English 203, section 001: Major British Authors

Maymester 2010; 3 hours

MTWRF, 9:00-11:40, Kinard 206

Professor's Information

• Dr. Fike
• Office: Bancroft 258
• Phone: 803-323-4575
• Office Hours: MTWR, 2:00-3:00, and by appointment
• E-mail: fikem@winthrop.edu
• Website: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/fikem

Note:  I also teach this course during the regular semester.  Information that is specific to that term is clearly marked and appears in brackets. 

Course Description

As the title suggests, English 203 surveys major authors from the main periods of British literature (beginnings through postmodernism). Our emphasis will be on "periodicity," which means the ways in which a literary work reflects and reinforces the historical period in which it appears. Although counting toward the English major, English 203 is appropriate for non-English majors who want a course that partially fulfills the Humanities requirement. As befits a course at the 200-level, course requirements include participation, [quizzes,] midterm and final examinations, and three short linked papers.

Goals

Here is my personal list of goals:

• To examine selected major works of British literature from its beginnings through postmodernism.
• To understand what makes each work typical of its literary period--e.g., how literature reflects and reinforces key historical developments.
• To track the development of ideas and forms across literary periods.
• To become more familiar with literary terminology, especially from works such as Harmon and Holman's A Handbook to Literature and the glossaries in the Oxford anthologies.
• To enhance your ability to read critically and to write analytically about literature (you must use MLA documentation).
• And finally, to develop a sense of literature as a source of wonder and insight.

Student Goals in the Touchstone Program are available at http://www.winthrop.edu/universitycollege/Touchstone/Touchstonegoals.htm.  The Touchstone Program is Winthrop University’s distinctive approach to general education.  ENGL 203 helps students make progress toward several of their goals (italicized) in the Touchstone Program.

Goal One: To communicate clearly and effectively in standard English.
Goal Two: To acquire and appreciate quantitative skills.
Goal Three: To use critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a variety of research methods.
Goal Four: To recognize and appreciate human diversity (both past and present) as well as the diversity of ideas, institutions, philosophies, moral codes, and ethical principles.
Goal Five: To understand scientific knowledge in terms of its methods or acquisition, its specific quantitative nature, and its dynamic and contingent character.
Goal Six: To understand aesthetic values, the creative process, and the interconnectedness of the literary, visual, and performing arts throughout the history of civilization.
Goal Seven: To examine values, attitudes, beliefs, and habits which define the nature and quality of life.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Objectives Related to the Humanities & Arts Perspective (HLOs)

1. Demonstrate knowledge of and appreciation for diverse intellectual and/or cultural viewpoints.
2. Critically evaluate diverse intellectual and/or cultural viewpoints.
3. Critically evaluate aesthetic process and/or experience.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of creative process and aesthetic values.
5. Engage in the creative process through composition and/or performance.
6. Demonstrate knowledge of the history of the arts.
7. Demonstrate understanding of the relationships among various art forms within their sociohistorical contexts.
8. Demonstrate knowledge of and appreciation for diverse values and beliefs.
9. Critically evaluate those values and beliefs.
10. Examine their own values and beliefs.
11. Critically evaluate material in a variety of formats (e.g., written, aural, visual, etc.).
12. Gather information and to develop and effectively communicate ideas in Standard English.
13. Conduct independent research and/or analysis.
14. Discriminate among information sources (e.g., print sources, visual media, internet sources, performances and exhibitions, interviews, etc.).

The following are the "outcomes" on which the Department of English has agreed for this course; they echo and reinforce my own goals:

Knowledge:  By the end of the semester, students will be able to

• Identify the variety and development of literary forms and themes in selected major works of British literature from its beginnings through postmodernism. (HLOs 1, 3, 4, 6, 7)
• Describe how the selected literature reflects and reinforces “the diversity of ideas, institutions, philosophies, moral codes, and ethical principles” (HLOs 7,8,9,10).
• Discuss how literary periodicity reinforces this diversity (HLOs 2, 7).

Skills:  By the end of the semester, students will be able to

• Demonstrate their ability to read critically and to write analytically about literature through successful completion of tests, papers, and other graded work. (HLO 12)
• Apply the skills of literary research, including MLA documentation and research sources (e.g., the MLA bibliography online and the OED). (HLO 13, 14)
• Incorporate appropriate literary terminology in discussions of assigned literary works.

Attitudes:  By the end of the semester, students will be able to

• Recognize literature as a source of wonder and insight (HLO 3, 4, 9, 10).

