English 209: World Literature

 

Required Texts:

 

·         The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 2nd Edition, Volumes D, E, and F

·         Blindness by Jose Saramago

 

Purpose of the Course:

 

English 209 at Shepherd University is designed to instill in students each of the following: (1) an ability to render close textual analysis; (2) an ability to synthesize information from multiple texts; (3) an ability to render clear, cogent ideas; (4) an ability to structure well-developed essays, with thesis, textual support and analysis; (5) an understanding of ethnic/cultural diversity; (6) an aesthetic and critical judgment of literature; (7) a concept of chronology associated with literary periods; and (8) an understanding of the inter-relationship of the arts, history, and philosophy through the study of literature.

 

Course Requirements: 

 

Essay 1

15%

Essay 2

15%

Essay 3

20%

Mid-Term Exam

15%

Final Exam

15%

Class Participation

20%

 

Attendance is required, and you should be prepared for class, as you are expected to participate. Attendance, in fact, will be a variable of your class participation grade. Periodic quizzes and response papers will also test your preparedness for class. For each class, your participation will be assessed, using the following scale: +, √, -, or 0. Unauthorized use of cell phones is prohibited. I will not accept late papers or administer make-up exams (any exceptions must be approved in advance).

 

Honor Code:

 

This class has an honor code. Each student agrees that all examinations, papers and other course requirements submitted by the student to the instructor are solely that student’s work, unless agreed to otherwise in advance by the instructor. Plagiarism, the use of another individual’s material without explicit acknowledgement of the source of that material, is a violation of the honor code. A student who plagiarizes will automatically fail the course as plagiarism is contrary to the ethos of higher education.

 

Disabilities:

 

If you require academic accommodations because of a learning, processing or cognition related disability, you will need to submit an accommodation request form (available from Disability Support Services) and one or more of the following documentation: A high school Individual Education Plan (IEP), a 504 Plan and/or a psycho-educational evaluation.  These documents must be less than five years old and verify the nature of your disability, the functional limitations it imposes, and the need for a specific accommodation.  Please contact Disability Support Services at 876-5453 if you have questions or need assistance providing this information.

 


Calendar:

 

You should complete each assignment prior to class. Any changes to the calendar will be posted on my webpage.

 


Week One, ending Friday, January 16th

M: Course Introduction

W: Read: Saramago, 1-55

F: Read: Saramago, 56-113

 

Week Two, ending Friday, January 23rd

M: No Class: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

W: Read: Saramago, 114-216

F: Read: Saramago, 217-end

 

Week Three, ending Friday, January 30th

M: Read: Milton, from Areopagitica, handout

W: Read: Jonathan Swift, 483-89

F: Read: Pope, 510-17

 

Week Four, ending Friday, February 6th

M: 8:10 AM, Pope, 510-17

      9:10 AM, Swift 483-89

W: Read: Swift, 430-83

F: Research Assignment, meet in the library

 

Week Five, ending Friday, February 13th

M: Read: Achebe, 2860-88

W: Read: Achebe, 2888-915

W: Read: Achebe, 2915-48

 

Week Six, ending Friday, February 20th

M: Read: Rousseau, 662-78

W: Read: Wordsworth, 789-801

F: Read Whitman, 980-87

 

Week Seven, ending Friday, February 27th

M: Read Whitman, continued

W: Read: Melville, 992-1018

F: Library Research

 

Week Eight, ending Friday, March 6th

M: Read: Melville, 1018-49

      Due: Essay 1

W: Read: Melville, continued

F: Midterm Exam

 

Week Nine, ending Friday, March 13th

M: Read: Flaubert, 1084-128

W: Read: Flaubert, 1128-227

F: Read: Flaubert, 1227-1301

 


Week Ten, ending Friday, March 20th

Spring Recess

 

Week Eleven, ending Friday, March 27th

M: Read: Dostoevsky, 1307-45

W: Read: Dostoevsky, 1345-79

F: Read: Tolstoy, 1418-41

 

Week Twelve, ending Friday, April 3rd

M: Read: Tolstoy, 1441-60

W: Read: Freud, 1611-70

F: Read: Eliot, 2071-91

     Due: Essay 2

 

Week Thirteen, ending Friday, April 10th

M: Read: Woolf, 1974-96

W: Read: Mann, 1836-66

F: Read: Mann, 1866-90

 

Week Fourteen, ending Friday, April 17th

M: Read: Kafka, 1996-2016

W: Read: Kafka, 2016-30

F: Library Research

 

Week Fifteen, ending Friday, April 24th 

M: Read: Camus, 2574-82

W: Read: Camus, continued

F: Spring Weekend Recess

 

Week Sixteen, ending Friday, May 1st

M: Read: Silko, pages 3143-50

W: Read Marquez, pages 2845-55

F: Review for Final Exam

     Due: Essay 3

 

Week Seventeen, ending Friday, May 8th

Final Exam:

ENGL 209-01: Monday, May 4th, 9:00 AM

ENGL 209-02: Wednesday, May 6th, 9:00 AM