English 12 AP Literature
Instructor: Mr. Rick Leidenfrost-Wilson
[email protected]
The Uses of Fiction:
fantasy and purposes of the imaginative
Fiction. What is its role? What does it do, and what are the various ways it goes about
doing what it does? Why do humans gravitate towards and create stories, drama, film,
poetry, television? At what point does something “become” literature, and how is
literature different from other popular texts? What essential questions does a given
piece of literature reveal to us and how does it go about addressing issues with which
humanity struggles? What does literature reveal about the society which produces it?
Why do we spend so much time reading, watching films, investing ourselves in a tv
series, choosing to spend time in texts which aren’t “real” rather than spending the time
in the “reality” of our lives? These will be some of the inquiries which will guide our
study throughout the year.
Syllabus
This syllabus is meant to serve as an overall guide to the year’s work. As we go along,
there will most likely be changes in what we read, when certain assignments are due, or
what writing assignments you have. While the syllabus is meant to be a map of the
course, it as a “fluid” document. We will make discoveries along the journey which
may cause us to take and explore “detours”; however, we will always return to the
original document, using it as the primary blue print. Unless you are told otherwise,
you will need to complete all readings and assignments on time. You will be notified of
any substantial changes in the syllabus well in advance of a due date, so look ahead –
weeks ahead – and plan accordingly.
Grades
This is the most challenging litrature course in the school. As such, expect that your
work in it will also be challenging. Keep up with, read, and prepare all texts on time.
The quickest way for your grade to plummet is to fall behind on the reading. Take
advantage of all opportunities for rewriting and work really, really hard on “active
participation.” It is 20% of your grade in this course and you will want to take full
advantage of it. Speak to me, always, when you have questions about your grades; your
grades should be no mystery to you, and I find, more often that not, the AP student can
tell exactly what his/her grade is, at any point in the year. If you ever feel your grade
slipping, you know what to do to correct that, and one of your first corrective steps
should be to talk with me about it. (Pro-active ownership is another component of
“active participation.”)
A typical breakdown for a given quarter might be:
Tests, Quizzes, Formal Papers, Formal Projects
Homeworks, Journals, Informal Projects
Active Participation
60%
20%
20%
Some tests, papers, and projects will be more heavily weighted than others, but you will
be notified of that extra weighting prior to the test, paper or project.
Tests
The course will function largely on the “read ahead” system. That is, while we are
discussing, working with, and analyzing one work in lass, you will need to be preparing
the next work. You should prepare each work as if you expect a test on the very first day
the work is due (and that frequently happens).
Active Participation and Attendance
Active Participation, simply put, means “being a student.” This means you are expected
to take notes during class, contribute to class discussion, be on time, be prepared. If you
are someone who is “introverted,” this is a perfect opportunity for you to step beyond
your comfort zone. I fully recognize that there are students who simply must “process” a
discussion before s/he can contribute to it. To that end, you are encouraged to add your
thoughts to a previous day’s discussion. The quickest way to indicate to me that you are
NOT actively participating is to not have your text or notebook with you. A failure to
participate at that bare minimum is the quickest way to watch your grade drop. You
may check in with me, at any point, to discuss how your participation is going for a
quarter. (It should be no mystery to you). ATTENDANCE POLICY: It should also
be noted that after 8 absences, you will need to meet with me; after 10 absences, you
will need to meet with the principal and you may very well lose your AP status for
the course.
Academic Honesty
Cheating, plagiarism and/or collusion are serious offenses carrying severe consequences,
including possible failure in this course and expulsion from the National Honor
Society. You are required to give credit for ideas not your own, even if you put them
into your own words. Please read the following statement:
“…students shall exhibit honesty in all academic endeavors. Cheating in any
form is not tolerated, nor is assisting another person to cheat. The submission
of any work by a student is taken as a guarantee that the thoughts and
expressions are the student's own except when properly credited to another.
Violations of this principle include giving or receiving aid in an exam or
where otherwise prohibited, fraud, plagiarism, the falsification or forgery
of any record, or any other deceptive act in connection with academic
work. Plagiarism is the representation of another's words, ideas,
programs, formulae, opinions, or other products of work as one's own,
either overtly or by failing to attribute them to their true source.”
