Camden County College

English 271-80 – World Lit 1

Monday/Wednesday/Friday 11:00 – 11:50

College Hall 300

 

Instructor: William G. Lewis

Office Hours:

E-mail: wlewis@faculty.camdencc.edu (This is the best way to get in touch with me)

Phone: (856)630-0993

Website: http://williamglewis.pbworks.com/

 

Course Description:

     You will explore and navigate many major works of literature from the ancient world to the Renaissance. These literary masterpieces each have differing points of view and we will explore how they reveal the times they were written in and how they comment on other works. Each work has connections to all the other works we will read during the semester, and we will take time to explore and discuss the many possibilities and ideas each work presents. By the time you end this semester, you will be able to connect ideas within and across texts and be able to discuss them in

 

Course Goals:

     By the end of this course you will be able to:

• to engage in the analysis and interpretation of texts in their concrete historicity – that is, in their diverse philological, historical, aesthetic, cultural, and theoretical contexts,

• to develop an understanding and appreciation of the development of some of the literary traditions, cultural values, modes of thought, and uses of language in European literature before 1700,

• to practice comparative literary and historical analysis, and

• to enlarge the body of literature that you have read by becoming familiar with texts from other times and cultures, written in languages other than your own.

 

Required Texts:

     The Norton Anthology of World Literature Package 1: Contains Volumes A, B, & C, Third Edition

 

Attendance:

     You will be expected to attend class regularly and no more than six absences for any reason will be accepted, even under the most extreme of circumstances. If you miss a class, you will essentially lose out on that day’s contribution to your preparation, since it is never really possible to reproduce or recapture the dynamics and flow of information for a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone). 

 

     If you expect to be absent, please notify me before hand in an e-mail.

 

     If you are absent due to illness or any other unexpected reason, contact me within 24 hours.

 

      Absences do not exempt you from assignments due that day.

 

      You are also expected to come to class on time, and every three times you are late counts as one absence.

 

     If you are absent from class more than six times, you will receive an NA (Not Attending) for your grade. After six absences, your continued presence in the course is at my discretion.  

 

Communication:

 

Phone:

      If you do call me and reach my voicemail, please be sure to speak clearly and leave your name, course information, and phone number if you wish a return call.

 

E-Mail:

      If you contact me via e-mail, always include your full name and class section (like this: William Lewis, ENG 101-01) in the subject line. Too often students forget to sign e-mail or have e-mail addresses without obvious identifiers. If you do not include your name and class in the subject line, I will not open the message.

     Students who send me e-mail and do not receive a reply of any kind within 48 hours should assume it was never received. Please re-send any such e-mails. I do not mind receiving redundant messages if you are unsure whether your message was transmitted (though I may only reply to one). If your message doesn’t present itself as urgent, I may reply quickly and briefly and ask to get back to you before long.

 

Grading:

     I grade on a point system, and the total number of possible points for the semester is 1,000. The total number of points you get will determine your grade:

A = 1,000 – 900

B = 899 – 800

C = 799 – 700

D = 699 – 600

 F = 599 or below

• 20% Final Exam (200 points)

• 20% a longer paper (200 points)

• 15% a short paper (150 points)

• 15 % Midterm exam (150 points)

• 10% Oral Presentation (100 points)

• 10% Class participation (100 points)

• 10% 10 Response Papers (100 points)

  

Exams:

     For your exams, you will be expected to:

• Answer true/false and multiple choice questions about the works we have read this semester,

• Identify key passages and characters from the works we have read as well as explain their significance in the story,

• And compose an essay synthesizing and exploring two or more of the works we have read.

     Both exams can cover any of the works that we will read during the semester. You will be expected to be familiar with all of them.

     Do note, however, that the passages chosen will not be obscure moments in the text, but critical points that are important to the story. Passages that we discuss in class are important ones. It does not matter if I bring them up or if a student brings them up.

 

Paper Guidelines:

     Throughout the term, you will be expected to complete two essays throughout the semester.

 

     All work written and submitted should utilize standard rules of grammar, sentence organization, paragraph organization, and diction.

 

     Essays must be completed in MLA format, typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and carefully proofread. Refer to OWL @ Purdue (owl.english.purdue.edu) to see a sample essay.

