FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY

Department of English and Foreign Languages
Current Syllabus, good through 12/07
ENGL 2112 World Literature II

non-online course web site:  http://www.keithmurphy.info/2112/2112.htm

Instructor: Keith Murphy, Ph.D.
http://www.keithmurphy.info
Office: 105 CTM
Office hours announced in class.  Although I am generally available in CTM 105 from 9 until 3:30pm.
Telephone: (912)825-6454  Fax: (912)825-6000
Email: Sophist@Bigfoot.Com  or murphyk@fvsu.edu

Yahoo Instant messaging ID:  docsophist

Course Description:  Students engage in a study of world literature from the early modern period to the present day.  Students make a comparative study of representative works from literary and cultural traditions around the world.  [See reading assignments for specific authors and works].

Course Objectives:  As a result of successfully completing the course, a student should be able to do the following:

1. Read critically;
2. Experience and appreciate other cultures and human perspectives via reading selections and other class assignments;.
3. Demonstrate writing and analytical skills by writing essays and other assignments; and
4. Understand the basic principles for making literary judgments.

General Education Outcomes:  As a result of completing this course, a student should have achieved the following general education and major outcomes:

• 2,a    Student should be able to think logically and critically
  In essay answers, students will logically analyze passages from poetry or prose, using as evidence some aspects of the cultural context and the structure of the piece.

Other Outcomes: 

• 1,a    Student should be able to write clearly and effectively.
  Students will write logically constructed critical essays in clear language, demonstrating their ability to comprehend the use of literary techniques.
• 1,c    Students should be able to read analytically.
  In critical writings, students will present evidence and will form conclusions based on their analytical reading of course selections.
• 2,d    Students should be able to think creatively.
  Students will explore structural elements such as imagery, point-of-view and metaphor, using literary structure and devices as evidence in their critical writing and class discussions, and as tools in their personal writing.
• 5,a ;5,b Students should be able to understand and critically examine their own culture and other cultures.
  Students will demonstrate some understanding of literary and cultural themes by identifying them in selected literary works.  Students' multicultural awareness will be reflected in their critical writing, their class discussion, and their short essay quiz responses.
• 6,a; 6,b; 6,c Students should be able to demonstrate their global awareness and their understanding of ethical issues and forces shaping and altering social institutions.
  In quizzes, tests, papers, and other assignments that tie in with assigned readings, students will demonstrate some awareness of philosophies and significant social forces in traditional cultures.
• 7,a; 7,b; Students should be able to demonstrate basic knowledge of literary achievements and the history of philosophy of the literary periods and the movements covered in the course.
  Students will demonstrate through short answer essays, class discussion, and critical writing assignments, a basic knowledge of literary achievements made during the literary periods and movements covered during the course.  They will also demonstrate limited knowledge of the history and philosophy of these literary periods and movements.

Required Texts and Materials:
Required Text:  Paul Davis, et. al.  The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. (Books 4, 5, and 6)  New York:          Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003 (current ed.)

NOTE:  You are not going to pass this course without buying these books.

Supplemental Texts:  The Blair Handbook (The grammar handbook from 1101) or any good, basic writing handbook.  A standard college dictionary (which you should bring to class daily).

Supplemental readings will be posted to the class website or distributed in class.

I will be providing you with a great deal of photocopied material.  To offset the expense of this, you will be expected to provide me with one package of photocopier paper.  You can purchase this at Wal-mart, Staples, etc. for two or three dollars.  You will also need at least one flash drive, web access, and a valid EMAIL address.

Course Policies

Attendance will be recorded on a daily basis.  The institutional policy on absences will be employed in this course.  This means that any unexcused absences which total more time missed than the credit hour value of the course will reduce your final grade by 1 full percentage point.  For an absence to be excused, you must go to the Vice President for Student Affairs and request an official excuse.  However, attendance and participation are critical to passing this course.  In addition, being absent does not excuse you from your responsibilities for that class period.  Even if your absence is excused, your work must be turned in ON TIME.

Grading Policy:  Letter grades translate into numerical grades as follows:  A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=59 and below.  The student is responsible for maintaining copies of all drafts of all assignments to include in the final portfolio.  The portfolio is used to determine whether the student has successfully passed the course.  Any essay may be revised once within seven days of receiving returned work (within time constraints).

Grading Criteria:

Most of the work in this course is composed of relatively long, structured essays.  Most of these will be written outside of class, typed, and may require you to do (and document) outside research.  The criteria for those works is as follows: 

To earn a grade of C, an essay or an assignment must:

• Contain either a clearly implied or explicitly stated central idea.
• Be unified and coherent. The paragraphs must stand in clear relation to the thesis and each other.
• Be fully developed. Each paragraph should contain a leading idea and specific details or examples that clarify, support, and explain the leading idea.
• Contain clear sentences that are in general conformity with standard English. Errors in grammar and/or mechanics must be so minimal that they do not distract from the meaning of the essay.
• Preferably the essay will end with a paragraph, or at least a sentence, which conveys a sense of completion.

