Courses

ENG 2143.50

Fiction

Summer III (2008)

Willa Cather

Course Name, Number, and Description:  ENG 2143.50.  Fiction.  Description: The 2007-2009 Texas Woman's University General Catalog describes ENG 2143 Fiction in this way: "An introduction to the art of fiction, including the study of short stories, novellas, and novels, with an emphasis on critical reading.  Prerequisite: ENG 1023 or its equivalent.  Three lecture hours a week.  Credit: three hours.  Multicultural studies requirement.  Core literature requirement."  Because this course provides multicultural "core" credit, we will read authors from a variety of backgrounds.  Please note that this course is taught entirely online. 

This course fulfills the Core Curriculum Humanities requirement.  This course also fulfills the multicultural studies requirement (for students who enrolled at TWU before Fall 2007. Students who enrolled at TWU in Fall 2007 or later have a different core curriculum requirement--"multicultural women's studies"--and this course DOES NOT meet that requirement.    

Faculty Contact Information: Office Location, Phone, Hours:
Russell Greer, Ph.D.  Associate Professor.  Office: CFO 803.  E-mail: rgreer@twu.edu.  Fax: (940) 898-2297 (English Department).  Office telephone: (940) 898-2346. Website: www.russellgreer.com

Most students find they can communicate with me quickly through the course itself online or by e-mail (rgreer@twu.edu).  In addition, I will host office hours in CFO 803 on Wednesdays from noon to 4 p.m. and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. throughout Summer III 2008 (2 June through 7 August) unless otherwise indicated.  If I cannot hold regular office hours, I will make an announcement on Blackboard, my website, and/or on the door of my office.  Since I am also a departmental advisor for undergraduate English majors, appointments for meetings during office hours are encouraged.  I am usually not available in my office at other times, but I am available by phone and online.  You may also leave me a voice mail at (940) 898-2346.  I check for messages daily and try to return calls promptly (often in the evening).

Please note that I am usually active and available online throughout the week (until 5 p.m.), but I reserve the weekends to be with my family.  Please do not expect me to be available online on the weekends. 

Course Goals/Student Learning Outcomes:
The core curriculum guidelines described here are predicated on the judgment that a series of basic intellectual competencies -- reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking, and computer literacy -- are essential to the learning process in any discipline and thus should inform any core curriculum.

Although you can be expected to come to college with some experience in exercising these competencies, you often need further instruction and practice to meet college standards and, later, to succeed in both your major field of academic study and your chosen career or profession.

READING Goal: Reading at the college level means the ability to analyze and interpret a variety of printed materials -- books, articles, and documents. A core curriculum should offer students the opportunity to master both general methods of analyzing printed materials and specific methods for analyzing the subject matter of individual disciplines. ENG 2143.50 Student Learning Outcome: In this class, we will read one novel and a selection of short stories from the assigned text throughout the course.  Then we will analyze and interpret these works using a variety of critical methods that we will discuss in the class to answer weekly discussion questions, assignments, tests, and papers.

WRITING Goal: Competency in writing is the ability to produce clear, correct, and coherent prose adapted to purpose, occasion, and audience. Although correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation are each a sine qua non in any composition, they do not automatically ensure that the composition itself makes sense or that the writer has much of anything to say. Students need to be familiar with the writing process including how to discover a topic and how to develop and organize it, how to phrase it effectively for their audience. These abilities can be acquired only through practice and reflection. ENG 2143.50 Student Learning Outcome: In this class, we will accomplish this competency by answering weekly, written discussion questions and two essay assignments.

SPEAKING Goal: Competence in speaking is the ability to communicate orally in clear, coherent, and persuasive language appropriate to purpose, occasion, and audience. Developing this competency includes acquiring poise and developing control of the language through experience in making presentations to small groups, to large groups, and through the media. ENG 2143.50 Student Learning Outcome:  Since this is an online course, this competency is not applicable directly, although many of the rhetorical skills we will exercise in writing and working in online groups will help build great skill in speaking and critical thinking also.

LISTENING Goal: Listening at the college level means the ability to analyze and interpret various forms of spoken communication. ENG 2143.50 Student Learning Outcome: In this class, students develop “listening” skills through online interaction with their classmates, including writing group essays.  Although not physically “listening” per se, the communication skills are similar.

