College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Language, and Journalism
English 210-40
Approaches to Literature—Women’s Literature
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.
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. This
assignment is worth 100 points.
·
Weekly
participation in online discussion. This
assignment is worth 10 points per week, 150 points total.
“Classroom”
expectations:
·
Students
should keep up with their reading assignments.
·
Quizzes
cannot be made up. Please do not ask to
do so. I will drop the lowest quiz score
you receive during the semester.
·
Online
discussion cannot be made up. If it is
not online by
·
Students
should read and participate in this class with an open mind. We will be reading and discussing ideas and
cultures that may be different from our own.
·
Your
paper must be in Word format and attached as a Word document.
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.
Online class advice:
·
Because
this is an online class, I expect you to have daily access to a computer. You must have an open email account at MWSU
in order to participate in this class.
All of your papers must be in Word format and must be submitted as an
attachment in Word.
·
One idea
some people have about online classes is that they can do the work “any time
they want to.” That is true, up to a
point. You cannot, however, turn in work
“any time you want to.” I have specific
due dates and time restrictions on assignments.
The key to being successful in a course of this nature is keeping up
with daily work and pacing yourself.
Waiting until the last minute to do your work is the kiss of death.
·
I will
not accept late work. If you are having
technical difficulties, contact me.
·
Make sure
you save your work to something you have access to. Don’t save it to a desktop you may not be
able to get to each day. NEVER save
anything to a MWSU desktop. They are
cleared daily and your work will disappear.
·
I insist
on professionalism and respect in your interactions, both with me and with your
peers. Postings for class discussion
should contain language your grandmother could read without blushing. This doesn’t mean we can’t disagree. I encourage it, as long as we are all civil
with one another. Sometimes it is
difficult to convey tone effectively online.
·
If you
have some unforeseen problem, contact me.
I cannot help you if I don’t know what is going on. Students often think the problem will just go
away.
·
If you don’t
hear from me for a day or two, or don’t get a response to your paper, please
contact me to see if there is a problem.
I may not have received your work.
Keep on top of our communication and I will do the same.
·
Feel free
to stop by my office if you wish. Just
because we are online doesn’t mean we have to be completely anonymous.
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 15, 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. For the purposes of this online class, failing to take a quiz or participate in the weekly online discussion constitutes an absence. Furthermore, if you fail to post or turn in your work during the first week of 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.
Academic Honesty
Policy:
I abide by all the regulations outlined in the Missouri Western State College 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
Tentative Assignment Schedule
ENG210-04 Women’s Literature
Note: Please read the introductions to each text. We will be discussing aspects of them online. A bold-face Roman numeral I or II follows each page number assignment to indicate the Norton volume number.
Week 1 Aug.. 25-29 Introduction
Wollstonecraft from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman page 370 I
Week 2 Sept. 1-5
Girlhood, Adolescence and Courting
“In the Waiting Room,” page 614 II
“Where Are You
Going, Where Have You Been?” page 1191 II
Quiz #1
Week 3 Sept.
8-12
“The Moths,” page 1414 II
From I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, page 926 II
“Good
Country People,” page 893 II
Quiz #2
Week 4 Sept. 15-19
Jane Eyre, page 633 I
Week 5 Sept. 22-26
Jane Eyre
Quiz #3
Marriage
“To My Dear and Loving Husband”
page 153 I, “A Letter to Her
Husband, Absent upon Public Employment” page 153 I
Week 6 Sept. 29-
Oct. 3
“A
“Poem
in Praise of My Husband (
“Sweat,”
page 349 II
Quiz #4
Week 7 Oct. 6-10
Mid-term exam Monday, October 6
Trifles, page 178 II
Week 8 Oct. 13-17
The Awakening, page 1253 I
Quiz #5
Week 9 Oct. 20-24
“The Blank Page,” page 276 II
“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” page 965 II
“Eve
to Her Daughters,” page 726 II
Quiz #6
Week 10 Oct.
27-31
Motherhood
“the
mother,” page 781 II
“the lost baby
poem” page 1120 II
“The
Cooboo,” page 261 II
“The
Black Madonna” page 791 I
Quiz #7
Week 11 Nov.
3-7
“Seventeen Syllables,” page 835 II
“The
Shawl,” page 1409 II
Quiz #8
Week 12 Nov.
10-14
“No Name Woman,” page 1229 II
“The
Pomegranate,” page 1293 II
Quiz #9
Week 13 Nov. 17-21
Old Age
“Ain’t
I a Woman?” page 510 I
“Moments
of Being” page 233 II
Quiz #10
Week 14 Nov.
24-29
“The Daughters of the Late Colonel,” page 321 II
“The
Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” page 1483 II
Quiz #11
Week 15 Dec. 1-5
“In a Café,” page 619 II
“Tell
Me a Riddle,” page 659 II