This handout is required reading; it’s your survival kit for the class. If anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask questions. Seek me out whenever you have questions about anything. Also get to know your fellow students and stay in touch with each other. It helps to study with a couple of other students every week outside of class.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR: Karen Osborne, Ph.D.

You may call me Karen. My office is room 300-Y, 3rd floor of 506 S. Wabash/33 E. Congress (SW corner of Wabash and Congress). My mailbox is in the English department common area. 

( My phone number is 312-344-8123. You can leave messages on voice mail anytime, 24 hours a day. 

: Email me at: kosborne@galileo.colum.edu . 

Á MY OFFICE HOURS: 
Mondays 12:30-2:00, except March 15 and May 10; 5:30-6:00 
Tuesdays 9:30-12:20; 
Thursdays 10:00-12:00 

http://www.colum.edu/literature/introlit/ (I will soon be moving much of the site, but the initial page for the program and links to other pages will remain here).

REQUIRED TEXT: Laurie Kirszner & Stephen Mandell, Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Third Edition, Harcourt Brace, 1997; suggested retail price is about $38
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

In the Columbia College Chicago 1997-1999 Catalog, the course description announces that the "Course introduces students to [the] genres of fiction, drama, and poetry. By studying important works by writers of culturally diverse backgrounds, students gain experience reading, analyzing, and interpreting literature. The course establishes connections between literature and other areas of arts and communications; students are better prepared for their majors in these fields."
 

You should have completed English Composition I before taking this course. This course will introduce you to the different genres of literature---fiction, poetry, and drama--and to the richness and diversity of its traditions. We will read works from different nations and cultures as we investigate some of the approaches readers may take in exploring the significance of literary texts. Finally, this course will give you the opportunity to refine your critical thinking skills and interpretive abilities as you write papers about literature. A sensitivity to literature and language deepens our ability to enter into and participate effectively in the larger discourse arenas of life---whether in the world of the arts, government, business, media, education, or human relations.
 
 

THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM AND INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

The General Education Program at Columbia College seeks to ensure that graduates of Columbia College are individuals, citizens, and artists who can, in the words of the college’s mission statement, "author the culture of their time" in an enlightened, humane, and reflective way. All sections of a given General Education class share at least one intended student learning outcome—that is, what we want you to know, be able to do, or feel as a result of taking this and/or related classes.

Introduction to Literature is the class that fulfills the General Education Humanities/Literature requirement. The most important intended student learning outcome for this class is:

"Students will 1)become familiar with one or more of the major forms of literature (poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction) and 2) be able to demonstrate that familiarity by being able to read and write critically about one of those forms (genres)."

If this course does its job, you will leave it capable of demonstrating your ability to read, analyze, and interpret literature. You will also leave it with the following:
 

• The ability to demonstrate a critical understanding of and appreciation for literature when analyzing stories, poems, and plays.
• The ability to understand and appreciate figurative language (metaphors, similes, and the like) in poetry, fiction, and drama.
• The ability to understand, appreciate, and apply knowledge of plot, character, point of view, imagery, theme, setting, irony, tone, symbols and language when reading fiction, poetry, or drama.
• The ability to develop a reasonable interpretation of a literary text and to support that interpretation with evidence.
• The ability to identify common or universal themes (such as the theme of difference) in literature by writers of different races, genders and ethnic backgrounds.
• The ability to identify similarities between works of literature and other works of art or forms of communication.

On p. 21 of the Columbia College Chicago Catalog, 1997-1999, students are informed that "The College prohibits the following conduct: all forms of academic dishonesty including cheating; plagiarism; knowingly furnishing false information to the College; forgery; alteration or fraudulent use of College documents, instruments, or identification." The Student Handbook is distributed to all students during class registration. In this class, any student found using the work (ideas or language) of another writer (including, but not limited to, other students) without giving credit to the source will receive an 'F' in the course. If you're unsure as to what, exactly, constitutes plagiarism, do not hesitate to ask. Help each other with drafts by identifying weaknesses. Let the writer rewrite. Notice how I avoided plagiarizing from the college catalog above. I used quotation marks and I acknowledged my source.
 
