English 104  -  Introduction to Literature: Fiction                                           Winter 2006  

MWF 13:00 - 13:50  in 260 Condon                                                                                        

CRN    21658                                                                                                                         

 

Prof. Gordon Sayre                                                                                           

gsayre@uoregon.edu   *   office  521 PLC   *     ph. 346-1313

Office hours are Mon 2-4 and Wed 9-11. Don't just drop in; please make an appointment with Mike Stamm in the English dept. office 346-1501 or mstamm@uoregon.edu

                                                                                         

The Introduction to Literature courses are designed for Freshmen and Sophomores, and meet the Arts & Letters group requirement. This course is not intended for Juniors, Seniors, or English majors.  In this section we will be reading exemplary short stories and novels centered on the theme of the double--tales of alter egos, split personalities, "secret sharers" and other peculiar psychological connections between characters. The texts were written over the past 200 years in the US, Russia, Portugal and England.

 

Books  (at the University Bookstore)

Joseph Conrad,  Heart of Darkness/The Secret Sharer   Bantam  $4.95

James Weldon Johnson,  The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man  Dover $1

Fyodor Dostoevsky,  Notes from Underground/The Double  Penguin  $8.95

Charrles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly, or Memoirs of a Sleepwalker  Penguin $11.95

Chuck Pahlaniuk, Fight Club Henry Holt/Owl books $13.00

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Dover $1.50

Josˇ Saramago, The Double  Harcourt/Harvest $14.00

 

Writing Assignments

This is a writing-intensive course. Although we will meet only three hours a week, this four-credit class requires three critical papers of 4 pages each. To do well on these assignments, you will need to devote substantial time to drafting, revising, and proof reading your work.

 

Reading questions

I have prepared questions about each text's plot, vocabulary, and major literary techniques.  They are found at the end of this syllabus, and on the blackboard site. There is at least one question per day. You should keep these questions in mind as you read, and be prepared to discuss and write about them in class.  They will also form the basis for quizzes, which you can anticipate about once a week.

 

Blackboard Site

I have activated the Blackboard coursesite, at <http://blackboard.uoregon.edu>. On the site you can check on the assignments and schedule, get paper topics, and participate in the on-line discussion board. The reading questions are good topics on which to begin discussion board threads.  Your contributions to the discussion board will be logged and counted toward the class participation component of the grade. It is no substitute for coming to class, however.

If you need help with your password or with using Blackboard, go to the Knight Library ITC.

 

 

 

Attendance

I will take attendance by the method of a sign-in sheet that will circulate during each class session.  Please sign your full name to verify your presence.  Absences should be limited to four classes, and those missing five or more will be penalized a full grade.  Please don't tell me reasons for absences, save those in writing from a doctor or UO health services.

 

Academic Integrity:

All work submitted must be your own and must be written exclusively for this class.. All writing assignments must address the required paper topics. All sources you use for your writing must be properly documented. If you have any questions about documentation or plagiarism, please ask me for clarification.

 

Grades:

Your final grade will be computed from an average of these six equally weighted components: the three papers, Quizzes and Class participation, the Midterm Exam, and the Final Exam.

 

Schedule of Readings and Assignments

1/9        Introduction

1/11      Poe, "William Wilson"  read on-line at    <http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/wilwilc.htm>              

1/13      Pahlaniuk, Fight Club, chapters 1-8

 

1/16      NO CLASS; MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY

1/18      Fight Club, chapters 9-18                     

1/20      Fight Club, chapters19-30

 

1/23     watch scenes from film of Fight Club                                          first paper due

1/25      Saramago's The Double pp. 1-86 [chapters 1-5]

1/27      Saramago's The Double pp. 87-159  [chapters 6-9]

 

1/30     Saramago's The Double pp. 160-227 [chapters 10-13]

2/1        Saramago's The Double pp. 228-320 [chapters 14-19]

2/3        Dostoevsky's The Double, chapters 1-4

 

2/6        Dostoevsky's The Double, chapters 5-8

2/8        Dostoevsky's The Double chapters 9-10

2/10      Dostoevsky's The Double chapters 11-13

 

2/13      Mid-term Exam

2/15      Brown, Edgar Huntly chapters 1-7

2/17      Edgar Huntly, chapters 8-12

 

2/20      Edgar Huntly  chapters 13-20

2/22      Edgar Huntly  chapters, 21-27           

2/24      Shelley, Frankenstein, vol. 1

 

2/27      Frankenstein, vol. 2

3/1        Frankenstein vol. 3                                                                second paper due

3/3        CLASS CANCELLED

              

3/6        Conrad, "The Secret Sharer" part 1  

3/8        "Secret Sharer" part 2

3/10      Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man chapters 1-4

 

3/13      Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man chapters 5-8             

3/15      Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man chapters 9-11

3/17      excerpt from W. E. B. Du Bois on race and "double consciousness"

Review for Final Exam

 

3/20      final exam at 3:15 pm

3/22      third paper due