College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Language, and Journalism
English 210-04
Approaches to Literature—Women’s Literature
MWF
Dr. Stacia Bensyl Eder 222-I
Phone: 271-5936 email: bensyl@missouriwestern.edu
Office Hours:
Required Texts:
Gilbert, Sandra
M. and Susan Gubar, eds. The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women. 3rd ed.
See, Lisa. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Assessment methods:
·
Eleven
10-point quizzes (objective and short answer)
·
A
mid-term, worth 100 points (70 points objective and two short--one paragraph--answers
worth 15 points each)
·
A final
exam, worth 100 points (50 points objective and one essay worth 50 points)
·
A 750
word (minimum) paper due October 22 on body modification. I will distribute instructions for this
assignment September 26 and we will discuss the assignment in class. This assignment is worth 100 points.
Classroom
expectations:
·
Students
should come to class prepared by reading the assignment for that day.
·
Quizzes
cannot be made up. Please do not ask to
do so. After I collect the quizzes,
latecomers will not be given the opportunity to take the quiz. I will drop the lowest quiz score you receive
during the semester.
·
Students
should come to class with an open mind. We
will be discussing ideas and cultures that may be different from our own.
·
Students
should not visit, whisper, or talk during lectures. Not only is it disrespectful to me, more
importantly, it’s disrespectful to your peers and to the subject we are all
trying to learn more about.
·
Turn off your
cell phone or put it on silent. I have
been known to answer students’ phones in class if they ring.
·
Students
will not use class time to text message.
I do notice, and I will say something to you in class about it in front
of your peers the first time. The second
time I will ask you to leave.
·
Students
should participate in classroom discussion and activities.
Objectives:
·
Students
will have a better understanding of literature by women.
·
Students
will be able to put literature by women in a historical and cultural context to
further this understanding.
·
Students
will be able to discuss and write about literature by women and about the ways
culture and society influence that literature.
Student Disability:
Any student in this course who has a disability that prevents the fullest expressions of abilities should contact Missouri Western's special needs coordinator for possible certification of special needs and expert recommendations for assistance. You should also contact me personally as soon as possible so that we can discuss class requirements.
Attendance policy:
In order to
improve student learning as well as to achieve compliance with federal
financial aid policies, Western has a mandatory attendance policy for all 100
and 200-level courses. You will be given an excused absence when acting as an
official representative of the university, provided you give prior written verification
from the faculty/staff supervisor of the event.
All other absences will be deemed unexcused. The maximum number of unexcused absences
allowed for this class before the midterm report, October 17, is five (5).
Thus, when you have five unexcused absences you will be reported to the
Registrar’s Office, who will automatically withdraw you from this class. The Financial Aid Office will reduce
financial aid as appropriate.
Academic Honesty
Policy:
I abide by all the regulations outlined in the Missouri Western State University Catalog and Student Handbook:
Academic Honesty
Policy and Due Process
Academic honesty
is required in all academic endeavors. Violations of academic honesty
include any instance of
plagiarism, cheating, seeking credit for another’s work, falsifying
documents or academic
records, or any other fraudulent activity. Violations of academic
honesty may result in a
failing grade on the assignment, failure in the course, or
expulsion from the
University. When a student’s grade has been affected, violations of
academic honesty will be
reported to the Provost or designated representative on the
Academic Honesty
Violation Report forms.
Please see the
2006-07 Student Handbook and Calendar on page 21 for specific activities
identified as violations of
this policy and the student due process procedure. This
handbook is also available
online at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/handbook/index.pdf
I will not tolerate plagiarism, cheating, or claiming another's work as your own. Please don't cheat! If I find evidence of academic dishonesty, I will automatically assign that student an “F” for the course.
Course grading scale:
100-90% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
59- 0% = F
Final Exam: Wednesday, December 12,
Tentative Assignment Schedule
ENG210-04
Women’s Literature
Note: Please read the introductions to each text. We will be discussing aspects of them in class. A bold-face Roman numeral I or II follows each page number assignment to indicate the Norton volume number.
Aug.. 27 Introduction
29 Wollstonecraft from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman page 370 I
Girlhood, Adolescence and Courting
31 “In the Waiting Room,” page 614 II
Sep. 3 Labor Day
5 “Where Are You Going,
Where Have You Been?” page 1191 II
7 “The Moths,” page 1414 II
10 From I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, page 926 II
12 “Good Country People,” page 893 II
14 Jane
Eyre, page 633 I
17 Jane Eyre
19 Jane Eyre
21 Jane Eyre
24 Jane Eyre
26 paper instructions and discussion
Marriage
21 “To My Dear and Loving Husband” page 153 I, “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment” page 153 I
23 “A Married State,” page 174 I
26 “Poem
in Praise of My Husband (
28 “Sweat,” page 349 II
Oct 1 Trifles, page 178 II
3 Trifles
5 Mid-term exam
8 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
10 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
12 Mid-term break
15 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
17 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
19 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
22 “The Blank Page,” page 276 II
24 “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” page 1955 II
26 “Eve to Her Daughters,” page 1741 II
Motherhood
29 “the mother,” page 781 II
31 If
These Walls Could Talk
Nov 2 If These Walls Could Talk
5 If These Walls Could Talk
7 “The Cooboo,” page 261 II
9 “The
Pomegranate,” page 1293 II
12 “Seventeen Syllables,” page 835 II
14 “The Shawl,” page 1408 II
16 “No Name Woman,” page 1229 II
19 “The Pomegranate,” page 1293 II
Old Age
21 Thanksgiving
23 Thanksgiving
26 “Ain’t I a Woman?” page 510 I
28 “Moments of Being” page 233 II
30 “The Daughters of the Late Colonel,” page 321 II
Dec 3 “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” page 1483 II
5 “In a Café,” page 619 II
7 “Tell
Me a Riddle,” page 659 II