English 1010:
Introduction to Prose and Fiction
Section 01 (Winter 2011)
Please note: this is a preliminary coursepage for
informational purposes only; the official syllabus will be distributed
in class in January.
Contact Information:
Instructor: Dr. Julia M. Wright
(julia.wright@dal.ca)
Office: McCain
2193
Office Hours:
Mondays, 2:30-3:30pm; Wednesdays, 3:00-4:00pm; or by appointment.
Tutorials and Teaching Assistants:
Tutorial 1 (McCain 2022): Gordon Miller
(Office and Office Hours TBA in tutorial)
Tutorial 2 (McCain 2104): Julie Crabb (Office
and Office Hours TBA in tutorial)
Tutorial 3 (HH 212): Julia M. Wright (Office and
Office hours listed above)
Tutorial 4 (LSC 236): Crystal Vaughan (Office
and Office hours TBA in tutorial)
You are responsible for knowing the contents of this syllabus as well
as your tutorial section and your tutorial leader’s name (see Dal
Online--T02 = Tutorial 2); these
are essential to your success in this class. Information about
readings and all assignments are provided here, so you can work and
read ahead if it helps you distribute your workload.
Required Texts:
Baldick, Chris. Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Literary
Terms. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004.
Behn, Aphra. Oronooko, The
Rover, and Other Works. Ed.
Janet Todd. Toronto: Penguin, 1999.
Brunner, John. The Sheep Look
Up. 1972. Dallas:
BenBella Books, 2003.
Denisoff, Dennis, ed. Broadview
Anthology of Victorian Short
Stories. Peterborough: Broadview P, 2004.
Hammett, Dashiell. The Maltese Falcon.
New York: Vintage, 1992.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian
Gray. Ed. Norman Page.
Peterborough: Broadview P, 1998.
Students should also regularly consult a recent writing handbook that
covers grammar. Used bookstores often have them in stock, and new
editions are widely available: The
New McGraw-Hill Handbook by Elaine
P. Maimon, Janice H. Peritz, and Kathleen Blake Yancey; The Brief
Penguin Handbook by Lester Faigley, Roger Graves, and Heather
Graves
(1st Canadian edition); The
Writer’s Harbrace Handbook by Cheryl
Glenn, Robert Keith Miller, et al. There are also good online
sites that offer similar resources, including Paradigm Online Writing
Assistant (http://www.powa.org/) and the Purdue Online Writing Lab
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/).
Assignments:
• In-tutorial Writing Assignment (15%): March 4th
• Essay #1 (20%): 900-1000 words, first
draft due in tutorial on Jan 28th and final version due in class on
February 7th
• Essay #2 (35%): 1600-1800 words, due March 18th
• Tutorial participation (10%)
• Final Exam (20%): as scheduled by the
university.
Essays are due at the start of class or tutorial and
are subject to penalties of 5% per day of lateness, including Saturdays
and Sundays. We reserve the right not to accept assignments more than
one week late. (See the section “On Lateness,” below, on
possible exceptions.) We also reserve the right to interview
students on their assignments.
General Guidelines
Course webpage: The course webpage is
<http://myweb.dal.ca/jl441155/ENGL1010-2011.htm>. Students
are required to check the course webpage regularly. Any changes
to our normal routine--such as extended office hours around the time
that essays are due or cancellation of class in the event of severe
weather--will be announced there. There is also a BLS section for
the class (see OWL on the main university page) where some class
materials will be posted.
Essay-writing and Compliance with University Policies: If
you have any questions or concerns as you work on your essays, please
drop by during my office hours or e-mail me. You should strive to
write essays that are cogently argued and correctly written.
Students should consult “Undergraduate
Resources” on the Department of English website
(http://english.dal.ca/Programs/Undergraduate%20Program/Undergraduate_Resour.php)
regarding essay writing and the requirements of documentation. It
takes time to develop, organize, clearly articulate, and persuasively
support an argument, so try to work on your essays early. Keep a
grammar handbook and dictionary handy, and do not use a thesaurus
without carefully checking your choices in a dictionary. Be
especially wary of the thesaurus and grammar tools packaged with
computer software; they are not designed to help with university-level
writing and can lead you astray.
All assignments must be fully and properly
documented in accordance with MLA style and the principles of
intellectual honesty. This means that
a) every source on which you draw must be fully and
properly listed in your Works Cited, including webpages, editor’s
notes, textbook introductions, students’ comments outside of
class, and printed materials (books, articles, and so forth);
b) all quotations (that is, word-by-word
duplication) must be placed within quotation marks and followed by a
parenthetical reference that indicates the source and the page(s) or
line(s) being quoted.
