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8G:1 Interpretation of Literature – Fall 2006
Section 27 MWF 10:30-11:20 202 EPB
Office Telephone: 660-7075
Office: 200Y Art Building
Email: keith.wilhite@duke.edu
Course Description
In this course, we will consider how we read and how meaning evolves through reading practices; we will develop skills to improve our own reading practices; and we will engage in the analysis of literary texts and cultural contexts. This course will emphasize different “ways of reading,” and we will apply those reading methods to poems, short stories, plays, and novels. The work you do in and out of the classroom will focus on the act of interpretation: interpretations of the texts you read, of your expectations as readers, and of the contexts and perspectives that arise in relation to those texts. Learning to communicate your ideas effectively through writing will be an important counterpart to the act of interpretation.
Required Texts (texts available at IMU Bookstore)
DeLillo, Don. White Noise. New York: Penguin, 1985.
Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.
Morrison, Toni. Sula. New York: Vintage, 2004.
Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. New York: Signet Classic, 1999.
Grading Policy and Course Requirements
Completing the reading and writing assignments, showing up to class, and contributing to our discussions will take you far in this course. You should know, however, that I consider a “C” an average grade and a grade you must earn. If you satisfy the minimum objectives of an assignment, your work will earn a “C.” Failure to satisfy the minimum objectives of assignments, or for the course, will earn your work a below average grade. Only work that demonstrates innovative thinking and superior clarity in writing and delivery will earn above average grades. The University expects a 3-hour credit course to entail at least 6 hours of outside preparation per week by students. Here’s the breakdown for our course requirements:
Formal Essays (40%): You will write two formal essays, each 4-5 pages in length. The first, a “Text/Text” essay, requires you to offer a comparative analysis of two texts from the course. For the second, a “Text/Context” essay, you will research the context surrounding a particular literary work and explain how that context helps us better understand something new or significant about the text. You will receive a detailed assignment sheet for each Formal Essay.
Participation (20%): Consistent and thoughtful contributions to our discussions are essential. Participation includes your preparedness for class, the submission of weekly discussion questions, and your participation in small group activities, workshops, and/or presentations.
Reaction Papers (20%): You will write five informal “reaction papers” over the course of the semester, each 1½ -2 pages in length. In these assignments, you will be asked to write about your expectations as readers, or offer a close reading of a passage you select from the day’s readings, or explore some context related to the text we are reading.
Final Exam (15%): The comprehensive in-class final exam will include an identification section, analysis of passages from our course readings, and an essay response.
Quizzes (5%): The reading quizzes will ask you to identify characters, discuss plot points, and/or respond to a passage selected from the day’s reading. You are expected to read the assignments thoroughly, taking notes and highlighting passages to improve your comprehension.
Attendance Policy
This is a participation based course, not a lecture course. Frequent absences or consistently arriving late to class will adversely affect your performance in this course. Emergencies arise, people get sick, and other obligations intrude; I understand. Each student will be allowed four absences, for any reason whatsoever. Beyond four missed class periods, however, you will need to provide documentation from a doctor, Student Health, adviser, or coach in order for the absence to be excused. Each “unexcused” (i.e. undocumented) absence beyond those four will lower your Participation Grade by one letter.
Deadlines
Assignments are due in class at the start of class. Quizzes and other in-class assignments cannot be made-up at a later date. If you are absent on a day that an informal Reaction Paper is due, you will likely receive a zero for that assignment. I will accept a late Formal Essay if you notify me in advance and explain why you are unable to complete the assignment on time. However, your grade on the Formal Essay will be lowered by one letter for each class period it is delinquent beyond the original due date.
The Gen Ed Lit Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism is an illegitimate and unethical activity which qualifies as both theft and fraud. Simply stated, plagiarism consists of taking and presenting another person’s work as your own. Taking someone else’s work (intellectual property) constitutes theft; presenting it as your own (misrepresentation) is fraudulent activity. Further, in the context of this class, the General Education Literature Program, the English Department, and the University of Iowa, plagiarism is unethical because it violates University policy, and therefore the trust between students, their classmates, and their teachers. In order to maintain university standards, instructors are obligated to report any and all cases of plagiarism.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center in 110 EPB is open for twice-a-week enrollment hours from 9:30-3:30 MTWTh (come to the center in person to sign up for twice a week.) For individual appointments, sign up on the bulletin board outside the writing center. Appointment hours are 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. MTWTh and 12-2 F in 110 EPB. There are also four writing center satellites for appointments: a Monday night center (6:00 to 8:00) in 306 Blank Honors Center beginning Sept. 11 (call 335-3220 or drop in); a Tuesday night center (6:00 to 8:00) in 321A North Hall which is Wild Bill's Coffee Shop beginning Sept. 5 (call 335-1281 for an appointment or drop in); a Wednesday night center (6:00 to 8:00) in the Quad Rec Room beginning Sept. 6 (call 335-9230 for an appointment or drop in); and a Sunday night center (5:00 to 9:00) on the second floor of the Main Library beginning Sept. 10 (call 335-6049 for an appointment or drop in). E-mail tutoring is available through the website http://www.uiowa.edu/~writingc/ where you will also find more information about writing center services.
