Novels and Tales News
Hey, everyone. Welcome to the course. (Our first order of business is to come up with a cool name for me to call you all. Any suggestions?) I'll be putting announcements on this page having to do with course requirements, changes in these web pages, and other matters. Between this page and the main page, you should get a good sense of what's new and upcoming in the course. So I recommend checking out both those pages every time you visit the course web site--at least once a week.
12/11/03
Here's a preview of my office hours for next week: M 9:30-4:30; T 10-5; W 11-4; Th 1-4; F 2:30-5. Check here for any changes.
A few reminders:
12/9/03
Here's a summary of my office hours for the week: M 10-12, 2:30-4; T 9-9:30, 5-6 by appointment; W 10-12, 2:30-5; Th 9-9:30, 5-6 by appointment; F 10-12, 2-5.
12/2/03
Here's a preview of my office hours the rest of the week: W 9-12, 2:30-5; Th before 9:30 and after 5 by appointment; F 10-12 and by appointment before 3.
12/1/03
Hey all, hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I've put revisions to the revision policy for critical essays on the critical essay overview page. This is a clarification of what I sent out over email before break; please forgive the unnecessarily convoluted explanation in that second email (chalk it up to pre-break-itis)! The key thing to remember is: turn the second critical essay in today, get it back this week, and decide which (if any) of the two essays (or both) you want to revise before the end of the semester.
My apologies for having to change my office hours to 11:15-12, 2:30-4 today--car and doctor's appointments lasted longer than expected this morning. See you all tomorrow!
11/14/03
Hey all, my apologies for being sick yesterday. I hate cancelling classes, and particularly when they're on an author I like as much as Gaiman. Why don't we spend part of Tuesday's class focusing on his retelling of the classic Orpheus and Eurydice story, and the other part focusing on the way Allison is creating a kind of reflection on the stakes of storytelling in her short story?
11/12/03
Hey all, just updated the final project assignment sheet. I fixed the mistake that had the proposal for the final project due earlier than it actually is due! Also, due to a department meeting, I have to change my Friday office hours to: 10-12, 2-3.
11/4/03
Hey all, just updated the second critical essay assignment sheet. Check it out!
10/31/03
Hey everyone, Happy Halloween. Please note the changes to the due date for the second critical essay. Click here to go directly to a preliminary draft of the assignment sheet for the second critical essay. I've also put a preview of the final project assignment sheet on-line. Please note that it requires you to submit a proposal for the final project no later than M 11/17/03.
A few notes about office hours as we approach the course advising/selection period. First off, though, please be aware that I have extended office hours today: 10-4. Next Monday, my hours will be 10:30-3:30. Next Wednesday, my hours will be 10-4. Then we hit advising week. My hours for that week will be by appointment according to the following schedule: F 9-12, 1-3; M 9-12, 1-4; T 5-6:30; W 9-12, 1-4.
Here's how it's going to work. I have a sign-up sheet on my door for my advisees, who have to meet with me to discuss their plans for the spring semester. They have first dibs on the sign-up sheet, for a time. My advisees have been told they need to sign up for a time between Friday 11/7 and Wednesday 11/12 well in advance of that time. If they procrastinate, they're in danger of missing a chance to see me. Here's how it works. If you want to see me , you'll need to come to my office and check out the sign-up sheet--you can sign up for a time no earlier than the day before you want to see me. For instance, if you want to see me on Friday 11/7, come on Thursday and see if there are any slots open on the sign-up sheet; if so, take one. If not, come back Friday and see if there are any slots open for Monday 11/10; if so, take one. To put the same point another way, you can't sign up for a time on Tuesday 11/11 until Monday.
This system is designed to allow my advisees a first shot at making an appointment with me during advising week, but to still give my students a chance to see me during that time, as well.
10/29/03
Had to change my afternoon office hours today (morning stayed the same)--because the roofer who's been avoiding me for months finally showed up, just before the plumber did--so the new afternoon hours are 4-5. Apologies for the short notice--I had no idea they'd come at the same time!
10/28/03
I've updated the links page to include a link to an exhaustive site that supplements the anthology we're using (look for it at the individual genres, works, and authors section of the links page) and a link to a neat site on Gaiman's "Ramadan" that Melissa Hogan sent me (this is another way to get extra credit on your participation/preparation grade, btw).
10/27/03
New office hours today: 11:30-4.
10/22/03
Hey all, my apologies for not realizing that my wife and I had scheduled a doctor's appointment for this morning sooner--I had to shift my office hours to 2-5 today.
10/16/03
My new (and expanded) office hours for Friday: 12-5.
10/15/03
I forgot I have a dentist's appointment at 10:30 this morning. So here are my new (and expanded) office hours for today: 1:15-4:45.
