIB, below, for definitions of excused and emergency absences.
Online Participation (20%). The discussion board on our course ANGEL space will give you the chance to prepare for and extend our in-class discussions and, in so doing, develop your writing and critical thinking skills, demonstrate your engagement with the course material, and consider and respond to others' questions, ideas, experiences, and analyses. Here are some ways you can participate on it:
Annotated Biblographies (30%). To develop your skills in literary analysis and critical thinking, you will research and write two short annotated bibliographies. The assignment sheets will be made available at http://www.fredonia.edu/department/english/simon/emi2/ab.htm.
Your grade for this segment of the course will be determined by how well you meet the specific annotation expectations for each assignment, how well you apply and use MLA format, and how well your writing and formatting work (including diction, grammar, syntax, and punctuation).
Final Reflection (30%). The final reflection is a self-reflection/learning analysis of at least 5 pages in which you use your experiences inside and outside the classroom to identify the most important things you learned about the major and about yourself in ENGL 106. Further information and advice on this project can be found on the course web site at http://www.fredonia.edu/department/english/simon/emi2/fr.htm.
Your grade for this segment of the course will be determined using the following criteria (in order of importance): development of ideas, including relevance and specificity of connections drawn between ideas and course materials/activities; structure/organization; sentence-level writing; formatting (including correct use of MLA format and set-up of bibliography).
B. Grading. All work during the semester will be graded on a letter basis (A=outstanding, B=good, C=average, D=bad, F=awful) and converted into a number for purposes of calculating final grades. I use the following conversion system (the number in parentheses is the "typical" or "normal" conversion, but any number in the range may be assigned to a given letter grade):
A+=97-100 (98); A=93-96.99 (95); A-=90-92.99 (91); B+=87-89.99 (88); B=83-86.99 (85); B-=80-82.99 (81); C+=77-79.99 (78); C=73-76.99 (75); C-=70-72.99 (71); D+=67-69.99 (68); D=63-66.99 (65); D-=60-62.99 (61); F=0-59.99 (55)
Your final grade is determined by converting the weighted numerical average of the above assignments into a letter grade, according to the above scale.
C. Portfolio. English majors should be aware of the English department's guidelines for ongoing portfolio submissions.
VII. Bibliography.
A. Contemporary References
B. Classic References
C. Key Journals
VIII. Course Schedule and Policies
A. Tentative Course Schedule. The following course schedule is subject to revision--please refer here regularly for updates to this schedule, notes on the texts, and suggestions for further reading.
The Goals of the Major
T 1/29 INTRODUCTIONS: People, Course, Goals, Units, Texts, Assignments.
Th 1/31 GETTING STARTED. before class: read, consider doing discussion questions on, and bring to class the following pages from the Fredonia English department web site: Goals and Mission, "What Can I Do with an English Major?", and English Alumni; in class: discuss relations between these pages and your experience in English classes; consider what they suggest about the significance/stakes of the English major at Fredonia. after class: begin reading Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories at your own pace; begin researching ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY I.
T 2/5 READING WEEK. before class: Read the following entries from Abrams and Harpham: "Affective Fallacy," "Criticism," "Empathy and Sympathy," "Form and Structure," "Interpretation and Hermeneutics," "Reader-Response Criticism," and "Structuralist Criticism." in class: discuss relations between these readings; consider their implications for our own reading.
Th 2/7 in class: perform close reading of a passage from Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories; discuss our reading strategies for the novel and how the entries and issues from last class relate to them. after class: continue reading Rushdie's novel at your own pace; continue researching ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY I.
T 2/12 WRITING WEEK. before class: Read the following entries from Abrams and Harpham: "Author and Authorship," "Fiction and Truth," "Intentional Fallacy," "Poststructuralism," and "Text and Writing (Ecriture)." in class: discuss relations between these readings; brainstorm their implications for our own reading and writing; discuss the kinds of writing you have done in English courses and expect to do based on your reading for today; why write about literature?
Th 2/14 before class: find and post on the course ANGEL space's discussion board links to relevant sites/essays from the web and university databases on Rushdie and particularly on Haroun and the Sea of Stories. in class: consider how Rushdie's novel enters into dialogue with the readings from last class and last week; perform another close reading of a passage from the novel. after class: continue reading or rereading Haroun and the Sea of Stories at your own pace; continue researching ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY I; attend at least one production of The Vagina Monologues (2/14, 2/15, 2/16; Williams Center, 7:30 pm, with one show at 1:30 pm on Saturday, $4).
T 2/19 CRITICAL THINKING/RESEARCH WEEK. before class: continue finding and posting on the course ANGEL space's discussion board links to relevant sites/essays from the web and university databases on Rushdie and particularly on Haroun and the Sea of Stories; meet at Reed Library Circulation Desk for class. in class: participate in literary research activity lead by Dawn Eckenrode.