 

ATTENDANCE

The official English Department absence policy states that "More than two absences in classes that meet once a week (and more than four in classes that meet twice a week) will affect your grade and can result in failure." That means that two, and only two, absences, FOR ANY REASON, are acceptable (provided that you're not also missing quizzes or other deadlines those two times). 

Save your two absences for emergencies only---unusual illness, visits to hospitals, funerals, and other disasters. The third absence lowers your final grade one letter. The fourth absence means you fail the course, unless you have an ‘A’ average--then you’ll get a ‘D.’ The fifth absence means you absolutely fail the course. No ifs, ands, or buts. Calling me to let me know you’ll be absent is nice, but it’s still an absence.

When you are absent, you are required to see that whatever work is due that week is delivered to my mailbox by 6:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon of that week. If you miss a quiz, you MUST contact me before the week is over. You will have the opportunity to make up the quiz BEFORE the next class meeting. I cannot give makeup quizzes more than one week later. You are expected, of course, to keep up with the syllabus and to be prepared for class when you return.

TARDINESS

Each time you arrive more than ten minutes late to class (or leave more than ten minutes early), this will count as half an absence. Plan to arrive on campus early. Your classes are like your job.
 

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR and CREATING A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

I invite all of you to help us create an environment of respect and courtesy where different perspectives can be heard, where more outgoing classmates gently encourage quieter classmates to participate in dialogue. Please email me or see me in my office whenever you have insights to offer or suggestions for ways to enhance the classroom as a place where everyone can learn from each other. Also, please see me whenever you feel that I’m spending too much or too little time on something, when I’m boring you to tears, etc. Telling me this won’t devastate my ego and I probably won’t even bite your head off. I am here to help you learn, and if you’re not learning, you and I need to find ways together that will work.

. A classroom is a place for learning. Any behavior that interferes with learning will not be tolerated. Any student who is discourteous to another student or to the instructor, or who in any way tries to usurp the classroom for purposes other than learning, will be given an 'F' in the course. This is the only warning.

HOW TO SURVIVE THIS COURSE AND COLLEGE: TIME MANAGEMENT6

For every hour you spend in a college classroom, you need to budget approximately TWO or more hours of study time outside of class. This class carries three credit hours. Therefore, you will be spending AT LEAST six hours per week outside of class keeping up with this course. That’s 9-12 hours per week you need to budget for this class alone. Do the same for your other classes--for every three-credit class, budget a total of 9-12 hours. Thus, a 12-credit course load means you’ll have AT LEAST a 36-hour school and study schedule. If your job requires 20 or more hours per week, you’ll be busy with work and school at least 56 hours per week. That’s plenty.
 
 

READING and REACTING: CREATIVE and CRITICAL RESPONSES

As you read, notice the nature of texts as created works of art, perhaps not unlike the works of art you yourself enjoy creating or hope to create someday. Ask questions of the text as you read. Notice things that seem unusual or that don’t make sense to you. This course seeks to stimulate your own THINKING about literature and the ability to link your reading of literature with your own CREATIVE process. 

Nearly every week you will be asked to practice analyzing literature by writing one page assignments analyzing an image, a character, or some other aspect of the reading. In addition, you may be asked to turn in a brief creative response to one aspect of the reading. This response should be at least one page or at least 250 words. You can add visual or other matter if you wish. You can substitute visual or other media for one of these assignments
 

CREATIVE PROJECT

The creative project must show your own imaginative or creative response to literature, or must make some connection between literature and another artistic medium. (Connections may be made in either direction; each may inspire the other.) You may use whatever artistic medium you wish. If you are a writer, write something creative with a preface showing what connection your work has to anything you’ve read. If you’re a painter, turn in a painting inspired by literature. If you’re a composer, compose a short melody, have it performed, tape it, and submit a brief explanation describing how the melody is connected with any piece of literature. If you’re a dancer, perform a dance for the class in response to any text. Or turn in a videotape of your performance. If you’re a photographer, use your imagination to capture settings or characters that you think fit one of the stories, poems, or plays. If you’re a filmmaker, turn in a screenplay for short film or scene, or a videotape. You can blend media as well; some photographers, painters and collage artists blend text with their images. If you’re a journalist, do a profile of one of the authors of a piece of literature in our text, or interview a published author, or rewrite a short story as a news story. 