Note: There is no minimum length for quotations; one- and two-word
quotations are not unusual in a properly documented paper.
Paraphrase should always be avoided. Do not
waste your time altering a few words: it is always best to quote
directly and fully. In general, paraphrase should only be used to
condense material significantly (that is, to summarize two pages in a
sentence); moreover, paraphrases must always be clearly identified as
such and followed by the appropriate parenthetical reference. Changing
a few words does not in any way diminish your responsibility to
acknowledge your source and the words you have taken from it through a
parenthetical page reference and a Works Cited entry, and can in fact
lead to documentation failures and so plagiarism charges.
Make and keep a copy of the work that you submit,
especially if you do not give it directly to me or your tutorial
leader, as well as save your file (see University Policies, below).
Each page should have 2.5cm (1") margins on all sides, be double-spaced
throughout, and include page numbers in the upper-righthand
corner. A single staple is the preferred binding.
We will discuss essentials of grammar, essay
writing, and so forth in class and tutorials. If you would like
further instruction on writing this term or later in your university
career, please consult the Writing Centre website
(www.writingcentre.dal.ca) for information on seminars and individual
assistance.
On Lateness: In the event of significant extenuating
circumstances that materially affect your ability to complete
coursework, notify your tutorial leader as soon as possible over e-mail
and promptly provide the proper documentation (e.g., a medical note
that indicates you were unwell for the relevant period of time). We
will provide alternate duedates and/or a make-up time for the in-class
writing assignment, if required. Please note that it is your
responsibility to notify me promptly, to provide the proper
documentation, and to complete the work by or on the new date(s)
provided.
If you have to submit your assignment
late, you should a) drop it off in my essay drop-off box (see the metal
set of drop-off boxes on the first floor of the McCain building,
immediately to your right at the top of the righthand set of stairs in
the main entrance); b) e-mail me right away to let me know that it is
there, so that I can note the date it was received as soon as possible
in order to minimize late penalties (5%/day).
Grade equivalents:
A+: 90-100% B+: 77-79%
C+: 67-69% D: 50-59%
A:
85-89% B: 73-76%
C: 63-66% F: 0-49%
A-: 80-84% B-:
70-72% C-: 60-62%
Important Notes & University Policies:
OSAA Syllabus Statement on Accommodation:
Students may request accommodation as a result of barriers related to
disability, religious obligation, or any characteristic under the
Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Students who require academic
accommodation for either classroom participation or the writing
of tests, quizzes and exams should make their request to the Office of
Student Accessibility & Accommodation (OSAA) prior to or at the
outset of each academic term (with the exception of X/Y
courses). Please see www.studentaccessibility.dal.ca for
more information and to obtain Form A--Request for Accommodation. A
note taker may be required to assist a classmate. There is an
honourarium of $75/course/term. If you are interested, please
contact OSAA at 494-2836 for more information. Please note that your
classroom may contain specialized accessible furniture and
equipment. It is important that these items remain in the
classroom so that students who require their usage will be able to
participate in the class.
Turnitin.com: Dalhousie University subscribes
to Turnitin.com, a computer based service which checks for originality
in submitted papers. Any paper submitted by a student at
Dalhousie University may be checked for originality to confirm that the
student has not plagiarised from other sources. Plagiarism is
considered a serious academic offence which may lead to loss of credit,
suspension or expulsion from the University, or even the revocation of
a degree. It is essential that there be correct attribution of
authorities from which facts and opinions have been derived. At
Dalhousie there are University Regulations which deal with plagiarism
and, prior to submitting any paper in a course, students should read
The Policy on Intellectual Honesty contained in the Calendar or on the
On-line Dalhousie website. The Senate has affirmed the right of
any instructor to require that student papers be submitted in both
written and computer-readable format, and to submit any paper to check
such as that performed by Turnitin.com. As a student in this
class, you are to keep an electronic copy of any paper you submit, and
the course instructor may require you to submit that electronic copy on
demand. Copies of student papers checked by this process will be
retained by Turnitin.com. (Memo from Vice-President and Provost,
August 7, 2002.)
Plagiarism: All students in this class are to
read and understand the policies on plagiarism and academic honesty as
referenced in the Undergraduate Calendar at
http://registrar.dal.ca/calendar/ug/UREG.htm#12. Ignorance of
such policies is no excuse for violations.
