E N G L I S H 2100H
honors literature & humanities
news

Check the NEWS page frequently for information on site updates and added resources. News items are posted in reverse chronological order--i.e., most recent items appear at the top of the page, older items below. The date preceding each news item is the date on which the information was posted.

NEWS items from Aug. 19 - Oct. 17 have been moved to
NEWS ARCHIVE 1.

02" at the top). Please study the topics, consider fashioning a topic of your own, and get off to a good early start on this final out-of-class project.
-- Postscript to today's class (with the first half of a quick guide to terms and references in Disgrace) has been posted at NOTES.

18 November 2002
-- Though it's late and the page still needs proofreading (don't snicker), topics for PROJECT #3 have been posted! Please read the guidelines (the tips, the rules of the road, and so on) carefully: though many points should be familiar, I never say or request exactly the same thing in exactly the same way. If you have questions (or spot blunders) please let m,e know as soon as possible. You have about three weeks from this moment to complete the project--but I strongly encourage you to finish up by the Friday before exams (Dec. 6).

17 November 2002
-- Guidelines for PROJECT #3 (due Monday, December 9) should be posted to the PROJECTS page by Monday evening. In the meantime, don't hesitate to send me ideas for a Topic of Your Own.
-- Tomorrow I'll also be posting a simple glossary of some of the more exotic names, places, and things mentioned in Disgrace. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to know a thing or two about postcolonialism, the recent history of South Africa, and English Romanticism (Wordsworth, Keats, Byron). (Those of you majoring in political science may wish to check out the ample resources at http://www.politicalresources.net/south_afr.htm.)

14 November 2002
-- NOTES from Oct. 24 to Nov. 14 have been moved to NOTES ARCHIVE 6.
-- Notes from Steve on today's class have been posted at NOTES.

13 November 2002
-- Check NOTES for Tuesday, Nov. 12: a postscript from Juan, a preview from Steve, and class notes from James.
-- And here are a few more notes on White Noise (with comments from the author).
-- Steve has provided us with some background on South Africa's history in preparation for our discussion of Cotezee's Disgrace.
-- Links to articles on (and reviews of) Coetzee's Disgrace have been added to the RESOURCES page.

11 November 2002
-- Please re-check the ASSIGNMENTS for this Thursday, November 13: I've asked you to read a few short poems, all of which are online.
-- Beth's NOTES for class on November 7th have been posted.
-- Some time this coming weekend (or, at the latest, early next week), I'll be posting topics for the third and final PROJECT. As usual, I'll be giving you the choice of developing your own topic (on Sula, White Noise, and/or Disgrace), so if you have an idea that you'd like to explore and if you'd like to get an early start on Project #3, please send me your topic proposal in an e-mail.
-- Previews of this week's classes have been posted at NOTES and will be augmented throughout the week.

7 November 2002
-- Lots of messages from Gretchen--so many, I've posted them to a separate page. Please check out these upcoming Honors events.
-- Graded Project #2s . . . available in the box outside my office after 2:00 on Friday for those who said they'd stop by my office on Friday to pick them up. The rest will be available on Monday. Thanks for your patience.
-- Over the weekend I'll be updating NOTES and posting a few study questions of my own for White Noise. In the meantime, have a good look at the study questions that were posted on time by your classmates. (Not all questions, obviously, were created equal.) Thought for the day: consider just how "white" the world of White Noise is--and what class and/or kind of "white" DeLillo's novel focuses on.
-- We took class off on Tuesday to provide a formal occasion for everybody to catch up with the information on this web site (and once the class decided to eliminate one of the projects, keeping up with this web site became even more important). The ASSIGNMENTS that are spelled out until the end of term. The RESOURCES provided for every major text we study. The SYLLABUS that lays down the rules. Detailed guidelines for PROJECTS as well as follow-up tips and a format guide. Your NOTES and mine, CLASS PRODUCTIONS--and a NEWS page, which tries to keep everything else organized and which I've asked you to visit frequently. So, let's . . .

5 November 2002
-- Your discussion questions on White Noise have been posted.
-- Tim's NOTES on last Tuesday's class have been posted.
-- A preview of this Thursday's class has been posted at NOTES.

1 November 2002
-- ASSIGNMENTS (and note-takers' schedules) for next week (and beyond) have been adjusted.
-- Rebecca's notes for yesterday's class (Oct. 31) have been posted at NOTES.
-- CHEAP DATE: Reminder that on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 10:00 a.m. and again at 2:00 p.m., the Masquers are presenting "Hansel and Gretel" and "Little Red and the Hoods" in the MCC Building.

29 October 2002
-- CANCELLATION: The lunchtime meeting with Dr. Winterhalter (see Messages from Dr. Finlay, Oct. 25, below) originally scheduled for noon on Oct. 30 in the Honors Lounge has been postponed (new date tba).
-- I'll provide lunch for this Thursday's class (but please bring along something to drink).
-- Because some folks have a conflict with the Regents' Test next Tuesday (Nov. 5), we won't have our quiz on White Noise until the class meeting on Thursday, Nov. 7.
-- I'm pretty heavily booked this evening with appointments to review drafts; if you're going to e-mail me a draft for review, please try to get it to me early in the evening and I'll try to respond as quickly as I can.

27 October 2002
-- Passages from Sula (with your commentaries) that have been sent to the correct e-mail address by this Sunday evening have been posted online here.
-- Postscript to last Thursday's class (Oct. 25) has been posted at NOTES.
-- Tuesday evening (Oct. 29) I'll be in my office and available for conferences between 6:30 and 9:00. Let me know ahead of time if and when you plan to stop by with a draft.
-- ASSIGNMENTS for the next two weeks have been posted..