CRITICAL THINKING Goal: Critical thinking embraces methods for applying both qualitative and quantitative skills analytically and creatively to subject matter in order to evaluate arguments and to construct alternative strategies. Problem solving is one of the applications of critical thinking, used to address an identified task. ENG 2143.50 Student Learning Outcome: In this class, students will exercise critical thinking skills in analyzing short stories, answering discussion questions,  and writing papers.

COMPUTER LITERACY Goal: Computer literacy at the college level means the ability to use computer-based technology in communicating, solving problems, and acquiring information. Core-educated students should have an understanding of the limits, problems, and possibilities associated with the use of technology, and should have the tools necessary to evaluate and learn new technologies as they become available. ENG 2143.50 Student Learning Outcome: In this class, because it being taught entirely online, students meet this competency by default.

Some of these intellectual competencies have traditionally been tied to specific courses required of all students during their first two years of college. For example, courses in college composition, together with mathematics, have long been the cornerstone experience of the freshman year. But a single course or two-course sequence in college composition can do little more than introduce students to the principles and practices of good writing. Within the boundary of three to six semester credit hours of course work, neither of these sequences can guarantee proficiency. Moreover, in most curricula there are no required courses specifically dedicated to reading or to critical thinking. Thus, if a core curriculum is to prepare students effectively, it is imperative that, insofar as possible, these intellectual competencies be included among the objectives of many individual core courses and reflected in their course content.

In addition, in this course we seek to do the following:

1. To demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities, specifically fiction.

2. To understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within an historical and social context.

3. To respond critically to works in the arts and humanities, specifically fiction.

4. To engage in the creative process or interpretive performance and comprehend the physical and intellectual demands required of the author or visual or performing artist, specifically writers of fiction.

5. To articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities, specifically fiction.

6. To develop an appreciation for the aesthetic principles that guide or govern the humanities and arts, specifically fiction.

7. To demonstrate knowledge of the influence of literature, philosophy, and/or the arts on intercultural experiences in fiction.

List of textbooks and supplies: 

Required

Suggested: A Guide to MLA Documentation by Joseph Trimmer or an English handbook with MLA style information such as The Bedford Handbook by Diana Hacker.

Disability Statement:

"If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the office of Disability Support Services (HDB 002, 940-898-3835, dss@twu.edu ) in order to obtain the required official notification of your accommodation needs.   Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss approved accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate." (Statement supplied by Disability Support Services Office)

Grading Policy, Major Course Assignments and Examinations and Attendance:

1.  Capstone Final Examination Project: (1) 5-7 page Capstone Research Paper; (2) Capstone PowerPoint Presentation; (3) Capstone Annotated Bibliography; (4) Capstone Self Assessment Statement; and (5) Capstone Summary of Dialogues: 45% Due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 (the last day of Summer III) on the assigned forum and www.turnitin.com.  I will be giving you more specific information about this assignment frequently throughout the semester.  Please note that I will give you a grade for this project on your final feedback, but I ask you to meet with me face to face in my office during office hours after the semester for in-depth feedback if you desire it.  Note: I will be available for these optional conferences with you throughout fall 2008.  If you would like this feedback and cannot meet with me during fall 2008 (because, for example, you are graduating), I can try to meet with you earlier.  Please contact me at rgreer@twu.edu to make these early arrangements if necessary after posting your capstone project.   

