| Dr. Alex E. Blazer | Course Site | Syllabus |
| In Class Activities | Informal Writing | Scholarly Criticism |
| Peer Response | Group Project | |
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
Coming of Age / Coming of Anxiety
English 310: Writing about Literature, Fall 2004,
Section 02 MWF 1:00-1:50PM, Bingham Humanities Bldg 104
Section 75 MW 5:30-6:45PM, Bingham Humanities Bldg 104
We've discussed the general literary element of character. Now, we'll work on an class small group activity that applies our discussion to the particular character of Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Form four or five groups of three or four members. Each group is responsible for analyzing Stephen's character in one section of the novel and reporting its findings to the class. Save your group's collective response in Notepad or Word to Blackboard > Groups > In Class Activities > File Exchange so we can reference it later in the week if necessary.
Group 1: Part I
Group 2: Part II
Group 3: Part III
Group 4: Part IV
Group 5: Part V
Groups should select and analyze passages from their assigned sections that best illustrate Stephen's character in terms of
1. his inner thoughts or his speech and actions,
2. others' comments or the author's comments about him.
Based on their characterization, groups should articulate
3. what they think Stephen's core conflict is, in their assigned section and/or in the arc of the novel.
We've discussed A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in terms of conflict, character, and setting; and we've discussed Rilke, Carter, and Joyce from a psychoanalytic perspective which looks at each work's core anxieties. Now, let's look at some other ways to analyze literature. Break off into groups based on the critical method (psychoanalytical, reader-response, feminist, deconstruction, and New Historicism) and article (Brivic, Holland, Henke, Herr, Kershner) that you were assigned on the Criticism Schedule. Each group is responsible for articulating their assigned method's way of looking at literature as well as their assigned article's particular reading of Portrait. Save your group's collective response in Notepad or Word to Blackboard > Groups > In Class Activities > File Exchange so we can reference it later in the week if necessary.
Here are the discussion questions your group should answer and then present to the rest of the class.
In the last group activity, you learned the basics of a critical theory and how it may be used to interpret a work of literature. As we saw, theory is only valuable insofar as it helps one interpret literature. Although our edition of Hamlet provides introductions to the critical theories, today you will focus exclusively on the criticism because writing about literature is the main goal of the class. Save your group's collective response to the following three questions in Notepad or Word to Blackboard > Groups > In Class Activities > File Exchange so we can reference it later in the week if necessary.
Sylvia Plath's poetry is rich in both narrative context and figurative language. As we saw in our discussions of "Pursuit," "In Plaster," and "Daddy," one must recognize the narrative but not take the poem literally. One must read poetry figuratively, metaphorically, symbolically. Selima Hill's Bunny is short on narrative and long on figuration. To make up for that gap, our first day of class will be devoted to determining a sense of place, characterization, and narrative. Divide into four groups and answer the following questions.
As you'll find out in class discussion, I have a particular psychoanalytic-existentialist approach to literature. However, there are more approaches to literature than you can learn in any one class or any one degree. In order to introduce you to the various ways of reading (not to mention to prepare for the group project and third paper), we'll read and discuss scholarly articles, which exemplify different critical approaches, on many of the texts we're reading in class. While I encourage you to read all of the criticism, you are only responsible for reading the article(s) that you're assigned on this sheet.
the following articles are available in our Joyce Norton Critical Edition textbook
the following articles are available in our Shakespeare Norton Critical Edition textbook
the following article is available online
the following articles are available in Blackboard > Course Documents
the following articles are available in Blackboard > Course Documents
The goal of informal writing assignments is to get you to think actively and write critically about literature. These short assignments of 1-2 double-spaced, typed pages will also prepare you to write the longer, formal papers. Approximately once per week, you will be asked to respond to or practice analyzing some element of fiction (conflict, character, setting, imagery, figure of speech, etc.) or respond to a thematic issue.
In class responses will be written in Word and turned in on Blackboard. Out of class responses will be due by the start of class on the due date, either as a typed hard copy or Word/WordPerfect file (not Works) in Blackboard > Informal Writing > Informal Writing #. Go to Blackboard > View Grades > Informal Writing #. Click the "0" link to open up your grade. Your graded paper is the attached file in section 3 Feedback to Student. Click here for grading rationale and calculation of informal writing assignments.
The dual goals of this course are for you to read and write about literature in a variety of manners. Informal writing and formal papers allows you to analyze the texts; reading scholarly criticism and participating in class discussion exposes you to a variety of other interpretations. Peer response sessions extend the reading and writing process by allowing you and your peers to engage in direct oral and written dialogue about matters of interpretation, with the ultimate goal of improving your formal papers. You have the opportunity to revise your first two formal papers based upon comments by your peers (Papers 1 and 2) and myself (Paper 1 only). You will provide constructive criticism to 2 or 3 other members of the class as will they to you.