(Courtesy of Syracuse University)
Online resources such as Cliffs, Spark, Book Rags, Pink Monkey, Baron’s, etc., instead
of reading the actual text, are examples of cheating. If you are having trouble with a text,
please see me and I will be happy to help you with it. If you begin reading a book
when it is first assigned, you should have no difficulty finishing it by the due date.
Thinking Papers
A note on thinking papers: These are informal, one or two page papers at most, typed
if written at home, single spaced. Informal means you do not need an introduction, etc.,
but it does not mean grammatical or mental carelessness. The purpose of a thinking
paper is to work through an idea. In general, you will be given directions as to what to
explore in your paper. Do not expect to be able to re-write most of these; however, they
will be graded as quizzes and some will be written in class. In general, any papers
written in class may NOT be re-written, so be sure to be prepared to write on the assigned
work(s) on due dates. All out-of-class writing MUST be typed. I prefer Times Roman,
12 point, with one-inch margins. Follow MLA guidelines for heading, title, and
citations. I suggest you plan to note interesting quotes AS you read. Using Post-It notes
or Page Pointers can be helpful.
Thesis Project
The major project for the year is your thesis paper, based on your analysis of an author
you have chosen. You will read at least three books by your author over the course of the
year, and then write a paper of no more than 20 pages after the AP test. This paper will
constitute the majority of your grade for the fourth quarter. Due dates for thesis
paper books are: October 21, January 2, and April 1, with the final paper due May 24th.
Due dates have been carefully planned. If you anticipate a problem with a due date,
speak to me in advance to arrange an extension without a penalty. Otherwise, the
penalty will be half a grade per day late (i.e., from an A to an A-).
Writing Instruction
This course employs writing at every stage. Not only will you write formal, expository,
literary analyses, but writing will be used as a gateway to learning through journals,
creative exercises, reflective papers, book letters, and other written formats. You will
strengthen your analytical writing and hone in on advanced rhetorical writing about
literature. The course functions strongly in “workshop” fashion and you will frequently
be expected to share your writing – to give and receive peer editing on your writing and
to better understand the processes of writing as well as its aims and effects, be it fiction or
non-fiction.
In compliance with the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, works in all
media produced by students as part of their course participation may be used for
educational purposes, provided that the course syllabus makes clear that such use may
occur. It is understood that registration for and continued enrollment in a course where
such use of student works is announced constitute permission by the student. (Courtesy of
Syracuse University)
Representative texts we will use include An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen,
Dracula by Bram Stoker, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, The Hours by Michael
Cunningham, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Beowulf
(Anonymous, translated by Seamus Heaney, Grendel by John Gardner, Atonement by Ian
McEwan, “Politics and the English Language.”
Note: This syllabus will be available online, through my web page on the district web
site (ewsdonline.org/leidenfrost).
COURSE CALENDAR
UNIT 1:
MONSTERS, DEMONS, AND THE DILEMMAS OF DESIRE
September 4 – 7 Welcome and introduction. Course overview and discussion of
syllabus. Class community building. (Straw Building exercise and begin
discussion/analysis of An Enemy of the People (Acts I and II due Friday) focusing
specifically on searching for textual details. In class writing about summer reading.
Homework: “Letter to Mr. Leidenfrost,” due Friday. Book letter (on summer
reading book) due NO LATER THAN September 12. Read/Prepare Act III, An
Enemy of the People, due Monday, September 10). Choose Book Clubs, reading
due October 5.
September 10 – 14 Continue An Enemy of the People; more work with the vocabulary
of theatrical analysis and dramatic “textual” details. Diagnostic exam September 13 and
14. Book Letter due no later than September 12. Introduction to Poetry.
Homework: Read/Prepare A Streetcar Named Desire (due Monday, September 24).
Finish reading/preparing An Enemy of the People (Acts IV and V, due September 19).
Read/annotate Orwell’s “Politics and the Language.”
September 19 – 21 Conclude discussion of An Enemy of the People. Discuss Book
Letters. Group work applying Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” to An
Enemy of the People. Discussion of book letters. Discussion of diagnostic exam. In
class writing workshop: The Elements of Expository, Analytical Essay Writing and the
drafting of Formal Paper #1: An Analysis of An Enemy of the People, focusing on the
play’s social and cultural values. Homework: Complete and type first draft of
Formal Paper #1 (due September 25).
