Courses

ENG 4333.50

Introduction to the Study of World Literature

Fall 2009

Course Description and Overview: ENG 4333.50.  Introduction to the Study of World Literature.  The Texas Woman's University's 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."

This course fulfills one of the upper-level English requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in English Leading to Certification in Grades 8-12.  It is also an upper-level English elective for the Bachelor of Arts in English.  Please note, however, that this course does not fulfill any requirements of the core curriculum.  It can also be taken by students seeking the Bachelor of General Studies (if English is one of their concentration areas), and it provides three hours of credit for the university Global Perspectives requirement. 

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. 

Our special focus this semester will be on "banned books" or books in modern world literature that have created controversy in their cultures.  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 five novels from around the world, we see brave examples of free speech in adverse conditions, writers speaking unpleasant truths who enlarge our understanding of the world.

Faculty Contact Information:  
Instructor: Russell Greer, Ph.D.  Associate Professor.

Office location: CFO 803.

Office Phone Number: (940) 898-2346

Office Hours: 8 a.m. to noon on Mondays. 

E-mail Address: rgreer@twu.edu.

Other Contact Information: Fax: (940) 898-2297 (English Department).  Website: www.russellgreer.com

Most students find they can communicate with me quickly through the course itself online or by e-mail;  If I cannot hold regular office hours on a particular day or time, I will make an announcement on my website.  I am typically not available in my office at other times, but I am available by telephone, online, and special appointment outside of my regular office hours (if necessary).  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 and evenings to be with my family.  Do not expect me to be available online on the weekends or in the evenings. 

Goals and Outcomes: 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 five major novels that have been banned, attacked, or severely criticized in their native countries. The student will also conduct research with primary and secondary sources in contemporary world literature and demonstrate reading knowledge of the novels in a mid-term and final examination.  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 10-12 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 five novels and What Is World Literature, but most dramatically this objective will be met while studying The Bastard of Istanbul (2007) by Elif Shafak.  This novel depicts the clash of perspectives between Turkish citizens and Armenian Americans who disagree as to whether or not the Ottoman Empire killed 1.5 Armenians in the century's first genocide. This lack of universally shared perspective and the distinction between opinion and perspective 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.

 

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 five 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.

 

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 Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an author who depicts the link between individual and collective actions on a moral level in a family 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 effect 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.  

 

In addition, this course has several goals related more directly to the English major:

 

6.  Knowledge of Literary Texts, Genres, and Terms. 

7.  Analytical Skills.

8.  Writing Skills. 

9.  Research Skills. 

 

Course Materials 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.

Course Prerequisites: Nine hours of English.

Disability Support Policy 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 (CFO 106, 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)

 

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 at http://www.twu.edu/library/tutorial/plagiarism/player.html." (Statement provided by Vice-President of Academic Affairs at https://www.twu.edu/academic-affairs/syllabus-requirements.asp)

 

Activities, Assignments, and Grading Policy:

 

Major Course Assignments and Examinations:

 

Examinations: You will take two examinations, a mid-term and a final examination.  The midterm examination will consist of twenty multiple-choice questions; the final exam will consist of thirty multiple-choice questions, and it will be comprehensive (with a concentration on material taken since the mid-term).  You will have a generous period of time to take them.  They will be "timed" but "open book."  The majority of the questions will relate directly to the five novels we will read, but you may also be asked questions about key concepts associated with They Say/I Say and What Is World Literature? 

 

Here is an example of the kind of question you could see:

 

The traditional concept of "world literature" comes from the German term Weltliteratur, first appearing in print in 1835.  What great world writer coined the term, creating (in effect) the field of "world literature"?

 

a.   Franz Kafka

b.   Thomas Mann

c.   Goethe

d.   Shakespeare

The correct answer is "c," and we would have discussed the formation of the field after reading the first chapter in What Is World Literature (see page 1).

10-12 page formal essay: You will write one formal essay during the semester of 10-12 pages.  I will provide a list of topics during the course, but you are free to choose your own topic.  You will use standard MLA conventions, and synthesize and incorporate secondary sources.  I will provide more specific details during the course.  You will post your paper on digital dropbox and it will be checked by turnitin.com.  The paper will be due no later than 6 December.

Weekly Discussion.  Credit is given for postings to the discussion questions,  special assignments, and the weekly summary.  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 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 periodically.  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, 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; and (2) the weekly summary forum.  Note: Each week you will be asked to answer three discussion questions, one of which will may occasionally be 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.

TWU Attendance Policy:

"Consistent and attentive attendance is vital to academic success, and is expected of all students. Grades are determined by academic performance, and instructors may give students written notice that attendance related to specific classroom activities is required and will constitute a specific percentage of students' grades.

Instructors are strongly encouraged to keep a record of student attendance. They should note absences due to documented student illness, serious illness or death in the student's immediate family, official school activity, state-recognized religious holiday, active military service that is of a reasonable brief duration, or other verified absences deemed appropriate by the instructor. Students must consult with instructors regarding the completion of make-up work.