 

     You will receive a handout with the paper assignment at least 2 weeks before it is due for any essay written outside of class.

 

     All essays will be submitted to my e-mail and graded there. Submit essays by the day they are due before class starts.

 

     If you do not adhere to these guidelines, your grade for the assignment will be reduced.

 

Final Comparative Essay:

     You will be expected to compare and contrast either two works or two passages that we have discussed throughout the semester. You will be expected to blend both of the passages or characters and discuss in detail their similarities and differences while arguing a clear and specific thesis.

 

Midterm Essay:

     You will receive a paper with a list of applicable topics for the first three works we discuss in the semester. Please consult this paper to find out what topics are available. You will be expected to cite from the work(s) you are using appropriately.

 

     If you wish to do a different topic, you must consult with me at least 5 days before the paper's due date.

 

Lateness:

     Late papers will lose a letter grade for each day they are late. If a paper is more than three days late, it is a 0. If you work on an essay in class the day it is due, it is considered late. There are no exceptions to this rule.

 

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism:

     Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable in this or any other college course. Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work, either by copying or paraphrasing, and not giving them credit for it. If you plagiarize once in this course you will fail that assignment. If you plagiarize again, you will fail the course.

 

Oral Presentation:

     This particular project has two parts to it. Each part will be graded separately and added to a total grade. The first part is done outside of class: memorizing a passage of 7 or more lines from one work and researching the work itself. You are expected to find 5 scholarly sources and create a short annotated bibliography to distribute to the class.

     The second part is done in class: You are expected to perform the passage for the class and then explain its significance. You must reference at least one of the articles in your analysis. Remember that your focus will significantly change depending on the era and culture of the work.

 

Class Participation:

     Most of this class will involve discussion of the texts we read and how we write. Lack of meaningful participation hurts everyone in the class and it counts for 5% of your grade. Meaningful participation consists of being prepared, actively engaged in the discussion, organized, and turning off your cell phones. Sharing ideas helps the class, and class participation is expected from you. If lack of participation is class-wide, quizzes and grammar exercises will be assigned instead.

     I will be using a deck of playing cards to choose students at random to answer questions. Each student is assigned a card from the deck and can be chosen at random to answer a question at any time. Responses like “I don’t know” are not acceptable. I invite you to think aloud, muse, guess, and experiment with ideas. Take the opportunity to expand on the ideas of the class.

 

Critical Response Papers:

     In the course of the term, you are required to write 10 short, informal papers (1-2 pages each) on the readings for class.  You may choose which days and which readings you want to respond to.  All the response papers will analyze questions on the works we are reading. Each work will have 1-2 questions concerning it. You will pick one and respond to it.

     Response papers will be graded Pass/Fail.  I ask you to type them (so that they are easier for me to read), but they need not be a perfect, polished product.  Rather, response papers should be just what their name says -- a response to the essay.  Don’t worry about typos or comma splices or organization.  Treat response papers more like a journal entry than like a formal paper.  I don’t want a five-paragraph theme.  Rather, I want an evaluative exploration -- as detailed and specific as possible -- of the reading assignment for the day.

     Normally, as long as you submit a response paper of suitable length, detail, and thoughtfulness (and as long as you turn it in on time in class on the assigned day), you will receive all the points that the response paper is worth.

     You may submit more than 10 response papers in the course of the semester (to make up for any response papers that do not receive a grade of Pass), but no matter how many extra response papers you turn in, you will not receive more than 100 points total for all the response papers you write.  You may not submit more than one response paper on a single day, nor may you submit a response paper for a day that you are absent from class -- absolutely no exceptions.  (NOTE:  Even if you do not submit a response paper on a particular day, you should still come to class prepared to discuss the assigned reading for that day since we will focus our in-class discussion on analyzing and evaluating it.)

 

Course Outline

Note: The course outline is tentative and subject to change with notification.

You must have readings done by the date they appear on the outline. If page numbers are listed, the letter refers to the volume number and the numbers refer to the page numbers

 

Week 1: 1/22, 1/24

Wednesday: SNOW DAY

 

Friday: Handout Syllabus and Course Outline.