September 24 -25, 27 – 28 A Streetcar Named Desire due. Formal Paper #1 due.
Discussion of the Politics of Desire. Homework: Read/Prepare The Glass Menagerie
(due October 1) Other possible works which will be discussed include Kurt Vonnegut’s
“Who Am I This Time?,” Sherwood Anderson’s “A Death in the Woods,” Will Cather’s
“Paul’s Case,” E.M. Forster’s Maurice, and Annie Proux’s “Brokeback Mountain.”
Book Clubs meet and decide on discussion guides and “homework.”
October 1 – 5 The Glass Menagerie due. Instructor feedback on Formal Paper #1..
Homework: Rewrite Formal Paper #1; read Christopher Durang’s “For Whom the
Southern Belle Tolls.” Introduction to Literary Terms. Writing Instruction working
with “Finding a Place to Stand: Writing, Reading, and Researching in a Transnational
World” by Margaret Himley & Anne Fitzsimmons; in-class drafting of Formal Paper #2:
the artistry and theatricality of the plays of Tennessee Williams (due to Peer Groups on
October 15; bring five copies with you to class). Books due for Book Clubs on
October 5.
October 9 – 12 Dracula due. More work with literary terms, especially with the
terminology of the analysis of fiction. Exam on A.P. Literary Terminology.
Read/annotate packet of Shakespearean Sonnets. October 12th: Field Trip to The Dodge
Poetry Festival. Choose second book for Book Clubs (due November 16). Homework:
Write a sonnet in Shakespearean style, using iambic pentameter and a
Shakespearean rhyme scheme (due October 15); read/annotate excerpt from Rilke’s
Letters to a Young Poet. Memorize passage from Dracula, as assigned.
October 15 – 19 Continue Dracula. IMC work on thesis. Peer Editing of Formal Paper
#2. (Homework: first thesis book due; prepare for conference with instructor.
Rewrite Formal Paper #2 (due to instructor NO LATER THAN October 22). Read
second book for Book Clubs (due November 16). In-class sharing of sonnets and work
with Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. Other poems to be covered in class: “Dover
Beach,” “To an Athlete Dying Young,” “To His Coy Mistress,” “The Lover: a Ballad”
and “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” View excerpts of films about vampires.
October 22 – 26 Continue Dracula. Individual Conferences about Thesis Project.
Homework: Style exercise: Creative “Style” Paper on Dracula due October 29)
Read/annotate Sos Eltis’ “Corruption of the Blood and Degeneration of the Race:
Dracula and Policing the Borders of Gender.” Read Mrs. Dalloway (due November
5).
October 29 – 31 Conclude Dracula. Instructor feedback on Formal Paper #2. In class
sharing of style papers on Dracula. Homework: Read “The Yellow Wallpaper (due
November 1).
UNIT II:
AWAKENINGS, REVELATIONS, AND THE CRISIS OF KNOWING
November 1 -2 . Discussion of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Introduction to the life and
works of Virginia Woolf. In class analysis of “Much Madness is Divinest Sense.”
Emily Dickinson’s “Much Madness is Divinest Sense.” Memorize section of Mrs.
Dalloway, as assigned. Homework: Finish reading Mrs. Dalloway and read/prepare
“Allegory of the Cave.”
November 5, 7 – 9 Begin Mrs. Dalloway. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” Mrs.
Dalloway. “My November Guest.” IMC work: First Quarter Reflection Essays. Inclass review and workshop instruction on the quoting and citing of poetry. In class
drafting of Formal Paper #3: explication on assigned poem. Homework: Type Formal
Paper #3 (due to instructor no later than November 16). Read/prepare The Hours
(due November 26).
End of First Marking Period: November 9
November 13 – 16 Continue Mrs. Dalloway. Homework: Read/prepare The Hours
(due November 26)). Book Clubs meet November 16. Formal Paper #3 due.
November 19 -21 Instructor feedback on Formal Paper #3. Finish Mrs. Dalloway.
Select new book for new Book Clubs (due January 4). Homework: Rewrite Formal
Paper #3 (due November 30).