Whatever your own creative medium, use it to show that you can assimilate information or influences in either or both directions between this literature class and what you love to do. I will provide a longer list of suggestions. Each of you will sign up for a specific date to present your project to the class. For support, you will have one or two "buddies" who will encourage you during the process. I will assign class time throughout the semester for "buddies" to meet to discuss their progress on the creative projects. . I will evaluate your creative project on the strength of the connection you make between the literary piece and your own artistic or professional medium or creative process. 
 
 

ROUGH DRAFTS, FINAL DRAFTS, AND DEADLINES

You are responsible for keeping your formatted IBM-compatible disk safe and for keeping hard copies of your work. I advise you to write your out of class papers in the English department open computer lab; be sure to SAVE TO THE A DRIVE where your 3 1/2 in. disk is. 

I require double-spaced (computerized, please) rough drafts of out-of-class papers before the final drafts are due. You will get feedback from your fellow students in class and from me. Then you will rewrite the paper for the final draft to be graded. If you don’t bring your rough draft on the day it’s due, you forfeit your opportunity to revise your paper for the grade. Be sure to take advantage of the rough draft feedback. I may ask you to revise the paper three times or until the paper is as strong as it can be. Workshops on writing papers about literature are also offered outside of class in the Writing Center. I’ll announce dates and times in class. 

Final drafts of papers: I require two clean copies. Papers must be double-spaced, carefully proofread, and turned in AT CLASS TIME on the due dates. BE SURE to use page numbers. You will write TWO out of class papers for this course. The recommended length for each is 3-5 pages (typed, double-spaced, font size no larger than 12 pt., with 1" margins). It’s OK if your paper is longer than 5 pages, but if your paper is shorter than three pages, you will not have met the requirement and may lose points. If the Paper is a day or two late, you lose half a letter grade; a full letter grade if a week late. After a week, you get a zero.
 

Guidelines for Papers about Literature, and How I Grade 

When I grade the final drafts of your papers, I evaluate them according to fairly recognizable standards. The following should help you understand what I am looking for and how I will grade. The papers you write should demonstrate your ability to read, analyze, and interpret literature. Be sure to have a clear thesis, use evidence from the text to support the thesis, offer 
sufficient analysis and interpretation of that evidence, and follow a logical organization. I expect all papers to be well written in clear English prose. I will also consider the quality of your insights. 

Highly successful (A) papers will meet the following description: "The writer has successfully analyzed and interpreted a textual element or elements such as plot, character, point of view, imagery, setting, form, theme, irony, tone, symbols, language or any similar elements. The writer has grounded arguments in specific references to text. The essay has a clear thesis supported by sound logic and good organization. The essay is thoroughly developed."

Successful (B) papers will meet the following description: "The writer has analyzed a textual element or elements such as plot, character, point of view, imagery, setting, form, theme, irony, tone, symbols, language or any similar elements. The writer has grounded arguments in at least some specific references to text. The essay has a clear thesis, but may need one of the following: more textual support, more analytical or interpretive development, or clearer logic and/or organization."

Moderately successful (C) papers will fit the following description: "The writer has analyzed or paid some attention to texts or a textual element(s), has made an effort toward interpretation, and has some supporting references and/or evidence, but the essay does not fully develop or support its thesis in a logical fashion, or the thesis may not be sufficiently clear."

Unsuccessful (D or F) papers can be described with SOME or MOST of the following: "The writer has not sufficiently analyzed or interpreted the text; there may be textual references, but not in clear support of an interpretation; AND/OR the writer has failed to offer a clear thesis supported by sound logic; AND/OR has not responded to the assignment."

