required texts, etc.
deShazer, Mary K. The Longman Anthology of Women's Literature. New York: Longman, 2001. (LAWL)
+ a good dictionary. Good dictionary links: http.www.dictionary.com and the OED: http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl
+ a guide to MLA style:
Some good links: the official MLA site http://www.mla.org
an unofficial but useful guide from a writing center in Hartford CT: http://webster.commnet.edu/mla.htm
course
description/ objectives
In A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf playfully asserts that "there is a spot the size of a shilling at the back of the head"--about the size of a US dollar coin--"which one can never see for oneself." So, she says, its one of the good things that men can do for wome, and vice versa, to "describe . . . that dark place that the back of the head" (LAWL 60). But to do so, not in order to hold the flaws one may see "for scorne and ridicule of set purpose," but rather simply to tell the truth as we see it about one another, from the limitation and uniqueness of our own perspective. "Be truthful," Woolf commands the young college women she was speaking to in 1929, "and the result is bound to be amazingly interesting. Comedy is bound to be enriched. New facts are bound to be discovered" (60). For part of her point is that women's voices were not heard for many centuries. Yet, contrary to popular stereotypes of feminism, she is not saying that therefore all women are victims and all men are monsters. Rather, she asserts that we have all lost out on the truth of their perspectives, the new ideas that those women might have been able to show to all of humanity had they the chance to be heard.
Part of the goal of a course like this is to recover some of the "lost voices" of the past, from about 1800 to the present, and also to really listen to the voices of women writing literature around the world today. To see the ways that new generations of women-- particularly women of color--have responded, sometimes critically, to Woolf's command that they be honest about the world they see, even if it is scary, even if it makes other people upset or even angry. Another part of our goal is to practice being truthful to the world as we see it, and to see it in all its richness and complexity, rather than repeating only the stereotypes that our own culture today encourages us to see. That is why, in the second half of the course, you will be selecting and researching the texts for us to read. You will also help teach the work of your choice and compose a 10-15 page researched paper on the novel, collection of stories, essays, poetry or play of your choice.
But how hard it is to really see truly, to not just repeat the cliches of our culture! Adrienne Rich, another writer we'll encounter this term, says we have to constantly not just see but re-see, to engage in constent "Re-vision--the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a new critical direction." So even if you have already encountered some of the texts we'll be reading together, I encourage you to grasp this as an opportunity to really re-see them. To do this, you have to grant yourself, in Rich's words, "A certain freedom of mind . . . freedom to enter the currents of your own mind like a glider pilot." To think well about any subject, you need, she says, "to question, to challenge, to conceive of alternatives, perhaps to the very life you are living at the moment. You have to be free to play around with the fact that day might be night, love might be hate; nothing can be too sacred for the imagination to turn into its opposite or to call experimentally by another name. For writing is re-naming." And that re-naming process should be at least a little scary. So lets hold hands and, at the same time, somehow, be willing to push each other to think harder, to be as truthful as Woolf and Rich command us to be.
course assignment / assessment
reading responses / quizzes / in-class work 20% (expect to write at least one response to every reading)
essay
1
15%
research
proposal / annotated bibliography 10%
research
paper
30%
final exam
(take home)
15%
attendance/participation / maturity 10% *
*any absence, for any reason "excused" or "unexcused," has the potential to interfere with learning. 4 absences, for any reasons, is definitely too many. I reserve the right to fail or to ask any student who has missed more than 4 classes to drop the course. This includes all absences for university-related activities and all illnesses. Do not skip class. You cannot afford it. And when you do miss class, remember the cardinal rule . . .
cardinal
rule:
Practice Maturity.
I
sincerely want you to communicate during difficult times.
But, when you do, work to show me that you care more about learning than
about grades.
1) take responsibility
for any missed information before returning to class
2) avoid whining
and
always
read the fine print: rules for papers, etc.
1)
All papers are due at the beginning of class on the due
date, unless specified otherwise. If
you arrive late or do not come to class at all on that date, hoping to turn it
in after class, the paper is automatically considered one full day late—even
if I find it in my mailbox after class.
The day ends whenever I happen to leave or cease to check my mailbox for
the day. Any excuse must be
unforeseeable and fully documentable—including funerals.
Illnesses must be very serious indeed to avoid penalty.
Colds, for example, are just bad luck; plan ahead.
Quizzes and in-class activities that are worth
points cannot be made up,
2)
Papers lose 10% the first day they are late and 5% each
day thereafter.* (So, if you show up 20 minutes
late for class and turn in a paper that should have received an 88%, it will
receive a 78%. If
I find it in my mailbox the next day, it can receive no higher than 73%.)
* including
each weekend date,
no,
you may not hand in papers on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.
3)
Please do not slide papers under my door.
They may lie crumpled behind my door for weeks, and will no doubt receive
a failing grade.
4)
All papers must be written according to MLA style: typed
in a normal font (10-12 pt Times New Roman or equivalent), with
normal 1”
margins on all sides. Your last
name and the page number should appear on the top right hand corner of each
page.
5)
To receive a passing grade, all papers MUST quote from
relevant texts, analyze the quotations, and use parenthetical citations and include
a complete works cited list. Papers
that do not have a works list will fail, even if the only works that are cited
are texts from this class.
6)
If I have collected and commented on drafts of the paper,
keep the draft and turn it in with the final version of the paper.
7) FINAL ADVICE: In the long run it will be better for you to lose a few points with grace than to bother me with a continuous stream of excuses. If given the choice between accepting the penalty for lateness or absence, even if it strikes you as unfair, or whining for a break or an exception, please choose the former tactic. I bore of guilt trips, and remember them when I’m calculating end-of-term grades. Practice maturity.
Academic Honesty:
In order to do my job, I must be able to trust that the work I am reading was created by the student whose name appears on it. Once that trust is broken, it is very difficult to regain. Thus any instance of plagiarism or other form of cheating will be treated as a serious matter in this course.
On the first instance of cheating, I reserve the right to assign a failing grade not only to the assignment at issue, but also for the course as a whole. I will also file a formal report with the Dean which will remain in your permanent file while you are a student at Wittenberg.
Additional or particularly grievous instances of academic misconduct may lead to suspension or expulsion from the University.
All
students in this course are expected to read
“Plagiarism: What It Is
& How to Recognize & Avoid It”
differing
learning styles:
If you have any particular learning challenges, especially a diagnosed learning disability,
I will do my best to work with you in order to allow you to express your highest abilities in this course.
Please come see me, as soon as possible,
to discuss course requirements.
Much Madness is divinest Sense—
To a discerning Eye—
Much
Sense—the starkest Madness—
‘Tis the
Majority
In this, as
All, prevail—
Assent—and
you are sane—
Demur—you’re straightway dangerous—
And handled
with a Chain—
Emily
Dickinson (J. 435), ca. 1862
> go to 319
syllabus / reading schedule
> go to lori askeland's home page
(c) Lori Askeland, Wittenberg University 2002l; last update 08/29/2002 04:10 PM