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University of Alberta

ENGLISH 122-B20: Texts and Contexts

Winter 2010 | Section B20 | Room: HC L-4| Tues & Thurs 12:30-1:50pm

Instructor: Marco Katz Office: HC 4-32 Phone: 492-2445 (only during office hours)
Email: mkatz@ualberta.ca Website: http://marcokatz.com/english122a21

Office Hours: Tuesdays 2-3pm and Thursdays 11:15am-12:15pm or by appointment. Your academic success means as much to me as it should to you. Please arrange to meet me whenever you have any individual questions or concerns about this course.

Objectives: This class will offer an opportunity to learn how scholars function in the field of literary studies. In connection with these studies, assignments will help students develop critical reading and listening skills that they will be expected to demonstrate during class discussions and in critical essays. The class participation and writing skills that students develop in this class will help them excel in other disciplines they study. Discussions of literature about and from the Caribbean will consider connections between world histories and ideology.

Format: This course combines lecture, discussion, and workshop sessions. Lecture time will provide the critical and historical contexts of authors and their works, as well as the fundamental skills necessary for writing successful essays. Discussions will allow you the opportunity to explore your interpretations of the literature being studied, and to compare and contrast your opinions to those of your classmates and your instructor. Workshop sessions will give you the chance to interact with your peers while you apply the writing and reading skills discussed throughout the course.

Class Theme: Caribbean Recreations. A wide variety of authors have positioned the Caribbean as a central location of the Western Hemisphere. Understanding this centrality can help readers comprehend their own place as residents of the Americas. This course will begin with creations and recreations in English literature and then read Caribbean responses to those writings. With this background, we will consider other meanings of the term Recreations with a look at popular music and tourism. Finally, the class will turn to Guantánamo, perhaps the most uncanny Caribbean Recreation of the early twenty-first century. In addition to assigned readings, active student participation—a requirement that makes up a large portion of the work in this course—will direct class content. With an emphasis on literary critical theory and an open exchange of ideas, this class will provide an introduction to English literature studies for students contemplating this major and practice in close reading and analysis, group discussion, and academic writing useful in the pursuit of all disciplines.

Required Texts:

Shakespeare, William. A Case Study in Critical Controversy: The Tempest. Second Edition. Eds. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford, 2009.

Hacker, Diana. A Canadian Writer’s Reference 4e with 2009 MLA Update. Boston: Bedford, 2009.

Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. Toronto: Penguin, 2001.

Kincaid, Jamaica. A Small Place. New York: Farrar, 1988.

Falkoff, Marc. Ed. Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 2007.

Articles from the University of Alberta library databases, open websites, and class handouts.

Disabilities

Students with disabilities can receive support from Specialized Support and Disability Services 2 - 800 Students' Union Building (SUB) or http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/SSDS/ssdsmain.cfm

Academic Conduct

GFC Mandated Statements:

Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar. (GFC 29 SEP 2003)

The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at <http://www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm>) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University. (GFC 29 SEP 2003)

Students should consult the attached “Regulations Pertaining to First-Year Courses” for information about appeals, reassessments, plagiarism, and external help with assignments.

I also urge you to read the “Grading Guidelines: A Handout for First-Year English Courses” in order to understand my expectations for the development of your writing.

Absences: If you become ill and cannot come to class, I hope that you take good care of yourself and get better soon. In cases of illness or injuries, you will have my sympathy as well as my understanding. Once you recover, I expect you to speak with me about making up any work you missed. This not only establishes sound academic practice, but also maintains an equitable class situation; everyone in the class should complete the same requirements. If the work missed was something that cannot be made up, you can speak with me about an alternative assignment.

Grades

Essay One (1000 words) 15%

Conference Paper (750 words) 15%

Final Essay (1750 words) 25%

Website postings (2000 words) 15%

Group presentations 10%

In-class writing 10%

Quizzes 10%

Term Work 100%

Term Work = 70% of Final Grade

Final Exam = 30% of Final Grade

A Note about Grades: Students who earn an A make it impossible—by the level of their engagement with the course, the quality of their writing, and their mastery of the material—for the instructor to consider any other grade. The quickest way to slide to a C, D, or F is to miss in-class writing, quizzes, or collaborative work or to show up without assignments. Work turned in late puts an extra burden on the instructor and the other students and, in many cases, no longer serves its original purpose.

The university will compute your final grade as 70% of your Term Grade and 30% of your Final Examination Grade

Assignment Guidelines

1) Essays—50% of each essay grade depends on the students’ participation in the peer review and revision processes. All essays should follow the MLA style manual. Students may arrange in advance with the instructor to use an alternative citation style, such as APA or the Chicago Manual, if appropriate to their intended field of study. Students must hand in double-spaced essays typed or word processed in the format outlined in class. One or more essays may require electronic submission on a disk or by email.

2) Deadlines—Late assignments will be penalized by up to one-third of a grade per day (i.e., B+ to B). When notified in advance, the instructor may grant extensions for verifiable cases of death, doom, or destruction. The English Department office will not accept assignments for this course. I will not accept faxed or any other electronic submissions in lieu of papers handed in during regular class times. Assignments will not be accepted at the general office or in departmental mailboxes, and must be submitted to the instructor personally. Students must keep backup copies of their work; do not hand in your only copy of any assignment.

3) Participation—Successful academic performance here depends, as it does in most fields of study, on active participation in course workshops and verbal interaction in class. Students will best serve their interests and those of their classmates by regular attendance, participation, and completion of assignments.

4) In-class quizzes—Students may miss one with no penalty. I will not offer makeup quizzes.

5) In-class writing assignments—Students may miss one with no penalty. I will not offer makeup in-class writing assignments.

6) Conference—Conference grades will depend on the intellectual quality of the presentation and the student’s participation, i.e. asking questions and offering comments after other presentations.

Final Exam – According to University policy, the Final Exam lasts for two hours, without take-home or open-book privileges. Over half the exam material will consist of essay writing, and it will not contain any multiple-choice questions. The exam will include materials covering the entire duration of the course.

Please note:

I cannot reschedule the Final Examinations nor provide alternate sittings for any student.

I must receive all coursework before the final class session.

Students can use their CCIDs and passwords to consult previous exams at the exam registry website: http://www.su.ualberta.ca/services_and_businesses/services/infolink/exams

Important Dates

Essay One (1000 words) complete draft due January 26, and final due February 4, 2010
Essay Two: (1250 words) complete draft due Oct 15, Peer Review Report due February 25, and final due March 16, 2010
Conference Paper (750 words) Abstract due March 18, complete draft due March 23, 2010

Please note the intermediate dates on the syllabus for abstract and drafts. Remember that your participation in the peer review process makes up one half of your grade for each essay.

Note about the Tentative Class Schedule: Students should read each assignment before the class in which it appears. Wherever a poem, story, novel, or essay follows the word “Read,” the students should come to that class prepared to discuss, write about, or take a short quiz on that material. Changes to the schedule may occur as I will not cut off useful student participation merely to adhere to this schedule. Also, guest speakers, special events, and other worthwhile causes may impel change. Students remain responsible for knowing about any changes announced in class or on the website.

Tentative Class Schedule

Final Exam Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 2:00pm

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