The School of Humanities Presents

World Literature II

ENG3113 / Sec. 1
Credit: 3 Hours /  FO 221
Spring 2005/ Tuesday Thursday.
Time:  3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Instructor: Dr. Anderson M. Rearick III

Dr. Rearick's Office: Founders Hall 219C
(Within 219: School of Humanities Suite)

Carla Parsons School Secretary Ext. 3500

Office Hours: 

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 11:30-12:30 and then 1:50 - 4:00

and on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00-10:10 am and 1:30 pm - 2:50pm
Be aware that appointments will become more tight towards the end of the semester during personal reviews with Research Students
(Please note that in foul weather Prof. Rearick must catch the 4:00 MOTA bus)

Home Phone 392-3738 (but please do not call after 8:00-- Andy and Laura are hopefully in Bed)
Office Ext. 3508

Carla Parsons Secretary for the School of Humanities Ext. 3500

email: arearick@mvnu.edu

             Please Make a Daily Habit of Checking Your E-Mail for Messages Concerning This Class Too

Please Note: What you hold is a hard copy of a web document accessible by any computer with internet access. The index units below, showing this document's parts, are not only a sort of organizing table of contents but are on the web  links to the indicated parts of this syllabus.  While the basic plan of this class is established, fine tuning as well as added resources may not be included in this printed version. I will announce alterations to the syllabus in class.   Still, student are encouraged to check the actual web site regularly.

Course Index:

• Course Description

• [procedure] [texts][tools][objectives][evaluation] [grading scale][tests][midterm and final exam]  [attendance] [participation] [journal][paper][exercises] [extra credit] [Lit. on the Web]

• Class Schedule

• [Week One] [Week Two] [Week Three][Week Four][Week Five][Week Six][Week Seven][Week Eight][Week Nine][Week Ten][Week Eleven][Week Twelve][Week Thirteen][Week Fourteen][Week Fifteen]

• Example One: Journal Table of Contents
• Example Two: Journal Entry

Course Description:

The purpose of ENG. 3113, World Literature II, is to expose students to a global vision of the human mind involved in the universal art of storytelling.  ENG3113 World Literature II [3].  is, according to the current catalogue, a "survey of literary classics from the Romantic through the post modern periods Prerequisite: ENG153G."  This description is incomplete.  ENG 3113 will cover works from the age of reason and will include various genres by Western and non-Western writers (China, Japan, India, the Middle East, and Africa).  A review of the Norton text will show that both American and English authors are included.  However because of American Literature I and II (ENG 3073  & 3083) and British Literature I and II (ENG 3003 & 3013) works this class will emphasize a non-English speaking cannon.  Believe me there is still plenty to cover..   

Class Procedure:

ENG. 3113, World Literature II, will meet two times a week to assimilate lectures about and to discuss the development of literature from a global perspective. One of the fundamental concerns for this class will be the comparison of our Western "Bible shaped" (we hope) world views with other cultures. Also we will be spending a good amount of time the development of a world culture, which in the twentieth century passed on ideas and qualities into our own.  One of the most important questions with which we will grapple is whether writers outside our world view have something to say to the Christian reader?

Besides works found in the three volume Norton text, students will have an on-going reading assignment throughout the semester of the LARGE novel, The Brothers Karamazov, by Fedor Dostoevsky. 

There will also be two opportunities for extra credit. The first date will be March 13th and will apply to the total average. The second date will be April 30th and will be added to the test scores.

Required Texts
 

Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky,     Required
 Mass Market Paperback Reissue edition (March 1995)
Bantam Books (Classic & Love swept); ISBN: 0553212168

An excellent edition with essay which could be used for extra credit is
The Norton Critical Edition of
Brothers Karamazov by Fedor Dostoevsky

Norton Anthology of World Literature: 
(Volumes D, E, F): 1650 to the Present 
Edited by Sarah Lawall 

 

 

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One Loose-leaf Notebook divided into three (3) parts:

A-Handouts, B- Class-notes, C-Journal

Class Objectives:

