Reading And Activities Schedule
World Literature--
Blessed
Rage for Order
English
2110
Joel B. Peckham, Jr. Ph.D., Spring Semester,
2003
OCB, 109, Office Hours TBA,
[email protected], (478) 445-7137
Course Description:
2110. TOPICS IN WORLD LITERATURE (3-0-3) (Area C)
Prerequisite: ENGL 1102. Examination of significant works of world literature, with an emphasis on texts from outside the Anglo-American tradition, focusing on critical and aesthetic analysis. Various topics and themes will be offered each semester.
Major
Course Objectives:
Ø To expose students to significant works from a variety of cultural traditions
Ø To expose students to the historical, social, cultural, and intellectual contexts of these works
Ø To expose students to the concept of genre and make them aware of how different cultures approach this concept
Ø To foster critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills through significant discussion and writing
Course Content:
A. Study Poetry Drama, Fiction and Non-fiction from
selected authors in World Literature within the context of Frederick Nietzche's
Birth of Tragedy and other theories
regarding concept of order and chaos, domesticity and wildness, classicism and
romanticism in literature.
- Study of specific authors like Nietzche, Alexander Pope, Cervantes, Frederick Holderlin, Goethe, Flaubert, Whitman, Rimbaud, Yeats, Eliot, Stevens, Akhmatova, Marquez, Chinue Achebe, Derek Walcot and Leslie Marmon Silko in the context of their worlds and times.
- Study of Literary, Artistic, and Philosophical movements relating to the course theme and the particular authors covered, including, Classicism, Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Modernism, Existentialism, Magic Realism, Neo-Romantism, Postmodernism.
- Study of formal features of literature and advanced reading and writing strategies
- Introduction
to contemporary literary theory, especially post-colonial theory.
Course Materials:
Lawall, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces 7th
Editon (Norton, 1999).
Nietzche, Frederick. Selected Essays from The Birth of Tragedy
Bly,
Robert. News of the Universe
Mission Statement
The
primary focus
of this course will be to study World literature with the following goals in
mind
1) To learn to appreciate literature in its
aesthetic, social, ethical, and historical dimensions.
2) To develop a responsiveness to, and an
appreciation of, the literatures of the world, and an awareness of the
diversity of the social and cultural backgrounds that produced them.
3) To develop an awareness of the variety of
literary genres, and an understanding of their aesthetic and cultural
components.
4) To develop a sense of literary traditions,
and how they help form and determine a range of social and cultural
expressions.
5) To refine student ability to discuss
literary works, orally and in writing, and more generally learn strategies for
approaching texts analytically.
The
secondary focus is to attempt an understanding of how these works struggle with
artistic, philosophical, and political implications inherent in what Wallace
Stevens once called the "Blessed Rage for Order," the tension that exists between the
artistic impulse to order and shape experience into something accessible and
comprehensible and the Dionysian urge toward wildness, revelry and awe. We will discuss how reason and intuition
have, through the ages symbolized civilization and savagery, masculine and
feminine, western and eastern and we will explore the legitimacy of assumptions
that underlie all of these terms. Through careful reading, discussion, and
formal expression of our ideas regarding the relationship between literature,
context, and theme, we will explore how these ideas are relevant to our own
world and the way we think today.
The
study of World Literature is an almost impossible task. It is, of course, impossible to be
comprehensive or representative. At
best we can hope to develop an approach
to reading that will allow us to understand how a literary work is its culture,
is its author, is its times. In so
doing we can enrich our understanding, not only of a story or a poem, but of a
people and of a moment in human history.
Ideally though, we can do this while understanding that a literary work
is also and always a creation of the human spirit, of the human heart
struggling, and as such will always
remind us more of how much we are alike than of how different we are. To begin with these dual understandings is
to begin with all doors open, it is to respect and celebrate difference, while
affirming the relevance and value of all literary revelation to all
readers. We can learn not just about
the other but of ourselves.
In constructing this syllabus and this course I have tried to offer students multiple options for engaging with the material and for revealing their understanding of it. The fact that I give students options will mean that the syllabus may seem confusing and the choices overwhelming. But part of the education process is learning to take possession of one’s education and learning to make decisions that shape your educational experience. I would expect that students to carefully read the assignments and consider which options are best for them. Students will be asked to sign a contract early in the semester, specifically stating what they will accomplish in the course.
What You Will Be Asked To Do
/ Assessment
· Reading and Discussion
Purpose: To Improve and Build Upon Reading Skills
Developed in high school and literature classes, to develop and increased
awareness of the context of literary works, their philosophical underpinnings,
and their role in national consciousness.