Assignments
Essay #1 (900-1000 words; first
draft due in tutorial January 28th; final version due in class on
February 7th)
For one of the topics below, write an essay on one
of the following short stories in the Broadview Anthology:
Frances Browne’s “The Story of Fairyfoot”; Sheridan
Le Fanu’s “Green Tea”; Rudyard Kipling’s
“Lispeth”; Evelyn Sharp’s “In Dull
Brown”; Ada Leverson’s “The Quest of
Sorrow.” These topics are starting points: you will
have to develop your own argument about your selected short story and
that will require focussing the topic to suit the material and your
interest in it.
Topics:
1. Discuss the significance
of narrative perspective and setting to your selected short
story. (You might consider, for instance, the credibility of the
narrator, or the appropriateness of the setting to the theme of the
work.)
2. Discuss the significance
of the relationship between the literal and the non-literal in your
selected short story. (You might consider, for instance, the
descriptive vs the figurative elements of the text, or the relationship
between the realistic and the imaginative.)
This assignment will be completed in two stages: a first draft must be
brought to your tutorial on January 28th; the final version will be
submitted in class on February 7th. During the January 28th
tutorial, students will be divided into groups of 3-4 to discuss the
problems they had writing their essays, seek peer advice on writing
concerns, and consult with the tutorial leader as needed on writing
issues from grammar to essay structure. Students will then revise
their essays based on these consultations, and submit the final version
on February 7th. Note that the focus of the tutorial will be on
writing, not the specifics of the argument or the subject of the essay,
nor does the tutorial void the value of students seeking further advice
during office hours.
Essay #2 (1600-1800 words, due
March 18th)
Building on one of the assigned topics listed below
and drawing on at least two useful critical sources (no online sources
allowed, unless, like JSTOR, they reproduce a print source), discuss
either three short stories from the course readings or one novel from
the course readings. You may, if you wish, substitute one short
story of the three with a text that is in a class textbook but a) not
on the class reading list; AND b) not the story on which you wrote your
first essay (if you write on the same story in both essays, Essay #2
will be subject to a 25% penalty).
Topics:
1. In our readings for this
class, a number of characters are depicted as having a split identity,
that is, between an authentic self and a false persona that is seen by
others (whether that false persona is generated by lying or
misunderstanding or accident). Discuss the significance of this double-
or split-identity to the text(s).
2. Discuss the depiction of
a non-literary art form (such as television, painting, or music). How,
for instance, does the depiction of that non-literary art form reflect
on the theme or aesthetic values of the text(s) you’re analyzing?
Is the non-literary art form, for instance, represented as having more
or less value than literature? Is it used to contextualize a particular
theme or character?
3. Discuss the ways in
which particular characters stage debates related to a theme of the
work that you can establish through other parts of the narrative.
You might consider characters who represent particular worldviews or
positions, or dialogue itself as debate, and the elaboration of theme
through the narrator’s commentary, imagery in description, and so
forth.
In-tutorial writing assignment
(45 minutes; March 4th)
This will test your knowledge of the elements of
writing, literary terms, and class readings. You will have a
choice of questions.
Exam (two hours, to be
scheduled by the university)
The final examination will cover the terms and
readings on the class schedule as well as writing subjects covered in
class and tutorials.
Tutorial Participation
Attendance will be taken in every tutorial, and
students are expected to participate and contribute constructively to
discussion. This grade will be a straightforward calculation by the
tutorial leader based on attendance and level of participation.
Attendance will be marked out of ten (i.e., everyone gets to miss one
tutorial without penalty), and multiplied by a number from .75 to 1.0
based on quality of contributions to tutorial: e.g., by .75 if you do
not participate much, by .85 if you occasionally make contributions to
tutorial discussion, and by 1.0 if you regularly contribute
generatively to tutorial discussion. So, if you attend 9
tutorials and contribute meaningfully in about half, you will get 9/10
x .85 = 7.65/10 for this part of the course requirements; if you attend
all tutorials and listen attentively but don’t otherwise
participate, you will earn 10/10 x .75 = 7.5/10. Showing up late
or leaving early may also be taken into account.
If you are ill or otherwise unable to attend
tutorials for two weeks or more, the calculation will be adjusted as
appropriate if you provide compelling documentation (medical,
counselling services, etc.) to your tutorial leader within two weeks of
the period affected.
