TR 11:00 A -12:20 P
In this section, we will investigate our abilities, as readers of the twenty-first century, to understand the world of writers of the Victorian era. As the Norton introduction suggests, for widely ranging reasons the period of literature that we will study often has been stereotyped or underrated. As participants in the continuing rediscovery of the Victorian voice, we will work to cut through cultural prejudices and to allow ourselves, as effectively as possible, to find the writers’ own thinking. We also will need to speak about forces that necessarily limit our ability to do so
Additional information about course objectives can be found on the department webpage, < http://libarts.mwsu.edu/english/index.asp>.
The class will be structured around our reading and then discussing a series of significant Victorian texts. Readings will be assigned as we move along, the schedule adjusted as needed, to find a comfortable pace.
Grades will be created from the following sources:
1) Members will be expected to come to class prepared and willing to participate. Thus, everyone in class will be asked to keep a Participation Log listing daily engagements with the discussions at hand. The Log will be collected on 1 December and be worth 10% of the final grade. To receive full credit, the log will list fifteen responses (fifteen for ten points, fourteen for nine . . .).
2) In addition, we will write four exams, as indicated. Each will cover the unit of work we just have finished. That is, Exam IV will not be comprehensive. Each exam will have two parts: one written in class (short answers, blanks to fill, multiple-choice) and one typed outside of class (an essay of four-to-five pages, responding to questions provided about a week before the exam date). The exam grade average will create 60% of the final mark. Sample in-class questions will be handed out before the first exam.
3) Graduate students in the section will complete, as well, the following assignment (for 30% of the final mark):
a) During the initial weeks of the semester, please be reading the Handbook background. Choose any single cultural issue or popular literary genre (or writer whom we will not be reading) mentioned in the text and that interests.
b) Prepare, regarding that issue, an annotated bibliography of at least ten sources that would prove useful to a first-time teacher assembling lesson plans for study of that topic in a college literature survey.
c) Make appointments to meet with RJ twice during the term (about week three and week five), to discuss progress. At the first meeting, present a tentative topic for approval.
d) By 1 December, please compose a twelve-page essay, in MLA style, that organizes and summarizes the best information collected while assembling the bibliography. Format will be provided in class.
In this class, the following numerical equivalents for final grades are used: A = 100-90%; B = 89-80%; C = 79-70%; D = 69-60%; F = 59-0%. For grade sources, see above, “Course Requirements.”
All essays will be submitted in MLA format. Specific instructions will accompany each set of exam questions.
By enrolling in this class, the student expressly grants MSU a “limited right” to all intellectual property created by the student for the purpose of this course. The “limited right” shall include but shall not be limited to the right to reproduce the student’s work product in order to verify originality and authenticity, and for educational purposes.
Note: Without explicit written permission in advance, students may not submit for a grade in this class a paper that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course.
I'm sorry, but no late work can be accepted, unless arrangements have been made with me. Thanks for understanding.
Regular attendance and participation will be expected. After the first two cuts, each additional cut can lower the final mark one grade. Two late arrivals count together as one cut. Exceptions will be made ONLY for certifiable illnesses or for "authorized" absence, specifically as described in the university Catalog.