Carleton University
Department of English
Fall 2010 – Winter 2011
Instructor: Dr. David Lafferty
Course and Section: ENGL1000B
(Precludes additional credit for FYSM 1004)
Course Title: Literature, Genre, Context
Wednesdays and Fridays 8:35 am – 9:55 am
Class Location: Please confirm location on Carleton Central
Office: 1914 Dunton Tower
Office hours: Tuesdays 1:30pm-2:30pm
Phone: (613) 520-2600 x2307
Course Website: Log in to WebCT at www.carleton.ca
Email: [email protected] (use only if WebCT mail is not working)
Course Description:
With the outbreak of World War I, Western culture was thrust into a period of unparalleled
change marked by conflict, revolution, and collapse; the literature of the past hundred years is
tied integrally to this cultural upheaval. This course provides a selective overview of Englishlanguage literature of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, focusing on texts that address the
tangled political and moral dimensions of modernity. We will take an eclectic approach to the
study of this literature, examining poetry, plays, novels and short stories. At the same time, we
will cover the fundamentals of literary analysis, including devoting segments of our classes to
the development of essay-writing skills.
Preclusions:
Precludes additional credit for FYSM 1004
Required Texts:
Huxley, Aldous. Point Counter Point. Dalkey Archive Press, 2010.
Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. Grove/Atlantic, 1994.
Truman Capote. In Cold Blood. Knopf Doubleday, 1994.
Ryga, George. The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. Talon, 1970.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. Random House, 1991.
Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. Doubleday, 2004.
Lynch, Gerald and David Rampton, eds. Short Fiction: An Introductory Anthology. 2nd Edition.
Nelson, 2005.
Poetry coursepack.
The poetry coursepack will be available at the Carleton University Bookstore. All other texts will
be available at Octopus Books, 116 Third Ave. (just off Bank Street in the Glebe).
WebCT:
WebCT will be used for all course emails, and for the posting of grades (except for final grades,
which will be posted through the E-Grades system), announcements and any supplementary
course content. The link to the login page for WebCT can be found on the right-hand side of the
main Carleton page (www.carleton.ca). If you have any problems using WebCT, please contact
me at [email protected].
ENGL 1000 is a writing-attentive course. In ENGL 1000, “writing attentive” means:
Students will write at least one examination.
Students will write a minimum of two graded writing assignments per term, in which they
are expected to do the following:
develop an argumentative thesis across an essay
develop complex ideas using correct and effective expression according to
academic English practice
use and cite evidence from primary texts appropriately
develop literary skills through close critical analysis of texts from a variety of
genres
develop fluency in genre-specific literary terms of analysis.
Students will be introduced to issues in secondary research (such as critical evaluation of and
citation of secondary materials).
A portion of class time will be devoted to developing and improving essay writing skills.
Grade Distribution (FT=Fall Term; WT=Winter Term):
FT Poetry Analysis Exercise (5%) due 24 September
FT Character Study Assignment (10%) due 29 October
FT Major Essay (15%) due 1 December
FT Exam (20%), time TBA
WT Narrative Analysis Assignment (10%) due 4 February
WT Major Essay (20%) due 25 March
WT Exam (20%), time TBA
Please Note: Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor subject to the approval
of the Faculty Dean. This means that grades submitted by an instructor may be subject to
revision. No grades are final until they have been approved by the Dean.
Attendance:
No attendance will be taken for this course, but you are still expected to attend all classes.
Expectations and regulations regarding assignments (including major essays):
Specific information regarding assignments, such as essay topics, will be provided in class and
on WebCT. In general, however, all written assignments should contain the following:
a clear thesis and argument, complete with logical premises articulated in topic claims
close and sophisticated textual analysis, using the language of literary studies
some consideration of the cultural context of the text(s) studied
proper grammar and spelling
for the major essays, evidence of academic research, with a minimum of three credible
and relevant academic sources
Any deviations from these expectations will be reflected in your grade.
Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the specified day. Late assignments may be
submitted to the English Department Secretariat at 1812 Dunton Tower. Electronic submissions
will not be accepted. Assignments submitted before the end of the business day on the due date
will receive a late penalty of 5% per day. No assignments will be accepted after the University’s
last day for submitting assignments (see your calendar to find the last submission day for each
term). If you are unable to complete an assignment in time due to illness, please contact me
before the due date; an official doctor’s note is required for an extension. Please keep electronic
backups of your work. Unless otherwise specified, all assignments will be graded and returned
within three weeks.
The following policy applies to all essays and assignments: If one of your assignments is lost,
misplaced, or not received by the instructor, you are responsible for having a backup copy that
can be submitted immediately upon request.
Formatting and Documentation:
Please refer to the latest version of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for all
guidelines regarding formatting and documentation. I highly recommend purchasing a copy of
the guide.
