Dr. A. S. Insenga
Office: 315 Pafford
Office number: 9-4864
Office hours: M, 10-12, 7-8 p.m. and W 10-12, 7-9
and by appointment
Website: westga.edu/~ainsenga
Email: ainsenga@westga.edu
ENGL 2300—Practical
Criticism: Research and Methodology
"Criticism is a misconception: we
must read not to understand others but to understand ourselves.”
--Emile
Cioran
Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The
proper function of the critic is to save the tale from the artist who created
it."
--D.H. Lawrence
Course
Description
This course serves as an introduction to representative
critical approaches in literary studies, with particular attention to research
and methodology. The class is required for the major in English as a
prerequisite to upper-division study. Prerequisites: ENGL 1101, ENGL
1102, and permission of the department Chair.
Course Objectives
·
Students
will cultivate skills in reading, writing, and critical analysis appropriate
for the advanced English major.
·
Students
will understand major critical approaches that are employed in the field of
literary studies.
·
Students
will be able to read, discuss, and analyze literary works using a variety of
critical perspectives.
·
Students
will articulate how these perspectives both inform and direct our understanding
and appreciation of literature.
·
Students
will develop competence in literary analysis from at least three different
critical perspectives.
·
Students
will organize and complete a substantive research paper that demonstrates the
ability to engage effectively in critical research and writing.
·
Students
will demonstrate in both oral and written work a discipline-specific critical
facility through convincing and well-supported analysis of course-related
material.
·
Students
will demonstrate their command of academic English and of the tenets of sound
composition by means of thesis-driven, analytical prose.
THE WORK AHEAD
Required Texts
Aronofsky, Darren. Requiem
for a Dream (DVD).
Bressler, Charles.
Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
6th ed.
Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar.
Various supplemental readings provided to you (nothing
to buy)
Highly Suggested Texts
Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 8th
ed.
OR
Holman, C. Hugh. A Handbook to Literature. 3rd
edition.
Major Assignments/Percentage Breakdown
·
Four,
two-page Reading Responses (15%)
·
Take
home mid-term and final examination (15% each)
·
Major
Research/Analytical essay (25%)
·
Group
presentation for a classroom casebook, either on The Bell Jar or Requiem for a
Dream, using a particular critical school for interpretation (10%)
·
Participation
(10%)
·
Quizzes
(10%)
Detailed Description of Major Assignments
Take-home
mid-term and final exam: both exams will be essay
exams, and both will ask you to define
terms, articulate understanding of
the five schools of thought on which we focus most of our attention, and apply one of them to a supplemental
text.
Major
Research/Analytical Essay: This 8-10 page essay assignment
requires you to use secondary sources and your own ideas to analyze a
particular text of your choice using one or two theoretical lenses. At mid-term, you will turn in a brief
proposal that delineates three imperative elements about your project: the
text on which you will write (this could be a text you are reading for
another class or have studied before or even a new text you want to analyze), a
general argument you’d like to
present about the text you’ve chosen, and a working bibliography of sources.
The proposal, like all work you submit, should be MLA-documented and at
least three pages long. If you struggle
to find an appropriate text, come see me and we can chat about your interests.
Group
Presentation: close to the beginning of the semester, you
will sign up to present on either Plath’s or Aronofsky’s text. Your group will examine the text through a
particular critical lens. For example,
you may apply feminism to The Bell Jar
or elements of Marxism to Requiem.
Participation: because such a large portion of the course
is devoted to discussion, entering into dialogue in the classroom is a
must. But participation isn’t just about
talking in class; it includes bringing required materials, actively engaging
with the material in your writing, and working well in small groups.
Quizzes: at least once a week, we’ll have a short quiz
on the materials you read. Quizzes will
be conducted at either the beginning or end of class. You cannot make up missed quizzes due to
tardiness or absence.
Major Classroom Procedures
Class periods roughly divide into two categories: discussion
days and skills days. On discussion days, we will dialogue about assigned
texts, either Bressler or one of the literary texts (the “what’s”). On skills
days, our focus turns to writing about literature, and our topics for these
class periods will include work on formulating claims, documentation,
paragraphing, integrating source material, and, most of all, completing
critical analysis (the “how’s”).
THE CONTEXT OF
THE WORK AHEAD (COURSE POLICIES)
Attendance
As aforementioned, our course is discussion-based and
activity-driven. You must be present to reap
the full benefit of said discussions. You are allotted four absences over the
course of the semester. I usually do not
differentiate between excused and unexcused absences, and you need not tell me
when/if you will be absent from class.
Upon your fifth absence, you will no longer be able to pass the course.
Three tardies equal one absence, and you are tardy if you arrive after I have
closed the door.
Late Work/Make-Up Work
As a general rule, I do not accept late work without
penalty. Reading Responses turned in after the class period in which they are due
are considered late, and I will take off one letter grade from the response’s
final grade per weekday until the work is turned in to me. Your mid-term and
final exams are take-home tests for which you will have ample time, and they
will not be accepted late. Because you have the entire semester to work on your
major project, I will not accept these assignments late under any
circumstance.
NOTE: I realize that, occasionally, “life happens,”
and that problems beyond your control can crop up once in a while. Never hesitate to discuss problems/issues
with me if you feel that your circumstance is dire. With honest and swift communication, many
issues can be resolved to your advantage.
