UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

LIT 2000: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

SYLLABUS

Fall 2019

INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION:

Instructor: Dr. Benjamin Hebblethwaite

Office: Dauer 363

office hours: Mondays 10:40 - 11:30 am and Wednesday 11:45 - 12:35 pm, Dauer Hall 363

E-Mail: hebble@ufl.edu 

COURSE PRE-REQUISITE: ENC 1101

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This self-paced and entirely online course examines the unique and changing role literature has played in individuals’ lives and in society. It is centered on three deceptively simple questions: What is literature? Why do we write literature? And why do we read literature? It introduces students to a range of literary genres, from different countries and historical periods.

Among the primary aims of this course is to help students develop the critical skill of analysis and interpretation. Students will also learn how formal and stylistic elements as well as historical context shape the meaning and significance of literature. By becoming more skillful readers of literature and its contexts, students become better readers of the worlds that literature addresses, develop their ability to decipher meaning from language, and better understand their own interactions with science, technology, media, commerce, and politics.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

In addition to gaining a deeper appreciation of the expressive potential of language and the varieties of literature, students will develop a broader cultural literacy and an understanding of the changing definition and role of literature in society.

Therefore, by the conclusion of the course it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the content of specific literary works and the structures and conventions of different literary genres.
2. Produce critical readings of literary texts, using different methods of interpretation and analysis. Identify and interpret formal and genre-related elements in the studied texts.
3. Critically assess the variety of roles that literature has played historically and continues to play in the human experience.
4. Draw connections between literary texts and their biographical, historical, and

cultural contexts of authorship and reading.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

• Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
• Virgil, Aeneid, Book I, Homer, Odyssey, Book XIX
• Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself” and Song of Songs
• Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
• Camara Laye, The African Child (also translated as The Dark Child)
• V.S. Naipaul, Miguel Street
• Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio
• Montesquieu, Persian Letters
• Marianne Moore, “The Pangolin” and Elizabeth Bishop, “The Fish,” “Roosters,” and “Pink Dog”
• Song of Songs (click here) http://www.devotions.net/bible/22songofsolomon.htm
• The Lord’s Prayer (click here) http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Matthew+6
• Al-Fatiha "The Opening" (Qur'an 1), Al-Ikhlas "Purity of Faith" (Qur'an 112),

Daybreak "Al-Falaq" (Qur'an 113) (click here) https://archive.org/details/TheQuranKoranenglishEbook-AbdelHaleem-BestTranslationInThe

• Selections from the Dhammapada
• Jennine Capó Crucet, How to Leave Hialeah (3 stories)
• Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

Students are responsible for obtaining these texts from the University Bookstore, other Gainesville booksellers, ordered online, or checked out from the library, etc.

On the advantages of slow reading/reading books: https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/27/17787916/reader-come-home-maryanne-wolf-neuroscience-brain-changes

GRADE DISTRIBUTION:

Summary of grading

1. Participation in Course assignments and discussion boards (15%)
2. Practice Quizzes (5%)
3. Module Quizzes (10%)
4. 1 Close Reading of a literary text or passage (15%)
5. 1 Critical Analysis paper (25%)
6. 2 take-home exams (15% each—30%)

 

1. Participation in assignments and discussion boards (15%)

Students are required to contribute a question, ideas, comments and answers to various online discussion forums.

Description of assignment: Interpretive (or Critical) questions are open-ended and are concerned with textual meaning. They ask for opinions on themes, figurative language and symbolism within the narrative or text. They also ask for judgments regarding the period, history, politics and ethical questions that are relevant to the text. The open-endedness of Interpretive and Critical questions—which often use phrases such as "do you think" or "why do you suppose"— indicates that there may well be neither simply "right" nor simply “wrong" answers; the success of a response is based on the evidence and reasoning students employ to support their analysis and judgment.

2. Practice Quizzes 5%

The practice quizzes are intended as low-stakes ways for you to learn the material and help you measure your level of understanding of the material before you begin the discussion assignments.

3. End-of-Module Quizzes 10%

Each module will contain an end-of-module quiz. These quizzes will be short, timed assessments covering the module content contained in the readings, lectures and supplemental content.

4. Close Reading Assignment: 750 words, 15%

This assignment will test student skills in close reading, especially as that skill pertains to works of poetry and short fiction. Students will be expected to analyze a text carefully and develop an argument regarding the whole of the text through a close reading. No outside sources may be used for this assignment. The Close Reading assignment is due during the 6th week of the semester

5. Critical Analysis Paper: 1,500 words, 25% 

This assignment asks students to combine close reading skills with critical concepts or historical information introduced in one of the supplemental readings. The goal is for students to produce a strong conceptual argument supported by textual and contextual evidence. The Critical Analysis assignment is due during the 12th week of the semester.

Both papers will be graded on a point scale of 1 to 10: 9-10, excellent; 8-8.9, good to very good; 7-7.9 average to good; 6-6.9, below average; below 6 is not a passing grade. All students, whatever their grade, will have the option to rewrite the essay.

6. (2) take-home exams (15% each—30%)

Method of assessment will be 2 on-line take-home exams (each exam is worth 15%, or together, 30% of the total grade). Take-home exams will be distributed on-line (via Canvas) and will be two hours in length. The exams will be comprised of short answer and short essay questions based on readings, lectures and discussion sections.