Research and Sources:
If you plan on using internet sources in your work, make sure they are highly credible, and
please err on the side of caution. Academic books and journals should comprise most, if not all,
of your sources. Wikipedia, although an excellent learning tool, is not a credible source. Carleton
University subscribes to a number of excellent journal databases, many of which can be accessed
from both campus and remote computers. These include the MLA International Bibliography,
JSTOR, Literature Online: LION, and Project MUSE. See
http://www.library.carleton.ca/eresources/databases.html for further information.
Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism, defined in Carleton’s Academic Integrity Policy as “presenting, whether intentional
or not, the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one’s own,” is a serious offence and
will be dealt with according to the guidelines of the university. Please see section E 14.0-6 in the
“Academic Regulations of the University” section of the Carleton University 2010-2011
Undergraduate Calendar for more information. The official, up-to-date version of the Calendar is
located at http://www.carleton.ca/calendars/ugrad/current/.
Further information on Carleton’s Academic Integrity policy, including the full text of the
policy, can be found at http://www2.carleton.ca/studentaffairs/academic-integrity/.
If you have any questions regarding academic integrity, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Discrimination and Harassment:
Discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated in the classroom. Please see section E 15.0-5
in the “Academic Regulations of the University” section of the Carleton University 2010-2011
Course Calendar for more information.
The official, up-to-date version of the Calendar is located at
http://www.carleton.ca/calendars/ugrad/current/.
Academic Accommodation
You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term because
of disability, pregnancy or religious obligations. Please review the course outline promptly and
write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class,
or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist.
Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course must register with
the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) for a formal evaluation of
disability-related needs. Documented disabilities could include but are not limited to
mobility/physical impairments, specific Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/psychological
disabilities, sensory disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and chronic
medical conditions. Registered PMC students are required to contact the PMC, 613-520-6608,
every term to ensure that your Instructor receives your Letter of Accommodation, no later than
two weeks before the first assignment is due or the first in-class test/midterm requiring
accommodations. If you only require accommodations for your formally scheduled exam(s) in
this course, please submit your request for accommodations to PMC by the last official day to
withdraw from classes in each term.
You can visit the Equity Services website to view the policies and to obtain more detailed
information on academic accommodation at http://carleton.ca/equity/accommodation.
Student Services:
You may wish to make use of Carleton’s Academic Writing Centre and Writing Tutorial Service
(4th Floor, Library, 613-520-6632), Student Academic Success Centre (SASC, 302 Tory, 613520-7850) and Learning Commons (4th Floor, Library, 613-520-2600, ext.1125).
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Fall Term 2010
10 September
Course outline and expectations
15 September
T.E. Hulme: “Autumn”
Ezra Pound: “In a Station of the Metro”
H.D.: “Oread”
17 September
T.S. Eliot: “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
22 September
James Joyce: “Araby”
24 September
Virginia Woolf: “Kew Gardens”
FT Poetry Analysis Exercise due
29 September
William Butler Yeats: “The Second Coming”
T.S. Eliot: “The Hollow Men”
Roy Campbell: “To a Pet Cobra”
1 October
Aldous Huxley: Point Counter Point
6 October
Aldous Huxley: Point Counter Point
13 October
Aldous Huxley: Point Counter Point
15 October
Aldous Huxley: Point Counter Point
20 October
Aldous Huxley: Point Counter Point
22 October
Aldous Huxley: Point Counter Point
27 October
Aldous Huxley: Point Counter Point
29 October
F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Babylon Revisited”
FT Character Study Assignment due
3 November
W.H. Auden, “Brothers, who when the sirens roar”
Cecil Day-Lewis, “Consider these, for we have condemned them”
Elizabeth Daryush: “Children of Wealth”
5 November
Ezra Pound: “Canto XLV”
10 November
Louis MacNeice, “The Sunlight on the Garden”
W.H. Auden, “September 1, 1939”
12 November
Sinclair Ross: “One’s a Heifer”
17 November
Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery”
19 November
Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot
24 November
Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot
26 November
Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot
1 December
Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot
FT Major Essay due
3 December
Catch up and Review
FT Exam (Time and Location TBA)
Winter Term 2011
5 January
Flannery O’Connor: “Everything That Rises Must Converge”
7 January
John Barth: “Lost in the Funhouse”
12 January
John Updike: “A & P”
14 January
Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
19 January
Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
21 January
Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
26 January
Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
28 January
Derek Walcott: “A Far Cry from Africa,” “Codicil”
2 February
George Ryga: The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
4 February
George Ryga: The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
WT Narrative Analysis Assignment due
9 February
George Ryga: The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
11 February
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: Slaughterhouse-Five
16 February
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: Slaughterhouse-Five
18 February
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: Slaughterhouse-Five
2 March
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: Slaughterhouse-Five
4 March
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: Slaughterhouse-Five
9 March
William Gibson: “Burning Chrome”
11 March
Amy Tan: “Rules of the Game”
16 March
Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake
18 March
Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake
23 March
Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake
25 March
Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake
WT Major Essay due
30 March
Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake
1 April
Catch up and Review
WT Exam (Time and Location TBA)