Honors Introduction to Literature I, English 2713

Professor Marcella Phillips

Office Times: Are available in the online directory, on Blackboard, or you may call me at 233-6046, or email me at phillips@austincc.edu.

Office: 1031 Pinnacle Campus

Required texts: Meyer, The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 7th edition or latest (Books are available at the ACC Rio Grande Campus Book Store) You need one of the novels listed on the schedule (on-line or at any book store)

Prerequisites:

Passing grades in Composition I and II (6 hours). The student must verify these prerequisites by faxing transcripts, or grade reports for both courses. the fax number is (512) 223.2046. The student's name must show clearly on what it faxed, and my name needs to be on the transmittal form. If a prerequisite was completed at ACC, faxing will not be necessary for that course. No assignments will be accepted before verification of prerequisites, and students are to be withdrawn at the end of the second week of classes for failure to provide both prerequisites.

Note: If you need my office hours, they are posted on the course schedule at austincc.edu. Find my name and click on OH.

Students are required to keep all drafts of papers until the course is completed.

Students will be responded to Monday through Friday noon, excluding holidays.

Allow at least seventy-two hours for grades on assignments.

Student-professor telephone conferences may be required of some students.

I reserve the right to make changes in the schedule with adequate notice given to the students.

The student is responsible for all information contained in the current ACC catalog.

Success in this class depends upon the student's ability to read carefully and thoughtfully, to stay on schedule, and to ask for help when it is needed. Reading the material and comprehending it is essential to the course.

Format

Please send all papers as.rtf attachments. Refer to the class or assignment in the subject line. Always identify yourself and the course in any communication as I have other courses and some e-mail addresses don't indicate the student's name. Title your file HL your first initial your last name the genre (such as short story).rtf. Use MLA style which includes indenting for paragraphs and double-spacing. Do not skip extra lines between paragraphs. Document when you use a source. Plagiarism will result in an F in the course.

Late Work

I do not accept late papers, but I do accept early papers.

SYLLABUS

Literature I serves as an introductory course to four genres of literature: the short story, the novel, the play, and the poem. Since Composition II is a requirement for the course and since that course presents the elements of the short story, the short story section will be a review for many people.

Objectives for Literature I

1. The student will demonstrate critical thinking and reading.
2. The student will be able to discuss plot, character, conflict, theme, tone, language, and setting of each work.
3. The student will be able to demonstrate mastery of content.
4. The student will be able to use literary terms appropriate to the works.
5. The student will be able to distinguish between genres.
6. The student will be able to analyze major themes, topics, or motifs in the works.
7. The student will be able to identify cultural influences and objectives.

Students in the course are expected to have mastered written communication skills. Students with areas of weakness are expected to achieve proficiency through work in the Learning Lab.

Grades

1. Writing Assignment I-The Short Story 100
2. Writing Assignment II-The Novel 100
3. Writing Assignment III-The Play 100
4. Final: Test on Genres and Terms Test on Poetry 200
5. Total 500

1. 90-100 = A
2. 80-90= B
3. 70-80= C
4. 60-70= D
5. 69 - 0 = F

Final Test

You will take one test in the ACC testing center. It will be primarily objective. Half of it will be over poetry terms and half will be over the other three genres. See Assignments and Final at this web site. Photo id and current ACC id are required by all of our testing centers. Go to the testing center website for hours of operation.

Writing Assignments

See Assignments and Final at this web site.

Prerequisites, orientation quiz, and e-mail address are due. Choose and find your novel now. See below.

The Short Story

You have an excellent, readable text, and you are welcome to read it all, but the minimal requirement is as follows:

• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3 to page 73
• Chapter 4 115-20
• Chapter 5 167-69
• Chapter 6 199-204
• Chapter 7 247-250 (I highly recommend reading "Young Goodman Brown" and "Miss Brill" as they both have prominent symbols.)
• Chapter 8 281-84
• Chapter 9 316-20
• Chapter 10 362-3

If you need more than a review, then read more!

I also recommend "Barn Burning" and Horse-Dealer's Daughter," but make your own selections as you wish. I would encourage you not to simply choose the shortest stories as that may not work to your advantage when it comes to the assignments. Read any accompanying material for the short stories that you choose. Read through Assignments and Final before you complete your reading.

Due Dates

The Short Story

The Novel

Read one of the following: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, Houghton Mifflin (A young girl in a small Southern town views life through her encounters with unique characters.)

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, Scribners

(A stranger uncovers the story of a man's life and his secret dreams in a farm town in Mass.)

St. Maybe by Anne Tyler, Knopf (A young man's life is altered through an unselfish choice based on guilt.)

The novels are similar in length. Choose a novel you have not read.

Drama

Read at least pages 1296-98 and Chapters 44 and 45. Read two plays. I suggest "A Doll's House" be one. Read the accompanying material for any play that you choose. I also ask that you view the comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, the Kenneth Brannaugh version. I would also encourage you to view any plays you read, if they are available. I can recommend which versions, if you e-mail me some information or you can look in a video guide such as Leonard Maltin's

Poetry

Read Chapters 20-30.