ENG
1210/3 - Readings in British Literature
Fall 2006
MWF 12-12.50, Tate 124
Office hours: MWF 11-12 and by appointment (Tate 1)
Texts
There are two required books for this class, available at the University
Bookstore:
- The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors (Eighth Edition)
- A Glossary of Literary Terms (M.H. Abrams, Eighth Edition)
You will be expected to have the Norton Anthology by the second day of class. Plan accordingly.
Purpose
and General Structure of the Class
English 1210 is designed to introduce you to the concepts, terms, and
practices commonly encountered in literary study. We will cover a broad,
chronological sweep of "British" (and we will discuss the challenges
of that term) literature, touching upon multiple literary genres (plays,
various prose and poetic forms, etc.), as well as providing you with the
critical vocabulary necessary to advance in the discipline. This course
is recommended for prospective English majors and minors. (For further
information on majoring in English, see http://english.missouri.edu
or Dr. Bill Dawson in Tate 107.)
The major
graded work will consist of a midterm and final exam, as well as
quizzes as necessary. In addition, there will be short, informal writing
and other assignments.
General Class Policies
Course-specific Guidelines
Grade
Breakdown
|
45% |
Exams |
|
|
25% |
Final |
|
|
20% |
Midterm |
|
|
30% |
Short Weekly Responses |
|
|
15% |
Papers
(2, 2-3 pages) |
|
| 10% |
Class Attendance and Participation |
|
Exams
You will be evaluated periodically for your mastery of content knowledge,
i.e. your understanding of points of fact (time periods, vocabulary, etc.)
which will have been presented in the readings and in class. I reserve
the right to include pop quizzes, if necessary.
Formal
Papers
You will be expected to conform to some standardized citation method in
your short papers. In this discipline, MLA citation is the most common
method. Work is due at the beginning of class, unless otherwise specified.
Extensions on formal paper assignments (including drafts and proposals)
will only be granted with more than 24 hours' notice.
Late work without a prior extension will not be accepted.
A complete grading rubric is included in this syllabus. Remember: I grade you on the work I see, not on your good intentions. I expect that you will have personally proofread (and ideally, had someone else read over) your formal writing prior to handing it in. Egregious grammar errors, typos, improper citation, formatting errors, etc. are unacceptable on formal writing assignments, as they imply sloppy thought and hasty writing. Papers with such errors will be marked down a letter grade.
Weekly online responses (30 percent)
(rubric adapted from Devoney Looser)
You will write once a week in response to each other and to our assigned readings, using Blackboard. You will be responsible for formulating one substantial reading question for the next day's reading and for responding to a classmates' question (or to another classmates' response) each week. Your responses should be at least 200 words in length and should demonstrate that you have read and carefully thought about the assigned reading.
You will be assigned one of three due dates - either Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday at 9 PM (In other words, the night before one of our class periods.) You should use this forum to:
- Ask substantive questions about the text assigned for the next class,
- Make connections among texts,
- Identify what you see as important themes and issues.
I am less interested in what you liked or disliked about the reading (although that may be relevant to your response) than in what issues you found central and why.
As we proceed, I will point out questions and responses that I think are particularly strong (and you can check some out from a prior class here), so that you may consider them as models for your future work. I will also provide additional feedback about your individual progress in this area when you request it. Each Friday, I will grade your online contributions as excellent (A/90-100), good (B/80-90), satisfactory (C/70-79), poor (D/60-69), and not adequate (F/below 60). You will be able to keep track of your grades via Blackboard.
Late work in this category will be accepted up to one week afterward but will not be graded higher than a C. Missed work is automatically recorded as an F. Multiple weeks of missing questions and responses will jeopardize your ability to pass the course.