A Note on Extenuating Circumstances
Counselling Services provides a wide range of
services to help you through various difficulties (with adjusting to
university life, personal problems, time management, etc.) and, where
warranted, will write notes that indicate extenuating circumstances
while protecting your privacy. When such documentation (or
medical documentation) is received in a timely manner, we will respond
appropriately, for instance, with a make-up for an in-class assignment
or an extension for an essay. But please note that, under
university policy, travel arrangements do not constitute an extenuating
circumstance and will not justify waiving tutorial attendance,
accepting late or missed assignments, or altering final examination
arrangements.
Class Schedule
You are responsible for reading required texts and definitions of
literary terms before the class in which they will be discussed; class
discussions and lectures are designed to deepen your knowledge of the
material, and presume that you already have the basics (plot,
character, etc.). Except for “setting,” all terms are
in The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms; most short stories are in
the Broadview Anthology, and the rest are available online via BLS.
January 5: Introduction
January 7: tutorial: parts of speech (see
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/730/1/); general
introduction.
January 10: Wilde, “The Happy Prince”
terms: first-person narrative, figure,
criticism
January 12: Introduction to Broadview Anthology of Victorian
Short Stories
January 14: discussion of “The Happy Prince”; discussion of
essay structure (see
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/03/;
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/1/)
January 17-19: Behn, Oroonoko
terms: Enlightenment, novel, setting,
third-person narrative
January 21: discussion of Oroonoko;
common writing errors: comma
placement
(http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/comma_placement.htm),
agreement (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/), and
passive constructions
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/1/)
January 24: Behn, Oroonoko
(cont.)
January 26: Wilde, from The Decay of
Lying (in The Picture of
Dorian
Gray); discussion of essay writing
term: essay
January 28: workshop first essay
January 31 & February 2: Wells, “The Star”; de
Morgan, “Toy Princess”; De Quincey, “The Vision of
Sudden Death”
terms: science fiction, fantasy
February 4: Munro Day–no tutorials
February 7-9: Wilde, Picture of
Dorian Gray
terms: Romanticism, realism
February 11: discussion of Picture
of Dorian Gray; semi-colon usage
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/4/); more writing
errors to avoid: dangling modifiers, fragments, and comma splices
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/597/01/ ,
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/33/ ,
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/34/)
February 14: Wilde, Picture of
Dorian Gray (cont.)
terms: gothic novel, protagonist
February 16: class on research: finding reliable
academic sources through databases and online
February 18: discussion of Picture
of Dorian Gray; strategies for
organizing your final essay
*reading week*
February 28 & March 2: Poe, “The Murders in the Rue
Morgue” (BLS); Stevenson, “Markheim”
terms: in medias res; anti-hero
March 4: in-class writing assignment
March 7-9: Hammett, Maltese Falcon
March 11: discussion of Maltese
Falcon; transition sentences (see
http://www.sfu.ca/~etiffany/teaching/phil120/transitions.html)
March 14-16: Hawthorne, “The Ambitious Guest” (BLS);
Hardy, “Interlopers at the Knap”
March 18: discussion of “The Ambitious Guest” and
“Interlopers at the Knap”; essay due.
March 21-23: first two month-chapters of Brunner, The Sheep Look
Up
terms: postmodernism, bricolage
March 25: discussion of third month-chapter of Brunner, The Sheep Look
Up
March 28: The Sheep Look Up
(remainder)
March 30: Collins, "A Terribly Strange Bed"
April 1: tutorials cancelled
April 4-6: Doyle, “A Scandal in Bohemia”; Butler,
“Amnesty” (BLS); review for exam
April 8: discussion of “A Scandal in Bohemia” and
“Amnesty”; review for exam.
A few general hints on effectively catching writing errors
1. If in any doubt, check a grammar handbook and
dictionary. It takes seconds and can dramatically improve your
essay. For an online dictionary, see www.onelook.com .
2. Read aloud. Most of us listen and speak more than we
write, so reading aloud will often alert you to a problem.
3. Write your assignments a few days early and set them aside for
two or three days without looking at them–then proofread.
It can be easy to confuse what you were thinking with what you are
reading, and setting an essay aside for a few days can help to separate
the two.
4. Always proofread an assignment, at least twice, and revise as
needed, even if it means making corrections in pen at the last
minute. Substance is what matters here, not a nice-looking page.
Proofreading is the best strategy for fixing all of the errors that you
can catch yourself, and so making your essay as well-written and clear
as possible--and ensuring that it is the best indication of your
abilities. Also use proofreading to check that your quotations
are fully and properly documented.