English 202 Introduction to English Studies
All Due dates Updated 10/25!
| Fall
Term 2011 |
Office
Hours:
|
English 202 Intern: Sam Armitage
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 5%
Research
paper 15%
Participation
10%
Oral Research
presentation 13%
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. 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 18th's reading must be turned
in class on that day. There is also one Short Response paper, due September
27th. (See the Short Response assignment for more details.)
There are also a short Research Paper (4-6 pages). 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 or meet with the class intern. 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 to 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
August 30:
Introduction
September 1: Introduction: copy packet, The English Major, then and now
POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Week 2
September 6: Copy packet, George Orwell, "Politics and the English
Language"
September 8: Copy packet, Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"
Week 3
September 13: Copy packet,
Richard Rodriguez, "Speaking a Public Language,"
September 15: Copy packet, Leslie
Marmon Silko, "Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective"
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Week 4
September 20: Expert Guest Day
LITERATURE: HOW TO READ/WHAT TO READ
September 22: Salman Rushdie,
Week 5
September 27: Copy packet, Short
Response Paper due: Reading the Victorian Age
September 29: Oral Presentation: Biographical Background on Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre; (Read to Chapter 8)
Week 6
October 4:
Charlotte Brontë,
Jane Eyre (Read to Chapter
20);
October 6: copy packet, Carol Senf, "The Prison House of Victorian Marriage"
Week
7
October 11:
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (read to Chapter 30) ;
Copy handout, Eric Solomon, "Jane
Eyre, Fire and Water"
October 13: Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (read to end)
Student Response: Vanessa Jones "Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason"
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Week 8
October 18: Mary
Prince, History of Mary Prince (read to end)
October 20: Oral Presentation: The Literary Canon
Copy handout, "To: the English Department at Eastern Connecticut State University," Harold Bloom, "Elegiac Conclusion"
Student
Response: Jane Eyre Vs. Mary
Prince
Student
Response: Jane Eyre and Mary Prince
Week
9
October 25:
Mary Prince,
History of Mary Prince Colloquium question day
RHETORIC AND WRITING IN COLLEGE
October 27: Mike Rose, "The Politics of Remediation"
Student Response: Jason Custer "The Politics of Remediation"
Week 10
November
1: Peter Elbow, "Being a Writer Vs. Being an Academic" NEW
DUE DATE!
November 3: Faculty Colloquium NEW DUE DATE!
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Week 11
November 8: Donald M. Murray,
"Teaching Writing as a Process Not a Product"
November 10: John C. Brereton, ed., Introduction to The Origins of Composition Studies in the American College
Week 12
November 15: Intern Workshop
November 17: Haswell and Haswell, "Gendership and the Miswriting of Students"
Week 13
November 22: Research
Paper Due Joseph M. Williams, "The Phenomenology
of Error"
Student Response: "The Phenomenology of Error"
Thanksgiving Break: No class!
Week 14
November
29 : Oral Presentation: The Writing Program at Eastern
Colloquium question day
December 1: Creative Writing Workshop
Week
15
December
6: Faculty Colloquium
December 8: Oral Presentation: What Can I Do with an English Degree?
Final Exam Week
Final exam:
Thursday December 15th, 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 AccessAbility Services at (860) 465-0189. To avoid
any delay in the receipt of accommodations, you should contact the Office
of AccessAbility Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations
are not retroactive, and that I cannot provide accommodations based upon disability
until I have received an accommodation letter from the Office of AccessAbility
Services. Your cooperation is appreciated."