Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism
English 210-04:
Approaches to Literature[1]
9:30 - 10:50 TR, MH 108
Fall 2008
Name: Meg Thompson Phone: 816-271-4316
Office:
Office Hours: 11 – 1 MW,
12:30 – 2:30 T/by appt. Mailbox:
The mechanic yells out the window, “As long as you’re at fight club,
you’re not how much you’ve got in the bank. You’re not your job. You’re not
your family, and you’re not who you tell yourself.”
The mechanic yells into the wind, “You’re not your name.”
A space monkey in the back seat picks it up: “You’re not your
problems.”
The mechanic yells, “You’re not your problems.”
A space monkey shouts, “You’re not your age.”
The mechanic yells, “You’re not your age.”
Here, the mechanic swerves us into the oncoming lane, filling the car
with headlights through the windshield…
--- from Palahniuk, pg. 143
Get this:
In this class, we have a lot
of ground to cover. First we have to
establish what a “genre” is. Then we have to destroy it.
Required Texts and Course
Materials:
Ondaatje, Michael.
“Elimination Dance.” Eighth printing, June 2006.[2]
Palahniuk, Chuck. “Fight
Club.”
Waldie, D.J. “
A jump drive
An open mind
Assignment Overview/Grade
Breakdown:
Class participation[4]: 20%
“Quizzes”: 20%
First Thing: 10%
Second Thing: 20%
Third Thing[5]: 30%
Conferences:
Occasionally
I hold conferences several days before a project is due in order to give you
time to discuss it with me. Conferences
are 10-15 minutes and held in my office.
You are expected to be prepared. Missing
a scheduled conference counts as an absence.
Attendance Policy:
In
order to improve student learning and to achieve compliance with federal
financial aid policies, Western has a mandatory attendance policy for all 100-
and 200-level courses. This course has a very strict attendance
policy. If you miss five class
periods for TR classes you will receive an F in the class. A student will be
given an excused absence when acting as an official representative of the
university, provided the student gives prior written verification from the
faculty/staff supervisor of the event; however, there are no
other excused absences, exceptions or “makeups” for this attendance
requirement. Furthermore, the maximum number of absences allowed before the midterm
report, Oct. 15, for this class is three. Thus, when you have four absences for
a TR class 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.
If you miss a class session, you
are responsible for all material covered and assignments given during your
absence. All out-of-class assignments
are due at the beginning of the class period.
No late assignments will be accepted unless you have received prior
permission from your teacher.
Communication/Community:
Especially
in an English class, communication is central.
We will have a range of discussions, and I look forward to your
participation. Good communication encourages community, and hopefully that is
what we will form through our creative and critical discussions.
The best way to get in contact with me is through email, though calling during office hours also works pretty well. I check my email Monday through Friday. It is important you ask questions when they arise and stay in steady contact with me. Make sure your university email account is active.
Please
remember Missouri Western requires all students to help maintain good
conditions for teaching and learning. All
students will treat their classmates, teachers, and student assistants with
civility and respect, both inside and outside the classroom. Anyone who violates Missouri Western’s policy
on Civility and Cooperation will be asked to leave my classroom.
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 (Michael Ritter) for
possible certification of special needs and expert recommendations for
assistance. You should also contact your
teacher personally as soon as possible so that the two of you can discuss class
requirements.
Academic Honesty Policy:
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 classroom activity. Cheating
and plagiarism are not acceptable. If
your teacher finds evidence of cheating or plagiarism, you have the burden of
showing that the paper has in fact been written by you. You should keep thorough evidence of your
writing processes for all papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. You will receive a grade of F (0 points) for
any paper/assignment/exam that shows evidence of cheating and/or
plagiarism. You have the burden of
proving that a paper/assignment/exam showing evidence of cheating and/or
plagiarism has been in fact written by you.
