ENGL 2333.S1H 2016 Syllabus
ENGL 2333.S1H 2016 Syllabus
ENGL 2333.S1H 2016 Syllabus
COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Information
Course Number: ENGL 2333
Course Title: World Literature II
Course Description: A survey of world literature from the seventeenth century to the present. Students will study works
of prose, poetry, drama, and fiction in relation to their historical and cultural contexts. Texts will be selected
from a diverse group of authors and traditions.
Course Credit Hours:
Lecture Hours:
3
3
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
fifteen to twenty minutes long to receive full credit. You will also need some sort of visual aid to enhance the presentation
(power point, poster, handout, etc.) A rubric and registration sheet will be provided as the presentation dates near. I will
provide more information about the presentations at that time.
Proposal 5%
Write a three-hundred word proposal on the topic you would like to explore for your final essay. The topic must be
derived from the readings we have done over the course of the semester. Provide at least three potential secondary sources
to accompany this topic. A sample proposal and further instructions will be provided as the submission date nears.
Creative Adaptation Assignment 25%
Literature often inspires art and politics. We see literature affecting public interest on ethical issues and providing
introspection and discussion on complex philosophical dilemmas. Literature has inspired paintings, music, and movies,
and it has recorded and challenged the histories and identities of great nations. For this assignment, students will attempt
to use the literature we are reading to create pieces of art or to produce works with professional implications. Students
may explore the following mediums: short film/documentary, visual art, spoken performance, web design, short story or
poetry, or conventional research writing. Depending on the situation, students may need to produce written explanations
or other such accounts to authenticate their work. Short stories and poetry must consist of at least four double spaced
pages. Details for this assignment will be released early in the semester. Rubrics are provided or will be provided on our
class websites. If you are doing a performance piece, you will need to speak with me to plan a date.
Final Exam 15%
Student will take a final exam worth 15% of their class grade. The date for this exam is listed on the schedule. This exam
will reflect the students knowledge of material discussed within the months and weeks before the exam. Prompts will be
provided for each essay exam and students will be expected to bring bluebooks (or essay exam paper) to class. Exam
length should not exceed two pages or fall below one page for each prompt. A brief section containing short answer
questions or fill in the blank will also be given.
Research Paper 25%
Students will write an original research paper analyzing, in some way, the works we are reading this semester. The essay
should contain an argumentative thesis and appropriate scholarly sources (at least four secondary sources and only two
may come from our class schedule of readings). These sources should all be peer reviewed and obtained from our
librarys databases, specifically from Project Muse or JSTOR. Other sources used will have to be pre-approved by the
instructor via the proposal. The minimum length for this assignment is five pages (1,700 words), double spaced, and
formatted in accordance with MLA or APA citation style (other citation styles may be used with permission). See options
below for the assignment prompt (you will need to select one of these options to write about).
1) Adapting Fairy Tales: Fairy tales are almost naturally in a state of constant adaptationthey are all retellings
of a retelling. We have studied this folk tradition of fairy tales in the earlier half of the semester, and we have
discussed modern attempts to adapt these fairy tales (i.e. film, picture books, comic books, etc.). Write a
research paper analyzing a particular adaptation of a well know fairy tale into a new medium and explain
what has been lost or gained through the process of adaptation. You may need to do some historical research.
Try to answer the following questions in your paper: What did the artist and company adapting this tale have
in mind for the finished project? What did they want to accomplish with their story? What values did they
want to teach? How did they change the narrative? Did they change things they shouldnt have? Why? What
unintended or hidden meanings might surface in this adaptation? Finally, why does this fairy tale continue to
endure and did the adaptation help or hinder the original meaning of the fairy tale?
2) Finding Childhood: We have discussed the ambiguous and seemingly relative nature of childhood over the
course of the semester. Depending on the time period and culture, childhood has meant something very
different. Using one or a select group of texts from our reading, form an argument based on these texts for
what childhood must have meant to that culture and time period in history. Try to answer the following
questions in your paper: How should we define childhood? What constitutes a child in the history or culture
the literary work you are studying is from? Why do scholars seem to debate the relativity of childhood?
3) Teaching Literature to Children: Finding texts that engage children and teaching them well can be a difficult
task. Literary classics like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alices Adventures in Wonderland might hold
more appeal today for scholars and adults than children, but the right approach to teaching these and more
contemporary texts could make all the difference in the classroom. Using research from reliable education
journals, and possibly other scholarly sources, write a paper on the best way to teach literature to children,
particularly some of the literature we have look at in this class. Try to answer the following questions in your
paper: What literature is appropriate or important for children to read and learn about in school? How can you
teach this literature effectively? What literature is appropriate for what age levels?