2.  Individual PowerPoint 1% (Week FOUR)

3.  Individual Short Essay 3% (Week FIVE)

4.  Individual Annotated Bibliography 1% (Week SIX)

5.  Reading Tests: 10%.  Weekly readings tests.  Ten questions each.  Each quiz is worth 1% of your final grade.

6.  Participation (Online Attendance): 40%. Credit is given for postings to the discussion questions, anything posted in your group’s forum for a particular week, special assignments, and the weekly summary.  Almost half of your grade will depend on your regular participation online.  You must post a minimum of TEN times a week on the discussion question forums (including the weekly summary) and in your groups, when applicable, and once before the end of the day on Wednesday of each week.  Some of these postings will be responses to the study questions; others will be preparation of group responses; others will be responses to your classmates.  If you do not post at least ten times in the assigned week, do not expect a good participation grade for that week.  I will give you a participation grade weekly, but I will announce them only four  times: in Week THREE, Week SIX, Week NINE, and for your final grade in final exam week (TEN).  Your grade will be determined by (1) the amount of postings and (2)the quality of the postings (equally weighted).  I calculate participation for a week that begins on Monday and ends at midnight on the following Sunday.  Your postings do not need to be long (100-240 words for a primary answer to a discussion question is adequate, and responses can be shorter), but they DO need to advance the discussion helpfully. Postings only count in the week they are due; in other words you cannot “make up” late postings after the week is over.  Postings only count in the following places: (1) the discussion question forums; (2) the weekly summary forum; and (3) your group forum for the week in question (if applicable).  Note: Each week you will be asked to answer three discussion questions, one of which will may occasionally be a group question (after the first week) and/or a question about writing the research paper.  These discussion questions will allow you to earn participation credit and share ideas with your classmates.  At the end of the week you will also post a summary message and attach a Student Summary Form with your best ten postings pasted into the forum.  You may revise these postings for spelling, grammar, style, etc. but they should essentially be the same postings that you made in the forums. Please note that I will grade the postings you submit in your summaries carefully for spelling and grammar beginning in the first week, so proofread them carefully!  I will use your attached form to calculate your participation grade for the week. If you do not attach a summary form, you cannot get participation credit for the week. 

Miscellaneous

Midterm Conference: Please note that if you have a failing grade after you receive your feedback in Week THREE and/or SIX, I would like to meet with you in person in my office to discuss ways to improve your grade.  It will be your responsibility to make that appointment, but I assure you that I will do everything I can in that meeting to help you improve your grade.

Instruction

Each week, you will find a study guide that will help you understand the literature, answer the discussion questions, or prepare for the research paper. These study guides may contain lecture notes or lectures created by me or assignments to read articles that you can access through the TWU library (on JSTOR). Others may be web page links.  Please note that I will routinely post a week's assignments, including the discussion questions, on either a Sunday or Monday. 

Student Participation Summary Form

You will post a summary to a forum provided after you have completed all your week's postings and attach a "student participation summary" form.  You can find this form under "Course Documents" and on this syllabus.  In this form, you will cut and paste your "top ten" postings from the week.  You may edit your postings for grammar and spelling (in fact you SHOULD edit them for grammar and spelling) but not for content (I will check occasionally to make sure that the they represent your actual work from the week).  I will use this summary form to assign your participation grade.  If you do not submit a summary form, you cannot get credit for the week's work even if you fully participated otherwise.  These summary forms will be due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday evenings, but of course you may post them earlier (and should post them earlier if you can).

No Final Examination Required: In lieu of a final examination, you will be required to post a final capstone project by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 August and comment on the projects of your classmates by the end of the day assigned for final examination in Summer III 2008 (9 p.m., Thursday, 7 August 2008).  You must post your capstone research paper to www.turnitin.com also by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 August.  I will be giving you more specific information about this assignment frequently throughout the semester.  Please note that I will give you a grade for this project on your final feedback, but I ask that you to meet with me face to face in my office during office hours after the semester for in-depth feedback if you desire it.  Note: I will be available for these optional conferences throughout fall 2008.  If you would like this feedback and cannot meet with me during the fall (because, for example, you are graduating), I can try to meet with you earlier.

Academic Dishonesty:

“Honesty in completing assignments is essential to the mission of the university and to the development of the personal integrity of the student. Cheating, plagiarism, or other kinds of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in appropriate sanctions that may include failing an assignment, failing the class, or being suspended or expelled.  Suspected cases in this course may be reported to Student Life. The specific disciplinary process for academic dishonesty is found in the TWU Student Handbook.  Tools to help you avoid plagiarism are available through the TWU Libraries’ “Quick Links” under “Research Help” (http://www.twu.edu/library/literacy/index.htm).” (This statement was authorized and mandated by the TWU Provost on November 10, 2005).

