LIT 201
Introduction to
Literary Studies
Spring 2016
Course Description
• This course explores multiple modes of reading and analyzing
literary works to prepare students for literary studies at the
college level. We will read selections from four literary genres –
poetry, short story, drama, and the novel – along with key
literary terms and various approaches to literary criticism.
Students will hone their abilities to write a developed analytical
essay in response to a literary text, with a clearly articulated
theoretical perspective and engagement with primary and
secondary sources.
• LIT 201 is the gateway course to the English major. It
provides students a foundation in close reading and essay
writing that will prepare them for success in 300-level literature
surveys and 400-level upper-division electives. The course is
organized by genre to supplement the traditional, national
narratives of literary history, offering exposure to schools of
literary criticism and theory while supporting student writing
through workshops and digital feedback.
Course Information
Instructor: Tom Nurmi
Meets: TTH 12:10-1:40 PM
Location: LA 430
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: W 2-5, LA 425
Image: Andrew Wyeth,
“Spring Fed” (1967)
Required Texts
Acheson, Katherine O. Writing Essays about Literature. Toronto: Broadview, 2011. [ISBN#: 978-1551119922]
Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. [978-0199691340]
Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New York: Norton, 2014. [978-0393912692]
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. [978-0199535835]
Turner, Brian. Here, Bullet. Farmington ME: Alice James Books, 2005. [978-1882295555
Learning Outcomes
After successfully completing LIT 201, students will have:
[1] Demonstrated careful reading of literary texts, with special attention to the relation between poetics and genre.
[2] Articulated a perspective on a specific passage in a text that speaks to broader stylistic and thematic issues, with
clear and effective writing in service of a reasoned, evidenced argument.
[3] Identified the linkages between two literary texts of different genres, with an emphasis on formal and thematic
similarities and differences.
[4] Produced a research-based essay that engages secondary sources to examine a specific aspect of a canonical literary
text from a particular theoretical perspective.
Assignments and Grading
Quizzes & Group Work
15%
Essay 1
10%
Essay 2
15%
Essay 3
20%
Essay 4
40%
* By enrolling in this class, you agree to all terms, assignments,
and responsibilities. You agree to treat the course as
professional work, including all email exchanges, and
attendance is mandatory. You should not be late, and you
should not miss classes. If you arrive more than 10 minutes
late or leave more than 10 minutes early, you are counted
absent.
* Missing any more than two classes will result in a two
percent (2%) deduction from your final grade, per absence.
If you have a legitimate conflict, please discuss it with me
ahead of time. Any work missed as a result of tardiness or
absence is your responsibility to make up. Quizzes are not
made up; however, if you give 24 hours’ notice before an
absence, you may take an alternate quiz.
* The best way – and perhaps the only way – to improve your writing is to come to office hours and work directly with
me on the specific details of your essays. The Academic Support Center in the Student Union Building
(http://www.msubillings.edu/asc/) offers a variety of services to help you as well.
* In addition, you should be familiar with the MSUB Student Policies & Procedures Handbook for information on
appropriate behavior and academic integrity. I encourage everyone to stop by my office hours (W 2-5 in LA 425) for
any reason throughout the semester (help on an essay, questions on the reading, or anything else). If you cannot
make my office hours, let me know and we can arrange a time to meet.
* Please note: Students with disabilities who may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact
Disability Support Services (DSS) in the College of Education, Room 135: (406) 657-2283, (406) 545-2518 (video
phone), Director: (406) 657-2161, Sign Language Interpreters: (406) 657-2159.
Daily Syllabus
* Note: Assignments are subject to changes based on the progress of the class. It is your responsibility to stay
current. If you miss a day, always check with me or with someone who was in class for changes. Any reading
assignments not included in the required texts will be available on the D2L course website.
