XIDS 2100-09                                                                                                 Office Hours:

Spring, 2005                                                                                                    T, R 

Dr. Angela Insenga                                                                                           7-8 a.m.

ainsenga@westga.edu                                                                                       9:30-11 a.m.

Website:  http://www.westga.edu/~ainsenga/                                                     2-3 p.m.

Office:  2238, TLC                                                                                           and by appt.

Office phone:  678-839-4864                                                                          

 

 

Mapping Modernism(s)

Course Description:

In his 1922 poem "The Waste Land," T.S. Eliot asks of the desolate landscape, "What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow out of this stony rubbish?" His question matched many of his contemporaries', artists who also sought to chart the changing world through aesthetic practice. Still other artists of the time would alter the creative "lay of the land" forever with their work.

 

This class will position students as metaphorical "cartographers" who will also "map" the social, economic, artistic, and psychological "terrain" of the Modernist era. We will study four of the influential British and American groups from the period: the Bloomsbury Group, the "Lost Generation," the Algonquin Roundtable, and the Beat Poets.

 

General Learning Outcomes of All XIDS Classes:

v     To establish an understanding of the interrelationships among the arts and ideas.

v     To give the student a framework inclusive of the historical settings, cultural forces, and philosophical wellsprings that contribute to the production of artistic works.

v     To experience participating in the performance of a creative, collaborative work of art.  

 

Required Texts and Supplies:

v     Books you’ll need to buy:

      The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

      The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)

      To the Lighthouse (Woolf)

      Passage to India (Forster)

      Dubliners (Joyce)

 

v     Texts that will be either online or on reserve at the library:

       “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock” (Eliot) found at:      http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5616/prufrock.html

       “The Garden Party” (Mansfield) found at:

      http://www.bibliomania.com/4/-/frameset.html --you’ll need to do a search using the author and title of this text

       “Big Blonde” (Parker)—on reserve in the library

       “Howl” (Ginsberg) found at: http://plagiarist.com/poetry/3747/

 

Supplies:

v     2 Blue Books for examinations

v     Composition booklet (see the example I share in class)

 

Major Assignments/Course Requirements:

v     Daily reading quizzes (20%)—five plot-based questions at the beginning of each class

v     Five cultural events (20%)—over the course of the semester, your participation in/attendance at five cultural events along with a 100-150 word reflection piece for each event you choose is required. I’ve compiled and attached a list of options from which you may choose, and I give you more specifics about what to write at the top of that list. You will write your cultural events reflection pieces at end of your reading journal.  The cultural events entries in your composition booklet do not count as reading journal entries.  All of the reflection pieces are due at mid-term. 

v     Two major tests (40%)—a combination of multiple choice, text and term identifications, and either short answers or one large essay, depending on class vote.  See your syllabus for examination dates. 

v     Reading Journal (20%)—three full pages per week (45 pages in all), written in the composition booklet.  The requirements for a successful (passing) journal include:  minimal plot summary; minimal “reviewing” or “rants/raves”; response entries covering ALL of the texts we read; evidence of critical thinking/analysis in each entry; textual references, and completeness.  The reading journal is due at the end of the semester; see your syllabus for the exact date.

 

Attendance:

Because a bulk of the information will be shared in lecture and through discussion, attendance is mandatory.  You may have no more than four absences.  I do not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences.  If you accumulate four absences before the drop date (March 3rd), I will administratively withdraw you from the course.  If you achieve four absences after the drop date, you will receive a failing grade for the course. Plain and simple:  we have a job to do, and our job depends on your prompt attendance.  Two tardies equal one unexcused absence.  You are tardy if I’ve begun the quiz.  You may not make up the quiz if you are tardy.

 

Late Work:

You must see me in conference if you wish to discuss extenuating circumstances surrounding late work. As a general rule, I do not accept late work. DO NOT place late work outside of my office door without consulting me; I will not accept the work.

 

Make-Up Work:

You may not make up missed quizzes due to absence or tardiness. You will have ample time to complete all other assignments.  You may not make up missed examinations except in the most extenuating of circumstances. 

 

Special Needs:

Any student who requires special accommodations should bring the appropriate paperwork to my office during the first week of the semester so that we can devise a plan for your success.

 

Plagiarism & Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism is defined as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources. You are expected to 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 course.  The University policies for handling Academic Dishonesty are found at the following internet URLs:

v     The Faculty Handbook http://www.westga.edu/~vpaa/handrev/  

v     Student Uncatalogue: "Rights and Responsibilities" http://www.westga.edu/handbook/”

 

Administrivia:

v     I reserve the right to amend this document with further handouts.

v     You may e-mail me, make appointments, come by during office hours, or contact me at the office to ask questions.  Make sure you have read the assignments carefully or have consulted this document before calling or coming by to ask me a question that you could answer yourself.

v     From time to time, I may utilize a listserv to contact the entire class via e-mail.  You should be aware of this, and should make use of your UWG account for this and other university-related information.

v     Please turn off all cell phones and/or beepers upon entering this classroom.

v     If you attend class without your text, know that it’s an automatic absence.  You will be free to stay in class, but without a text, you’re officially “not here.”