Special Needs
Any student who has a special need should inform me
during the first week of class. We will
then set up a conference to discuss the specifics of the official paperwork you
have from the appropriate department.
Plagiarism and Collusion
From the English Department’s website: “The Department of English and Philosophy
defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others
as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources.” The Department
expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments. An
equally dishonest practice is fabricating sources or facts; it is another form
of misrepresenting the truth. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the assignment
and/or course. You can also be subject
to a university disciplinary review, and the university requires professors to
report plagiarism in writing to the appropriate university office. Other
university policies for handling cheaters are found here: The Faculty Handbook http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/ and Student
Uncatalogue: "Rights and Responsibilities" http://www.westga.edu/handbook/”
Please note:
“excessive collaboration” includes having family members, friends, or
significant others edit your work. This
means that no one should “fix” your grammar for you or “write in”
sentences/sources/documentation for you.
This sort of behavior is cheating and will be treated as such. We will collaborate in class, and you have
the
My Website/Paperless Policy
Many of your professors in the past may have used WEBCT
for getting information to you. However,
I use only my website (westga.edu/~ainsenga).
All information for this course—this document, your daily syllabus,
assignment sheets, handouts, announcements, resources, etc.—are hyperlinked on
my website. Please check the site
regularly for updates. You will be responsible for printing out all documents
from my website to bring to class.
My UWG Policy:
As of fall 2006, all e-mail correspondence between
professors and students must occur via university e-mail. Please send all questions/ideas/concerns to
me via you’re My UWG account. I cannot
answer to any other e-mail address.
Departmental Rubric
All ENGL courses numbered 2000 and above use a departmental
rubric for grading. Please make yourself familiar with this rubric, as it is
the way I will assess your work in our course.
The rubric is linked on your class’s resource page. Feel free to address any specific questions
about it to me.
Administrivia
·
I
reserve the right to amend this document with further handouts.
·
Aside
from office hours, the absolute best way to contact me is through e-mail.
·
Please
turn off cell phones and/or pagers when you enter our classroom.
·
Please
remove I-pod ear buds and turn off I-pods when you enter our classroom.
·
Not
coming to class prepared with textbooks and necessary materials is an automatic
absence. No exceptions.
·
All
work must be presented in hard copy form.
I will accept no work through e-mail or on a diskette. Problems with printers, computers, etc. will
not necessitate any concessions on my part.
Detailed Syllabus (through mid-term)
January 8
Course Introduction
For next class:
Buy all texts
Print out syllabus from my website
Read Bressler, introduction and chapter one
Consider course contract found on your class’s resource
page
Review course rubric found on your class’s resource
page.
January 10
Packing Our Bag for the Journey: Literary Theory, Literary Criticism
For next class:
Read Bressler, chapter two
Read Gibaldi, chapters 2 and 4
January 15
January 17
Course Contracts due
Historical Context(s): Mapping the Critical Terrain
For next class:
Read Bressler, chapter three, pgs. 50-67
Read Gibaldi, chapter five, pgs. 142-147, and chapter
six, pgs. 238
and 239.
January 22
The First Lens: New
Criticism
For next
class:
Read Bressler, chapter three, pgs. 67-71
Read Gibaldi, chapter one, the sections on note-taking
January 24
Skills: MLA and
annotation
For next class:
Read and annotate Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy,” found
on your class’s resource page on my website
January 29
Applying New Criticism to Plath
Skills: staking
a claim
For next class:
Read Gibaldi, chapter three
Begin work on your first Reading Response
January 31
Applying New Criticism to Plath
For next class:
Reading Response One on Plath and New Criticism due
(you
may consider crafting an argument for this response by
using
one or more of the “Questions for Analysis” on pg. 65
of
Bressler)
February 5
Turn in Reading Response One
Skills: paragraphing
and incorporating evidence successfully
For next class:
Read Bressler, chapter four, pgs. 72-91
February 7
The Second Lens:
Reader-Oriented Criticism
For next class:
Read Bressler, chapter four, pgs. 91-95
February 12
Reader-Oriented Criticism
For next class:
Read Gibaldi, chapter one
February 14
Skills: mounting
a research project
For next class:
Read and annotate “Hills Like White Elephants” by
Ernest
Hemingway found on your class’s resource page
February 19
Sign up for mandatory Major Project Proposal
conferences
Applying Reader-Oriented Criticism (and perhaps New
Criticism)
to Hemingway
For next class:
Reading Response Two due (you may choose to use the
questions
for analysis on pg. 89 of Bressler as you formulate an
argument)
February 21
Finish signing up for mandatory Major Project Proposal
conferences
Take-home mid-term assigned (check your class’s
resource page
at my website for the test)
Turn in Reading Response Two
Skills: discussion of Major Project Proposals and the
research/
inquiry process
For next class:
No regular class.
Come to your mandatory conference to discuss
your Major Project and Proposal
February 26
No regular class—come see me in conference to discuss
your Major Project and
Proposal
For next class:
Mid-term exam and Major Project Proposals due
February 28
Proposals and Mid-Term exams due
For next class:
Read Bressler, chapter six, pgs. 142-162
March 1: mid-term
Last day to withdraw
More detailed syllabus to come. . .