English 105-001: Appreciation of Literature
Gustavus Adolphus College, Spring 2008
Dr. Jaime Cleland
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 9-9:50 a.m., Confer 331
Office #: Vickner 314
Office hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. and by appointment
Phone: x6085
E-mail: jcleland@gac.edu
Web site: http://www.gustavus.edu/~jcleland

COURSE DESCRIPTION & GOALS:
This semester we will explore fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, asking fundamental questions about what constitutes literature and what it means to appreciate literature. By December, you will have had the opportunity to read a number of fascinating and significant texts, gain some strategies for approaching these texts, improve your critical thinking, and advance your writing skills.

TEXTS:
Required:
The Classic Fairy Tales. Ed. Maria M. Tatar.
Literature: An Introduction. 5th compact ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia.
Northanger Abbey. Jane Austen.
In Cold Blood. Truman Capote.
Additional shorter selections available through Moodle; please download and bring to class.
Suggested:
As in any English course, you will want to have access to a good dictionary; a writing manual (such as Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference) that addresses issues of essay structure, grammar, and style; and the MLA style manual.

OTHER RESOURCES:
You are encouraged to visit the writing center, located in Confer 232. This is a good place to get feedback at any stage of your writing, whether you’re brainstorming ideas, cleaning up surface errors, or anywhere in between. When you write, you should imagine an intelligent peer who may or may not know something about your topic already, and the writing center is a great place to find people like this in person. For more information about the writing center, visit http://gustavus.edu/writingcenter/ To make an appointment, call x6027. I’m also available outside class during office hours (see below). Whether you are meeting with me or the writing center, you will be best served by scheduling an appointment as far in advance of the deadline as possible. You won’t want to hear that major changes should be made to your essay 24 hours before it’s due.

CONTACTING ME:
Feel free to stop by my office during office hours (MWF 2:30-3:30) to talk about your writing, the readings, how the class is going for you, or any related issues. If you need to talk to me and your class or work schedule prevents you from coming in at this time, check in with me to make an appointment. Please note that if I’m in the office but the door is closed, I’m not available for a meeting. My office phone extension is 6085, but e-mail is a better bet because I check it more reliably. I make an effort to respond to e-mails within 24 hours, except on weekends (messages sent on Friday may not receive responses until Monday) and while traveling.

REQUIREMENTS:
Short Essays (60%)
You will write six short (2-3 page) essays in response to the readings, each worth 10% of your final grade. Opportunities to write both conventional and “creative” pieces will be available. The essays will depend on your own critical responses to the class readings, and should not involve any outside research unless otherwise specified; however, you are expected to document all sources, including primary texts, according to MLA style. Be aware that I DO NOT ACCEPT LATE PAPERS. Please plan ahead for last-minute contingencies, whether illness, emergencies, writer’s block, deadlines for several classes, and computer crises. If you know in advance that you will miss class on a due date, talk to me to make arrangements for submitting work in advance. If you come to me on the due date without an essay, I will certainly express sympathy but will not grant an extension.
Final Exam (20%)
Expect a final exam that covers the whole sweep of the semester; questions may be essay, objective, or both. It’s also possible that our final will have a take-home format. Stay tuned!
Informal Writing & Participation (20%)
There will be some lecturing this semester, but much more discussion and group activity. This means that you need to be ready and willing to ask questions, speculate, ponder, give your own readings of the text and evaluate those of others. Taking good notes as you read will help you to do this. The success of our course depends on your preparedness and participation! At least once a week, I will ask you to do some informal writing in or out of class to help focus your thinking and improve class discussion. These assignments will be graded on a check, check plus, check minus basis, and while I will drop one or two of your lowest scores at the end of the semester, this writing cannot be made up. Keep in mind that you cannot participate if you are not in class (whether absent or tardy), and any absences beyond three will affect your grade directly. I don’t distinguish between “excused” and “unexcused” absences, so please plan ahead and save your three absences for major illnesses or real emergencies. You are responsible for any work that you miss; make advance arrangements for handing in any assignments and contact a classmate for notes. During class, it is okay with me if you eat or drink, as long as you can do so without distracting yourself or others, but electronic devices (cell phones, ipods, etc.) are strictly prohibited.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
As a member of the Gustavus Adolphus College community, you have signed and are responsible for the Honor Code. In submitting any work for this class, whether an examination, formal essay, or informal writing, you are implicitly agreeing to this pledge: “On my honor, I pledge that I have not given, received, or tolerated others’ use of unauthorized aid in completing this work.” In this class, you are responsible for documenting your writing according to MLA style. Most of our work this semester will consist of close reading, which means that any additional research is irrelevant; what I care about is what you have to say about a text, not what famous scholars, Wikipedia, or anyone else has to say about it. Please avoid the temptation of Googling “just to get ideas.” The minimum result of academic dishonesty in this course will be a zero for the assignment, 10 additional points off your final grade, and a report to the dean’s office. If you have any questions about this policy or the workings of MLA style, please ask!