Texts

Available at the Bookworm:

• The Oxford Anthology of English Literature, volumes 1 and 2.
• Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (Penguin).
• Woolf, A Room of One's Own (Harcourt).

Course Requirements (a.k.a. Student Learning Activities):  Evaluation and Grading

Grading Scale: You will be graded on a 100-point scale as follows: A, 95-100; A-, 90-94; B+, 87-89; B, 83-86; B-, 80-82; C+, 77-79; C, 73-76; C-, 70-72; D+, 67-69; D, 63-66; D-, 60-62; F, 0-59. Here is the distribution:

• 10% - Class presence (attendance)
• 10% - Class participation
• [20% - Quizzes]  No quizzes during Maymester
• 20% - Midterm examination (in class during the regular semester; take-home during Maymester)
• 20% - Final examination (in-class, comprehensive)
• 40% - Three response papers:  10, 10, and 10 points (see description below)

Notes on Course Requirements

Class Presence and Participation: Presence and participation are both worth 10% of your final course grade.

Regarding presence:

Maymester: Four full days' absences (25% of the course) will result in an automatic F. Regarding presence, more than one day's absence will diminish your grade for class presence and participation by 3 percentage points per full day's absence during Maymester. One tardy of 10 minutes of more (or leaving 10 or more minutes early) will count as 1/3 of a day's absence. Three tardies of less than 10 minutes also equal 1/3 day's absence.

[Regular semester:  Seven full days' absences (25% of the course) will result in an an automatic F.  One tardy of 10 minutes or more (or leaving 10 or more minutes early) will count as a day's absence.  Three tardies of less than 10 minutes also equal a day's absence.  You may have 3 absences without affecting your course grade; each absence over 3 will lower your class presence grade by 2 points.]

Note:  Finally, if you come in late, you must see me after class (regular semester) or during a break (Maymester) so that I change your absence mark to a tardy mark.  If you do not see me after class, your tardiness will count as described above. 

Regarding participation, you need to speak up often enough to leave me with the impression that you participated actively. I will grade your contributions to large-group discussion as follows: frequent contributions will be worth 9-10 points (A); regular contributions, 8 points (B); occasional contributions, 7 points (C); few contributions, 6 points (D); none, 0 points (F).  By "contributions," I mean thoughtful and constructive remarks that add to class discussion:  the content of your remarks does count in my evaluation of your class participation.  You have the option of keeping a log of your daily comments in whole-class discussions (not group work) and submitting it to me at the end of the semester to demonstrate the nature and extent of your contributions.  If you choose to do so, organize your document by day/date and use bullet points to list your comments.  It should NOT devote bullet points to class notes.  It is solely for your own contributions to full-class discussions.

Maymester:  Midterm and Final Examinations: We are going to survey the major periods of British literature (over a thousand years of literature) in three weeks, and we need to devote as many class days as possible to the study of texts. Therefore, there will not be an in-class midterm. We will instead have a take-home midterm and an in-class final; the latter will be closed-books and closed-notes). The midterm will have two sections: identification and analysis of key quotations and an essay. The final will have three sections: factual identification (terms, details from the literature), identification and analysis of quotations, and a short essay or essays. There will be choices within some sections; therefore, if you do not remember or recognize something, you will not necessarily lose credit. Please bring two large blue books (8.5x11") to the final exam.  You must take the final examination at the regularly scheduled time.  I will not provide accommodations for vacation plans.

[Quizzes: The purpose of quizzes is to make sure that you keep up with the reading and to reward you for doing so. Each quiz will consist of ten items, of which nine will be fact-oriented multiple choice questions. The tenth question will require a short written response and is likely to require more than factual recollection. In addition, I reserve the right to put a small number of quotations on the quizzes. I will drop your lowest quiz grade, but quizzes can never be made up except in the event of your illness, a serious automobile accident, a university-sanctioned absence such as an athletic event, a death in your family, or some other legitimate and paper-documentable occurrence. In any of these cases, I will require an official paper excuse (a doctor's note, an accident report, a letter from the athletic department, an obituary, etc.). The make-up will then consist of a 2-3 page response paper on an approved topic and will be due not more than one week after your return to class.  Note:  If you come in late, I may not allow you to take a quiz.  I will NOT drop your lowest quiz grade when I calculate your final course grade.]

Response Papers:  I have designed a series of assignments that should have a very fruitful cumulative effect.

