Texts
The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, 7th edition, Volume II, Sarah Lawall and Maynard Mack, eds. (New York, London: W. W. Norton, 1999).
Shannon, Edward A., The Prentice Hall Guide to Writing about Literature (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002).

Course Description
In this course we will explore the Western literary tradition through reading, discussing, and writing about some of the major works of European and South American literature from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries. We will also pay attention to the political and cultural contexts of these works.

Learning Goals
By the end of the course you should be able to:
• explain the characteristics of the major literary periods of Western Culture from the Enlightenment to Postmodernism
• describe how a literary text reflects its historical context
• identify the literary and rhetorical devices employed in a text, such as genre, point of view, irony, satire, imagery, etc., and relate them to the content of the text
• discuss, orally and in writing, selected literary texts of Western Culture from the 18th century to the present and their continuing aesthetic validity or challenge
• write a coherent essay on given topics about these texts and their contexts, supporting arguments with evidence (quotes) from the literary texts.

Course Requirements and Evaluation
Attendance    Impact on grade is defined below in “Class Attendance Policy”
Class Work   15% Whole class and group discussion, see below for details
Writing Assignments   15% See below for details
Paper 1    10% See below for details
Paper 2    20% See below for details
Midterm Exam      20% Exam on material from first half of semester
Final Exam    20% Exam on material from second half of semester

Evaluation of Class Work
For your participation in class, your grade will be determined using the following criteria:
A = you are well prepared and participate actively; you are attentive, respond when called upon and volunteer often with pertinent questions and comments.
B = you are usually prepared and always respond when called on; you volunteer on occasion.
C= you show evidence of being unprepared; you have some trouble when called on and do not volunteer often.
D = you are unprepared and/or inattentive; you never volunteer; you come to class late and/or leave early.
F= you exhibit a lack of concern for the class; your behaviour may have a negative effect on the class.

Group Work
There will be a lot of group activities. The above evaluation criteria also apply to group work. Be a good team member in partner work or small group activities. Turn your chair to create an easy setting for interaction with your partner(s). Volunteer information, keep the work moving along, but don’t dominate. Help your partners, if they are having a more difficult time (helping others is an excellent way to learn for yourself!). In order to be a good team player you need to be well prepared for class. Each member of a group should take notes about the ideas generated in the group and be prepared to give a report to the class.

Writing Assignments
You will receive quite a number of smaller writing assignments throughout the semester in order to give you practice and prepare you for writing the two longer papers. They should be typed in 12 pt. font, double-spaced, with 1” margins on all sides and with page numbers. You do not need to consult critical literature on the author or the text, but should instead engage yourself more closely with the text, or an aspect of it, and formulate your thoughts about it in a cohesive fashion. At times, we will use a peer review process to help you improve your writing. During the peer review, give constructive feedback to your fellow student; this can be anything from corrections of spelling to suggestions for better wording, clarifying the presentation of ideas, strengthening the argument, or better evidence for the arguments in the form of quotes from the literary texts. We will work with Edward A. Shannon’s book to support your writing about literature.

Papers
The first paper will be 3-4 pages, the second 5-6 pages. As for the shorter writing assignments, the format will be 1” margins on all sides, 12 pt. font, double-spaced, with page numbers. I am most interested in your own original ideas, not someone else’s, nor in a paraphrase of my comments from class, our class-discussions, or the readings themselves. Pay attention to good organization and logical transitions between paragraphs. Base your arguments on close readings; give concrete examples (quotes) from the texts to support your arguments; and avoid vague impressions and over-generalization. Do not use excessively long quotations to fill up the pages, unless you are doing a close analysis of a passage and absolutely need all of the long quote. When referring to the Norton Anthology, simply follow the following format (Flaubert, Madam Bovary, p. 928; for poems: Blake, “The Lamb,” p. 543). If you use ideas or quotes from critical literature (books, articles, internet, etc.), you need to document your sources and give proper credit to someone else’s ideas (whether you quote directly or rephrase their ideas)—otherwise you violate academic honesty and commit plagiarism (see below for policy). Do not make someone else’s ideas the major focus of your paper. For the format of footnotes and bibliography, if you have them, refer to the MLA Style Manual (available in bookstore or library). Paper topics will be given out later in the semester. Edward A. Shannon’s book addresses many issues about the process as well as the mechanics of writing a high quality paper for a university literature course; refer to it often!

Exams
The focus of the exams is somewhat different from that of the writing assignments, but both support each other. What I’m looking for in the exams is concrete, exact, and well-presented knowledge. Both exams will consist of:
Identifications of passages: identify the author, work, original language, and approximate date of the text; briefly discuss the relevance of the passage to the work in question.
Definitions of terms, of periods, etc.
Brief explanations of characters, of themes and motifs, of stylistic means in the texts.
Mini-Essay on a larger topic, e.g. comparing how a certain topic is treated in several of the texts we read.

