EN12M: Introduction to Literature
Spring Semester 2005
Click here for the course syllabus.
Tuesday and Friday 11:00-12:15
Instructor: Robert Epstein
Office: 120 Donnarumma Hall
Office Hours: Wednesday 2:00-4:30, or by appointment
Office extension: 2787
E-mail: repstein@mail.fairfield.edu
DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE
EN12: Introduction to Literature is normally offered in the Spring semester as a continuation of EN11: Composition and Prose Literature. EN12 is intended to develop the analytical and writing skills fostered in EN11 while also introducing students to the study of literature and its various periods, styles, and themes.
The theme of this section of Introduction to Literature is “Twice-Told Tales,” and it will focus on the classic fairy tales—Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, the Little Mermaid, Snow White—in their oldest preserved versions by authors like Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, in post-modern retellings, and in popular culture. We will also read and discuss critical essays on fairy tales, and some film versions will be shown on Campus Cable. One segment of the class will be given over to the study of Shakespeare’s Othello (which my possibly include a trip to see a professional production of the play.) The class leads to the production of a research paper, with instruction on the methods and uses of research.
REQUIREMENTS
Attendance: Students are required to attend all class meetings. If you have to miss a class for a foreseeable obligation, inform me beforehand. I also expect all students to have fulfilled the assignment and to be prepared to participate in class discussion. Attendance and participation will be factors in grading. Please bring the assigned texts to class!
Essays: There will be three critical essays (each about 5 pages long) due during the semester. The first will be on various versions of “Little Red Riding Hood” or "Beauty and the Beast." The second will be on Shakespeare’s Othello. And the third will be on one of the other fairy tales that we will study and discuss.
Thesis workshops: Before each essay is due, we will spend class time working on thesis development and essay organization.
Critical Research Paper: At the end of the semester, a longer research paper (approximately 7-9 pp.) will be due. For this paper, I will ask you to research any fairy tale of your choosing-- so long as we did not study it during the semester. You will investigate the history of the tale, locating its earliest recorded version and at least one other version; you may also look into how the tale has evolved over the years, how it varies in different cultures, and how its meaning is different in its different tellings. We will discuss these terms and requirements further at the end of the semester, and your research will be facilitated by a library instructional session on research databases and technologies.
Other assignments: There will be other occasional writing assignments. These assignments will not be graded, but they are required will be considered alongside class attendance and participation when figuring the grade for the course. Also, in the final weeks of the course, students will make oral presentations in class on the fairy tale they are researching for their final papers.
FORMAT OF ESSAYS
All submitted papers should follow the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines for formatting a paper. These guidelines can be found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed., which is available in the Reference Section of the library and in the Writing Center. They are also summarized on pp. 148-150 of Diana Hacker’s Pocket Style Manual, with sample pages on pp. 151-154. When commenting on your essays, I will refer to Hacker on matters of format and style.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Secondary critical sources are not required for the first three essays assignments in this course, but they will be required on the final critical research paper. On any assignment, however, you must fully cite any sources that you use. The source must appear in the list of works cited at the end of the essay, and each source must be cited on every occasion that you make use of its words or ideas. This is true if the source is your primary source (the text you are studying) or a critical source (an analysis of the work published elsewhere), and it is true if the source is printed or electronic, including internet sources. Follow the MLA style of in-text citation and lists of works cited described in A Pocket Style Manual, pp. 128-148.
The failure to fully cite sources within your submitted work is a form of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the appropriation of ideas, data, work, or language of others and submitting them as one’s own to satisfy the requirements of a course. Plagiarism constitutes theft and deceit. Special care should be taken, when cutting and pasting materials or when paraphrasing, to cite sources correctly and to use quotation marks around exact words from source materials. Actions that result in plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Consequently, students must understand the concept of plagiarism. When reading, processing, or using materials from any source, appropriate documentation is always essential.
The consequences of plagiarism
may range from failure on the assignment to failure for the course and university
disciplinary action.
Resources such as the library (ext. 2178) and the Writing Center (www.fairfield.edu/writingcenter)
are available on campus to assist you in your academic endeavors. You are encouraged
to take advantage of these resources.
GRADING
For each of the graded papers, a complete draft must be submitted at least a week before the final draft is due. I will return the draft with my comments, and you will have time to revise the paper before the final draft is due. I will then return the paper with a grade, but with minimal comments.
Papers are due at the beginning of class on the day indicated on the syllabus. Unless I have explicitly granted an extension before the due date, late papers will be penalized one-third of a letter grade per day. (A paper that would have earned a B+ will receive a B if it is one day late, a B- if it is two days late, and so on.)
On some occasions, I may allow graded work to be revised and resubmitted. In order to resubmit an essay, however, you must:
Grades for the course will be determined according to the following formula:
TEXTS
The required texts for the class are:
Other readings will be made available through class handouts and Electronic Reserves.