English 271 Schedule

Fall 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.

Thurs. Aug. 24—(Move to cluster___. Print out our class homepage and schedule. Course introduction: description, assignments, texts, policies. Post self-profiles on Blackboard Discussion Board. Write in-class diagnostic critical essay on selection of poems and post to Blackboard. Why study/analyze literature? Personal and primary experiences. Difficulty of theory; active reading. Literary study and common terms: "literary analysis," "literary criticism," "literary theory." Tyson's use of these terms. Perspectives cone.)

Thurs. Aug. 31 —Have all of Gatsby read by this date. Also read CTT, Chapter 1, pp. 1-11 and Chapter 5, "New Criticism," pp. 117-150. Take a look at Elements of Poetry, Elements of Fiction, Critical Approaches (a summary), and Definition of Formalism.

(Click here for EXTRA CREDIT poetry survey. Complete survey only if you haven't done it during a previous semester. If you have completed it previously, see for an alternative extra credit option. Quiz on CTT and Gatsby. Open discussion of Gatsby. Extract perspectives from diagnostic samples; review perspectives cone/broad overview of critical frameworks. Brief discussion of earliest critical perspectives, and sources for further exploration. Review 19th century, then outline central tenents of New Crit. Formal elements of fiction and poetry. Outline or summarize hypothetical essay on Gatsby.)

Thurs. Sept. 7—Groups of 2-4 should sign out and view White Oleander (1 hr. 49 min.) by class time. Create and post an outline or summary for a potential New Crit. essay on film to Blackboard Discussion Forum.

Also, in Blackboard under Course Documents, print out and read: "To His Coy Mistress" and "Formalist Essay on Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress'" and "To Autumn," and "Formalist Essay on Keats' 'To Autumn'."

(Continue work with elements of fiction and poetry, formalism, and New Crit. View segments of Oleander and discuss. Look at sample outlines/summaries. Review research strategies and the annotated bib.)

Thurs. Sept. 21—Read Jungian Essay on Harry Potter. Also read Hawthorne, The Birthmark and O'Connor, "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Review Gatsby from perspective of myth criticism. (Continue work with Psychoanalytic and myth criticism.)

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