| Term:
Fall, 2009
TR 8:10-10:00 PM, 3-213 (Business Silo) Office: 47-35G, tel. 805-756-2636 Office Hours: T 2:30-3:30, W 2:10-4:00, Th 6:30-7:30, and by appt. |
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Dr. Debora
B. Schwartz
http://www.calpoly.edu/~dschwart Main English Office: 805-756-2597 e-mail: dschwart@calpoly.edu |
Site Navigation
 Calendar
of Assignments. PLEASE NOTE that the on-line
syllabus (not any print-out you may make) is authoritative.
Assignments may be modified in the course of the quarter. Check the
on-line syllabus regularly (before each class) to ensure that you are completing
the correct assignment. It is accessible at http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl252/252syllf09.html
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| Course
Information: |
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STATE
BUDGET CRISIS CONSEQUENCES 1: NO WRITING COMPONENT.
All sections of ENGL 252 (including this large-lecture class) fulfill the
GE area C1 requirement and count as a prerequisite for upper-division
GE area C4 (GWR) classes. For this reason, ENGL 252 is normally
taught as a writing-intensive course with a significant amount of
in-class and out-of-class writing. (By definition, a writing-intensive
class requires a minimum of 3000 words of writing and bases at least 50%
of the final course grade on writing assignments.) Due to the
state budget crisis, however, the English Department has been required
to offer this large-lecture section of ENGL 252 which will include content
only with no writing assignments and no writing
instruction. To make up for the lack of written work, there will
be daily scantron
reading quizzes, two scantron
midterms, and a scantron final exam.
In fall, 2009, therefore, the normal GE AREA A PREREQUISITES are not being enforced for ENGL 252-03. Because the Area A prerequisites aim to ensure that students have the requisite writing skills to do well on the written assignments which are normally part of ENGL 252, we have decided that it is not imperative to enforce them for this large-lecture section of ENGL 252, since it will include no writing assignments.
NOTE: Before rejoicing over "getting off easy" -- no essays to write! -- please consider that this lack of writing instruction comes at a cost to your education. While the readings and lectures in ENGL 252-03 are of intrinsic educational value -- and should be fun! -- this quarter you will not get part of the education your tuition dollars are supposed to pay for: the practice in analytic writing that should be part of a C1 class and which would prepare you to earn GWR certification when you enroll in an upper-division C4 class. If you find it disturbing to pay increased academic fees for less instruction, please TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE STATE BUDGET CRISIS on YOUR education with your family and friends; let your LEGISLATORS know that the CSU needs adequate funding; and let the UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION know that a "writing-intensive" course should not be forced to run at a size that precludes any writing instruction! If you decide that to drop this section of ENGL 252 due to the lack of writing assignments, please 1) email me to let me know (or stop by the podium to tell me so at the end of the lecture); 2) Email English Department Chair Dr. Kathryn Rummell <krummell@calpoly.edu> so she can keep track of student unhappiness; and 3) go to PolyReg and drop the class so that your seat can be made available to another student.
NOTE: because of the daily reading quizzes, YOU MUST BRING A SCANTRON FORM TO EACH AND EVERY CLASS MEETING. If you do not have a scantron form with you, you will get a 0 on the daily reading quiz. Your quiz average is worth 30% of your final course grade.
STATE BUDGET CRISIS CONSEQUENCES 2: MANDATED FACULTY FURLOUGH DAYS. As you are probably aware, the CSU Administration has imposed mandatory faculty furloughs for the 2009-2010 academic year. This means that faculty salaries have been cut 10% and that faculty are obliged to take six furlough days per quarter: involuntary "vacation" days on which faculty are legally forbidden to engage in any work-related activity. While I have planned my furlough days to minimize their impact on my students, please be aware that I will be unavailable to you, by email or in person, on the following mandated furlough days:
COURSE
DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES:
While
there will be no writing component in ENGL 252-03 this quarter, our class
will still meet the other learning
objectives of a G.E. area C1 class: it will provide historical
perspective on several significant literary periods; cover a range
of literary genres and conventions; help you understand both individual
works and their relationship to the
social, cultural, and historical
context in which they were written; and foster an appreciation of the
connections between literary works and non-verbal forms such as the visual
and/or performing arts. Course readings and lectures will encourage
you to practice the skills necessary to read with insight, engagement,
and detachment and to analyze and evaluate
works from cultures
which are unfamiliar to you. While you will not yourself be able
to practice your writing skills in this class, lectures will endeavor to
model some of the analytic skills you would normally practice in an essay
by offering close reading of the texts under consideration.
