Fall 2004 Prof.
Elizabeth M. Mills
3286
Chambers, Ext. 2288
Office
Hours: 1:30-3:30 M, W
10:00-11:00
W
and by appointment
ENGLISH 100W (B)
COMPOSITION AND LITERATURE - THE
HERO’S QUEST
Welcome
to English 100W. The Hero's Quest is
designed for first year students seeking greater self-knowledge as well
as composition and literature credit.
The readings, discussions, and writing assignments focus on the heroic
search for something valuable, although what that something may be differs
according to the text. The course
explores poetry, drama, and short fiction as well as essays. It asserts that the individual writing
process is a journey toward personal and communal discovery through verbal
self-expression.
. . . Every
phrase
And
sentence that is right (where every word is at home,
taking
its place to support the others,
The
word neither diffident nor ostentatious,
An
easy commerce of the old and the new,
The
common word exact without vulgarity,
The
formal word precise but not pedantic,
The
complete consort dancing together)
Every
phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning. . . .
T.
S. Eliot. "Little Gidding"
Course
Goals:
*To present exposition as an achievable
skill based on the recursive process of prewriting, writing, and rewriting and involving definite strategies for
addressing a particular audience for a
specific purpose.
*To provide opportunities to read and
discuss various types of literature, examining each for the author's choices in strategy and style as well as for
content.
*To practice the
different modes of discourse.
*To practice evaluating
student writing, learning to look for rhetorical concerns as well as for grammatical and mechanical
correctness.
*To introduce the researched paper as a
writing project using
multiple sources, rhetorically ordered
and properly documented, for an identifiable purpose.
*To develop and encourage a community
of writers for whom discussions and
written assignments will become each
student's own heroic quest for self-expression.
Required
Texts:
Fowler
and Aaron. The Little, Brown Handbook.
Little. (eighth
edition)
Frayn, Michael.
Glück, Louise. Meadowlands. Ecco. 0880015063
Homer. Odyssey. Ed. Rober Fagles. Penguin.
0-14-044529-3
MacLean,
O'Brien,Tim. The Things They Carried. Broadway. 0767902890
Shakespeare. Hamlet.
Smith, Lee. Fair and Tender Ladies.
Attendance: Daily
attendance is required; students who miss class more than two classes during
the semester can expect to lose 2 points from their final average for the
course for every additional absence.
Preparation for class includes reading the assigned pages and preparing
whatever written work is required. I
expect you to have studied the reading assignments and to be able
to participate enthusiastically in class discussion, at times even to lead the
discussion.
All
work for English 100W is subject to the
Journals: You
must complete 10 out of 16 possible journal assignments by Tuesday, Nov.
23. Although some may
be written in a more informal style than the papers, journal entries
should be typed and should develop all assertions and responses with sufficient
specific details to satisfy an audience.
Generalizations and value judgments without supporting evidence make
weak journal entries. All entries should
also be more than one paragraph. Use the journal assignments as “exercises” in
different modes of writing and as an opportunity to develop your writing
voice. See options and requirements
for journal entries under "Assignments Due" on the syllabus. Your final journal entries should
be revised, as they will receive a formal grade.
Peer
Review, Workshop, Individual Conferences:
We will use all three of these interactive techniques to help you
develop and improve as a writer. Because
they are such an important part of the writing process, your performance in
these activities will comprise a part of your grade for that particular
assignment. Please treat the work you
are reviewing with respect and careful attention. We will discuss and clarify the relationship
between the College Honor Code and the collaborative activities of our writing
community before the first writing assignment.
Late
Work: Work turned in after the due date and
time will be penalized by one letter grade (ten
points) for every 24 hours the work is late, including weekends, breaks, and holidays. For example, a paper due at 5:00 on Thursday
and turned in at 5:20 on Thursday is already a day late. Please note that technological malfunction is
NOT a valid excuse for late work. I will
grant extensions for serious extenuating circumstances, but you must pursue
this option as early as possible. I grant no extensions on or after the due
date and time.
