Phillip
Grayson
phillip.grayson13@stjohns.edu English Department office # St. John’s
University office hours:
English 1100c: Literature in a Global Context
Introduction
The aim of this course is to introduce undergraduates to
the study of literary texts, both as an end in itself and as a bridge to other
academic disciplines. We will read a
wide range of fiction, poetry, and drama from the early modern era to the
present, with an emphasis on the contemporary period. What can literature teach us about how people
think, love, dream, and rebel? What are
some of the commonalities and differences that it can help us to observe as we
travel across time and space? Always
thinking at once as readers and writers, we will approach each text both as a
mirror of its own time period and also as a model for literary
achievement.
Required Texts
(available at the St. John’s bookstore)
Please purchase this text, either at our bookstore or
elsewhere.
Alfred Jarry, The
Supermale
E-reserve Readings
To access our e-reserves page, go to
stjohns.campusguides.com/1100, enter your SJU username and password, and then
select the blue “E-Reserves” tab on the left side of the page. The password is
“grayson”
Angela Carter “The Company of Wolves”
Jorge Luis Borges “The House of Asterion”
Shirley Jackson “The Lottery”
Heinrich von Kleist “St Cecilia or the Power of Music”
Thomas Pynchon “Forward to 1984”
Obeyd-i-Zakani Gorby
and the Rats
Haruki Murikami “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One
Beautiful April Morning”
Roberto Bolaño “Labyrinth”
William Shakespeare “Sonnet 130”
ee cummings [someplace I have never travelled, gladly
beyond]
Clive James “Bring Me the Sweat of Gabriella Sabatini”
Solmaz Sharif “Evening Will Come”
Paul Hlava “The Rat”
The Onion “Clinton Declares Self President for Life”
There may be
changes/additions/subtractions from this list as we go through the course.
Requirements
v
Short
responses
Throughout the course we will be doing several short
pieces of writing engaging with the readings. Some of these will be more
traditional response/interpretation-type papers on topics such as “What’s up
with Poetry?” and “Was it St Cecelia or the power of music?”. Others will be
more creative responses such as adapting a fairy tale/folk tale or creating an
erasure. You’ll receive more detailed assignment descriptions as they come up.
I will not accept
late response papers under any circumstances. If absence or technological difficulties
(printer problems, etc.) prevent you from handing in a hard copy in class, you
may email me your response paper by the time of our class meeting in order to
provide a “time stamp.”
v
Final
project
For the final project, you will be researching and
presenting a work of World Literature that is not on the syllabus. I will
provide more details as the time comes nearer.
v
Final
Paper
We will be reading and Discussing Alfred
Jarry’s The Supermale for a few weeks. It is the only novel featured in this class and you
will be expected to turn in a short-ish essay (5-7 pages) on the book.
Grading
Your final grade will be determined according to the
following calculations:
v Class
participation (including punctual attendance), 45%
v Response
papers, 25%
v Final
project, 15%
v Final
paper, 15%
v To
get an A in the course, you must
meet the following requirements:
1. Come
to every class, with the materials needed for that day. (Up to two absences
will not affect your grade.)
2. Complete
all writing assignments on time.
3. Attend
the Writing Center at least once in the first month of the course and email me
your response to that experience.
4. Participate
thoughtfully, respectfully, and consistently in class.
5. Demonstrate
a willingness to respond to my feedback as well as peer feedback.
6. Demonstrate
an attention to revision and proofreading.
To get a B in the course, you must meet the following requirements:
1. Come
to every class, with the materials needed for that day, with up to three
absences.
2. Complete
most writing projects on time.
3. Attend
the Writing Center at least once in the first month of the course and email me your
response to that experience.
4. Participate
thoughtfully and respectfully in class.
5. Demonstrate
a willingness to respond to my feedback as well as peer feedback.
6. Demonstrate
an attention to revision and proofreading.
To get a C in the course, you must meet the following requirements:
1. Come
to every class, with the materials needed for that day, with up to four
absences.
2. Complete
most writing projects on time.