Use the following issues to help you to formulate your 250 word response to each peer's paper. Because these peer response papers and sessions help your peers revise their papers and thus improve their grade, it is very important that you offer the best constructive criticism in the strongest possible terms, both in writing and in the group meeting. Do not simply say that a peer's paper is okay. Even if you find no problems, engage a dialogue with the paper's interpretation.
The informal writing and first two papers compelled you to analyze literature, to estimate the author's world view. This assignment asks you to do just that, but also to teach the class what you've come to understand. Your group must choose a work of literature in the genre you've been assigned. Groups of four or five will compose a website that provides a working analysis of the text as well as an annotated bibliography of journal articles, book chapters, and scholarly websites on the text and/or its author. Groups will then teach the work of fiction to the class in a multimedia enhanced presention. The website and presentation must be uploaded to Blackboard on the day your presentation is due. The project should be informative and argumentative. This assignment is neither a book report nor a biography, but instead a critical and analytical interpretation of a work of literature.
The purpose of this sheet is merely to form groups. Sign up for two slots, placing a #1 by your first choice and a #2 by your second choice. Once groups are assigned, those groups are responsible for meeting with me outside of class to determine a work of literature to read, research, and teach to the class via both a website and an oral presentation.
MW (5:30-6:45PM) |
novel or two short stories Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |
Mark Marlow Conni Strulson Whitney Wright Scott Zurkuhlen |
play Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire |
Stephanie Armstrong Kit Boyer Mia Cooper Kris Hofelich |
|
poetry Rudyard Kipling |
Brendan Higginbotham Kevin Mullins Isaac Neff-Short David Wright |
|
film or television program David Lynch, Mulholland Dr. |
Kevin Dixon Alex Ferguson-Bell Liz Morse Jonathan Stich |
|
MWF (1:00-1:50PM) |
novel or two short stories Bret Easton Ellis, Less Than Zero |
Joe Brashear Brandon Dyer Ginger Hail Matt Thacker |
play Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof |
Stephanie Dostal Asa Glass Dylan Lightfoot Katie Sanders |
|
poetry Edgar Allan Poe |
Eric Faulkner Alicia Maynord Jason Schwalm Erin Spalding |
|
film or television program The Exorcist |
Amy Butterworth Caleb Foss Nicole Rabalais Jeremy Reccius Rachel Whitehouse |
The informal writing and first two papers compelled you to analyze literature, to estimate the author's world view. This assignment asks you to do just that, but also to teach the class what you've come to understand. Your group must choose a work of literature in the genre you've been assigned. Groups of three or four will compose a website that provides a working analysis of the text as well as an annotated bibliography of journal articles, book chapters, and scholarly websites on the text and/or its author. Groups will then teach the work of literature to the class in a multimedia enhanced presention. The website and presentation must be uploaded to Blackboard on the day your presentation is due. The project should be informative and argumentative. This assignment is neither a book report nor a biography, but instead a critical and analytical interpretation of a work of literature.
Blackboard Group Pages affords group discussion board, collaboration (chat), email, and file exchange.
The presentation should accomplish two objectives:
As long as you meet these two objectives, the format of the presentation is completely up to you. You may choose to use aspects of the website to guide your group presentation, or you may use Microsoft Powerpoint, which I'll show you how to use in class, to guide your presentation. You may choose to focus on various elements of literature (conflict, character, setting, symbol, point of view, structure, tone) as ways into the work of literature as we have done in previous classes. You have all the technology of our lab at your disposal: projector, vcr, cd players, speakers, web browsers, Microsoft Powerpoint; and I can reserve a dvd if you need one. Presentations will be 20 minutes long and followed by a five-ten minute question and answer period.
Groups assigned on Wednesday, 10-6 |
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Choose text for group project by Wednesday, 10-13. |
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Read and analyze text individually. |
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Discuss text as group. |
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Research Methods Tutorial on Wednesday, 11-3 Start researching text individually and as group. |
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Website Construction Tutorial on Wednesday, 11-10. Begin planning website and presentation. |
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Microsoft Powerpoint Tutorial on Monday, 11-15. Lab time for group projects given in class. Work on website and presentation. |
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Lab time for group projects given in class. Work on website and presentation. |
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Group Presentations Websites due on day of presentation. |
We have discussed Rilke, Carter, Joyce, and Shakespeare's works at length in class. We have even discussed various scholars' interpretations of Joyce and Shakespeare. And you have written on these works, but only informally and tentatively. Now is your opportunity to rigorously analyze a work of literature. For the first formal paper, write an essay built around the most important passage in one of the works of literature that we have read so far. In your studied interpretation, what is the most significant passage? Why is it central to the core conflicts, character, and meaning of the story? What issues does it embody? In other words, using this key passage, you should write a paper that 1) interprets the meaning of the work via 2) explicating the fundamental conflicts and basic concerns of the text.
Note: You will write two drafts of this paper. The first draft will be ungraded (though still subject to length and late penalties) and reviewed by both your peers and myself in order to give you constructive criticism for revising the second, graded draft.
