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 Purpose
This seminar is designed for students qualified for admission to the MA program in English. An English MA candidate may not be enrolled in any other 600 level course without completion of or concurrent enrolment in English 696. Its purpose is to train graduate students in basic literary research methods (including techniques of bibliography, an introduction to important literary reference works, and the writing of research papers), and preeminently in literary theory. The course will concentrate on major twentieth century theories of literature and literary criticism. The writing of theoretically informed research papers will be an integral part of the course.
Expected Outcomes
By the end of the course you should be able to understand the principles and procedures for bibliographic research, make optimal use of the library, its electronic resources and know when and how to resort to facilities outside the university library make correct use of the MLA Handbook in all your printed papers, understand many of the most important literary theories of the twentieth century, orally express your understanding of literary theory and its use in textual criticism, know how to draw on twentieth century literary theories when analyzing literary texts, prepare and write research papers employing theory.
Course Texts
These required course texts have been ordered by the University Bookstore:
- Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Ed. Ross Murfin. New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1996.
- Leitch, Vincent B, ed. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: Norton, 2001.
- Selden, Raman. Practicing Theory and Reading Literature: An Introduction. 4th ed. Lexington, KY:
UP of Kentucky, 1989.
- Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism.
New York:Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1993.
Optional Texts
A few copies of the following optional books have been ordered by the University Bookstore:
- Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.
- Harner, James L. On Compiling an Annotated Bibliography. 2nd ed. New York: MLA,2000.
- Selden, Raman, Peter Widdowson, and Peter Brooker. A Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. 5th ed.
New York: Longman, 2005.
- Waugh, Patricia. Literary Theory and Criticism: An Oxford Guide. Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 2006.
You should also consult the following:
Groden, Michael, Martin Kreiswirth, and Imre Szewman, eds. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism.
2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2004 (in the University Reference Library).
Course Requirements
BEACHBOARD. This syllabus and its supplement, Student Topics, are available on Beachboard. Grades for your various papers (except for reaction papers) will be posted on Beachboard once they are awarded.
ATTENDANCE. Regular attendance is important and counts towards your grade. If you are unavoidably absent please email me in advance. More than three unexcused absences will lower your course grade by a grade point. More than six unexcused absences could result in a course grade of F. See Makeup and Attendance Policy below.
READING. You are all expected to have read the theoretical essays from the Norton Anthology of Theory listed in the syllabus before the class concerned, plus the introduction to it by the editor and the relevant section of one of the general guides to literary theory such as those listed as Optional Texts above.
REACTIONS TO THEORETICAL TEXTS. You are required to produce a one-page printed reaction paper (MLA style) to one or more of the theory texts listed in the syllabus on ten of the occasions when texts from the Norton Anthology are specified, and to leave it with me at the end the class. Papers will be graded acceptable (a check), unacceptable (a cross), or exceptional (two checks). Reaction papers will be accepted up to a week late, but recorded as late and treated as if they had had a grade point deducted.
ORAL PRESENTATIONS AND RELATED PAPERS. All sessions after the first one will be conducted as participatory seminars. Starting with Bakhtin’s theory, each of you is required to select one theory to introduce in full. An addendum to this syllabus titled Student Topics (on my Web Page and on Beachboard) provides details of how to prepare these presentations. Your presentation should a) provide a full overview of the theory (consulting the John Hopkins Guide and other specialist books and essays on the theory concerned); and b) offer a detailed explication of the texts in the Norton Anthology specified in the syllabus (including taking students through key passages), and locate them within the wider framework of the theory. Your presentation should be accompanied by a typed summary of it (not a verbatim transcript) and a brief bibliography for distribution to the rest of the class (about 3-4 pages in total). One week after the presentation you should submit to me a longer typed paper of 5-6 pages in MLA style (including works cited) on some aspect of the presentation that most interests you. This should take the form of an argument citing sources. You will be graded solely on the basis of this follow-up paper.
