Dr. Siobhan Craft Brownson
 ENGL 501 – Modern British Poetry
Required Texts

And Materials

 Texts

Anthology of Twentieth-Century British & Irish Poetry. Ed. Keith

Tuma. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001.

Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature.

11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2008.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th Ed. New York:

Modern Language Association of America, 2009.

Materials

"The Correct Use of Borrowed Information." Access and print this document at www.winthrop.edu/english.

"English/Writing Rubric." Access and print this document at www.winthrop.edu/english/rubric.htm

2 Blue Books

Recommended – Harris, Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage
Course Goals 1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the genre of poetry, specifically British poetry; the major periods within the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; the impact of gender and culture on the genre; and its standard terminology (Goals for Department of English 1.1, 1.2, 1.2, 1.6).

2. Students will demonstrate knowledge standard reference tools, methods, and forms of documentation in scholarly research (1.7).

3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the English language and familiarity with the standards of grammar, mechanics, and usage generally accepted in the academic community (2.1, 2.2).

4. To develop advanced communication skills, students will write thoughtful, well-organized essays conforming to standards of grammar, mechanics, and usage, including research papers on appropriate language and literature topics, that demonstrate correct use of standard reference tools and methods, and of primary and secondary sources and providing proper documentation of sources. Students will construct persuasive arguments based on careful analysis and deliberation (3).

5. Students will critically analyze and interpret written and non-written texts (e.g. TV, film, and oral presentations) and demonstrate their ability to present coherent, defensible critical positions based on their analyses (4).

6. Students will demonstrate their ability to use technology in the study of language, literature, and communication by demonstrating effective use of existing technologies to research, prepare, and present information (5).
Learning Outcomes – All Students 1. Students will to learn an appreciation for the impact of diverse historical periods, cultures, and genders on the development of modern British poetry

2. Students will forge links among a variety of expressions in the genre.

3. Students will express critical ideas in a cogent manner.

4. Students will distinguish among and define various characteristics of modern British poetry such as rhyme and meter and discuss these various aspects of the genre.

5. Students will use basic terminology and thematic approaches in reading, writing, and discussion.

6. Students will create search strategies through the use of Dacus Library’s online catalogue and electronic databases.

7. Students will identify useful and appropriate supporting source materials in scholarly research and demonstrate control of appropriate MLA documentation and citation.
Additional Learning Outcomes for Graduate Students 1. Students will use professional standards of grammar, mechanics, and usage accepted in the scholarly community.

2. Students will standard reference tools, methods, and forms of documentation used in scholarly research.

3. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the standard terminology of literary analysis used in scholarly writing.

4. Students will adapt through written and oral expression various critical perspectives such as the formalist, structuralist, and post-structuralist approaches.

