ENG/FL 222, sec. 003, Spring 2004
TH 9:50 – 11:20, Harrelson 233

Dr. Helga G. Braunbeck

Room 224, 1911 Building, 515-9320
Helga_Braunbeck@ncsu.edu
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~hgb/

Office hours: Tue 1 - 1:45 p.m., Wed. 11 - 11:45 a.m., and by appointment,
feel free to contact me, email is best

Course web site for enrolled students: http://webct.ncsu.edu

Required 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 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 Modernism
• 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 first half of the 20th century 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

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; you sleep in 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.

WebCT Discussions
Post 7 original contributions on 7 different authors, each one at least 7 lines long; each of these is worth 1% for a total of 7%. You should make one good point and also back it up a bit, i.e. explain why, or support it with a quote from the text or a reference to the text. In addition, post 6 responses to contributions by others, again on 6 different authors, each one at least 5 lines long; each of these is worth 1/2% for a total of 3%. Again back it up by explaining why, or by using a quote or referring to the text. For the contributions: copying or even slightly varying postings by your fellow students is not acceptable; before you post, please read what is there already in order to avoid duplication (or else it could lead to a failing grade for your posting). For the responses you obviously comment on what has been stated. Be sure to place your response with the comment to which it responds.
On these postings you will simply be evaluated pass/fail. If you pass, you’ll get full credit. If your first attempt at a contribution or response is a fail, we will discuss it in office hour and you’ll get another chance for that first attempt. Since there are more opportunities for postings than the required number, late postings will not carry credit. However, you may post as much as you like for the sake of the discussion, as long as you keep it focused on discussing the literature. Please keep purely personal issues out of these postings.

WebCT Postings Topics and Calendar
The topics and questions in the “Speaking Assignments” (see WebCT) will be issues you should address. You can pick one issue to which you respond or even part of an issue; please preface your contribution with the issue on which you are commenting, maybe in the form of a short heading. For the texts for which there are no speaking assignments, you can address how the text represents a certain issue or how the author has constructed the text.

Dates by which your 7 original contributions and 6 responses should be posted are noted on the schedule. Since there are 12 authors you have some flexibility; however, late postings will NOT count. Cutoff time is midnight, when the date changes. In order not to get behind with these postings, I recommend you make at least 4 contribution and 3 response postings by Thursday, February 19; then make the remaining postings by Thursday, April 29.

Writing Assignments (W1 – W6)
You will complete 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. Times New Roman 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. For the longer papers we will use a peer review process to help you improve your writing. During the peer review, give constructive feedback to your fellow students. We will work with Edward A. Shannon’s book to support your writing about literature. Assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. Email submissions and late submissions will only be accepted with my permission.

Papers
The first paper will be 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 pages, the second 4-5 pages. As for the shorter writing assignments, the format will be 1” margins on all sides, 12 pt. Times New Roman 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, Madame 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! Papers are due at the beginning of the class period. Email submissions and late submissions will only be accepted with my permission.

Help with your writing assignments and papers is available at Writing and Speaking Tutorial Services, check out their website at: http://www.ncsu.edu/tutorial_center/writespeak/index.htm

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 characters: identify the author, work, and original language; explain the character’s function in the text.
Identifications of passages: identify the author, work, and original language; briefly discuss the relevance of the passage for the work in question.
Brief explanations of literary terms, of periods, etc., with examples from the literary 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 (extensive!) note-taking, and completing the writing assignments. The exams will be based on what has been covered in class; an expectation sheet for each exam will be made available to guide your preparation.
Make-up exams will only be given with prior permission or excused absences (for a definition of an excused absence, see the web site listed in the next section).

Grading scale for exams and assignments (in %)

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%. If you miss more than 10 minutes of a class period (unless pre-approved by me), it will count as an absence, but I encourage you to still attend the class so as not to miss the material. If you accumulate more than 8 unexcused absences your semester grade will be an F. 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 a class mate for information on the missed material and any assignments or changes in the schedule. For information about what qualifies as an excused absence, please consult: http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/academic_regulations/attend/reg.htm

Students with Disabilities
Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities. You need to 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 Integrity 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. Let me warn you especially about the temptations of the internet. You will find more details in Shannon, pp. 148-150. Also, the NC State Library has a Plagiarism Tutorial at: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/tutorial/plagiarism/index.html
Please ask me about anything that remains unclear. Violations of academic integrity (plagiarism, cheating, etc.) will be prosecuted according to NC State’s policy on academic integrity, posted at: http://www.ncsu.edu/policies/student_services/student_discipline/POL11.35.1.php