Course Goals
- To learn to read, write about, and analyze
literature and your own writing critically;
- To be able to distinguish various genres of
literature and to articulate the ways in which authors make socially
relevant contributions to intellectual thought;
- To develop writing skills relevant to academic writing assignments
across
disciplines:
- understanding that writing as a process, and understanding
the steps involved in this painstaking process: planning, writing, and editing;
- learning approaches to citation and research in the
humanities;
- and beginning to develop an independent writer’s voice that
will mature into a unique viewpoint over time.
Life Goals
- College graduates aim to be members of a community that values
an educated level of discourse,
and
that
applies
these rhetorical strategies to appropriate audiences.
- Attention to detail and the ability to find errors in your own
writing and others' writing is a skill that transfers to many different
professions.
- Meeting deadlines, staying organized, and following instructions
carefully are
requirements for nearly every job.
How to Avoid Plagiarism
- see journals on Wed. 9/8
- MLA Citation acknowledges sources directly when paraphrasing and
parenthetically when direct quotes are involved. Footnotes are rarely
used.
- Zero tolerance policy: cheat and fail
Literature of your Youth: What
lessons and values did literature you read as a youth teach you?
What do you think is "great literature"?
- Something that individuals can relate to;
- "transforms and transports" readers, changing them;
- when the main character overcomes obstacles;
- teach readers some new perspective;
- addresses a unique topic.
What academic think great literature is:
- books that have been taught in previous centuries;
- books that are from famous authors;
- books that express unique perspectives on cultural
phenomena;
- books that teach readers new perspectives;
- books that express certain universal values
Review of Poetry Day (Donne,
Dylan, Williams)
FW: What is the best thing to say in response to death in
your opinion? What can caring people do or say?
Thomas tells readers to “rage against the
dying of the
light./ Though wise men at their end know dark is right” (l. 4-5).
Thomas, Dylan. “Do Not Go Gentle Into that
Good Night.” Making
Arguments about Literature. Eds. J. Schilb and J. Clifford. Boston
and New
York: Bedford / St. Martins, 2005. 368-69.
How
do
you
read your favorite novel?
- What pleases you about reading it?
- What details do you pay attention to?
- How do you feel about the characters?
- What do you remember about the book when you're done?
How do scholars read your favorite novel?
- What seems to please them about reading it? ("great literature")
- What details do they pay attention to?
- How do they analyze characters?
- What conclusions do they come to about your favorite novel?