Syllabus

Baruch College, Spring 2015

ENG 2850 (Hybrid): Great Works 2; Section: KTA

Tuesdays 2:55-4:35, Room 1420 (LEX)

 

Professor Miciah Hussey: [email protected]

Class Blog: https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/mhusseyspring2015greatworks/

Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00-2:00pm, or by appointment

English Department Vertical Campus 7th floor: 7- 290 Cubicle H

 

Required Texts: (available at Baruch College Bookstore)

The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. Third Edition, New York:

Norton, 2012.

Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein. New York: Norton 2012

Lispector, Clarice. The Hour of the Star. New Direction: New York, 2011

Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2005

 

*Other required texts will be made available either as handouts in class or posted on the class blog.

 

Course Description:

In this class we will survey the diverse body of world literature written between 1700 to the present. The course will cover many different literary forms, philosophies, and movements as we span the globe looking at how historical context and regional/national identities relate to literature.

As a hybrid course, we will only meet once per week for a face to face session, and then have asynchronous independent projects/assignments that we will share and collaborate on using various technologies to achieve the learning goals of the course.

Course Learning Goals:

  • Increased ability to interpret meaning in literary texts by paying close attention to an author’s choices of detail, vocabulary, and style by in offering a critical evaluation and appreciation of a literary work’s strengths
  • Ability to discuss the relationship between literary texts and the multicultural environments which they represent
  • Increased ability to write a critical essay employing a strong thesis statement, appropriate textual citations, and contextual and intertextual evidence for your ideas
  • Increased knowledge and familiarity of new technologies for online communication including blogs, collaborative text documents, and audio/video software

 

Course Requirements

Attendance at every class (As per Baruch College policy, 2 absences will result in withdraw). Tardiness is unacceptable and will result in a lowered daily participation grade.

Preparedness in class, having read the assignment and brought it to class ready to discuss and participate. (Pop quizzes and in-class writing assignments on reading will be given throughout the semester.) You MUST bring all readings scheduled for the day to each class meeting. We will use them for group and individual analysis during class. Not bringing materials to class will result in a 0 for your daily participation grade (treated as unexcused absence).

Turn in all assignments on time and complete according to instructions.

Conference with professor either to prepare for or review a paper or prepare for an exam at least once in the semester. (I will provide extra time for appointments in advance of papers and exams. Feel free to stop by my office hours or schedule an appointment at another time.)

Respect for yourself, classmates, instructor, and the ideas discussed in class.

Full presence and active participation in class: Be alert and engaged with in the discussion. Speak at least once per class. Limit bathroom breaks. Never use cellphones during class.

Please set up a Google/gmail.com account, as some project will involve collaborative writing on Google Docs and submission through a Google Drive.

 

Assignments:

Reading Responses – 20%

These are 500-word essays based on a given topic. They are due at noon on the day noted on the syllabus. These assignments are a chance for me to read your “gut reaction” to a text or an idea in advance of our class discussion. I expect these pieces to be clearly written, implementing correct grammar, the use of direct textual quotation, and correct citation. Grading is low-stakes and will be given as check-plus to 0. Responses will be submitted through Google Drive or email. Each of you will post 4 of your responses to the class blog according to a schedule.

 

Paper – 25%

This is a1,250 word essay (approximately five pages) answering a given prompt by comparing and contrasting two texts we have studied in the firs half of this course. For this paper, select two of these readings: Wu Cheng’en’s Journey to the West , Voltaire’s Candide, Shelley’s Frankenstein, or Douglass’s Narrative of a Life and compose an essay comparing and contrasting the works to answer the following question. It is a cliché to say that life is a journey, but in these texts the protagonists certainly embark on a journey that provides them with knowledge about themselves and the world. How do different experiences create different ways to know the world? In this opinionated and persuasive essay you may focus on a specific character in two works, a scene from each, or a reoccurring motif. Remember to situate the historical and regional context of each (what was happening in that country during the time of the writing; how do the religions or philosophies addressed in each affect the moral balance of the author?), and evaluate their similarities or differences. Papers MUST include quotations from the primary sources (assigned literary texts), and at least 2 peer-reviewed sources of literary criticism. Papers must always follow MLA style for citations and Works Cited pages; or result in an automatic failure. If you are not familiar with proper citations, please review: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/

 

Final Project – 35%

For your final project you will compose a scholarly edition of a short work of literature of your selection. Select a poem, a short story, an essay, a chapter from a novel or scene from a play that we did not discuss in class. Your choice of work is limited, though, to any piece in the Norton Anthology, or another work by any of the authors we studied. The edition will include a 1,000-word introduction that discusses the context of the author’s time period and literary movement of the text; thoroughly annotation of the text based on literary terms, tropes, and theories discussed in class; a glossary of literary terms we cover in class; an annotated bibliography of five works peer-reviewed literary criticism germane to your text. This will be published as a hyper-text on a class Google Drive.

Participation – 20%

Engaged participation involves coming to weekly discussion and actively speaking and asking questions, having a copy of the text with you, responding to the class blog three-times over the course of the term. Independent work marked with P on the syllabus will be factored into your participation grade.

 

Late Work:

Late work not turned in by its due date will be penalized. Responses will lose a whole grade if not turned in by 5pm on the due date. After 24-hours responses will not be accepted and will be given a 0. Papers final projects will lose a third of a letter grade for each day it is late. After five days, papers will not be accepted and will receive a zero.

 

Note on Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own:

Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and parenthetical references (a functional limit is four or more words taken from the work of another)

Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging them

Using information that is not considered common knowledge without acknowledging the source

Failure to acknowledge collaborators on homework or laboratory assignments

My policy is to give a failing grade to any assignment that has been plagiarized or an assignment on which you have cheated.  On your second offense, you will fail the course. In addition, I am required by College policy to submit a report of suspected academic dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students.  This report becomes part of your permanent file.

