English 300 -- Schedule Fall 2014

English 300 - Schedule

Aug 25	Introduction to course, course policies and introduction to English Studies. What is literature?
Unit I: The Text and the Reader: Fiction and Formalism
27	“What is Literature” in the Norton (1-9). “The Elephant in the Village of the Blind,” (13-16); Chopin, “The Story of an Hour” (475-477); Millay, “I being born a woman” (896).
29	Cheever, “The Country Husband” (565-583); Williams, “This is Just to Say” (797); Due: Paper #1 (D2L).
1	Reader Responses (1920). Brewer, “20/20 (16-17); Carver, “Cathedral” w/ responses (32-51).)
3	Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” (95-118); Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” (590-594) Post to Roundtable: pre-critical response to any text so far. Here's a good "literacy narrative" (a narrative describing how reading has informed your life or worldview) from NPR's series "This I Believe."
5	Read “Emphasis on the Text,” (1908-1914). Read the introductions to chapters 1-6 of the Norton. Hawthorne, “The Birth-Mark,” (290-302).
8	Kafka, “A Hunger Artist” (594-600); George Saunders, “Puppy” (172).
10	Sherman Alexie, “Flight Patterns” (54-67). Erdrich, “Love Medicine” (361-377); Post on the symbolism of recent stories (perhaps in class, so bring a laptop).
12	Crane, “The Open Boat” (338-356); Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily,” (516-545). Read the critical selections in addition to the story.
15	Russell, “St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves” (229-240). Read the “Writing About Literature” section in the appendix (1845-1896). Pre-writing for Paper #2. Atlantic Monthly article on style, "A Reader's Manifesto" and this one by Jonathan Franzen on the "contract" and "status" models of writer/reader relationships. See also this recent Huffington Post on the most over-rated contemporary American writers. Post on style of a particular text and/or these articles.
Unit II: The Text as Art: Poetry, Language, Verse
17	Some poets on poetry. Read on responding to poems, 670-693. Collins, “Introduction to Poetry” (705); LeGuin, “She Unnames Them” (1003); Hollander, “Adam’s Task” (1001), Donnelly, “Eve Names the Animals” (1002), and DiFranco, “Adam and Eve” (1005).
19	Read Donne, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (1085); Keats, “To Autumn” (1100) and Lorde, “Hanging Fire” (719) *Due:* Annotate: Cullen, "Yet Do I Marvel” (1017).
22– 26	Peer Review of Paper #2 (Peer Review Sheets here--fill out one per paper and bring to your group meeting in our classroom; Load your paper, as an attachment, into the discussion area created for your group (see roundtable) by Sunday 6:00 (if your paper is late it may not be reviewed, and if not reviewed it will be penalized when submitted as final).
29	Read the sections on the speaker (707), situation (735), and theme (765), and language (788). Read “Family: An Album,” (781). Annotate: Auden, "Musee des Beaux Arts" (1075 ) or Plath, "Morning Song" (745) or Arnold, "Dover Beach" (740) or Winters, "At the San Francisco Airport" (795)
Oct 1	Read visual imagery (802), symbol (812), sounds (825), internal structure (857), and external form (875). Read also The Sonnet: Due: Annotate: Wordsworth, "Nuns Fret Not" (893) and Frost, “Design” (898). Get in eight (8) items from these poetry terms.
3	Due: Paper 2: A close reading, or explication de texte, of “Sonny’s Blues,” “The Open Boat, “Love Medicine” or another short story in the Norton provided you discuss it with me.
Unit III: The Text and the Author: Biographical/Psychological Approaches
6	Emphasis on the Source (1914-1919). Poe, “The Cask of Amontillado” (164) and “The Raven” (838); Plath, “Daddy” (1049), Sexton, “The Fury of Overshoes.” Also, write a sonnet, sestina, villanelle, limerick or some other poetic form about your pet (note: does not have to be serious--try the form).
8	Rich (910-925), “Storm Warnings" (914), "My mouth . . ." (922). *Due:* Annotate: "Diving into the "Wreck" (820)
10	Bring in your two poems to discuss in class. Hypertext notes on one poem discussed in class and one of the following: Hopkins, “Spring and Fall,” (842), Donne, “The Good Morrow” (745); Brooks, “First Fight, Then Fiddle” (898); Dickinson, “I dwell in possibility” (699). Get in at least eight terms from the poetry terms.
13	O’Connor, Flannery, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” (433) Everything that Rises Must Converge” (447), and passages and essays (458).
15	Joyce, “Araby,”(395-399); Updike, “A&P” (148); “The Life of Shakespeare” (1303).
17	Chekov or Hansberry. Class Decides. Due: Paper 3
20	Cont’d.
22	Munro, “Boys and Girls”(137).
Unit IV: The Text and its Cultural/Historical Context: Feminist and New Historical Approaches
24	Historical and Ideological Criticism (1920-1930). Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (478) and associated material on 506.
27	Susan Glaspell, “Trifles” (1125); “A Jury of Her Peers” (489);
29	Lahiri, “Interpreter of Maladies” (398); Foster Wallace, “Good People” (215-223). Atwood, “Lusus Naturae” (224).
31	Crossing Cultures: Mukherjee, “The Management of Grief” (384); Sedaris, “Jesus Shaves” (414-417). Baca, “Green Chile” (783); Lee, "Persimmons" (747).
Nov 3	Library or computer room.
5	Library or computer room.
7	Due: Proposal for final paper. Include key pieces of evidence and several likely sources. Discuss in class.
10	Careers and concentrations.
12	Writing about literature.
14	Four annotations due.
Nov 17	Careers and concentrations. Visit from Dr. Woods in English Education. Reclaiming your topic.
19	Read the sample research paper, 1897 – 1905. Writing introductions.
21	Bring a draft of your first two pages. Include your Works Cited page. (To share with “writing buddy”).
24-28	Thanksgiving
Dec 1	Bring a copy of your (quality) draft for your “writing buddy” and one for me. Try to make your draft as good as it can be--that way you benefit most from peer review. MLA tips here.
3	Return drafts.
5	Final thoughts and comments before turning essays in.
Exam	Due: Paper 4: Choose two or works and explore how the cultural and/or gender and/or critical context helps to shape their meanings, provides valuable insight. 5-7 pages and 5-7 good, helpful, sources.