SYLLABUS

ENGLISH 2100H: HONORS LITERATURE & HUMANITIES
Fall 2002
Dr. Richard Nordquist
Office: University Hall 297D
Phone: (912) 921 5991
FAX: (912) 921 2083
e-mail: nordquist@mail.com
Nordquist’s home page: www.nt.armstrong.edu/Nordquist.htm
English 1102 web site: www.nt.armstrong.edu/HLH.htm
_______________________________

Required Texts

--Favorite Fairy Tales (Dover Juvenile Classics), by the Brothers
Grimm. Paperback. Dover Publications, 2001. ISBN: 0486419797. List
price: $2.00.
--The History of King Lear (Oxford World's Classics), by William
Shakespeare. Paperback. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN:
0192839926. List price: $7.95.
--A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley. Paperback. Ivy Books, 1996. ISBN:
0804115761. List price: $7.99.
--The Duchess of Malfi, 4th edition (New Mermaids), by John Webster.
Paperback. W.W. Norton & Co., 2001. ISBN: 0393900916. List price:
$12.80.
--Sula, by Toni Morrison. Paperback. Penguin, 2002. ISBN:
0452283868. List price: $13.00.
--White Noise: Text and Criticism, by Don Delillo. Paperback. Penguin,
1998. ISBN: 0140274987. List price: $16.95.
--Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee. Paperback. Penguin, 2000. ISBN:
0140296409. List price: $13.00.
___________________________

Course Objectives

This course will provide opportunities for you to think critically and imaginatively, improve your composition skills, and deepen your understanding and enjoyment of language and of  literature.  In both reading and writing, you will employ analytical and interpretive strategies essential for solving problems and communicating in the academic and professional worlds. In short, you will be required to think and to express your thoughts coherently. 

To achieve these objectives, you will satisfy these requirements:

Read assigned fiction, poetry, and drama.

Become familiar with some of the basic concepts of rhetoric. 

Express an understanding of literature in class discussions.

Express an understanding of literature in content quizzes and exercises.

Express an understanding of literature and demonstrate critical thinking skills in projects that are insightful, coherent, rhetorically effective, and grammatically sound.

_______________________________

Format

Final versions of out-of-class essays should be word-processed according to the conventions described in the current edition of the Scribner Handbook for Writers. (I will provide specific guidelines and models.)

_______________________________

Grading (REVISED: Oct. 2002)

Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:

short exercises, study questions, class participation 5%   20%

quick quizzes 10%

project #1  10%

project #2  15%

project #2  20%

project #3  20%

final exam  20%

Essays will be graded on a scale of A to F, as defined in the departmental guidelines.  Essays should be turned in on time.  A late essay will be docked one letter grade per day.  An assignment that is not turned in at all will receive a grade of 0 (the equivalent of a double F on the grade scale).

Quick content quizzes will be graded as follows:

10 correct answers A,
  9, B
  8, C
  7, D
  6, F

In determining your final quiz average, I will drop your lowest quiz grade. There will be no make-up quizzes.
_______________________________

Attendance & Participation

Class begins at 1:00: to avoid distracting others, please make every effort to arrive on time. If you show up after the class has taken a quiz, you will not be allowed to make up the quiz.

Because discussion (as a class and in small groups) is the primary form of teaching and learning in this section of English 2100H, regular attendance is essential. Though the course web site should serve as an important resource, English 2100H is not an online course, and work on the web is not an alternative to class attendance and participation.

Class attendance means arriving and leaving at the scheduled times. You’re permitted six cuts during the term. These six cuts anticipate disease, despair, carburetor problems, and other disasters. In other words, I recognize that you’re adults and your reasons for taking the cuts are your own business: no need for phone calls or letters from the doctor.  If you must miss a class, it’s your responsibility to get in touch with a classmate to collect any handouts and to find out what new assignments have been given and what changes (if any) have been made in the syllabus.  If you take four or more of your cuts before midterm, I’ll strongly encourage you to drop the course at that time with a W.

Your final course grade will drop a full letter grade (i.e., 10%) for each absence beyond the allotted six absences. Perfect attendance will be awarded with a guaranteed A for the class participation grade.
_______________________________

Keeping Organized

Keep all of your writings (drafts as well as final copies, each clearly labeled) in a pocket folder.  When you turn in an assignment, the essay must be in this folder.  Put current assignments on top, past work below.

_______________________________

The Writing Center

It is your responsibility to correct any structural or grammatical problems that I find in your work.  In most cases, you should be able to correct these faults with the aid of your handbook.  However, should your handbook prove inadequate, please take advantage of the resources of the Writing Center (Gamble 109).  In addition to help with editing skills, tutors in the Writing Center can guide you in developing and revising your essays.  They won't, of course, write your papers for you, nor will they proofread your finished work.  But they can help you to improve your writing.

_______________________________

Ethics

You are responsible for reading the assigned editions of each work listed in this syllabus--not abridgments, summaries, or "study guides." In composing essays, unless I specifically direct otherwise, you should rely solely on course texts, class discussions, and your own ideas. Unauthorized reliance on secondary sources of any kind (whether direct or indirect) will be treated as plagiarism. Abide by the Armstrong Honor Code and Student Code of Conduct (linked to the course web site).  We’ll spend time in class discussing the implications of the Code, particularly in regard to research methods.  If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, please see me.

_______________________________

Communications

While working on any course project, please don’t hesitate to send me questions via e-mail or to fax drafts for me to review.  I’ll also be happy to visit with you in my office, but please call (921 5991) or e-mail (nordquist@mail.com) ahead of time to schedule an appointment. Because committee work, administrative chores, and appointments with other students frequently gobble up my days, the one way I can be counted on to give you my undivided attention is to ask that you schedule an appointment at a mutually convenient time. Appointments can usually be scheduled days (after noon) or nights (until eight p.m.)–even on Sunday evenings if necessary.  In any case, be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to do your assignments well.  Most important of all, if you're having problems, don't moan, don't weep, don't gripe–schedule an appointment to see me.

_______________________________

Course Web Site
The course web site (located at www.nt.armstrong.edu/HLH.htm) includes an online version of this syllabus, updates on weekly reading & writing assignments, supplementary class notes (including previews of upcoming class work and postscripts on lectures and discussions), as well as links to numerous resources related to the texts that we'll be studying.  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.  During the term, we will be augmenting these web pages with materials collected and developed by the class.
_______________________________

A Few Key Dates

October 10    midterm (NO CLASS!)

        November 26 Thanksgiving holiday begins

December 5   last class meeting

                                December 12 final exam

_______________________________

Readings and Projects

All assigned readings and projects will be posted on the course web site–at least one week (and usually more) before the due date.

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           

 
27 November 2002

| AASU Home | Visitor  Information AASU | Site Map | Applying to AASU |
| Faculty and Staff | Administration | Student Resources | Distance Learning |
| Colleges and Schools | Athletics | Alumni |  Web Coursework | Financial Aid | 
|  Continuing Education | News and Information | Library |

All portions of these materials are copyright © 2002 Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please contact us at Armstrong Atlantic  State University Web Team