An essay fulfilling the above criteria represents acceptable college work. To exceed this criteria, an essay must show superiority in content and development, organization and coherence, sentence style, and vocabulary.

To earn a "superior" grade of A or B, an essay or assignment must fulfill the requirements for a C and:

• Contain a significant central idea which is clearly shown, and convincingly supported with concrete, substantial, and consistently relevant detail.
• Demonstrate logically planned progression with clearly ordered and necessary stages, coherent paragraphs, unified and effectively developed paragraphs, with clear transitions.
• Demonstrate unification.  Be coherent, forceful, and effectively varied.
• Demonstrate clear and effective expression promoted by consistent use of standard grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Essays may be graded on a three-point rubric.  In-class essays will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

The “3” essay shows distinction.  It meets all and exceeds most of the criteria for a “2.”  The ideas are expressed freshly and vividly, and the essay arouses the reader’s interest to a greater extent that the typical “2” essay.

The “2” essay meets the basic criteria. It has a central idea related directly to the assigned topic and presented with sufficient clarity that the reader is aware of the writer’s purpose.  The organization is clear enough for the reader to perceive the writer’s plan.  The paragraphs coherently present some evidence or details to substantiate the points.  The writer uses ordinary, everyday words accurately and idiomatically and generally avoids both the monotony created by series of choppy, simple sentences and the incoherence caused by long, tangled sentences.  Although the essay may contain a few serious grammatical errors and several mechanical errors, they are not of sufficient severity or frequency to obscure the sense of what the writer is saying.

The “1” essay fails to demonstrate competence.  It has any one of the following problems to an extraordinary degree or it has several to a limited degree:  it lacks a central idea; it lacks a clear organizational plan; it does not develop its points or develops them in a repetitious, incoherent, or illogical way; it does not relate directly to the assigned topic; it contains several serious grammatical errors; it contains numerous mechanical errors; ordinary, everyday words are used inaccurately and unidiomatically; it contains a limited vocabulary so that the words chosen frequently do not serve the writer’s purpose; syntax is frequently rudimentary or tangled; or the essay is so brief that the rater cannot make an accurate judgment of the writer’s ability.

 Remember, to receive a passing grade on any essay you must answer the question posed by the prompt, provide a carefully reasoned argument supporting your answer, proffer evidence to support your argument, and demonstrate strong critical thinking and communicative skills.

Your final grade is wholly based on your portfolio (which MUST include all drafts of all work) which should include 3 small  take-home essay exams, the research project, and in-class essays as assigned.  Due-dates will be announced in class.

Assignment List:

• 3  Essay Take Home Examinations  (20% each)
• Research project                             (25%)
• In-class and other work                   (5%)
• Participation                                    (10%)

Remember that all writing assignments must be typed.  You should save a copy of your work on disk as I will grade your first draft and give you an opportunity to revise your efforts.  I expect you to engage in external research for each of your essays.  In addition, that research had best be correctly cited (including both an in-text citation and a works cited page).  If that concept is unclear to you or you are unfamiliar with the concept of plagiarism, click here.

Instructor's Policies:

No late work will be accepted.  No incompletes will be assigned.  You are solely responsible for getting the work completed and to me by the due date.  Your failure to do so does not constitute an emergency on my behalf.  Turn your cell phone off.  If it rings once, I get to answer it.  If it rings again, I get to take it home for the evening.

How to Succeed In this Course:

• Remember that this is a CONTENT class.  You not only need to keep up with the reading, you need to have read the material before class.  When you read, underline important ideas, take notes, write in the margins, and do external research on the material we are studying.  All of this will prepare you for course discussions.
• Know that if you come to class unprepared, that's when you're likely to get hit with an unannounced essay.
• Come to class on time and prepared.  Come to class every day.  You paid for this.  Even if you're getting a scholarship or a grant, it's funded by taxpayer dollars and you are going to be a taxpayer soon enough.  So, don't waste your time or your money.
• Participate and do so with enthusiasm.  Learning is supposed to be fun; but it is only that way if you choose to make it so. 
• Revise your work when you are given the chance.  This is a portfolio course.  Your final grade comes from the grades on the best drafts of your work.  So revise, revise, revise.

Tentative Course Schedule

Alignment Matrix for English 2112 World Literature II

Information on the last table is primarily for Education majors.  If you have questions about this, see me.  For the conceptual framework, click here.  For more information on NCATE/IRA click here.

Relevant Unit Outcomes From University's Conceptual Framework in Matrixed Relationship to ENGL 2112 Course Outcomes.

Click Here to Read the ENTIRE FVSU Conceptual Framework for the Educational Major