ENGL 252-03 covers a selection of "Great Books" (and a few significant
but lesser known works) from the European Middle Ages and early modern
period. In addition to introducing you to the authors and works on
our syllabus, the course aims to familiarize you with medieval and early
modern attitudes toward authorship and textuality, with medieval and early
modern modes of textual production, and with specific textual practices
relevant to the interpretation of medieval and early modern literature.
By the end of the quarter, you will have become acquainted with a number
of significant authors and works of the 12th to 16th centuries, and you
will have gained an understanding of some key historical and cultural developments
during this period. You will know how medieval and early modern literature
differs from modern literature (and from modern notions of what literature
is):
e.g. the differences between manuscript and print cultures; the tension
between Latin and the vernacular languages; the emphasis on literature
as an on-going process rather than an end product; and the absence of copyright
(and thus the inappropriateness of modern notions of "originality" or "intellectual
property") in the medieval and early modern context.
Much of what is presented will be new to most of you, and many of the readings reflect assumptions and ideas that appear strange to a 21st-century audience. For these reasons, several remarks are in order.
1)
ENGL 252 is a READING-INTENSIVE COURSE. Readings will be
considered not only for their intrinsic literary value, but as cultural
artifacts reflecting the "world view" of the authors and the audiences
for which they were written. While the texts on the syllabus
are
a lot of fun, do not assume that they lack sophistication. The works we
will study this quarter are complex and can prove challenging on an initial
reading. Most or all of the material covered is probably unfamiliar
to you, and the pace is brisk. It is important that you keep up with
the readings and that you read carefully (using the
study
guides).
2) The people of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period were not prudes, and the literature they enjoyed can be surprisingly risqué. If you have tender sensibilities, you may occasionally be offended by the bawdiness of some of our readings. Try not to be. In comparison to much of which is on television every night, our readings are relatively tame. The common thread linking these works is their exploration of appropriate gender roles, and more generally, the different takes they offer on the relationship between (and occasionally the battle of) the sexes. As a result, a certain amount of sexual content is inevitable. Be prepared!
3) Any "Great Books" class is necessarily
selective, but this quarter we will be working under unusual time constraints:
due to the extra midterm exam necessitated by the Large Lecture format,
a university holiday for Thanksgiving, a final exam administered on the
last day of class (because there is no final exam time slot for a class
which meets 8-10 PM), and the state-mandated Faculty
Furlough Days, there will be only sixteen lecture meetings for a Great
Books class on a period spanning more than a thousand years.
I have chosen the material we will be focusing on to illustrate important
concepts, to trace the historical development of a vernacular literary
tradition, and to follow some rich thematic threads through a selection
of medieval and Renaissance works -- some of which may strike you as surprisingly
modern. But be forewarned: lectures will not tell you
what happens in the works you are supposed to read before coming to class.
Lectures aim to provide a context for and offer interpretation of the assigned
readings; they will not describe or summarize them. So in order to
get something out of this class, you will need to keep up with the
readings. Familiarity with the assigned readings will significantly
raise your enjoyment level and your ability to get something out of lectures
-- not to mention your course grade! In short, how much you
get out of this class depends on how much you're willing to put into it.
No matter how entertaining the instructor, lectures will not make sense
if you have not done the reading -- so please make a personal commitment
to come to class regularly and prepared!
REQUIRED
TEXTS: Some required textbooks have been ordered
and are available at the bookstore. Do NOT substitute another edition or
translation for these printed works:
ALWAYS BRING ASSIGNED READINGS WITH YOU TO CLASS!
Other
required
readings are found in .HTML files on my website ("online readings")
or have been placed on "electronic reserve" as .PDF files in the
Library Resources section of Blackboard ("e-reserves"). To
access Blackboard, log in at MyCalpoly,
go to "Blackboard Access" and select "ENGL 252" from the classes you are
taking. Click on the link in the Electronic Reserves section (under "Library
Resources") to download, read and/or print the file using Acrobat Reader.