5.  Students will present orally the findings of research and critical analysis.
6.  Students will correctly use standard reference tools, properly handle primary and secondary sources, and properly document all sources.
7.  Students will write publishable critical analyses.
Work Standards Reading responses should be computer generated using Times New Roman 12 point with 1 inch margins all around. Formal essays should be computer generated using Times New Roman 12 point with 1 inch margins all around with your name, course number, and my name in the upper left hand corner of the first page. Please give your formal essays titles, but do not use title pages or report covers. Please do not hand in a diskette or e-mail me copies of your essays or short papers. COPY YOUR ESSAYS AND READING RESPONSES TO YOUR SYSTEM’S HARD DRIVE.
Attendance Attendance is a crucial part of this course since lively and energetic discussion is a major portion of your course grade. Students who miss more than four classes will receive a failing grade for the course. No distinction is made between "excused" and "unexcused" absences. I will discuss student emergencies or special situations with individuals on a case-by-case basis. . Refer to the 2009-2010 Winthrop University Undergraduate Catalog and the 2008-2009 Winthrop University Graduate Catalog for university attendance policies. Students who are tardy must notify me after class that they are present. Two tardies in excess of five minutes will equal one absence.
Due Dates Written work is due at the beginning of class on the date assigned. Late work will be penalized one full letter grade for each day late starting with the due date. Work handed in after one week will not be accepted. I will discuss student emergencies or special situations with individuals on a case-by-case basis. Refer to the 2009-2010 Winthrop University Undergraduate Catalog and 2008-2009 Winthrop University Graduate Catalog for university policies on late and make-up work.
Communication I check my e-mail, M-F, twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. Restrict e-mail communications to brief questions that I can easily address through a reply OR for emergencies about which you must alert me immediately. Other queries are best handled over the phone. Please leave a detailed message on my voice mail if I am out of the office or on another call. I return phone messages promptly; they have priority over e-mail.
Academic honesty The entire Winthrop University community takes plagiarism very seriously and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this course. Penalties for plagiarism can range between, but are not limited to, a failing grade on the plagiarized paper or exam to a failing grade in the course. ALL WORK FOR THIS COURSE IS TO BE ORIGINAL AND PREPARED ONLY FOR THIS COURSE. Please familiarize yourselves with the university’s policies on academic honesty in the 2009-2010 Winthrop University Undergraduate Catalog, the 2008-2009 Graduate Catalog, and the English department’s statement concerning plagiarism at www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism; the latter has a link to the Student Code of Conduct.
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 Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290.  Once you have your official notice of accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities, please inform me as early as possible in the semester.
Quizzes Depending on class preparation and participation, I reserve the right to give unannounced quizzes.
Requirements and Assignments 1. You must come to class prepared to discuss that day’s assigned reading. Preparation involves more than simply completing the reading. Be ready to draw conclusions and connections, and to articulate your analyses and syntheses.

2. Short papers – undergraduate students will write three short (1-1/2-2) page essays; graduate students will write four. Topics and due dates will be assigned. These will require no outside research but will ask you to move beyond subjects discussed in class and apply original thinking to the topics.

3. We will have in-class mid-term and final exams.

4. Critical essay – undergraduates will write an 8-10 page critical essay; graduate students will write a 10-12 page critical essay. These should be original, carefully researched, carefully written, and suitable for presentation at a scholarly conference. MLA formats should be adhered to. Source material must be presented according to "The Correct Use of Borrowed Information" and the MLA Guide.

5. Undergraduate Students – will present several brief oral reports throughout the semester on terms and elements specific to poetry.

6. Graduate Students – will read an additional novel by a twentieth century British poet and make a critical presentation to the class. This oral presentation will include, among other subjects, biographical information on the poet, primary focus of the work, major critical themes, connections to other writers we have studied or will study, and the teaching of one representative poem.
Grading Undergraduates Graduate Students

Participation – 10% Participation – 10%

Oral Reports – 10% Explication – 10%

Explication – 10% Presentation – 10%

Short papers – 10% Short Papers – 10%

Midterm – 20% Midterm – 20%

Critical Essay – 20% Critical Essay – 20%

Final Exam – 20% Final Exam – 20%

All course requirements MUST be met in order for a student to be eligible for passing the course.
Grading scales Undergraduates – 94-100=A, 91-93=A-, 87-90=B+, 81-86=B, 77-80=C+, 7-76=C, 67-70=D+, 60-66=D, 0-59=F,71-100=S, 0-70=U.

Graduate students – 91-100= A, 81-90= B, 71-80=C, 0-70=F

I adapt the English/Writing Rubric for this course, keeping in mind the general standards used for 500-level courses. The rubric may be found at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/rubric/htm.
Student listservs Please make sure you have an active Winthrop email account. Periodically I may find it necessary to communicate with the class as a whole and I use the course listserv for that purpose rather than individual email accounts. If you registered for the course after August 21, you will need to subscribe manually to the listserv using the following link: http://www.winthrop.edu/acc/classlist.htm
Classroom Etiquette Please make sure all electronic devices (laptops, cell phones, etc.) are turned off and PUT AWAY before class begins.
Department Web Sites The home page is at http://www.winthrop.edu/english. The site for core courses is at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/core. All links mentioned above can be found on the home page.