ACCOMODATIONS:
The Advising and Counseling Center asks, “If you have a physical, psychiatric/emotional, medical, learning or attentional disability that may have an effect on your ability to complete assigned course work, please contact Laurie Bickett, Disability Services Coordinator, in the Advising Center. She will review your concerns and decide with you what accommodations are necessary.” Laurie Bickett can be reached at x6286. Please let me know if you have documentation through the center so that we can make appropriate arrangements. The sooner you contact me, the easier it will be for both of us.

Feb. 11: Introduction to course: What does it mean to appreciate literature?
Feb. 13: The Classic Fairy Tales: Introduction (ix-xviii), Little Red Riding Hood (3-24), “The Concept of Childhood and Children’s Folktales” (317-332)
Feb. 15: The Classic Fairy Tales: Beauty and the Beast (25-73)

Feb. 18: The Classic Fairy Tales: Snow White (74-99), Cinderella (101-137)
Feb. 20: The Classic Fairy Tales: Bluebeard (138-178)
Feb. 22: The Classic Fairy Tales: Hansel and Gretel (179-211)

Feb. 25: Film clips. “Breaking the Disney Spell” (332-352)
Feb. 27: Reading a Poem (423-437), Listening to a Voice (438-466)
Feb. 29: Words (467-488), Saying and Suggesting (489-500) Essay 1 due

March 3: Imagery (501-522)
March 5: Figures of Speech (523-539)
March 7: Sound (558-574)

March 10: Rhythm (575-591)
March 12: Closed Form (592-610)
March 14: Further discussion of closed form Essay 2 due

March 17: Open Form (611-626)
March 19: Symbol (627-638), Myth and Narrative (639-653)

March 20-28: NO CLASS (spring break)

March 31: Recognizing Excellence (685-702)
April 2: What Is Poetry? (703-704) Essay 3 due
April 4: Sophocles introductory materials (879-886), Oedipus the King (887-924)

April 7: Oedipus the King (discussion continues)
April 9: Selections from Aristotle and Freud (e-reserve)
April 11: Scientific approaches to literature. Guest lecturer Sanjive Qazi. Reading TBA.

April 14: The Darker Face of the Earth, Act I (1134-1174)
April 16: The Darker Face of the Earth, Act II (1174-1205)
April 18: Northanger Abbey, Chapters 1-8 (21-64)

April 21: Selections from Catherine’s reading list (e-reserve) Essay 4 due
April 23: Northanger Abbey, Chapters 9-12 (64-98)
April 25: Northanger Abbey, Chapters 13-18 (98-142)

April 28: Northanger Abbey, Chapters 19-24 (143-188), “The Neurology of Narrative” (e-reserve)
April 30: Northanger Abbey, Chapters 25-end (188-237)
May 2: In Cold Blood, part I (3-74) Note that the daily readings for this novel are a little longer than usual; however, it is much easier to discuss the book according to Capote’s own divisions, and you may find it hard to put this book down anyway.

May 5: In Cold Blood, part II (77-155) Essay 5 due
May 7: In Cold Blood, part III (159-248)
May 9: In Cold Blood, part IV (251-343)

May 12: Selection from Mockingbird, “See NL’s Notes” (e-reserve)
May 14: Capote (film)
May 16: Capote (film)

May 19: Capote (film)
May 21: Course wrap-up Essay 6 due

Final exam: Tuesday, May 27, 1-3 p.m.