Students with Special Needs
I would like to hear from anyone who has a disability which may require seating modifications or testing accommodations or accommodations of other class requirements, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Please contact me during my office hours.
Contact Information
The best way to get in touch with me is via e-mail. I check my e-mail daily, usually in the morning, and will do my best to respond to any messages or inquiries within 24 hours. Please do not wait until the day before a major assignment is due to contact me with your questions. I will try to offer ample time in class for you to ask questions about the course, the readings, and the assignments.
If you have any questions or concerns about the course, the assignments, or your grade, please contact me first, either during office hours or via e-mail. If by chance there is a problem we cannot resolve, you may contact the Program Associates (64 EPB, 335-0484). The General Education Literature Supervisor is Brooks Landon (brooks-landon@uiowa.edu, 376 EPB, 335-0641).
CLAS Statement
This course is given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This means that class policies on matters such as requirements, grading, and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline must receive the approval of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Details of the University policy of cross enrollments may be found at: http://www.uiowa.edu/~provost/deos/crossenroll.doc .
Final Thoughts
We may be reading works and discussing topics that you find controversial or personally disagreeable. If at any time you feel uncomfortable with the ideas expressed or the level of discussion, please share those concerns with me. I want the classroom to be an accommodating environment in which we can all discuss a variety of ideas and exchange diverse perspectives. It will be everyone’s responsibility to treat one another with consideration and respect.
Reading Schedule
< style=' margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none;} >< style=' margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none;} >(Due dates and reading assignments subject to change. Reaction Paper due dates TBA.)< style=' margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none;} >< style=' margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none;} >Week 1
8/21 Course Introduction
8/23 “Intellectual Autobiographies” & Poetry Exercise
8/25 Updike, “A & P” (270-275)
Week 2
8/28 Ellison, “Battle Royal” (196-208)
8/30 O’Brien, “The Things They Carried” (332-346)
9/1 Browning, “My Last Duchess” (89-91)
Week 3
9/4 Labor Day Holiday
9/6 Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” (220-247)
9/8 Hayden, “Those Winter Sundays” (552); Heaney, “Digging” (624); Olds, “I Go Back to May 1937” (639-640); and Lee, “Eating Alone” (705-706)
Week 4
9/11 DeLillo White Noise (3-69)
9/13 DeLillo White Noise (70-105)
9/15 DeLillo White Noise (109-163)
Week 5
9/18 DeLillo White Noise (167-219)
9/20 DeLillo White Noise (220-271)
9/22 DeLillo White Noise (272-326)
Week 6
9/25 –
9/27 Williams, The Glass Menagerie(956-1011)
9/29 Whitman, “Song of Myself” (467-478)
Week 7
10/2 Whitman, “Song of Myself” (467-478) & Poets Respond to Whitman (handouts)
10/4 Ginsberg, “Supermarket in California” (576-77) & Hughes, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (538)
10/6 Writing Workshop 1: Bring Complete Rough Draft of Formal Essay 1 to Class
Week 8
10/9 Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (Act I)
10/11 Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (Act II)
10/15 Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (Act III)
**Formal Essay 1 Due: Friday, October 15**
Week 9
10/16 Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (Act IV)
10/18 Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (Act V)
10/20 Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew (wrap-up)
Week 10
10/23 –
10/25 Kafka, “The Metamorphosis” (101-140)
10/27 Jackson, “The Lottery” (208-215)
Week 11
10/30 Morrison, Sula (Foreword & Part One 3-48)
11/1 Morrison, Sula (Part One 49-85)
11/3 Morrison, Sula (Part Two 89-111)
Week 12
11/6 Morrison, Sula (112-174)
11/8 Morrison, Sula (wrap-up)
11/10 Perkins, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (82-96)
Week 13
11/13 Writing Workshop 2: Bring Complete Rough Draft of Formal Essay 2 to Class
11/15 Moore, “Poetry” (521-522) & Plath, “Daddy” (602-604)
11/17 Arnold, “Dover Beach” (486-487) & Hecht, “The Dover Bitch” (handout)
**Formal Essay 2 Due: Friday, November 17**
Week 14 Thanksgiving Break
Week 15
11/27 Maupassant, “The Necklace” (59-65) & Chopin, “The Story of an Hour” (66-68)
11/29 Rich, “Diving into the Wreck” (594-596)
12/1 Carver, “What We Talk About” (290-300) & New Yorker parody (handout)
Week 16
12/4 Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (525-529)
12/6 Review Session for Final Exam & Class Evaluations
12/8 Review Session for Final Exam
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 13, 9:45 a.m.