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Course Description/Syllabus Instructor: Dr. Steven D. Krause Office: 614-G Pray-Harold E-Mail: skrause@online.emich.edu (the best way to get a hold of me) Office Phone: 487-1363 (I check my voice mail often) Office Hours: Mondays and Tuesdays, 12:30-2:00; and by appointment Class WWW Page: http://www.emunix.emich.edu/~krause/lit100

Course Description and Objectives

As the title suggests, this course is an introduction to a wide variety of literature: poetry, drama, short fiction, the novel, film, and a few things in between. We will be examining readings from many different genres and literature that are considered part of the "high" and "intellectual" culture, and literature considered to be "popular culture." Along the way, we will gain a better appreciation of literature by reading about it, talking about it, and writing about it.

Required Texts

Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.

Thomas Pynchon. The Crying of Lot 49.

(While both of these short novels should be available at the usual campus book store outlets, those of you interested in saving a little money might want to check at some area used book stores for older versions of these books).

Sheena Gillespie, Terezinha Fonseca, and Carol A. Sanger. Literature Across Cultures, Second Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.

(Either the second or third edition of this book will be fine. This is the main anthology for the class and it will be available at the usual campus book store outlets).

We will also be watching two (possibly three) movies this semester.

These Materials and "Mature Audiences:" You should be aware that many of the poems, stories, novels, movies, plays, etc. we will be exploring this term contain "adult content" along the lines of typical Hollywood "R" rated films--violence, some sexual content, nudity, strong language, etc. All of these things are required reading. If this sort of thing offends you, you should consider dropping the class.

How to Succeed in this Class

Attend class and read the material. It's very difficult to participate and enjoy a class like this if you don't actually show up and/or read the assigned material. It will also be very difficult to pass this course if you don't do these things because of the frequent quizzes (see below).

Besides just being here, you should strive to attend class in an appropriate and mature fashion. That means you shouldn't routinely show up late, and it means that you should treat others (your teacher and your colleagues) as you would hope to be treated. Among other things, you shouldn't read newspapers or magazines, talk loudly with others in a fashion that disrupts your colleagues, do homework from other classes, sleep, or generally goof off. If you are disruptive, I will ask you to leave and your quiz score for that day's class will be &endash;1.

As for the reading: it is a literature class, which means that you will have to do a fair amount of reading this summer. Further, because it is a seven and a half week class, there will be times when the required reading for the day will reach 100 or more pages. You should plan accordingly.

Sign up for the class Yahoo groups email discussion. As soon as you can, visit the class homepage and follow the link available there to sign up for the class Yahoo groups email discussion. We will use this electronic discussion space in two ways: first, it will be a place to supplement our in-class discussion. Our time in class is fairly limited, so the online discussion is available for those who want to keep talking about a particular work of literature or issue. Second and perhaps more importantly, we can use this discussion group to post important information as it might come up--messages from me to all of you, message from you to your classmates, and so forth.

Quizzes (worth 30% of the grade). You should assume that I will give a 5-10 question quiz at the beginning of every class meeting. These quizzes will consist of questions having to do with the reading assigned for that day and questions along the lines of multiple choice, true/false, short answer, etc. I will drop the lowest three quiz scores and average the rest to determine this grade.

If you attend class and are unable to answer any of the questions, the lowest score you can receive is a "0." If you are absent from class the day I give the quiz, you will receive a "-1." I give quizzes within the first 10 or so minutes of class and if you arrive after I have collected the quizzes, you will not be able to take it. It is impossible to make up quizzes for any reason.

Writing Assignments (each worth 15% for a total of 30% of the grade). There will be two short writing projects (3 to 5 pages each) assigned this summer. The goal of these writing projects is to give you the opportunity to respond thoughtfully and authentically to materials we examine in this course. You can choose from the options outlined below for either of these projects, but you may not repeat the options.

Each of your writing projects should be "neatly presented"--that is, you should double-check your spelling, check for simple mistakes in punctuation, follow MLA style (including documentation), etc. You will need to introduce each of your writing projects with a separate and brief (a paragraph or two) "writer's memo" that explains which option you are pursuing and why you chose that option.

I do not take late projects, unless you contact me before the assignment is due and make some sort of arrangement with me. Also, in order to pass the course, you must turn in both writing projects.

We will have some opportunities this term to work in small groups on rough drafts of your writing projects. In addition, I strongly urge you to make every effort to plan your writings well in advance (i.e., don't start them the night before they are due) and to discuss your projects with me, your classmates, friends, or anyone else who you think might be helpful. I'm not suggesting you plagiarize of course, but I am also not suggesting you work in a vacuum.

Here are the writing project options:

• Personal Narrative--Relate to your readers a personal story that comes to you as a result of the readings. This can be as personal or "private" as you think is appropriate, but it should be a writing that you can share with all of your classmates. Be sure to "show" and explain to your readers as clearly as possible all of the information we need to know in order to understand why this narrative is significant.
• Creative Response--Use your imagination to respond to class readings or discussions. This can take the form of a series of poems, a letter, a short story, an editorial, a sculpture, a drawing, etc. This is a great opportunity to take a risk, but in your writer's memo for this project, you need to explain what you did and why you did it.
• Comparison between Assigned Texts--As we will discuss throughout this term, there are a lot of connections and comparisons readers can make between the stories, poems, novels, and plays we'll be reading and the movies we'll be seeing. This can be a short essay about the similarities or differences between any two or more readings from that part of the semester.
• Internet/World Wide Web Page Addition--While you probably won't be able to compose your own Web page, you could research and develop an addition to the Web page I've set-up for class that could be useful for yourself, your classmates, and to the Internet community as a whole.
• Collaborative Dialogue-- Often you might find yourself involved in heated talks with someone on topics that come up in class. Find a creative way to capture this dialogue on paper with another member of the class.
• All of the Above, None of the Above--If you have an idea that you think doesn't seem to fit into one of these other categories, feel free to ask.

Take-home midterm and final (each worth 20% for a total of 40% of the grade). The take-home midterm will be assigned on July 24 and will be due on July 26 and will cover materials from the beginning of the term to July 24; the take-home final will be assigned on August 20 and due August 21 and will cover materials from July 19 until the end of the term. Each exam will consist of three or four essay questions, your answers of which will be required to be between 250 and 750 words. These take-home finals need to be typed, double-spaced, spell-checked, etc., and while you are free to consult with your classmates or friends regarding your answers, each of you must write your own exam.

Grading

Given all this, the grading is pretty simple:

Quizzes: 30%

Writing Projects: 30% (15% for each project)

Mid-term & Final: 40% (20% for each exam)

A=100-93; A-=92-90; B+=89-87; B=86-84; B-=83-80; C+=79-77; C=76-74; C-=73-70; D+=69-67; D=66-64; D-=63-60; E=59-0

This site developed by Steven D. Krause. Updated June 2001