Course Description

In theory, this course will familiarize you with the greatest literary works of the western world in just one quarter of one semester. In practice, of course, it will do no such thing. Graduate students in comparative literature spend years, studying just a portion of the authors we will dash through in greatest hits fashion. You can guess what sort of sacrifices this entails: every author read means another one skipped, and every culture sampled means another leaving another untouched. Sometimes we will skip centuries. I should also confess immediately that we will totally skip a splendid author and special favorite of mine: Chaucer. For this I have two reasons, 1) because I cannot bear to teach him in translation, and 2) because anyone interested may read him, untranslated, in the honors Capstone next semester (History 488 or English 488).
This brings up the issue of translations. Think of how much your understanding of literature comes from your familiarity with the language: the connotations of the words, their associations and tone, the sounds and meter of poetry, the rhythm of prose sentences -- all lost. And of course, what remains will be read under varying degrees of time pressure, instead of lingering over each text until we have thoroughly discussed and thought about it.
So it's impossible.
But that never stops anybody.
When I first took a course similar to this one, I surveyed the syllabus for the first time with horror: I had no idea, until that moment, how ignorant I really was. By the end of that course I felt like a well-read citizen of the world. I wasn't, of course. But I knew I could say something intelligent about many of the world's greatest writers, so I no longer had to sit in modest silence when literate people began speaking (I hope you hate sitting in modest silence as much as I did. This is a discussion class, and I expect you to enter my class bursting with ideas). More importantly, I knew what I wanted to read more of. By December I hope that you do, too.

Expectations...

The readings for this class begin immediately, as your syllabus will tell you: in fact, you have two books of the Iliad to read for Wednesday. And I think most of you will enjoy it: at least, we are going to immerse ourselves in some of the most influential writers of the ages. At its best, you will leave this class it still talking about our authors. Bring these texts home to your dinner conversation, or to your roommate; mull over questions we never got to, on the way home. In time you will digest these texts, master them, and feel ready to write on them. But for this one semester, try to start more questions than you finish, make connections between texts, and have fun doing it. There is a time for "pulling together" what you've read, and for achieving a sense of completeness -- but not yet, in the first college level literature course to set "the canon" before you. ARGUE with it. Take it apart. Think about it -- and above all, TALK about it.

And The Grades That Follow…

Obviously, to accomplish ANY of this, I expect you to read ALL of the assigned texts, ON TIME. BE WARNED: you won't learn very much from class discussions if you don't come prepared -- you simply won't catch, or won't be able to follow, anything but the most basic points, if you lack the referent. The works we're reading are complex: hundreds of pages read at the last minute before tests won't stick in the kind of detail I require on my exams.

Journal 15%
Spot quizzes 15%
Exam #1 15%
Exam #2 15%
Essay 1 15%
Final Exam 15%

Participation 10%

Journals:
Please purchase a slim paperback folder, with pockets: no big, heavy binders, please! Expect to type roughly 500-750 words every two weeks. You have some leeway as to what you focus on from week to week, but only some: you MUST 1) make some attempt to touch upon a representative sample of those weeks' readings, and 2) You must stay FOCUSED! Each time you begin, please put "journal #1" etc, at the top, followed by either 1) the question you plan to try to answer or 2) your thesis of the moment. You may argue about something that irritates you, or something you love, or something that was argued in class (don't worry, I love being refuted. Independent thinking is the goal here). I will pick them up every two weeks on the days indicated on your syllabus by a *. I will return them the following week with commentary and one, two, or three checks at the top of the journal assignment (seriously inadequate entries may earn a check minus or even a 0). At the end of the semester I will collect ALL journals, and grade them. The Final journal grade will be determined as follows:

0-6 checks = F to D+
7-11 checks = C- to C+
12-16 checks = B- to B+
17-21 checks = A- to A.

Journals ARE DUE on the days assigned. Occasionally, if life interferes, journals may be late, but you must make every possible effort to tell me ahead of time WHY it is late and, more important, WHEN I can expect it. Journals that are still outstanding two weeks later will not be accepted.

