English 180, Appreciation of Literature Instructor: Michelle Parsons Office: MHB 717 Course: English 180, Section 2 Times:

MW 2:00-3:15 PM Email: meparsons08@gmail.com Office Hours: M/W 3:30-5pm or by appointment. Term: Fall 2010 Class Location: LA1-304

Course Goals: This course is an introduction to the genres of poetry, fiction, and drama. Students completing English 180 will be able to read for speed and comprehension, expanding their command of vocabulary, sentence structure, organization, style, and theme, and making informed, articulate responses to forms of literature. They will be able to recognize and analyze the effects on readers of formal elements like language, imagery, and symbolism, how form affects both expression and reception, and how authors carry on a continuing dialogue across time and space. They will learn how literature influences human behavior and empowers readers to experience their own world in greater complexity. Students should be able to answer three questions by the end of this course: How does this text work? What does this text mean? How does this text relate to other texts? Required Texts: Meyer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford, 2009. Assignments and Assessments: Compare and Contrast Paper: Close Reading Paper: Discussion Board: Participation: Final Exam: 25% 25% 10% 15% 25% Grading Scale: A: 90-100% B: 80-89% C: 70-79% D: 60-69% F: 0-59%

Assignments: In addition to the following assignments, students are expected to come to class prepared with their own paper, pens, and textbook. Students should expect to complete the assigned reading before each class, and arrive prepared to discuss the work. Papers: Students are responsible for completing two paper assignments for the course, one compare and contrast, and one close reading. While the due date for each paper is assigned, you do have an option as to which paper type you prefer to turn in first or second. Both papers will have a length of between 4 and 6 pages. Each will go through an in -class peer review process one week before the paper due date. For these sessions, students will be expected to bring at least a detailed outline including a thesis statement, but preferably a full draft of their paper. Any student who has any questions about their paper is encouraged to schedule a meeting with me, talk with me before or after class, or drop by during office hours. The use of the Campus Writing Center is highly encouraged. Compare and Contrast Paper: In this paper, you will meaningfully draw upon specific passages and ideas in two or more texts in order to draw a larger conclusion about their relationship to one another. Are the two works tied together by a character or theme? How do they differ in their treatment of similar elements, or how do they come to similar conclusions about seemingly disparate topics? What devices does each use to achieve its end? You may, but are not required, to use texts from the course textbook, and may choose two works by the same author. (25%) Close Reading Paper: For this paper, you will develop an argument about one text and support your argument using specific textual evidence. You might consider style, language, theme, motif, imagery, or any other number of literary devices and what effect these devices have upon your interpretation of the text. (25%) Participation: Your participation grade is made up of a few parts. - In-Class Discussion: While I understand that some people are naturally more reticent than others, I do expect students to contribute to each class discussion. A failure to participate in discussions for several class sessions in a row may harmfully impact your participation grade, since it will be unclear to me whether you are prepared for the class session. I don't bite, and I encourage questions, which do count for your participation. (5-7.5%)

Quizzes: If I feel that a large proportion of the class is arriving unprepared for discussion, I will be forced to give random reading quizzes throughout the semester. These quizzes will be short responses to the assigned reading given at the beginning of a class session, and should be simple for those who have completed the reading. (0-5%) Creative presentation: You will be responsible for one presentation during the semester (Sign ups to follow). This presentation should take approximately 5 minutes. The point of this assignment is to create something in reaction to text that will be covered in discussion on the day of the presentation. This means if we are scheduled to discuss several poems, you may choose one, or if we are working on a drama or short story, your presentation should be in reaction to that drama or short story. What you create is up to you. Are you interested in creating a poem or short story? A soundtrack? A rap? A skit or puppet show? A diorama? The possibilities are nearly endless, though I suggest running your idea by me first if you are unsure about your concept. You may work in groups on this assignment by prior approval, though each student will be expected to contribute enough to equal out the individual presenters. After creating your product in reaction to the assigned text, you will present it to the class, explaining how the text inspired the project. This is meant to be fun, not stressful, and demonstrate how literature can inspire further artistic work. I will want to collect any material components of the project at the end of the presentation. (5 -7.5%)

Discussion Board: You are responsible for two posts on Beachboard during the semester, each of a minimum 200 words in length, dates determined by sign up. These posts should bring up either a relevant question or analysis regarding the texts for the week. In addition, each student is responsible for keeping up to date on current posts, and responding to posts once every two weeks. Please note that a simple Yes or No is insufficient, and that I do expect you to read previous comments in the thread before responding, so that you are neither ignoring other student's information or opinions nor simply repeating the same comment that has already been made. Also note that the Beachboard week ends at 11:59 pm Sunday night, so that I have time to check you off before Monday. Please ensure that you have a valid email address on file with CSULB so that you can access Beachboard and so that I can contact you. (10%) Final Exam: Each student will need a blue book. The first part of the exam will cover terms and concepts from the entire course, and will take the form of matching, fill in, and short answer. The second part of the exam will take the form of a short essay, and will have to do with the drama section of the course, though concepts may be brought in from earlier class segments, if relevant. More information on the Final Exam will be discussed in class as the day approaches. (25%) Attendance and Late Assignments: This course is largely discussion-based, and excessive absence will be detrimental to your success. More than four unexcused absences will lower the final grade by a full letter grade, in addition to penalties for missed participation or assignments. Furthermore, excessive tardiness is disruptive to the class, and 3 tardies of more than 10 minutes will be counted as an absence. It is the responsibility of tardy students to approach me after class to ensure that I marked them as present. If you know that you will be missing a class, please meet with me in advance to make arrangements for assignments. All late assignments will be lowered by one letter grade per day they are late. If you have a University approved excused absence, please either email me or meet with me to make arrangements. Behavior: You are college students and are expected to act as such. While discussions will be fairly informal, I do expect you to demonstrate respect for other students in the class. This means paying attention to the person who is speaking, rather than carrying on your own private conversations, either in person or through texting, and letting the speaker finish their thought without interruption. While I recognize that students may use their phone to access Internet research sources in class, I ask that no students call, text, or IM during a class session. Plagiarism: The use of words or ideas not your own without giving appropriate credit to the source constitutes plagiarism, whether or not the lack of credit was intentional. Please consult the CSULB University Catalog for university policies on plagiarism. Plagiarism in this course will result in a 0 for the assignment and potentially an F in the course. Withdrawal Policies: It is your responsibility to fulfill all University requirements for enrollment. Check the CSULB University Catalog for requirements and deadlines to drop with or without a W. Assistance for Students with Special Needs: Students with special requirements are encouraged to meet with me and/or with campus resources early in the semester to make any arrangements necessary for their academic success.