RP 1 (10 points, 2 full pages minimum + works cited list in new MLA format):  Select a work from the Romantic, Victorian, or Modern period of our course (see calendar of assignments:  yes, I do want you to pick something that we will be discussing in class).  Here are some guidelines for the paper:

• You should not use secondary sources in your composition process for RP 1, but primary sources other than the text itself are okay to use. 
• All sources--including primary texts--must be documented according to the MLA format.  For parenthetical citations:   If you cite a prose work from the anthology, use a page number like this (25); for poetry, give line numbers like this (21-22) or like this (lines 21-22); use your common sense re. whether to include "line."  A list of works cited is also required at the end of every response paper, even if you are only citing an anthology piece.  
• You may not write your paper in class on a laptop.  No laptops are allowed while class is in session.
• Focus narrowly (take on less, say more about it). 
• It is a good idea to base your paper on one of the discussion questions (see the link on the course home page) but be aware that some questions are more suitable than others.
• Work straight from the primary text; do not do research. 
• Do not summarize narrative material unless doing so is essential to the point you are making. 
• Analyze, make a critical point.  Plot summary is not appropriate.
• If you pick a long work, be sure to focus on something within it.  Example:  If you choose Conrad's novel, you could focus on the book that Marlowe discovers on his journey.
• Be sure to pick a work that is sufficiently substantive for this assignment.  It is hard to imagine, for example, that Blake's "The Lamb" would be suitable for the second and third response papers.
• If I catch you plagiarizing secondary sources, you will receive an F for the course.  "Secondary sources" include the introductory material in the Oxford Anthologies.  To be safe, work straight from the primary texts and your own brain.
• Submit RP 1 to turnitin.com.  Our course I.D. is 3272398; our password is "winthrop."

RP 2 (5 points, 2 full pages minimum + works cited list):  Now find two articles that take different positions on (the same thing within) your selected text from RP 1.  I would ideally like the total of printed pages for your two sources to be 10 pages minimum.  Here is what you should turn in for step 2:  a file folder containing 1) a two-page explanation of how the two articles take different positions on the text that you selected; 2) a works cited list that includes your primary text and your two articles; and 3) the two articles.  Here are some guidelines for finding articles:

• "Article" is defined as a critical source that is at least 5 pages and that uses other critical sources.  Blogs and Web sites are not suitable for this assignment.
• You need to look at the Dacus Library's databases:  check the MLA International Bibliography, JSTOR, Literature Criticism Online, and Literature Resources from Gale.  Of these, the MLA Bibliography is the most important.  Passages in critical books are okay to use in the unlikely event that you cannot find suitable articles.
• You must get my approval of your two articles before proceeding to RP 3.
• If you cannot find two contrasting articles online, find one and then consider the sources that it cites.  One article may help you identify another.
• If all else fails, you can use an article and a section from a critical book.  Or, if necessary, two book sections will work.
• Regardless, each critical source should be at least 5 pages of printed text.  Obviously, a two-page note will not be acceptable, which rules out anything from The Explicator, Notes & Queries, etc.
• It would be appropriate to select two articles on imperialism in Heart of Darkness.  It would not be appropriate to select a historical article on imperialism and a reader-response article that has nothing to do with imperialism.  Another appropriate selection would be two articles on "My Last Duchess":  one in which a critic says that the Duke is cunning, another in which a critic claims that the Duke is a dolt.  It would not be appropriate to select one in which a critic says that the Duke is cunning and another in which a critic explains what Browning is saying about art.
• You do not have to summarize the entire article/book chapter in your response paper; however, you definitely should indicate its thesis statement and present some of the author's ideas.  The use of contrasting quotations, at least one from each article, will be important.  The thesis should mention the focused topic and state the critical controversy about it.
• Submit RP 2 to turnitin.com.  Our course I.D. is 3272398; our password is "winthrop."

RP 3 (10 points, 4 full pages minimum + works cited list):  The final step requires that you mediate between the contrasting critical views that you established in step 2.  Which one seems stronger to you--and why?  Or do both have strengths and weaknesses?  What is your own position on the primary text?

• Your job is now to critique what your two critics say:  do you agree or disagree--and why?  Your insights in RP 1 will no doubt be crucial to this assignment.
• What not to do:  This assignment is not a "book report":  do not let your critics take over your paper.  Your own thinking must also be on display here.  Do not, for example, write a paper in which your thesis is that two critics say that imperialism is an important theme in Heart of Darkness.  Instead, let your thesis state the position on imperialism that YOU think is superior.  A proper thesis should combine the following things:  the critics' names, their views, the focused topic, and your position on the critical controversy.
• In short, your job is to engage not only with a primary literary text but also with what two critics have said about it.  Find a controversy and participate in it.
• Since the third response paper is worth twice as much as the first two, it should be at least twice as long.  It must be at least 4 full pages plus a list of works cited.
• By this final step, you MUST have a pristine works cited list.  If you have a single mistake, I will deduct 1 point.
• Turn in the following things, in this order, in a file folder:  1) RP 3, 2) RPs 1 and 2; 3) your two critical sources.   Do not submit clean copies of RPs 1 and 2.  Give me the original graded copies with my comments.
• Submit RP 3 to turnitin.com.  Our course I.D. is 3272398; our password is "winthrop."

