Missouri Western State College

Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism

Section - 90N, 6:30-9:20 M, SSC 210

Instructor: Tom Pankiewicz

Office: SSC 222R

Office Hours: 10:00-11:00 MWF, 12:00-3:00 W, and by appointment

Phone: 271-4156

ENG 210 Approaches to Literature. A general studies course emphasizing ways of reading and writing about poetry, fiction and drama. Various thematic approaches may be offered.

Outlooks and Insights. A study of readings encompassing themes of personal experiences and relationships, including such aspects of our lives as education, work, language, technology, and considerations of contemporary social issues and ethical questions.

English 210, a course in reading, thinking, discussing, and writing about literature, will show how literature comments on life, explores issues that matter, and raises questions that trouble and fascinate.

We all have stories to tell. Our stories reveal our loves and our hates, our laughter and our tears, our confidence and our fears. Our stories explain how and why we have formed certain opinions or made specific decisions. They explain what impact our actions have had on others. Our stories shape us.

We have also been affected by the stories of others. We read and re-read the same books until we know some stories by heart and call some characters friend. We sit spellbound through movies. We listen again and again to songs that haunt us. We call friends to share stories and laugh at new jokes. These stories too shape our attitudes and beliefs.

In this course, we will explore the theme of Outlooks and Insights by examining the impact of story in our lives. We will have the opportunity to write our own important stories. We will also read and discuss the works of other writers. Through our study of how individuals, both real and fictional, face problems, conflicts, and issues; and we will examine how story affects us.

Key Course Questions

1. How is a story constructed?
2. How do you interpret a story and discuss your interpretation both orally and in written form?
3. How and why does story (literature) create a magic spell and engage the reader?
4. How can we relate story to our lives?
5. What makes you an active reader?
6. What makes you an active writer?

Instructor's Philosophy

(What I believe about teaching literature and how I will apply these beliefs to this course.)

• Readers must discuss. The opportunity to discuss literature, to ask questions, to offer reactions and opinions, to form interpretations will be part of every class. This discussion will take both oral and written forms.
• Readers must think beyond the surface of the story. We will focus on character, structure, language, and details to understand and appreciate individual works.
• Readers need to understand that literature shows, does not always tell. We must recognize when characters and situations change and why these changes occur. We must study how these changes affect the characters within the work and our understanding.
• Readers must be independent thinkers. I will ask you to focus your thinking on specific questions, write weekly responses, lead a class discussion, and examine themes from a personal point of view.
• Readers must discover how literature creates a magic spell, how literature engages us. We need to learn how writers grab our attention, make us want to read about a situation or character, and force us to think about an issue or event.
• Readers must relate what they read to their own experiences.

Meyer, Michael. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5^th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's,2000.

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. New York: Harper, 1988.

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway, 1990.

Coles, Robert. The Call of Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.

I have been influenced by Coles's work on how reading plays an important role in our lives and in the development of our "moral imaginations." I wish to recommend his work to you.

Assignments and Grading

Reading: As in all literature classes, reading is essential. You will have a reading assignment for every class. You are expected to come to class with questions and reactions to what has been read and ready to participate actively in class discussions. Reading will be assessed through my observation of your participation in discussion, quizzes, weekly writings, and other class activities.

Weekly Writing: Each week you will submit an essay discussing one or more of the works read for that class. These writing will be either:

• Impact Essay. A 1-2 page typed essay showing how one or more of the works read that class affected you or analyzing the work or works. Each essay will be worth 25 points.
• Assigned Essays. A specific assignment that may be included in the end of class portfolio. These assignments include:
• A significant book or story and its impact
• A personal narrative or a short story
• An essay discussing The Bean Trees
• An essay discussing The Things They Carried

Class Activities: Each week will probably include such in-class activities small group discussions, writing, and quizzes that will help our understanding of the reading.

Late work: I expect you to complete all assignments on time. Late assignments (this is any work that is not submitted on time and includes assignments left at home or "temporarily lost" by a computer malfunction) will result in a deduction of that assignment’s grade. If you are facing difficulties in completing a major assignment, please discuss the problems with me before the essay is due.

Revision Portfolio: You have the opportunity to revise any assigned essay you write during the semester. I will re-evaluate all revised essays during the final week of the semester and record the highest score. The revision portfolio, which is optional, must include the revised draft, the previously graded draft, all peer responses, and a letter discussing any conferences over the essay and the reasons for the changes made to the essay. Please note that a revision alone does not guarantee a higher grade.

