|
|
Dr. Mary Jane Hurst
Office: English/Philosophy 217 Call 742-2501 for current office hours Office phone: 806.742-2500 ext. 253 |
| . | . |
Site Links
|
Office: 217 English; Office Telephone: 742-2544
STUDIES IN AMERICAN FICTION:
Required Reading for the Course: Anaya, Rudolfo. Alburquerque.
(Any editions of the novels listed above will be acceptable. An order has been placed through the Texas Tech bookstore for the least expensive paperback editions available.) Course Design and Course Objective: This course is designed for students who love to read and who want to think about the function and future of American literature on the edge of a new millennium. After some introductory considerations of relevant critical theories, we will discuss sets of novels grouped with regard to the subjects and themes of the novels as well as with regard to the authors’ racial, ethnic, cultural, and geographical affiliations. Our focus for most of the term will be on the diverse presentations of language, gender, and community in selected examples of American fiction published since 1990, but we will end the semester with individual reports about how the course concepts apply to texts other than those discussed in class. Over-all, this course aims to direct students’ thinking about the importance of language, the influence of gender, and the idea of an American identity in American literature at the end of the twentieth century. How to Get in Touch with Your Professor: Send her an e-mail message any time on the internet: <maryjane.hurst@ttu.edu>.
Course Requirements: Students will conduct themselves in a manner appropriate for a university classroom. Students will attend class regularly, having completed the designated readings and assignments, and will participate positively in class discussions. Each student will serve as the discussion launcher at least once during the semester and as the discussion respondent at least once during the semester. Here is how this will work: on the first day that we discuss a particular text, the professor will provide the relevant background information necessary for participants to begin discussing the book being considered. On the second day devoted to that text, one of the students will be responsible for launching the discussion for the day (perhaps by starting out with ten minutes or so of analysis of some portion of text that will focus our attention for the day or get us started on the heart of what is important in the text with regard to language, gender, and community -- although other patterns of launching the discussion are certainly possible). For the last ten minutes or so of the day, another student from the class will be responsible for serving as the respondent for the class, summarizing what has been said, noting the strengths and weaknesses of the ideas exchanged, and pointing the way for future thinking on the topic. Panels at conferences and professional discussions of many kinds make use of discussion launchers and discussion respondents, so students will be developing practical skills in these assignments. Each student will write two informal position papers about a particular portion of text or about a particular idea discussed in class and will circulate those position papers to other class members. These papers may be very informal. Generally speaking, each one should not be longer than one single-spaced typed page. Each student will write one response paper to someone else’s position paper (or a response to a group of position papers) and will circulate the response paper to other class members. This paper may be informal. Generally speaking, it should not be longer than one single-spaced page. Students will write one formal paper applying course concepts about language, gender, and community in the analysis of a fictional text other than one discussed in class. A chosen text could be a contemporary novel that presents ideas opposite to those discussed in class, or it could be a short story or a novel by an author from a different geographical area or sexual orientation or ethnic identity than those discussed in class, or it could be a text from a different time period or even from a different culture. Papers should be a length appropriate for conference presentation (generally ten to twelve pages) or for submission to a journal (generally eighteen to twenty pages). Students will deliver oral presentations based on their papers. Suggestions about changes to the above course requirements should be
made on the first day of class.
Students’ FINAL GRADES will be based on the quality of their work during the course of the semester. The following components will each count ten percent of the final grade: work as the discussion launcher, work as the discussion respondent, each position paper, and the response to others’ position papers. The formal paper, then, counts as fifty percent of the final grade. (If the course requirements are revised based on students’ input at the beginning of the semester, these percentages might change.) In order to earn a passing grade for English 5325, a student must successfully complete all course requirements. No material to be graded (other than a final exam, although at present a final exam is not planned) will be accepted after the last day of regular classes.. Students are expected to be PRESENT, PUNCTUAL, AND PREPARED each class day. To avoid being penalized unnecessarily, students should inform their professor, in advance when possible, of special situations that affect their attendance or their preparation. The English Department does offer correspondence classes, but this is not one of them. Ordinarily, students with more than seven absences should expect an automatic F in the course. IF UNIVERSITY CLASSES SHOULD BE CANCELLED (as, for example, in a weather emergency) on a day when a particular presentation is scheduled or an assignment is due, the presentation will be expected or the assignment collected on the first day that classes meet again. Students are welcome to set up CONFERENCES with their professor during her regular office hours or during another pre-established appointment. Constructive feedback about the course is encouraged at any time. Students must take responsibility for their own learning; if an individual does not understand material or if a person is confused about an assignment, then that student should make an appointment to talk to the professor. Students are expected to behave honorably and maturely. Ideas discussed in literature and language classes can be controversial. However, students will maintain appropriate decorum in their speech and behavior, at all times showing respect for other people and their ideas. Students will also exhibit integrity in their classwork and in their dealings with their classmates. PLAGIARISM or other forms of cheating will not be tolerated. Any student found cheating can expect to receive an F for the course and to endure any other penalties invoked by the student's dean. Any student who, because of a DISABLING CONDITION, may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make necessary accommodations. Students requesting such services will need to present appropriate verification from Disabled Student Services since it is university policy that such accommodations are not made prior to completion of the approved University process. OTHER INFORMATION about university policies can be located in the Undergraduate Catalog and in the Directory of Classes. Students with concerns not addressed in this policy statement should discuss their situations with their professor at their earliest convenience. |