 

Submitted exams will be assessed for evidence of collusion.

CLASSROOM POLICIES:

• Makeup Policy: Except in the case of certified illness or other UF accepted excuse (https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx), there will be no make-up option for missed or late assignments/exams. Where possible, make-ups should be arranged by email or in person prior to the expected absence. In case of illness, student should contact instructor on his or her return to classes.
• Netiquette: Communication Courtesy: All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages and threaded discussions. The inability to maintain respect and decorum in all class-related communication will result, at the very least, in a deduction in class participation points, and at the most, the inability to participate in discussions, both of which affect your final grade. http://teach.ufl.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2012/08/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf

Getting Help: For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Canvas, please contact the UF Computing Help Desk at:

• helpdesk@ufl.edu
• (352) 392-HELP - select option 2
• https://request.it.ufl.edu

Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket

number received from LSS when the problem was reported to them. The ticket number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a make-up.

Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help

for:

• Counseling and Wellness resources
• Disability resources
• Resources for handling student concerns and complaints
• Library Help Desk support

Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course please visit

http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints to submit a complaint.

Copyright Information

Some of the materials in this course are possibly copyrighted. They are intended for use only by students registered and enrolled in this course and for instructional activities associated with and for the duration of the course. They may not be retained in another medium or disseminated further. They are provided in compliance with the provisions of the Teach Act.

 

CLASS SCHEDULE

 

Students should note that the schedule is a guideline and may change. Note that this does not contain all assignments for the course. For a complete overview of the assignments with due dates see each module's to do list.

 

UNIT I – WHAT IS LITERATURE?

WEEK 1 INTRODUCTION: The Borders of Literature?

Reading (AUGUST 20-25)

• King, “I have a dream” speech Text and audio: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
• “Introduction: What is literature?,” Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory:https://www.dartmouth.edu/~engl5vr/Eagle1.html

An Introduction (1983), pp. 1-15

 

WEEK 2 Drama

Reading (AUGUST 26-SEPTEMBER 1)

• Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

WEEK 3 Epic

Reading (SEPTEMBER 3-8)

• Virgil, Aeneid, Book I

• Homer, Odyssey, Book XIX

 

WEEK 4 Poetry

Reading (SEPTEMBER 9-15)

          Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”

WEEK 5 Short Story:

Reading (SEPTEMBER 16-22)

• Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (The story)

 

WEEK 6 WRITING & REVIEW (SEPTEMBER 23-29)

MID-TERM IS DUE ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

CLOSE READING EXERCISE IS DUE ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2 (750 words)

 

UNIT II – WHY DO WE WRITE?

WEEK 7 Self-Expression/Self-Construction:

Reading (SEPTEMBER 30--OCTOBER 6)

• Camara Laye, The Dark Child

 

WEEK 8 World Making (Cosmopoiesis)

Reading (OCTOBER 7-13)

• V.S. Naipaul, Miguel Street

 

WEEK 9 Shaping Citizens: Moral Instruction

Reading (OCTOBER 14-20)

• Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio

 

UNIT III WHY DO WE READ?

WEEK 10/11 Exploration & Discovery:

Reading (OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 3)

• Montesquieu, Persian Letters Persian_Letters.pdf
  
• I encourage you to start by reading the Introduction. You are very welcome to read the entire piece. But for this class a detailed knowledge of letters 1,3,5,8,9,10,12,13, 24, 26, 29, 55, 59, 78, 92, 107, 147, 149, 150, 151, 153, 155, 159, 161 will absolutely do.

WEEK 12 Moving Beyond the Self

Reading (NOVEMBER 4-10)

• Marianne Moore, “The Pangolin” http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-pangolin/
• Elizabeth Bishop, “The Fish” http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/fish-2
• “Roosters” http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177905
• “Pink Dog” http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/2261/pink-dog.html
• Song of Songs (click here) http://www.devotions.net/bible/22songofsolomon.htm
• The Lord’s Prayer (click here):

http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Matthew+6

• Al-Fatiha "The Opening" (Qur'an 1), Al-Ikhlas "Purity of Faith"

(Qur'an 112), Daybreak "Al-Falaq" (Qur'an 113) (click here):

https://archive.org/details/TheQuranKoranenglishEbook-AbdelHaleem-BestTranslationInThe

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS PAPER DUE ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, OR EARLIER (1,500 words)

WEEK 13 Finding New Selves

Reading (NOVEMBER 12-17)

Jennine Capó Crucet, How to Leave Hialeah

• "Low Tide"; "How to leave Hialeah";
• "Men who punched me in the face"

 

WEEK 14-15 New Ways of Seeing

Reading (NOVEMBER 18-DECEMBER 1)

Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

NOVEMBER 27-29, THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS, HENCE MORE TIME FOR THIS CLUSTER.

WEEK 16 Conclusion: Where to now?

Reading (DECEMBER 2-4):

Tim Parks, "Does Literature Help Us Live?"

https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/08/03/does-literature-help-us-live/

"What Do Our Oldest Books Say About Us?"

https://newrepublic.com/article/152111/oldest-books-say-us

Does Great Literature Make Us Better? Gregory Currie:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/does-great-literature-make-us-better/?_r=0 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

TEST 2, DUE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, OR  EARLIER