Plagiarism:
The following definition of plagiarism appears in Joseph F. Trimmer’s A Guide to MLA Documentation (Sixth Edition), published by Houghton Mifflin Company (2004): “Plagiarism is theft.  It is using someone else’s words or ideas without giving proper credit—or without giving any credit at all—to the writer of the original.  Whether plagiarism is intentional or unintentional, it is a serious offense…You can avoid plagiarism by taking notes carefully, by formulating and developing your own ideas and by using quotes responsibly to support, rather than replace, your own work” (25).  Note that I have used this quotation from a source and have given it full attribution.  You should do the same with your sources.  I strongly urge you to read the discussion of academic dishonesty that appears in Section Four of The Student Handbook and Planner 2007-2008 (pages 153-155).  I intend to follow TWU policy as outlined in this handbook exactly.  It defines plagiarism in this way: “Plagiarism occurs when a student obtains portions or elements of someone else's work, including materials prepared by another person or agency, and presents those ideas or words as her or his own academic work.  The intentional or unintentional use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement shall constitute plagiarism.  Students are responsible for following guidelines of the appropriate course or discipline (ie; MLA, APA)" (153).  In this course, we will use the Modern Language Association (MLA) format.  Penalties for first-time offenses include, at the instructor’s discretion, any of the following: (1) “Written reprimand”; (2) “Assignment of a lower grade on the test/paper/project in question, with an explanation from the instructor”; (3) “Assignment of a 0 on an assignment"; (4) “Assignment of a grade of F in the course" (154). A discussion of the more severe penalties for second offenses appears on pages 154-155.  If you have any questions about whether or not a practice constitutes plagiarism, please contact me before you turn in the assignment. 

To have the ability to teach courses online, we must protect the integrity of the course.  I am able to teach the course and not require an in-class final examination because I check student work on a plagiarism-checking website.  When you submit your essays (just your two essays) to digital dropbox, you will also need to post them to www.turnitin.com; that website, in turn, will generate a report for me and to you.  I will give you instructions about how to do this on Blackboard.  If you have any questions as to whether or not you have used another person's work and not given proper credit, please see me before you submit the work.  If you would prefer not to have your work checked by this plagiarism website, that is your right.  You would, however, need to make arrangements with me to write your capstone project under my supervision in my office during my office hours.  If I cannot check your work with the plagiarism-checking website, you must do the work in my presence.

Tentative calendar of classes, assignments.

Please check here for the Academic Calendar for Summer 2008. Also, please note that this daily syllabus is for planning purposes only and is subject to change. Page numbers for assigned reading (when applicable) are provided.

Week ONE (2-8 June 2008)

Reading:

1.  Short Fiction: "Introduction to Short Fiction" (1-29);

2.  Short Fiction: "Errand" by Raymond Carver (171-178); "About the Story Errand" by Raymond Carver (1234-1235);

3.  Week ONE Study Guide and lecture.

4.  They Say/I Say: Preface (x-xviii), Introduction (1-14).

Assignments:

1.           Post your autobiography.

2.           Form learning teams by the end of Week ONE (if you have no preference, I will assign you to a group at the beginning of Week TWO).

3.           Answer three discussion questions, post weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

4.  Week ONE Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

Week TWO (9-15 June 2008)

Reading:

1.  Short Fiction: "Reading Short Fiction" (30-41).

2.  Short Fiction: "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane (339-354); "Stephen Crane's Own Story" by Stephen Crane (1239-1244);

3.  Week TWO Study Guide and lecture.

4.  They Say/I Say: Chapter One: "They Say: Starting with What Others Are Saying" (17-27).

Assignments:

1.  Answer discussion questions, post a weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week TWO Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

Week THREE (16-22 June 2008)

Reading:

1.  Short Fiction: "Approaching Short Fiction Critically" (1326-1338);

2.  Short Fiction: O Pioneers by Willa Cather (1-49);

2.  Week THREE Study Guide and lecture.

2.  They Say/I Say: Chapter TWO: "'Her Point Is': The Art of Summarizing" (28-38).

Assignments:

1.  Answer discussion questions, post a weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week THREE Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

3.  Note: I will return Week ONE and Week TWO grades and feedback this week.

Week FOUR (23-29 June 2008)

Reading:

1.  O Pioneers by Willia Cather (50-93);

2.  Week FOUR Study Guide and lecture.

3.  They Say/I Say: Chapter THREE: "'As He Himself Puts It': The Art of Quoting" (39-47).

Assignments:

1.  Answer three discussion questions, post a weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week FOUR Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

3.  Individual PowerPoint due: 1%.  For this assignment, you will offer a critical perspective on how to read and understand some aspect of one of the assigned texts from Weeks 1-4.  You should plan to use at least one outside source to illuminate your own perspective.  But above all you must present YOUR perspective.  Your PowerPoint must have five slides and a clear, strong thesis.  I will grade it primarily on the basis of its thesis.  Does it create an argument about how to read and understand some aspect of the novel?  You will post this PowerPoint in one of the assigned discussion forums and your classmates will have an opportunity to comment on it. 

