e131SP04

English 131
Introduction
to Literature

Class Handbook
and
Success Guide

Spring 2004

Coming Soon! A Photo of the
Spring 2004 English 131 Class

The Spring 2004 English 131 -- Intro to Lit Class Section 004
M W F 10:00 - 10:50 AM
McKee 0252
ID #0818-GE 4D

A work listed in the calendar at the end of this syllabus must be completely read prior to the day we study it in class! This includes novels.

Professor: Count¹ Lloyd Worley, Ph.D., Prof. of English
Office: Ross 1130
Hours: MWF 9:00 - 9:50 AM & 1:00 - 1:50 PM. I also hold hours at the Java Joint on 16th Ave (next to The Book Stop) on Thursdays, as announced, and by appointment.
Telephone: (office 351-2942; home 356-3002; FAX (419) 793-6884; eMail is Prof@ProfW.com . AOLIM is CtMaxalla . If you have a problem or a question after hours, I will be pleased to talk to you. If you wish, you may call me, either at the office or at home. If you call the office, you should call during office hours - it's best not to leave a message. If you are calling my home phone number, try to call before 9:30 PM. EMail is fast, too. I check daily.

To contact me right now via email, click this link: prof@profw.com!

Important:
The calendar at the end of this syllabus is designed to help you keep up with reading and writing assignments. Keep track of everything with the calendar. A reading assignment (whether poem, short story, play, or novel) must be completely finished on the day the discussion begins. You must plan your reading schedule accordingly; incomplete or unfinished reading will ruin your pop quiz grades and ruin your understanding of the work under discussion. You will read poems, essays, short stories, one novel, and one play. A work listed in the calendar at the end of this syllabus must be completely read prior to the day we study it in class!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR ELIST!
YOU MUST JOIN THE EMAIL LIST FOR THIS CLASS!
I maintain an elist at Yahoo for this class. Not only will discussion of class topics occur on this List Serve, but also assignments and other important class information will be distributed through the List Serve. You also can post to the group. Also, there will be files uploaded to the "Files" section on the main page. The site also offers other options, including a chat room. You should check your email every day. You will subscribe to receive "Individual eMail" messages so that eMail will come directly to you. You should not change this.

Sometimes, I will ask you to send email directly to me at Prof@ProfW.com (with a specific subject line); remember, if you post anything to the List Serve, everybody gets it! (Note: no flaming, no vulgar or obscene language allowed on the List Serve).

Below are our Group Name at eGroups, the url of our main page, and the email address you can use to post directly to the class using your email program. You can also post from the group's main page.

How to Join the List

Click on the "Join" link, below.
A new window at our Yahoo class site will pop up.
In the new window, find the "Join" link, upper right hand corner (usually).
Click on the "Join" link.
Follow the screen directions. Note: if you already have a Yahoo account, there will be fewer steps; if you are new to Yahoo, you must create a Yahoo account. In either case, if you plan to use an email address other than the one that Yahoo will create for you, remember to give Yahoo the email address you will use. Yahoo will forward all emails to your email account.

You will also receive an email from our egroup with further information. Be sure to respond to this email if asked to do so. If you don't, you won't be entered into the list, and you'll have problems.

JOIN
groups.yahoo.com/group/eng214

You should bookmark the site, once you're there.
Our email address: eng131@yahoogroups.com

Your Class Card

My gradebook (and, therefore, your grade!) depends upon your filling out a a 3x5 index card, as illustrated below. To be included in the gradebook and to receive grades, you must complete and submit a Class Grade Card! We will do this in class, and I'll provide the card. Here's what the grade card looks like:

Last Name, First Name Eng 131 SP04

eMail Address (print very legibly, please!)

Bear Number

Local Mailing Address

Local or Cell Phone

( PRINT EVERYTHING VERY NEATLY, ESP. EMAIL ADDRESS! )

REQUIRED TEXTS:
These texts are available at The Book Stop on 16th St., next to Margie's Java Joint.

Smith, Philip. 100 Best-Loved Poems. Dover ISBN: 0486285537
Negri, Paul. Great American Short Stories. Dover ISBN: 0486421198
Shakespeare, William. "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Dover ISBN: 048627067X
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Dover ISBN: 0486411095

A work listed in the calendar at the end of this syllabus must be completely read prior to the day we study it in class!

OBJECTIVE (HELLO? BE SURE TO READ THIS!)

You've heard some people say about art that they can't define it, but they "know what they like." The statement is understandable, but the foundation of the statement is ignorance -- that is, most people have not questioned either themselves or literature nor have they formed a critical (meaning 'analytical') method of looking at literature (or, indeed, at life itself).

The literary questions of this course are ...

Where do stories come from?
How do stories work?
What do stories tell us about ourselves?
What do stories mean?
Why do we need stories?
How can we use stories to improve ourselves?
How can we use stories to improve the world?

The critical questions to be considered during the semester are...

What are some methods of criticism?
Which of those methods are useful?
Which of those methods seem to me to make the most sense?
Why and how does literature retain so powerful a grip on its readers?
What does literature tell us about people, life, living, and belief?

