English
2111-H: Honors World Literature I
Instructor: Dr. Laura Getty
Office location: 314B Dunlap Hall
Office phone: 864-1772 (please call
during office hours)
Office hours: TR 2:30-3:30; W 1:00-4:00
Email: LGETTY@NGCSU.EDU
*It is the student’s responsibility to read this
syllabus and follow the policies of the class.
Course Description: (3 hours)
This
course presents a chronological survey of world literature from the beginnings
through the 17th century. The literature will be explored as
individual works on their own merit and as part of their historical and
cultural context. In other words, this class will move far beyond simple plot
summary to an understanding of why these works are important, both to their
original audiences and to us.
Prerequisite: ENGL 1101 and ENGL 1102,
with a “C” or better
Text: The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Vols. A-C. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2002.
PACKET (Iliad, Neo-Taoist, and
Neo-Confucian readings) [available at Print Services in Hoag]
Class
Meetings: If a student’s absences exceed 14% of the
scheduled classes, the instructor may drop the student from the class with a
“WF.” In this class, the student is allowed four (4) unexcused
absences and is dropped from the course on the fifth (5th) absence. NOTE: an excused absence is defined
as a documented absence ONLY, such as a University-approved absence
(with advanced notice). Illness without documentation is not
an excused absence, nor are family emergencies. Excused absences apply
only for the day(s) listed on the documentation; classes missed for days not
listed on the documentation will be unexcused.
At the discretion of the professor, a student is
allowed a make-up examination or essay only for valid and documented reasons (e.g.
sickness). If a student misses an essay
or examination without a documented excuse, the student will receive a grade
penalty (usually a “0”). Foreseeable problems must be discussed with the
instructor before the
absence.
Classroom
Behavior:
Use basic courtesy and common sense in the classroom. Do not speak to your
friends and neighbors during class; it is both rude and distracting, and I
consider it to be one example of “anti-participation.” Do not bring food to
class; you may bring something to drink. If you fall asleep in class, I will
mark it down as an absence for the day, which will count toward your absences
for the semester. Do not come to the class tardy; it disrupts the class in
progress. I reserve the right to count two tardies as
an absence, especially when you miss a significant amount of class time. Do not
leave early without permission, or I may count it as an absence or a partial
absence. No laptop computers allowed in class; turn off cell phones (no text
messaging).
Any behavior that is
“anti-participation” may result in a number of penalties, including but not
limited to a zero for the participation grade, being asked to leave the
classroom (which would count as an official absence for that day), and referral
to the Discipline Committee.
Evaluation: There will be three exams
during the semester, a research presentation, quizzes, and a final during exam
week. Exams will be based upon the readings, class lectures, discussions, and
any additional presentations or materials (such as videos). Exams may use a
variety of formats, such as identification, short essays, and longer essays.
You will be responsible for general background on the historical periods, basic
biographical information about the authors when included in the textbook or as
discussed during lectures, and for the literary works themselves as given in
the text. In responding to essay questions, you will be expected to be able to
make comparisons and contrasts with other works previously read in this course.
Honor
Code: The
Honor Code states that "I will not lie, cheat, steal, plagiarize,
evade the truth or tolerate those who do." Violation of this code constitutes grounds
for suspension or expulsion from the university. Please recognize that
violations include such actions as lying about an absence, allowing a friend to
copy your homework, and looking the other way when you see cheating or other
illegal activities happening around you (“tolerating those who do”).
Quizzes: There will be twenty-five
short (usually 3-4 questions) scheduled quizzes during the semester, five of
which will be dropped when determining your quiz grade. THERE IS NO MAKE-UP FOR
THE QUIZZES (if you miss a day when we have a quiz, that quiz will be one of
your “drops”). DO NOT ASK ME TO MAKE ONE UP. Students with university-approved
absences ONLY will have those quizzes dropped from the overall total (they will
not affect the quiz grade). Each quiz will be given at the beginning of the
class and will last approximately 5 minutes. Quiz format may include
identifications and short responses. These reading quizzes are meant to cover
material we have not yet discussed, or details that we did not cover in class.
