|
Text
Davis, et al., Bedford
Anthology of World Literature Pack A, Volumes 1-2-3. available at Bergen
CC Bookstore, a copy at the Bergen Library, or www.amazon.com.) A
companion web site at http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/worldlit/.
You can find
much general information for the course from the Bedford web site, but it is not a
replacement for the Anthology, since it does not contain the actual readings.
It nicely packages overviews in multimedia format. Most areas are
unrestricted, but the quizzes, for example, can only be accessed with a
username and password. To create your own account, use my email address: mmakowiecka@bergen.edu to get into
the database. Then follow the given directions.
Also
http://bedfordstmartins.com/researchroom/
and Online Writing lab at Purdue U at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
with an excellent guide to MLA Style.
Course Description from
Bergen Catalog
This course is
a study of world authors to the sixteenth century. Students read works such
as Gilgamesh; selections from the Old and New
Testaments, the Ramayana; and writings of such authors as Homer, Aeschylus,
Li Po, Dante, and Chaucer. 3 lectures, 3 credits Prerequisite: WRT-101 } General Education Course } Diversity Course.
Course Description for This
Section
This course
a survey of major works of literature from the first recorded examples
through the sixteenth century. We will read many different authors, from
different cultures and times, but we will explore the common themes that all
writers address. The readings will run in roughly chronological order, and we
will move back and forth across several cultures.
Obviously, because there
is so much material written between 1500 B.C.E. and 1600 C.E., we cannot
cover every genre, theme, style, or society. However, we will deal with
representative, or important, or interesting works
from the huge body of material produced over this vast amount of time.
Although works of literature really should be read in their entirety to fully
appreciate them, many of the selections we will discuss and write about are
excerpts of longer works. We want to cover as much ground as possible, and
this is the only practical way to do so. You should try to read three works
completely: Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, and The
Inferno. Gilgamesh is generally regarded as one of
the earliest complete works surviving in recorded literature, and The Odyssey
and Inferno are two of the most influential literary works of all time
(Together we will only read selections from these texts).
I hope that you will be
able to see the roots of much later literature in the readings for this
course. More importantly perhaps is the understanding that people have
struggled with many of the same basic issues throughout history and across
cultures. We will discuss issues such as the struggle to understand evil, the
roles of men and women in society, the quest to explain our origins, the
definition of a hero, and the attempt to make sense of the world. Additional links at www.bergen.edu/faculty/mmakowiecka.
Course Requirements
- Participation in weekly
bulletin board discussions of the readings. Each week I will post
several questions to get the discussion going and will also post
follow-up questions to make the discussion more fun. You will be
responsible for contributing to the discussion several times each week.
At the end of each week the discussion will close, so you must keep up
with the board each week. Each student will be asked to prepare an
online presentation in the form of a short essay or a Power Point
presentation. I will grade your participation based on the frequency and
quality of your responses. (20 pts. total for semester.)
- Two short papers of about 750
words each. I will give you several choices based on the readings. The
dates the papers are due are in the Syllabus. Detailed
instructions for the four paper assignments will be posted in the
course. Detailed instructions for the four paper assignments will be
posted under Course Content. Each paper must be submitted by a
specific due date, which is listed on the Course Calendar.
You may turn the paper in sooner if you wish. (20
pts. each.)
- A midterm and final exam
delivered online. Each will consist of short responses to several
questions and you will have to complete them in one hour and twenty
minutes. (20 pts. each exam.)
Please feel free to
ask questions at any time. Posting questions to the discussion board is a
valid form of class participation. You may e-mail me privately if you have a
question about the readings or the course, but I would prefer you to share
your concerns with your classmates.
To earn credit on a
paper, you must complete the following:
1. Write
an original analytic essay in complete and grammatically correct sentences
and paragraphs.
2. Write
your name and the assignment
number in the upper left-hand corner
of the first page of your summary.
3. Compose the essay on your word
processor.
4. Submit an essay of appropriate
length.
5. Submit an essay that does not engage
in plagiarism.
6. Submit the essay to www.turnitin.com.
Tips for
Writing Essays http://writingguide.geneseo.edu/?pg=topics/organization.html
Tips for Writing Exam Essays http://writingguide.geneseo.edu/?pg=topics/essayexams.html
STUDENT LEARNING GOALS
If
you do the work required for this course (reading, studying, thinking,
writing, participating in class discussions, etc.), you will be able to
1. identify major
authors in the history of literature;
2. identify the methods and contexts in which one can understand a
work of literature;
3. summarize and paraphrase, both orally and in writing, the content
of specific writings;
4. use the methods of literary interpretation to understand,
analyze and evaluate texts;
5. state and support your own views on literature more
coherently, both orally and in writing.
6. present
and interpret the words of critics in an MLA documented research paper on one
literary work studied (with Works Cited and parenthetical citation) of 6‑7
pages.
Course Policies
|
HOW THE
COURSE WILL WORK
For the most part the course
will run much like an in-class literature course. That is, you will
complete readings by a specified time, participate in class discussions on
those readings, and complete papers and exams based on the readings, the
information I give you, and the class discussions. Each week I will post
initial discussion questions and you will be responsible for posting your
comments about the readings for that week. (Please note that each week's
discussion string will be closed at the end of a given week.) I will post
questions to guide the discussion, but I am interested in your reactions to
the readings, so feel free to go off the topics I post, as long as your
comments are related to the readings we are covering! Please feel free to
comment on what others in the class have posted as well. You will be
responsible for at least one comment for each separate reading on the
syllabus.