Application and Assessment:
The
student will read and systematically analyze a series of texts selected from the
entirety of World Literature.
a)
The student will take occasional quizzes designed to reflect their
comprehension of the text. (cumulatively graded out of 25 points)
b)
The student will participate effectively in individual and group
discussions. (25 points)
c)
The student will complete short assignments designed to reflect their
understanding of the main points and ideas present in the reading, to develop
reading strategies, and to refine analytic reading skills. These assignments will be kept in a journal
that will be presented to the professor periodically. (graded out of 100
points)
· Oral Presentation
Purpose: To reflect
and improve a students ability to communicate their ideas to other class
members, to better understand and take ownership of the concepts explored by
the authors, and to participate in the teaching process.
Application and Assessment:
a)
The student will give a 10 minute introduction to a period, an author
or movement, using graphs, charts, audio, etc. Powerpoint is encouraged.
Sample
topics could include: What is
Romanticism? What is Rationalism? What
is Magic Realism, etc. Primarily what I
will be looking for are inventive, engaging attempts to involve the class in
discussion about the work. Though the correct presentation of information is
important, I expect students to attempt to get their peers to make
connections. I strongly encourage any
attempts to make connections between works discussed and contemporary art,
literature, music, history, philosophy and culture. (50 points)
· Essay Assignments
Purpose: To
encourage students to participate in higher thinking by asking them to make
connections between literature, philosophy, history, etc., to build upon
writing and analytical skills students have developed previous to the course,
to reveal their understanding of the formal elements of literature, and to
apply that understanding to an analysis of at least 2 literary works. Students will be allowed to hand in a rough
copy of the first essay for feedback from the instructor if they wish. Students will also have the option to
complete a third essay, worth 300 points in place of taking the final
examination.
Application and Assessment:
a)
The student will write two 3-5 page essays, each worth 200 points. A series of possible topics will be given
at least one week in advance. In the
essay the student must
1) compare the ideas of two authors writing on a
similar subject, supporting any statements about the author’s ideas based on
evidence they find in the texts.
2) show how these ideas are revealed using powerful
and convincing symbolism, imagery, characterization, argumentation, narration,
etc.
3) suggest how and why the authors might have
believed differently or similarly to each other, focusing on the times and or
places in which they lived, the experiences they had, and the
literary/philosophical movements of which they were a part.
4) make a case for/against their ideas and their
value to contemporary American life.
5) try to answer the questions, do these ideas, values,
and beliefs still matter to us? Should
they?
Note: no
research other than class handouts, discussion, oral presentations, and reading
assignment are required for these writing assignments, but I will allow outside
research if a student wishes to include it.
The format of the paper should adhere to MLA formatting and any quoted
material must be cited in adherence to MLA formatting practiced. The papers should be double-spaced and
written in 12 point Times or Courier.
b) The
papers will be graded in accordance with the following scale
100 points—Content: Completion of the 5 essay
requirements listed above, with appropriate supporting evidence from the
text. Students are expected to support
all statements made using textual evidence and appropriate quotation. The absence of supporting evidence from the
text could result in a 0 for this portion the assignment.
50 points—Quality of Writing, Paragraph Level:
evidence of well-formed, coherent, unified paragraphs, with clear and elegant
sentences, transitions, appropriate tone and clean grammar and
punctuation. Though quality of writing
is worth 50 points, if the quality is low enough, it can affect the content
grade. If I can’t understand your
position, I can’t give you credit for your ideas.
50 points—Quality of Organization and Formatting:
evidence that the ideas are put together in a logical order with
transition sentences connecting them to a central thesis.
The papers together will form 400 pts of a student’s
total grade.
· Examinations
Purpose: To give
students the opportunity to reveal what they know about the material covered in
class, to ensure that students keep up with and understand the texts covered
for class, to encourage higher thinking through the answering of essay
questions provided in advance.
Application and Assessment: Students will be given 2 exams: a mid-term examination and
final examination (unless they choose the third essay option). The Mid-term examination will be worth 100
points and the Final Examination 300 points for a total of 400 points of the
final grade. Each exam will contain
short answer and five paragraph
essay questions on the material covered.
We will have overviews in the form of literary jeopardy to cover
possible short answer questions and students will be given a list of possible
essay questions from which the essay questions on the exam will be
selected.
