LIT 2341.001, Spring 2016
LIT 2341: Literary Analysis
Term: Spring 2016
Time: MWF 3:00-3:50pm
Classroom: JO 4.502
Section: 001
Professor: Sean Sutherlin
Office: JO 3.926
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: MW 4:00-4:30pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will focus on close reading of fiction, poetry, and drama. As an introduction for literary studies majors,
students will learn how to analyze, interpret, and respond critically to literature. The material covered includes: the
formal elements of literature, literature as a human experience, and literature as seen through historical/cultural
lenses. Students will encounter a range of themes and ideas as they read various genres of literature as well as
literature from different time periods. Ultimately, students will learn how literature has changed over time. Emphasis
will be placed on the development of critical skills through the writing of interpretive/analytical essays. This course
will provide students with strategies and skills to thrive in higher-level literature courses.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to define and recognize elements of fiction, poetry, and drama.
Students will learn different methods of interpretation and analysis, both textual and contextual.
Students will learn to analyze literature as human experience, through authorial intention, and
through a historical/cultural lens.
Students will be able to construct effective written arguments with claims and evidence and be able to gather,
incorporate, and interpret source material in their writing using MLA format.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Booth, Alison, and Kelly J. Mays, eds. The Norton Introduction to Literature: Shorter 12th Edition. New York:
Norton, 2010 Print. ISBN: 978-0-393-93892-0
Miller, Walter M. A Canticle for Leibowitz. New York: Harper Collins, 2006. Print. ISBN: 978-0-553-27381-6
The descriptions and timelines contained in this syllabus are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.
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LIT 2341.001, Spring 2016
ASSINGMENTS AND ACADEMIC CALENDAR
PART I: Literature as Experience: The Formal Elements
Course syllabus. Class expectations. Introductions.
Monday 1/11
Get started on A Canticle for Leibowitz
Representing Experience: The Vocabulary of Narrative Forms Defining
Genre, Conventions, Forms Close Reading, Reader Response
Wednesday 1/13 READING: “Reading and Responding to Fiction,” p. 12-31
“Plot,” p. 85-86
In Class: Read and Discuss “The Facebook Sonnet” by Sherman Alexie, p.942
Defining Genres, Understanding How to Read and Discuss Literature
READING: “Narration and Point of View,” p. 102-106
Friday 1/15
“Theme,” p. 241-244
Discuss Edgar Allan Poe The Cask of Amontillado, 178
Monday 1/18
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: NO CLASSES
Introduction to Fiction: Symbol and Figurative Language
Wednesday 1/20 READ: 212-218 & Hawthorne “The Birth-Mark” 218
READING QUIZ
PART I cont’d: Literature as Experience: The Representation of Human Actions
Character
Friday 1/22
READ: 121-129 & Joyce “Araby” 328
Plot
Monday 1/25
READ: 59-69 & Maupassant “The Jewelry” 69
Setting
Wednesday 1/27 READ: 158-165 & Chekhov “The Lady with the Dog” 165
READING QUIZ
Friday 1/29 In-Class Review for Exam #1
Monday 2/1 EXAM #1
PART II: Making Arguments about Authorial Intention
Introduce Essay #1
Wednesday 1/3
In-Class reading and evaluation of Sample Student Paper
Narration & Point of View
Friday 2/5 READ: 102-107 & Poe “The Cask of Amontillado” 107, Hemingway “Hills Like White
Elephants” 113
READING QUIZ
Form and Content
Monday 2/8 READ: Faulkner “A Rose for Emily” 308 Essay
#1, Topics DUE
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LIT 2341.001, Spring 2016
Theme
Wednesday 2/10 READ: 246-249 & Bierce “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” 299
READING QUIZ
Friday 2/12 In-Class reading and evaluation of Sample Scholarly Essay
In-Class Peer Review Essay
Monday 2/15
