ENGL 201: Introduction to Literature -- Reading Texts    Section B03
Summer 2005   George Mason University

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:30-7:10
Innovation Hall, room 205

Instructor: Scott Berg, Department of English
Office: Performing Arts Building 407G (in the Theater department)
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00-4:00 and by appointment
E-mail: sberg1@gmu.edu

REQUIRED BOOKS:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet by William Shakespeare

SUGGESTED BOOKS

A good dictionary and a good writing handbook.  I highly recommend the American Heritage Dictionary or the American Heritage College Dictionary (hardcover) and A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker.

THE COURSE

ENGL201 is a "close reading" course. This means that we're going to slow down and look very closely and deeply at what we read in order to better appreciate and understand it.

We'll look closely and carefully at plots, characters, settings, motifs, symbols, and themes.  We'll talk about the ways a closer and deeper appreciation of these aspects of literature helps us to more creatively and insightfully interpret what we read. In order to accomplish this difficult but rewarding task, you'll be required to consider The Great Gatsby and Hamlet in some particular ways:

--You'll be required to display an advanced familiarity with plot. This means keeping careful track of what happens in the story: Who does what when.

--You'll be asked to closely and thoughtfully analyze characters. You'll be asked to connect the unique, individual plight of each character to the overall action and themes of the work.

--You'll be required to notice and interpret the meaning, presence, and implications of motifs and symbols, and to connect these to other aspects of the work.

The first half of the semester will be devoted to a careful class reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  We'll move through the novel slowly and carefully, examining point of view, character, plot, setting, metaphor, symbolism, imagery, themes and other literary devices. During the second half of the semester, we'll read and watch Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.  I've chosen Hamlet because it is useful for two reasons:  first, it is a way to look at poetic elements in literature in context of longer story, and second, no matter how many times people read it, it continues to be amazingly fertile ground for interpretation. 

There are goals and expectations in this class.  By the time you're done with this course, you should be able to accomplish at least the following:

--Read for comprehension, detail and nuance
--Demonstrate an attention to the literary qualities of language
--Analyze the ways specific literary devices contribute to the meaning of a text
--Do a close reading of a text
--Write critical papers that use the skills developed above to support a claim about a text

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

e-mail  |  attendance and active contribution  |  reading responses  |  reading response responses  |  paper  |  quizzes  |  exams

Each of you, as a student at George Mason, is entitled to a free e-mail account, and must have basic e-mail competency.  Let me know immediately if this is not the case.  

This is a cooperative discussion class, which relies on the attendance and active contribution of its members to succeed.  I will require that you let me know in advance of any absences.  An excused absence will be any legitimate absence which I know of ahead of time.  These excused absences will be treated differently than unexcused absences: there will be more opportunity to make up graded assignments, in-class writing, etc.  Punctuality is also important.  Please be on time for class.  Your class participation grade represents my subjective assessment of your overall level of commitment to and engagement with both the letter and the spirit of the course.

NOTE ON ATTENDANCE:  Missing class with regularity will damage your ability to do well in the course.  And there are limits to the kind of absenteeism I'll allow:  Anyone missing more than two classes consecutively or more than four classes overall will not be able to pass the course because of the missed in-class work and participation.  Approaching these limits will affect your final grade as well, though to what degree will depend on your contributions when you are in class.

You'll write a series of six smaller take-home writing assignments (of no less than 250 words each) called reading responses.  You'll also write a series of six smaller take-home writing assignments (again, of no less than 250 words each) called reading response responses, in which you will expand on the reading responses of your group members. This will be explained in class.  

You will write one analytical paper of no less than 1,500 words in this course, comparing one aspect of The Great Gatsby to the same aspect in Hamlet.  This paper will not require library research, but it will require that you demonstrate competence with certain methods and terms of literary analysis.  I will at some point allow you to sumbit a draft of this paper for comment.

NOTE ON FORMAT and MECHANICS: All out-of-class writing must be typed, double-spaced, normal margins, Times New Roman font or something equally readable.  No colored fonts, no fancy fonts, no cover pages, no plastic binders for your writing.  Pages should be numbered and stapled; the first page should include, in the upper left corner, your name, the name of this class (ENGL201-B03), the designated assignment name ("Reading Response #2" "Draft of Paper," etc.), and the date.  Try to make all of your writing as free, or nearly free, of mechanical errors as possible.

There will be between 2-6 pop quizzes to evaluate your commitment to the readings and discussions. The better we do as a class on the early quizzes, the fewer quizzes I'll assign later.

There will be two open-book exams, one on The Great Gatsby and one on Hamlet. These will test your understanding of the works read and ideas discussed. 

GRADING:

Class participation plus quizzes: 15%
Reading Responses and Reading Response Responses: 25%
Paper: 20%
Exam #1 (The Great Gatsby): 20%
Exam #2 (Hamlet): 20%

PLAGIARISM AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS

Here is the definition of plagiarism, according to the English Department.

"Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another person without giving that person credit.  Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books and articles is not sufficient.  Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in the academic setting."

Egregious plagiarism will result in an F for the course and an Honor Code violation on your record.

Late papers and assignments will be penalized.  This penalty will depend on the nature of the offense; a paper five hours late will suffer less than a paper five days late.

THE UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER

The University Writing Center is a free one-on-one tutorial service, available to all GMU students who want to work on their writing skills.  Stop by Robinson Hall, room A114, or them at 993-1200 for information and appointments.  Their web address: http://writingcenter.gmu.edu.