to the schedule of readings and assignments
prerequisites: ENGL 2350
required text: The Norton Anthology of Western Literature (Eighth Edition, Paperback), Volume 1 [ISBN 978-0-393-92572-2]
grading: Each student will make one class presentation on the topic "how do we know this literary work exists?" Students will typically work independently, two to an assignment, meeting briefly beforehand to coordinate a ten-minute presentation. The presentations will be modeled during the first weeks of class, and then will form a daily part of activities in class. The presentation is a simple pass/fail activity, but you must pass it to pass the course.
There will be five in-class essays, as listed in the schedule below. There will also be a final exam. All papers will be handwritten in class and all will be closed-book.
The first five papers will simply be graded Yes or No. Each Yes grade moves you one step up a grade ladder that starts with the letter G for your first Yes. You can never slip back down the ladder. The final exam has three possible grades: Two, One, or None: each indicates a step up the ladder. A course grade of A will therefore consist of five Yes grades on short papers, followed by Two on the final exam. B will consist of five Yes grades plus One on the final, or alternatively four Yes grades plus Two; and so forth. Assuming satisfactory work on the class presentation, you must make it at least to the D step of the ladder to pass the course. A final rank of E or lower will mean an F for the course.
ADDENDUM 2 OCT 2012: A bonus step will be added after the second in-class essay. Every student gets this "free" step. The ladder then proceeds as described above, except that the highest a student will be allowed to climb on the in-class essays is the C step. No makeup work will be allowed.
academic dishonesty policy: It is the philosophy of The University of Texas at Arlington that academic dishonesty is a completely unacceptable mode of conduct and will not be tolerated in any form. All persons involved in academic dishonesty will be disciplined in accordance with University regulations and procedures. Discipline may include suspension or expulsion from the University. "Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student or the attempt to commit such acts." [Regents' Rules and Regulations, Part One, Chapter Vi, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22]
disability policy: The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 93112—The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act – (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodation" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty at the beginning of the semester and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels.
schedule of assignments and readings:
(all page numbers are from The Norton Anthology of Western Literature [Eighth Edition, Paperback], Volume 1)
23 Aug: Syllabus, introductions, policies
28 Aug: from Genesis (39-64)
30 Aug: from Job, Psalms, and the Song of Songs (66-100)
4 Sept: from the Gospels (1084-1092)
6 Sept: in-class essay #1 (the Bible)
11 Sept: Homer, from the Iliad (Books 22 & 24, 173-206)
13 Sept: Homer, from the Odyssey (Books 6 & 7, 271-287)
18 Sept: Homer, from the Odyssey (Books 8-11, 287-344)
20 Sept, Aeschylus, Agamemnon (506-551)
25 Sept: Sophocles, Oedipus the King (612-653)
27 Sept: in-class essay #2 (classical Greek literature)
2 Oct: Virgil, from the Aeneid (Book 2, and from Book 6, 952-974 & 995-1014)
4 Oct: Ovid, from the Metamorphoses (from Books 5, 9, & 10, 1039-1064)
9 Oct: Catullus (922-926)
11 Oct: in-class essay #3 (classical Latin literature)
16 Oct: from The Song of Roland (1247-1316)
18 Oct: from the laïs of Marie de France (1318-1325)
23 Oct: from Chrétien de Troyes, The Story of the Grail (1328-1374)
25 Oct: from Dante, Inferno, Cantos 1-5 (1465-1481)
30 Oct: from Dante, Inferno, Cantos 15 (1510-1513) and 26 (1546-1549), and excerpts from Purgatorio & Paradiso (1590-1597)
1 Nov: in-class essay #4 (medieval Western European literature)
6 Nov: ELECTION DAY: NO CLASS MEETING
8 Nov: SCMLA: NO CLASS MEETING
13 Nov: Petrarch, sonnets (1903-1908)
15 Nov: Ariosto, from Orlando Furioso, Canto 1 (1965-1973) and from Cantos 23, 24, & 39 (2010-2016, 2038-2041)
20 Nov: Montaigne, essays (2182-2204)
22 Nov: THANKSGIVING: NO CLASS MEETING
27 Nov: Cervantes, from Don Quixote (2226-2260)
29 Nov: in-class essay #5 (Renaissance Western European literature)
4 Dec: Review
6 Dec: FINAL EXAM; hours: 0800-1030