#1 Draft DUE
PART III: Making Historical & Cultural Arguments
Literature as Historical evidence
READ: Milton “On the Late Massacre in Piedmont” 516, Arnold “Dover Beach” 517,
Wednesday 2/17 Betjeman “In Westminster Abbey” 518, Owen “Dulce et Decorum Est” 574, Jarrell “The
Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” 573
READING QUIZ
Friday 2/19 Conferences
In-Class Presentations
Monday 2/22
Essay #1 DUE
Cultural Statements & Influences
READ: Wheatley “On Being Brought from Africa to America” 539, Angelou “Africa” 540,
Wednesday 2/24 Mora “Sonrisas” 620 & “Elena” 702, Hughes, “Harlem” 690, McKay “The White House”
702
READING QUIZ
Cultural Statements & Influences
Friday 2/26 READ: Gilman “The Yellow Wallpaper” 315, Piercy “Barbie Doll” 476, Cherry
“Alzheimer’s” 493
PART IV: Traditions of Western Literature, Poetry
Monday 2/29 Introduction to Genre and the Western Canon
READ: Handout of Beowulf, Shakespeare “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
569, Donne “Death, be not proud” 669, Milton “When I consider how my light is spent”
Wednesday 3/2 650
READING QUIZ
READ: Blake “London” 483 & “The Tyger” 658, Wordsworth “Lines Written a Few
Friday 3/4 Miles above Tintern Abbey” 721, Brontë “The Night-Wind” 529, Whitman “I Celebrate
Myself, I Sing Myself” 510
READ: Pound “In a Station of the Metro” 709, Eliot “The Love Song of J. Alfred
Monday 3/7
Prufrock” 672, Moore “Poetry” 637, Frost “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” 677,
Williams “The Red Wheelbarrow” 554, Stevens “The Emperor of Ice Cream” 713, Yeats
“Sailing to Byzantium” 727
READING QUIZ
READ: Brooks “We Real Cool” 509, Thomas “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”
Wednesday 3/9 636, Dylan “Mr. Tambourine Man” 611, Kinnell “Blackberry Eating” 696, Clover “The
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LIT 2341.001, Spring 2016
Nevada Glassworks” 531
Friday 3/11
Introduce Essay #2
In-Class reading and evaluation of Sample Student Paper
PART IV cont’d: Traditions of Western Literature, Drama
READ: Ibsen A Doll House Act I (821-843)
Monday 3/21
READING QUIZ
Wednesday 3/23 READ: Ibsen A Doll House Acts II-III (843-876)
In-Class Discussion of Film Clips from A Doll House Essay
Friday 3/25
#2, Topics DUE
READ: Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun Act I (950-981) READING
Monday 3/28
QUIZ
Wednesday 3/30 READ: Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun Acts II-III (981-1021)
Friday 4/1 In-Class Discussion of Film Clips from A Raisin in the Sun
PART IV cont’d: Traditions of Western Literature, Narrative Fiction
The Short Story & The Novella
Monday 4/4 READ: 54-58 & Melville “Bartleby, the Scrivener” 367
READING QUIZ
Wednesday 4/6 How to Write a Great Research Paper
Friday 4/8 In-Class reading and evaluation of Sample Scholarly Essay
READ: Conrad Heart of Darkness, first half (pgs TBA) READING
Monday 4/11
QUIZ
Wednesday 4/13 READ: Conrad Heart of Darkness, second half (pgs TBA)
Friday 4/15 In-Class Discussion of Film Clips from Apocalypse Now
In-Class Peer Review Essay
Monday 4/18
#2 Draft DUE
Wednesday 4/20 Conferences
Friday 4/22 Conferences
In-Class Presentations
Monday 4/25
Essay #2 DUE
Wednesday 4/27 Final Exam Review
Friday 4/29 Cumulative FINAL EXAM
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LIT 2341.001, Spring 2016
GRADING
Participation
10%
100
10%
100
10%
100
15%
150
20%
200
Exam #1
15%
150
Exam #2
20%
200
100%
1000 points
Quizzes
10 points each. 12 total. Drop lowest 2.
Drafts/ Peer Review
50 points each
Essay #1
Proposal = 50 points, Essay = 100 points
Essay #2
Proposal = 50 points, Essay = 150 points
TOTAL:
(I will make use of the +/- system in grading as stipulated by The University of Texas at Dallas Undergraduate Catalogue,
2010-2012.)
ASSINGMENT DESCRIPTIONS
QUIZES
Reading quizzes will take place in the first 10-15 minutes of class and will be hand-written responses to a prompt or
series of short questions. There will be 12 quizzes during the course of the semester. I will drop your lowest 2
grades.
