Required Texts:
Abrams, M. H. et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2003.
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, Bram Stoker, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (With             a Foreword by Stephen King.) New York: Harcourt, 1982.
Brontë, Emily. WutheringHeights. New York: Norton, 2003.
English 209 Course Reader—available at Cougar Copies. top

Course Overview:
Readings in English Literature is a course which is meant to expose you to a breadth of English literature in a relatively short period of time. As such we will be leaping through the centuries quite rapidly, but not to worry, frequent stops are on our schedule, allowing us brief glances at some of the jewels of literature. On this journey, we will encounter a variety of genres from a variety of literary periods, and we will spend some time with each and every one of them.

In addition to reading some of the most important pieces of literary culture, we will also attempt to include as many other forms of media in our exploration as possible. As such we will listen to audio recordings of Beowulf, for example. And we will watch clips from a movie about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and a Broadway production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. top

Course Objectives:
Much of the literature we will be reading this semester will be “south” of the twentieth century and thus it will take our combined effort to regain access into a past almost forgotten. You are strongly encouraged to bring in whatever visual aids or stories you might have discovered in preparation for class discussion or an oral report and which might help the rest of us experience the literature we are reading more fully. Our focus this semester will lie on fostering a professional environment in which we can read, discuss and write about literature freely and competently. top

At the end of this course you should be able to:

• Read, comprehend and write about literature in a confident and competent manner.
• Write reflective, interpretive, and critical essays about a variety of literary genres.
• Identify and comprehend various critical approaches to literature.
• Contextualize and historicize texts from a variety of literary periods.
• Utilize and criticize scholarly articles on literature. top

Course Policies:
Read these guidelines carefully—they are important to your successful completion of Eng. 209.

• All assigned readings need to be completed before class in preparation for class discussion, pop quizzes and short in-class reaction papers on the reading material.

• All assignments must be typed and proofread.

• No late assignments will be accepted; please plan accordingly.Remember, it is your responsibility to stay in contact with me and to ask me for help if you are experiencing difficulties following the course material or completing work on time.

• Plagiarism is grounds for failing the assignment and this class. For further information, please consult the section on Plagiarism at the end of this syllabus.

• Timely attendance in class is a requirement for all students in English 209. Two late arrivals will count as one absence. Students with four absences will earn an F for the course; no exceptions are made. Keep track of your absences—this is one of the trickiest Department of English policies, and no excuses count. Regular (and timely) attendance is an absolute must!

• All students need to have an e-mail account. If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for a WSU Unix account at your earliest convenience. Everybody needs to be equipped with a WSU Unix account by the end of week two. Again, there are no exceptions made for this policy. If you prefer using a different account (Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL, etc.), set up pop mail to forward your WSU messages to this account. You are responsible for checking your e-mail regularly. This is my way to get hold of you—make sure that I can.

If you do not understand these policies, you must ask me for clarification or stop by my office at your earliest convenience; your success in this class is dependent on your comprehension of them. By staying in this class, you are showing your acceptance of and compliance with these guidelines. top

Absences and Contact Information:
You are responsible for finding out what you missed on the days you were absent, and this should not take place by asking me at the beginning of the next class period. Call, email or swing by my office prior to our next meeting as a class. Alternatively, gather the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least two other students (preferably four) you can contact to find out what happened in class. I suggest that you record this information below, so you will have it handy when you need it.

Name/Phone: ______________________       Name/Phone: __________________________
E-mail:  ___________________________      E-mail: _______________________________

Name/Phone: ______________________       Name/Phone:    _________________________
E-mail:  ___________________________      E-mail: ________________________________ top

Oral Presentations, Written Assignments, and Exams:

EITHER One 10-15 min. oral presentation on the biography of  one of our authors: We will be covering almost twenty different authors this semester, all of whom deserve a brief biographical introduction. This will be your job. Use the Internet and Holland library and see what you can find out about whomever we are reading and whomever you’ve chosen to introduce. When did s/he live and write? What social, political, cultural milieu was s/he part of? Can you perhaps find a picture or an anecdote that will help us visualize who this person was and what it was that made him or her so special and write the way s/he did? This will account for 15% of your final grade.

OR One 10-15 min. oral presentation on a historical/literary period: As I said in the beginning, we all are hitchhikers through the literary galaxy this semester and this is your chance to be our guide. Where, and perhaps more importantly, “when” are we? What was going on in England during this time? Who is in power and who is not? And what kind of social, political and cultural influences can you identify that might have influenced the literature then? Did everybody write in the same style? Why or why not? Can you perhaps find some illustrations or newspaper headlines that might help us picture this particular period in time? This presentation will account for 15% of your final grade. top

One 20-30 min. group presentation on a critical article about one of the text we are reading: In a group of four, I would like you to introduce us to a literary approach to one of the texts we will be reading this semester. There will be three opportunities for you to complete this assignment: Once when we discuss Shakespeare’s King Lear or Titus Adronicus (as the case may be), once when we read Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde and once at the end of the semester when conclude our literary joyride with the novel your choice, i. e. Shelley’s Frankenstein, Stoker’s Dracula or Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. While I will assign a scholarly article to your group, you will be responsible for summarizing, contextualizing and criticizing this article for the rest of us. What approach did the author take? What is the author’s professional/scholarly background? How is the argument structured? What are its major points? Do you agree with this approach? Do you agree with the analysis? In what ways is or is this article not useful to our understanding of the literary text? This will account for 15% of your final grade.

