In this class, we will improve your ability to read and write about literature. To this end, we will have classroom discussions, complete in-class and out of class writing assignments, and formal essays. In order to understand how literature has been read and written about, we will examine the basics of critical theory. The purpose of studying this theory is not that you all will become theory experts, but rather that you will be able to understand the context in which you read and write about literary texts. While we will be reading pirmarily American texts (mostly due to the anthology I have selected), the intention is not to exclusively study American literature, but rather to develop the ability to read texts critically, which will continue to serve you as you progress in your study at the University of Florida.

In addition to these critical skills, we will also focus on the grammatical, mechanical, and stylistic aspects of writing. We will aim for prose that is as clear, concise, well-organized, and well-edited as possible. While we will not be spending as much time on these issues as you did in ENC 1101 or its equivalent, we will still strive to improve the prose that is written through various activities and thus formal essays will be graded on stylistic issues as well as content.

Classroom explanations and discussions will guide you through the reading and writing assignments. You will also receive help in one-on-one conferences and peer editing sessions. Because this class fulfils the Gordon Rule, you will be asked to write a minimum of 6000 words over the course of the semester. You will also need to do the following:

1. Keep up with reading and writing assignments. The following books are available at Goerings’s Bookstore:

• Literature and Ourselves. Ed. Henderson, Day, and Waller.
• Lynn, Stephen. Texts and Contexts.
• Shakespeare, William Hamlet (Dover Thrift Edition)
• Various reserve readings at Library West

1. Do all assignments before a class session begins (by class, you should have read the text selections listed on the syllabus for that day).
2. Participate in class discussions and editing sessions. Bring texts to class and take notes.
3. Use a good grammar handbook. If you do not have one, I recommend a few that I have used.

Because class attendance is critical to your understanding of class material, you are only allowed two unexcused absences over the course of the semester. After two unexcused absences, your final grade average will be dropped five points for every day missed. An absence due to illness or family crisis may be excused if properly documented to my satisfaction. In addition, if you participate in a university sponsored event (music, theater, field trip, or athletics), you must provide me with documentation from an appropriate authority. Whether or not an absence is excused, you are responsible for contacting a classmate or me to find out what material you missed and any work that was assigned. If work is due in class on the day of the absences, the work is due in my mailbox by 4pm that day.

One or two tardies (arriving late in class or departing class early) will be excused if the reasons are acceptable and if there is valid documentation. Otherwise, tardiness is not acceptable because it is disruptive, and, beyond any excused tardies, class participation grade and overall grade will be affected (2 tardies = 1 absence).

In addition to attending class, you are also expected to contribute class discussions and participate in workshop sessions with your peers. Learning is not a solitary process, but one that necessarily involves others and I thus consider class participation a very important part of achieving this class’s goals.

You will have reading quizzes throughout the semester on material that is being discussed for that class meeting. If you are reading the texts as we progress though the semester, you should do fine.

All work is due at the beginning of class on the day it is due. All major essays should be typed on only one side of 8 ½" x 11" white paper, double-spaced with 1" margins on all sides, and be in Times New Roman font. On days when drafts are due (workshop days), you must bring two copies of your paper to class. These copies should be clean, typed papers (the same format as the final draft and already well edited by you.

Any in-class writing assignments should be on one side of loose-leaf college-rule notebook paper and in blue or black ink.

There will be a total of four major essays completed during this course. Each essay will be approximately 2000 words and will deal with the topics and literature that have been discussed in class prior to that essay. Essay 1 will be in two parts: an original creative writing based on one of the readings and a critical essay on that writing from a specific theory of literary criticism. Essay 2 will focus on how Deconstructive criticism functions in relation to gender and the human condition. Essay 3 will be a comparison essay of a specific aspect in two performances of Hamlet. Essay 4, the Final Paper, will be an independent project of your own choosing (more guidelines will be given later in the term).

All work must be completed for a grade since the work assigned fulfills the Gordon Rule, which stipulates that students are to write a minimum of 6000 words that receive feedback are graded, and give experience in various types of writing important in disciplines, workplace, and civic areas.

Unless the work assigned is specifically designed to be completed in groups, all work must be individual. Evidence of collusion (working with another student or tutor not connected with class) and plagiarism (use of another’s ideas, data, and/or statements without acknowledgement or with only minimal acknowledgement) will lead to the procedures set up by the university for academic dishonestly.