WRITING CENTER--1st floor, 506 S. Wabash/33 E. Congress (SW corner of Congress and Wabash)-

Even the best writers show their work to someone for feedback before they present it to the public. Just talking over your ideas and planning the organization with a helpful friend or a tutor can save lots of time and diminish your anxiety. Consider signing up for weekly noncredit tutoring.
 
 

I If the total points possible is 108, then you need at least 96 points for an ‘A,’ 85 for a ‘B,’ 74 for a ‘C,’ and 63 points to pass. The exact final numbers will be determined by the quizzes and by any adjustments I may need to make to reflect the needs of this particular class.

You can earn extra credit (a maximum of 5 points total all semester) by attending worthwhile literary , theater performances, or museum exhibits and writing brief reaction papers or reviews. I especially encourage you to attend readings at Columbia and to write reviews of any plays produced by the Columbia Theatre Department. Many local theaters also have discount rates for students.
 

Tips for writing papers about literature

The papers you write should demonstrate your ability to read, analyze, and interpret literature. Your paper should have a clear thesis, use evidence from the text to support the thesis, offer sufficient analysis and interpretation of that evidence, and follow a logical progression.

I. The paper is an analysis of a text and an interpretation based on that analysis. The audience is readers who have already read the text. IF YOU MERELY REPEAT WHAT THE STORY SAYS, WITHOUT INTERPRETATION, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE. A thesis statement is a debatable proposition, that is, a statement (a complete sentence containing a subject and verb) about which reasonable people might disagree. ("Alienation in Story X" is a title, not a thesis. A possible thesis: "The alienation character Y feels in Story X is a logical response to the crass materialism of her environment." (For evidence you might cite the high number of references to stores, money, valuable material objects, etc.) Your paper must have a clear thesis supported by evidence in a logical progression of sufficiently developed and well-written paragraphs. Show me, show me, show me. Show me exactly where and exactly how (refer to SPECIFIC words, phrases, lines, events, characters, etc.) the story, poem or play does what you are saying it does. The thesis should make an interesting point ABOUT the story, poem or idea (not merely to repeat what the story says) and should be clearly stated, preferably at the end of the first paragraph. I also expect a strong conclusion that does more than simply restate the thesis. Show why the thesis was worth proving, after all. 

II. Make sure the topic is NARROW enough and that you say enough about it. Say something--show us what your mind can do with the text. Select one aspect of the literary work and discuss how it functions and connects with the WHOLE work. Show that you have read closely, and that you can ANALYZE the significance of CONTENT and FORM--the two are inseparable, so by analyzing carefully how something is written, you are also analyzing meaning. Be sure to SAY ENOUGH about the part you've chosen. Most drafts need more DEVELOPMENT--you need to SHOW the reader exactly what your point is, what evidence supports it, and WHY your point is so important. I will take points off for fuzzy thinking, vague language, insufficient development, and poor transitions. Read the chapter on literature papers in your Comp I or II handbook (you did save your handbook, didn’t you? asked the concerned teacher...) 

III. Read your draft aloud, have friends or fellow students read it, and rewrite it, cutting redundancy and adding new material to strengthen weak paragraphs. Ask "so what?" at the end of every paragraph--then write at least two more sentences to answer the "so what." Sometimes you'll need to add much more than just a few sentences to actually pursue the answer. You must turn in your ROUGH DRAFT two weeks ahead of the date the paper is due. The rough drafts MUST be double-spaced. 

AFTER REVISING, BE SURE TO PROOFREAD CAREFULLY. I will take points off for grammatical mistakes, inconsistent/inaccurate punctuation, or any obstacles that prevent the paper from achieving its purpose. 

Let your natural voice come through, to the extent possible in standard English. Aim for clarity, economy, conviction: cut away as much phoniness and verbal confusion as you can. No "Englishteacherese." When you finish a draft, read it critically and revise, revise, revise. Papers must be typed or computer-printed, 3-5 pages minimum, double-spaced, with 1" margins. Pages must be numbered.