Engl 483 -- revised fall 14

Course Syllabus

ENGL*483*01 (113692) Theory of Literary Criticism  

Fall 2014

Dr. Jen Boyle

Associate Professor of English and New Media

jboyle@coastal.edu (Email is the best way to contact me!)

EHFA 206

Office Hours: T&Th 10.00 am-12.00 pm; 1.45-2.45pm

All materials and resources for the course available at course site:

https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/873015

During the first week, we will construct -- through discussion -- a description and summary of what we mean by theory, and where it might take us in this class.

We will begin with an exploration of the following terms: Theorize, Critique, and Experiment; thinking and action. A theme throughout the course this semester is, relatability.

Catalog: 483 Theory of Literary Criticism. (3) (Prereq: ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 with a C or better, C or better in one other ENGL course, and Junior standing) A study of various theories of literary criticism as applied to the major genres (fiction, poetry, and drama) with the aim of establishing standards of judgment.

Learning Objectives

1. Students will be able to write effectively in formal and informal situations for a variety of audiences. They will be able to use research skills in a paper about literary theory in and of itself and in relation to specific texts.

2. Students will be able to analyze theoretical and literary texts orally and to write critical papers on a variety of such texts.

3. Students will be able to analyze a theoretical text’s historical and cultural contexts in relation to its technical features and to explain the historical development of the theory being studied.

4. Students will be able to write for a variety of audiences in a variety of formats and across various mediums.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to identify and describe humanistic and post-humanistic concepts based in the history, theory, and form of theoretical texts.

2. Students will be able to exemplify, classify, and explain these concepts in a number of theoretical texts.

3. Students will be able to interpret the meaning of these concepts in a number of theoretical texts.

4. Students will be able to critique, challenge and experiment with the meaning and application of these concepts in a number of theoretical texts.

Texts for the course:

TEXTS and FILMS:

                  ALL TEXTS ARE EITHER AVAILABLE ONLINE OR POSTED AT COURSE CANVAS SITE as PDF FILES.

Three films are required for the course, and you should make sure that you obtain a copy or can access or rent them well in advance of when they are due to be viewed.  They are:

1) Spike Jonze, Her (2013) [available for rent at Amazon for 3.99 http://www.amazon.com/Her-Joaquin-Phoenix/dp/B00KATY250 (Links to an external site.)

2) Satrapi, Persepolis (2007) [available at Netflix to rent; Amazon to buy]

3) Folman, Waltz With Bashir (2008) [available to rent at itunes movies; Netflix; Amazon to buy]

Course requirements (you must complete all major assignments in order to be eligible for a passing grade in the course )

                  1) Weekly detailed discussion postings (1 posting required per week, except where omitted on the schedule below): 30%  

**[See the assignment sheet on “Discussion Postings” for a DETAILED outline of the protocols for posting to the discussion board and grading]

                   2) Midterm essay (in class and take home components): 25%

3) Final research project/essay (EQUIVALENT TO APPROX. 10 pages):25% [Work for this project can be added to your capstone portfolio)

                  4) Participation (quizzes, discussion, presentations) --includes online  and in class participation [PLEASE ALSO SEE ATTENDANCE POLICY BELOW]: 20%

Grading scale:                      90-100%       A                     86-89%         B+

80-85%         B                     76-79%         C+

70-75%         C                      66-69%         D+

60-65%         D                     Below 60%   F

* NOTE that some assignments will receive a numeric grade (the discussion postings, for example) that will be converted to a letter grade at the end of the course.

Attendance Policy

You may miss up to two (2) classes during the semester.

Missing more than 2 classes could result in an F for your participation grade.  Seven (7) or more absences (25% of class time or above) will prevent a student from obtaining a passing grade.

ADDITIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND CONTRACTS:

BE SURE YOU HAVE READ AND BRING TO CLASS ANY READINGS FOR THAT DAY (IN ELECTRONIC OR PRINT FORM)

PHONES SHOULD NOT BE VISIBLE DURING CLASS (UNLESS THEY ARE PART OF A CLASS EXERCISE)

o      All viewpoints or positions on the material are welcome (all!), but they must be offered with respect and in the spirit of healthy feedback and argumentation. All positions and viewpoints expressed should relate to the course material and concepts.

o      You must participate in all writing revisions and workshops to receive full credit.  As you will come to know, I strongly emphasize revision.  Thus, the writing and project exercises for this class are as much about the challenges of this process as they are about what you end up with as a final draft.

o      Since revision is a process I value, I will offer opportunities for us to revise, discuss, and workshop writing assignments together (in individual conferences with me and as a class). The main objective of this class is to take risks and to investigate with expansive energy the events and texts encountered.

o      The final project for this course will allow you to move across disciplines and genres and to experiment with various lines of critical, experimental, and creative expression.

Some tips for a good experience:

Come to class – be present; be involved

Follow all steps to a given assignment, and make use of all resources – resources in class and outside of class

Don’t come in late too often

Don’t miss a class and then ask me to reanimate it in detail or spirit on email

Don’t resist taking risks that allow you to experiment with a new way of writing, thinking, or creating

Come to office hours to talk about assignments, course material, or projects

Respectfully challenge readings and arguments that emerge in the class (mine included)

Plagiarism, and disabilities and accommodations follow the policies set forth by Coastal Carolina University (seehttp://www.coastal.edu/catalog/2009_2010/regulations.pdf)

English Department Plagiarism Policy:

Plagiarism, even a first offense, will earn you a failing grade for the course.  Plagiarism is defined as "presenting as one's own the work or the opinions of someone else." Most students define plagiarism as "copying material of some sort, either word for word or sense for sense." Although that definition is accurate, the criterion is not merely copying material: ideas, conclusions, and ways of organizing material can also be plagiarized.