Essay: Ideally, the essay should be born out of a journal entry. As you discover yourself writing about an idea you would like to develop in more detail, turn in a PROPOSAL to me or come speak with me in person. Expect to write 4-6 pages. I will take essays anytime before December 1, when the last journals are turned in. Note: EVERYONE MUST TURN IN AN ESSAY BY THIS DATE.

Spot-quizzes will not be announced in advance. These quizzes do NOT make subtle distinctions between degrees of understanding. They are designed 1) to make sure students keep up with the reading and 2) to make sure students have a good comprehension of detail. If you read the texts regularly and still have problems with a quiz, read more slowly. Please feel free, too, to consult me, either in my office or me via e-mail (my e-mail address is on the first page of the syllabus and course description). Remember that you are paying for this course -- you have a right to ask questions or ask for help!

TESTS: will allow you to demonstrate the breadth of your reading, and your mastery of detail, and usually consist of either brief essays or short answer questions.
Definition of Short Answer Questions: I almost never ask mere plot questions on a test. Instead, I will ask questions designed to test your understanding of one, carefully focused passage or problem. Three or four sentences, maximum, are all you can afford on a short answer question; some can be handled with a few words. Answer all questions BRIEFLY, and come back to them, if necessary. Class periods are short, so efficiency is an advantage. DO NOT write major essays, or not unless you have answered ALL the questions

Examples of Short Answer Questions: I might, for instance, quote a passage (open book) that has several meanings, and ask you to explain at least two of them.
Or I might make a controversial statement about an author, or a character, or an incident, and ask you to come up with two passages from the text, supporting or refuting the interpretation. The passages could be paraphrases, or quotes.
Or I might include significant or revealing passages, and ask you to identify speaker and context.

Mini Essay Questions are usually relatively brief essays that focus on a single work and typically ask you to evaluate a somewhat open-ended question or particular theme. The Final Exam, on the other hand, will be two hours and will consist only of 1-2 essay questions. It will require thorough, comprehensive analysis. I may offer one, or even several, interpretations, and ask you to argue whether or not the text justifies them. I may offer you somebody's grand generalization, and ask you to TEST it, text by text. Whatever you argue, PROVE to me that your judgment is well founded. How well you make your case matters. Even apparently wild answers are welcome, provided you have enough evidence from the text!

Participation is required, and will constitute 10% of your grade.

Absences
You are expected to attend, and participate in, EVERY class. Because I am an understanding and compassionate person, however, I will allow FOUR absences without penalty (I take role). After four absences I will subtract .3 for each absence. I do not want doctor's notes. I do not even need to know why you are absent. But I do not advise you to take four absences in February, because you feel like it: you may get truly sick, in April.
Disasters: Occasionally disaster does strike: your child is chronically ill, you are hospitalized, etc. I, too, have been so visited. In this case, I will of course make efforts to be accommodating. BUT since my tests are based largely on what we cover in class, people who participate regularly cannot help but have a distinct advantage over those who are absent. For this reason I must recommend that people with frequent, unavoidable attendance problems DROP the course.
Tardiness
Those of you who tend to come in late, beware! If you come in after I take role, you have already been marked ABSENT. Habitually tardy people may find 9 or 10 absences next to their name, and a rude shock, come grade time. If you happen, some blue moon, to be late to class, REMEMBER TO TELL ME AFTER CLASS, and I will erase your absent mark. DON'T TELL ME, WEEKS LATER, THAT YOU WERE ABSENT TWO DAYS, NOT twelve. I will NOT erase absent marks, days later. Tell me while I can vaguely recall the interruption.

Plagiarism
To adopt the ideas of others (be they critics or classmates) without crediting them is plagiarism. It remains plagiarism EVEN IF you have received permission from the person whose work you adopt, unless you make your READER clearly aware what you have written, and what you have taken from others. Please note, too, that plagiarism does not require you to use the exact words of an author; any debt to another MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED.