ENG 210: Foundations of Literary Study I

Summer 2011, second session ENG 210-201 TTh 11:30-2:20 1202 Engineering Building Ms. Erin Beard bearder1@msu.edu Office: 107 Morrill Hall Office Hours: W 10-12 or by appointment Course Description As the introductory course to the English major, ENG 210 aims to give students the opportunity to develop and refine basic skills of literary study such as close reading, developing analytic questions, and understanding the function of literature in public and private life. Students will develop reading and writing skills and the habits of mind that are essential for entering into the academic discussions of the literary disciplines. As such, this course is focused on the process of reading and writing. We will concentrate on how texts mean what they mean rather than discuss what they mean. In order to do this, we will look at several different genres including poetry, drama, the novel, and the short story, asking ourselves what kind of work each specific genre does in a literary context. In addition to looking at reading and writing as inter-related, we will also work on developing the kinds of discussion skills that will lead to successful participation in future English courses. We will spend most of our class time engaged in collaborative reading, where we will closely and critically analyze specific passages and moments in our texts, paying attention to form, content, and context. Required Texts You must buy the exact edition listed. ISBNs are listed next to the MLA citation for the book to facilitate online purchases. You must bring the text to class on the day it is assigned. Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. New York: Oxford, 2009. [9780192805355] Seagull Reader: Stories. Ed. Joseph Kelly. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2007. [9780393930917] Shaw, Bernard. Mrs. Warrens Profession. Ed. L. W. Connolly. Orchard Park, NY: Broadview, 2005. [9781551116273] Vendler, Helen. Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. 3rd ed. Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. [9780312463199] Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. New York: Harcourt, 1981. [0156628708] Journal Articles: Listed on assignment schedule. You must find these articles on your own using the library website.

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Recommended Texts A style guide like Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. (Joseph Williams) Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2009. Major Assignments Reading Registers Close Reading, Poetry Close Reading, Short Story Close Reading, Novel Participation Presentation 30% 10% 15% 20% 15% 10%

Reading Register: This assignment is designed to allow students to develop thorough reading skills as English majors. There will be a total of 6 reading register entries, and each is worth 5% of the final grade for a total of 30% of the final grade. Each reading register entry should be at least 750 words and will be kept on Google documents. Close Readings: There will be a total of 3 close reading papers, one on each genre except for drama. Each paper increases in weighted value as the semester progresses. Students will have an opportunity to revise one of the first two papers. Participation: This portion of the grade includes class participation, in-class writing assignments, scheduling at least one appointment during my office hours, and any unannounced work such as pop quizzes. Speaking up in class and contributing to discussion is essential to get at least a 2.0 in participation. You will rely upon your reading registers for discussion points in addition to responding to any new turns in discussion during the class itself. Additionally, I will expect you to come to class with additional notes and discussion points and to be ready to volunteer a place to start if called upon. Presentations: In groups of 2, students will do a literary analysis of a song. The entire class will have an opportunity to listen to the song during class time followed by the group presentation and discussion. *More thorough descriptions of class assignments can be found on ANGEL. Grading Scale This course uses MSUs 4.0 grading scale. The final grade will be calculated with a weighted average formula and then rounded to the nearest half point.

