English 202 Introduction to English Studies(updated 9/17/09)
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Fall Term
2009 |
Office
Hours:
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Required
Materials
Charlotte Brontë,
Jane Eyre (Broadview)
Mary Prince, History of Mary
Prince (Michigan)
Copy packet
Course
Description
Introduction to English Studies
is designed to do two things.
First and foremost it is designed
to help you make sense of the field of college English study (and Eastern's
English major) in the 21st century. Though English may seem like a field
of study that's been around since time immemorial (everybody has had to read
Shakespeare in college since the seventeenth century, right?) this is not
the case. English Study has a relatively short and contested history;
and its rationale, purpose, and content has changed quite dramatically
during its lifetime. English Study continues to be built on a foundation
of (mostly polite) debate, argument, and controversy, and this course will
allow you to "peel back the curtain" and join the conversation in
English Studies, at Eastern and beyond.
Second, the course is designed to introduce you to the particular specialties and approaches of the English Department at Eastern, and you will have a chance to learn about your professors, their approaches to English, and their teaching specialties.
This course is required of all English majors, but not limited to them. If you are are just thinking about being an English major, this course might be of interest.
Course
Requirements
Reading Response
papers 40%
Short
Response 3%
Research
paper 15%
Participation
10%
Oral Research
presentation 15%
Colloquium
project 5%
Final exam 12%
Reading
Response Papers 40%
Response
One
Response
Two
Response
Three
Response
Four
There are four response papers,
one due about every three weeks. About every three weeks you will receive
a response question handout with questions taken from the upcoming reading
assignments. You are to respond to any one day's questions from the list.
Response questions must be typed, double-spaced and turned in on the day that
you have selected. For example, answers to questions from October 20th's
reading must be turned in class on that day.
There are also a Short Research paper. This also must be typed, double-spaced and turned in on the due date. In addition, in order to receive credit you will have to pay a visit to the Writing Center. For this meeting, I would like you to bring a written draft. I myself will plan on being available at the Writing Center to help you with written drafts before the due date. I would also encourage (but not require) you to visit the Writing Center before you have a written draft as the tutors there can help you brainstorm ideas. It's best for the brainstorm meeting to have at least a basic outline of you paper , with a clear indication of your topic and some indication of your thesis and research materials you have consulted up to that point.
I provide a selection of useful or interesting scholarly works that will
hopefully help to get you started on your search for information. (Many times
you can also find a useful bibliography of secondary material in the back
of your edition.) It might be best, though, first to reflect and brainstorm
on the topics and works that might interest you before embarking on your research.
Papers are due in class on the assigned date. Late papers will be subject to a reduction in grade. If you feel you have a good reason for requiring an extension, please come talk to me about it beforehand. However, after-due date extensions, except in the case of emergencies, will be difficult to obtain.
Oral Research Presentation
At some point early in the semester I will divide the class into groups. Each
group will then be given the task of putting together an oral presentation.
There are several throughout the semester. Each presentation will be devoted
on a specific topic. (See the Calendar for specific topics) Each presentation
should be at least 15 minutes (and last no more than 20 minutes) and must
include at least one handout to be given to the class as a whole. In addition
you must provide me with a bibliography of your research materials in MLA
format. Beyond the handout and the bibliography, the materials and format
of the presentations are only limited by the group's imagination and may include
use of a variety of media.
Exams
There will be a cumulative final
exam
Participation
Regular attendance of classes is
absolutely expected for this course. Three or more unexcused absences
will lower your participation grade significantly.
Avoid plagiarism (stealing the words or ideas of another) like the plague. In this class acts of plagiarism incur a zero and could also result in course failure or even dismissal from the university.
Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change the syllabus and assigned readings (with plenty of advanced warning)
Calendar
Week 1
September
1: Introduction
September 3: Introduction: copy packet, The English Major, then and now
POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Week 2
September 8: Copy packet, George Orwell, "Politics and the English
Language"
September 10: Copy packet, Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"
Week 3
September 15: Copy packet,
Richard Rodriguez, "Speaking a Public Language,"
September 17: Copy packet, Leslie
Marmon Silko, "Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective"
Week 4
September 22: Colloquium question
day
OUTSIDE THE WHALE: LITERATURE AND SOCIETY
September 24: Copy packet, Salman Rushdie, "Outside the Whale"
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Student Response: "Outside the Whale"
Week 5
September 29: Faculty Colloquium
(cancelled) Copy packet, Short
Response Paper due: Reading the Victorian Age (new
date)
October 1: Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre; (Read to Chapter 8)
Week 6
October 6:
Oral Presentation: Biographical Background on Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë,
Jane Eyre (Read to Chapter
20);
October 8: copy packet, Carol Senf, "The Prison House of Victorian Marriage"
Week 7
October 13:Charlotte
Brontë, Jane
Eyre (read to Chapter 30) ;
Copy handout, Eric Solomon, "Jane
Eyre, Fire and Water"
Student Response: "Elegiac Conclusion"
October 15: Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (read to end)
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Week 8
October 20: Mary
Prince, History of Mary Prince (read to end)
October 22: Oral Presentation: The Literary Canon
Mary Prince, History of Mary Prince; Copy handout, Harold Bloom, "Elegiac Conclusion"
Student
Response: Jane Eyre Vs. Mary
Prince
Student
Response: Jane Eyre and Mary Prince
Week
9
October 27:
Mary Prince,
History of Mary Prince Colloquium question day
RHETORIC AND WRITING IN COLLEGE
October 29: Mike Rose, "The Politics of Remediation"
Student Response: "The Politics of Remediation"
Student Response: Jason Custer "The Politics of Remediation"
Week 10
November
3: Faculty Colloquium
November 5: Peter Elbow, "Being a Writer Vs. Being an Academic"
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Week 11
November 10: Donald M. Murray,
"Teaching Writing as a Process Not a Product"
November 12: Writing Workshop
Week 12
November 17: Oral
Presentation: Composition Studies in America, a
background
John C. Brereton, ed., Introduction to The Origins of Composition Studies in the American College
November 19: Research Paper Due Haswell and Haswell, "Gendership and the Miswriting of Students"
Week 13
November 24:
Joseph M. Williams,
"The Phenomenology of Error"
Thanksgiving Break: No class!
Week 14
December
1 : Oral Presentation: The Writing Program at Eastern
Colloquium question day
December 3: Creative Writing Workshop
Week 15
December 8: Faculty Colloquium
December 10: Oral Presentation: What Can I Do with an English Degree?
Final Exam Week
Final exam:
Thursday December 17th, 9:00-11:00 am
"If you are a student with a
disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your
responsibility to contact the Office of Disability Services at (860)
465-5573. To avoid any delay in the receipt of accommodations, you should
contact the Office of Disability Services as soon as possible. Please
understand that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability until I
have received an accommodation letter from the Office of Disability
Services. Your cooperation is appreciated."