Th 2/21 before class: choose one of the sites/essays on Rushdie/Haroun and the Sea of Stories that you had a strong reaction to and be prepared to present your response to it (what is its key argument? how does it support it? how well does it support it? what do you most like and/or dislike about it? how does it compare to the kinds of writing you've done in the major?). in class: discuss in small groups the strengths and weaknesses of the Rushdie criticism you focused on (wefll share reactions to The Vagina Monologues on the discussion board). after class: try to have Haroun and the Sea of Stories and your research for the ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY I completed by the end of the week; familiarize yourself with Gibaldi, MLA Handbook 1-45, as a way of reviewing your library exercise this week.
The Structure of the Major
M 2/25 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY I due.
T 2/26 REQUIREMENTS WEEK. before class: review the requirements of the English (323) major at Fredonia and the English department course offerings in the Undergraduate Catalog 2007-2009 (bring to class); read Ted Steinberg, "A World Literature Core" (available in the Lessons area of the course ANGEL space) and Abrams and Harpham, "Postcolonial Studies." in class: discussion of the relationship between our goals and our requirements, their rationales, and our world literature core (ENGL 205/207/209/211). GUEST APPEARANCES: James Stevens and Iclal Vanwesenbeeck, English Department, SUNY Fredonia.
W 2/27 Attend English Department Next Step/What Can I Do with the Major? workshop (Fenton 127, 4-5 pm)
Th 2/28 in class: discussion of relation between world literature core and criticism/seminar courses. GUEST APPEARANCE: Ted Steinberg and Birger Vanwesenbeeck, English Department, SUNY Fredonia. after class: begin researching ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY II.
T 3/4 COMPONENTS WEEK. before class: read the following entries from Abrams and Harpham: "Influence and the Anxiety of Influence," "New Historicism," "Periods of American Literature," "Periods of English Literature," and "Theories and Movements in Recent Criticism." in class: discussion of period and author courses; why study literature historically?
Th 3/6 in class: discussion of other kinds of courses offered by the English department at Fredonia. GUEST APPEARANCE: Saundra Liggins, Shannon McRae, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil, English Department, SUNY Fredonia. after class: continue researching ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY II; attend at least one lecture by Koichi Fujino, English Department, Seinan Gakuin University (3/6, 7:30 pm; 3/7, 3 pm; both in Fenton 105)).
T 3/11 CONTENT WEEK. before class: read the following entries from Abrams and Harpham: "Canon of Literature," "Feminist Criticism," and "Humanism." in class: discussion of kinds of readings and assignments you can expect in future courses in the major in the context of broader debates over what English majors should be reading and doing. GUEST APPEARANCE: Emily VanDette, English Department, SUNY Fredonia.
Th 3/13 in class: wrapping up; final questions; course evaluations. after class: try to have your research for the ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY II completed by the end of the week.
M 3/17 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY II due.
F 3/21 FINAL REFLECTION due.
B. Class Policies
1. Attendance. As stated in Section VI above, barring emergencies each absence after the fourth will lower your final course grade by a full grade. Be aware that absences due to emergencies are the only absences that will not be counted toward your total for the semester. Emergencies include but are not limited to death in the family, hospitalization or serious illness, and natural disasters; scheduled and unavoidable school-sponsored events (games, meets, performances, etc.) are also counted as emergencies for the purpose of this attendance policy. Besides emergencies, the only other absences that won't affect your participation/preparation grade are excused absences. Please notify the instructor over email, in advance if possible and, if not, as soon after the absence as possible, if you wish an absence to be considered as an emergency or excused absence; the decision will be made at the instructor's discretion.
2. Online Participation. Please familiarize yourself with the college's "Computer and Network Usage Policy" (College Catalog 2007-2009, pp. 240-248) and check with your instructor first before posting something to the course ANGEL space that is not directly related to the course.
3. Late Assignments. Online posts that are not well-timed with the course material and fail to spark other students' interest and responses will not count the same as well-timed posts or posts that do inspire further discussion. Late critical essays will not be accepted or graded. Only students who ask for an extension at least two days before the due date of any written project will be granted an extension.
4. Plagiarism and Academic Integrity. To plagiarize is "to steal and pass off as one's own the ideas or words of another" (Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary). SUNY Fredonia strongly condemns plagiarism and takes severe action against those who plagiarize. Disciplinary action may extend to suspension from privileges or expulsion from college. Please familiarize yourself with the college's "Academic Integrity Policy" (College Catalog 2007-2009, pp. 236-239, see also p. 222) and check with your instructor if you have any questions about it.