+ =

1. To examine ideas and styles of literature through the ages.
2. To become familiar with some of the greatest authors in western literature.
3. To consider the evolution of the following concepts: the roles of men and women, the definition of hero and his/her relation to society, the changing image of the individual, the changing values of society in each age, the conflict between fate and free will, the role of formal religion and family life in each age, the expressions of faith in various forms.
4. To consider some of the important elements in the philosophies from ancient Greek to nineteenth-century to modern Existential view of life.
5. To practice reading texts critically and carefully in order to find the textual evidence to support their interpretations.
6. To promote within students the vision and ability to apply communication skills and knowledge to enhance personal relationships, human society and God's kingdom.
7. To enable students to improve written communications through directed experience in their journals, their papers and exams.
8. To acquire a knowledge of the assigned content matter

Evaluation:

Paper - 25% (4-5, double-spaced pages using MLA format; at least three secondary sources required)

Exercises - 5%  Leading Up to Paper
Journal - 10% (Journal is checked three times a semester. The final journal grade is averaged from the three grades so do forget to hand these in.
Quizzes - 20% (11 quizzes given; 10 best scores counted)
Midterm exam - 20% (covers second half of course)
Final exam - 20% (covers second half of course)

Grading Scale: Since this is an upper division class, pluses (+'s) and minuses (-'s) will be given. Your recorded work, your attendance, your involvement in class and extra effort will all be factored into the final grade.

• 100 - 93 = A Exceptional! A cut above--unusually good.
• 92 - 90 = A - Very, Very Well Done! -- above expectations.
• 89 - 87 = B + Well Done! A fine Job!
• 89 - 83 = B Really Good
• 82 - 80 = B - Pretty Good
• 79 - 77 = C + Solidly in there
• 76 - 73 = C Clearly a concrete understanding of the subject
• 72 - 70 = C - Understanding of subject is workable
• 69 - 60 = D Passing but weak
• 59 and below is an "F" Fell short of required understanding of material

Tests: There will be eleven (11) quizzes given; 10 of the best scores will be counted.  Students should keep all returned quizzes since these make up the backbone of both the midterm and the final. Students must be in class to take all quizzes.

Midterm and Final Exam:  The midterm will be given on March 17^th in class, right before the midterm break and will be based on the material from the first half of the semester--especially that covered in the first five quizzes.  Meanwhile the final exam, which is scheduled for Tuesday May 17 usual class 3:00-4:50 in our regular classroom and will have some questions from the first half but will be based strongly on the material covered in the second half of the semester.

Attendance: Since we are functioning on an intensive schedule, it is vital that you be in class throughout the semester--even on days when a play is being shown in class.  Three absences will be allowed and then five points will be taken from the student's final score at the end of the term.  Students who are involved in a recognized activity for the school (Mandate weekends, traveling musical groups, athletes) need to see the instructor ahead of time so arrangements can be

Class Participation: Lecture will only play a part in the class activities.  Literature is meant to be talked about.  Students are encouraged to express their opinions and share their unique insights.  Each of us brings something special to a text that is ours alone.  Your comments are very important.  I have been known to add extra credit to students who show an exceptional willingness to participate in class discussion.

Journal:

Your journal is IMPORTANT!  You should write in it three times a week (even though we only meet twice a week).  It is your personal repository for what you think about the works you are reading and about the material being covered in class.

I will be looking for the following in your journal:

1.  Three entries per week (totaling 38 by the end of the semester).  Going  beyond that 38 entries could indicate to the instructor the kind of student  who will achieve a high grade (an A).  Please note that writing in your journal is not connected with days on the calendar.  Remember it is also allowable to write two entries on the same day as long as both are adequately developed. Now, please note. . .

 A. Periodic class checks may occur to determine the currency of your journal entries.   So, always bring your journal with you to class.  Furthermore I sometimes give writing time in class for journal entries.

 B. Journals will be handed in three times during the semester:
Feb 22^nd (10), April 12^th  (24), and May 15^th (38).

2. A table of contents made from the thesis sentence found in each entry should be included each time the journal is handed in.

3. Journal entries must be at least 2/3 of a page long.  Furthermore, if you are one of those individuals like St. Paul with BIG handwriting-- "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand"  (Gal. 6:11)--then you should plan to write more than what I have  suggested.  I've seen some fill up 2/3 of a page with "I've been thinking  about our reading."  Note Typing a journal could add to your score and is an indication of going the "extra mile."

