MISSOURI WESTERN STATE
COLLEGE
School of Liberal Arts and
Sciences
Department of English,
Foreign Languages, and Journalism
Nature
and the Human Spirit
Time: 9:30-10:50
TTH Place: JGM 104
Professor:
Dr. Elizabeth L. Sawin Office: SSC 215
Phone: 271-4274 Office hrs: 11-11:30; 2-3 TTH
Email: sawin@missouriwestern.edu
If you contact me by email or
phone, please identify yourself by name and course AND if you want me to return
your call, please give your phone number s-l-o-w-l-y. People dash through their phone numbers … and I won’t keep
replaying the tape to decipher what they are. I have arranged to be in my
office immediately after this class for your convenience should you need
individual help.
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
English
220 is a General Studies course emphasizing ways of reading and writing about
poetry, fiction, and drama. It is a prerequisite for most upper-level
literature courses and required for all English majors. Our section of English
220 will organize some of its readings around a theme: Is nature dead or
divine? A living system or raw material? Necessary or healing? "Out"
there or "in" here? Does nature have rights? Do we have sense? Have
American attitudes toward nature changed in the stories we tell, the poems we
write, and the movies we see? We will study the complex relationships between
nature and the human spirit.
REQUIRED
TEXTS:
New York: Longman, 1999.
REQUIRED
ASSIGNMENTS:
400 points
400-360 = A 3599-320
= B 319-280 = C 279-240 = D
100-90% 89-80% 79-70% 69-60%
N.B. I reserve the right to make changes in the nature of the work we do this semester if need be or if some opportunity arises that would be an ideal performance objective for this course. The percentages for final grade assignment will, however, stay the same.
COURSE OBJECTIVES FOR 220 :
1.
Recognize the major characteristics of literary
genres
2.
Discuss literature, orally and in writing, with
assurance
3.
Appreciate literary works which are encountered
4.
Understand the different ways in which literary
theme may be treated in literature
The
student is expected to:
1.
Read poetry, prose fiction, and drama
2.
Investigate various methods of approaching and
understanding literature
3.
Write papers, including themes and essay
examinations
4.
Read a variety of literary works in which a
chosen theme is dominant
ACADEMIC
HONESTY:
You
are expected to do your own reading and writing in this course. Any student who submits someone else's work
as his or her own will receive no credit (0 points) for that assignment. A second infraction will earn an
"F" in the course. Students will be reported to the Dean of Students.
Taking ideas from articles published on the web without citation or
copying work from other students is NOT acceptable academic behavior.
ATTENDANCE
POLICY and COURTEOUS BEHAVIOR
· You have a responsibility to be in class and to come on time. Emergencies can occur, but repeated tardiness shows a lack of respect for class members who will be distracted with your late appearance. IF you some special circumstance arise for you, please let me know.
· Cell phones are annoying. Please turn them off before class begins. (IF some dire situation is unfolding in your life that requires a cell phone to be on, you must inform me: a critically ill parent? a wife about to give birth? a child in a hospital?)
· College policy does not allow eating or drinking in classrooms. Please help us to maintain a clean environment for everyone. Gum chewing is distracting. Please refrain from it during class.
No absences: 40 points: A Outstanding!
1 absence: 37
points A- Very Good
2 absences: 33 points B Good
3 absences: 30 points C
Average
4 absences: 27 points C- Poor
No points for in-class work will be awarded if you
have more than 5 absences. If an extraordinary and prolonged medical emergency
occurs, I reserve the right to make an adjustment, but only if you provide
substantial written documentation.
DISABLED
STUDENT POLICY:
If
you have a recognized disability that requires special consideration, please
make an appointment to see me during the first week of classes so that we can
discuss privately how I might help you to succeed.
REQUIRED
FORMATTING for out-of-class copy:
Identify
yourself in the upper, right-hand corner:
Name
English 220
Nature of the Assignment
Date
Use
regular white paper. Leave one-inch margins on all
sides.
Center
the title. Number each page (bottom right)
Single-space within paragraphs. Double-space
between paragraphs.
ASSIGNED READINGS
Jan. 18 Introduction
Jan. 20 Western Wind, READ “Before We Begin” xxxiii-xxxviii and “Where Experience Starts: The Image” 3-14
Jan. 25 Western Wind, READ “What’s It Like?; Simile, Metaphor, Allusion, Synthesia, Personification” 18-42
Jan. 27 Western Wind, READ “The Broken Coin: The Use of Symbol” 47-63
Feb. 1 Western Wind, READ “Binocular Vision: Antipoetry, Paradox, Irony, the Withheld Image” 68-86
Feb. 3 Western Wind, READ “ The Color of Thought: Emotions in Poetry” 93-114
Feb. 8 Western Wind, READ “Machine for Magic: The Fresh Usual Words” 121-143
Feb. 10 Western Wind, READ “Gold in the Ore: The Sounds of English” 151-170
“Working with Gold: The Devices of Sound” 173-195
Feb. 15 Western Wind, READ “The Dancer and the Dance: The Play of Rhythms” 203-228
Feb. 17 Western Wind, READ “Different Drummers: Rhythms Old and New” 235-260
Feb. 22 Western Wind, READ “The Shape of Thought: We Go A Sentencing” 269-285
Feb. 24 Western Wind, READ “Golden Numbers: On Nature and Form” 289-318 PAPER ON POETRY DUE