SYLLABUS
EN319 – Modern Literature
Fall 2003, Dr. Jeff Glauner
Office: Copley 310, Phone Ext. 6352
E-mail:
jglauner@mail.park.edu
Website:
http://captain.park.edu/jglauner/index.htm
Office Hours:
MF – 10:00-noon, 4:10-4:40
W – 10-11:00
or by appointment
Class meets 1-1:50, MWF, Copley 12N.
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION: A study of European literature, particularly English, of the first half of the twentieth century, considered in its historical and cultural contexts. The course includes modernist works by authors such as Kafka, Joyce, Woolf, Eliot, and Yeats.
II. GOALS OF THE COURSE: Students will emerge from the class with a greater understanding of and appreciation for modernist literature. They will develop a paradigm for examination and analysis of the language of such literature, and they will acquire a language for discussing it. In addition, they will discover sources of contemporary thought and culture in texts from various cultures and nations.
III. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES:
A. Students will demonstrate understanding of through written and oral
responses, individually and in groups, to topics arising from the study of text
materials and individual research.
B. Students will provide evidence of their skills in individual research through
the production of a 1000-1500-word research project.
C. Students will demonstrate their skills in oral communication through formal
and informal presentation of ideas from their research before the class and
formal and informal class discussions of various topics.
D. Students will demonstrate critical literacy in regard to the modern
literature through testing, class discussions, homework, and their individual
research.
E. Students will demonstrate aesthetic literacy in regard to the study of modern
literature through oral and written performance.
F. Students will demonstrate values literacy through open discussion of modern
literature and critical responses it.
G. Students will develop a thoughtful awareness of multicultural and global
considerations through their study of various manifestations of modern
literature.
III. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
A. ATTENDANCE POLICY:
BE IN CLASS!!!
I allow three absences without penalty. For each additional absence, whatever the reason, you lose 15 points out of approximately 1000 for the term.
Weather-related absences will be handled as they occur. You must use your own judgment as to whether travel to school during inclement weather is safe. I must make the final decision on an individual basis whether absences due to weather may be excused. In most cases, we will probably agree. Do not endanger your life to avoid absence. I do not, however, believe that a walk, by an able-bodied student, from the dormitory or from downtown Parkville will endanger one's life in typical snowy weather.
Graded in-class assignments missed because of absence may be made up only with my approval. Assignments handed in late because of absence will lose one letter grade per class period. You may avoid this penalty in many cases by successfully submitting assignments on-time by email. Do not choose the email option if you are in class. Your homework is often the topic of class discussion.
Students with unusual attendance problems (Park athletic team travel, hospitalizations, jury duty, etc.) should consult with me regarding special arrangements for make up of missed classes and course work.
B. Participation: Students who regularly provide positive, cooperative spoken
and written input during class sessions, and whose input provides evidence that
they have studied their lessons carefully, will be rewarded for such
participation in my consideration of final grades.
C. Each student must prepare a2000-word research project including
prospectus, two drafts, and oral report on a focused topic in regard to modern
literature.
D. Each student must complete required homework assignments.
E. Students are required to maintain a Park Pirate email address and be able to receive
and send email. (Note: Email addresses along with all necessary hardware and
software are available free at Park University's computer laboratories. I
suggest that you forward mail from your Pirate Mail account to the account you
use regularly.)
IV. TEXTBOOK:
Davis et al. Western Literature in a
World Context (Volume 2): The Enlightenment through the Present. St.
Martin's, 1995.
V. CLASS POLICIES: Academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism) will result in a zero for the particular assignment. Repeated offenses will result in failure for the course. Attendance and timely arrival in class are required. Assignments must be submitted on time. An automatic reduction of 10% per class period is assessed for late submission. Make up of missed work is possible only through special arrangements with the professor. Make up is possible only with ironclad, compelling excuses.
DISABILITY GUIDELINES: Park University is committed to meeting the needs of all students that meet the criteria for special assistance. These guidelines are designed to supply directions to students concerning the information necessary to accomplish this goal. It is Park University’s policy to comply fully with federal and state law, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, regarding students with disabilities and, to the extent of any inconsistency between these guidelines and federal and/or state law, the provisions of the law will apply. Additional information concerning Park University’s policies and procedures related to disability can be found on the Park University web page: http://www.park.edu/disability.
VI. GRADING:
Attendance see section III.A.
Research Project – 20%
Homework - 20%
Midterm Examination – 30%
Final Examination Essay – 30%.
Final Grade Conversion:
90-100% - A
80-89% - B
70-79% - C
60-69% - D
0-59% - F
VII. CLASS MEETING AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE: Note:
Assignments should be read before the class period for which they are due. All
reading assignments listed below come from Western Literature in a World
Context. Unless you are instructed otherwise, your homework should be in the
form of an essay of 100 words or more. Homework will not be accepted late.
Email submission is acceptable if you are unable to attend class. Do not choose
this option if you are in attendance because homework often becomes the material
for discussion.
Mon., Aug. 18 - Fill out information sheets. Read get-acquainted essays.
