ENGLISH 510: Medieval Literature and Film
(crosslisted as MDST 510)
Summer 2011 Maymester (3.0 credits)
Undergraduate Course Policies
Instructor Info
Dr. Jo Koster
228 Bancroft Hall
803-323-4557
kosterj@winthrop.edu
Office Hours: MTW 4-5:30 and by appointment
Texts
The Longman Anthology of British Literature
vol. 1A, 4th edition; ISBN 0-s05-65530-0 and online readings linked via
the course calendar
Course Goals
Students enrolled in this course will demonstrate
·
knowledge of various forms of written and non-print texts;
·
an understanding of the role that literature plays in the development
and understanding of selected human cultures and history;
·
knowledge of the standard terminology of literary analysis as found in a
glossary of literary terms or a handbook to literature
·
knowledge of standard reference tools, methods, and forms of
documentation in scholarly research
·
familiarity with the concepts and pertinent applications of major
critical theories and schools of criticism;
·
the ability to analyze critically and interpret written and non-written
texts in terms of concepts such as historical period, national origin,
content, cultural context, tone, implied meaning, humor, structure,
style, language, themes, form and mode, and rhetorical strategies;
·
the ability to select and use various means of presenting their analyses
and interpretations, in both written and oral forms.
·
Identify, evaluate, and use appropriate peer-reviewed secondary
scholarship in the development of their own academic arguments
Student Learning Outcomes
·
Students will be able to discuss the ways in which modern times view and
use the Middle Ages in literature and film
·
Students will connect modern literary critical viewpoints with medieval
literature
·
Students will recognize and identify major medieval themes and motifs
used in modern and contemporary film
·
Students will connect material discussed in class with their independent
reading and viewing project
·
Students will improve their media literacy and their ability to view and
evaluate films critically
·
Students will reflect their understanding in various written and oral
forms (papers, presentations, class discussion, critiques, essay exam)
Website
Course calendar
http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/engl510/CalendarSummer11.htm
Grading Standards
Undergraduates will be graded on the plus/minus system; graduate
students will not be. In this class, A 94-100; A- 91-93; B+ 88-90; B
84-87; B- 81-83; C+ 78-80; C 74-77; C- 71-73; D+ 68-70; D 64-67;
D- 61-63; F 0-60. You must turn in all assignments on time
to pass the course.
Assignments
Movie Preparation and Discussion Team Assignment: 10%
Active and informed class participation & reading quizzes: 15%
Two “short take” writing assignments: 15% each
Research paper: 25%
Final Exam: 20%
Syllabus Change Policy
The course policies posted on the class website and the calendar posted
on this class website will be the official ones in case of dispute. This
paper copy is provided to you as a courtesy and will probably change
over the course of the term. Please check the online materials
frequently to stay up to date.
Plagiarism Policy
Please review the English Department’s policy on Using Borrowed
Information at
http://www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm. You are
responsible for reviewing the Code of Student Conduct in your Student
Handbook and the description of plagiarism in The Prentice-Hall
Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage and handling source materials
correctly. If you turn in plagiarized work, I reserve the right to
assign you a failing grade for the paper or even for the course.
Winthrop policy on plagiarism is found at phttp://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/
Judicial/judcode.htm under section V, "Academic Misconduct."
Turnitin.com Policy
We will be using
www.turnitin.com this
semester for all out-of-class papers; our class ID # will be given out
in class. Papers not submitted to
www.turnitin.com by the
assigned deadline will not receive a grade.
Attendance Policy
Winthrop policy is that students who miss more than 25% of the classes
in a semester (in a Maymester class, 3 classes) cannot receive credit
for the course. In this class, if you miss more than 2 classes, you will
be on attendance probation. Each absence after the second will lower
your final grade by 3 points. If you arrive more than ten minutes late
for class, you're counted tardy; two tardies count as one absence.
Late Paper/Assignment Policies
·
Hard copies of all assignments are expected at the beginning of class on
the due date and must also be uploaded into turnitin.com by that time.
No exceptions are made for this requirement in summer school because of
the tight deadlines.
·
Under no circumstances will an assignment be accepted more than one
class period after the due date; it will receive a grade of zero.
·
Failure to submit any graded assignment means failure for the course. No
exceptions!
Student Code of Conduct
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).
Accommodations
If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, please
contact Ms. Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with
Disabilities, at 323-3290, as soon as possible. Once you have your
professor notification letter, please notify me so that I am aware of
your accommodations well before the first accommodated assignment is
due.
Safe Zones Statement
This classroom is 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 thoughts are appreciated and
encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. I expect that ALL
students will contribute to making the classroom a safe environment.
Technology Requirements
I conduct most of my business with students using e-mail. If you do not
have an e-mail account, go to 15 Tillman immediately to set it up. We
will create an informal class listserv and I will be using it.
Other Expectations
·
If you are not enthusiastic about being in this course, fake it. Three
weeks is not forever. You must participate to succeed in this class.
·
Summer school is hectic. Allow yourself
enough time to do the reading and writing; there won’t be time to “catch
up” if you skip a few days.
·
If you need to make a certain grade in this class to maintain a GPA or
keep a scholarship, the time to start working on it is at the beginning
of the semester, not in the last week.
·
Multitasking is not appropriate during class time. Cell phones, iPods,
and other communications devices must be turned off in class.* If they
disrupt the class you will be graded absent for the day. Text messaging,
unauthorized work on your laptops or other digital media, or checking
personal messages is not permitted during class. Repeat offenses may
earn you an "F" for class participation for the semester. (*I will have
my cell phone available for messages through the Winthrop Alertus
system.)
·
I will do my best to keep my office hours but emergencies sometimes
arise. If I can't keep hours I will e-mail the class discussion list and
try to get someone to put a note on my office door.
·
Failure to prepare on your part does not constitute an emergency on my
part.
·
I expect to see visible signs you are doing the work, such as bringing
the required materials to class, annotations in your book, note-taking
in class, notebook entries, reading notes, etc. I will give occasional
unannounced reading quizzes to make sure you are keeping up.
If you do not show visible signs
of participation, your class participation grade will be affected,
significantly.
·
Sleep in your rooms, not in my class.
·
If you are not prepared for class, I reserve the right to send you to
the library for the class period to do your preparation. It’s not fair
to other people who have done the preparation to have to drag you along
with them. So be prepared!
·
I do not read minds. If something is going on that affects your work in
the class, you need to tell me about it. I won’t just sense that
"something’s wrong."
·
If some life crisis arises that will make you miss a lot of class, tell
me as soon as you realize this—don’t disappear for a week, then come
back and say, "Uh, did you miss me?" There are accommodations that can
be made if you give reasonable notification but few or none if you
don't.
