Approaches to Literature: Fiction

Required Materials:

Active Missouri Western E-Mail account and Internet Access

Text: Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama, 8^th Edition

By X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia

General Requirements for English 210: Approaches to Literature can be found at:

http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/eng210.asp

Policy Regarding Students with Disabilities

Any student participating in this course who has a disability that may require special consideration is strongly encouraged to make an appointment with me as soon as possible so that special consideration might be given in making accommodations for said disability.

Policy Regarding Attendance

As this is an Internet arranged course, the attendance policy will reflect this. Our “in-class” discussions will be conducted via email (between you and myself as well as between your classmates). You will be expected to participate in all online listserv discussions, complete all written assignments, and keep up with all assigned readings. Each assignment missed will be negatively reflected in your final grade assessment. It is expected that you will check your email and compose a response to online discussions an average minimum of two (2) to three (3) responses per day, complete all reading and writing assignments, and be prepared for all discussions by way of keeping up with all assignments. I reserve the right to give any student not meeting the minimum requirements for this course a grade of “F”. It is expected that you will contribute an average of approximately 3.5 to 4 hours per day of your time to this course, mainly due to the compressed time schedule we will be on.

Policy Regarding Academic Honesty

Students are expected to read and familiarize themselves with the Policy on Academic Honesty as found on page 28 of the Student Handbook. This policy is to be strictly adhered to by all students participating in this course. In the event of a breach of this procedure, the student will receive a grade of “F” for the assignment and I will recommend disciplinary action be taken, up to and including immediate dismissal from the course.

Policy Regarding Measurement and Assessment of Student Work

A B C D F

90-100 80-89 70-79 60-69 >-60

Grade Breakdown by Assignment

Assignments (vocabulary 15%, essays 35%): 50%

Listserv Participation: 50%

Listserv

A listserv is basically a program that allows for the rapid dissemination of information to a group of people by way of a software solution. I have entered each student’s information (email address and full name). Our primary mode of communication will be conducted via this listserv. It will act as our “in-class” time period. You should contribute approximately 3.5 – 4 hours per day (the amount of time that class would be held each day) and 2 – 3 responses minimally per day as well. Posts should be of approximately 250 words. Keep in mind, many of your posts may be shorter or even much more lengthy depending on the situation. This is a guideline. As well as length, I am also looking for quality of posts. Don’t just respond to me; respond to all of your classmates as you would if you were sitting in a real classroom rather than in the comfort of your homes by way of a virtual classroom.

Listserv Address:

There are a couple of different ways to access the listserv. Each message posted to the listserv is sent to each student via email. You can simply read your email and respond in that way. To send a message to the listserv, you would address your email (in the “To:” box) as follows: eng21047@list.mwsc.edu

If you find it necessary to look back over previous posts, you can log into Lyris, the program that runs the listserv. This is the URL address directly to the login page:

http://list.mwsc.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=eng21047&text_mode=&lang=english

Or, if this address is too long, you can access it by following the URL address: list.mwsc.edu – follow the links labeled “English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism”, “Department of English and Foreign Languages Lists”, and finally “eng21047”. This method will also take you to the login screen for our class listserv. You can post and send messages from this program just as you would if you sent email to eng21047@list.mwsc.edu. I would suggest that you bookmark this page on your computer once you have visited it.

In order to log on, you must type in your complete email address (ex. mcelwee@griffon.mwsc.edu). Your password is not set so when you log on initially, you will need to make sure you set a password for yourself.

In addition there may be available a course web page which may include access to WebCT. WebCT contains a module for chatting in real time and we may make use of this during the course. I will keep you informed as this develops. The web page will serve as a repository for information found throughout this course. I will make the address available in a listserv email as soon as it is available.

Disclaimer

We live in a world filled with chaos and as such, I reserve the right to modify, as needed, any aspect of this course as is warranted and necessary throughout the term of this semester. I try to make all accommodations that I can to adapt the course to the needs of the students.

Contract

This syllabus is of a contractual nature. Remaining a part of this course is an agreement by you to all of the stipulations put forth in this syllabus. If you have a problem with any of the policies put forth in this syllabus, consideration should be given to dropping this course.

David R. McElwee

Assistant Professor, English

These following dates are the official dates the course will be "in session":

Monday, December 10th, 2001

Tuesday, December 11th, 2001

Wednesday, December 12th, 2001

Thursday, December 13th, 2001

Friday, December 14th, 2001

Monday, December 17th, 2001

Tuesday, December 18th, 2001

Wednesday, December 19th, 2001

Thursday, December 20th, 2001

Friday, December 21st, 2001

Wednesday, December 26th, 2001

Thursday, December 27th, 2001

Friday, December 28th, 2001

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2002

Thursday, January 3rd, 2002

Friday, January 4th, 2002

Monday, January 7th, 2002

Tuesday, January 8th, 2002

Wednesday, January 9th, 2002

Thursday, January 10th, 2002

Friday, January 11, 2002

Total: 21 days

Posts: 2-3 average per day

Total to achieve a passing grade @ 2-3 per day: 42-63

In order to calculate your listserv participation grade, I will take the person who has the most posts and use that number as a reference point in creating a curve scale. Further, it will also be based on the quality of your posts. Primarily, however, it will be based on this highest number and curved from that number.