Critical Writing in the Field of English 680-271 Section 1 Spring 2003 8:50-9:40am MWF Room: Heide 214

Jerre Collins Office: Heide 433 Phone: 472-5045 (office); 473-7689 (home) Office Hours: MWF 9:45-10:45 am & by appointment

In this course students will expand and strengthen their abilities to read, reflect on, discuss, and write about literary texts. The course will help students become proficient in the skills of close reading, research, organization, writing, and revising that they will need in order to write successful papers in upper-division English courses.

Students will not only learn the general conventions of academic writing about literature (what we call "literary criticism") but will also begin to take part in the significant discussions and debates taking place within the academic world and in the wider culture as well, concerning the nature and function of literature. The course will join the debate over such questions as: What counts as literature and what doesn't? How can we tell the difference between good and bad literature? What is literature "for," or what is it "good for"? Where does the power of good literature to move our minds and hearts come from? When we study literature in school, what are we really doing? Should some works be taught (or not be taught) in literature classes?

As the semester proceeds, students will be introduced to the specific methods and approaches of some of the most important kinds of criticism used in the study of literature today.

Texts for the Course
From Textbook Rental:

Guerin, Wilfred L., and others. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 3rd ed. NY: Oxford UP, 1992.
Vesterman, William. Literature: An introduction to Critical Reading. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt, 1993.
Allison, Dorothy, Bastard Out of Carolina. NY: Plume, 1992. [A possible text.]

Barnet, Sylvan, and William Cain. A Short Guide to Writing About Literature. 9^th ed. NY: Longman, 2003.
Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. 1966. NY: HarperCollins, 1999.

Writing assignments
The way to learn to write is to write. You will be asked to do a variety of writing for this course, particularly journal entries, exercises, minor papers, and major papers. The exercises are designed to help the student acquire or consolidate the skills that contribute to effective writing about literature (examples: finding relevant articles in the library and summarizing them). The papers will develop the student's expertise in various kinds of writing or critical approaches (examples: a close reading of a poem; an analysis of a story's theme; an argument for or against reading a work like Bastard Out of Carolina in schools). Only the major papers are listed in course calendar.

The Play's the Thing: As part of this class we will attend performances of two plays this semester. The Young Auditorium is presenting A. R. Gurney's play Love Letters on Saturday March 8 at 7:30 p.m. From April 26 to May 3 the University Players will present Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. As a class project we will attend these plays, discuss them in class, and write papers about them.

Attendance Policy: Three unexcused absences will be permitted, but students are responsible for getting notes from fellow students on the material missed. For each unexcused absence beyond three, attendance/quiz points will be reduced by 2%.

Special Notice: The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory learning environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate student to familiarize themselves with University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Misconduct, Religious Beliefs Accommodation, Discrimination and Absence for University Sponsored Events. (For details please refer to the Undergraduate and Graduate Timetables; the "Rights and Responsibilities" section of the Undergraduate Bulletin; the Academic Requirements and Policies and the Facilities and Services sections of the Graduate Bulletin; and the "Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures" [UWS Chapter 14]; and the "Students Nonacademic Disciplinary Procedures" [UWS Chapter 17]).

Academic Misconduct: In this course you are expected to perform to the best of your ability, and in an honest and sincere manner. Cheating, plagiarism, the use of unauthorized materials or any other form of academic misconduct will result in a severe penalty, as permitted in UWS Chapter 14 (the university system rules governing misconduct). Ordinarily, cheating or plagiarism will result in a "0" (zero) for the assignment. A second instance of plagiarism will result in a zero for the course.

Grading for the course: The course grade will be calculated in approximately the following way:

Major Papers about 50%
Journals, Exercises, Minor Papers, etc. about 30%
Quizzes, Attendance, Final Exam about 20%

Final Exam -- Monday, May 12 7:45-9:45am.