Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours. ~ John Locke (1632 - 1704)

Course Description
The idea of literary analysis may seem a bit daunting, but it really is no more than picking apart a text to get the most out of it.  There are various ways to approach a text, and we’ll talk about these in great detail, but what is most important to remember is that this skill—the ability to analyze what you read—will make you a significantly better reader, thinker, and writer. 
The semester will begin with various texts—texts that have been around a while—and we will read these, discuss them, and find out what literary critics had to say about them.  As we do this, you will be writing about what you read and responding to it as well as reading and writing about what others have to say.  For the second half of the semester we will move into more contemporary texts that will have little or no critical articles written about them, and it will be your turn to then be the critic.  Again, you will be doing a lot of writing about what you read.  You will also work often in groups and will have to present your work to the class.

Throughout the semester, please keep this in mind: literature isn’t really meant to live in academia; it’s meant to live in your everyday life, be read and worn out and soaked into your mind.  This course is designed to help you do just that.  The value of a liberal arts education is that it allows you to connect the academic with the everyday.  The skills you learn in the class will give you the power to analyze language and narrative; they help you understand how we make meaning and make sense of the world.

Major Texts

Texts and Contexts – Steven Lynn
The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
Othello – William Shakespeare
The O’Henry Prize Stories – Laura Furman, Editor
The Best American Poetry 2005 – David Lehman, Editor
Additional readings will be available on Blackboard or in the library Course Reserves.

Course Goals:

1. To gain close acquaintance with a number of important works in English and to think about what makes literature good, memorable, and pleasing.
2. To enjoy yourself in the pleasure of reading and in the self-discovery that literature encourages.
3. To understand the ways authors use style, structure, form, and genre to shape unique literary artifacts
4. To develop critical skills that all students should have—to read and question and respond with confidence, to write clearly and forcefully, to conduct basic research and critical analysis, and to join the critical conversation about literary texts.

Writing

Reading Responses: (20%) Reading responses are meant for you to explore your initial reactions to the text and record observations about how the text works.  This format can be very unstructured (although it must be proof-read).  This is really your space to think on paper without concern for surface error, following directions, or completing an assignment. Reading responses will be given check, check plus, or check minus and averaged together for a grade, and I expect that there will be one due every class period that no other assignments are due.  These can be typed (preferred) and need not be more than a page or so (two pages handwritten).

Critical Bibliographies: (20%) You will be responsible for doing a bit of research and finding what other critics have to say about our texts.  When you do this, you will write a “Crit Bib”—a short paper that both summarizes the reading and then responds to it.  These papers will be graded on a 4.0 scale (A, A/B, etc.) based on your effort and critical thought and averaged together to make up your total “Crit Bib” grade.

Major Papers: (30%) You will write two major papers this semester.  The first will be a research paper based on another of Shakespeare’s plays.  You will read the text, find out what other critics have to say about that text, and come to a conclusion about the text based on your research.  The second paper will require you to act as a critic yourself, choosing a short story from our O’Henry collection and analyzing it according to one of the critical approaches we’ve learned.  More details later.

Exams: (10%) You will have two exams this semester, one at midterm (5%) and one as a final (5%).  These will be in-class writing essay tests—not something you would “study” for but that will require you to have read the texts, been in class, and have done some critical thinking about what we have read and discussed. 

Presentations: (10%) As we move into the Texts and Contexts book, you will be put into groups to dig more deeply into one particular critical approach.  It will be your job to help the class understand this critical approach through a presentation.

Participation: (10%) While it is not particularly easy to grade something as subjective as participation, because of the nature of the class I think it is both possible and important for you to feel some obligation to contribute to our class sessions and to the shaping of knowledge.  Your grade, however, doesn’t only depend on showing up and talking a lot.  It also depends on your willingness to ask questions, challenge ideas, be prepared, show courtesy, connect with other comments, and demonstrate a desire to construct knowledge.  All of this occurs only when you read the material and engage in class discussions.  And since this is worth 10% of your grade, you obviously cannot do well in this class without speaking up.  Participation will also include some on-line discussion of presentations.

Breakdown of Grade Values:
Reading Responses        20%
Critical Bibliographies   20%
Major Papers                  30%
Exams                            10%
Participation                   10%
Presentations                  10%
Total                            100%

Blackboard:   I like to use Blackboard (Bb) to reduce paper and confusion.  One of the things I do is post all assignments for the following class period, so if you miss class and want to know what, if any, homework is due, please check Bb; don’t email me (unless, of course, I forget to post the homework!).  Also when we have presentations, you will be required to respond to these on Bb—more details later.

Plagiarism: It is a crime, literally, to say you wrote something when you didn’t.  Plagiarism means using someone else’s words and calling them yours.  And you would be surprised how easy it is to plagiarize without realizing it.  If you get something off the Internet or from a book, or write what someone else said, you must cite the source.  It is also plagiarism if you take someone’s words and shuffle them around or change them a little and call them yours.  Paraphrasing without citing the source is still plagiarism.  Be forewarned: plagiarism can result in an F on a paper, failing the course, or expulsion from school.  (For details on AC’s academic integrity policy, see page 30 of the Academic Catalog or go to http://www.alma.edu/content/catalog/1-college_regulations.php).

Late Work:  For many reasons, it is important for you to turn your work in on time.  If you won’t be able to come to class the day a major or minor paper is due, let me know and we’ll make arrangements for you to turn it in on time in another way.  If there are extenuating circumstances, these should be communicated to me well in advance; it isn’t an extenuating circumstance, for example, if you put off the paper until the night before and then don’t get it done.  For every day a major or minor paper is late, it will lose 5% of its total.  And that means every day, not just every day we have class, Saturdays and Sundays included.  For instance, if your paper got an 83 (B) but was due on a Friday and you didn’t turn it in until the following Monday, you would lose 5% per day (15%) of that B, or 13 points, making your paper then only worth 70—a C/D.  It will make a huge difference.

Writing Help:  Although this is a literature course, there is a significant amount of writing required.  Your minor papers will not be graded on your use of grammar and punctuation, but I do want you to proofread; turning in sloppy writing will reduce your grade.  But feel free to come to see me about any writing, especially your major papers, for which I will care about grammar and punctuation.  Also I encourage you to utilize the Writing Center.  The Writing Center is located in the lower level of the library; the entrance is on the west side nearest the chapel.  You may call Mrs. Cubberly (7097) or e-mail her (cubberlyc@alma.edu) at any time to schedule an appointment.  In any case, it is important that you talk with others who can walk through a paper with you and really help you strengthen it.  The more readers you have, the more successful your writing will be.

Attendance: It is very difficult to succeed in this course without regular attendance.  So I’ll give you 3 freebees—you don’t need to tell me anything at all.  However, for every absence beyond three, I will lower your grade by one-half letter grade. (E.g. If your course grade is a “B” and you have four unexcused absences, your final grade will be a “B/C”) Please contact me promptly if you are having problems and cannot attend class. If you know you will be absent on a particular day, please see me at least one week in advance to make arrangements.  Remember, though, that participation cannot be made up.