LIT 2120 World Literature

David E. Rogers, Professor of English
Office: Osceola 3-222
Phone: 321.697.4111

If you have disabilities or special requirements, please let me know immediately. Such requests are confidential.

I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus if it becomes necessary. All students will be notified of such changes through Atlas and WebCT email.

Texts for Fall 2004

The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Second Edition, Package 2 (Volumes D, E, & F): 1650 to the Present, Lawall (ISBN: 0-393-92454-8)

Class Requirements

Successful Completion

• A "C" grade average in class work
• The submission of at least 6000 words of original composition in Standard English
• Completion of the final exam (college policy requires that students who do not take the final exam receive a WF for the class)

Overview

In this class, you will be expected to organize, develop, & present your thoughts in written expository compositions of between 600 and 700 words. Your topics will come from literary works since the Enlightenment. Reading, organizing ideas, and presenting written thoughts is an essential skill for success in contemporary life.

Please expect to spend two to three hours each week outside of class reading and responding to the course material.

The use of a computer is an essential skill in this English Composition class. All formal written assignments must be prepared on a computer & no grades will be assigned for hand-written or typed papers. In addition, students must use the internet to search for sources for the paper requiring the use of MLA citation. No grades will be assigned for papers that do not include at least one internet source.

Important Dates

Tuesday, 11 January, 2005 - Class begins. The normal "week" for this class is Tuesday to Sunday.

Friday, 18 March 2005 - Withdrawal Date for Spring Term. Students receive a W if withdrawn on or before this date. After this date, students receive either a "WP" (withdrawn passing) or "WF" (withdrawn failing) based on the grade on the last day of attendance. A "W" or a "WP" will not be calculated as an "F" in the GPA. Withdrawal forms are available in the Admissions Office.

21 March-27 March, 2005. Spring Break

Sunday,1 May 2005 - Class ends. No submissions, except for the final, will be accepted after that date.

Writing & Format Requirements

This literature class is designed to help build the skills of Edited Standard Written English for college, business, and personal writing demands. The goal is writing clear, detailed, expository language and presenting that writing in a professional and authoritative manner.

Realize that the focus of the class is not on creative, personal, or casual writing. The style of writing here is professional for academics and business.

There is a rubric attached to each assignment. I will comment on your assignment and attach a rubric to each. Please refer to the Assignments Page.

Submission Information: The Assignments page lists all assignments and the open dates for submission. You submit assignments there as attachments from most any PC word processing formats. When I have graded the assignments, you will see a "Graded" link on the Assignments Page that will link to comments and a downloadable copy of your paper. You may also see the final grade posted on the "My Grades" page.

Formal Writings (7 Assigned Essays) 4200w
Formal Essays are typically academic. They address a specific question or prompt offered by the instructor. The writing is built on a thesis statement, a main idea that the writer wishes to explain or detail. The paragraphs in the essay develop the reasons or the evidence necessary to “prove” the main idea, often using quotes from the work or from other sources. Other sources are not required for formal essays here, nor is formal MLA documentation. Please look at the rubrics for the formal essays for grammatical, format, style, and content considerations that will help you organize an effective response. The Discussion Forum topics are also designed to help you generate evidence for the formal essays.

7 Assignments listed on the Assignments Page (7 @600 - 650w) for 4200w. Assignments will be worth 100p each for 700p total

Informal Writings (Weekly Discussion Postings) 1800w
Class Informal writings are submitted through the Discussion Forum. They are not evaluated on grammatical correctness or structured development. Topics are listed each week, and I ask that students reply in 100-200w. The goal of discussion postings is to allow students to share their thoughts on the readings. This helps process the learning and also helps students find topics for the formal essays.

Students will submit 16 weekly Discussion Forum posts of about 115w. I will enter 3 grades of 100p each based on the informal responses.

The Participation grade will be based on Discussion submissions (willingness to share honest thoughts) and visits to the website (lurking time).

700 + 300 = 1000 pts. Final grades will be based on a 10% scale
1000-900 - A, 899 – 800 - B, 799 – 700 - C, 699 – 600 - D, 599-0 - F

Due Dates are listed in the WebCT Calendar. Submissions after the due date will be considered late work. Late compositions will be penalized after a two day grace period of 10 points for every three days late. This policy may be waived for valid and documented absences, such as emergency medical conditions, military service, and deaths in the immediate family.

Some Words on Grammar

Standard Written English is the language of academics and business in contemporary America. It, very simply, is the language of power. Though a much more common language is spoken and written, with distinct and diverse dialects, throughout the country, your knowledge of edited Standard Written English will improve your success both in college and your career life.

A high level college student will have no more than one or two ESWE errors per page in any written assignment. Medium level students will have two or three per page. If you are making more than four or five errors a page, you are probably making consistent errors in one or more of the categories above. You need to be aware of those regular mistakes and work to correct them.

All out-of class papers should be submitted through the WebCT Assignments Page. Online due times in WebCT are set for Sunday nights at 11:55 p.m. Eastern Time.

WebCT allows for submissions up to two weeks late. Grades for submissions over two weeks late will be at most a 55F.

Submission Guidelines

• Type your submission in a word processor. Save it with a simple, identifiable name (keep it under 8 or 9 characters long) . Avoid spaces!
• If you have not uploaded files on the Internet before, please refer to Uploading Files to WebCT.
• Remember to also Submit the files on the WebCT Assignment Page.
• When the essay is graded, it will be marked "Graded" on the Assignment Page. You may view my comments there.
• No submissions will be accepted by WebCT or Atlas email unless prior permission is granted. All work should be submitted through the Assignments Page.

Discussion Notes:

Literature is participatory. Unless one has direct access to the author, which we, unfortunately, do not, understanding the author's meaning and intent often requires looking at the work through multiple perspectives. The more comments, the better. In addition, some students who take this class are not as knowledgable about literary analysis as others may be. Weekly posts are intended to help all students compose the written essays.

Make Up Work and Extra Credit are not available in a writing & discussion class.

Remember, a C student is a successful completer of the course and should represent an individual of average writing abilities.

Assignment List, Spring 2005

Each assignment consists of a 100p essay. Details for each are on the Assignments Page. Your final grades are listed on the Grades Page.

1. Questionnaire & Time essay, due 1/16/2005, 100 pts.
2. Candide Essay, due 2/6/2004, 100 pts.
3. Participation Grade 1, 2/13/2005, 100 pts.
4. Douglass Essay, due 2/27/2005, 100 pts.
5. MidTerm essay, due 3/13/2005, 100 pts.
6. Participation Grade 2, 3/20/2005, 100 pts.
7. Kafka Essay, due 4/10/2005, 100 pts.
8. Silko Essay, due on 4/24/2005, 100 pts.
9. Participation Grade 3, 5/1/2005, 100 pts.
10. Final Essay, due on 5/5/2005, 100 pts.