Courses

ENG 4333.50

Introduction to the Study of World Literature

Summer III (2008)

Course Name, Number, and Description:  ENG 4333.50.  Introduction to the Study of World Literature. The Texas Woman's University General Catalog 2007-2009 describes ENG 4333 in this way: "Study of representative masterpieces of ancient, classical, medieval, and modern literature in translation.  Stress on intercultural relationships as well as individualizing characteristics of works analyzed.  Prerequisites: Nine hours of English.  Three lecture hours a week.  Credit: Three hours."  Our special focus this semester will be on "banned books" or books in modern literature that have either created public controversy in their cultures or depict it.  This focus on free speech is an essential aspect of a liberal arts education, a distinction made since antiquity between the education of a free person (the Latin liber meaning "free") as opposed to the education of a slave.  In these four novels from around the world, we see brave examples of free speech from writers speaking unpleasant truths who enlarge our understanding of the world.

Please note that this course has not been approved to fulfill the requirements of the core curriculum.  It is not a general education course. In most degree plans (such as the degree plans for the Bachelor of Arts in English and some degree plans for degrees in Education), it fulfills the requirement for an upper-level English or world literature course.  Often it is taken as an elective. 

This course, however, does fulfill the "Global Perspectives" competency.  Successful completion of this course will give you three hours of the required six hour Global Perspectives graduation requirement.  The Global Perspectives requirement applies to students who have enrolled at TWU after fall 2007. 

ENG 4333.50 will be taught entirely asynchronously online.  If you have never taken a Blackboard course before or have questions about the format of the class, please contact me at rgreer@mail.twu.edu and arrange for an individual orientation with me during my office hours.  Please note also that there is no in-class final examination for the course, but I do require that you post a capstone final examination project (which includes a ten-page research paper that uses multiple sources) in the final examination week forum that I will provide on Blackboard.

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 by appointment in CFO 803 from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout Summer III (2 June through 7 August) unless otherwise indicated.  If I cannot hold regular office hours on a particular day or time, I will make an announcement on my web site.  I am typically 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 usually check for messages once a day (often in the evenings) and try to return calls promptly.

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.  Do not expect me to be available online on the weekends. 

Course Goals, Exemplary Educational Objectives, and Student Learning Outcomes:

Overview: The student will engage with the discourses of several major contemporary traditions in world literature: Islamic (Turkish), Asian (Vietnamese), Hispanic (South American), and Postcolonial (Nigerian/African).  In addition, the student will consider the concept of world literature itself in theoretical terms.  The student will read and study four major novels that have been banned, attacked, or severely criticized in their native countries (or deal with controversial subjects). The student will also conduct research with primary and secondary sources in contemporary world literature and demonstrate reading knowledge of the novels in four reading tests.  In weekly postings to discussion forums and other formal assignments, the student will demonstrate critical and aesthetic understanding of the assigned texts and cultures and submit a capstone final examination portfolio that includes a ten-page research paper.

1.  Global Competency Course Goal/Exemplary Educational Objective: “Demonstrate the awareness that one has a view of the world that is not universally shared, that there is a distinction between opinion and perspective.”

Student Learning Outcome:  The student will accomplish this objective while studying all four novels and What Is World Literature, but most dramatically this objective will be accomplished while reading Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  This novel depicts a key moment in African history when Biafra attempted to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria.  Perspectives about the legitimacy of this struggle and the role played by colonial powers will be discussed and assessed in weekly feedback reports from the instructor and writing assignments, including a research paper.

2.  Global Competency Course Goal/Exemplary Educational Objective: “Demonstrate understanding of cultural/civilization complexities that can alter the interpretation of world events.”

Student Learning Outcome: The student will accomplish this objective while studying all four novels, but most dramatically this objective will be met while reading What is World Literature by David Damrosch (Princeton UP, 2003). In this book, the student will read ten case studies of cultural/civilization complexities that result from problems in translation, differing political and religious perspectives, and divergent cultural attitudes.  These case studies demonstrate, through the study of world literature, how interpretation of world events and the understanding of the world itself can be affected by these complexities.  Understanding them allows us to master them.  This understanding of cultural/civilization complexities will be explored in lecture materials and readings in an online study guide and discussion questions.  It will be assessed in weekly feedback reports from the instructor and writing assignments, including a research paper.

3.  Global Competency Course Goal/Exemplary Educational Objective: “Demonstrate understanding of prevailing world conditions, developments and trends associated with world issues such as population growth, economic conditions, inter-nation conflicts.”

Student Learning Outcome:  The student will accomplish this objective while studying all five novels and What Is World Literature, but most dramatically this objective will be met while reading Snow by Orhan Pamuk (who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006).  In Snow the student confronts the clash in western civilization between Islamic fundamentalism and Western Enlightenment ideals as represented in Turkey's attempt to exist as a modern European nation despite a population growth of trans-national groups seeking to disrupt Turkey's economy. This understanding of prevailing world conditions, developments and trends will be explored in lecture materials and readings in an online study guide and discussion questions.  It will be assessed in weekly feedback reports from the instructor and writing assignments, including a research paper.

4.  Global Competency Course Goal and Exemplary Educational Objective: “Demonstrate the knowledge, values and skills to participate in decisions about the way we do things individually and collectively, both locally and globally, that will improve the quality of life now without damaging the planet for the future.”