Because class participation relies heavily in individuals feeling comfortable expressing their opinions, you must always show respect for the diversity of opinions expressed in this class. You must also demonstrate respect for gender, racial, class, and ethnic differences among your colleagues and instructor.

Any complaints about separate assignments should be addressed to me and not to the English Department. If you have any complaints on the final grade, you may see me at the beginning of the next term. If you find that you still have complaints after our meeting, you may express your complaints on a form in the English Department Office (4012 Turlington). The from and accompanying course material will be given to the Director of Writing Program Administration for further action. A review committee may decide to raise, lower, or keep the originally assigned grade. This decision is final. The material submitted will remain on file in the English Department Office.

These assignments are due in class on the dates indicated. There will be NO LATE assignments accepted. Also, there will be additional assignments and materials not indicated on this sheet (I will announce them in class), and this schedule as well as individual assignments are subject to change. (L/O = Literature and Ourselves, T/C = Texts and Contexts)

T, Jan 11 – Course Introduction, Syllabus Review

R, Jan 13 – L/O Introduction (pg. 1-29); first half of T/C Chapter 2, "New Criticism"

T, Jan 18 – second half of T/C Chapter 2, "New Criticism"; L/O Luke, "The Parable of the

R, Jan 20 – Syllabus Quiz and Assign Essay 1; L/O James Agee "Knoxville: Summer 1915"

T, Jan 25 – T/C Chapter 3 "Reader Response Criticism"

R, Jan 27 – Draft of Essay 1 due (workshop); L/O Alicia Ostriker "First Love" (144), Rita Dove

T, Feb 1 – L/O Casebook on James Baldwin (229-265)

R, Feb 3 – Essay 1 due; L/O Kate Chopin "The Story of an Hour" (297), E.B. Browning Sonnet

T, Feb 8 – T/C Chapter 4, "Deconstructive Criticism"

R, Feb 10 –Assign Essay 2. L/O David Osborne "Beyond the Cult of Fatherhood" (281),

T, Feb 15 – L/O Henrik Ibsen A Doll’s House and one of the four essays in the casebook

R, Feb 17 – L/O Mark Mathabane "The Road to Alexandria" (469), William Faulkner "A Rose

for Emily" (483), Emily Dickinson "Much Madness is Divinest Sense" (542), Dylan

T, Feb 22 – L/O Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You been?" (506), Percy Blysshe Shelley "Ozymandias" (538) and Sharon Olds "On the Subway"

R, Feb 24 – Robert Frost DayJ

T, Feb 29 – Draft due, Essay 2 (workshop).

R, Mar 2 – Essay 2 due.

T, Mar 7 – SPRING BREAK (no class)

R, Mar 7 – SPRING BREAK (no class)

T, Mar 14 – T/C Chapter 7, "Feminist Criticism"

R, Mar 16 – William Shakespeare, Hamlet Acts I and II

T, Mar 21 – William Shakespeare, Hamlet III and IV

R, Mar 23 – William Shakespeare, Hamlet V (***please note that we will be experiencing Hamlet in film and on the stage during this time***)

T, Mar 28 –Essay 3 due and Submit proposal for final research project (presentations).

R, Mar 30 – T/C Chapter 5, "Biographical, Historical, and New Historical Criticism"

T, Apr 4 – L/O Jonathan Swift "A Modest Proposal" (721) and Dwight Okita "In Response to

Executive Order 9066: All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report to Relocation

R, Apr 6 – L/O Martin Luther King, Jr. "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" (752), Maya

Angelou from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (765), William Wordsworth "The

T, Apr 11 – T/C Chapter 6, "Psychological Criticism"

R, Apr 13 – L/O Plato "Allegory of the Cave" (1131), Langston Hughes "Harlem" (1225), and

John Lennon and Paul McCartney "Eleanor Rigby" (1228)

T, Apr 18 – L/O William Faulkner "Barn Burning" (1148) and Robert Frost "After Apple-

Picking" (1215)

R, Apr 20 –Draft due, Final Paper. Workshop, Final Paper

T, Apr 25 – Conferences, Final Paper

R, Apr 27 – Last Day of class. Final Research Paper Due