Other required readings (listed below as "Online
readings") are .html files on my website which you can access by
clicking on the link on the Calendar of Assignments.
Please note that ALL required electronically accessed readings should be
PRINTED OUT AND BROUGHT WITH YOU TO CLASS.
-- REQUIRED
FILMS for PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS COMPONENT OF CLASS: as an Area
C1 GE class, ENGL 252 must include attention to non-verbal art forms
such as the visual and/or performing arts. As part of our
unit on Shakespeare's A
Midsummer Night's Dream, all students will be responsible for screening
at least two filmed versions of the play, one on their own time
prior to November 12 (our first class meeting of the unit on Shakespeare),
and one in class (on Tuesday, November 24). Students
are also responsible for individual scenes from the videos listed below
that are screened in class. Lectures will focus not only on Shakespeare's
text but on analysis of these filmed performances.
Any production of a play is the result of numerous interpretive
decisions by the director, actors and production team.
The text may be altered -- lines, speeches or whole scenes modified or
cut completely -- to correspond to the director's understanding of the
play, to shorten a text, to provide greater clarity, or for some other
reason. The choice of setting (ancient Athens? Shakespeare's England?
San Francisco during the Summer of Love? the bedroom of a little boy who
has fallen asleep reading the play?) immediately telegraphs the director's
vision, as do the sort of actors who are cast (physical types, age, etc.),
the ways in which they are are costumed, and their blocking (how, when
and why they move about the stage). As you consider the films which
are discussed in lecture or screened in class, note specific details
from the performances
and
production values (e.g.
set and lighting design, costumes, make-up) and consider how these details
communicate a specific interpretation of Shakespeare's text.
The filmed
versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream which we will be considering
in whole or in part are the following::
Communicating:
You are expected to have an email account and to check it regularly. Important announcements will be sent over the class email alias. Class email aliases are automatically generated using the email address of each enrolled student found in the Cal Poly Directory server. If your Cal Poly email account is NOT your preferred email address, you must
PREPARATION
FOR CLASS MEETINGS:
Readings
are to be completed BEFORE coming to class on the date assigned.
Assigned pages from the introductions in your textbooks and assigned background
readings provided electronically should ideally be read first; they are
the context within which primary readings (the Great Books themselves)
will be most meaningful. Please note that this background material is an
integral
part of the course and will be covered on reading quizzes and exams.
When reading the primary texts, don't forget to read the footnotes, which
are provided because there is something in the text which would otherwise
be hard to understand.
For most reading assignments, Study Questions will be provided to guide your reading. USE THEM!! As a rule, the study guides will contain a number of general questions covering background information on the author or work, followed by some thematic or plot-related questions concerning the primary readings. Familiarize yourself with the study questions BEFORE you begin to read, and refer to guide frequently AS you read, jotting down notes as you go along. Upon completing the reading, it is a good idea to reread the questions and make a few notes about them, since this will make it easier to do well on reading quizzes.
Note that length and difficulty of assignments
vary, so look ahead in the reading list when you are planning your time.
You are responsible for ALL the assigned readings, as well as for material
covered in lectures. This includes the information provided on the
class website, in required online readings, and in required texts places
on e-reserve in the Library Resources section of Blackboard.
ATTENDANCE
POLICY:
Regular
attendance at lectures is strongly recommended. While attendance
will not be taken, excessive absences will have an adverse affect on your
course grade. Daily scantron Quizzes -- worth 30% of your course
grade -- cannot be made up, so every absence will result
in a 0 factored into your quiz average. Additionally, both quizzes
and exams will include questions based on the material covered in lectures.
You are therefore likely to miss the lecture-based questions on the reading
quiz administered the day following an absence, and unless you get very
good lecture notes from a friend, you will likely miss similar points for
lecture-based questions on the three exams.
-- DAILY
READING QUIZZES: Every class meeting that is not an exam day
will include a Scantron Reading Quiz. Each quiz will
include a combination of questions based on the previous class lecture
and questions based on the assigned readings for the evening's class.
