Instructor: Jennifer Lieberman
Office: 220 English Building
Hours: M & W, 11-12 and by appointment
Email: jlieber2@uiuc.edu
Section X: Introduction to Fiction
127 English Building
12:00-12:50 MWF
Required
Texts (in the order you need them):
• Course packet
available at Notes and Quotes (on John St., between Wright and 6th)
• Mary
Shelley, Frankenstein (1818)
• Kurt
Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle (1963)
• Ralph
Ellison, Invisible Man (1953)
Course Description:
English 109 will improve your reading, critical thinking, and interpretive
skills. Through a variety of readings, we will learn the basic elements
of fiction, including plot, theme, motif, character, point of view,
figurative language, and imagery. Since this is an advanced composition
class, these key terms will inform our discussions and your analytical
writing.
Your writing will include formal essays, informal responses, and in-class
essays on tests. These assignments are designed to develop your writing
skills (constructing theses, using textual evidence to make original
claims, etc.), and to help you develop your ability to think critically
about fiction, and to express that critical thought in writing. In
order to succeed in this reading- and writing-intensive course, you
must complete all assignments, keep up with the reading on schedule,
and participate in class regularly. By the end of the semester, students
should be able to identify and use narrative elements in class and
in written work, and to write convincing, original arguments about
fiction.
Course Requirements:
• Participation/Attendance
.............10%
• 5 response papers (3% each).....15%
• Tests/Quizzes/In-class essays..... 20%
• Presentations ................................10%
• Paper 1 ..........................................10%
• Paper 2 ..........................................20%
• Final Project ..................................15%
Grading Scale:
A+: 99-100+
A: 93-98
A-: 90-92
B+: 88-89
B: 83-87
B-: 80-82
C+: 78-79
C: 73-77
C-: 70-72
D+: 68-69
D: 63-67
D-: 60-62
F: 59 and below
Course Policies:
All papers should:
(1) be stapled
(2) be typed in Times New Roman (or equivalent) 12pt font, double
spaced, with 1” margins
(3) include page numbers
(4) cite all sources according to MLA guidelines whenever applicable,
and
(5) be original, analytical, organized and use concrete textual
evidence
Response
papers:
Your five response papers (1-2) pages in length, worth 3% of your
total grade each) will be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your
close reading skills by analyzing texts, and elaborating on class
discussions. If you write a response but cannot make it to class,
you can get credit by emailing me the response pasted into the body
of an email before class begins and bringing me a hard copy the next
class.
Response Papers are due at the beginning of class, and are graded
on a scale of 1 – 5, where 1=F, and 5=A. While they allow greater
informality than a paper -- for example, you can discuss your personal
experience of reading the fiction text you are writing about --responses
that are too short or only focus on your personal opinion of the readings
will not earn a passing grade. These papers are short explorations,
but must still present a thesis and analytical argument. Note:
You are required to come talk to me in office hours before turning
in your first response, see the section on “office hours”
for more details.
Presentations:
Each student must present one 10-minute presentation that contains
(a) a brief historical context of the author and/or the story, and
(b) his or her own interpretation of the assigned reading. I encourage
students to use visual aids and to ask the class questions, or suggest
provocative interpretations to prompt class discussions.
In addition to the oral presentation, students must turn in a 2-3
page outline of their presentation, which will be included in the
presentation grade overall. Presentations will be assigned via sign-up
sheet on September 5th. Like all assignments in this class, plagiarism
on your presentation will not be tolerated. You may discuss other
sources’ interpretations of the text, but you must cite them
orally and in the written assignment you turn in to me.
Since the presentation will be graded largely on your interpretation
and your ability to induce class discussion, presentations that only
use others’ interpretations without presenting your individual
reading will not earn a passing grade. See the note on plagiarism
below.
Papers
1 and 2:
Both papers should be 5-6 pages in length, and are due at the beginning
of class on the days specified by the syllabus. Paper 1 will be an
expanded complete revision of either your first or second response
paper. By complete revision, I mean that no portion of the response
paper can be copied and pasted directly into the formal paper, but
you may start with a similar thesis, examine the same text, and so
forth. Paper 2 can be an expansion of the third response paper, or
it can be a completely new paper based on Unit II of this class. In
other words, Paper 2 should consider the cultural context of a fictional
text to help inform a sustained, analytical argument about that text.
For example, you might write about the meanings of names or specific
allusions from a scene of Invisible Man.
Final
project:
There are two options for your final project. (1) You may write a
short story of your own, including a brief analysis (approximately
two-paragraph) of the story and/or the process of writing the story.
Although I’d encourage you all to try this option, to take a
risk, be creative, and see how difficult writing fiction can be, there
is a second option. (2) You may choose a short story that you like
and submit a copy of it with a 5-6 page paper that includes (a) a
brief description of why you chose this short story, (b) any relevant
historical information about the story and/or the author, and (c)
a sustained analysis of the story.
You must tell me whether you decide to do Option 1 or 2 no later than
October 31st, 2008. I will collect all of the stories
for both options, and hand you back a reading packet of all of the
stories before Thanksgiving Break -- that’s right! If you choose
option 1 your classmates will read your short story! The last two
weeks of the class will be spent reading and discussing this reading
packet. This means that the final test and response paper will be
about the stories you either write or select on your own.
***Plagiarism:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any form, and could result in
the failure of this course. The
University’s Code of Policies and Regulations defines plagiarism
as: “Representing the words or ideas of another as one's own
in any academic endeavor” (see Code 1-402). It is your responsibility
to familiarize yourself with and understand the University’s
Academic Integrity policy. Whether paraphrasing or directly quoting,
you must correctly identify and cite your source. If you have any
questions about what constitutes plagiarism or how to cite sources,
please ask me. Again, all citations should be formatted according
to MLA guidelines.
Due dates and late
work:
All assignments are due at the beginning of class. Barring serious
illness or emergencies, due dates are set in stone. Nonetheless, the
moment you begin to feel behind you should talk to me, through email
or in my office hours. Late work will be reduced a letter grade for
every day that it is late. All assignments, even those that will earn
a 0% for lateness, must be turned in for you to receive credit for
this course.
Participation and
Attendance:
Your attendance at every class meeting is expected and valued, and
I look forward to your consistent and thoughtful participation. Each
absence will deduct points from your attendance and assignment grades.
After your fifth absence, each absence will dock your final grade
a third of a letter grade. (For example, 6 absences will drop your
final grade from an A- to a B+) I do not distinguish between “excused”
versus “unexcused” absences. You are tardy if you are
5 minutes or more late. Three tardies equal one absence. If for any
reason you need special accommodations regarding attendance, let me
know as soon as possible. I will grade participation according to
the following scale:
A: Daily, thoughtful participation in class discussion and activities.
B: Frequent to occasional participation in class discussion and activities.
C: Participates only when called on or prompted.
D: Refusal to participate, even when called on. Attendance problems.
F: Consistent lack of preparation for class. Attendance problems.
This is an approximate grading scale. A student who participates daily
but is frequently not prepared for class (doesn’t have the text
we’re covering, or his or her notebook for example), or who
is disrespectful to other student’s opinions will clearly not
earn an A for participation.
Please turn off your cell phone upon entering class. While I encourage
open debate, disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated. Lateness,
disorganization, unpreparedness, or overall negative behavior will
reflect poorly on your participation grade.
Office hours:
If you feel lost, confused, overwhelmed, or excited about an idea
come see me. Before you turn in your first response paper, you are
required to visit me at least once in my office to discuss an issue
or text from class, or the paper assignment itself. If you cannot
make my regularly scheduled hours, please contact me and we can arrange
another meeting time.