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Resources for English Majors MLA Handbook: While this handbook is not required for this class, I highly recommend that you buy it and sign up for the online resources that come with the book at the website listed below. Preparing a Works Cited page using a citation generator is not recommended. Youll use this book until you graduate, and all of your English professors will expect you to be familiar with the guidelines it outlines. www.mlahandbook.org Literary Glossaries: These are like dictionaries for English majors. There are printed and online copies available in several places. For a printed version, I recommend the second or third edition of The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. For online versions, Bedfords can be found at bedfordstmartins.com/rewritinglit and the Oxford Glossary can be found through the library website by typing Oxford dictionary of literary terms into the search box in E-Resources. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED): This is one of the best and most thorough English dictionaries available. It goes beyond more basic dictionaries like Websters by including the etymology of every word. It is a very useful resource for close reading. It can be found on the library website under E-Resources. Style Guides: There are hundreds of good style guides to choose from. One of the best is Joseph Williamss (as listed under recommended books) but there are also many more resources online at bedfordstmartins.com/rewritinglit or owl.english.purdue.edu. These are important resources for learning how to write with clarity, how to do research, etc. Course Policies A Note on the Workload: Since this is a summer course, each class period is considered to be an entire week of class during a regular semester. As such, you will be doing the same amount of work as a regular semester in a shorter amount of time. Plan accordingly. In order to accommodate this schedule, I have assigned the heavier amount of work over the weekends where possible. Missing Class: Because each class will cover so much, I advise that you not miss a class. You will not be able to make up any missed assignments or participation points if you are absent. You are personally responsible for getting missed notes or information from another classmate. Do not ask me what you missed. Attendance: In order to succeed in this class, you will need to be on time and ready to contribute to the class in a meaningful way. This course also heavily relies on in-class participation and collaboration. Because of that, attendance is mandatory. I will allow one excused absence, as each class is considered to be an entire weeks worth. It is in your best interest to reserve this day for illness, unexpected circumstances such as family events, and accidentally sleeping through your alarm clock, as I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. Each absence after the 1 excused absence will result in the removal of 0.3 points off your final grade. Additionally, you may be no more than 10 minutes late. Each instance of tardiness will count as half of an absence. I will take attendance each day before
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class starts. Please see your student handbook for procedures for obtaining an excused absence at MSU. Paper Formatting: Each paper is required to meet MLA formatting standards. The final version of your paper should have 1 margins (Word defaults to 1.25, so youll need to change this manually) and be double spaced in 12-pt Times New Roman font. Additionally, the heading should be in the left-hand corner and your last name and page number should be in the top right-hand corner as a heading. Turning in Assignments: Each of the close reading papers, their revisions, and the written portion of the presentation will be submitted to me via e-mail no later than 10 AM on the day they are due. You must submit them as a SINGLE .doc or .docx Word document. I will return your papers to you as a PDF with markups and comments. Reading Registers will be kept online in Google documents, and I will have access to your reading register through Google. We will go over the process of setting up and using Google documents on the first day of class. Presentations will be performed during class and graded according to the rubric. Late Assignments: For every major assignment, each calendar day it is late will incur a 0.5 deduction off the final grade. The clock starts ticking immediately after the time listed on the syllabus. In other words, if you hand in your final paper on the evening of the day they are due, there will still be a 0.5 point deduction. I WILL NOT accept late reading registers. If you think this is going to be a problem talk to me well ahead of the due date. E-mail correspondence: If you have questions, the best way to reach me is by e-mail or during my office hours. I typically respond pretty quickly to e-mail, but please allow 24 hours for me to respond, especially right before an assignment is due. If you e-mail me after 7 PM, I might not respond the same night. For small questions, check the syllabus or your MLA Handbook first. Office Hours: My office is in 107 Morrill Hall. Please use my office hours to your advantage, as this is when I am most available to you. If you have questions or concerns about this course or my expectations ask them early in the semester! Feel free to drop by my office during hours even without an appointment. You are required to visit my office during office hours at least once during the semester as part of your participation grade. Once you have made an appointment, tardiness or not showing up at all is unacceptable and will result in a lowered participation grade. Electronic Devices: Cell phones must be silenced and must remain in your bookbag. They should not be out on the desk or on your person. Laptops must also be put away unless we are doing an activity requiring the use of a laptop. Egregious misuse of electronic devices, such as texting or facebooking, will result in a lowered participation grade. Academic Integrity: One of the most important principles in higher education is academic integrity. At this point, I expect that you know the mechanics of citation and what constitutes plagiarism. You are expected to use the skills you learn in this class to cite properly. I take plagiarism very seriously: if you plagiarize, you will fail the assignment or the course, depending on its severity.
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Michigan State University has adopted the following statement about academic integrity: 1.00 PROTECTION OF SCHOLARSHIP AND GRADES: The principles of truth and honesty are fundamental to the educational process and the academic integrity of the University; therefore, no student shall: 1.01 claim or submit the academic work of another as ones own. 1.02 procure, provide, accept or use any materials containing questions or answers to any examination or assignment without proper authorization. 1.03 complete or attempt to complete any assignment or examination for another individual without proper authorization. 1.04 allow any examination or assignment to be completed for oneself, in part or in total, by another without proper authorization. 1.05 alter, tamper with, appropriate, destroy or otherwise interfere with the research, resources, or other academic work of another person. 1.06 fabricate or falsify data or results. Procedures for responding to cases of academic honesty and possible repercussions are outlined in Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide. They can also be found on the web at: http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/honestylinks.html. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities should contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities to establish reasonable accommodations. For an appointment with a disability specialist, call 353-9642 (voice), 355-1293 (TTY), or visit myprofile.rcpd.msu.edu. University Resources for Writers: The following resources are available to you free of charge, and I urge you to make use of these frequently throughout the semester. Their websites will detail the services they offer and how to make appointments, which you should do well in advance of the time you need them. The Writing Center http://writing.msu.edu The Learning Resource Center http://lrc.msu.edu The English Language Center http://elc.msu.edu

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Course Schedule Week W1 Class T Jul 5 Th Jul 7 W2 W3 T Jul 19 Th Jul 21 T Jul 12 Th Jul 14 Sat Jul 16 Readings Assignments Due Poetry Vendler, About Poets and Poetry pp. xxxixxliii Vendler, chs. 1 & 2 Reading Register #1 Sign up for presentation dates Vendler, chs. 3, 4 & 5 RR #2 Vendler, chs. 6, 7 & 10 Poetry Close Reading Due by 10 PM via e-mail Drama Mrs. Warrens Profession, entire RR #3 Short Story Seagull Reader: Introduction, In Exile, The Story of an Hour, The Yellow Wallpaper, Young Goodman Brown, The Cask of Amontillado, Araby SR: A Rose for Emily, Hills Like White RR #4 Elephants, A Hunger Artist, The Horse Dealers Daughter, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, A Worn Path A Good Man is Hard to Find SR: Tooth and Claw, The Swimmer, A Very Old Man, Girl, Digging, Shiloh, Currents, Everyday Use Short Story Close Reading Due by 10 PM via e-mail Novel Moll Flanders Moll Flanders RR #5 Moll Flanders Mowry, Melissa. Women, Work, Rearguard Politics, and Defoes Moll Flanders. The Eighteenth Century. 49.2 (2008): 97-116. Web. Mrs. Dalloway Mrs. Dalloway RR #6 Mrs. Dalloway Hite, Molly. Tonal Cues and Uncertain Values: Affect and Ethics in Mrs. Dalloway. Narrative. 18.3 (2010): 249-275. Web. Novel Close Reading Due by 10 PM via e-mail

W4

T Jul 26

Th Jul 28 Sat Jul 30 W5 W6 T Aug 2 Th Aug 4 T Aug 9

W7

Th Aug 11 T Aug 16 Th Aug 18

Sat Aug 20

*Note: The reading listed must be completed before the class for which it is assigned.

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