Here is how RPs 1 and 2 will be graded on a 10-point scale:

• 9-10:       Your work is well-argued and insightful:  a superior job (A).
• 8-8.9:      You make a decent point and support it adequately (B). 
• 7-7.9:      Your writing or the paper's substance is problematic in some way (C). 
• 6-6.9:      The writing and substance are both problematic; or the paper is not long enough; or your sources are not in proper opposition (D).
• 1-5.9:      You wrote plot summary or a string of generalizations, or the paper includes plagiarism, or the paper is a book report (F).

Obviously, point values will be doubled for RP 3.

Format for Papers:  

• Word-processed double-spaced papers are required. 
• Only black print will be acceptable. 
• Print only on one side of the page and do not use the "draft" function on your computer:  give me a good-looking, easy-to-read copy. 
• The left and right margins should be 1¼ inch.  Use a ragged right margin. 
• If you use MS Word, the font is called Courier New, 12-point, which you are reading right now--this whole section is in the required font.  Again:  Courier NEW, not Courier.
• Put your name and course number at the top of page one, number your pages, give your paper a title, underline your thesis statement like this, and boldface your topic sentences like this.  Note:  The introduction and conclusion do not contain topic sentences. 
• Staple your pages together ½ inch from the upper left corner; make sure that the staple is at a 45-degree angle ½ inch from the corner; do not use paper clips or bend the pages over at the top.  Absolutely do not bend and tear the corners of your pages! 
• Use the MLA format in the Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage (this means that you must have parenthetical citations and a list of work(s) cited at the end of every paper.  I may ask you to redo a paper if it is not in the proper format. 
• You are required to bring large blue books for in-class examinations and to write only with a blue or black ballpoint pen.  You may NOT use your own paper when you write the examinations!

Note:  These format requirements are NOT an excuse for poor work.  If you find that they are interfering with your idea creation, defer them until the your paper has been written. 

Other Policies

Late assignments: Written work is due in class on the days designated in the Calendar. Late work will be penalized 1 point for each 24-hour period it is late. I am willing to give brief extensions for written work if you are ill or have some other kind of emergency, provided that you provide official written documentation when you turn in your work. If you are responsible and well organized, I will be flexible.  I especially appreciate advanced notice.  If you will be absent on a due date or a test date because of university business, you must submit your work in advance.  All make up work is due not later than one week from your return to class during the regular semester, and you must include your official written excuse.  During Maymester, every day is a week of class.  I can grant a day or two for documented circumstances, but anything more than that will seriously derail your progress in the course.

Various policies on electronics:  I do not accept papers submitted over e-mail.  I will not print your papers for you.  All papers must be submitted to turnitin.com, but I do not grade online.  You may not use laptops in class on any occasion.  Turn your cell phones off during class.  No texting.  You must submit all three papers to turnitin.com.  I will check e-mail every morning, M-F.  I do not guarantee that I will check it at other times, and I do not do e-mail on the weekends.

Eating and Drinking in Class:  Do not eat or drink in class.

Sleeping and Illness: If you fall asleep in class, you will receive a full absence for the day (regular semester) or one-third class day (Maymester).  If you are that tired, please stay home.  If you are contagious and/or have a bad cough, please stay home.  Also, please do not come to my office when you are sick.  The university wants those who are sick to "self-isolate."

Departmental Policies and Procedures

Departmental statement: "Unless your professor specifies otherwise on her or his syllabus, the following policies and procedures apply for all courses offered by the Department of English (ENGL, ENGE, and WRIT)."

Goals: Goals for all courses in the Department of English, including those that meet requirements for NCATE certification, are described at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/goals.htm.  

Syllabus Change Policy: The version of your instructor's policy posted on her/his website, WebCT site, or www.turnitin.com site is the official policy statement for your class. This page may change during the semester, so make sure you check it frequently to keep up with changes.

Resources: The English Department’s home page is http://www.winthrop.edu/english.  Please check there for links to instructors' webpages, course materials, and The English Major's Handbook of useful links.

Office Hours: My office hours this semester are MTWR, 3:30-4:30. I will make every effort to be available during these hours or to notify you if I cannot be available.