10/14/03
Hey all, I've changed the due date for the first critical essay back to Monday, 10/20--I didn't realize so many professors would be having big assignments due this week, and I'm behind on my grading in other courses due to the move being a lot more involved than I imagined, so I'm going to give you all and myself an extra weekend on this! See the assignment sheet for the first critical essay for details.
10/10/03
Hey all, my department mentors have informed me that I am crazy to be in the office during a move to my first home, so I'm going to push back my office hours until the move is done. I'll only be in the office from 1-3 today. Apologies for the late notice!
10/1/03
Several important announcements, to follow up on the discussion yesterday following my announcements in class.
9/29/03
Turns out the white supremacist rally was something of a false alarm--or at least much smaller than previously thought and not affiliated in any way with UB. But dealing with the closing on my new house--yeah!--and the affiliated errands took up my entire day--boo! So I had to cancel my office hours today. Looking ahead, the next few weeks are going to be crazy. I'm attending a state-wide delegate assembly for the faculty/professionals union at SUNY (of which Fredonia is one chapter among many) this coming Friday and Saturday, so there goes my Friday office hours. I'm also going to have to cancel my office hours next Wednesday (the day after October break), 10/8/03, because my wife and I will be moving that day (assuming all goes well with the cleaning, the packing and unpacking, and the work that needs to be done on the house before we move). So I'll do my best to schedule extra hours this coming Wednesday. Oh, and I just found out that my wife has an interview with the INS (actually now the BCIS) to complete her green card application on Th 10/9--an interview I'm required to attend. So I'm looking into getting a "sub" for that class. More on that later.
On the bright side, the assignment sheet for the first critical essay will be up and running tomorrow morning on the web site in draft form. Please come to the next few classes with comments and questions on it. Thanks!
9/26/03
Jeez, now there's a white supremacist rally going on at UB this weekend and as faculty advisor to the BSU I have to attend an emergency e-board meeting at 3, so my office hour today have to be revised again: 1-3 pm. Sorry!
9/25/03
Hey all, I'm closing on a house on Monday and Friday morning is the only time I can schedule the final walk-through, so my new office hours for tomorrow are: 1-3:30. Apologies for the late notice.
9/24/03
I've updated the reading response advice page to clarify the distinction between a full-blown reading response and an extra-credit follow-up response.
9/18/03
Change in plans for my office hours tomorow: I'll be in from 9:45-1:45 Friday. I have a 2 pm meeting that looks like it's going to be a long one, so I'm shifting my hours around a bit.
9/17/03
To confirm the email I sent to the list last night, I'm announcing a change to my office hours for today: 10:45-12:15, 2:45-5. Also, now that everyone is subscribed to the course listserv, I'm going to be sending a couple of emails to each section's list: one with all the announcements we've had thus far on the list from me and one with all the reading responses we've had thus far on the list from you all, so that's everyone's "on the same page" and you can check to see that I've received what you've sent.
Just got word from the library that most of the books on reserve are now available at the circulation desk of the library. So, for an up-to-date list of what's available now, go to the library; for a list of what will be avilable, go to the reserves page.
9/11/03
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm extending my office hours for tomorrow (Friday)--I'll be there from 9-3 instead of from 10-12, 2:30-3:30, primarily to give my American Studies students a chance to meet with me if they have any questions about the first critical essay or if they want me to look over a first draft, but open to everyone. Depending on the response from them tomorrow, I may also have extended office hours on Monday.
9/10/03
Hey all, I found out late yesterday evening that I had some errands to do this morning that couldn't be avoided, so my apologies for the late notice in the following change of office hours for today: they will be held from 11-5 instead of 10-12, 2:30-3:30.
9/8/03
Hey all, I've updated the main page to include links to all the authors on the links page, updated the links page to reorganize the page, remove dead links, and add new categories and links, and fixed some typos on several pages.
9/5/03
Because of an emergency meeting this afternoon, I've had to reschedule my office hours today. I'll be in the office from 10-2 instead of 10-12, 2:30-3:30.
9/3/03
The web site is fairly complete, except for assignment sheets for the critical essays and final projects in the course, which will come on-line later in the semester. If you find good web sites to add to our links page, please send me their addresses (URLs) and if I add them to the page, you'll receive some extra credit in your preparation/participation grade. I'll notify you here when the reserves listed on the site are available for your use in the library.
8/25/03
Welcome to the course! The rest of the site will be up and running by the end of the week, so don't worry if many links are as yet inactive. I'll announce here as new links come on-line.
ENGL 209: Novels and Tales, Fall 2003
Created: 8/25/03 5:47 pm
Last modified: 12/11/03 5:36 pm