Specifically, one is guilty of plagiarism when:

1. 1.    The words, sentences, ideas, conclusions, examples, and/or organization of an assignment are borrowed from a source (a book, an article, another student's paper, etc.) without acknowledging the source.
2. 2.    A student submits another's work in lieu of his/her own assignment.
3. 3.    A student allows another person to revise, correct, or in any way rewrite his/her assignment without having the prior approval of the instructor.
4. 4.    A student submits written assignments received from commercial firms, fraternity or sorority files, or any other outside source.
5. 5.    A student allows another person to take all or part of his/her course.
6. 6.    A student submits an assignment (a paper, a library assignment, a revision, etc.) done together with another student without having approval from the instructor.

A student who knowingly aids another student in plagiarizing an assignment as defined in 1-6 above will also earn a failing grade in the course.

For more information about the "Code of Student Conduct and Academic Responsibility," see the Coastal Carolina University Student Handbook (go to http://www.coastal.edu/students/ and click on Student Handbook (Links to an external site.) ).

**ALL READINGS = YOU SHOULD HAVE READ THE ASSIGNMENT FOR THAT DAY BEFORE CLASS MEETS

ALL QUIZZES AND ASSIGNMENTS AND READINGS ARE ACCESSED ON CANVAS UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED IN CLASS

REMEMBER: 1) YOU MUST POST TO THE DISCUSSION BOARD (at the course Canvas site:https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/808118)  BY FRIDAY AT 5PM OF EACH WEEK

WEEK ONE: T (19) : WHY THEORY? INTRODUCTION TO CLASS, SYLLABUS, AND UNITS Be sure to get access to a viewing copy of Spike Jonze’ Her (2013)	TH (21) : “Relatability,” Theory and Action READ:  “The Scourge of Relatability,” (Links to an external site.) New Yorker
WEEK TWO:  Thinking and Action T: (26) READ: PLATO READ:  ARISTOTLE Presentation/handout on online reading/discussion posts Must have viewed Her (2013)	TH: (28) ***Dr. Tripthi Pillai comes to class to talk about how her course this semester is working with “relatability” READ: NOTES ON PLATO’S REPUBLIC (Links to an external site.) READ: NOTES ON ARISTOTLE (Links to an external site.) WATCH: MATRIX PHILOSOPHY: THE CAVE (Links to an external site.)
WEEK THREE: T (2) READ: BARTHES, World of Wrestling (Links to an external site.), in Mythologies Naomi KLEIN,  Taking on the Brand Bullies” (Links to an external site.) VIEW: Martha Rosler,Semiotics of the Kitchen (Links to an external site.)	TH (4): READ: BARTHES Myth Today, (Links to an external site.) in Mythologies POST THIS WEEK AT BLOG BY FR
WEEK FOUR: T (9): READ: FREUD The Uncanny (Links to an external site.) WATCH: HITCHCOCK, VERTIGO POST THIS WEEK	TH (11): READ: HOFFMANN, Sandman (Links to an external site.) IN CLASS: LACAN
WEEK FIVE: T (16): READ: MARX The Fetishism of Commodities and the Secret Thereof (Links to an external site.) POST THIS WEEK WEEK SIX:  T (23):	TH (18): MARX AND ENGELS, Excerpt, Communist Manifesto (Links to an external site.) WATCH:THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO ILLUSTRATED THROUGH CARTOONS (Links to an external site.) TH (25):
READ: DERRIDA (Links to an external site.) WATCH:DERRIDA (Links to an external site.) WEEK SEVEN: T (30):  READ: BUTLER VIEW:BUTLER Video (Links to an external site.) MIDTERM REVIEW	READ: BUTLER Chpt 1 of Undoing Gender (Links to an external site.) TH (2): MIDTERM
WEEK EIGHT:   T (7) READ: FOUCAULT ONE Panopticism (Links to an external site.) And Introduction (Links to an external site.) to Discipline and Punish	TH (9) READ: FOUCAULT TWO HISTORY OF SEXUALITY Introduction to History of Sexuality, vol. 1, We Other Victorians (Links to an external site.)
WEEK NINE: T (14) READ: FANON, excerpts from Black Skin, White Masks (Links to an external site.) And Concerning Violence (Links to an external site.) Must have viewed Satrapi’sPersepolis (2007)	TH (16) READ:  SAID Introduction to orientalism (Links to an external site.) AT HOME ESSAY PART OF MIDTERM DUE BACK WATCH:Said’s explanation of Orientalism (Links to an external site.)
WEEK TEN: T (21) READ: SAID Introduction to orientalism (Links to an external site.) POST THIS WEEK	TH (23) READ: ARENDT “Reflections on Violence” (Links to an external site.)
WEEK  ELEVEN: T (28) READ: BENJAMIN Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (Links to an external site.) WATCH: TRACKING THEORY (Links to an external site.) Must have viewed Folman, Waltz With Bashir (2008) POST THIS WEEK	TH: (30) READ: HARAWAY Cyborg Manifesto (Links to an external site.)
WEEK TWELVE: T (4) READ:  LATOUR Plea for an Earthly Science (Links to an external site.) PROJECT MAP DUE	TH (6) READ:  MORTON Hyperobjects (Links to an external site.) Presentation/ overview in preparation for closing sequence of course
WEEK THIRTEEN: T (11) WORK ON PRESENTATIONS/PRESENTATIONS WEEK FOURTEEN: T (18)                                                      TH (20)                          PRESENTATIONS	TH (13)
WEEK FIFTEEN: TGIVING   24TH-28TH
WEEK SIXTEEN TU: PRESENTATIONS/last day of classes

Finals Week: F I N A L  E X A M -- TBA