Student Learning Outcome:  The student will accomplish this objective while studying all five novels and What Is World Literature, but most dramatically this objective will be met while reading Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an author who depicts the link between individual and collective actions on a moral level in a family and political drama while discussing oppressive social and political conditions in Africa.  In her novel, she offers several solutions for improving the quality of life in such conditions and invites readers to choose which options will deliver the best quality of life for the planet's future.  This connection between the individual and the collective, the local and the global, will be explored in lecture materials and readings in an online study guide and discussion questions.  It will be assessed in weekly feedback reports from the instructor and writing assignments, including a research paper.

5.  Global Competency Course Goal and Exemplary Educational Objective: “Demonstrate an increase in interest about international developments, ability to express empathy and/or feelings of kinship about others, and degree of comfort in foreign situations.”

Student Learning Outcome:  The student will accomplish this objective while studying all five novels and What Is World Literature, but most dramatically this objective will be met while reading Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.  Huong will stimulate interest in and a connection with the struggles of women and families in Vietnam by depicting the oppressive communist developments there while Allende will create great awareness and empathy about the unstable political conditions in South America and their affect on children, women, and families. This interest in international developments, ability to express empathy and/or feelings of kinship about others, and degree of comfort in foreign situations will be explored and stimulated in lecture materials and readings in an online study guide and discussion questions.  It will be assessed in weekly feedback reports from the instructor and writing assignments, including a research paper.  

List of textbooks and supplies:

Required (four novels and two secondary texts) 

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) Ten-Page Capstone Research Paper; (2) Capstone PowerPoint Presentation; (3) Capstone Annotated Bibliography; (4) Capstone Self Assessment Statement; and (5) Capstone Summary of Dialogues: 50% Due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, 6 August (the last day of Summer III classes) 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 arrangements after posting your capstone project.   

2.  Individual PowerPoint 2% (Due Week FOUR)

3.  Individual Short Essay 3% (Due Week FIVE)

4.  Individual Annotated Bibliography 1% (Due Week SIX)

5.  Reading Tests: 4%.  Four online tests, one on each novel.  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 (except for the final 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 TWO, Week FIVE, Week EIGHT, 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 FIVE, I would like to meet with you in person in my office to discuss ways to improve your grade.  If 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

For each novel, 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.  You will post these summaries in the discussion forums provided.

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 also post your capstone project to www.turnitin.com 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 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 or use www.turnitin.com to check your work BEFORE submitting it to me. 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 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.  Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (Part One: pages 3-147)

2.  Study Guide and lecture for Half of a Yellow Sun.

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

4.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: "Introduction: Goethe Coins a Term" (pages 1-36).

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.

Week TWO (9-15 June 2008)

Reading:

1.  Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (Parts Two and Three: pages 151-324).

2.  Study Guide and lecture for Half of a Yellow Sun.

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

4.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: "Chapter 1: Gilgamesh's Quest" (pages 39-77).

Assignments:

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

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

Week THREE (16-22 June 2008)

Reading:

1.  Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (Part Four: pages 327-541).

2.  Study Guide and lecture for Half of a Yellow Sun.

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

4.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: "Chapter 2: The Pope's Blowgun" (pages 78-109).

Assignments:

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

2.  Reading Test Due: Half of a Yellow Sun.

Week FOUR (23-29 June 2008)

Reading:

1.  Snow by Orhan Pamuk (pages 1-152)

2.  Study Guide for Snow and lecture.

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

4.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: "Chapter 3: From the Old World to the Whole World" (pages 110-144).

Assignments:

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

2.  PowerPoint due: 2%.  For this assignment, you will offer a critical perspective on how to read and understand some aspect of Half of a Yellow Sun.  I urge you to consider using the exemplary educational objectives as your guide. You should plan to use several outside sources to illuminate your own perspective.  But above all you must present YOUR perspective.  Your PowerPoint must have at least 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?  Does it address at least one of the five exemplary educational objectives?  You will post your PowerPoint on the discussion forum provided.

Week FIVE (30 June to 6 July 2008)

Reading:

1.    Snow by Orhan Pamuk (pages 153-292)

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

3.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: "Chapter 4: Love in the Necropolis" (pages 147-169).

Assignments:

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

2. Short Essay due: 3%. Please write one critical essay of 3-5 pages on Snow or Half a Yellow Sun.  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. I urge you to consider using the exemplary educational objectives as your guide.  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. 

Note: I will return feedback for weeks TWO, THREE, and FOUR this week.

Week SIX (7-13 July 2008)

Reading:

1.  Snow by Orhan Pamuk (293-426)

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

3.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: "Chapter 5: The Afterlife of Mechthild Von Magdeburg" (pages 170-186). 

Assignments:

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

2.  Reading Test on Snow by Orhan Pamuk (1%)

3.  Individual Annotated Bibliography (1%)

Week SEVEN (14-20 July 2008)

Reading:

1.  The House of the Spirits (Chile) by Isabel Allende (pages 1-208)

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

3.  Study Guide for The House of the Spirits

4.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: "Chapter 7: English in the World" (pages 209-230).

Assignments:

Answer all discussion questions, and complete all participation requirements.

Week EIGHT (21-27 July 2008)

Reading:

1.  The House of the Spirits (Chile) by Isabel Allende (pages 209-433)

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

3.  What Is World Literature by David Damrosch: Conclusion: World Enough and Time (pages 281-303).

Assignments:

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

2.  Reading Test on The House of the Spirits (1%)

Note: I will return feedback for Weeks FIVE, SIX, and SEVEN this week.

Week NINE (28 July-3 August 2008)

Reading:

1.  Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (pages 1-148)

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.

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

Reading:

1.  Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (149-258)

Assignments:

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

2.  Reading Test on Paradise of the Blind (1%)

Note: I will return feedback for Weeks EIGHT, NINE, and TEN this week.

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.

Last updated: 26 July 2008