English 150w: Introduction to Literary StudiesRequired TextsGrade DistributionJournalsEssay GuidelinesOffice Hours E-mailGrading StandardsCOURSE SCHEDULETuesday, August 30Thursday, September 1Tuesday, September 6Thursday, September 8Tuesday, September 13Thursday, September 15Tuesday, September 20Thursday, September 22Tuesday, September 27Thursday, September 29Tuesday, October 4Thursday, October 6Tuesday, October 11 & Thursday, October 13Tuesday, October 18Thursday, October 20Tuesday, October 25Thursday, October 27Tuesday, November 1Thursday, November 3Tuesday, November 8Thursday, November 10Tuesday, November 15Thursday, Thursday 17Tuesday, November 22Thursday, November 24Tuesday, November 29Thursday, December 1Persepolis, pp. 1 - 71Tuesday, December 6Thursday, December 8Persepolis 2 (to end)Tuesday, December 13Thursday, December 15Final Exam WeekEnglish 150w: Introduction to Literary StudiesProfessor Jason Tougaw Office: 633 Klapper HallT, TH 3:05 – 4:20 Office Hours: T 5 - 6, TH 1:30 – 2:30Razran 224 E-mail: [email protected]: 718-997-4873Why read? Why study literature in college? When English literature first became a college subject in the 1820s, “its purpose,” in the words of English professor and literary critic Elaine Showalter, “was to moralize, civilize, and humanize.” Since that time, readers have offered numerous and often conflicting ideas about literature’s value. Some argue that literature’s purpose is ethical, political, or revolutionary; others that it’s aesthetic, psychological, or spiritual. Still others see literature and the arts in general as decadent, immoral, or trivial. In this writing intensive course, we will explore various conceptions of literature and its purpose, with equal emphasis onwhat it means to study literature in a university and to read for personal pleasure and discovery. We’ll read contemporary and classic novels, Shakespearean drama, literary criticism, book reviews, personal essays, and a graphic novel. We will also examine relationships between literature and other fields of study (including history, psychology, cognitive science, and gender studies) and other art forms (including music, visual art, comics, and film). The course reading and writing will be exploratory. Students will experiment with diverse types of prose —informal, formal, personal, critical, and creative—designed to give them the opportunity to develop their own insights about reading and literature. More specifically, students will keep weekly journals and write drafts and revisions of three formal writing assignments: a critical essay, a personal essay, and a creative project (either a comic book or CD liner notes). In every case, we will emphasize the relationship between writing and intellectual inquiry. Ideally, a writing intensive course should increase your capacity to reflect on your role in the world and remind you that learning is a continuous process. No writer ever finishes learning the craft; the mark of a vigorousmind is an openness to new ideas. (The course fulfills one unit for the college writing requirement.)Required TextsBe sure to purchase the editions indicated. They contain notes and secondary reading that will be part of the course work.Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (Modern Library)Jonathan Lethem, Fortress of Solitude (Vintage)Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (Vintage)Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran (Random House)Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Pantheon)Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (Pantheon)William Shakespeare, The Tempest (Folger Shakespeare Library / Washington Square Press)Grade DistributionWriting Assignment #1: Critical Essay 15%Writing Assignment #2: CD Liner Notes / Comic Book 15%Writing Assignment #3: Reading _____ in _____ 20%Midterm 20%Journals 20%Participation (including group work) 10%JournalsFor the duration of the semester, each student will keep a journal. Entries will take a variety of forms, including reading responses, pre-writing assignments, reflections on formal writing, and free-writing experiments. You may either type or write journals by hand, but I would prefer that you do so on loose sheets of paper and either staplethem or compile them in a thin folder. Hint: typing will make it easier to cut and paste from entries into your papers later. I will collect and evaluate journals three times during the semester (as indicated on the course schedule). I will be looking for sincere effort and critical engagement, assigning a number between one and ten for each entry. Approach the journals informally and creatively. They will not be evaluated in terms of structure ormechanics. The Writing CenterThe Writing Center, located in Kiely Hall 229, is a great place to get another reader for any piece of writing you are working on. Tutors are specially trained to help writers at all stages of the writing process, and from all disciplines. You can opt for one-on-one appointments or online tutoring. I encourage you to begin the habit of taking your writing there. It’s extremely valuable to get feedback on your writing and develop a sense of how an audience will respond to it. To make an appointment or learn more about the Writing Center, go to the web site: <http://qcpages.qc.edu/qcwsw/>.Blackboard On our Blackboard site, you will find handouts, essay assignments, models of student essays, and a list of useful links to sites that may help you with the course work in general or with particular assignments. Log on to Blackboard immediately and familiarize with our site. (See https://blackboard-doorway.cuny.edu/?new_loc=/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp; log in using your CUNY Portal Username and password.) Electronic Course ReservesMuch of the course reading will be found either on Electronic Course Reserves (e-reserves). You can access e-reserves through the link on our Blackboard site, or by completing five easy steps steps:1. Go to the Queens College Rosenthal Library Home Page (or skip to the url in step 2). 2. Click on the e-reserve icon (http://queens.docutek.com/eres/courseindex.aspx?page=search).3. Navigate the menus until you find our course name and number. Click on the course number.4. Use the password tempest. 5. Download and print PDF files. Please bring the printed copies to class with you on the days they are assigned.Log on as soon as possible, to get familiar with downloading and printing files. Let me know immediately if you have trouble accessing