4. All entries should be numbered and dated  (For Example: Entry # 10; Feb. 23^rd).

5. Although I will not be grading the journal harshly concerning mechanics and restarts of thought (which require a single line to cross out some    material), I do expect the final product to be neat and legible.  Also you  should write full sentences within paragraphs--no fragmented stream of  consciousness experiments.  "Split from society--bad."  To be specific, I will be especially looking in your journal for. . .

A. Development of ideas.  Remember that it is not necessary to finish a work to have a good idea.  In fact waiting till you have finished can be   overwhelming. Keep your journal handy while reading.

B. Interconnectedness of journal entries.  This means that an idea you examine at one point in your journal might have relevance to another work discussed later. Works in literature should not be thought of in a vacuum.

A Journal is NOT. . .

1. A diary. Your entries should be a mixture of commentary concerning what  you read and what you discuss in and out of class about literature.  I do  not want to read (as I have in the past) what you had for lunch or who is  presently percolating your hormones.

2. A place for notes.  Class notes belong in the section provided for them in your loose leaf.  I should not see your actually writing in your journal  during class.  This also means that a journal is not a re-hashing of what is  covered in class ("today in class we talked about. . .etc. etc.").

To see an example of a possible journal entry see text included at syllabus' conclusion.

REMEMBER:  Your journal accounts for 10% of your grade.  That's the same as your final: DO NOT PUT OFF TO THE LAST MINUTE: DO NOT "BLOW IT OFF!"

The Paper:

Since this is an upper division literature class you are expected to produce a paper within the subject range by the end of the semester. However, the process will be monitored by a series of sub-assignments throughout the Spring. 

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Exercises 

Subject and Topic with Source of Subject Headings for final paper -- Tues. March 29
Research Question for final due -- Tues. April 12
Annotated Bibliography for final paper due -- Tues. April 26

First page of text due -- Tues. May 3 
Final Paper due -- Tues. May 10

It is not possible to pass the class and not hand in this paper and it is impossible to do well on the paper without handing in these steps.

You are to write a paper of 1000-1250 words (four to five pages). Use MLA style. For your use, I have included pictures of the way your paper should look (see bottom of page). You will be graded on content as well as grammatical correctness and style.

A variety of topics will be brought up in class. You may choose one of them and prepare a research paper. Or if you have some other topic you would like to work on, clear that topic with me. 

Otherwise, you are to choose one of the authors whose work we have already read this semester or one of the authors we will read before the end of the semester. Then read another work by this author (the work should be fairly substantial—don’t focus on just one short poem, for example). If you choose this option, you can approach the assignment by doing a research paper on the new work you have read. Or you can discuss or analyze the new work, in which case research is optional. Or you might want to compare and contrast the work you read with the piece we read in class, again making research optional. 

Please avoid using biographical information about the author unless a brief mention of biographical information is needed to clarify some point you are making. Also, do not summarize what you have read except briefly if necessary to make some point. 

Papers are due either on Tuesday May 3 or Thursday  May 10th. Late papers will be penalized 10 points for each 24-hour period they are late.

Extra Credit:

Although there will be no papers required for this class, a student can add extra credit to his or her grade by writing a paper or papers on outside reading concerning any of the works or authors covered in class. Furthermore, another option for extra credit is to view or listen to and then write a review about tapes or video films on reserve in the library.  Credit will vary according to the assignment.  Extra points will be added directly to the final score for work handed in before or on the class just before the mid-point, March 14.  After March 14 extra credit material will be added to the score of the tests’ average. The last day for quiz extra credit is May. 16^th.  Students may take advantage of both, but for each portion no more than five (5) points will be allowed.

Literature on the Web:

As we make our way through the readings you may wish to visit my web page,
Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner, located at

Dr. Rearick's Readers' Corner
http://nzr.mvnc.edu/nzr/faculty/trearick/english/rearick/readings/re_intro.htm

This address is reachable both on and off campus.  Those of you who are local and do not have a computer should remember that the Knox Public Library offers web access for a limited time, and--of course--the labs of the campus library and computer labs are available to you.