· Powerpoint/Web-Page option:
Purpose: To give
students an option in place of one of the essay assignments (not the final
exam) should they feel more confident in their ability to create a powerpoint
presentation or web-page on an author of their choice, to encourage students to
make connections between art, music, literature, and history during a period,
to encourage students to learn how to use multimedia to present information and
ideas. This cannot be a replication of
the presentation.
Application and Assessment:
On the date for the deadline of either the first or second essay, students
may turn in the URL for a Web-Page or a power-point presentation saved on disc
or cd.
The focus should be on the
author in his or her times and should attempt to use visual imagery/ audio
samples / text / and analysis to help us understand how his or her life,
geographical location, moment in history, philosophical and religious beliefs,
and presence in a literary/ artistic movement help us understand his or her
work.
Caution:
Don’t just give me an author’s biography!! I’m looking for the evidence of higher thinking and the ability
of the student to make connections.
Also, be wary of plagiarism. The fact that many web-sites replicate
information without citing sources for it, does not give you license to do so
as well. Quotations should be cited in
accordance with MLA methodology.
Grade Breakdown In Brief
Reading and Discussion
Grade: 150 points ( 100pts for journal, 25 points participation, 25 points for
quizzes.
Essays: 400 points--200 points each essay (300 pts for the 3rd essay
option)
Exams: 400 points--100 points for the mid-term, 300
points for the final
Oral Presentation: 50 points
Web Page / Power Point
Option: 200 points in place one essay
(not the final exam)
TOTAL: 1000pts
A: 90-100 B: 80-89 C: 70-79 D: 65-69 F: 64 and below
(900-1000) (800-899) (700-799) (650-699) (649 and below)
Any grade review must be initiated with the faculty member, division chair, or assistant dean within thirty days of the end of the grading period in which the grade was reported.
Administrative Procedures:
A.
Completion of the drop/add process and the withdrawal process is the
responsibility of the student.
B.
Absence Policy: Maximum number of absences allowed before withdrawal
for non-attendance: 5. Missed appts.
Count toward your absence total.
C.
Tardiness. If you are late at all, you are counted tardy. Three tardies equal an absence. I expect all members of the class to be on
time with their books, pens, and notepaper on their desks at the exact
beginning of class.
D.
Policy for make-up
work. Students are responsible to
complete any work they miss during an absence.
Missed work can only be made up if the student has a legitimate excuse
for missing the class and provides supporting documentation. Legitimate excuses include illness, serious
family obligations, and sanctioned college activities for which absence is
required.
E.
Harassment Policy: I see sexual and racial harassment as a direct
attack not only on the victim, but on the entire community. Harassment is any behavior that would either
threaten a reasonable person or inhibit that person’s ability to learn or work
by creating an uncomfortable environment.
Don’t say or do anything to a fellow student that you wouldn’t say or do
to your own mother, father, sister, or brother. Sexual or racial comments made in the classroom, even if not
directed at anyone in particular and even if made in jest, will be considered
harassment. The presence of materials
that demean others –inappropriate or offensive
t-shirts or magazines for example—will also be considered harassment. Such behavior will directly affect the
offending student’s grade for class participation and may result in dismissal
from the class for the day or even for the quarter.
F.
Dress Code: I would also expect students to dress as
professionally as possible. How you
dress not only gives signals to your classmates and to your professor, it
affects your self-image. If you take
yourself seriously, other people will as well.
G.
Plagiarism / Cheating: Plagiarism is the taking of
the work of another person and presenting it as one’s own. Plagiarism will result in failure of the
assignment and a report to appropriate
judicial councils and administrators for further action. Cheating on exams will result in the same
response.
H. Late Assignments: I do not accept late
assignments. Assignments should be
ready for submission at the beginning of class on the day that they are
due. Because I understand that events
may happen that are beyond a student’s control, I allow for one 24 hour pass a semester. That means that one time during the
semester, for whatever reason you might have, or for no reason at all, you may
hand in an assignment 24 hours late. If
an assignment is due on a Friday, I expect you to send it to me over the e-mail
by attachment or as text by Saturday, 11am.
If electronic submission is not possible, contact me and I will arrange
another method for you to hand in the assignment on time. I urge students to use this option only when
and if they desperately need it. If a student must miss a class on the day an
assignment is to be turned in, the student must find another student to turn it
in for them or must send the assignment to me via e-mail by the beginning of
class on the day the assignment is due.
I will make rare exceptions if I have ample reasons. The 24 hour pass
cannot be used for an exam, a pop-quiz, or a term-paper. A
late term paper or a missed final will assure failure in the course.