Absences do not exempt students from academic requirements. Excessive absences, even if documented, may result in a student failing the course.   An incomplete may be granted if the student has a passing grade, but only if the instructor determines that it is feasible for the student to successfully complete remaining assignments after the semester. Pursuant to university policy, such determinations are within the discretion of the instructor." (Statement provided by Vice-President of Academic Affairs at https://www.twu.edu/academic-affairs/syllabus-requirements.asp)

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 provide suggestions that will help you to improve your grade.

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." 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.

Feedback

I will send you feedback with a course grade FIVE times: in Weeks THREE, SIX, NINE, TWELVE, and after week FIFTEEN.  For example, in Week THREE I will provide feedback for the work the class did in Weeks ONE and TWO; in Week SIX I will send out feedback forms for the work done by the class in Weeks THREE, FOUR, and FIVE, etc.  When I post a feedback form, I will announce it on Blackboard. You can find it under "digital dropbox."   

Plagiarism

[Academic writing differs from other kinds of writing in that it is a conversation with other people who are writing and thinking about your topic.  As we will learn while reading They Say/I Say, when you write an academic essay you will agree with others, disagree with them, or do a little of both, but above all you will remain in a conversation.  If you do not clearly identify their words and ideas from your own, you are not in a position to demonstrate your own critical thinking.  Plagiarism, therefore, not only robs others other their proper credit, but it robs you of your ability to respond.]

TWU Policy (Statements provided by Vice-President of Academic Affairs at https://www.twu.edu/academic-affairs/syllabus-requirements.asp):

"In an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas Woman’s University vigorously affirms the importance of academic honesty as defined by the Student Handbook.   Therefore, in an effort to detect and prevent plagiarism, faculty members at Texas Woman’s University may now use a tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with multiple sources.   It then reports a percentage of similarity and provides links to those specific sources.   The tool itself does not determine whether or not a paper has been plagiarized.  Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty member."

[Your 10-12 page formal essays will be checked for plagiarism using Turnitin.com.]

Definition of Plagiarism

"Plagiarism defined at TWU: 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 (i.e.; MLA, APA).
Conduct Guidelines: http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/StudentLifeOffice/AcademicDishonesty.html
TWU Student Code of Conduct: http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/StudentLifeOffice/StudentCodeofConduct.html
TWU Judicial Process: http://www.twu.edu/o-sl/StudentLifeOffice/AcademicDishonesty.html"

"The primary purpose for any antiplagiarism prevention software at TWU is educational. Antiplagiarism technology should be used as a teaching tool. Antiplagiarism technology is merely a tool. The tool alone does not determine whether a paper has been plagiarized. Conversely, students cannot use antiplagiarism tools to prove they have not plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty member. Use of antiplagiarism tools is optional, but if they are used, they must be used according to the policies and guidelines set forth in this document. Instructors must discuss plagiarism and academic integrity with students at the beginning of each course. If students do not consent to having their original work archived in the antiplagiarism tool databases, individual faculty members may use alternative assignments or use other, more traditional, methods for detecting plagiarism. Because papers written for course credit are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), student work submitted to Turnitin by an instructor should use an alias for the student name, and delete any personally-identifiable information. If faculty members suspect that a paper has been plagiarized, and the student does not acknowledge plagiarism, the procedures outlined in Chapter 4 of the Student Handbook must be followed."

[Above all, remember that 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.]

Tentative Calendar of Classes & Assignments:

Please check here for the Academic Calendar for fall 2009.  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 (31 August-6 September 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week TWO (7-13 Sept. 2009)

7 September (by 5 p.m.) is the last day to file an application for graduation by students completing degree requirements by December 2009.

Reading:

Assignments:

Week THREE (14-20 Sept. 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week FOUR (21-27 Sept. 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week FIVE (28 Sept. to 4 Oct 2009)

  Reading:

Assignments:

Week SIX (5-11 Oct. 2009)

8 October (by 5 p.m.) is the last day to drop a class without academic penalty.

Reading:

Assignments:

Week SEVEN (12-18 Oct. 2009)

Midterm Unsatisfactory Progress Reports are due by 5 p.m. on 16 October by instructors.

Reading:

Assignments:

Week EIGHT (19-25 Oct. 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week NINE (26 Oct. to 1 Nov. 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week TEN (2-8 Nov. 2009)

5 November (by 5 p.m.) is the last day to drop a class or withdraw from the university.

Reading:

Assignments:

Week ELEVEN (9-15 Nov. 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week TWELVE (16-22 Nov. 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week THIRTEEN (23-29 Nov. 2009. Please note that TWU is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday 25-29 Nov.)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week FOURTEEN (30 Nov. to 6 Dec. 2009)

Reading:

Assignments:

Week FIFTEEN (7-11 Dec. 2009.  Please note that this is a short week.  11 Dec. is the last day of fall classes)

Reading:

Assignments:

Final Examination Period (14-20 Dec. 2009)

The final examination (comprehensive) will be due on digital dropbox by midnight on Wednesday, 17 December.  It's worth 35% of your final grade.

Syllabus Changes

All changes (if any) made after 31 August 2009 to the syllabus will be summarized here:

 

 

 

Last updated:  31 October 2009