NOTE: You will need to sign up for presentations on authors, literary periods, and critical articles by Thursday of week 2; a sign-up sheet will be available from Tuesday, August 30th, on, and entries can be made during class time or (by stopping by) during my office hours. E-mail request will not be considered. Please note, too, that each oral presentation has to be accompanied by a one-page presentation report, which needs to describe and outline the material you presented, and which is due the day of your presentation. Failure to hand in the report will result in a 50% deduction of your presentation grade.

Three short reflective papers (2-4 pages—see the daily schedule for due dates): These papers are meant to be exploratory, and no research should be required. I’m looking for your reaction to and interpretation/analysis of a play, a poem, or a theme, motif or problem reoccurring in multiple literary texts. This is a formal writing exercise, however, and I do expect you to follow the rules of Standard Written English. Your papers should be no fewer than two and no more than four pages in length (double-spaced), with a 1” margin all around. Be sure to provide an introduction and a conclusion to your paper and organize your thoughts into coherent paragraphs of sensible lengths (a well-developed paragraph consists of a minimum of 7-10 sentences—this holds true for introductory and concluding paragraphs as well).  Each of these written assignments will account for 10% of your final grade for a total 30%. top

Research Paper: The texts I have selected for this course include three longer novels, Dracula, WutheringHeights and Frankenstein. While there will be class discussions and group presentations on whichever and on all the novels you chose, in addition you might decide to write you term paper on one of these texts. Your term paper should include a minimum of seven relevant scholarly sources and be about 12-15 pages in lengths, not counting Works Cited page. This paper will account for 30% of your final grade.

Participation: Participation in class discussion is necessary and not synonymous with attendance. In other words, being there will not be enough; you will need to take part in group activities and class discussions. Active class participation will ensure you an A for the remaining 10% of your final grade. top

Grading Standards:
This course and all its assignment will be graded on a standard scale from A to F, with A being greater than 90% and F being lower than 60%. Paper grades are determined by applying standards of logic, coherence, style, and mechanics. Class assignments, exams, and course projects are clearly marked with percentages; refer to the assignment section of this syllabus for assignment criteria and individual grade/percentage allotments. top


Campus Resources:

• WritingCenter: The Writing Center is located on the third floor of the CUE. The Writing Center employs student tutors who will talk to you about your writing. The Writing Center is not a proofreading service—expect tutors to offer suggestions for the overall improvement of your paper, no more, no less. You can access Writing Center hours and resources at <http://www.wsu.edu/writingprograms>.

•  English 302: You can choose to enroll in English 302 which is a one credit (p/f) course where you will meet for an hour a week with a small group of students and a tutor to talk about your writing. Think of it as an hour of planned homework time where you can talk about the work you are doing in and for 209. To pass 302 you must attend 10 meetings during the semester and bring a piece of your own writing (from 209 or other courses) to least 5 meetings. At the end of the semester you will need to write a 2-page response about your experience in 302. 302 meetings begin meeting the third week of classes. Contact Karen Weathermon (kweathermon@wsu.edu) or swing by the CUE to sign up for the 302 program. top

• Holland/New Library: You will become quite familiar with the library this semester as you conduct your research for your oral presentations. For your reference, the library catalog can be accessed at <http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu>. Besides the WSU Griffin Catalog, notice in particular the Subject Resources link on the left of the WSU Library Home Page; this will take you to the English and American Literature subsection of the library, which contains many useful databases that you have free access to as a WSU student (such as Project Muse, JSTOR, and the MLA Bibliography) and that are invaluable to any student of literature. The reference section physically located inside the library is another important resource for you, and the reference librarians are some of the most competent and helpful people we have got working here on campus.

• DisabilityResourceCenter: If you need special accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Disability Resources Center (Administration Annex 206, phone: 335-1566). It is necessary for you to receive appropriate documentation so I can accommodate your needs in the classroom. Please see me if you have questions.  top

• My office, Avery 487: My door is (almost) always open. If you have questions about assignment instructions or expectations please come and see me. I can guarantee you that I will be in my office during my scheduled office hours (Tuesday & Thursday 11am-noon), but I am in my office or somewhere in or around Avery quite a bit. Feel free to stop by. I usually leave a message revealing my whereabouts on my office door if I happen to be out for a few moments running errands. No message from me means that I’m out for the day. Also, feel free to leave a message for me if you need me to get in touch with you—beware though, WSU phones do not support long distance calls, which disqualifies most of your cell phone numbers, I’m sure; leave local numbers or email addresses only, please. The best way to contact me outside of class, however, is through e-mail. top

A note about e-mail communication: I am more than happy to answer questions and discuss literary or scholarly concerns via e-mail. I do trust, however, that all e-mails will be written in a respectful and professional tone and that they will be proofread before they are sent. I will not respond to unprofessional or sloppily composed e-mails, and I cannot accept assignments or drafts via e-mail. Remember that this is a University-level English class—your writing needs to reflect that. top

PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is grounds for failing an assignment and the course; you are expected to provide evidence of significant invention and revision if requested to do so. I expect you to know and adhere to the rules of academic honesty as outlined in the WSU Student Handbook, WAC 540-25-015 Scholastic Dishonesty:

• All incidents of plagiarism or collusion will result in the student receiving a failing grade for the course, and all incidents of plagiarism and collusion will be reported to the Office of Student Affairs for further university action.  Whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is illegal and is not acceptable in this or any other class at Washington State University. top