You should keep thorough evidence of your writing processes for all
papers so that you can meet this burden of proof. If you plagiarize a paper, you forfeit the
right to revise that paper; if you cheat on an exam, you will not be allowed to
retake the exam. Violations of academic
honesty will be reported to the Provost or the designated representative on the
Academic Honesty Violation Report Forms.
Please see the Student Handbook for specific activities identified as
violations of this policy and the student due process procedure. This handbook is also available online at http://missouriwetsern.edu/handbook/index.pdf.
Misc.
·
I do not want to see or
hear your cell phone, iPod, BlackBerry, or any other electronic during class.
It is disruptive to the learning environment, not to mention disrespectful.
Keep them off and out of the way. I reserve the right to
mark you absent if you pay more attention to an overpriced gadget as opposed to
the glory of education. If, for some reason, you
need to keep your phone on during class, please see me prior to class starting.
·
Late work is not accepted.
·
A class learns to teach
itself.
·
Don’t mistake kindness for weakness.
Fall
2008 Schedule for English 210
Week
1
T, 8.26
Agenda: Course
introduction, informal writing
Homework: Purchase
course materials
R, 8.28
Agenda: Definitions
Homework: Begin
reading Ondaatje
Week
2
T, 9.2
Agenda: Poetry
cinema
Homework: Continue
reading Ondaatje
R, 9.4
Agenda: Contemporary
experimental poetics
Homework: Read
handouts of Young, Lutz, and Davis, be prepared to discuss
Week
3
T, 9.9
Agenda: Surrealism
and prose poetry
Homework: Prepare
to turn in first project
R, 9.11
Agenda: First
project due, introduce Fight Club
Homework: Begin
reading Fight Club, ch. 1-4
Week
4
T, 9.16
Agenda: Themes,
the definition of Fiction
Homework: ch. 5-9
R, 9.18
Agenda: Voice(s)
Homework: ch.
10-15, begin contemplating your second project, if you haven’t already
Week
5
T, 9.23
Agenda: Topic
discussion
Homework: ch. 16-20
R, 9.25
Agenda: How is
this “different”
Homework: ch. 21-25
Week
6
T, 9.30
Agenda: Expectations
Homework: ch.
26-the end
R, 10.2
Agenda: Visual
stimulus
Homework: Prepare
to turn in second project
Week
7
T, 10.7
Agenda: Second
project due, Visual stimulus, part two
Homework: Read
handout of Pinter
R,
10.9
Agenda: Drama,
and its flair for the dramatic
Homework: Read
handout of Kane
Week
8
T, 10.14
Agenda: Favorite
Mid-Term Moments
Homework: Compose
mid-term reflection letter
R, 10.16
Agenda: Turn in
mid-term reflection letter
Homework: Read
front matter in
Week
9
T, 10.21
Agenda: Introduce
Homework: Read
sect. 1-40
R, 10.23
Agenda: Foundations
Homework: sect.
41-81
Week
10
T, 10.28
Agenda: How is
this genre functioning, and why does it matter
Homework: sect.
81-143
R, 10.30
Agenda: Evolution
of the memoir
Homework: sect.
144-201
Week
11
T, 11.4
Agenda: The Self
Homework: sect.
202-252
R, 11.6
Agenda: Limitations
of the genre
Homework: sect.
253-285
Week
12
T, 11.11
Agenda: Lyricism
in the text
Homework: sect.
286-the end
R, 11.13
Agenda: Conference
sign-up, assign presentation order
Homework: Prepare
for your conference
Week
13
T, 11.18
Agenda: Class
cancelled for conferences
Homework: Prepare
for your conference
R, 11.20
Agenda: Class cancelled
for conferences
Homework: Prepare
for your presentation
Week
14
Thanksgiving
Break
Week
15
T, 12.2
Agenda: Presentations
Homework: Prepare
for your presentation and to turn in your final
R, 12.4
*Last Day of
Class*
Agenda: Final
due, presentations, evaluations
Week
16 (Week of Final Exams)
Our
final is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 11, 8:30 to 10:20