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Syllabus and Schedule of Assignments

Spring 2012
12:00 noon - 1:15 Tuesdays and Thursdays
242 Murrow East

Dr. Donna Campbell
Avery 357 • 335-4831
Email (best way to reach me): campbelld@wsu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:25-2:30
Virtual Office Hours via Skype or Google chat: dmcampbellwsu

Course blog: http://english481popularthenclassicnow.blogspot.com/

This course will focus on selected American authors from 1865-1940, with special emphasis on their position in literary culture during their own time and their place in literary history today.  Our course will address the following questions: “Why were these authors popular or critically acclaimed in their own day?  Why do we still read them today?”  Rather than reading one work apiece by a greater number of authors, we’ll concentrate on reading several works by each selected author. We’ll also read responses to their work during their lifetimes and writing by others in their literary circles. 

The goals for students in the course are as follows:

Required Texts
Baym, Nina, ed.Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. C. 7th Ed. Norton, 2007. 978-0393927412.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises.Scribner, 2006. 978-0743297332.
Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome and Summer. Modern Library, 2001. 978-0375757280.

Important: You need to bring your book with you to class each day. Having your book in class is a vital part of class participation: you'll be asked to read passages aloud, give page citations, and so forth. Reading the book online and then coming to class is not sufficient, and your class participation grade will be lower as a result.

Schedule of Assignments. This is a tentative guide to the assignments; it may change as the course progresses. If there are no page numbers, the reading is available on the Readings page or, for 20th-century works, in Angel (http://lms.wsu.edu); please print it out and bring it to class. Use your common sense: if a page number appears to be incorrect, read the selection even if all the pages aren't listed here.

Requirements and Assignments

Attendance and Class Participation.  Attendance is expected, as is class participation; both are essential parts of the course. You have four free absences; a fifth absence means that you may fail the course.

Class participation is important, and you should come to class prepared to discuss each day's reading. Since the syllabus is online, as are the readings not in your textbooks, you should have no trouble in reading the next day's assignments even if you're absent on the previous day. If you have questions about the day's reading, don't hesitate to ask; chances are good that someone else had the same question.

Because we will be reading and analyzing passages from the readings during the class period, bringing your book with you is an essential part of class participation and will count in your class participation grade. As mentioned above, reading the assignment online and then coming to class is not sufficient.

Formal Papers. Students in this class will write the following:

I will use abbreviations as references to grammatical principles on your corrected papers. The abbreviations and accompanying explanations are available on the "Key to Comments" document here: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/keyto.htm.

Format. Papers must be neatly typed and carefully proofread. Citations should follow MLA style as outlined in the MLA Handbook, Bedford Handbook, or other such guides. See more formatting guidelines at this link: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/format.htm.

Electronic Version. Paper versions of papers (hard copies) are due at the beginning of class on the deadline date. If you prefer, you can upload an electronic copy to Angel (http://lms.wsu.edu) by 9 p.m. on the deadline date. Either a paper version or an electronic version is acceptable; paper versions will receive handwritten comments, and electronic versions will receive typed comments in the margins. Electronic versions will be returned through Angel in .pdf format.

If you upload your paper, name your file as follows: LastnameFirstinitial_ClassNumber_Papernumber. Example: If Joan Smith turns in her first paper, the file would be called SmithJ_481_Paper1.doc.

Late Papers and Extensions. Late papers are penalized at the rate of one letter grade (10 points) per class day late; a paper that would have received a "B" on Tuesday will receive a "C" if handed in on Thursday.

If you do not turn in a paper, you will receive a 0 for that portion of your grade. Papers received after four class days will receive 50 points but will not be formally graded.

You have one 48-hour extension in this class. This extension means that your paper will be due on the next class day, which could be more than 48 hours, without penalty.You must request the extension ahead of time, and you should save it for a true emergency, since no other extensions will be granted for illness, funerals, weddings, or any other reason.

Exams. This course has two exams. Exams in this course will consist of objective (multiple choice, short answer, matching) questions, identification questions, and an essay written in class. Exams cannot be made up without a doctor's note.

Quizzes. Unannounced quizzes over the reading will be given frequently in this class. The quizzes test your specific knowledge of the reading assignment for that day and sometimes ask about information from a previous day's class discussion or lecture. For example, you might be asked the name of a character, the meaning of a term discussed in the previous class, the character associated with a particular quotation, or the results of a specific action that occurs in a scene. Their purpose is to reinforce your close reading of the material by asking you about significant points in the book.

In-class writing and short assignments. Short, typed responses to the reading may be assigned from time to time, as will short pieces of in-class writing.

Précis. One of the out-of-class assignments will be to write a précis of a journal article. You can find the précis assignment online.

Reports and Blogs. Students in this class will either present a brief oral report to the class or keep an online journal (weblog) of their reading this semester. Both options will involve about the same amount of work, but with the blog option, you'll be spreading the work out over the entire semester. Those who choose both to present a report and to keep a weblog will not have to take the second exam.

Policies

Plagiarism Policy. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's words or ideas. This definition includes not only deliberately handing in someone else's work as your own but failing to cite your sources, including Web pages and Internet sources.

WSU Statement on Academic Integrity. As an institution of higher education, Washington State University is committed to principles of truth and academic honesty. All members of the University community share the responsibility for maintaining and supporting these principles. When a student enrolls in Washington State University, the student assumes an obligation to pursue academic endeavors in a manner consistent with the standards of academic integrity adopted by the University. To maintain the academic integrity of the community, the University cannot tolerate acts of academic dishonesty including any forms of cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication. Washington State University reserves the right and the power to discipline or to exclude students who engage in academic dishonesty.

Electronics Policy. Recent studies have shown that people remember material better when they take notes by hand rather than on the computer, since typing on the computer tends to produce a transcription rather than the kind of selective note-taking that leads to understanding. Also, students participate more actively when they are not using a laptop, which benefits their class participation grade, and there are fewer distractions in the classroom without laptops. The following policies thus apply in this class:

WSU Policy on Students with Disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Access Center. All accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center (Washington Building, Room 217). Please stop by or call 509-335-3417 to make an appointment with an Access Advisor.

Safety Policy. See also the WSU Safety Policy (http://oem.wsu.edu/Emergencies) and Safety Plan (http://safetyplan.wsu.edu/).

General Grading Criteria: List available at http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/grading.html.

Because of FERPA and privacy issues, no grades will be discussed or transmitted by e-mail or instant messaging.

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