3. Attend
the Writing Center at least once in the first month of the course and email me
your response to that experience.
4. Participate
thoughtfully and respectfully in class.
5. Respond
to some feedback.
v A
grade of D will be assigned if you
are absent more than five times, miss any assignments, or do not fully
participate in our course in class or online.
v A
grade of F will be assigned if you
are absent more than six times, submit plagiarized work, or do not submit your
final project.
Policies
Attendance
Participation is crucial for success in our course. If you
miss more than 5 classes, it will become impossible to pass the course.
You also need to be on time for class. I count each
lateness as half an absence. If there is a situation where your previous class
is keeping you late, let me know and I’ll reach out to that professor.
Conferences
At least twice throughout the semester we’ll have short
one-on-one conferences where we talk about your work in the class.
Class Conduct
When discussing our reading and writing, we must remember
that we are a diverse group of people from various backgrounds and belief
systems. It is imperative that we all feel safe to express our views and
experiences in ethical, respectful ways. No form of cultural, ethnic, gender,
linguistic, sexual, racial, or religious harassment will be tolerated.
If you’re waiting for an emergency phone call, let me know
before class; otherwise, please turn off and put away all cell phones and any
other electronic devices. I
Submitting Work
Please double-space all assignments, include page numbers,
and staple the pages together. Use black ink and a fairly standard font with a
font size of 11 or 12. A title is not required, but it can be useful in helping
you to define and focus your topic. When citing sources, use MLA style
(guidelines are widely available online). Be sure to carefully proofread all
your work, including Blackboard posts.
Plagiarism
v Plagiarism
is the act of willfully or accidentally using the ideas or words of others (or
even yourself) without giving them credit.
We will spend some time in class discussing plagiarism; for now, here’s
some of what you need to know.
v Unintentional Plagiarism: Students are
often penalized for plagiarism without having even known that they were doing
it. For the sake of consistency, I will
always impose the same penalty on unintentional as intentional plagiarism. The only way to make sure that you never
plagiarize unintentionally is to cite
all sources that you use in the course of completing any written
assignment.
v Intentional Plagiarism: This is not only
unethical and dishonest but also self-destructive. In my class, a plagiarized
essay will receive a grade of zero (which averages out far lower than an F),
with no chance to rewrite the essay. If you plagiarize on a single assignment,
it will become virtually impossible for you to receive higher than a C in the
course. Furthermore, the vast majority of essays available online are terribly
written and badly argued. It takes far
less time and mental energy to do your own work; you will most likely receive a
better grade that way, and you will undoubtedly learn more. Intentional
plagiarism is also fairly easy to catch in a course like ours where I become
familiar with your individual writing style.
v Self-Plagiarism: This is when you do
work for one class, then submit it for another course without notifying the
professor. Some professors will allow you to double up your assignments; others
will not. If you ever wish to submit something similar to work you’ve done or
are currently doing for another course, you need to ask your professor’s
permission first.
v By
plagiarizing, you violate St. John’s Academic Honor Pledge. Whether or not your
professors discuss plagiarism, it is your responsibility to know what it is and
how to avoid it.
If you are tempted to take a shortcut because
you are overworked and overwhelmed, STOP.
Consider the consequences of receiving a zero. Make an
appointment with the Writing Center or with me. We want you to learn the analytical
and writing skills that you need to succeed in college and beyond.
Resources Library
Located in St. Augustine Hall, our library contains books,
journal articles, knowledgeable and helpful research librarians, quiet study
areas, printers, coffee, and many other good things. For more information
see stjohns.edu/academics/libraries.
University Writing Center
The University Writing Center is on the first floor of the
library building. I encourage you to make use of it as often as you can. A
trained writing consultant will help you brainstorm your ideas, refine your
thesis, organize your thoughts, and revise your essay. You can sign up at
stj.mywconline.com, or stop by for a walk-in appointment.
University Learning Commons
While the Writing Center focuses on the writing process,
the University Learning Commons (also housed in the library building) offers
help with all other areas of academic content (math, biology, history,
pharmacy, etc.). You can also make an appointment ahead of time, or walk
in.
