Emily C. Friedman

ENG 2100/3 - Writing About Literature: "Reading True/False"
Fall 2007
MWF, 9-9.50 AM
Office hours: MWF 10-11 & by appointment (Tate 1)

Texts
There are six required books for this class, available at the University Bookstore:

These books are also available on Amazon, but if you go that route, make sure you will receive your books in time for class. Several of the other texts are also available online, but if you choose to read in that format, I expect that you bring some paper-based form to class to annotate and make reference to (in the case of longer online readings, I will indicate shorter sections that can be brought to class). Also, know if you choose an alternate edition, you may be sacrificing illuminating notes, introductions, or other material which will provide you with context. In particular, the Norton editions include secondary readings which will be required reading.

In addition, if you do not already own a copy of the MLA Handbook, it would be in your best interests to procure one, as you will be responsible for correct citation method in your formal writing.

Purpose and General Structure of the Class
English 2100 is designed to instruct you in the fundamentals of writing about literature, emphasizing literary research, interpretation, and criticism. We will cover multiple literary genres (plays, various prose and poetic forms, etc.), as well as begin to understand the role of theory and criticism in this department.

The major written work will consist of three formal papers of increasing length, culminating in a research paper cycle that will include a proposal and first draft. In addition, there will be a variety of short, informal writing and other assignments.

More specifically, this course will examine several kinds of literary "lies" -- the fictional "true story" (like Defoe's Moll Flanders or The Blair Witch Project), forgeries (like the Ossian poems or false Shakespeare plays of William Henry Ireland), frauds (like Laura Albert, AKA "JT LeRoy" or Carter's "The Education of Little Tree"), and false documents (such as in the work of Borges, Nabokov, or Bram Stoker's Dracula). We'll be investigating what makes a text "authentic" or "inauthentic" by examining works (novels, films, and everything in between) which play with our ideas of what makes for a "true story".

Note: This class shares its readings with my ENG2200 course for this semester, but our approach in this course will be quite different.

55%	Formal Papers
	30%	Final (6-8 page) research Paper
	15%	Midterm (5-6 page) Paper
	10%	Close Reading (3-4 page) Paper
25%	Short Weekly Responses
20%	Class Attendance and Participation

Formal Papers
Formal writing in this discipline must conform to MLA format. Work is due at the beginning of class. 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.

Other Graded Work
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 two due dates - either Monday or Wednesday 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, to make connections among texts, and to 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, 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. At mid-term and the end of the term, 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).

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.