ENG 130, sec. A—Introduction
to Literature
Clark ID # 4688
3 Credit hours
Winter 2006
MWF 9:00-9:50
Hannah Hall, Room 102
Brandy McKenzie, instructor
bmckenzie@clark.edu
website: http://mysite.verizon.net/res1ryso
Required texts:
Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury, 2nd ed. Ed. David Minter. New York:
W. W. Norton & Co., 1994.
Halpern, Daniel. The
Art of the Tale: An International Anthology of Short Stories.
New York: Penguin, 1986.
Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Eds. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. New
York: Washington Square Press, 1993.
Smith, Philip, ed. 100 Best-Loved Poems. New York: Dover, 1995.
Welcome to English 130, where we will be reading a wide variety of literature in its
different forms, looking at what makes it literature, and learning how to discuss literature in an academic context. It won’t all be academic, though; at its heart, literature is an encounter with
the wider world, and at its best it provides us with a context in which to define our own experiences. So while we will be talking about technical terms, we’ll also be talking about what effects the readings
I’ve assigned have (or don’t have) on you as a reader. The class
will be structured as a combination lecture and discussion course, and I’ll try to focus most on what interests you
the most—which means I’ll expect each of you to be an active participant in the class. In turn, you will need to keep up with the reading assignments and be prepared to discuss them on the date
each is noted in the following schedule.
By doing so, you will be laying the groundwork for a lifetime of critical and appreciative reading. The textbooks I have chosen, while heavily guided by affordability,
also were selected because several offer extra materials such as annotations and critical commentaries which may help to enrich
your experience with the texts. I do not require that you use these exact editions,
but please keep in mind that there are several times noted on this syllabus when we will be referring to the additional material.
When you have successfully finished the course, you will have a good idea of the natures
of various genres, both in their differences and in their common ground. We will
look at voice, narrative, and meaning, as well as at as symbol, sound, and cultural commentary, among other aspects of writing. You will have a solid understanding of the basic building blocks of all literature,
and will be able to discuss what makes something “good,” “successful,” or even, perhaps, a “masterpiece.” Finally, you will have developed your ability to write critically and analytically. To this end, although there are no prerequisites for the course, I will expect your
essays to be written at the ENG 101 level or above. Once all requirements of
the course have been met, you will have developed the college-wide abilities of Critical Thinking, Communication, and Life-long
Learning in particular, although, as usual, others are involved as well.
The work of the class, apart from the daily readings, will consist of two essays of at least 5 pages each, written on topics which will be announced in class; four quizzes, which will be given every other week to assure that you are understanding the concepts discussed;
four one-page freewrites, written in response to the reading of your choice assigned
since the previous freewrite was due; the final, which will be comprehensive;
and your participation in class.
Final grades will be calculated according to the following proportions:
Essays—40%
Quizzes—30%
Freewrites—10%
Final—10%
Participation—10%
I use a standard grading
scale, with 94-100 being an A, 90-93 an A-, 87-89 a B+, 84-86 a B, 80-83 a B-, and so forth. An
“A” paper will have a demonstrated mastery of grammar and punctuation with very few mistakes, a solid understanding
of the material, and a depth of thought which does not simply repeat what was said in class but develops it in an original
way. A “B” paper will demonstrate at least two of these skills to
a satisfactory level, and will show indications of the third. A “C”
paper will meet the basic levels of comprehension and communication necessary to pass the class.
Your attendance will also affect your grade. You are allowed three absences, excused or unexcused.
Each subsequent absence will cost you 5% of your final grade. Moreover,
the timeliness of your work is also important, and late papers for which you have
not been granted an extension by me at least 24 hours before the due date will lose 10% of their grade for every calendar
day they are late.
Also, please note that I do not tolerate plagiarism in the classroom. Plagiarism will also affect your grade for the course, in that it is the policy of the English department at Clark
College to fail any students who have knowingly presented the unacknowledged ideas of others as their own. This means that the source of any information that is not public knowledge, or not specifically your own
idea and/or reasoning, must be cited in a way that is accepted by the academic community.