We have discussed Rilke, Carter, Joyce, Shakespeare, Donnie Darko, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Plath at length in class; and we have read critics' debates on Joyce, Shakespeare, Buffy, and Plath. For the first formal paper, you analyzed the core conflicts and meaning of a work by looking at a significant passage. For the second formal paper, enter into the critical debate with the class and critics; write an essay that analyzes a difference of interpretion on a key point in a work of literature. Present the different interpretations, then argue for your side, your reading. Some issues that we have debated include but are not limited to: What does God's ambush in Rilke's "Imaginary Career" mean? Why does Red Riding Hood sleep with the Wolf? Is Stephen an artist? Why does Hamlet forestall action against Claudius? Is Donnie Darko schizophrenic or attuned to a higher reality? (If you write on Donnie Darko, be sure to watch the film again and use the shooting script to help you quote dialogue.) Is Buffy a feminist text? You may, of course, use an interpretive question not listed here. You may use any work we've read in class, but it must not be the same work on which you wrote your first formal paper.
Note: You will write two drafts of this paper. The first draft will be ungraded (though still subject to length and late penalties) and reviewed by your peers only in order to give you constructive criticism for revising the second, graded draft.
In the first two formal papers, you analyzed a particular passage and then debated the meaning of a work that we have read in class. For the third and final paper, select a work of literature not discussed in class (it may, however, be the work your group project worked on), and, after clearing it with me, write an in depth analysis and interpretation using 3-5 works of scholarly criticism to provide support or counterargument. The primary emphasis of this paper is your thoughtful, rigorous analysis of a work of literature; use the secondary sources only inasmuch as they aid your interpretation.
Thesis and Sources: When we meet individually to discuss your third paper, you should turn in a paragraph or outline describing your tentative thesis. Also, provide a list of 10 works of scholarly criticism (approximately half books and half journal articles) you plan to use to help yourself develop, expand, or support your argument. Here's the sign-up sheet for our individual conference, to be held during class time in Bingham Humanities Bldg 104.
Individual Conference Sign-Up Sheet
MW (5:30-6:45PM) |
David Wright Kit Boyer Mia Cooper Kris Hofelich Stephanie Armstrong Scott Zurkuhlen Alex Ferguson-Bell Mark Marlow |
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Brendan Higginbotham Jonathan Stich Kevin Dixon Isaac Neff-Short Liz Morse Whitney Wright Conni Strulson |
||
MWF (1:00-1:50PM) |
Asa Glass Katie Sanders Brandon Dyer Nicole Rabalais Erin Spalding |
|
Joe Brashear Eric Faulkner Alicia Maynord Jason Schwalm Dylan Lightfoot |
||
Rachel Whitehouse Caleb Foss Jeremy Reccius Ginger Hail Amy Butterworth Matthew Thacker Stephanie Dostal |
Note: You will only turn in one draft of this paper to me; however, I encourage you to share drafts with peers you've learned to trust in class and peer response sessions.
MW (5:30-6:50PM) |
Stephanie Armstrong |
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire |
Kit Boyer |
Rashomon (Dir. Akira Kurosowa) | |
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Mia Cooper |
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire | |
Kevin Dixon |
Mulholland Dr. (Dir. David Lynch) | |
Alex Ferguson-Bell |
Mulholland Dr. (Dir. David Lynch) | |
Brendan Higginbotham |
Rudyard Kipling, poetry | |
Kris Hofelich |
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire | |
Mark Marlow |
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | |
Liz Morse |
Mulholland Dr. (Dir. David Lynch) | |
Isaac Neff-Short |
Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried | |
Jonathan Stich |
Mulholland Dr. (Dir. David Lynch) | |
Conni Strulson |
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | |
David Wright |
Dawn of the Dead (Dir. George A. Romero) | |
Whitney Wright |
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | |
| Scott Zurkuhlen | Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | |
MWF (1:00-1:50PM) |
Joe Brashear |
Bret Easton Ellis, Less than Zero |
Amy Butterworth |
The Exorcist (Dir. William Friedkin) | |
Stephanie Dostal |
Voltaire, Candide | |
Brandon Dyer |
Stephen King, Carrie | |
Eric Faulkner |
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven" | |
Caleb Foss |
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland | |
Asa Glass |
Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | |
Ginger Hail |
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings | |
Dylan Lightfoot |
Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | |
Alicia Maynord |
William Shakespeare, King Lear | |
Nicole Rabalais |
The Exorcist (Dir. William Friedkin) | |
Jeremy Reccius |
The Exorcist (Dir. William Friedkin) | |
Katie Sanders |
Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | |
Jason Schwalm |
T. S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" | |
Erin Spalding |
Robert Frost | |
Matthew Thacker |
Bret Easton Ellis, Less than Zero | |
| Rachel Whitehouse | Edgar Allan Poe, "The Pit and the Pendulum" |