Week FIVE (30 June to 6 July 2008)

Reading:

1.    O Pioneers by Willia Cather (97-159);

2.  They Say/I Say: Chapter FOUR: "'Yes/No/Okay, But': Three Ways to Respond" (51-63).

Assignments:

1.  Answer three discussion questions, post a weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

2. Individual Short Essay due: 3%. Please write one critical essay of 3-5 pages on one of the assigned texts from Weeks 1-5.  The essay should be typed, double-spaced, and conform to MLA guidelines.  For a topic, you may choose your own or expand one of the assigned discussion questions. Your primary purpose in this essay is to suggest a strong thesis, an argument about how to understand the novel in its context.  I will grade the essay in terms of content, organization, style, diction, and grammar.  Four or more of these major errors will cause you to receive a “20” (F) on the assignment: comma splices, fused sentences, apostrophe errors, sentence fragments, or agreement errors.  Therefore, you should make sure during the semester that you understand and can avoid these errors.  If you have questions, please see me during my office hours or look at the information I have provided for you on Blackboard.  I will grade and comment on this essay when I return your next feedack in Week SIX.

3.  Week FIVE Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

Week SIX (7-13 July 2008)

Reading:

1.  "Battle Royale" (373-382) and by Ralph Ellison, and "What American Would be Like Without Blacks" by Ralph Ellison (1245-1249);

2.  They Say/I Say: Chapter FIVE: "And Yet" (64-73).

Assignments:

1.  Answer all discussion questions, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week SIX Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

3.  Individual Annotated Bibliography (1%)

4.  Note: I will return Week THREE, FOUR, and FIVE grades and feedback this week.

Week SEVEN (14-20 July 2008)

Reading:

1.  Eudora Welty Unit: "Petrified Man" (1139-1148), "A Worn Path (1149-1154), "Interview with Eudora Welty" (1308-1312), and "Is Phoenix Jackson's Grandson Really Dead?" (1319-1320);

2.  They Say/I Say: Chapter SIX: "'Skeptics May Object': Planting a Naysayer in Your Text" (74-87).

3.  Week SEVEN Study Guide and lecture.   

Assignments:

1.  Answer all discussion questions, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week SEVEN Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

Week EIGHT (21-27 July 2008)

Reading:

1.  Alice Walker Unit: "Roselily" (1123-1126),  "To Hell with Dying" (1127-1131), "The Welcome Table" (1132-1135), "The Old Artist: Notes on Mr. Sweet" (1313-1314).

2.  They Say/I Say: Chapter SEVEN: "'So What?  Who Cares?': Saying Why It Matters" (88-97).

Assignments:

1.  Answer three discussion questions, post the weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week EIGHT Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

Week NINE (28 July-3 August 2008)

Reading:

1.  Leslie Marmon Silko Unit: "Lullaby" (1010-1016), "Storyteller" (1017-1027), "Yellow Woman" (1028-1034), "Through the Stories We Hear Who We Are" (1302-1304).

2.  They Say/I Say: Chapter EIGHT: "'As A Result': Connecting the Parts" (101-114).

Assignments:

1.  Answer three discussion questions, post a weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week NINE Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

3.  Note: I will return Week SIX, SEVEN, and EIGHT grades and feedback this week.

Week TEN (3-7 August 2008: Please note that this is a short week)

Reading:

1.  "The Moths" by Helena Maria Viramontes (1118-1122);

Assignments:

1.  Answer three discussion questions, post a weekly summary, and complete all participation requirements.

2.  Week TEN Reading Test (all assigned fiction, study guide, and lecture material).

Final Examination Period (8 August 2008)

Please comment on at least FIVE of your classmates' projects before 9 p.m. on Thursday, 7 August (the official end of the Summer III final examination period). Failure to comment on five projects will result in a deduction of five points from your own final grade. When you have finished posting your comments, gather your best five and post them in the capstone forum labeled "Final Examination Capstone Comments." This dialogue functions in lieu of required attendance at an in-class final examination.

Please note that I will return feedback and grades for Weeks NINE and TEN along with your final grade.

Last updated: 18 July 2008