Background information for each week is
available online, so read this material before, or while, you complete the
readings in the text.
In addition to the weekly discussions, you
will write two papers of about 750 words each and complete a midterm and
final exam. The papers will be emailed to me, and the exams will be taken
on your computer. These will be posted along with information about how to
complete them as the dates for their completion approach. They are timed exams, which means you will be given one hour and
thirty minutes to complete each. They will consist of short answer
questions. Those who wish to take the exams at the Bergen Testing office
will have to make individual arrangements with me.
Your grade will be determined by the grades
on the papers and exams and on your participation in the discussion
sessions. See the section on grading policies for a more detailed
explanation.
WHAT
YOU WILL DO EACH WEEK
Log onto the Web
site several times a week, since the discussion postings will be coming in
at all times. Read the Introductions to Readings for the week online and in the
text. Read the material. It's a good idea to write a list of questions or
comments as you are reading. These will help you both in the weekly
discussion sessions and on the papers and exams. After doing the readings,
log onto the discussion for the week.
WEEKLY
DISCUSSIONS
To log onto a
discussion session, click on the Discussions icon on the homepage and a
list of discussions will appear. Go to the discussion for the week, click
it and the string will open. Here you will read my discussion guide
questions and see what the other students have written. The instructions
for posting are pretty straightforward. You are responsible for at least
one comment for every reading we do. That's a minimum; certainly, once the
discussion gets going, you should be able to contribute several times. Do
not wait until the last minute of the week to do this! You will be graded
on your participation. There are no wrong or right answers to the questions
I post; I'm interested in what you think of the material. As the course
goes on, we'll be making comparisons among the different pieces we read.
GRADING
POLICIES
Your final
grade for this course will be based on the number of points
you accumulate this semester. You can earn 100 performance points in this
course. If you accumulate 90-100 performance points, your final course
grade will be "A;" 85-89 points = "B+;" 80-84 points =
"B;" 75-79 points = "C+;" 70-74 points = "C;"
60-69 points = "D;" and 0-59 points = "F." You will
accumulate points by meeting the course requirements.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism
is using someone else's words or ideas in such a way that a reader cannot
distinguish them from your own work. As such, it is a form of cheating. If
you have questions about plagiarism, please ask me about it before your
paper is due; after a paper is handed in it's too late to claim ignorance.
The penalty for plagiarism is an automatic F for the essay without a chance
to rewrite it, in addition to whatever penalty the College sees fit to
impose, including EXPULSION FROM SCHOOL. Plagiarism
is increasingly a problem, especially in online courses. As a result,
all faculty at
Bergen Community
College have access to a Web site
(turnitin.com) that can determine, usually within 48 hours, whether a paper
has been plagiarized. ALL ESSAYS WILL HAVE TO BE SUBMITTED TO
TURNITIN.COM. (Detailed instructions will be provided.)
GENERAL
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COURSE
"Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not
learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre‑packaged
assignments, and spitting out answers." (Chickering
& Gamson, 1987)
The
Active Learning Pyramid
The pyramid diagram below
shows the effectiveness of different approaches to learning. The point is
"Be active!"
Week I
The Descent
of Inanna
Hesiod, from Theogony
Week II
Old
Testament: Genesis and Job.
Week III
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Week IV
Ovid, from
The Metamorphoses: The Creation & Four Ages, Apollo & Daphne,
Jove & Io, Lycaon, Pygmalion.
Essay 1 (Topics cover Weeks
I-IV)
Week V
From The Bhagavad Gita
Lao Tzu, selections
Week VI
Homer, The
Odyssey
Week VII
The Odyssey,
cont.
Confucius, from The Analects
Week VIII
Aeschylus,
Agamemnon
Euripides, Medea
Midterm
Exam (Questions cover Weeks V-VIII)
Week IX
From The
Koran
St. Augustine, from The Confessions, Books:
II, IV, VI, VIII, IX
Week X
Li Po,
selections
Murasaki Shikibu, from
The Tale of Genji
Week XI
Old English
Poetry: The Wanderer and The Dream of the Rood (provided in the course)
Dante, The Inferno
Essay 2 (Topics cover Weeks IX-X )
Week XII
The Inferno,
cont.
Week XIII
Boccaccio, from The Decameron
Geoffrey Chaucer, from The Canterbury
Tales
Week XIV
Chaucer
continued
Cervantes, from Don Quixote
Francis Petrarch, Canzoniere
Week XV
Wu Ch’Eng-En, from Monkey
Shakespeare, Sonnets
Final Exam to cover weeks XII-XV.
AND
FINALLY
Please
do not hesitate to e-mail me if you have any problems at any time. At the
end of the course I'll be asking for an evaluation from you, but please let
me know how things are going throughout the semester. The readings in this
course are very interesting and, I think, very relevant to us. I hope you
enjoy the course!
Dr. Maria
Makowiecka at mmakowiecka@bergen.edu
|
|