Grading:
Your final grade will be based on your
individual work throughout the term.
Journal entries, short writing assignments, class discussions of the
readings, oral presentations, and rough draft workshops will count 40% of your
grade. The researched paper, with its
multiple assignments, will count 30%, and the formal workshopped papers will
count 30%. There will be no final exam.
A=95 A-=92 B+=88
B=85 B-=82 C+=78
C=75 C-=72 D+=68
D=65
Course
Outline:
The readings, class activities, and
written assignments for each day appear under ”Assignments. “ All assignments are due by class time on the day listed unless otherwise noted on this
syllabus.
Assignments 2004
"The
unexamined life is not worth living."
Socrates
Week 1
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 8 24 |
“Little
Gidding” |
Setting
forth/ introductions to course, syllabus, class members |
Something
from home |
|
Th 8 26 |
85-127 LBH
2-17; 797-98 |
Discussion
of Writing &
Reading Definitions |
Assignment
#1: Home (definition
and description: LBH 96-98) |
"The
line of words is a miner's pick, a woodcarver's gouge, a surgeon's probe. You wield it, and it digs a path you
follow. Soon you find yourself in new
territory."
The Writing Life
Week 2
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 8 31 |
LBH 118-40 |
Discussion of types of journeys |
Journal entry:
Leaving home (narration: LBH 95) |
|
Th 9 02 |
Odyssey Books 1-6 LBH 618-20 |
Discussion; Introduction
to Researched Argument |
Journal entry: an adventure (description: LBH 96-97) |
"Who
Are You? Where are your from?" Odyssey . 7
Week
3
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
|
Tue 9 07 |
Odyssey Books 7-12 |
Discussion
of Books 7-12 __________ GRAMMAR |
|
|
|
Th 9 09 |
Odyssey Books 13-18 LBH 686-03 (plagiarism) LBH 925-42 (glossary of usage) |
Discussion
of Books 13-18 __________ USAGE |
Journal entry: qualities of
the hero(definition and illustration: LBH 97-98) |
|
|
|
|||
“Talent
and discipline combined with time can make your dreams come true.” A Writer’s
Time
The
best way out is through"
Frost
Week 4
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 9 14 |
Odyssey Books 19-24 |
Discussion; Introduce
Assignment #
2 _______ Discuss plagiarism |
Journal entry: sex/gender and heroism (comparison & contrast: LBH 100-01) |
|
Th 9 16 |
Meadowlands LBH 809-13 |
Audience and its
effect Discussion of
approach |
Journal entry: original poem |
"We
look at the world once, in childhood.
The
rest is memory." Meadowlands
Week 5
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 9 21 |
Meadowlands |
poetry |
Journal entry: interpretation of one poem from Meadowlands (LBH 809-13) |
|
Th 9 23 |
LBH 48-69; 106-115; 215-18(MLA form) |
Revising a Draft— global issues; Writing Workshop |
Draft for Assignment # 2 |
“Who’s
there?” Hamlet
Week 6
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
|
Tue 9 28 |
“A Critical History of Hamlet”
181-207 LBH 60-61(Revision) |
Editing a Draft— local issues; Grammar Workshop |
Revised
Assignment # 2 due
at 5:00 PM Wednesday 9/29/04 |
|
|
Th
9 30 |
Hamlet as Hero? Hamlet I
& 2 |
Discussion of the hero archetype |
Journal entry: Hamlet’s first
soliloquy 1.2. 129-59 (cause & effect:
LBH 102) |
|
|
“.
. . the adventure that the hero is ready for is the
one he gets. The adventure is
symbolically a manifestation of his character. Even the landscape and the conditions of
the environment match his readiness.”
