English 210-80 Honors

Approaches to Literature: Commonwealth Literature

MWF 11:00-11:50 SS/C 210

Department of English, Foreign Languages and Journalism

Dr. Stacia L. Bensyl SS/C 222I phone 271-5936

Office hours:9:00-10:00 MWF 11:00-12:00 and 1:00-2:00 TTh

Email--bensyl@missouriwestern.edu

Required Texts:

Deane, Seamus. Reading in the Dark.

Emecheta, Buchi. In the Ditch.

Lim,Shirley Geok-Lin and Horman A. Spencer. One World of Literature.

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of English 210-02 you should be able to:

• Identify and appreciate the qualities of Commonwealth Literature
• Analyze Commonwealth Literature in terms of those qualities
• Write about Commonwealth Literature and discuss it in class
• Think critically about Commonwealth Literature

To reach these objectives you will:

1. Write two 3-4 page papers about a particular piece of Commonwealth literature which we have covered in class. You should incorporate information you know about the country and the author to inform your reading of the piece of literature itself. Instructions for these papers are attached.
2. Take quizzes--at least one per week--worth 10 points each. These quizzes cannot be made up. I will drop the lowest quiz score of the semester.
3. Take a final exam on the date indicated below. The final exam will be comprised of

objective questions taken directly from the quizzes you will have had all semester, as well as a choice of two essay questions which will come in part from study guide questions you will be given in class.

4. Write a 3-4 page "report" over a short story which we have not read for class by a Commonwealth author. It may be by one of the same authors, but it must be a different story. Instructions for this assignment are attached.
5. Write a 2 page "review" of Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark.

Because this is an honors class, I expect the discussion to be quite in-depth. I expect you to come to class prepared each day, and to enter into class discussions and debates with a degree of enthusiasm and vigor.

Academic Honesty:

I abide by the standards for academic honesty and disciplinary action outlined in the student handbook.

Attendance:

I expect everyone to be here all the time. I also realize that is unrealistic. Therefore, I will allow you one mental health day, no questions asked. I will allow you up to two excused absences for things such as an off campus event you must participate in, jury duty, a death in the immediate family, illness, etc. I will consider other absences on a case by case basis. Ultimately, however, any absences above three will be excused, or not, at my discretion.

Students with disabilities:

Students with disabilities (impaired hearing, vision, reading disorders, etc.) should notify me in writing of the disability before the end of the first week of class. In consultation with the Center for Academic Support, I will work out a course of study for such students.

Grading policy:

I use the following grading scale:

100-90 = A

89-80 = B

79-70 = C

69-60 = D

59. = F

Reading assignments:

This assignment schedule is tentative, because we might need to spend more or less time on a particular assignment. I expect students to come to class having read the assignment and prepared to discuss the assignments in class.

August 19 introduction

21 film "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire"

23 film " 330,000,000 gods"

26 "Breast Giver"

28 "Breast Giver"

30 "Breast Giver"

September 2 Labor Day no class

4 "Gateman's Gift"

6 "The Interview"

9 "Nomad and Viper"

11 "Nomad and Viper"

13 "House of Flesh"

16 "The Happy Man"

18 "Land of Sad Oranges"

20 "Another Evening at the Club" paper #1 due

23 In the Ditch

25 In the Ditch

27 In the Ditch

30 In the Ditch

October 2 Swamp Dwellers

4 Swamp Dwellers

7 "Civil Peace"

9 "A Soldier's Embrace"

11 "The Hajji"

14 Columbus Day no class

16 "The Pyrotechnicist"

18 "Shoemaker Arnold"

21 Derek Walcott poems

23 catch up day

25 Bensyl at conference no class

28 "The Cooboo"

30 "Clothes Make the Man"

November 1 "Mr. Parker's Valentine"

4 "His First Ball"

6 "His First Ball" paper #2 due

8 "And So I Go"

11 Veteran's Day no class

13 "Dancing Girls"

18 Reading in the Dark

20 Reading in the Dark

22 "The Drunkard" Last day to turn in paper over outside reading

25 "Digging"

27 Thanksgiving break no class

29 Thanksgiving break no class

December 2 review for final

Final Exam: Friday, December 6, 11:30-1:20

Paper #1 due September 20

Paper #2 due November 6

Each of these papers must be at least 3-4 pages in length. Each must be word-processed, spell-checked and edited, and have reasonable margins, line length and font size. It must have an introduction with a thesis, a body, and a conclusion.

In these papers I want you to examine a specific idea about Commonwealth literature which we have discussed in class and apply it to a text we have read. For example, you might want to look at how Commonwealth writers use examples of traditional lifestyles in their writing to establish their own identity. In that case, if you were working with the play Swamp Dwellers, you might want to look at the symbols of traditional religion in the play and the symbols of modern society in the play. You would probably want to address the ways the author uses traditional and modern lifestyles to comment on how tribal society is changing, and how rural life, that is, traditional life, is dying as a result of more modern, "mechanized" advancements coming to their country.

This paper is due NO LATER THAN November 22, 2002. You may turn it in earlier than that; in fact, I would encourage you to do so.

Again, this paper must be at least 3-4 pages in length. It must be word-processed, spell-checked and edited, and have reasonable margins, line length and font size.

For this paper, I want you to read a short story by a Commonwealth author of your choosing. If you’re not sure if the author is a Commonwealth author, come see me. You may read another story by an author we’ve covered in class, but you may not use a story we’ve covered in class.

This paper is similar to the first two, in that you will be looking at what makes the story you chose particularly Commonwealth, other than simply the nationality of the author. However, in this paper you will also include a brief summary of the story you read. You’ll probably want to do that in the second paragraph of the essay, right after your introductory paragraph. The rest of the essay should be devoted to showing how the story illustrates some of the issues we’ve discussed in class as being particular to Commonwealth countries.