The introductions to each work are included in the readings. Major information
in the introduction may be included on the reading quizzes.
Please do your own reading; just as
it would be cheating to give a friend answers during a quiz, it is cheating to
tell other students about the reading when they haven’t read.
Research
Presentation: For
your research presentation, there will be a sign-up sheet for the topics and
dates, and a separate handout will outline the assignment. We will be expanding
on the world literature context in the anthology by more in-depth looks at
certain cultures, as well as introductions to works and cultures not on the
reading list. Both the presentation aspect (how well you present the
information to the group) and the technology aspect (how well you utilize the
available technology) will count heavily toward your grade, keeping in mind
that content is naturally the most important part of that grade. As a starting
point, you will need to use maps and photos or pictures to illustrate the
physical context. Find ways to be creative, while still making this a formal presentation.
Participation: I define participation as
SPEAKING in class discussions. Since the point of this class is to analyze the
literature and discuss (debate?) the meaning and relevance of the works, I am
very interested in hearing your ideas and opinions—what do YOU think about the
literature that we are reading? Ask questions; offer opinions; be prepared to
talk about the works. If you are shy, make sure you still find ways to
participate vocally, such as volunteering to read passages in class or answering
plot-based questions. Make sure I am familiar with the sound of your voice by
the end of the semester, since students who come to class prepared but don’t
speak more than a few times will receive a “D” or lower for participation.
Semester grades will be
determined as follows: Grading
Scale:
EXAM #1 15%
EXAM #2 15% A+ = 98%
EXAM #3 15% A = 95%
FINAL 15% A- = 90%
20 of 25 QUIZZES 20% B+ = 88%
RESEARCH PRESENTATION 10% B = 85%
Midterm Class Participation
4% B- = 80%
Final Class Participation 6% C+ = 78%
TOTAL 100% C = 75%
C- = 70%
Plagiarism:
You are responsible for reading and following the guidelines D+ = 68%
on plagiarism presented in the North Georgia College & State University D = 65%
Undergraduate Bulletin: “Academic Integrity Policy” (64-68). D- = 60%
F = 59-0%
NCTE:
This course meets NCTE standards 2-6 and 12. (2) Students will read works from
different periods and genres;
(3) they will apply various strategies of comprehension; (4) they
will practice active and effective communication; (5) they will employ a range
of writing strategies; (6) they will apply detailed knowledge of language
conventions; (12) they will use language to accomplish their own purposes.
NCATE:
This course meets NCATE ELA Standards 3.5.1 and 3.5.2.
Early Alert/Early
Intervention Program: Designed to alert students when certain indicators of academic
difficulty in a given course are being exhibited, the program’s purpose is to
direct students to additional assistance needed to overcome difficulty and
successfully complete the course.
Through this program, when certain indicators are being displayed,
instructors may refer students to their advisors to develop a plan for
improvement. The development of this plan is a collaborative effort between
students and advisors. Referrals are made via NGCSU email and require student
action within three days. It is the expectation of faculty and administrators
that students will read their NGCSU email regularly and follow instructions
promptly.
Exam Make-Up Policy: Make-up exams will be given
only to students with legitimate and documented reasons. Please contact me as soon as possible if you
are going to/have missed an exam, and be prepared to make-up the test when you
return. If you miss an exam without an excuse, you will receive an “F” for that
exam.
Expectations for Reading
Assignments:
Just as you would expect to learn and use equations in a mathematics course,
you should expect to learn and use the literature we are reading. Not everyone
reads at the same level and/or speed, so if you have difficulty with the
readings, SLOW DOWN and take more time. You could try taking notes or
highlighting the text. For poetry and epic poetry, read it aloud for easier
comprehension. Find a quiet place to do your reading; distractions while reading tend to lead to low quiz scores. If you don’t know a
certain word, look it up! In the end, the more you read, the better your
reading skills will become (and reading skills will help you in all areas of
life). The minimum expectation for a literature course is to do the
reading, so do not be surprised if certain quizzes/exams require information
from the readings that was not covered in class.
