Texts | Grades | Schedule | Presentations
Dr. Carla Kungl
Office: 022c DHC; Phone: x1716
Email: ctkung@ship.edu
Office hours: MW 1:00-2:30; R 12:30-1:30 and by appointment
Welcome to the English Major! This course is designed to prepare you to become a successful English major or minor at Shippensburg University by introducing you to the main genres, theories, and terms that English studies uses. We will read a variety of fiction, poetry, and drama from many different time periods for critical analysis, studying such narrative elements as plot, theme, and point of view and poetical elements such as rhythm and meter. We will also discuss the basics of literary research and analysis, skills that you will need in future English classes. My main goals are to engage students thoroughly in the positive elements the major has to offer and to bring joy and enthusiasm to our reading and learning.
Meyer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012.
Modern Language Association. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: MLA, 2009.
Course Requirements
1. Two papers: one an analysis that you will also present to the class; and one an explication of a poem. These papers, for which you will not use outside sources, will be around 3 pages long, requiring close reading and analysis.
2. One research paper: 7-8 pages, conforming to all MLA requirements and using 6-8 outside sources.
3. Two "midterm" quizzes on material from the MLA Handbook, primarily on issues of punctuation, style, and format; on elements of fiction or poetry, and on approaches to literary analysis.
4. A final exam, also covering material from the MLA Handbook and drama.
5. Regular consistent attendance and worthwhile participation, consisting of willingness to contribute to small group and class discussion and completing homework and in-class writings (randomly collected).
Course Policies
Attendance and Participation: I firmly believe that attending class and fully participating are vital to learning; thus, any more than three absences will be reflected in your final grade; if you miss more than 5 classes, you will fail the class. If you do miss a class, you are responsible for obtaining handouts, assignments, etc; for finding out about any changes in the syllabus; and for arriving prepared for the next class.
SU’s policy for absences due to religious observances is as follows: “Faculty will make appropriate accommodations for the excused absences, and students will be accountable for the material covered in class. At the beginning of each academic session, the student will be required in writing to provide his/her faculty with the dates of scheduled religious observances” (qtd. in Swataney). Attendance at various other university events (sports, music, field trips) must be similarly declared beforehand.
The general success of this class depends on your participation: this includes giving engaged answers when called upon for your opinions and ideas, asking informed questions about material, providing insights into materials we read, and participating in group work and small group discussions. There are few “wrong answers” in discussion of this kind of material. In order to participate fully and do well on the tests and occasional pop reading quizzes, read the material as assigned and follow all additional materials as posted. You should know that merely showing up every day doesn't count as participating; that will get you a solid “C.” I want to know the sound of your voice!
Essay format: Papers must follow all MLA guidelines. All rough drafts must be handed in with the final draft of the essay. Papers must be handed in at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted. Late work will not be accepted without prior arrangement (and an email at 10:00 the night before the paper is due doesn’t count as “prior arrangements”). I normally do not accept emailed work unless, again, a prior arrangement has been made.
Plagiarism: As academics, we are constantly building on ideas and theories of others. It is vital that you learn to smoothly and effectively bring those other voices into conversation with your own. Plagiarism, at its most basic, is the submission of work done by another with the intent that it be evaluated as one's own; however, it often occurs when we sloppily or mistakenly try to incorporate others’ work. Regardless, plagiarism is a serious ethical and academic transgression, and if I discover that you have intentionally plagiarized, I will follow the university’s procedures for plagiarism (see http://ssi.ship.edu/Senate/Swataney, pages 124-6) and you will fail this class. We will learn about and practice allowable ways to credit in your essay ideas found in books, articles, and elsewhere.
Communication: Maintaining communication with your professors is crucial to your success in college. We have office hours for the express purpose of meeting with students, and I encourage you to take advantage of these whenever you can: to discuss a reading, go over a paper, discuss the course in general. If you cannot see me personally, feel free to call my office or email me. A few notes on email:
Be sure to put your name in the email or sign your name, and at the beginning of the semester especially, it’s helpful if you remind me what class you are in of mine. Professors on this campus can have up to 120 students per semester and it can take a few weeks to learn everyone’s name!
Be aware that I may or may not get your email right away, especially if you email me in the evenings, and you should not expect an immediate response. Try to find other ways of reaching me if there is an immediate concern.
Along the same lines, because I am not your buddy but your professor, take care when emailing me. “dr kungl can u help me what did i miss in class today” is absolutely inappropriate. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, tone, and punctuation.
It is never a good idea to email a professor after missing a class to ask if you missed anything important. Duh! Check the syllabus; check with classmates; then, if it appears that there is something you need (a handout perhaps), please do follow up with me.
Conferences/Help: Please do not hesitate to see me during office hours or to set up a conference. You are also strongly encouraged to seek help from the tutors in the Learning Center (LC). If you are a student with a disability and would like to discuss special academic accommodations, contact me during office hours.
Your final grade will be determined in the following way:
| Analysis Paper/presentation: | 15% | Midterm exams: | 15% |
| Explication Paper: | 10% | Final exam: | 20% |
| Research Paper: | 30% | Participation: | 10% |
Schedule may change at my discretion. Have material prepared for (and items are due on) the day listed. Bring your MLA handbook every day unless I specifically state that we won’t need it.
Week 1: Elements of Fiction: Plot
26 intro to course; begin analysis of short stories with Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”
28 Discuss elements of fiction: plot (72-3); Faulkner "A Rose for Emily"
begin discussion of ch. 49: 1465--79 and analysis section: 1488-90
finish analysis/close reading of Chopin; discuss sample paper (20-22)
Week 2: Character and Setting
2 Discuss elements of fiction: character (112-7); Melville "Bartleby the Scrivener"
4 elements of fiction: setting (163-5); Hemingway "Soldier's Home"; Weldon "IND AFF"
#1 report: analyze how setting influences theme in Hemingway
Week 3: Point of View
elements of fiction: point of view (195-200); Updike " A&P" and Spence, "Missing Women"
9 #2 report: what indicates that Updike's point of view on Sonny's final action differ from Sonny's feelings?