Course Schedule: Week 1 August 30- Course introduction, signups for Beachboard and presentation September 1- Introduction to Reading Poetry [ Pleasure of Words 572-4, Suggestions for Approaching Poetry 588-9, Writing about Poetry 613-21] AE Houseman Terence, this is stupid stuff [online at http://www.bartleby.com/123/62.html]; Larkin A Study of Reading Habits [583]; Collins Introduction to Poetry [590]; Lux The Voice you Hear when You Read Silently [611] Nemerov Because You Asked about the Line Between Prose and Poetry [751] Week 2 September 6- NO CLASS- Labor Day September 8- Word choice 622-6; Word order & tone 628-9; Jarrell The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner 625; Cummings She being Brand 627-8; Inez Back When All was Continuous Chuckles 630; Machan Hazel tells LaVerne 631; Dunbar To a Captious Critic 634; Marvell To His Coy Mistress 636 -7; Laumger Marvell Noir639 Week 3 September 13- Symbol 702-3; Allegory 705; Irony 707; Hicok Making it in Poetry 712; Fearing AD 710; Sandburg Buttons 714-5; Marzan Ethnic Poetry 718; Reed Naming of Parts 720; Browning My Last Duchess 721 -2 September 15- Images and Figures of Speech 681-90 (Dickinson, Bradstreet, Conti, Thomas, Moore, Lewis) 659-663; Baca Green Chile 665-6; Owen Dulce et Decorum Est 671-2; Clanchy Spell 677 Week 4 September 20- Listening to Poetry 725-6; Rhyme 734; Principles of Metre 753-6; Wordsworth My Heart Leaps Up 757; Scarborough Fair 726; Swenson A Nosty Fright 728; Armour Going to extremes 734; Carroll Jabberwocky 741; Blake The Lamb and The Tyger 764-5 September 22- Poetic forms 773-4; Epigram 789; Open form 800-5; Sonnet (read two) 776; Villanelle (Thomas) 784; Limerick (Perrine The Limerick's never averse) 790; Haiku (Basho) 791; Whitman 801 -2; Trethewey Domestic Work, 1937 808-9 Week 5 September 27- Theme- Humor and Satire 984-96 September 29- Poet- Julia Alvarez 937-63 Week 6 October 4- Narrative poetry and issues of language and translation: Sir Orfeo, [BB] (modern English versions may be found online) October 6- Peer Review, Reading Imaginative Literature 1-6, Reading and Writing about Fiction 13-30; 44-50; (Read Chopin 15, Van Der Zee 31 and Godwin 39) Week 7 October 11-Plot 69-70; Character 117-8; Burroughs 72; Dubus 103; Dickens 118 October 13-First Paper Due-Setting 162-4; Point of View 188-93; Hemingway 165 Week 8 October 18- Symbolism 237-40; Theme 262-5; Ellison 243 October 20- Style, Tone, Irony 283-7; Carver 288; Minot 292; Davis 300; Twain 494 Week 9 October 25- Hawthorne The Birthmark 343; Poe The Cask of Amontillado 553

October 27- O'Connor A Good Man is Hard to Find 367; and Revelation 392 Week 10 November 1- Divakaruni Clothes533; Obejas We Came All the Way from Cuba so You Could Dress Like This? 194 November 3-John Cheever The Swimmer [online at http://shortstoryclassics.50megs.com/cheeverswimmer.html] Week 11 November 8-Sophocles: Oedipus Rex [1094-1143] November 10- Peer Review, Reading and Writing about Drama [1045-63, 1088-93] Week 12 November 15- Shakespeare: Othello [Introduction, Acts I and II, 1152-1197] November 17- Shakespeare: Othello [Acts III, IV, and V, 1197-1244] Week13 November 22-Paper 2 Due- Discussion of O and scene from Stage Beauty (movie scenes will be viewed in class) November 24- NO CLASS- Fall break Week 14 November 29- Ibsen, A Doll House [Act I, 1257-76] December 1- Ibsen, A Doll House [Acts II & III, 1276-1305] Week 15 December 6- Allen, Old Saybrook [1325-42] December 8- Last day of class- Orloff, Playwriting 101: The Rooftop Lesson [1351-8], Final Review

Final Exam: Monday, December 13, 12:30-2:30 PM (Bring a bluebook and pen)