Other web pages relating to works of literature which might be of interest to the student can be accessed from this index page by title, author, genre, sub-genre, time period, or nationality.

I have tried to place some ideas and even sometimes some test questions connected with our class readings within these files.  Also in several cases there are links to study guides, e texts, and even connections to relevant web pages on the net.

Note that every work is connected to a page which gives biographical information about the author taken from the Encyclopedia Britanica.

If you wish to make your way through the front door and see what other faculty
are up to check out the MVNU internal web page at http://mvnc.edu/nzr which for some reason comes up on my computer with the address of. . .

http://nzr.mvnc.edu/nzr/

One special point of note:  Please do not print off my pages until you find out how long the document is and have asked yourself if you really need a hard copy.  You can check the document size  by going into print preview and then zoom in so you can read the text.  At the bottom of the first page will be the page number in comparison with the total pages.  For example, my "Dickens’ Christian Carol in Prose" article has at the bottom  ‘1 of 13.’  This tells you that there will be 13 pages of text printed.  Not bad, but my Pride and Prejudice study guild developed by Monarch Notes is 75 pages.  Librarians and computer lab assistants have been dismayed to find piles of such text flowing from their printers.  Please do not abuse this resource!

Sample # 1

Remember that your journal should have a table of content page on which the big idea of each of your journal entries should be found.  It should look something like the following:

Contents of
World Masterpieces Journal

• Entry # 1    When I think of Literature, I think of Poems and Stories which have been Judged Great.
• Entry # 2    What I like best in a work of Literature, above anything else, is the story line.
• Entry #3    It is difficult to determine what the elder Karamazov's motives are when he meets the Elder.
• Entry # 4   Even though it fits all the parameters described in class, I don't like calling Christianity a myth.
• Entry # 5  The trouble with Moliere's Tartuffe is that too many in our world today think this completely defines what a Christian is--a hypocrite who will give in to his own lusts as soon as he as the power to do so.

Sample # 2

Note that every entry should have the entry number, the date, and the opening statement.  Since one can not always know where one is going with a journal entry until it is finished, do not write the opening statement until you have written the entry.

Journal Entry # 10                                                                                                March 1, 2002

What Shall I do with Senior Karamazov?

As I have been reading The Brothers Karamazov, I have been struck over and over by the complexity of Dostoevsky's characters.  No character is easily earmarked and set aside. What I mean is that even the wives of the elder Karamazov who are dead before the novel begins are examined in some way closely.   Thus, characters who never actually appear within the action of the novel have their motivations and actions analyzed.  But at this moment it is the character of who most troubles me Fydor Pylovich, the father..

Being a father myself, the idea of having no interest and no concerns for my children seems utterly improbable.  The narrator, who I admit has his own agenda (note his sarcastic tone in many places), still describes Fydor as sometimes utterly surprised that there were even humans on the planet who had a claim on him.

Sensuous and self centered he seems utterly despicable.  and yet when he has his interview with Father Zossima, the elder, he seems to open his heart and be touched by the priest's concern for him.  He admits his follies which is always the first step toward redemption.  Do we believe this?  The problem is that the narrator noted earlier that Fydor was also notoriously sentimental (enjoying emotion for its own sake) but not vigorous.

Class Schedule Spring 2005

Throughout the semester, reading assignments are listed for The Brothers Karamazov which will be covered towards the end of the class.  Although the novel will not be overtly touched until then, students will find it to their advantage to keep up with the recommended readings--especially since basic plot questions will appear in appropriate tests throughout the semester.  On the average the student should plan to read eight chapters a week or a little over one chapter a day.

NOTE: ALWAYS READ THE INTRODUCTIONS TO THE AUTHORS before reading the primary text.  Not only are they informative, but they’re fair game for quizzes.

Week One:
Jan. 31- Feb. 4

Introduction to class  / The Nature of Literature -- special application to the novel

Thurs. Feb. 3

Opening comments on Literature

Possible Journal Topics:

• When considering the idea of studying literature from around the world which may include cultures from which I feel deep alienation what is the benefit of reading their entertainment?

By the end of the week have this much read:
Brothers Karamazov Book I (Chapters 1-5)