E-mail List Serves: Winthrop automatically generates a listserv for each class using the Winthrop e-mail addresses of all students enrolled in a class on the first day of instruction. If you add the class late or if you prefer to use an alternate e-mail address, you must personally enroll in the listserv. You can find the instructions for doing so at http://www.winthrop.edu/acc/imailsrv.asp.

Contacting Your Instructor: All instructors in the Department have voice mail in their offices and Winthrop e-mail addresses. Make sure you write down your instructor’s phone number and e-mail address where you will not lose it. You can leave messages for your instructor in the department mailroom, 248 Bancroft, which is open from 8:30-5:00 each day.

Instructor Accessibility: You can expect me to be available as a resource from which to draw and to obtain feedback. I am very responsive to email questions as long as I know who the email is from and have all information necessary to provide a complete answer. Please be sure to “sign” your emails as oftentimes email names are confusing at best (e.g., brownb1@winthrop.edu could be Bob Brown or Beth Brown). Please make sure to speak slowly and comprehensibly if leaving a voicemail so that I can decipher the name, message, and return phone number as well.

What you cannot expect of me is to be available 24/7. While I do check my email and voicemail regularly (I do not check e-mail on weekends, however), I do not necessarily check them more than once a day or late in the evenings. Therefore, if you procrastinate on an assignment, you may not have the information you need to complete the assignment appropriately. Please plan your time accordingly to maximize the probability that you will receive a response in time for it to be useful.

Student Conduct Code: As noted in the Student Conduct Code:  “Responsibility for good conduct rests with students as adult individuals.” The policy on student academic misconduct is outlined in the “Student Conduct Code Academic Misconduct Policy” in the online Student Handbook (http://www2.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/handbook/StudentHandbook.pdf). 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")–whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not. It is also a violation of the Student Conduct Code (http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm). The English Department has prepared The Correct Use of Borrowed Information to explain plagiarism (see www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm .) You may be required to print out this statement, sign the last page, and bring it to class when required by your instructor. Ignorance or failure to consult this material is no excuse.

Grades: The Department has established a Rubric for Freshman Writing Courses that is found at www.winthrop.edu/english/rubric.htm.  A formal description of letter grades used by Winthrop instructors can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Minimum Grades in Classes: In order to pass this class, you must receive a minimum of D- (60%).

Attendance: The official Winthrop attendance policy is found on p. 8 of The Undergraduate Catalog 2009-2010 "Academic Regulations" section (http://www.winthrop.edu/uploadedFiles/recandreg/Catalogs/09-10/2009_10_catalog_Acad_Regs.pdf). The policy for attendance at final examinations is also found on page 8.

Final Examinations: Winthrop University policy requires that all classes meet during their scheduled final examination period. This schedule can be found on the Records and Registration website at http://www.winthrop.edu/recandreg/calendars/default.htm. Winthrop University policy specifies that personal conflicts such as travel plans and work schedules do not warrant a change in examination time. You are responsible for checking the time of your final examination and for making arrangements to be there.

Expectations for Classroom Behavior: The classroom environment should provide a safe environment for exploring ideas and challenging assumptions. Students are expected to listen respectfully to the voices of other individuals and to share their own opinions and values in a positive, respectful manner. Students and the instructor are expected to treat each member of the class with respect and civility. Classroom behavior that a reasonable person would view as substantially or repeatedly interfering with the conduct of the class will not be tolerated in this course. Students who engage in disruptive behavior will be subject to sanctions as specified in the Student Conduct Code. Turn off all electronic devices.

Students with Disabilities: Winthrop University is dedicated to providing access to education.  If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, please contact Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290, as soon as possible.  Once you have your Professor Notification Form, please tell me so that I am aware of your accommodations well before the first assignment, test, or paper.

Safe Zones Statement: The professor considers this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect as a human being – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thought is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. It is the professor’s expectation that ALL students consider the classroom a safe environment.

Duplicate Submission of Papers: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted, in whole or in part, for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of your English instructor and the other instructor involved in advance. I will expect a contract, signed by all three of us, indicating what you may and may not do.  The purpose of this policy is to conform to the Student Code of Conduct, §V, which states: "Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to … presenting the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the professors involved." (Student Code of Conduct §V: http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm).  Advice:  Do not write about the same work in ENGL 203 that you have written about, or will write about, in any other course, including a previous section of this course.

Writing Center: The Writing Center provides support for all students in all Winthrop classes free of charge. It is located in 242 Bancroft (x-2138). Check its web page (http://www.winthrop.edu/wcenter) for current hours.