The best way to prepare for these exams is regular preparation, active participation in group and whole class discussions, effective note-taking, and completing the writing assignments. The exams will be based on what has been covered in class; you will receive an expectation sheet for each exam.

Class Attendance Policy
Regular attendance is a university requirement. For every unexcused absence in excess of 2 (two) classes, your semester grade could be reduced by 1 point. If you have to miss a class, please inform me about it beforehand or as soon as possible after the absence. You will still be expected to be prepared for the next class; contact me or a class mate for information on the missed material and any assignments. For more details about excused and unexcused absences, you may wish to consult: http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/academic_regulations/attend/reg.htm

Students with Disabilities
Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. Please register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, Campus Box 7509, 515-7653. For more information consult
http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/offices/affirm_action/dss/.

Academic Honesty Policy
Human interaction and effective communication function on the basis of trust. An atmosphere of trust, honesty and respect for each other fosters educational progress and success. Please do not give me any reason to be suspicious of your honesty. You are to do your own work on all class assigments, papers, and exams, unless it is a designated pair or group assigment. For papers that also means not incorporating others’ ideas and selling them as your own—this is called plagiarism. Whether you take ideas (verbatim or just as an idea) from books, the internet, or other sources does not matter: you need to acknowledge their source if they are not your own. If you are caught giving or receiving unauthorized help on assignments or in exams, you will be prosecuted according to the guidelines described in NC State’s policy on academic honesty. For details see:

http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/provost/info/hat/current/appendix/appen_l.html

Semester Schedule

Page numbers refer to the Norton Anthology. We will follow this outline, but it will be flexible: if we need more time on a certain text, we may spend more time, and will then shorten or cut something else, as necessary.

Literature / Translation / Interpretation
1 - Tue, Jan. 8 Introduction to the Course; Chronology of Western Literature; start Calvino, “Serpents and Skulls”; issues of translation and interpretation.

The Enlightenment
2 - Th, Jan. 10 finish Calvino; Introduction, 1-7; Voltaire, Candide, 316-337
3 - Tue, Jan. 15 Candide, 337-379

Romanticism
4 – Th, Jan. 17 Introduction, 417-426; Rousseau, Confessions, 427-437
      Tue, Jan. 22 no class
5 - Th, Jan. 24 Goethe, Faust, 438-480
6 - Tue, Jan. 29 Goethe, Faust, 480-516
7 - Th, Jan. 31 Goethe, Faust, 517-540
8 - Tue, Feb. 5 Goethe, Faust
9 - Th, Feb. 7 Blake, 540-549
10 - Tue, Feb. 12 Heine, 619-620

Realism
11 - Th, Feb. 14 Introduction, 835-840, 845; Flaubert, Bovary, 846-890
12 - Tue, Feb. 19 Flaubert, Bovary, 891-943
13 - Th, Feb. 21 Flaubert, Bovary, 943-1018
14 - Tue, Feb. 26 Flaubert, Bovary, 1018-1063
15 - Th, Feb. 28 Flaubert, Bovary; Peer Review of Draft of First Paper

The New Poetry
16 - Tue, March 5 Introduction, 840-844; Baudelaire, 1141-1160; First Paper due.
17 - Th, March 7 Midterm Exam

       Tue, March 12 Spring Break
       Th, March 14 Spring Break

Modernism
18 - Tue, March 19 Introduction, 1337-1348; Mann, Death in Venice, 1510-1548
19 - Th, March 21 Mann, Death in Venice, 1548-1564
20 - Tue, March 26 Rilke, 1564-1570
        Th, March 28 Passover / Easter break; no class
21 - Tue, April 2 Joyce, The Dead, 1582-1615
22 - Th, April 4 Joyce cont.; Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, 1615-1638
23 - Tue, April 9 Woolf cont.
24 - Th, April 11 Kafka, Metamorphosis, 1638-1672
25 - Tue, April 16 Peer Review of Draft of Second Paper
26 - Th, April 18 Brecht, The Good Woman of Setzuan, 1799-1836
27 - Tue, April 23 Brecht, The Good Woman of Setzuan, 1836-1858

Late 20th Century / Postmodernism
28 - Th, April 25 Introduction, 1899-1904; Borges, The Garden of Forking Paths,1905-1914; Second Paper due
29 - Tue, April 30 García Márquez, Death Constant Beyond Love, 2051-2060
30 - Th, May 2 Conclusion and Review
       Tue, May 14 8 – 11 a.m. Final Exam in HA 238