English 243
Literary Masterpieces: Fantasy, Myth, and Legend
Spring, 2000
MWF 10:30-11:20, FH 207
Dr. Jean Lorrah
Faculty Hall 7B-15
Telephone 4720
OFFICE HOURS:
MWF 8-8:30, 9:30-10:25, 11:30-12:30
Tues. 11:00-2:00, Thurs. 11:00-12:00
E-mail Dr. Lorrah
Visit Dr. Lorrah's Website
Visit the Fantasy, Myth, and Legend Page
TEXTS:
Burrows, Lapides, Shawcross, eds., Myths and Motifs in Literature (M&ML)
Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (Hiett & Hiett, eds.)
Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (print from WWW)
Homer, The Odyssey, any edition (it's in the HUM text)
James, The Turn of the Screw
Lorrah, "The Beholder" (handout)
Shakespeare, Hamlet
Stoker, Dracula
Also become familiar with the tv series Star Trek, any and all versions.
YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACCUMULATE 500 POINTS IN THIS COURSE, AS FOLLOWS:
| 3 EXAMS @ 100 |
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|
|
300 |
| 1 PAPER @ 100 |
|
|
|
100 |
| 5 QUIZZES @ 20 |
|
|
|
100 |
| |
|
|
TOTAL |
500 |
FINAL GRADES:
A 425 points or more
B 375 points or more
C 300 points or more
D 225 points or more
E less than 225 points
SCHEDULE OF WORK:
Jan. 18-Feb. 4
Initiation
M&ML, pp. 96-129. "The Birth and Youth of Jesus," Luke 2.
Feb. 7-March 3
The Quest (EXAMINATION Feb. 23)
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; The Odyssey,
Bks. 6, 9-12; M&ML, 135-177
March 6-April 7
The Devil Figure (EXAM, March 24)
Dracula , M&ML, 334-356
April 10-May 5
The Hero/Death/Power (PAPER, April 19)
Hamlet ; "The Merchant's Tale"; "The Beholder"; M&ML, 221-308; The Turn of the Screw
FINAL EXAM, Wednesday, May 10, 10:30-12:30
CATALOG DESCRIPTION: A study of the literary manifestations of fantasy, myth and legend as they appear in the works of such writers as Homer, Shakespeare, Milton, Coleridge, Yeats, Tolkein.
PREREQUISITES: passing grades in Eng. 101 and 102, or having CLEP'd one or both, and the ability to write a coherent short paper. What you learned in Freshman Composition applies to the PAPER.
PURPOSE:
1. To introduce students to significant works of fantastic literature and the traditions from which they emerged.
2. To examine literary themes found in fantastic literature from a variety of perspectives.
3. To improve students' ability to read, analyze, and compare literary works and to discuss and write about the questions they suggest.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
To receive credit, a student should be able to
1. Identify some major writers and works of fantastic literature, and be able to place them in a literary context.
2. Understand and compare themes, issues, genres, and techniques used in literature.
3. Communicate that understanding effectively.
IINSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: Class activities include discussion of readings and background lectures.
FIELD, CLINICAL, AND/OR LABORATORY EXPERIENCES: Students are encouraged to use the world and the Internet as their laboratory as well as the library.
RESOURCES: The library is obviously a primary resource for the work in this course, but so is the Internet. There are numerous free computer labs on campus where students may do word processing, access e-mail, or do research on the Internet. The instructor provides her own website, and occasionally provides audio or video material in class.
COLLEGE OF HUMANISTIC STUDIES POLICY ON ACADEMIC HONESTY
ATTENDANCE POLICY: We are adults here. The only penalty for missing class is that your comprehension and grades will suffer. Missed quizzes cannot be made up. Period. Missed exams may be made up only with proof from your doctor, which is your responsibility, not mine, to obtain. Some material in this course is not on the reading list; the stories your instructor tells in class are part of the course. Such material is covered on the quizzes and exams, but if you participate in class you'll hear it all and have no problems.
WRITTEN WORK: Exams contain both objective and essay questions. There is a required 1500-word PAPER (six typed pages) or a website with equivalent content. Content will be discussed in class, but it must demonstrate comprehension of course content. Papers must be typed, double-spaced, in plain 12-point font, with 1" margins. Please use a computer. Websites of course require computer use.
MAKEUP POLICY: Missed quizzes may not be made up. Papers drop 10 points per day that they are late (that is per day, not per class meeting—a paper due Wednesday, turned in the following Monday, has lost 50 points). The next day begins at the end of each class meeting. Talk to me (telephone, e-mail) before you miss an exam, not afterward. I am very easy about making arrangements for any sensible reason as long as you let me know ahead of time. After you miss, you must provide evidence of illness, hospitalization, or some equal emergency in order to make up the exam. Oversleeping is not an emergency. Your roommate's emergency is not your emergency. You can miss an EXAM or the PAPER (not both) and one QUIZ and still make a B, provided you do near-perfect work on everything else. The best policy is to try everything.
EXTRA WORK: A maximum of fifty (50) bonus point may be earned through a substantial contribution to the class website. There is a link at the bottom of each of the course pages on the class website to Arachnophilia, a free HTML program that is easy enough for an English Professor to use to design functional web pages. It will do things like frames and java, too--I just haven't found time yet to learn those techniques. If you have the time, you can also take a free course in HTML on-line. The course will be going on through March. To earn bonus points, create a web page, just one page to be linked to the English 243 site, containing both written content about something pertaining to this course and links to useful sites on the topic you have chosen. If it is a good, useful page, you will receive 50 bonus points. But points will be deducted for mechanical errors in the text and technical errors in the execution--so be sure all the links work, any frames or java work (you don't have to have these), etc., before you give me the URL. Build on one of the numerous free sites available, and I will download the page and put it on the class website after I have approved it and you have given signed permission for me to use it. The deadline for presenting such a site to the instructor is April 7. After that date, there will be no bonus points available.
Click here to see my GRADING PROCEDURES FOR PAPERS AND WEBSITE TEXT
Arachnophilia.