Furthermore, the University, through its General Education Council, has these goals for Category 7 Criteria (Learning Outcome Objectives):

1. The student will understand the interrrelation of knowledge, including the historical frameworks, methodologies, and research findings of various relevant disciplines.

2. The student will understand the area of inquiry is broad in scope rather than narrow

3. The student willl demonstrate critical and independent thought.

4. The student will demonstrate skills in oral and written expresssion

5. The student will produce scholarship.

6. The student will demonstrate cultural understanding.

7. The student will demonstrate the ability to integrate perspectives.

8. The student will identify issues involved in human welfare and survival.

The bases for these approaches are literary, cultural, and psychological analyses. These bases are expressed in class discussion and in exams and papers.

GRADING

In general, I use the grading procedure as outlined by the Department of English at UNC. Grading guidelines are available in the English office. I keep cumulative grades, with 89.5-100=A, 79.5-89=B, etc. Additionally, every assignment and test is graded with the course questions in view, my evaluation being based on this one question: is this student progressing toward the achievement of the objects of English 131, as listed above?

Your semester grade will be derived from...

Online Essay Reviews and/or Discussion email = 15% of your semester grade; done entirely via email (see why you need to join the elist?)
Three In-class Exams = multiple choice and 40% of your semester grade; and...
One multiple choice final cumulative exam = 45% of your semester grade.

Your Grades are Weighted

Note that the various grades are 'weighted,' meaning that some grades carry more or less total percentage points. Thus, whole point methods of determining grades (in which you add up all the points and divide by the number of assignments) will not work. Grades are figured automatically (and accurately) by my gradebook program. Your 'grades to date' will be posted at our website, which is:

www.ProfW.com

THE ESSAY REVIEW, DISCUSSION EMAIL AND CHAT

The Essay Review is a non-documented personal reaction/understanding paper, between 400-600 words (four to six paragraphs), sent and submitted to me (not the whole class) as an eMail message. Using email, I will, at random, assign a work (short story or poem) for you to read; you read the work, then write your understanding of the work without reference to library documentation or other external helps. For these essays, you will use either the Reader Response literary critical method or the New Critical method (We will discuss these critical methods in class. These are not the 'only' critical methods, but they are ones that are best suited to this kind of writing. Your best approach is to write the essay off-line, then copy the file over to eMail.
The Discussion Email topics, if we have them, will be sent to the entire class via the listserve (see below), and you will then follow these directions for conducting the discussion:
Your first response is to the question or topic provided and should be 100 - 125 words; worth ten points.
Your subsequent responses of 10 - 25+ words will be in response to what other students are writing -- support, disagreement, elaboration; two points per response to a total of ten points.
The email discussions, therefore, are worth 20 points each.
The same holds for chats, which we will hold at our site. All students are expected to sign on and participate; those who don't lose points because they will count the same as the Essay Reviews.

EXAMS

The Exams
These exams consist of 30 or more multiple choice questions. Usually (but not always), there are six possible responses. You will need to know
- authors
- time periods
- literary summaries, and
- literary analyses regarding form, function, and content.
The exams will cover material we discussed up to the exam day, meaning that each exam becomes more and more cumulative; the final is also muliple choice and is cumulative (covers the entire semester).

OBTAINING YOUR GRADE REPORTS ON THE INTERNET
I will post your grades regularly at www.ProfW.com, in a secure site. To access your grades, you will need:
to go to the main page www.ProfW.com .
your class card name as you wrote it on your class card. Don't forget this!
your Bear Number. Don't forget this!

ABSENCES AND THEIR EFFECT ON YOUR SEMESTER GRADE
The UNC policy concerning attendance is this: "Students are expected to attend class." That's my policy, too. Because of class sizes, I no longer call roll (too time consuming), but you can't miss without my noticing that you're gone. I want to see you at each class.

I don't issue an "excused absence." If you miss anything, you can't make it up. Generally, if you are absent on the day something is due or for a discussion session on something in your textbook, you lose the points for that day.

However: If you are ill (sore throat, cough) and obviously infectious, please stay home! Get better and don't spread what you've got! If you return with a "just cause" excuse (see below), you can make up whatever you've missed. Believe me, I'll understand when you tell me. I'll help you catch up when you return, and your grateful classmates will fill you in.

The "Just Cause" Absence
If you have been absent, please offer me an explanation when you return. Don't penalize yourself for something legitimate. The definition of "just cause" includes such things as personal and family illness (see above) and sponsored school activity. Visiting relatives or friends, birthday celebrations, early exit for holidays, and so forth likely will not qualify as "just cause." Don't tell me before an absence that you will be absent - see me after the absence (this does not apply to official UNC athletic absences, in which case you will have an official absence sheet for me).

USING WORD PROCESSING

Word process everything written outside the classroom, using a 14-point type.¹
Of course, material written in the classroom is handwritten.

PLAGIARISM AND STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

If you swipe somebody's work and pretend it's yours, that's very bad -- that's theft, that's plagiarism.