4) Picturing the Picture Book: We have studied quite a few picture books this semester, gaining an
understanding of their historical significance and literary value, but the true power of a picture book is often
housed in the readers ability to analyze visual messages and metaphors within the work. Select one or more
picture books and analyze the work(s) metaphorical content and how that content is transmitted through
visual rhetoric and artistic ingenuity. Try to answer the following questions: What is the interplay between
written text and image? What style does the illustrator employ to shape the message of the book? Are there
hidden message buried deep within the images of these books?
5) Open Topic: Choose your own topic and theoretical approach for your research paper. You must still use at
least one of the works or authors we have studied this semester. If you choose this topic, your proposal will be
particularly vital in demonstrating your plans for this paper.
Late Policy
I will allow for late research papers to be submitted to Canvas, but exams, participation grades, and other assignments
cannot be made up under normal circumstances. If late work is submitted and accepted, I will deduct some points as a
penalty, varying based on the amount of time over the due date. Penalties can become substantial after two weeks after the
deadline (i.e., 30% deduction or more). I expect all of my students to submit their work in a timely fashion. In most cases,
I do not believe it is fair for some to receive extra time on an assignment while others submitted the assignment in a
timely fashion. As such, I rarely grant exceptions to my late policy. If you know you are going to miss a day an exam will
be given, please ask to schedule the exam or essay deadline early rather than asking to do it late. I will not apply penalties
to students taking exams or submitting assignments early; however, I will decide what situations warrant an early exam or
make up assignment. Late work is due by the last class day of the semester under normal circumstances. I will not take
late work after this date unless extreme circumstances warrant such an extension (see Redemption Policy).
Email/Phone Policy
Email is the preferred method of contacting me outside of my office hours. With the exception of weekends, I will
respond to emails within 48 hours. I rarely respond to weekend emails. The only email address I can respond to is your
Collin College email account, so please make sure you are using this account when inquiring about private student matters
(i.e. grades, attendance, etc). Please make sure emails are sent apart from the Canvas account (as they may not appear in
my inbox). I will only answer my office phone during my office hours. I will not return student phone calls for privacy and
security reasons.
Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism and other forms of scholastic dishonesty are serious offenses and can result in hefty penalties. If a paper is
suspected of plagiarism, it must be initially reported to the Dean of Student Development; however, as the instructor of
the course, I am usually the arbiter of determining what offense are deemed plagiarism or scholastic dishonesty within my
course and discipline. Students are typically referred to the Dean of Student Development in my class for substantially
quoting a word-for-word source without using quotation marks, failing to identify the author or origin of the idea for
paraphrased (summarized) text, and for submitting a document with over a 50% match on Turn-it-In for un-cited text.
Students are responsible for properly citing sources within their papers, but exceptions to the policy might be made if
evidence of unintentional plagiarism seems to exist (i.e. the professor or Dean determine such circumstances). If students
plan to use writing from previous papers or assignments, they must first receive permission from me in writing and must
reproduce enough revised or original work on the assignment to align themselves with the original work done by other
students in the class; furthermore, if a student plans to expand or work on a project currently being done in another class,
they must also receive written permission from that professor as well. Penalties for violating this policy are determined on
a case-by-case basis and can range from penalties on the assignment to failure of the course. Students can even receive
point deductions and other penalties for failure to engage in careful research conventions like citation and proper
contextualization of source material. For more scholastic dishonesty procedures or plagiarism codes, please see the policy
on the first page of this syllabus or the Collin Student Handbook.
Grading/Return Policy
My policy is generally to return major grades (worth 10% or more) at least two weeks after the assignment has been
submitted, not including assignments accepted after the deadline or works to be rewritten. On rare occasions, there may be
an exception to this return policy, but I will alert students immediately if such an occasion occurs. If you have not
received an assignment by the two week deadline, it is your responsibility to contact me with your concerns. It is
sometimes the case that students have missed days when papers were returned or have missed an email indicating a
change in the return date. A quick email or conversation with me can easily clarify the matter, so please dont hesitate to
contact me with your concerns. All major essay assignments will contain comments. If you dont see your comments, it is
your responsibility to alert me to the problem immediately. Canvas comments have frequently failed to show due to minor
glitches in the systema quick email to me can usually resolve these problems. Note: students are responsible for
learning how to retrieve their grades and comments from Canvas; I will not return major grades by email or in class.
