English A-230.04

WS 293.04

Introduction to the Novel

Women in the Novel

Instructor	Dr. Janice McIntire-Strasburg
Office	HU 222 and DP 204
Email	mcintire@slu.edu
Office Hours	Tuesday 1-4, Thursday 1-2, others by appt.
Phone	977-3014 (DP) or 977-3068 (HU)

Texts:

• The Coquette,  Hannah Foster
• Miss Marjoribanks,  Margaret Oliphant
• The Awakening, Kate Chopin
• Solar Storms,  Linda Hogan
• House of Mirth,  Edith Wharton
• Passing, Nella Larsen
• Song of the Lark, Willa Cather
• Sexual/Textual/Politics

Various articles on Electronic Reserve  (password: mcintire)

Course Objectives:

This course has been cross-listed with Women’s Studies.  Thus it serves two purposes.  On the one hand, you will be learning about the construction and rhetorical uses of the novel as genre.  In addition, we will be reading novels written by and about women from early to modern American literature.  You will be reading selected articles from an electronic reserve list to enhance your knowledge of current thought on feminism and women’s studies.  As a class, we will be looking particularly at gender differences in writing and how women writers have (or have not) changed across 2 centuries, and the cultural movements that have influenced them.

Housekeeping:

1. Plagiarism, which I loosely define as trying to pass of the work of another as your own, will result in an F for the assignment, and may result in failure of the course as well.  For a more detailed description of plagiarism, see your course catalog, the course listings booklet, or discuss it with me.

2. Plan to be on time for class.  Late arrivals interrupt the work in progress, may cause you to miss important information, and irritate the instructor.  If you have a legitimate medical or other reason for missed classes or lateness, please discuss it with me before or during such a case rather than after.

3. Late work is not accepted.  The reason for this is simple.  As the semester grinds on, both students’ and instructors’ time constraints multiply.  If you are still working on one assignment, it leaves you less time to work on the current one, and once you get behind, the progression tends to become geometrical.  The instructor has been known to make exceptions under compelling extenuating circumstances; however, printing or posting problems, weekend trips, etc. do not constitute an emergency.

4. I assume standard competency in spelling, grammar and syntax, and MLA style for all written work.  If you need help with this, see your grammar handbook or talk to me, and we can make arrangements for whatever help you may need.

5. All final drafts of papers should be submitted in MLA format and must be typed and either posted, printed, or submitted on disk.  If you no longer have a handbook, see me—I have lots of extra ones I can lend you.

6. This course has a Webct component to it.  What that means is that this syllabus, any notes, any changes to assignments or due dates, will be posted in the Webct course.  We will also be posting discussion Q and A for the readings, and I will post any assignment sheets there as well.  If you have never used Webct, please see me and I’ll show you how to log in and navigate in it.

Assignments:

In general, your grade will rest upon these items:

• 2 short essays involving varying degrees of research
• 1 presentation (group) on an article from reserve list
• A midterm
• A final exam
• A participation grade

I will supply you with a more detailed assignment sheet for each of these as they come due.  Your participation grade is generated from your well-prepared presence in class.  That means you show up on time with the current assignment read or written, and prepared to discuss the current topic. Additionally, you will be asked to participate in the Webct discussion board. For most of my students, this is an easy 50 points; however, if you show up late (or not at all) often, or are unprepared, you will lose points in this category.  Participation in classroom discussion means contributing your thoughtful opinions/views to the general discussion at hand, not simply chiming in for the sake of participation points.

Grading:

Essay 1	100 points
Essay 2	100 points
Presentation	100 points
Midterm	100 points
Final	100 points
Participation	50 points

Total possible points:   550

The standard grading scale applies.

Final Exam Time:.  Please plan to be available at our scheduled final exam time.  No exceptions.

Reading Schedule

August 26	Introduction, syllabus, etc. Sexual/Textual/Politics, Begin The Coquette
September 2	“Dancing through the Minefield” and The Coquette
September 9	Miss Marjoriebanks
September 16	Continuation of Miss Marjoriebanks
September 23	Miss Marjoriebanks
September 30	Part two of “Archimedes”, The Awakening, Essay 1 due
October 7	The Awakening Midterm exam
October 14	Fall Break, Begin House of Mirth
October 21	House of Mirth
October 28	House of Mirth, “Constructing the Subject, Deconstructing the Text”, Begin Solar Storms
November 4	Solar Storms
November 11	Solar Storms and “Women’s Time”, begin Passing
November 18	Passing, And “Reflections on Black Women Writers”
November 25	Song of the Lark
December 2	Song of the Lark, Review for final exam. Essay 2 due.