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Section 23: Tue/Thurs 11.00 - 12.30
Instructor: Ms.
Ansari
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Office Room: 424, Pioneer Hall |
Office Hours: T and Th, 12:30-2:00 |
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Office Phone: |
E-Mail:sansari@du.edu |
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Voice Mail: 871-4395 |
Purpose:
Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist’s values. Literature objectifies an artist’s values and his view of life. When we read a story or watch a movie, we either identify with or reject the values dramatized by the artist. Literature helps us to concretize our abstract values. This course will teach you to critically read a short story, a drama or a novel and to write about it from a variety of perspectives.
Writing about Literature is the third and final course in the First-Year English sequence. Papers you write for this course will address the theme: Exploring What It Means to be Human.
Required Texts:
Barnet, S; Berman, M; Burto, W; Cain, W. Eds. An
Introduction to Literature. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 1997.
Cather, Willa. My Ántonia. New York: Bantam Classic, 1994.
A Student's Guide To First-Year English, 11th Edition
Requirements:
1) Essay Assignments: You are required to write two 5-page essays and a 10-page research paper. All paper assignments will be explained clearly in class -- in discussion and written form.
· Format for Assignments: All essays prepared out of class should be written on a computer or your laptop. Please proofread your essay carefully after it is typed and make any necessary corrections. Essays should be formatted using a standard twelve-point font such as Times New Roman. Leave 1 inch margins on the top, bottom and right borders of your text and 1.5 inch margin on the left. Double space your papers.
· Folder for Assignments: All essays must be submitted in a folder with pockets and with your name on it. Keep your graded essays in the folder and turn the accumulated essays in each time an assignment is due.
· Late Assignments: An essay's grade will drop by one-third for the first, second and third day it is late. (An A, for example, will drop to an A- after one day.) After the third day, it will no longer be accepted.
· Plagiarism: If you use another writer's words and/or ideas in your paper, acknowledge it and cite the source in your paper. If you commit plagiarism, you will fail the paper on the first offense and you will fail the course on the second offense. Please read the Guide (p.41) for more details.
2) Editing Sheets: You are required to complete Editing Sheets for each of your papers. An error in your paper will be marked according to the notation of the Handbook (Part III) in the Guide. After you have identified the problem in your handbook, you must correct your errors (please follow the Editing Policy described in the Guide, pp. 49-53) and submit the editing sheets back to me. An editing sheet for a paper is due the class period immediately following my return of your paper. Your editing sheets will be graded and will count as quizzes.
3) Reader Responses: To make sure that you have actually read the material assigned, I will ask you to write, either at home or in class, a one-page informal response to a reading assignment.
4) Attendance: Regular attendance is mandatory. If you miss more than three classes, your grade will be lowered by one full letter grade. (see Guide, p. 57)
5) Conferences: You must schedule at least one conference with me during the quarter. A conference is for the purpose of discussing your writing with me in more detail than class time permits. Besides seeing me at the conference, the more often you visit me during my office hours, the more I will be able to help you individually with your paper assignments.
Assignments and Grading:
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Essay One (4-5 pages) |
100 points |
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Essay Two (4-5 pages) |
100 points |
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Essay Three (4-5 pages) |
100 points |
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Essay Four + Presentation (5-6 pages) |
200 points |
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Daily Response Sheets |
200 points |
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Editing Sheets, Homework, Participation |
100 points |
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Final Exam |
200 points |
Schedule
of Readings, Assignments and Activities:
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Week
1, March 20-24 |
INTRODUCTION |
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Thur., 03/23 |
Overview of the Course/Concept of Art |
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THE SHORT STORY |
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Week
2, March 27-31 |
ROMANTICISM
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Tue.,
03/28 |
Read
“Writing about Literature” pp. 17 – 33 |
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Thur.,
03/30 |
Read
“Claude Geaux” by Victor Hugo (Handout) |
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Week 3, April 3-7 |
ROMANTICISM |
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Tue.,
04/4 |
Read
“Stories and Meanings: Plot, Character, Theme” pp.56-57 |
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Thur.,
04/6 |
Read “In Brief: Writing about Fiction” pp.
112-115 |
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Week
4, April 10-14 |
REALISM |
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Tue., 04/11 |
ROUGH
DRAFT OF ESSAY ONE DUE |
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Thur., 04/13 |
Read
“The Cask of Amontillado” by E.A.Poe pp.115-120 and “A Student’s
Written Response to a Story” pp. 120-126 |
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Week
5, April 17-21 |
REALISM |
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Tue., 04/18 |
Read
“The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy pp.201-240 |
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Thur., 04/20 |
Read
“A Christmas Tree and a Wedding” F.Dostoevsky and “Art and Moral
Treason” by Ayn Rand (Handouts) |
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THE
DRAMA |
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Week
6, April 24-28 |
ROMANTIC-REALISM |
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Tue., 04/25 |
Read
“Some Elements of Drama” pp.777-783 |
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Thur., 04/27 |
Read
A Doll’s House
pp. 1081-1096 Act II |
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Week
7, May 1-5 |
ROMANTIC-REALISM |
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Tue., 05/2 |
Read
“In Brief: Writing about Drama” pp. 1044-1059 |
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Thur., 05/4 |
Read
“Contexts for a Doll’s House” pp.1113-1114 |
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Week
8, May 8-12 |
MODERNISM |
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Tue., 05/9 |
Read Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller (Optional) |
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Thur., 05/11 |
Read
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (Optional) |
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THE
NOVEL |
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Week
9, May 15-19 |
MODERNISM |
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Tue., 05/16 |
Read
My Antonia,
Book I, “The Shimerdas” pp. 9-113 |
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Thur., 05/18 |
Read
My Antonia, Book II,
“The Hired Girls” pp. 117-200 |
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Week
10, May 22-26 |
MODERNISM |
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Tue., 05/22 |
Read
My Antonia, Book III
,“Lena Lingard” pp.203-230 |
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Thur., 05/25 |
Read
My Antonia, Book IV, “The Pioneer Woman’s Story” |
FINAL
EXAM: THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 11.00-1.00 (same classroom)