Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages and Journalism
HON 395: Reading Harry Potter
Wednesday 3:00-4:50 pm
Murphy 106
Fall 2008
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Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of English, Foreign Languages and Journalism HON 395: Reading Harry Potter Wednesday 3:00-4:50 pm
Murphy 106
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Instructors: Dr. Trish Donaher and
Dr. James Okapal
Offices: Eder Hall 222
L and Popplewell 115 G
Office Hours: T 9-11; TR 1-2; W
2-3 (Dr. D) and MTR 3:30-4:30; 12-2 W (Dr. O)
Phone: 816-271-5964
(Dr. D) and 816-271-4155 (Dr. O)
Emails:
donaher@missouriwestern.edu and
jokapal@missouriwestern.edu
URLs:
http://staff.missouriwestern.edu/users/donaher/ and
http://academic.missouriwestern.edu/jokapal/
Course Description
As one of the best-selling series of all times, we'll analyze the books within
the context of its genre, its philosophic and literary themes, symbols, and
characters, and its utilization of contemporary issues. The series works on many
levels, so the course will stress the importance of viable, multiple
interpretations while students debate the merits of these varied readings.
Students will be encouraged to submit their final course papers for presentation
under the one of the many appropriate areas of the Popular Culture
Association/American Culture Association national conference to be held in New
Orleans, April 8-11, 2009.
Required Materials
Required Texts:
Recommended Texts:
Helpful Websites (more or less)
Assignments
Weekly Responsibilities and
Exploits
Your first responsibility is to
read somewhat carefully and come to class to share your wisdom. There is no
motivation to do so, except of course the embarrassment of not having read as
necessary in order to participate fully in class or to flagrantly show up Trish
and Jim.
Your second responsibility is to participate fully in the assigned tasks, whether individual or small group activities. The mechanics of a successful class come down to each of us accepting responsibility for our place within the class microcosm.
Critical Research Project
You will compile a research
portfolio and write a professional, conference length (7-8 pages or 3200-3700
word) researched article on any aspect of Harry Potter suitable to academic
discussion and presentation at a national conference of scholars. Papers will be formally written and
documented, in MLA Style, and be well edited, as befits all academic papers.
Final papers will be posted to WebCT for all of us to glory in your ideas and
claim some small part in your success.
You will also raft a formal proposal about your paper for possible presentation at the 2009 national Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference, held in New Orleans in April, and write a formal letter of application for funding from the MW Foundation Student Excellence Fund.
For those interested in actually presenting at the conference, we will submit our funding letters as a group, our paper proposals as individuals to the appropriate PCAACA area chair, work further on our papers after the course ends, and travel as a group to the conference. For more information on the conference, see the organization website at http://www.pcaaca.org/conference/national.php.
Have Fun
And we mean it.
Grading
The quality of your
work, the percentage of the work that you complete, and your effort will
determine your final grade.
Your Final Grade Distribution is as follows, for a total of 300 points:
Other Requirements
Attendance and Promptness
Attendance is mandatory, and it
is important to keep in mind that any absence can affect your final grade,
as you are not here to participate or turn in your work. However, occasional
personal emergencies (i.e. illness, family death,
personal crisis) and acts of nature (i.e. potentially hazardous snow/ice
conditions) can interfere with the smooth running of the classroom. Advance
notice, if possible, is desirable; however, if not, please email one of us
as soon as possible about your situation so that we can send you any
relevant work due upon your return.
You are responsible for material covered or assignments given which you missed because of absence. All out-of-class assignments are due at the beginning of the class period. No late assignments are accepted unless you have a well-documented emergency.
Participation and Preparation
You will be expected to make
significant contributions to the class in the form of participation and
preparation. Participation includes the oral contributions you make and your
efforts to be a part of our discourse community. Preparation includes doing
the daily readings and assignments, as well as engaging exuberantly in our
activities. Keep in mind that live classroom discussion:
gives you practice arguing with others respectfully and professionally gives you opportunities to formulate applications of principles gives you prompt feedback on difficult or confusing issues and material increases your retention of material through explaining, summarizing, and questioning.
Sharing Your Work
Students are expected to share
their writings and other work with members of the course.
Classroom Courtesy
The University expects all of
us to maintain an effective environment for learning, to act responsibly in
accordance with good taste, and to respect fully the rights of others.
Student Disability
Any student in this course who
has a disability that prevents the fullest expression of abilities should
contact one of the instructors during the first week so that we can
discuss class requirements.
Late Work
All assignments are due at the
beginning of the hour on the due date, unless otherwise specified;
therefore, no work will be accepted late without a well-documented
emergency. The final paper has a grace period of NO MORE THAN 24 hours from
the due date/time for technical difficulties. After 24 hours, papers will be
discounted 10% for each 24 hour period late, including weekends.
Computer Usage
You will be called upon to read
materials online, use WebCT, and to use computers in and outside of class
time. We will post some of our created materials and papers online so that
we may more fully share our ideas and increase our interchanges. Project
materials for this course must be word processed in MSWord.
University 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
Course Policy on Academic Honesty
. . . it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. -- Herman Melville
Plagiarism is literally the stealing of others' words and ideas and using them as your own. Make every effort to give credit where credit is due, and if you are not sure of "how"--ask. You are responsible for proving that all work turned in for grading is your own original work. Projects with evidence of plagiarism, intentional or not, will receive a zero and will result in failure of the course. Students who cheat on other assignments will receive zero for that activity and the deception may result in failure of the course. Further, all incidents of academic dishonesty will be reported to the the Provost as required by the official University policy and may result in additional consequences for the student.
Final Thoughts
Our office doors are always open to you. Stop by, call, or
email. We'll answer. We like to talk--perhaps too much. That's why we wear
the teacher-pants. Anyway, really, we're there for you.
Course Schedule
August 27
Introduction to course
Film: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
September 3
Book 1: Sorcerer’s Stone
Film: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, cont.
The Hero’s Journey (handout)
Discuss research topics; Down and dirty research
September 10
Book 1
The Bildungsroman Tradition (handout)
REP Virtue Ethics; REP Virtue and Vice (handouts on Blackboard)
September 17
Book 2: Chamber of Secrets
Rowling’s Social Vision (handout)
September 24
Book 3: Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and Archetypes, part 1 (handout)
Initial Topic Proposals due
October 1
Book 4: Goblet of Fire
Racism; Racism add.; REP Discrimination (handouts on Blackboard)
October 8
Book 4, cont.
Harry Potter and Archetypes, part 2 (handout)
SEF Funding Letters Due
October 15
Book 5: Order of the Phoenix
REP Friendship; REP Love (handouts on Blackboard)
October 22
Book 5, cont.
October 29
Book 6: Half-Blood Prince
REP Human Nature; REP Personal Identity (handouts on Blackboard)
Research Notebooks due
November 5
Book 6, cont.
Alchemy - Guest speaker: Dr. Ian Roberts
November 12
Book 7: The Deathly Hallows
Free will and Determinism in Harry Potter (handout)
Drafts due
November 19
Book 7, cont.
PCAACA Proposals due to area chairs
December 3
Share Paper Synopses
Film: The Prisoner of Azkaban
December 12
Final Exam period, 2-3:50 pm
Film: The Prisoner of Azkaban, cont.
Harry Potter Articles due