The Power of Myth |
|
||||
Week 7
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue
10 05 |
Hamlet
3 |
Discussion __________ Grammar
Quiz |
Journal entry: “the closet scene” 3.4. 8-217 (process: LBH 103) |
|
Th 10
07 |
Hamlet
4 & 5 |
Discussion Introducing
Assignment # 3 |
Journal entry: explore the effects of revenge (cause & effect: LBH 102) |
Fall Break Oct. 09 –
12th
“Home
is the place where, when you
have to go there,
they have to take you in. I should have called it
something you somehow haven’t
to deserve.” Frost
Week 8
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue
10 12 |
Fall Break |
Fall Break |
Fall Break |
|
Th
10 14 |
“Deconstruction and Hamlet” 283-331 |
Library
Research Meet 2:30 with Dr. Blodgett in the Rare Book Room (primary vs. secondary sources) |
Journal entry:
who haunts whom and why? |
“But why?”
Week 9
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 10 19 |
Act 1 |
Oral Reports & Discussion |
Journal entry:
what’s staging
got to do with it? |
|
Th 10 21 |
Act 2 & Postscript |
Discussion |
Journal entry: who’s the hero
of this play? |
“One
more draft, yet?
One final draft!”
Week 10
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 10 26 |
Hamlet
and LBH 813-16 (*NB 814); 48-68 |
Writing Workshop 1 |
Draft of Assignment # 3 |
|
Th 10 28 |
LBH 60-61 |
Writing Workshop 2 |
Revised
Assignment #
3 due at 5:00 PM Friday
10/29/04 |
“I
learned that words make a difference.”
The Things They Carried
Week 11
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
||
|
Tue 11 02 |
The Things
They Carried
through “How to Tell a True War Story” LBH 618-32 |
Mapping the research project;
discussion of the working bibliography 1 |
|
Assignment #
4 Required Journal
entry:
why these lists? |
|
|
Th 11 04 |
The Things
They Carried
through “Speaking of Courage” |
Discussion of text |
Assignment #
5 Required
Journal entry: how can fiction be true? |
||
“I work on birthdays, Christmas,
Halloween—in part because I love it so much, and I’m passionate about writing,
but there’s an obsessive quality to it, a habitual quality to it [. . .].” Tim O’Brien
Week
12
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 11 09 |
The Things
They Carried |
Discussion; working bibliography 2 |
Assignment #
6 Required Journal
entry: how can stories “save us”? |
|
Th 11 11 |
A River Runs
Through It LBH 675-93 |
Discussion; taking notes: summary, paraphrase, and quotation. |
Journal entry:
how is writing like fly
fishing? (analogy: LBH
101-02) |
|
Su. 11 14 |
|
Starting at
3:00 PM Casting,
Film, Chili |
|
“I
am haunted by waters.”
A River Runs Through It
Week 13
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 11 16 |
A River Runs
Through It |
Discussion |
Working Bibliography due at the beginning of class |
|
Th 11 18 |
LBH 667-73 Fair and Tender Ladies |
MLA Documentation Library at 2:30 with Ms. Byrd—evaluating & documenting sources |
Sample notecards due
at the beginning of
class |
“Almost
all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.”
Anne
Lamott Bird by Bird
Week 14
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 11 23 |
Fair and Tender LadiesLBH 693-99; 702-04 |
Discussion of novel __________ Discussion of documentation and organization |
Revised
Journals (10
developed entries) due
at 5:00 PM |
|
Th 11 25 |
Thanksgiving
Break |
Thanksgiving
Break |
Thanksgiving
Break |
"What
if the goal of life is not to prevail, but simply to learn?"
The Hero Within
Week 15
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 11 29 |
LBH 704-07; 744-84 |
Draft 1--Workshop |
Draft of introduction, conclusion, and outline of body |
|
Th 12 02 |
LBH 707-09 |
Draft 2--Workshop |
Complete draft with works cited due at the beginning of class |
“What
we call the beginning is often the end
And
to make an end is to make a beginning.”
Little Gidding
Week 16
|
Date |
|
Activity |
Assignment Due |
|
Tue 12 07 |
|
evaluation/
conclusions |
Revised Draft |
|
Th
12 09 |
|
|
Final Draft
due 5:00 PM; turn
in all materials
associated
with your research
process |