Plagiarism is the presenting of someone else's work, whether in whole or in part, verbatim or paraphrased, as your own. Documentation of sources prevents this problem. Otherwise, plagiarism is theft of intellectual property and is considered by the academic community as a serious offense.

Cheating on an exam or quiz is also a serious offense. The penalty for cheating will be an F in the course, with the case being submitted to UNC's Chief Disciplinary Officer for further action. During exams, don't cheat. Just don't.

STATEMENT CONCERNING DISABILITY ACCESS

I support and cooperate with UNC's Disability Access Center. The following statement is issued from the Disability Access Center:

Students with disabilities who believe they may need accommodations in this class/program are encouraged to contact the Disability Access Center (970-351-2289) as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
Graduate students may also require accommodations for oral or written comprehensive exams and/or a thesis or dissertation.
The purpose of accommodations is to allow students to demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter rather than measure their disabilities. The purpose is not to lower program and/or course standards.

For further information, contact:

Nancy Kauffman, Director
Disability Access Center
University of Northen Colorado
Greeley, CO 80639
(970) 351-2289 (Voice/TDD)
(970) 351-4166 FAX

The Clichè Death List

The clichè (French: smooth) is not allowed in good writing because it is simply noise, the equivalent of the spoken "um" and "errrr...." Originally, the cliché was original and fresh, but its freshness made it popular, and its popularity destroyed its meaning. (Most of our English clichés come from the Bible, from Shakespeare, or from Ben Franklin.) Here is a list of clichès culled from freshman student papers. Of course, you won't use them either ... right?

clickh

1. a learning experience
2. a very trying time
3. as luck would have it
4. at the flip of a coin
5. at the very bottom
6. attitude problem, an
7. beautiful summer day
8. became evident
9. bend over backwards
10. best of my ability
11. big mess
12. blood began to boil/run cold
13. boys will be boys
14. calm and collected
15. came back to haunt me
16. came to a conclusion
17. cold shiver up my spine
18. couldn't help but wonder
19. damaging effects
20. day by day
21. deep down
22. draw the line
23. ear piercing
24. excuse my French
25. for the better
26. for the very first time
27. for what seemed like hours
28. fresh blanket of snow
29. great
30. great mood, a
31. hand my head
32. impression, left an
33. in today's world
34. initial shock, the
35. it seemed like hours
36. kid in a candy store, happy as
37. laughed to myself
38. learn a lesson
39. like my life depended on it
40. little did I know
41. long hours of waiting
42. memories flooded my mind
43. millionth time, the
44. mixture of shock, fear, and disbelief, a
45. mortified, I was

46. my only change
47. needless to say
48. no great loss
49. numerous good times
50. one little phrase
51. open my eyes
52. opportunity presented itself
53. path was clear
54. possibilities are endless, the
55. pull my/yourself together
56. pulled a fast one
57. pure and simple
58. quiet trip
59. reach higher goals
60. relate to
61. ringing in my ears
62. running in every direction
63. scene of the accident
64. seemed to drag on forever
65. sense of belonging
66. sense of guilt
67. serious trouble
68. smoke poured out of
69. spending under control
70. state of panic
71. taking for granted
72. taking things for granted
73. tears of relief/joy
74. things could have gone better
75. things/turn out for the best
76. think things through
77. thinking straight
78. tied down
79. time of my life
80. to become knowledgeable
81. total commitment
82. tough times
83. turned in
84. twisted feeling in my stomach
85. unsteady hand
86. white as a ghost

Literary Terms You Must Learn On Your Own

These following terms are essential to understanding and discussing literature...and they make wonderful exam questions. Examine the list, then find the definitions to these terms by clicking HERE. (Clicking the link brings you to this url: http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/

Learn these terms on your own -- don't wait for class discussion or, worse, a pop quiz.

lit terms

POETRY

alliteration
ambiguity
anapestic
assonance
auditor
blank verse
dactylic
elegy
English sonnet
epic
free verse
heroic couplet
iambic
in medias res
Italian/Petrarchan sonnet
metaphor
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
pastoral
rhythm
simile
trochaic

FICTION

allegory
allusion
antagonist
antihero
archetype
climax
diction
dramatic monologue
flat character
limited/omnicient point of view
litotes
myth
plot summary
protagonist
rising action
rite of passage
round character
sarcasm
stereotype
symbol
unreliable narrator
verbal irony

DRAMA

climax
comedy
conflict
dramatic irony
soliloquy
tragedy
unity

Short Story Terms You Must Learn On Your Own
This link takes you to terms which are essential to understanding and discussing the short story...and they make wonderful exam questions. Go to short story terms by clicking HERE. (Clicking the link brings you to this url: http://teenwriting.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-shortstory.htm

Learn these terms on your own -- don't wait for class discussion or, worse, a pop quiz.

The Semester's Work Calendar

I reserve the right to adjust the dates and items to be studied to fit the needs of the class. I will notify you via our email list if any adjustments must be made.

The work listed in the calendar must be completely read prior to the day we study it in class!