- Readings and assignments are due on the day they are
listed beside.
- Bold reading assignments should warrant closer
reading.
| UNIT 1: Introduction to Literary
Interpretation / Comparing & Contrasting Literary
Works |
Objectives:
- To articulate what literature and literary
interpretation are and to think critically about
literary works
- To recognize the literary features of plot,
structure, and point of view in different genres
and be able to compare and contrast these elements
of different works to one another in your
writing
- To read your classmates’ drafts with a
critical eye and provide them with useful feedback
for the revision process
|
| Date |
Topic of Discussion |
Reading |
Assignment |
| T |
1-24 |
Course Overview; Instructor's & students'
expectations |
|
|
| W |
1-25 |
What is literature?; Introduction to Literary
Interpretation; Walker's "Everyday Use;" assign Essay
#1 |
Roberts ch. 1; Walker’s “Everyday
Use” |
|
| T |
1-31 |
Plot; Welty's "A Worn Path" |
Roberts ch. 2 & p. 341-346 |
Blog
Posting (BP) #1 due |
| W |
2-1 |
Structure; Welty’s “A Worn Path”
& Shakespeare’s sonnet 73 |
Roberts ch. 6 |
|
| T |
2-7 |
Comparing & Contrasting Literary Works:
Lowell’s “Patterns” &
Owen’s “Anthem for Doomed Youth” |
Roberts ch. 15 & p. 357-361 |
BP
#2 due |
| W |
2-8 |
Point of View; Jackson’s “The
Lottery” |
Roberts ch. 3 & p. 327-332 |
|
| T |
2-14 |
Peer Review |
|
Draft 1.1 due |
| W |
2-15 |
Style Mini-lesson: Actions & Characters |
Williams & Colomb p. 8-34 |
Williams & Colomb
exercises 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2 |
| T |
2-21 |
Revising & Editing Conferences |
|
Draft 1.2 due |
| W |
2-22 |
Historical & Cultural Context of Literary
Works; Hughes’s “Negro;” Assign Essay
#2 |
Roberts ch. 16 & p. 354-355 |
ESSAY #1 DUE |
| UNIT 2: Examining Literary Works in
their Cultural Context |
Objectives:
- To analyze how authors characterize the people
in their literary works
- To recognize features of setting and interpret
how they contribute to the meaning of the work
- To write about a work of literature in its
cultural, historical, and intellectual context
|
| Date |
Topic of Discussion |
Reading |
Assignment |
| T |
2-28 |
Characterization; Glaspell's Trifles |
Roberts ch. 4 &
Glaspell's Trifles |
Extra Credit (EC) #1 due; BP #3 due |
| W |
2-29 |
Setting; Maupassant’s “The
Necklace” |
Roberts ch. 7 & Maupassant’s
“The Necklace” |
|
| T |
3-6 |
NO CLASS -- Spring Break |
|
|
| W |
3-7 |
NO CLASS -- Spring Break |
|
|
| T |
3-13 |
Peer Review |
|
Draft 2.1 due |
| W |
3-14 |
Style Mini-Lesson: Cohesion, Coherence, &
Emphasis |
Williams & Colomb p. 35-56 |
BP
#4 due; Williams & Colomb
exercises 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.3 |
| T |
3-20 |
Revising & Editing Conferences |
|
Draft 2.2 due |
| W |
3-21 |
Writing a Literary Research Essay; Mansfield's
"Miss Brill;" Assign Essay #3 |
Roberts ch. 19 &
Mansfield's "Miss Brill” |
ESSAY #2 DUE |
| UNIT 3: Research Writing |
Objectives:
- To identify and employ strategies for
conducting research, including locating sources,
taking notes, and documenting sources
- To integrate sources into your writing
correctly and effectively, in terms of format and
content
- To explain Turabian format and use it to
correctly document sources in a research paper
- To write a well-researched essay in which you
fully develop the purpose stated in your thesis and
support your own claims with scholarly
research.
|
| Date |
Topic of Discussion |
Reading |
Assignment |
| T |
3-27 |
Turabian Documentation Style |
Turabian ch. 16 & 17 |
BP
#5 due;
EC #2 (optional) due |
| W |
3-28 |
Peer Review |
|
Thesis, Outline, & Working Bibliography for
Essay #3 due |
| T |
4-3 |
NO CLASS -- Easter Break |
|
|
| W |
4-4 |
NO CLASS -- Easter Break |
|
|
| T |
4-10 |
Theme & Symbolism; Yeats’s “The
Second Coming;” Hawthorne’s “Young
Goodman Brown” |
Roberts ch. 8, ch. 11, & p. 317-326,
364 |
|
| W |
4-11 |
Peer Review |
|
Draft 3.1 due |
| T |
4-17 |
Revising & Editing Conferences |
|
|
| W |
4-18 |
Revising & Editing Conferences |
|
Draft 3.2 due |
| T |
4-24 |
Style Mini-lesson: Concision & Shape; Assign
Essay #4 |
Williams & Colomb p. 57-89 |
ESSAY #3 DUE |
| UNIT 4: Evaluating Literary Works
for Special or General Audiences |
Objectives:
- To examine the literary features we have
covered over the course of the semester in a longer
literary work
- To write a general overview of a literary work
that evaluates the author’s performance and
highlights literary features of the work
|
| Date |
Topic of Discussion |
Reading |
Assignment |
| W |
4-25 |
Evaluating Literary Works for a particular
audience; Wilson’s The Piano Lesson |
Roberts ch. 17 & Wilson’s The Piano
Lesson (link coming) |
BP
#6 due;
EC #3 (optional) due |
| T |
5-1 |
Wilson’s The Piano Lesson |
Wilson’s The Piano Lesson (link
coming) |
|
| W |
5-2 |
Wilson’s The Piano Lesson |
Wilson’s The Piano Lesson (link
coming) |
BP
#7 due |
| T |
5-8 |
Peer Review |
|
Draft 4.1 due |
| W |
5-9 |
Revising & Editing Conferences |
|
Draft 4.2 due |
| T |
5-15 |
FINAL ESSAY (#4) DUE by 12 noon to my
office |
|
|
To access a PDF version of the syllabus and schedule,
click
here.