English 300: Approaches to Literature, Fall 2011, sections 001 & 002

Dr. Leslie Bickford

Bancroft 275

Office Phone: 323-4564

E-mail: bickfordl@winthrop.edu

Web: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/bickfordl

Office Hours: MW 11-12, TR 12:30-1:30 & by appointment

TEXTS

Gibaldi, et. al. - MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers – access to the 9^th ed.

Charles Bressler – Literary Criticism – 5^th edition

Henry James –The Turn of the Screw (ed. Peter Beidler – 3^rd edition )

A text of your choice

GOALS

• To identify the standard research methods and sources used by scholars and a variety of theoretical approaches to literature.
• To learn to use the library and its resources efficiently and effectively.
• To recognize and discuss a wide range of critical theories which we will then apply to specific literary works. 
• To heighten our awareness of why and how we read and interpret texts as we practice different critical approaches.
• To hone our analytical skills--the skills we use as thinkers, researchers, and writers.

I see this course as an introduction to the profession of literary studies; therefore, I expect you to participate as young professionals, dedicated to the study of your chosen field.

Global Learning

This course participates in the Global Learning Initiative.  The global learning component of this course is the following:

• Students will discuss and come to comprehend the historical contexts behind various European and American sociopolitical movements, and how that history has shaped different theoretical lenses through which we read literature.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Annotated Bibliography of 15 secondary

            sources on your selected text                                                  10%

Four short (1-2 pages) essays evaluating

essays in James’ casebook                                                      20%

Review of Literature on your selected text                                      10%

Critical essay on your text                                                                 20%

Casebook (Three {1-2 pages} essays preceding

            your 3 selected essays on your text)                                       20%

Final Exam                                                                                        20%

Each student will choose a text to work with for the entire semester.  You may choose a favorite work or one that you have always wanted to study more thoroughly.  I suggest that you not choose a short poem since you will be writing extensively about this work from several critical approaches. (I must approve all selections).  Your goal will be to select three excellent critical essays representing four different critical approaches that might be included in a critical edition of your chosen text.  Your own essay will be the fourth one.  I expect your critical essays to be carefully researched and documented.  Take an original angle on your text and produce an analytical essay worthy of presentation to a scholarly group and/or publication in a peer reviewed journal.

GRADING SCALE

As you know, the University has initiated the +/- grading option.  I will use this grading scale.  Your written work will receive a numeric grade; for the purposes of tallying your final grade in the class, you should know I use the following scale: C+ 77-79    C 73-76    C- 70-72  and so on, with respect to all other letter grades.

ATTENDANCE

You are allowed only three absences in this class.  You are responsible for finding out what you missed when absent.  Should you be physically present but mentally absent (i.e., texting, surfing the web, sleeping), you will be counted absent.

Your final grade will be lowered by five (5) points for every class missed over the allowed three.

LATE PAPERS

Papers are due at the beginning of class on the dates indicated on your course calendar.  Late papers will be penalized a letter grade for every day late.  Papers over one week late will not be accepted.  You will be using turnitin.com to turn in your papers; should you ever have trouble with turnitin, you may email me your paper to avoid the late penalty, but I will grade only those papers that appear in turnitin.  In addition, you may NOT turn in any of the short essays after we have discussed the essay it is evaluating.

REVISION POLICY 

You may revise a selected number of papers for this class:  You may revise 2 of the 4 short essays and either the Review or Literature or the Annotated Bibliography.  You must have earned a C+ or lower on the original submission.  No revisions on the major paper and the casebook.  All revisions must be accompanied by the original paper and must be submitted within one week of your receipt of the original paper. I WILL NOT GRADE A REVISION THAT IS NOT ACCOMPANIED BY THE ORIGINAL PAPER.  NO REVISIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED ON PAPERS THAT EARNED A GRADE OF B- OR HIGHER.  Revisions need not be turned into turnitin.com.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

I will not tolerate plagiarism.  If you are unclear about how to document borrowed material, please download the handout “Avoiding Plagiarism” on the English Department Web Page.  Work that is not yours and/or is not properly documented will receive a “0”; and I reserve the right to fail you for the class, depending on the nature of the plagiarism.  I will report all incidents of intentional plagiarism to the Dean of Students, and evidence of this plagiarism will go in your permanent file.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY

I expect you to be prepared for class.  You must have done the reading, and you must ask questions or offer insights.  It would be wise to come with a prepared question or comment every class.  If you are bored, pretend not to be.  If you are shy, get over it.  If you are sleepy, stand up.  You must be conscious and engaged in order to be counted present (see above Attendance Policy).

EMAIL POLICY

IT has set up a listserv for this class and automatically enrolled you, using your Winthrop POBox email address.  I will be emailing you during the semester through the listserv.  If you do not regularly check your POBox email account, please either forward your campus mail to the account you do check or manually subscribe to the class listserv from your preferred mailing address at http://www.winthrop.edu/acc/imailsrv.asp.    

I will allow you to email me the draft of a paper, but I will not correct or comment on your paper and email it back to you.  If you wish to confer with me about a draft, we will have that conference in person.

TURNITIN.COM

We will be using www.turnitin.com this semester;

9:30 class i.d.: 4200507

9:30 class password: 9:30ENGL300

2:00 class i.d.: 4200525

2:00 class password: 2:00ENGL300 

Papers not submitted to www.turnitin.com will not be graded.

Students with Disabilities

Winthrop University is dedicated to providing access to education.  If you have a disability and require specific accommodations to complete this course, contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 323-3290.  Once you have your official notice of accommodations from the Office of Disability Services, please inform me as early as possible in the semester.