Disability and Special Circumstances
If you have a learning disability, you have no obligation
to tell me; however, that information can help me make your learning experience
better. If you suspect you may have undiagnosed issues and want help, I can
provide appropriate, confidential contact information.
Knowledge Bases, Course Outcomes, etc.
Knowledge Bases
1.
Reading, understanding, and evaluating primary and
secondary texts.
2.
Developing writing skills in description, summary, use
of secondary sources, critical analysis, and argumentation.
3.
Appreciating and understanding the aesthetic and historical
components of various literary traditions.
4.
Appreciating and understanding a number of critical
approaches to literature.
Core Competencies
As a University Core class, English 1100C also provides
students with three “core competencies”: ability in critical thinking; ability
to write skillfully; and ability to make oral presentations. In this course we gain these competencies by
learning the multiple cultural and historical perspectives of a wide range of
authors; by engaging deeply in literary texts through reflective, interpretive,
and creative writing assignments; and by demonstrating the capacity for
literary study to generate lively student discussion, student-faculty
interaction, and effective oral presentations.
Course Goals
English 1100c distills the global knowledge base and its
competencies into the following course goals:
1.
To enhance
student-faculty engagement by preparing students for serious, thoughtful
analysis and participatory discussion of literary texts in class;
2.
To arm students with
a variety of writing and interpretive strategies for identifying and
elaborating significant thematic issues in assigned texts and in the class;
3.
To give students,
through the study of contrasting literary traditions and forms, an
understanding of the significance of historical, cultural, and geographical
differences;
4.
To enhance, through
literary reading and writing skills, strategies for negotiating cultural and
social differences;
5.
To gain, through the
assigned reading of primary texts and guided research inquiries, a deeper
understanding of the contexts and conditions for literary works and in
particular, the dynamics of globalization.
Learning Outcomes
English 1100c measures the achievement of these goals
with the following learning outcomes:
1.
Students will
demonstrate their engagement in the issues and themes of global literature by
participating fully in class discussion and making oral class presentations;
2.
Students will
develop close reading skills of literary passages and use reflective and
responsive writing assignments to demonstrate their personal engagement with
texts;
3.
Students will write
critical essays that display a well-developed thesis; a logical argument and
outline; skillful exposition of ideas, including textual evidence; competence
in grammar; and commitment to proofreading.
Weekly Schedule
U N I T O N
E : T H E P A S T A N D P R E S E N T
W 9.3 Introductions
W 9.10 Angela Carter “The Company of Wolves”
Jorge Borges “The House of Asterion”
W 9.17 Shirley Jackson “The Lottery”
writing assignment #1; Adapt a fairy/folk tale
W 9.24
Obeyd-i-Zakani Gorby and the Rats
The
Onion “Clinton Declares Self President for Life”
|
W
10.1
|
Solmaz Sharif “Evening Will Come”, Tom
Philips A Humament, and Paul Hlava
“The
Rat”
|
|
|
writing assignment
#2: Erasure or Satire
|
|
W
10.8
|
William Shakespeare “Sonnet 130”
|
|
|
ee cummings [Someplace I have never travelled, gladly
beyond] and Clive James “Bring Me the Sweat of Gabriella Sabatini”
|
W 10.15
writing assignment #3 due: “What’s up with poetry?”
U N I T T W
O : W H A ?
W 10.22 Heinrich von Kleist “St Cecilia of The Power
of Music”
Stanley Kubrick The Shining
W 10.29 Thomas Pynchon “Foreword to 1984” and Robert Frost
“The Road Less Traveled” Th 1 writing
assignment #4: Response Paper
U N I T T H R
E E : T H E S U P E R M A L E
W 11.5 The Dinner Scene
The
10,000-Mile Race
W 11.12 The Indian’s Record
Conferences
W 11.19 Conferences
U N I T F O
U R : Y O U R T U R N !
W 11.26 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)
W 12.3 student
presentations
W 12.10 student presentations
____________________________________________________________________________________
W 12.17 Conferences