Wed., Aug. 20 - Go over syllabus. Introduce research project. Discuss
plagiarism.
Fri., Aug. 22 - Read: Darwin,1318.
Mon., Aug. 25 - Read: Marx, 1329; Nietzsche, 1337. Homework #1:
Discuss the changes in the intellectual climate that took place because of the
published thinking of Darwin, Marx, and Nietzsche. Be specific.
Wed., Aug. 27 - Read: Yeats, 1504.
Fri., Aug. 29 - Read: Rilke, 1518.
Mon. Sept. 1 – No Classes.
Wed., Sept. 3 – Read: Joyce, 1540. Homework #2: Explain the political climate
in Ireland that undergirds much of Joyce’s literary work.
Fri., Sept. 5 – Peer review of research prospectus. Be sure to bring your
prospectus for this review.
Mon., Sept. 8 - DUE: PROSPECTUS FOR RESEARCH PROJECT.
Wed., Sept. 10 - Read: Woolf, 1570. Homework #3: Capsulate Woolf’s assessment
of the potential for women writers in Shakespeare’s era. When was Shakespeare’s
era?
Fri., Sept. 12 - Read: Kafka, 1582-1604.
Mon., Sept. 15 - Read: Kafka, 1604.
Wed., Sept. 17 – Read: Eliot, 1614-23. Homework #4: Follow one of Eliot’s
footnotes to a classical literary source and tell how that source relates to
The Wasteland.
Fri., Sept. 19 - Read: Eliot, 1623.
Mon., Sept. 22 – Read: Akhmatova, 1630.
Wed., Sept. 24 – Read: Lorca, 1641.
Fri., Sept. 26 – Read: Kawabata, 1666.
Mon., Sept. 29 - We will be going to the library to work on research projects.
Don’t come to the classroom. I will meet you at the library.
Wed., Oct. 1 – Read: Neruda, 1674.
Fri., Oct. 3 – Read: Sartre, 1684-1700. Homework #5: Provide a brief biography
from ancient literary sources of each of the following characters who are
present in The Flies: Zeus, Orestes, Electra, Ægistheus, Clytemnestra.
Mon., Oct. 6 – Read: Sartre, 1700.
Wed., Oct. 8 - Prepare for midterm examination.
Fri., Oct. 10 – MIDTERM EXAMINATION.
Sat., Oct. 11 – Sunday Oct. 19 - FALL
recess.
Mon., Oct. 20 - Read: Narayan, 1730. (Sign up for individual
reports.)
Wed., Oct. 22 – Read: Camus, 1742. Homework #6: Tell the story of the myth of
Sisyphus, and explain Camus’ conclusion that Sisyphus must be happy in his work.
Fri., Oct. 24 – Peer review of research first drafts. Bring your first drafts
to class.
Mon., Oct. 27 – DUE: FIRST DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER
Wed., Oct. 29 – Individual Reports - Larry, Tammy, Jay.
Fri., Oct. 31 – Read: Freud, 1939. Homework #7: Provide a specific literary
example of Freud’s influence on literature of the 20th century.
Mon., Nov. 3 – Continued discussion of Freudian impact.
Wed., Nov. 5 – Read: Du Bois, 1949.
Homework #8: Provide a concrete literary example of Du Bois’s influence on
literature of the 20th century.
Fri., Nov. 7 – Individual report - Cole, Victor, Richard.
Mon., Nov. 10 - Read: Arendt, 1963.
Wed., Nov. 12 – Individual reports. Brianne, Judy, Andrea Rusch..
Fri., Nov. 14 – Read: Baldwin, 1802.
Mon. Nov. 17 – Individual reports - Alicia, Kim, Emily, Andee Ochs.
Wed., Nov. 19 - Read: Wiesel, 1824. Homework #8: Compare and contrast the
situations of the European Jews to that of the African Americans of the
mid-twentieth century by drawing inferences from the writing of Baldwin and
Wiesel. You might want to do further research into each of these author’s
biographies.
Fri., Nov. 21 – Peer review of research final drafts. Bring final drafts to
class.
Mon., Nov. 24 – Individual Reports - Cassandra, Valeriu, Cynthia, Christene.
DUE: FINAL DRAFT OF RESEARCH PROJECTS.
Wed., Nov. 26 - Read: Márquez, 1863. Homework #9: Explain the ways
in which Márquez’s story expresses the themes of the story.
Fri., Nov. 28 – NO CLASSES.
Mon., Dec. 1 - Read: Rich, 1869.
Wed., Dec. 3 - Read: Momaday, 1919. Homework: #10: During the past few
weeks, we have added “diversity” (cultural, ethnic, sexual, etc.) to the
definition of modernist writing, a recent trend in courses in modernist
literature. In this final homework assignment, express your
“diversity.” (Note: I have no idea how you will do this, so don’t ask. Just
do it.)
Fri., Dec. 5 – Prepare for final examination.
FINAL EXAMINATION – Wed., Dec. 10, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Notice: This syllabus is subject to change on short notice.