PROPOSALS
Proposals need to be at least 250 words and address directly the topic of your paper. Included should be some
consideration of what your main argument/thesis will be. For the research paper proposal, you need to include a
discussion of your sources and the thoughts of other scholars on the topic, as well as how these ideas relate to your
ideas.
DRAFTS/ PEER REVIEW
Both drafts are due at the beginning of class. Drafts should be at least two-thirds of the length of the final paper.
The Draft of Essay #1 needs to be 4 pages, and the Draft of Essay #2 needs to be 6-7 pages. For the research paper,
the draft should include most of your sources. You will use both drafts to participate in the peer review process.
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LIT 2341.001, Spring 2016
Peer Review is a crucial part of the writing process that all Literature Majors need to embrace. **Peer review drafts
must be submitted with the final draft of your essay.
ESSAY #1
*Upload Final Draft to Turnitin.com and bring hardcopy to class.
Length: 5-6 pages (not including Works Cited) in MLA format Sources:
This paper does not require research.
You may choose to analyze and write about any one of the poems from our textbook. Using specific textual support,
analyze the poem of your choice, utilizing the skills of close reading practiced in class to make a convincing
argument about the text. Your paper should argue for a particular interpretation of the poem, with a focus on an
especially revealing element of the poem that points to that interpretation. Your thesis should be arguable, and you
should use direct quotes from the poem to support your claim. Please do not include outside research for this essay;
however, you should include a works cited page for the primary source you are analyzing and include in- text
citations of the poem's line numbers.
ESSAY #2
*Upload Final Draft to Turnitin.com and bring hardcopy to class.
Length: 8-10 pages (not including Works Cited) in MLA format
Sources: minimum of 4 scholarly sources
For this essay, you may choose to write about any one of the readings from our textbook- poetry, drama, or narrative
fiction. However, this essay should make an argument about the text in relation to its historical/cultural context.
Good questions to ask when looking for topics for this essay are, “How does this text reveal something about its
historical or cultural moment?” and “How does the historical or cultural context of this text reveal something about
its interpretation?” In addition to employing the skills of close reading and analysis by providing specific textual
support, this essay will require you to support your argument with external research from scholarly journal articles
and/or books.
COURSE POLICIES
ATTENDANCE
Each student is allowed three (3) unexcused absences, no questions asked. Save them for when you really need
them. Your final grade will suffer a 2% reduction for each unexcused absence you accumulate over three (e.g., 3
additional absences = 6% total reduction).
PUNCTUALITY
Persistent tardiness to class is disrespectful to both your instructor and your peers. Continually arriving late to class
will affect your participation grade in the course. Three tardies will result in one unexcused absence for the course. I
will consider you absent if you arrive more than 15 minutes late to class.
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LIT 2341.001, Spring 2016
CLASS PARTICIPATION
Your success in this course is a function of your level of engagement. I am interested in the quality of your remarks
rather than the quantity. Please use your analysis of the readings when responding orally in class, and please be
prepared to back up any points you make with specific passages from the text we are studying.
Participation in this course does not include doing work unrelated to this course during class: sleeping in class, or
using computers or other personal electronic devices for personal messaging, research, or entertainment. If you sleep
during class or participate in non-class-related activities, I will count you tardy or absent for that day depending on
the length of your engagement in those activities.
LATE WORK
All drafts, including final, must be submitted when and as required in order to successfully complete this course
(this includes submission to Turnitin.com). Late assignments will not be accepted. If you plan to be absent on a
Due Date, you should turn-in your assignment early. Technology problems are not a valid excuse for late work- you
need to take responsibility for saving your documents and backing them up. If for some reason you have a personal
or family emergency, you MUST make an effort to contact me via email regarding your circumstances. If you do
this, please attach your paper in the email at the time you contact me so that I can see that you have actually done the
work. Late essay will not be accepted, and Exams will not be taken at a later date or rescheduled. Essays not
submitted by the due date will receive a grade of zero. Exams not taken when scheduled will receive a grade of
zero.
** No excused absences or makeup work will be given, except in the case of previously documented University
activity (such as participation in sports) or religious activity, of which you must notify me in advance.
CELL PHONES
Please put your phone on silent and do not use it during class.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
The information contained in the following link constitutes the University’s policies and procedures segment of the
course syllabus.
Please go to http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies for these policies.
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