Syllabus

English 181, Summer 2012, Emory University

British and Irish Modernisms

Instructor: Amy E. Elkins

MTWThF 1PM-2:20PM

Callaway Center N203

 

Office hours by appointment

Callaway Center N207-A

Email: aelkins@emory.edu

“British and Irish Modernisms” is a writing intensive course that will introduce practical exercises in critical analysis, research methods, argumentation, and literary analysis through writing about literature.  We will investigate literary modernism as an aesthetic, cultural, and intellectual movement, and we will examine contemporary visual and literary responses to the modernist texts on our syllabus.  These conversations will help us to understand how “modernisms” cross disparate times, places, and spaces in the texts we consider as a class.

The modernist period in literary history is celebrated for its creative energy, political activism, and experimental aesthetics.  As Virginia Woolf said of her peers in the early 20^th century, “We were full of experiments and reforms. We were going to do without table napkins, we were to have large supplies of Bromo instead; we were going to paint; to write; to have coffee after dinner instead of at nine o’ clock. Everything was going to be new; everything was going to be different; everything was on trial.”  We will read some of the most celebrated, experimental, and political modernists, and we will ask how authors and artists since WWII have responded to literary modernism.  In addition to texts on composition and some critical readings on modernist studies, we will read works by Virginia Woolf, Elizabeth Bowen, Zadie Smith, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and T.S. Eliot, among others.  We will also explore holdings contained in Emory’s MARBL, in addition to thinking critically about contemporary responses to modernism in the form of a film, graphic novel, staged performance, short stories, and essays.

Required Texts

They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs

English 181 Course Packet (CP)

Other readings will be available on Blackboard.  Films and clips will be made available on reserve at the Music and Medial Library in the Woodruff Library or posted to the class website.  Your course packet (CP) will contain all readings on composition principles with additional assignments from They Say/I Say.

Course Website

I have created a website for this course (https://britishandirishmodernisms.wordpress.com/). It will house the syllabus, paper prompts, a selected bibliography for further reading, and digital media to be used in class.

Course Particulars

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory.  You are allowed two unexcused absences, but I strongly suggest you do not miss class unless absolutely necessary.  We will be covering important writing principles all semester, so it is to your benefit to keep up with the developments in composition instruction and practice.  Absences beyond the second will result in a 1/3 letter grade reduction for each absence (a B will become a B-, a C+ will drop to a C, etc.).

Technology: Cellular phones and other electronic devices are not allowed in class.  Laptops are also prohibited unless you make special arrangements with the instructor.  Plug into class and help create a dynamic, interactive environment for exploration, inquiry, and discussion.

Assignments:

˜ Response Papers (1-2 pages)

˜ Leading Class Discussion

˜ Essay #1: (4-6 pages)

˜ Essay #1 Revision: (4-6 pages)

˜ Essay #2: (5-7 pages)

˜ Essay #2 Revision: (5-7 pages)

˜ Final Presentation

Participation: Please come to every class prepared—be mentally present and ready to talk to your peers about your work for that day, and always have the readings and books for that class session.  You can also demonstrate active participation by meeting with me outside of class and bringing in questions for the group.  You will also pick one day to lead class discussion on one of our readings, and you will give a final presentation that reflects creatively on an aspect of the course or your final paper.

Grading Percentages

Response Essays                                           20%

Paper 1                                                             20%

Paper 2                                                             30%

Leading Discussion & Presentation           15%

Participation                                                   15%

Campus Policies and Resources

Honor Code: Students are expected to adhere to the principles of intellectual honesty and integrity outlined in the Emory Honor Code and will be held responsible for any and all breaches in this agreement.  Plagiarism is a serious academic offense, and one that I take very seriously.  If you are ever tempted to copy something from the internet or are facing problems completing an assignment, please opt to talk with me rather than copy ANYTHING from another source, however small.  All students should familiarize themselves with the Emory Honor Code:    http://www.college.emory.edu/current/standards/honor_code.html.

Writing Center: The Writing Center is located at Callaway N212.  It is an excellent resource for writers of all levels.  It offers help on all aspects of writing, including but not limited to brainstorming, organization, thesis formation, and revision.  You can make appointments for tutoring sessions and find more information about the Writing Center on their website:  http://www.writingcenter.emory.edu/.  Summer hours, too!

