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:There will be eight in-class papers, as listed in the schedule below. There will also be a final exam. All papers will be handwritten in class. All papers will be closed-book. The first eight will be on individual authors or texts; the final exam will be comprehensive. No makeup papers or exams will be given except for official UTA-excused absences.
The first eight papers are "summary-contextualization" papers. Each will ask you to give a summary of a specific text or set of texts, in each case an assigned reading from the anthology. (For example, if asked to summarize a portion of the Odyssey, summarize the excerpt we read for class, not the entire epic.) Each paper will then ask you to provide contexts for that text (historical, cultural, literary-historical and other information introduced in class lectures).
The first eight papers will simply be graded Yes or No. A Yes grade indicates that you've done both the summary and the contextualization adequately. Each Yes grade earns you a single point. You can never lose points once you've earned them. Six, seven, or eight points will bring your course grade to a C, five to a D, four to an E, and three to an F. If you do not earn three points on the first eight papers, you will fail the course.
The final exam will ask you to write a comprehensive literary history, based on all the materials we've studied. The final exam will be graded according to the standard A, B, C, D, F scale. An A will raise your course grade two letters above what you've earned on the first eight papers; a B will raise your grade one letter over what you've earned on the first eight papers. C or lower will not raise the grade you've earned on the first eight papers (but won't lower it, either). A course grade after the final of E or F will mean an F for the course.
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)
15 Jan: Syllabus, introductions, policies
17 Jan: lecture: history and languages
22 Jan: lecture: materials of literary history
24 Jan: NO CLASS MEETING (reserve if "snow day" is needed)
29 Jan: Homer, from the Iliad (Books 22 & 24, 173-206)
31 Jan: Homer, from the Odyssey (Books 6 & 7, 271-287)
5 Feb: Homer, from the Odyssey (Books 8-11, 287-344)
7 Feb: Aeschylus, Agamemnon (506-551)
12 Feb: Sophocles, Oedipus the King (612-653)
14 Feb: in-class papers 1 & 2 (classical Greek literature)
19 Feb: Lucretius (838-848)
21 Feb: Catullus (922-926)
26 Feb: Virgil, from the Aeneid (Book 2, and from Book 6, 952-974 & 995-1014)
28 Feb: NO CLASS MEETING (reserve if "snow day" is needed)
5 March: Ovid, from the Metamorphoses (from Books 5, 9, & 10, 1041-1064)
7 March: in-class papers 3 & 4 (classical Latin literature)
12 March: NO CLASS MEETING
14 March: NO CLASS MEETING
19 March: from The Song of Roland (1247-1307)
21 March: Lanval, by Marie de France (1318-1324)
26 March: from Chrétien de Troyes, The Story of the Grail (1328-1374)
28 March: NO CLASS MEETING (reserve if "snow day" is needed)
2 Apr: from Dante, Inferno, Cantos 1-5 (1465-1481)
4 Apr: from Dante, Inferno, Cantos 15 (1510-1513) and 26 (1546-1549), and excerpts from Purgatorio & Paradiso (1590-1597)
9 Apr: in-class papers 5 & 6 (medieval Western European literature)
11 Apr: Petrarch, sonnets (1903-1908)
16 Apr: Boccaccio, from the Decameron (1600-1627)
18 Apr: Montaigne, essays (2182-2204)
23 Apr: Cervantes, from Don Quixote (2226-2260)
25 Apr: NO CLASS MEETING (reserve if "snow day" is needed)
30 Apr: in-class papers 7 & 8 (early modern Western European literature)
2 May: Review
7-9 May: FINAL EXAM. Section 001 (930am CLASSTIME) exam time is 800-1030am Thursday 9 May. Section 002 (11am CLASSTIME) exam time is 1100am-130pm Tuesday 7 May.