               Introduction to the course

               Procedures

               How to read the course outline

 

Week 2: 1/27, 1/29, 1/31

Monday: Interpreting Literature: Dos and Don'ts

               The Epic of Gilgamesh Intro and Tablets I-II (A 95-112)

 

Wednesday: The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablets III-VII (A 112-132)

 

Friday: The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablets VIII-XI (A 132-151)

 

Week 3: 2/3, 2/5, 2/7

Monday: Homer (222-229)

               An introduction to The Odyssey with a lecture on the background of The Illiad and the fall of Troy

 

Wednesday: The Odyssey Books 1 & 2 (A 332-352)

 

Friday: The Odyssey Book 3 & 4 (A 353-385)

 

Week 4: 2/10, 2/12, 2/14

Monday: The Odyssey Book 5 & 6 (A 385-404)

 

Wednesday: The Odyssey Book 9 & 10 (A 426-451)

 

Friday: SNOW DAY

 

Week 5: 2/17, 2/19, 2/21

Monday: The Odyssey Book 11 & 12 (A 451-477)

 

Wednesday: The Odyssey Book 13 & 14 (A 477-500)

 

Friday: The Odyssey Book 18, 19, & 21 (A 541-587)

 

Week 6: 2/24, 2/26, 2/28

Monday: The Odyssey Book 22, 23, & 24 (A 587-622)

 

Wednesday: Virgil (960-964)

                    The Aeneid Book 1 (A 964-985)

 

Friday: The Aeneid Book 2 (A 985-1007)

 

Week 7: 3/3, 3/5, 3/7

Monday: SNOW DAY

 

Wednesday: The Aeneid Book 4 (A 1008-1027)

 

Friday: The Aeneid Book 6 (Photocopy and PDF) Book 6 

           The Aeneid Book 8 (A 1027-1048)

 

Week 8: 3/10, 3/12, 3/14

Monday:The Aeneid Book 8 (A 1027-1048)

               The Aeneid Book 12 (A 1048-1072)

 

Wednesday: Midterm Exam part 1

 

Friday: Midterm Exam part 2

 

Week 9: 3/17, 3/19, 3/21 Enjoy your break!

 

Week 10: 3/24, 3/26, 3/28

Monday: Midterm Essay Due

               Beowulf (B 107-112)

               Beowulf lines 1-1250 (B 112-141)

 

Wednesday: Beowulf lines 1251-2199 (B 141-161)

 

Friday: Beowulf lines 2200-3182 (B 162-182)

 

Week 11: 3/31, 4/2, 4/4

Monday: Bo Juyi, “The Song of Lasting Regret” (B 1036-1041)

               Chen Hong, “An Account to Go with the 'Song of Lasting Regret'” (B 1041-1045)

 

Wednesday: Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji Intro & Chapters I & II (B 1154-1187)

 

Friday: Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, Chapters V-VII (B 1187-1220)

 

Week 12: 4/7, 4/9, 4/11

Monday: Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji Chapters IX-XIII (B 1220-1261)

 

Wednesday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Intro and Cantos 1-3 (B 387-402)

 

Friday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 4-5 (B 402-409)

 

Week 13: 4/14, 4/16, 4/18

Monday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 8-11 (B 415-428)

 

Wednesday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 13, 15, 18 (B 432-436, 440-443, 450- 453)

 

Friday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 20-23 (B 457-471)

 

Week 14: 4/21, 4/23, 4/25

Monday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 24-26 (B 471-482)

 

Wednesday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 28, 30-31 (B 486-489, 493-500)

 

Friday: Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno Cantos 32-34 (B 500-511)

 

Week 15: 4/28, 4/30, 5/2

Monday: John Milton, Paradise Lost Intro and Books 1 & 2 (C 774-792)

 

Wednesday: John Milton, Paradise Lost Books 4 & 8 (C 792-814)

 

Friday: John Milton, Paradise Lost Book 9 (C 814-842)

 

Week 16: 5/5, 5/7, 5/9

Monday: John Milton, Paradise Lost Books 10-12 (C 842-853)

 

Wednesday: Final Essay Due

                     Review for Final Exam

 

Friday: Final Exam part 1

 

Week 17: 5/12

Monday: Final Exam part 2