Progress
Report Guidelines:
For this class, all grades through
9/26 will be included, for a total of 30% of the overall grade. The grade will
include exam #1 (15%), a participation grade (4%), and 9 out of 9 quizzes
(11%). The exam grade and the midterm participation grade will stay the same
for your overall grade, while the final quiz grade will reflect all 25 quizzes,
with the lowest five dropped.
Schedule: The following is a proposed
outline. Some changes may be made as the semester progresses. Please bring
your text to class every day, since we will be looking at some passages in
more detail (and you may be asked to read). Scheduled quiz days are marked [*]
below. Do not read summaries of these works. I am testing only on the
selections below, so if a student mentions an episode that we did not read in a
longer work (or an episode mentioned only in the introduction), I will
assume that the student has not done the reading and drop the grade
accordingly.
If there is a snow day/cancelled day, keep reading! Any quiz scheduled for a snow day will be given during the next class period, in addition to any quiz for that day.
8/21 R Introduction
and Overview
THE
ANCIENT WORLD
8/26* T Epic of Gilgamesh [ca. 2500-1500 B.C.] pp. 10-24
8/28* R Epic
of Gilgamesh pp.
24-41
9/2* T The Iliad (+ “The Trojan War”) [8th
century B.C.] pp. 114-116; 120-146 (plus PACKET)
9/4* R The Iliad pp.
166-192
9/9* T The
Iliad (+ “The Fall of Troy” ) pp. 192-225 (plus PACKET)
9/11* R Classic
of Poetry AND Confucius, Analects [1000-400 B.C.] pp. 812-831
9/16* T Ssu-Ma Ch’ien
– Letter, Historical Records [ca. 145-85 B.C.] pp. 858-879
9/18 R EXAM
#1: bring paper and a pen
9/23* T The Mahabharata [ca. 400 B.C.—400 A.D.] pp. 953-966
9/25* R The Mahabharata pp.
967-983
9/30* T The Mahabharata (from the Bhagavad-Gita) pp.
1010-1020
10/2* R The Mahabharata pp.
983-1001
10/7* T Virgil – The Aeneid [ca.
19 B.C.] pp.
1052-1085
10/9* R Virgil
– The Aeneid pp.
1085-1125
10/14 T EXAM
#2: bring paper and a pen
THE
MIDDLE AGES
10/16* R Li Po’s poetry AND Yüan
Chen’s Ying-ying [8th cent.] pp. 1379-1384 AND 1398-1408
10/21* T Rumi’s poetry AND Sa’di’s Golestan [13th
cent.] pp. 1541-1558
10/23* R Dante
– Inferno (cantos 1-6) [ca. 1307] pp.
1826-1832; 1836-1854
10/28* T Dante
– Inferno (cantos 10-15, 18, 19) pp.
1863-1882; 1888-1894
10/30* R Dante
– Inferno (cantos 26-34) pp.
1913-1942
11/4* T Dante
– Purgatorio and Paradiso
(selections) pp.
1942-1962
11/6* R The Kokinshu [905] AND
Tale of the Heike [1371]
pp. 2160-2167 AND 2300-2319
11/11 T EXAM
#3: bring paper and a pen
THE
RENAISSANCE
11/13* R Neo-Taoist
and Neo-Confucian Readings PACKET
11/18* T Machiavelli
– The Prince [ca. 1513] pp.
2517-2534
11/20* R Rabelais
– Gargantua and Pantagruel
[ca. 1534-1551] pp.
2591-2631
11/25* T Cervantes
– Don Quixote [ca. 1604-1615] pp.
2671-2701
11/26-11/28 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
12/2* T Cervantes
– Don Quixote pp.
2701-2731
FINAL
EXAM:
Thursday, Dec. 4, from 5:30-6:55
Class
Evaluations:
Class evaluations at NGCSU are now conducted online through Banner. Evaluation
of the class is considered a component of the course, and students will not be
permitted to access their course grade until the evaluation has been completed.
The evaluations will be accessible beginning one week prior to Final Exam week.
Specific instructions will be made available when the surveys are activated.