11 #3 report: for Spence, how does point of view affect our feelings about the town and townspeople?
***All week: critical strategies for reading (1441-1464)
Week 4: Symbolism and Theme
16 elements of fiction: symbolism (219-222); “The Paring Knife” and O'Connor "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (p. 356; opt: read intro to O'Connor 350-6))
#4 report: discuss major symbols in O’Connor and how they affect other elements of fiction, especially theme
18 elements of fiction: theme (242-45); Crane "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" and Mansfield "Miss Brill"
#5 report: why is Crane’s use of marriage central to his theme?
#6 report: discuss function of minor characters in Mansfield; how do they reveal Miss Brill?
Week 5: Style and Tone
23 elements of fiction: style, tone, irony (264-8)
Carver, "Popular Mechanics" and Minot "Lust"
#7 report: in Minot, discuss how irony advances the theme
25 Poe 'The Cask of Amontillado" (p.536); review for midterm quiz #1
#8 report: examine elements of foreshadowing and irony in Poe; how do they reveal character?
Week 6: Reading Poetry
30 midterm quiz #1
2 Chapter 19; Reading Poetry (parts): 545-50, 562-7 and Chapter 20
***explication section (1484-88 and 785-89)
Week 7: Word Choice, Word Order, and Tone
7 Chapter 21 (Word Choice; 588-93)
#9 report: consider the ways word choice and tone make “Marvell Noir” successful, along with the allusions necessary to appreciate it
#10 report: examine Hardy's and Slavitt's "Titanic" poems from a Marxist perspective; analyze attitudes toward opulence
Poems: Machan, “Hazel Tells LaVerne” Marvel, "To His Coy Mistress"
Lauinger, “Marvell Noir” Hardy, "Convergence of the Twain"
Slavitt, "Titanic" Oliver, “Oxygen”
Song, “The Youngest Daughter” Brooks, "We Real Cool"
9 finish chapter 21; Chapter 25: Sounds (689-695) and Rhyme (697-701)
#11 report: in Hopkins, how does sound contribute to our understanding of theme and meaning?
#12 report: examine rhyme in “Bell Rope” to find how it elucidates theme
Poems: Updike, “Player Piano” Dickinson, “A Bird Came Down the Walk”
Wakefield, “The Bell Rope” Francis, “The Pitcher”
Chasin, “The Word Plum”
Hudgins, "The Cow"
Week 8: Sounds and Rhythm
14 NO CLASS: FALL BREAK
16 Chapter 26: Patterns of Rhythm; read pages (and poems) 715-25
#13 report: compare rhythm in Blake's "Tyger" and "Lamb"; how do they achieve different effects?
#14 report: compare the ideas of order in Herrick and Jonson. How does rhythm support theme?
Additional Poems: Blake, “The Lamb” and “Tyger! Tyger!”
Herrick, “Delight in Disorder”
Jonson, “Still To Be Neat”
Week 9: Poetic Forms
21 finish chapter 26; begin Chapter 27
#15 report: choose any sonnet; examine how form helps reinforce theme
23 Chapter 27: Poetic Forms
#16 report: examine “All-American Sestina” from a cultural perspective; how are aspects of American culture incorporated and what comments are implicitly made?
Poems: Houseman, “The Loveliest of Trees”
Wordsworth, “The World is Too Much With Us”
Shakespeare, “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun”
Galvin, "An Evel Knieval Elegy"
Thomas, “Do not Go Gentle into that Good Night”
Swinburne, “Sestina”
Mayers, “All-American Sestina”
Week 10: Open Forms and Billy Collins Case Study
28 Chapter 28: Open Forms
#17 and #18 reports: discuss open form and the effect of the arrangement of the words on the page in one of the open form poems listed
Begin Chapter 33: A Study of Billy Collins; discuss “Osso Buco”
HOMEWORK: write a poem and bring it to class
Poems: Hague, “Directions for Resisting the SAT”
Bass, "Gate C22
” Meinke, “ABC of Aerobics”
Young, "Eddie Preist's Barbershop & Notary" Shumate, "Shooting the Horse"
30 finish Billy Collins; read all poems except “Nostalgia”
review for exam #2
#19 report: examine from biographical perspective; pick 2 poems to discuss
DUE: explication paper
Week 11: Drama
Nov 4 midterm quiz #2
6 Glaspell Trifles (1097-48) and chapter 41, Writing About Drama
introduce final paper
Week 12: Sophocles: Oedipus the King
11 Begin Sophocles; go over thematic research paper and chapter 50 (to 1506)
#20 report: how are main characters revealed? what do names, physical action, words, or minor characters contribute?
13 finish Sophocles; #21 report: locate instances of dramatic irony and how they foreshadow events
#22 report: relate Oedipus back to the oedipal conflict so prominent in psychological criticism
Week 13: Ibsen: A Doll's House
18 begin Ibsen A Doll's House (Act 1)
#23 report: analyze a conflict, characterization or symbolism in Act I
20 Ibsen Act II; review critical strategies and MLA; questions about final paper
#24 report: Act II: analyze a conflict, characterization or symbolism
Week 14
25 finish Ibsen; sign up for conferences
#25 report: examine A Doll's House from a Marxist perspective: how does class affect characters?
27 NO CLASS: Happy Thanksgiving
Week 15
2 NO CLASS: conferences Dec 3 and 4
4 thematic research paper due OR writing workshop; exam review
FINAL: tba