Classroom Conduct
I expect all students to be respectful of me and their classmates while attending one of my class sessions. As such,
students should act civilly in my class and abide by the behavioral rules stipulate by Collin College in their student
handbook. Failure to do so might result in being asked to leave the room. Cell phones, laptop computers, and other
devices, if not being used for the class, may count as a distraction and may be viewed as disrespectful to your classmates
and myself. Anything deemed as an unnecessary distraction can also be grounds for dismissal. Please be considerate of
others when attending one of my classes.
Grade Redemption Policy
On rare occasions, students in breach of any of the above policies or grading criteria may request a second chance under
the Grade Redemption Policy. Students may only qualify for this policy until mid-semester or longer under extenuating
circumstances. The policy is reserved for unusual and extreme situations (which will be determined by the instructor). If I
deem your situation worthy of redemption, I will ask you to draw up a contract agreeing to our terms of redemption. If
you violate any part of this contract, I have the authority to declare the contract broken and assign you an F for the class or
the assignment. I also retain the right to declare the contract null-and-void at any point in the semester. This policy is NOT
a right. Student contracts are only available at my discretion.
Writing Center Online
The Writing Center at Collin Colleges Spring Creek Campus has a number of online resources for students, which can be
found at the following link: http://www.collin.edu/studentresources/writingcenter/onlinetutor.html. The most prevalent of
these resources is the OWL Dropbox. The Dropbox will allow you to engage in a tutor session online by submitting a
paper through the above link. It will take 72 hours for a tutor to respond. Tutor-Text can also be found at the above link.
Tutor-Text is designed for students to ask quick writing or citation questions by text message. All of these resources can
be useful to our class and can help you fulfill your lab requirement.
Hybrid Course Requirements
This course makes use of an online learning component provided by the Canvas platform, accessible by logging into
CougarWeb with the ID and password provided by the college. Our Canvas section will house readings, handouts, gradebook(s), an assignment dropbox folder to submit essays, links to important websites and documents, and the class
syllabus. You are required to visit this site before every class to access the schedule and check for important updates and
announcements.
You will submit major essays and receive grades on them through this online platform and by using the assignment
dropbox feature. Criteria for grading and regulating essays are the same as listed above. Assignments are due at 11:59PM
on the day they are listed as due on the syllabus. The essay you submit is your official submission, meaning NO
deletions or multiple uploads, so only submit it if it is ready for my viewing.
Late work may be subject to penalty. Students are also responsible for turning in assignments in an Office Word friendly
format. If you encounter legitimate technical problems (error in the system) submitting on Canvas preventing you from
making the deadline, you are responsible for contacting the help desk and copying the professor on the subsequent email
chain as proof of the problem. Leniency will only be granted if a legitimate error has occurred. I do NOT consider being
unfamiliar with Canvas a legitimate excuse. All students are responsible for learning to operate their instructional material
and finding the means to access Canvas.
Note: the Canvas grade-book does NOT reflect your official grade for the class, but merely the average of your
major essay gradesparticipation, attendance, the daily writing journal, lab, and the final exam will NOT be
reflected in this grade-book.
Course Calendar:
Fall 2016
CV=Canvas
NR=Norton
Nvl= Novel
History of Fairy Tales=Once Upon a Time: A Brief History of Fairy Tale
Ch=chapters
Fairy Tales
August
Week 1
23First Day
Class Introduction
Review of Syllabus & Class Schedule
Select Study Groups
Aesop (Greece)
Goody Two Shoes, Newberry (England)
A Token for Children, (England, America)
25Grimm (Germany, 1800s), Afanasyev (Russia, 1826-1871), Perrault (France, 1628-1703), & Others
Little Red Riding Hood Stories, pp. 10-24 (all the red riding hood stories)
Vasilisa The Fair (CV)
Picture book roundtable
September
Week 2
30Brothers Grimm & Andersen (Denmark, 1805-1875)
The Little Mermaid, pp. 216-232
Cinderella, pp. 117-122
Yeh-hsien, pp. 107-108 (China)
Picture book roundtable
1Brothers Grimm
Snow White, pp. 83-89
Hansel and Gretel, pp. 184-189
From History of Fairy Tales, Ch 1
Picture book roundtable
Optional: Gold into Straw: Fairy Tale Movies for Children and the Culture Industry (CV)
Golden Age & 19th & Early 20th Century Literature for Children
Week 3
6Little Known Fairy Tales and Folklore