Please familiarize yourself with Baruch’s academic integrity policies:

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html 

 

Office Hours and Conferences:

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have about this class or an assignment either during my office hours or via e-mail. Please use the yahoo account as it is easier for me to check off campus. If my office hours conflict with your schedule, we can make an appointment to meet at another time. I will do my very best to respond to your e-mails promptly; however, a reply may take longer over the weekend.

A Note from your Teacher:

Students often ask, “What does it take to get an A in your class?” Well, in addition to the obvious answer—come to class and do well on the papers, exams, and presentation—I want to stress the importance of class participation, which includes attendance, preparedness, and presence. We all have busy lives and sometimes this class, or school in general, will come second, third or fourth in a long list of priorities: work, family, and personal growth. Part of adulthood is balancing priorities for the greatest degree of success in your personal, professional, and academic lives. I understand that conflicts will come up for some of you during the course of the semester that may affect your presence in class, and I trust you as adults to make the right choices to balance your priorities. Understand though, that these same choices you make may have an adverse effect on other areas in your life and accept that responsibility with integrity. Sometimes, though, events happen beyond our control, and we need to ask for help: When emergencies come up that keep you from class or that will affect your performance, let me know immediately, especially if it will be a long-running issue, so we can work something out together.

I like to lead a discussion-based class so that we can learn from each other, while vocalizing our thoughts, opinions, and interpretations in a safe space. So, in addition to doing the assigned reading, I expect you to bring the materials into class and come ready to talk about it—have opinions, ideas, and questions about it. Try to speak every class. Often, I will call on students, and your saying “I don’t know” or “I have nothing to say” will bring down your daily participation grade. So, speak: Even if you think what you say many not be “right” (much of our discussion will be subjective to hone your critical thinking skills and confidence in voicing your opinion), or your question may be silly (it probably isn’t, and I am sure someone else in the class has the same query), SPEAK UP! Class will be much more beneficial and enjoyable for us all if you do.

Please respect the class as a space for a discussion of mature ideas and personal opinions. I will not tolerate racist, sexist, classist, homophobic/trans-phobic, anti-Semitic or other forms of offensive comments. I say this not to curtail a right to discussion, but to encourage open-mindedness, empathetic thinking, and thoughtful discourse. Arrive on time, take quick bathroom breaks if necessary only at moments when it would not disrupt the class. Do not bring in food or drinks that will distract classmates (i.e. nothing too noisy or smelly). And keep your phones off at all times.

 

Schedule

February 3          Introduction

February 6            Response paper, “What is a Great Work?”

 

February 10        “Heart Sutra,” (handout) “Genesis,” (handout) Wu Che’en, Journey to the West: Chapter 1 (handout), and Whitman, “Song of Myself” (Norton)

February 13          Respond to selection of Diderot, Discourse on Method (Norton) and the idea of Cogito Ergo Sum.

 

February 17        Discuss Voltaire, Candide (Norton)

February 20          Cinematic Expectations: Watching clips on the blog of Frankenstein’s birth in different films. Comment collaboratively using VOCAT to annotate the differences between Shelley’s text and the film adaptations. (P)

 

February 24        Discuss Shelley, Frankenstein (first half) (purchase)

February 27          Frankenstein and Blake’s “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” (Norton). In a response essay argue whether the creature is more like Blake’s Lamb or Tyger.

 

March 3     Discuss Shelley, Frankenstein (second half) (purchase)

March 6       Using as many of the poems by Emily Dickinson collected in the Norton as you need, compose a new poem of 10 lines by combining whole lines from Dickinson. Write a brief (100 words) statement on the process and how you altered Dickinson’s meanings. (P)

 

March 10   Discuss Douglass, A Narrative of a Life (Norton)

March 13     Respond to Freud’s “The Creative Writer and Daydreaming” (blog) and the connection between fantasy and literature.

 

March 17   Discuss Kafka, The Metamorphosis (Norton)

 

March 20   Paper due

 

March 24   Discuss Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (first half) (purchase)

March 27     After reading a selection from Woolf’s A Sketch of the Past (on blog), map out the hidden patterns of connection that construct personal, thematic, and stylistic relations that structure the text. Your map may be realized as an essay, a drawing, or other media. (P)

March 31   Discuss Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (second half) (purchase)

Spring Break

April 14     Discuss Mrs. Dalloway; MoMA assignment due in class. Visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for free with your CUNY ID and analyze any work of art made between 1900 and 1940 that is currently on view using the idea of simultaneity or any aspect of Modernism.

April 17      Annotation Assignment, Faulkner’, “Barn Burning” (P) (See complete assignment description in RESOURCES section of the blog)

April 21    Discuss Faulkner and Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son (Norton)

April 24     Watch the trailers for films posted on the blog and read the short except “The Stars” by Edgar Morin. Write a two page response on how Hollywood film creates a “dream of life” that reminds you of the protagonists Macabea and Rodrigo SM in Lispector’s The Hour of the Star.

April 28     Discuss Lispector, The Hour of the Star (purchase)

May 1          Read selection from Rubin, “The Traffic in Women” and respond.

May 5        Discuss Saikaku, Life of a Sensuous Woman (blog), Devi, “Giribala” (blog), and Kincaid, “Girl” (Norton)

May 8          Post-Colonial Theory Response TBD

May 12      Discuss Achebe, “Chike’s School Days” and Diaz, “Drown” (Norton)

May 13-15   Meet to Discuss Final Project

May 22      Final Project Due