Knowingly plagiarizing all or part of an essay will cause your failure in the course.
Accidental plagiarism, as in the case of incorrectly citing a source, can cause serious negative effects on your grade
for the assignment in question. If you have any questions about how to correctly acknowledge the work of others, please don’t
hesitate to ask.
If you have a disability
which may affect your performance in this class or require special accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible
so that arrangements may be made.
Tentative schedule, subject to instructor’s discretion:
1/ 4—Introductions; syllabus
1/6—Discuss: Boyle, “Greasy Lake” (AotT, 133-140); Brodkey, “Ceil” (AotT, 141-151)
1/9—Discuss: Boll, “Action Will Be Taken” (AotT, 94-97); Cheever, “The Country Husband” (AotT, 201-218)
1/11--Mishima,
"Patriotism" (AotT, 459-475)
1/13—Quiz #1
1/16—No Class; MLK holiday
1/18--Ford, "The Communist" (AotT 282-293); O'Brien, "Sister Imelda" (AotT, 519-532)
1/20—Freewrite due
Discuss: Borges, “The Aleph” (AotT,
100-109); Kaplan, “Doe Season” (handout)
1/23—Discuss: Faulkner, “An Introduction to The Sound and the Fury” (TS&tF, 228-232); Warren, “Faulkner: Past and Future” (TS&tF, 243-246)
1/25—Discuss: TS&tF, “April Seventh, 1928” (3-48)
1/27—Quiz #2
1/30— Discuss: TS&tF, “June Second, 1910” (48-113)
2/1— Discuss: TS&tF, “April Sixth, 1928” (113-165)
2/3—Freewrite due
Discuss: TS&tF, “April
Eighth, 1928” (165-199)
2/6— Final discussion, TS&tF
2/8— Discuss: Milton, “On His Blindness” (100BLP, 14); Frost, “The Road Not Taken”
(100BLP, 84);
Forche, “The Colonel” (website); Hass, “A Story About
the Body” (website)
2/10—Quiz #3
2/13—Essay # 1 due; topics TBA
Discuss: Marlowe, “The Passionate Shepherd
to His Love” (100BLP, 5); Marvell,
“To His Coy Mistress” (100BLP, 17-18);
Byron, “She Walks in Beauty”
(100BLP, 33); Browning, “Sonnet XLII”
(100 BLP, 49-50)
2/15—Freewrite due
Discuss: Donne, “Holy Sonnet XIV” (100
BLP, 10-11); Blake, “The Tyger” (100
BLP, 25); Arnold, “Dover Beach” (100
BLP, 67); Hardy, “Pied Beauty” (100
BLP, 74)
2/17—No Class; Presidents’ Day
2/20— Discuss: Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale” (100 BLP, 43-45); Dickinson, “I Heard a
Fly Buzz When I Died” (100 BLP, 70);
Yeats, “The Second Coming” (100 BLP,
81); Stevens, “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”
(100 BLP, 86-87); Williams, “The
Red
Wheelbarrow” (100 BLP, 87)
2/22—Discuss: cummings, “anyone lived in a pretty how town” (100 BLP, 91); Plath,
“Lady Lazarus” (website); Ginsberg, “Howl”
(website); Bishop, “The Armadillo”
(website); Wright, “A Blessing” (website);
Olds, “I Go Back To May 1937”
(website)
2/24—Quiz #3
2/27—Discuss: KL, xiii-xxx; lii-lvi
3/1—Discuss: KL, Act I
3/3—Freewrite due
Discuss: KL, Act II
3/6—Discuss: KL, Act III
3/8—Discuss:KL, Act IV
3/10— Quiz #4
3/13— Discuss: KL, Act V
The
Final for this class will be held on Wed., March 15 from 10:00-11:50.
The second essay will be due at this time.