• 100% - 90% = A
• 89% - 80% = B
• 79% - 70% = C
• 69% - 60% = D
• Below 60% = F

Attendance

For this class to be successful and for you to be successful in it, attendance is mandatory. I expect you to be on time and ready to participate for every class meeting. I realize that "things" sometimes come up. Therefore, you are allowed one unexcused absence before your grade will be affected. More than two absences may result in a grade deduction. More than three absences will result in a failing grade for this course. Quizzes, in-class writing and class activities cannot be made up if you are late for class or absent.

If you miss class because of a college-sponsored activity, you will not be penalized. It is your responsibility to contact me before class for assignments.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism is an act of theft. It is taking another's words or ideas and calling them your own. That does not mean you cannot use another's words or ideas to illustrate and to support your thoughts, but it does mean that you must give credit to the one whose words and ideas you are using. Plagiarism like cheating cannot be tolerated. If I find evidence of plagiarism or cheating, the assignment will fail.

Disabled Student Policy

Any student enrolled in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities or that prevents or hinders the completion of class requirements as stated in the syllabus should contact me as soon as possible so we can discuss class requirements.

Center for Academic Support

The Center for Academic Support provides trained tutors for students requiring additional reading and writing instruction. There is no cost to students for using these services. You are encouraged to make use of these services throughout this course.

Aug. 20 - Introduction of the course. "The Story of An Hour," 10. Selected Poems. Short Drama.

Aug. 27 - "IND AFF, or In and Out of Love in Sarajevo," 146; "She Was Waiting to Be Told," 929; "Sex Without Love," 592.

"A Rose For Emily," 71; "Shopping," 632; "To My Dear and Loving Husband," 876.

"The Hand," 196; "Hazel Tells LaVerne," 578; "One Perfect Rose," 699; "Talk," 876.

Sept. 10 - A Doll's House, 1142; "Eveline," 427; "The Answer is No," 489. "Jealousy," 919; "Water, is taught by thirst," 753; "'Heaven' - is what I cannot reach," 755.

Sept. 17 - "Barn Burning," 397. "Miss Brill," 226. "Revelation," 340. "A Patient, Noiseless Spider," 629. "Mirror," 628. "The Ruined Maid," 884. "A Blessing," 912.

Sept. 24 - The Bean Trees; "Seventeen," 650; "Red Hat," 695; "After Making Love," 733.

Oct. 1 - "The Lesson," 159. "Ounce of Cure," 364. "A&P," 480. "For deLawd," 878. "The Collar," 887.

Oct. 15 - Death of A Salesman, 1314; "This Be The Verse," 894; "Vasectomy," 742; " Do Not Go Gentle," 715; "Man Said To The Universe," 643; "Richard Cory," 640.

Oct. 22 - "Night Nurse," 514. "Powder," 525. "Popular Mechanics," 238. "Those Winter Sundays," 532; "As In the Beginning," 881; "My Papa's Waltz," 701; "come home from the movies," 631; "A Watt's Mother Mourns while Boiling Beans," 893.

Oct. 29 - The Things They Carried; "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," 573; "Dulce et Decorum Est," 610; "AD," 641; "The Naming of Parts," 654; "The Trains," 678; "Rite of Passage," 737; "Arms and the Boy," 898.

Nov. 5 - "Sorrowful Woman," 33 or "Soldier's Home," 139 or "Killings," 80 or "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," 328. Shakespeare's Sonnets on pp. 711-712, 901-903.

Nov. 12 - Othello, 1048.

Nov. 19 - "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses," 485; "The Colonel," 736; "If You Look at the City from Here," 920. "Lust," 256; "Love in L.A.," 230; "Aubade," 608; "A Late Aubade," 584; "Desire," 713. "Battle Royal," 199; "Scottsboro," 874; "Indian Movie, New Jersey," 656; "Unholy Sonnet," 714; "The Street," 924.

Nov. 26 - M. Butterfly, 1213; "Red Azalea," 92; "Flower Feet," 577; "Eating Together," 894; "you fit into me," 619; "A Beautiful girl Combs Her Hair," 560.

Dec. 3 - FINAL EXAM.