Instructor: Dr. Donaher
Office: Eder Hall 222 L
Office Hours: By Appointment
Phone: 816-271-5964
Email: donahepa@griffon.mwsc.edu
URL: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/~donahepa

Course Philosophy and Objectives

Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass. There is no such thing as concealment.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

• learn the major elements of fiction, poetry, and drama and the primary characteristics of a variety of mystery genres
• read a variety of mysteries and some critical works about the mystery and its authors
• discuss and write about the mystery as a literary form
• craft their own mystery stories

• Recognize the major characteristics of literary genres
• Discuss literature, orally and in writing, with assurance
• Appreciate literary works which are encountered
• Understand the different ways in which literary theme may be treated in literature.

• Read poetry, prose fiction, and drama
• Investigate various methods of approaching and understanding literature
• Write papers, including themes and essay examinations
• Read a variety of works in which a chosen theme is dominant.

Required Materials

Texts:

• Brewer, Steve. Lonely Street. Intrigue Press, 1999.
• Christie, Agatha. The Mousetrap and Other Plays. New York: Signet, 2000.
• Hillerman, Tony and Rosemary Herbert. The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
• Perry, Anne. The Cater Street Hangman. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1980.
• Westlake, Donald E. Ed. Murderous Schemes: An Anthology of Classic Detective Stories. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

• Two Computer Disks for revising, saving, and backing up your work. Disks need to be IBM Formatted. You will be required to turn in one disk copy of your final writings, done in Microsoft Word '98 or other compatible program. Disks are to be used exclusively for English 210.
• A LARGE Binder Notebook with notebook paper and pockets for holding hard copies of your writings and copies of materials gathered and received. The notebook should be used exclusively for English 210--no history notes, math equations, or love letters--just English.
• A hole punch, so that articles and other materials may be inserted into your notebook.
• A Pocket Folder in which to submit disks and hard copies of writings.
• Photocopies of your work and various sources.
• Stamina and Good Humor.

Attendance and Promptness

Attendance is mandatory. Since we meet for only 12 days and each day counts for a week and a half of regular classes, any absence is unexcusable and will adversely affect your final course grade. If you can not be in class all 12 days, please drop the course now. Lateness will be counted as absence.

You will be expected to make significant contributions to the class in the form of participation and preparation. Participation includes the contributions you make to class discussion and the help you give your fellow writers. Preparation includes doing the daily assignments and research, as well as bringing your drafts and copies or other materials on the appropriate day. If you come to class unprepared, you will receive a zero for any work due that day.

Students are expected to be courteous and respectful in all of their exchanges with the instructor and other students and students should be particularly careful to note how tone, rhetoric, and language all contribute to the overall impression of their words and writings. The college expects all students to conduct themselves so as to maintain an effective environment for learning; to act responsibly in accordance with good taste; and to respect fully the rights of others.

Any student in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities must talk with me immediately following the first class so that we can discuss class requirements.

All assignments are due at the beginning of the hour on the due date. Learning is a cumulative process and each assignment in this course is designed to build on the last assignment; therefore, late work disrupts this important aspect of the learning process. For this reason, no daily assignments will be accepted late. Under extraordinary circumstances, you may apply for a time extension of 24 hours on your final story or essay before the assignment is due. No work will be accepted after the final class day.

You will be called upon to use a computer outside of class time for several of your assignments. Further, all drafts and final writings for this course must be word-processed according to MLA guidelines. MWSC has a number of computer labs to help you complete this requirement.

During the course, students will read a variety of stories, novels, plays, and poems and a some critical essays about the mystery, its authors, and literature in general. In addition to the readings, students will do in-class writings, will write a mystery story of their own, write and give an author report, write a formal interpretative essay, and take a final exam. In order to pass the course, you must complete the three formal writings and take the exam. In addition, the quality of your work, the percentage of the work that you complete, and your efforts at participation will determine your final grade.

Your Final Grade Distribution is as follows:

• Daily Assignments and Participation = 10%
• Author Report = 10%
• Original Mystery Story = 20%
• Formal Interpretative Essay = 20%
• Final Exam = 40%

. . . it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. -- Herman Melville

Final Thoughts

As with all college courses, a steady devotion to duty is expected; however, the very nature of intersession courses demands that the student be prepared to do a substantial amount of work in a very short time. In order to make the most of our shorter time frame, I have subtracted four novels, one play, a few short stories, a group short story assignment, and a midterm exam from the regular semester work load. In lieu of these assignments, I have added two films and more in-class time to work on the writing assignments; still, you can expect to have between four and six hours of homework per day (including weekends) while taking this course.