1/21 – Introductions
Poetry
1/26 – Here, Bullet
Read for Class:
* Brian Turner, Here, Bullet (2007), Parts I & II (pp. 1-35)
* Jonathan Culler, Ch. 2 from Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (pp. 18-41)
1/28 – Here, Bullet
* Brian Turner, Here, Bullet, Parts III & IV (pp. 37-66)
* Culler, Ch. 5 (pp. 69-81)
2/2 – Here, Bullet
* Anjana Deshpande, “Recon Mission: Familiarizing Veterans with Their Changed Emotional
Landscape Through Poetry Therapy” (2010) [D2L]
* Katherine Acheson, Writing Essays About Literature. Ch. 2 & 3 (pp. 19-53)
2/4 – Class Canceled
Film & Short Story
2/9 – Writing Workshop
* Acheson, Ch. 6, 7 & 8 (pp. 83-119)
2/11 – Thin Red Line [Essay 1 Due] Meet in Library 117 Classroom
* Watch The Thin Red Line (1998), dir. Terrence Malick [available through library reserve]
2/16 – The Short Story
* Tim O’Brien, “How to Tell a True War Story” (1990) [D2L]
* Culler, Ch. 4 (pp. 55-68)
2/18 – The Short Story
* Ernest Hemingway, “Big Two-Hearted River” (1925) [D2L]
* Culler, Ch. 6 (pp. 82-93)
Drama
2/23 – Introducing Shakespeare & M acbeth [Essay 2 Due]
* Acheson, Ch. 9 & 10 (pp. 123-155)
2/25 – Macbeth
* William Shakespeare, Macbeth (~1611), Acts I-II (pp. 91-141)
3/1 – Macbeth
* Acts III-IV (pp. 141-193)
3/3 – Macbeth
* Act V (pp. 193-211)
3/8 – No Class, Spring Break
3/10 – No Class, Spring Break
3/15 – Macbeth Criticism
* Acheson, Ch. 4 & 5 (pp. 55-82)
* Culler, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-17) & Ch. 3 (pp. 42-54)
* Stephen Greenblatt, “The Circulation of Social Energy” [D2L]
3/17 – No Class
3/22 – Macbeth Criticism
* Culler, Appendix (pp. 121-132)
* David Willbern, “Phantasmagoric Macbeth” (English Literary Renaissance 16:3 [1986]) [D2L].
* Julia Lupton, “Macbeth’s Martlets: Shakespearean Phenomenologies of Hospitality” (Criticism 54: 3
[2012], 365-376) [D2L].
3/24 – No Class, Mini-Break
3/29 – Macbeth Workshop [Rough Drafts of Essay 3 Due in class]
* Bring a blue and a green pen to class
The Novel
3/31 – The Sound and the Fury [Essay 3 Due]
* Michael Gorra, “Preface to the Third Edition” of The Sound and the Fury (pp. vii-xii)
* William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (1929), pp. 1-20
4/5 – The Sound and the Fury
* Faulkner, pp. 20-50
* Culler, Ch. 8 (pp. 94-120)
4/7 – The Sound and the Fury
* Faulkner, pp. 50-119
4/12 – The Sound and the Fury
* Faulkner, pp. 119-173
4/14 – The Sound and the Fury
* Faulkner, pp. 173-209
4/19 – Faulkner Criticism
* “Cultural and Historical Contexts” (pp. 283-311):
Woodward, “The Irony of Southern History” (1968) [Emily]
Gray, “Fictions of History” (1996) [Emily]
Percy, from Lanterns on the Levee (1959) [Thomas]
Smith, “The Lessons” (1949) [Thomas]
James, “The Stream of Consciousness” (1892) [Justin]
Bergson, “Duration” (1911-12) [Justin]
4/21 – Faulkner Criticism
* Faulkner, “An Introduction to The Sound and the Fury,” (1973), pp. 252-57 [Brandy]
* Jean-Paul Sartre, “Time in the Work of Faulkner” (1939), pp. 316-324 [Luke]
* John Irwin, “Doubling and Incest in The Sound and the Fury” (1975), pp. 341-349 [Korrin]
4/26 – Faulkner Criticism
* Thadious M. Davis, “Faulkner’s ‘Negro’ in The Sound and the Fury” (1983), pp. 393-409 [Gage]
* Minrose Gwin, “Hearing Caddy’s Voice” (1990), pp. 423-31 [Breanna]
* Maria Truchan-Tataryn, “Textual Abuse: Faulkner’s Benjy” (2005), pp. 509-520 [Kaitlyn]
4/28 – Final Essay Workshop
5/3 – Final Essay Presentations, 10-11:50 AM [Final Essay Due 10 AM on D2L]