English 271 Schedule, Nichols, Fall 2005

Last updated July 9, 2006

Immediately after each date below, you'll find instructions and reading assignments due for that day's class session.  CTT = Critical Theory Today. Also after each date, you will find instructions for that class period and likely class activities.

Attendance, active participation, and attention to reading assignments are vital. If you miss a class, you should FIRST get full notes and instructions from at least a couple classmates, THEN contact me for any specific further information you may need.  (You're expected to be prepared for each class meeting, whether you missed the previous one or not.)  Please remember that absences will affect your understanding of course content, and no amount of make up work can replace regular attendance. If you ever have questions, don't hesitate to contact me:  Cindy Nichols.

Tues. Aug. 23— (Move to IACC 128. Course introduction: description, assignments, texts, policies. Write in-class diagnostic critical essay about selection of poems. IRB permissions.)

Thurs. Aug. 25 —Read CTT, Chapter 1, pp. 1-11. Also: begin reading Gatsby. Print out our class homepage and schedule, and bring copies of these materials to class. Post self profiles on Blackboard Discussion Board by classtime.

(Wrap up intro. to course materials and policies. Discuss any Blackboard problems. Why study/analyze literature? Personal and primary experiences. Literary study and common terms: "literary analysis," "literary criticism," "literary theory." Tyson's use of these terms. Extract perspectives from diagnostic samples; broad overview of critical frameworks. )

Tues. Aug. 30 —Read CTT, Chapter 5, "New Criticism," pp. 117-150. Continue reading Gatsby.

(Review research strategies and the annotated bib. Brief discussion of earliest critical perspectives, and sources for futher exploration. Review 19th century, then outline central tenents of New Crit. Formal elements of fiction and poetry; return to poem used for first day diagnostic.)

Thurs. Sept. 1 —Have all of Gatsby read by this date. Be sure also to have instructions for annotated bibliographies printed out. Bring your print-out to class.

(Quiz on CTT and Gatsby. Examine Tyson's New Crit essay on Gatsby. What clues reveal it as a New Critical or Formalist piece?)

Tues. Sept. 6 —Groups of 4 or 5 should rent and view White Oleander (1 hr. 49 min.) by class time. (Continue work with New Crit. Go over Thursday's quiz and review key tenets. View segments of Oleander and discuss plot, character, image. [Media card is reserved.] Devise brief outlines for Formalist readings of Oleander.) DVD snafu. Multi-media lecture presentation cancelled.

Thurs. Sept. 8 —Before class:

1) In Blackboard under Course Documents, print out and read: "To His Coy Mistress" and "Formalist Essay on Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'." This is just another example of New Crit-style analysis in action.

2) Click here for EXTRA CREDIT poetry survey. Complete survey if you haven't done it during a previous semester.

3) Post outline for hypothetical essay on White Oleander to our Blackboard Discussion Board.

(Report on #1-4 above. Go over questions and wrap up New Crit. Begin Psychoanalyic criticism.)

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