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 26 – 30 The Hours. Homework: Read/prepare The Awakening.
Formal Paper #4: Prepare style parody of Mrs. Dalloway or the The Hours (due
December 17).
December 3 – 7 Continue and conclude discussion of The Hours. Homework:
continue to work on parodies and second installment of thesis.
December 10 – 14
Discuss and analyze The Awakening.
December 17 – 21 View film version of The Hours. In class sharing of Mrs. Dalloway
and The Hours parodies. Homework: Prepare second book and “installment” of
thesis.
January 2 – 4 Second installment of thesis due. Intro to Hamlet. Homework:
Read/prepare Hamlet, Act I (due January 7). Third Book Clubs meet January 4.
Instruction on scanning the text for auditory clues for interpretation. Scene work on
Hamlet, as assigned.
January 7 – 11 Hamlet Act I. Work on Hamlet scenes. Written work “translating”
Hamlet to “modern English.” Practice AP questions on Hamlet. In class drafting of
Hamlet papers (Formal Paper #4). Homework: Read/prepare Hamlet, Acts II and
III. Read, prepare, and annotate Elaine Showalter’s “Representing Ophelia:
Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism.” Write Formal
Paper #4 (due no later than January 14).
January 14 – 18 Hamlet Act II, III. In class work on Hamlet scenes. Review and
practice for Mid-year exams. Select books for Book Club #4 (due March 1). IMC work:
Write end of semester reflections. Homework: Study/review/practice for mid-terms.
Read/prepare Hamlet, Acts IV and V (due January 28).
January 22 – 25 Mid-year Exams
January 28 – February 1 Hamlet Act IV, V. Homework: read, prepare, annotate Janet
Adelman’s “Man and Wife Is One Flesh”: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the
Maternal Body. Watch various film versions of Hamlet/Ophelia scene.
February 4- 8 Hamlet Act V. Instructor feedback on Formal Paper #4. Rewrites due
NO LATER THAN February 14. Work on Hamlet scenes. Homework: memorize
scenes.
February 11 – 15 Presentation of Hamlet scenes. IMC: Reflection essay on
performances: “Interpreting “me” by interpreting Hamlet”
UNIT III:
ANCIENT MONSTERS, SHIFTING PARADIGMS ,
AND EMERGING IDEOLOGIES
February 25 – March 1 Discuss Beowulf. Book Clubs meet March 1. Sharon Olds’
“On the Subway” and Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall.” AP Practice writing on
Beowulf.
March 4 – 8 Conclude Beowulf. In class drafting of Formal Paper #5 (due NO
LATER THAN March 14). Tolkien’s essay on Beowulf. Homework: read and
prepare Doubt.
March 11 -15 Discuss Doubt. Also look at selections from Milton’s Paradise Lost.
Discuss Formal Paper #5. Homework: Read/prepare Grendel. Rewrite Formal
Paper #5 (due NO LATER THAN March 22).
March 18 – 22 Discuss Grendel. Homework: read/prepare Atonement.
UNIT IV:
REWRITES, TRANSITIONS, AND RESOLUTIONS
April 1 – 5
Third installment of thesis due. Poetry Unit.
Book Clubs meet April 5.
End of Third Marking Period: April 5
April 8 – 12 Discuss Atonement. Read/prepare handout from Stephen King’s On
Writing. Formal Paper #6.
April 15 – 19 Conclude discussion of Atonement
April 22 -26 AP Review. (Literary terminology, poetic forms, significant periods of
literature, practice exams, etc.)
April 29 – May 3
AP Review. In-class AP Exam.
May 6 – 10 AP Testing.
Work in IMC on research paper, due May 20 to groups.
May 13 – 17 AP Testing. Work in IMC on research paper, due May 20 to groups.
May 20 – 24 Work on thesis paper in groups and/or in IMC. Final draft due May 24
with a chance of a re-write, May 28 with no re-write. Homework: Begin Oral
Presentations.
May 28 – 31
Final draft of paper due May 28.
Oral Presentations.
June 3 – 7 June 6. Senior Prom. Oral presentations.
June 10 – 14
Finals and Regents.
June 17 – 21 Finals and Regents.
Congratulations!
You’re done! You’ve graduated!
Have an amazing life.