International Student Academic Center:If you are an international student working with English as a your second language, I encourage you to take advantage of the helpful resources that Emory makes available at the International Student Academic Center, located at SAAC 310 on the Clairmont Campus.  Tutoring, workshops, and groups to practice English conversation and other skills are available.  Contact Jane O’Connor (jcoconn@emory.edu) or Denise Alvarez (denise.alvarez@emory.edu). Their website is: http://www.epass.emory.edu and select “ESL.”

The Office of Disability Services: located in the Administration Building, Suite #110.  Their website is at http://www.ods.emory.edu/, and their phone number is (404) 727-9877.

Emory Counseling Services: Free and confidential counseling services and support are available from the Emory Counseling Center (404) 727-7450.

Note on the Syllabus: Although I will not substantially change the syllabus, I reserve the right to modify it as necessary.

Course Schedule

Week 1

M July 2:            Introduction to Course and Texts

T July 3:             The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Ch. 1-3 / “The Twentieth Century” from the Longman    

                             Anthology vol. 2C pp. 1918-1948 / Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms entries “Aestheticism” and “Decadence”

W July 4:            NO CLASS

Th July 5:          Dorian Gray Ch.4-9 / They Say I Say “Introduction” and Ch. 11

F July 6:            Dorian Gray Ch. 10 / CP “Getting Started: Principles of Academic Writing” and “Visual Rhetoric and Analysis” / Response #1 Due

Week 2

M July 9:            Dorian Gray Ch. 11-20

T July 10:           Writing Workshop / CP “Developing Your Topic” and “Research Methods”

W July 11:          “Blast” and “Vorticist Manifesto” by Wyndham Lewis from Longman Anthology vol. 2C pp. 2114-2130 /

                              Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms entry “Futurism”

Th July 12:         Class meets in the Manuscript, Archive, Rare Book Library (MARBL) Woodruff Library 10^th floor / CP

   “Quoting, Quotations, MLA” / They Say I Say Ch. 3

F July 13:            “The Dead” by James Joyce pp. 175-225 / Response #2 Due 

Week 3

M July 16:           “Lantern Slides” by Edna O’Brien pp. 183-224 / Essay #1 Due

T July 17:             Mrs. Dalloway pp. 1-47 / CP “Close Reading: Methods and Examples” and “Making Your Claim: Thesis Statements”

W July 18:           Thesis Statement Workshop / Mrs. Dalloway pp. 47-100 / CP “Structure, Organization, Flow”

Th July 19:          Peer Review Workshop / Mrs. Dalloway pp. 100-136 / CP “Peer Review and Revising Your Essay” /

                              They Say I Say Ch. 5

F July 20:            Mrs. Dalloway pp. 136-161

Week 4

M July 23:           Mrs. Dalloway pp. 136-190 / Essay #1 Revision Due

T July 24:           Watch The Hours (2002) dir. Stephen Daldry (in class) / “‘What a Lark! What a Plunge!’ Mrs. Dalloway” (1925) by Julia Briggs

W July 25:           Discussion of The Hours / CP “Evaluating Logic and Argument” / Response #3 Due

Th July 26:          CONFERENCE DAY

F July 27:             “The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot pp.59-87 / Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms entry “Free Verse” /

                               They Say I Say Ch. 6

Week 5

M July 30:          Discuss “The Waste Land” for iPad, performance by Fiona Shaw

T July 31:            Writing Workshop / CP “Grammar and Punctuation” and “Style and Concision” / They Say I Say Ch. 8

W August 1:         “Unwelcome Idea” by Elizabeth Bowen pp. 573-577 / “Oh Madam…” by Elizabeth Bowen pp. 578-582 /

                       “Letter from London 3 September 1939” by Molly Panter-Downes pp. xxv-xxviii / Response #4 Due

Th August 2:        “Songs My Father Sang Me” by Elizabeth Bowen pp. 650-660 / “Accidental Hero” by Zadie Smith pp. 232-238

F August 3:           Ethel and Ernest: A True Story by Raymond Briggs

Week 6

M August 6:           Writing Workshop: Peer Review of Essay #2 Draft

T August 7:             Presentations

W August 8:           Presentations / Essay #2 Due