Instructor: Jennifer Ho
Seminar: Tuesdays 1-3:50pm, Clapp Lab, Room 501
Office: 8 Park Street (The Auden House), Room 11
Phone: 358-2103
E-mail: jho@mtholyoke.edu (this is my preferred method of communication)
Office Hours: Tuesdays 10-12pm and Wednesdays 10-11am
As the title of this course suggests, the purpose of this class is to introduce students to the study of literature. In order to make this broad topic manageable, the theme of this course is on "love" and its various manifestations in drama, poetry, short fiction, novels, and films. In addition, I will provide a cursory introduction to literary analysis/theory. Because of the enormous breadth of literature in the world, this course will necessarily (and unfortunately) be limited. But hopefully (to use a language in keeping with the course's theme) your desire to read will become inflamed, and you will begin a life-long love affair and passion for literary analysis.
Final grades will be determined as follows:
|
Attendance & participation, (includes attending film screenings) |
15% |
| Group Presentation | 25% |
| Paper #1 – Text Analysis | 15% |
| Paper #2 – Character Analysis | 15% |
| Paper #3 – Comparison | 30% |
| There is no midterm and no final exam |
The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition -- Eds. Beaty, Booth, Hunter, Mays
Persuasion--Jane Austen
Beloved--Toni Morrison
All texts available through The Odyssey Bookshop
The Bedford Handbook, Fifth Edition--Diana Hacker
Literary and Cultural Theory--Donald Hall
Sample student papers (both character analysis and comparison papers)
Passion
Introduction
Michael Harper, "Dear John, Dear Coltrane" (762)
Love of Family
Sophocles, Antigone (1620)
Due: Introductory Letter, Tuesday
9/11--Wednesday night film screening of Antigone, 7:00 pm
Ideal Love
John Donne, "The Sun Rising" (972)
*Introduction to Critical Analysis/Theory
Web CT presentation
*Explanation of Paper #1 and peer writing assignment
9/17--Due: Group Topic Genre (choose short stories or poetry & request group members)
Seduction -- Call and Response
Christopher Marlowe, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (876)
Sir Walter Raleigh, "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" (883)
William Carlos Williams, "Raleigh Was Right" (884)
Sexual Desire
Li-Young Lee, "Persimmons" (632)
Adrienne Rich, "Two Songs" (723)
Young Love
James Joyce, "Araby" (395)
Old Love
Louise Erdrich, excerpt from Love Medicine (284)
Marriage
Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour" (403)
Margaret Atwood, "Happy Endings" (20)
Lorrie Moore, "How" (78)
*Introduction to feminist analysis
9/26--Due: First paper drafts to Web CT groups by 11:30pm
Marriage
William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1222)
*Introduction to Marxist/Materialist analysis
9/29-- Due (Sunday night): Responses to first draft papers on Web CT by 11:30pm
10/2--Wednesday night film screening of A Midsummer Night's Dream, 7:00pm
10/3--Due: Specific texts for student teaching projects (3-4 poems, 2-3 short stories)
Longing/Desire
Agha Shahid Ali, "Postcard from Kashmir" (637)
Jimmy Santiago Baca, "Green Chile" (638)
Jhumpa Lahiri, "Interpreter of Maladies" (236)
*Introduction to Race/Ethnicity/Post-Colonial analysis
Loss of Love
WH Auden "[Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone]" (615)
Robert Browning, "My Last Duchess" (915)
Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants" (75)
*Introduction to Queer and Gender analysis
*Explanation of Paper #2--Character Analysis
10/10--Due: Paper #1-- Analysis of symbolism/figurative language in any text (3-4 pages)
Founder's Day holiday -- NO CLASSES
TBA
Jane Austen, Persuasion
10/22--Tues: Chapters 1-12 10/24--Thurs: Chapters 13-16
*Explanation of Final Paper #3
Jane Austen, Persuasion
10/29--Tues: Chapters 17-21 10/31--Thurs: Chapters 22-end
10/31--Due: Draft of second paper to Web CT group by 11:30pm
Student Projects
11/3--Due (Sunday night): Responses to Paper #2 posted to Web CT group by 11:30pm
Student Projects
11/12--Due: Paper #2--Minor character analysis in Antigone or A Midsummer Night's Dream
Student Projects
TBA
Thanksgiving Holiday--NO CLASSES
Love of Family
Toni Morrison, Beloved
12/3--Tues: Part I
12/5--Thurs: Part II
Toni Morrison, Beloved & end of semester wrap-up
12/10--Tues: Part III
Three Choices: (7-8 pages)(a) Comparison of film version of Beloved, Persuasion, Antigone, or A Midsummer Night's Dream with the text version(b) Comparison of different types of love featured in texts(c) Application of Theory--choose a theory described in Donald Hall's Literary and Cultural Theory (on reserve) and apply a mode of analysis to one of the texts. [Note: This option should ONLY be used after consultation/approval of instructor]
*Draft copies and responses for the third paper are optional but strongly encouraged; groups or interested friends should set their own schedules, but I would recommend the following:
Due: Tuesday, Dec. 10, draft copy of final paper #3
Due: Saturday, Dec. 14, responses to final paper #3
|
|
  |
  |