APPLICATIONS. For classes devoted to the application of a theory each of you should be prepared to offer a five minute oral summary on how you would apply the theory to Heart of Darkness or Hamlet from notes (that refer to page numbers of the text selected) prepared by you beforehand. Or you can report on a critic’s application of the theory to either of the set texts found in a book or scholarly journal (other than in the Bedford set texts).
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. In addition to your main oral presentation, you are required to produce an annotated bibliography of at least seven secondary sources of critical writings concerning one theoretical approach to either Heart of Darkness or Hamlet, using the sixth edition of the MLA Handbook for every aspect of your layout. Use 12-point font and one and a half spaces between lines (even though MLA requires double spaces). You should cite at least one book, one essay in an anthology, one essay in a scholarly journal, and one electronic source. See “Preparing an Annotated Bibliography” available on Beachboard (Course Documents).
RESEARCH FOR FINAL PAPER. For your longer end-of-term paper by the week before the Spring Recess you will select one of the following texts: The Tempest, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, or Mrs Dalloway, and research materials needed to analyze it employing a particular theory or theorist encountered in the course (other than the theory you chose for your oral paper). As a preliminary you will produce a typed two-page abstract of your final paper for distribution among your fellow students at the time you make your oral presentation of your research during the last two weeks of the semester. The aim of these presentations is to obtain from the group constructive criticism of your proposed term paper and suggestions for improving it.
FINAL RESEARCH PAPER. The paper itself (in MLA style) will consist of your own interpretation of the work, making conscious use of one theoretical approach studied during the course, and drawing on any relevant published criticism using your chosen approach or relevant to your argument (12-13 pages).
Grade Point Computation
See the University Catalog: Regulations – Grades and Grading Procedures for definitions of grades A-F.
- Reaction papers, attendance and participation: 20%
- Annotated Bibliography: 15%.
- Oral presentation paper: 30%.
- Preliminary outline of final paper: 5%
- Final research paper: 30%.
Syllabus
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Useful web sites:
http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2718
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/theory.html
www.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/postmodern.html
Plagiarism
If you use the ideas or words of another writer as if they were your own without giving credit to the other writer you are guilty of plagiarism. Please consult the Schedule of Classes (“Cheating and Plagiarism”) for details of the University’s policy regarding plagiarism. If you are found to have plagiarized another writer’s words you will receive an F for the paper the first time and an F for the course on a repeat occasion.
Campus Technology Help Desk
The CSULB Technology Help Desk in the Horn Center Lobby is available for students. The Help Desk can assist you on a wide range of computer issues including: Operating Systems, CSULB Email Accounts, My CSULB, Beachboard, Remote Connection to CSULB, Microsoft Desktop Applications, Anti-Virus, Internet and Web related topics,. Contact the Help Desk by phone at 562-985-4505, email to helpdesk@csulb.edu or visit them on the web at helpdesk.csulb.edu.
Withdrawal Policy
Students who choose not to complete this course should withdraw officially as soon as possible and inform me. Withdrawals during the first two weeks do not appear on official records. Withdrawals between the third and twelfth weeks must be for “serious and compelling reasons” and require signed approval by me and the department chair. Withdrawals during the final three weeks of instruction are generally permitted only for accident or serious illness. They require signatures from me, the chair, and the Dean of the College, who may require withdrawal from all classes in which the student is enrolled.
Makeup and Attendance Policy
For a definition of “excused absences” see the University Catalog: Regulations – Class Attendance. Excused absences require you to inform me a week in advance of your absence. More than three unexcused absences will result in the lowering of your course grade by a grade point or more depending on the number of such absences. Students who miss exams or fail to meet deadlines for graded papers for what I consider a compelling reason (such as a religious holiday or jury duty) may make up that part of the grade. It is your responsibility to arrange with me an alternative if you miss the deadline for an assignment. If you submit an assignment late without a documented excuse a penalty for lateness will be imposed. A student who misses the final exam or fails to submit a final paper in lieu of a final exam without a documented excuse will probably receive an F or an Incomplete, depending on the circumstances and previous work.
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