Come prepared for a quiz EVERY DAY. Expect some factual questions
(e.g. on the authors, titles, genres, dates, and formal characteristics
of the primary readings, as well as information presented in any required
background readings). There will also be questions focussing on characters
(know NAMES!) and plot developments in the "primary readings" (i.e., the
"great books" themselves). On occasion, there may be an ID a of key
passage from the primary reading (a quotation followed by questions such
as who is speaking, to whom, what's going on, etc.).
While the idea of a daily reading quiz may initially seem daunting,
keep in mind that I want you to do well on them. Quizzes are
intended to "keep you honest" -- to ensure that you are completing the
reading assignments, and to reward you for regular attendance at lectures
-- and will be written in such a way that students who do so conscientiously
should not find them overly difficult. Study
guides are designed to draw your attention to important points
and passages in the readings, and key background information for each primary
text is listed under the heading "text info" on the course
calendar. Get in the habit of USING these tools to prepare for
class, and you should do well on daily quizzes.
Logistics: Quiz questions will
be projected using the document camera and removed after the
allotted time; no copies will be furnished to students who miss class.
You will record your answers on a small-format scantron (quizzes will
have 10-15 questions) . Be sure to PRINT your NAME on your scantron
form prior to turning it in AND to SIGN IT -- no credit will be awarded
for a scantron without a signature. Scantrons will not be
returned; you can access your scores in the Gradebook portion of Blackboard.
At the end of the quarter, your two lowest quizzes (which may be 0s
awarded for any missed quizzes) will be dropped from your average.
A third quiz will be dropped for students presenting an extra
credit scene or monologue the last week of class. NOTE 1:
The TAs who collect the scantrons and enter your scores into Blackboard
have been trained to note any discrepancies in the signatures on quizzes
or exams. Any such discrepancy will be referred to Academic Affairs
as evidence of possible cheating. NOTE 2: A student who adds this
class after the first class meeting will be excused from the quiz administered
on his or her first day of attendance. For such students, the final
quiz average will be based on fewer quizzes than for classmates who were
in class starting with the first class meeting, but the same number of
low quiz scores will be dropped.
--There will be three scantron EXAMS: two Midterms (closed book, in class on Thursday, 10/15 and on Tuesday, 11/10) and a closed-book Final Exam (which will be administered at our final class meeting, Thursday, 12/3, because there is no designated time during Exam Week for a class which meets from 8-10 PM). The Final Exam will be cumulative in some sections, while other sections will be more like a midterm exam focusing on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and the video versions of the play that were screened in class (including both the required in-class screening of the full Joseph Papp / Public Theatre production, and the scenes from other films screened during lectures). You must bring a LARGE FORMAT (full page) scantron form for each exam.
-- EXTRA CREDIT: Individuals
or small groups of students have the option of presenting a monologue or
scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream during the last week of class.
Extra Credit performances must be approved by me in advance during
an office hour meeting (your whole group must
attend). Performers will receive credit in the form of a third quiz
being dropped from their average before the quiz
component of the final grade is calculated. Additionally, the
quality
of EC performance grades will recorded as a check, a check plus or a check
minus. Plus and minus grades will be used to help determine your final
grade if your cumulative average is a borderline grade. BONUS POINTS FOR
MEMORIZATION!!!
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30 % | Reading Quizzes. The two lowest quiz scores will be dropped from your quiz average. Failure to post a written response to the individually screened film in a Blackboard Discussion Board will result in an additional 0 being averaged into your quiz scores. An additional quiz score will be dropped from the average of students opting to perform an Extra Credit scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream during the last week of class. |
| 40% | Miderm Exams (for combined scores on two exams) | |
| 30% | Final Exam |
A Final Word: Please DON'T assume that the large-lecture format of ENGL 252-03 will allow you to sit back and be a completely passive student this quarter. You will need to engage with the readings as you prepare for class, keep up with the reading assignments, and learn background information as you go along -- or you will not do well on quizzes and exams. That said, I'll do my best to make the material interesting and enjoyable. And, for what it's worth -- I LOVE teaching this stuff, and I'm told that my enthusisam makes my classes more fun! So. . . welcome, and enjoy!
Contents of
this and all linked pages Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1999-2009