25 October 2002
-- Passages from Sula (with your commentaries) that are sent to the correct e-mail address by this Sunday evening will be posted online here.
-- Preaching to the Converted Department. Excerpt from the syllabus: "To stay current with class activities, please check the NEWS link frequently (at least twice a week): the NEWS site will alert you to updates on any of the other course web pages." It will also let you know when my e-mail address changes.
-- Message from the English Department: "Please announce to your students the dates and times of the Regents' Essay Exam Prep Sessions: Monday, October 28th at 12 pm and Wednesday, October 30 at 12 pm." Presumably the sessions will be offered somewhere in Gamble Hall.
-- Messages from Dr. Finlay:
The next event in the Honors Program "What I Did Last Summer" lunch
series will be Wednesday October 30 at 12 noon in Gamble 213. Dr Teresa
Winterhalter of the Dept. of Languages, Literature, and Philosophy will
discuss her experiences as a research fellow at the Cornell School of
Criticism and Theory last summer. This institute provides a venue for
bringing together the major figures in literary and cinema studies,
philosophy, political science, law, and history in the contemporary
academic world. Since Dr. Winterhalter's tenure at the institute
followed the events of September 11, she will discuss why several of
the intellectual stars felt an obligation to offer some sort of response
to those events and how the various viewpoints they put forth entered
into the substantive and enduring debates the world of theory has long
been staging. A modest lunch will be provided.
Subsequent Wednesday events:
Nov 6--Dr Jill Miller will lead a presentation of the films of German
Expressionism. Popcorn provided.
Nov 13--Dr. Howard Robinson will present a slide lecture based upon his
research and travel experiences this past summer in Kenya and Tanzania.
Reminder that Honors Preregistration begins on November 4, and students
need to see their advisor prior to registration.

24 October 2002
-- Please e-mail me your passage from Sula (with brief commentary) no later than this Sunday evening so that I can post the passages (and commentaries) to this course site.
-- This Sunday evening (Oct. 27) I'll be in my office and available for conferences between 6:30 and 9:30. Let me know ahead of time if and when you plan to stop by with a draft.
-- Notes for Oct. 15 - 24 have been moved to NOTES Archive 5.
-- Previews of next week's classes have been posted at NOTES.
-- ASSIGNMENTS for next week have been posted.
-- If you're writing on the tragedy topic for Project #2, be sure that you've checked out the links I've given you at the postscript for September 12 (see NOTES ARCHIVE 2). And please read and attend to the guidelines for Project #2, beginning with, "Get an early start. Review your class notes and the notes on our web site. . . "
-- Please see notes below regarding my e-mail address: nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu. Final notice.

23 October 2002
-- Sarah Beth's notes on this past Tuesday's class have been posted at NOTES.
-- I'm asking a favor of the part of our class that keeps up with these news postings on the course web site: would you kindly (and gently) tell your friends in the other part of our class (the part that doesn't keep up with these postings) that my e-mail address has changed to nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu and that I'm no longer using the old mail.com address (which proved to be unreliable)? See postings for Oct. 20, Oct. 17, Oct. 13, Sep. 23, and Sep. 19. Thanks for your help.
-- Though we will have some short readings due next week and I will be asking you in class to jot down some brief responses to those readings, we won't be having a quiz next week. In addition to getting a head start on White Noise, I'm guessing that next week you will be fairly busy editing the essay for Project #2 that you've been drafting and revising for the past couple of weeks.

21 October 2002
-- TIP for Tuesday's Quiz on Sula: Be sure to know the names of characters. (I won't be listing characters' names as on past quizzes.)

20 October 2002
-- NEWS items from Aug. 19 - Oct. 17 have been moved to NEWS ARCHIVE 1.
-- As noted here several times over the past couple of weeks, the e-mail address for the class has changed to nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu .

17 October 2002
-- A postscript to today's class has been posted at NOTES, followed by Amanda's rapidly delivered class notes.
-- If you've been following the updates on this page, you'll know that I've been asking you to e-mail me at my faculty address: nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu. Please continue to do so. Because the mail.com address has been so unreliable the past few weeks, I'll soon stop using it altogether.
-- I sincerely appreciate the efforts many of you have made to schedule appointments with me at times that are mutually convenient (see SYLLABUS). You can schedule an appointment via e-mail or by calling the office (921 5991). Btw, though I'll be tied up most of Friday afternoon in meetings, I will be here this Sunday evening if you'd like to stop by with a draft. (Let me know ahead of time if you're coming so that I can let you into the building.) I'll continue to try to respond to your e-mailed drafts within 24 hours (but remember that I always take Saturdays off).
-- Reminder: tomorrow is the deadline for submitting a proposal for an original topic for Project #2. See guidelines at #8 (Topic of Your Own) on the Project #2 page. Note that all proposals must focus "on particular elements of--or characters in--any two of the major works considered over the past few weeks: King Lear, Ran, A Thousand Acres, and The Duchess of Malfi."

16 October 2002
-- Katlin's notes for class on October 15 have been posted at NOTES.
___________
NEWS items from Aug. 19 - Oct. 17 have been moved to
NEWS ARCHIVE 1.

English 2100H is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
University Hall 297D
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912-921-5991
e-mail: nordqudi@mail.armstrong.edu

31 December 2002