ENGLISH 2321:01 Introduction to British Literature Fall 2022

 

Instructor: Dr. Clay Daniel 

TR 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm

Office: 233 ELABS

E-mail: clay.daniel@utrgv.edu

Internet Site: faculty.utrgv.edu/clay.daniel 

Office Hours: 3:30-5:00; 7:30-9:00  TR

 

I.Course Description: Introduction to British Literature: A study of several masterpieces of English Literature

 

II. Texts: 

A. OPTIONAL: The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors, 9th ed. (or 8th or 7th or 6th) Earlier editions are much cheaper. IMPORTANT: Be sure to get the right anthology; there are several versions of The Norton Anthology with a similar name. Also, all of the works are on the internet or in the library. I have links to them in BB. And I have a textbook on reserve in the library.

B.    Course study guide: this guide includes the notes that I use to deliver class lectures. 

C.   Blackboard/Learn. Strictly optional if you are not in an online version of the course. Some of its course-enhancements for a class that meets are extra credit quizzes, extra credit essay assignments, an electronic forum, and an up-to-date calendar, and a listing of your grades. 

 

III. Course Requirements: Your grade will be determined as follows:

A)      Quizzes: 10% 

B)      Essay: 10%   

C)      4 major exams, including comprehensive final: 20% each

D)      Blackboard Extra Credit Assignments 

 

A). Quizzes: BB/online. Answers are given.

B). Essay: See online handout for essay guidelines.

C). Major Exams:  Exams will consist of a mixture of essay and objective questions 

D). Blackboard: All work due three weeks before the last class day (excluding the day of the final exam). There is a 40 point total limit for all extra credit:

 

IV.TENTATIVE OUTLINE OF COURSE WORK: CHECK BB CALENDAR  FOR CURRENT/UP-TO-DATE SCHEDULE

 

Week 1---Aug 29: Introduction to Course. Assessment test.  

Week 1---Sept 5: Beowulf

Week 2---Sept 12: Canterbury Tales; ballads; medieval drama.

Week 3---Sept 19: Thomas Malory’s Morte D’Arthur

Week 4---Sept 26: TEST 1. Then introduction to Elizabethan theatre.  

Week 5—Oct 3: Dr. Faustus. Library orientation

Week 6---Oct 10: Measure for Measure.

Week 7---Oct 17: Twelfth Night

Week 8---Oct 24: Critical Perspectives. Shakespeare Extras

Week 9---Oct 31: Test 2. Then Renaissance Pastoral: Lycidas

Week 10---Nov 7: Finish Renaissance Pastoral. Then Victorian Background.

Week 11---Nov 14: Test 3. Then the Victorian novel. A Christmas Carol.

Week 12---Nov 21: Modernism Background. All Extra Credit, BB work, and Essay due.

Week 13---Nov 28: Modernism, contd. T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock;

Week 14---Dec 5: Review for final.

Week 15---Final Exam

 

V. Course Policies: All course policies are subject to change to accord with university policies.

1. Attendance: No attendance required. For those attending, follow university covid-requirements and local legal requirements (masks, social distancing, stay home if sick etc.) I will attempt to enforce these. If you see anything amiss, let me know. But I’m neither a policeman nor a physician. In a classroom, the possibility of human interaction is often difficult to avoid. If this alarms you, you can choose not to attend. I’m also teaching this class on-line, and the BB sites are identical. Let me know if you want to approach the class as an on-line course. In any case, you attend at your own risk.

2. You can provide suggestions or questions to me throughout the semester in person, during conferences, or by posting comments (anonymous allowed) through Blackboard/Class Forum.

3. Be aware of current university policies on drops and changes-of-grade. Be particularly aware that you are responsible for having the course dropped by the appropriate date. 

4.  Post-Course Policy: The material taught in this course is covered by a kind of informal "warranty." If you pass this course with a "C" or better, please feel to ask me any questions---throughout your academic career---on any material covered in this course---especially material whose lack of understanding interferes with your doing well in other classes.

5.Email me. If you must call (not a good idea), see me and I’ll give you a number. If you email me, either with questions or material, expect an answer within 48 hrs., except on weekends. If I don’t respond, I didn’t receive it. 

6.Often the class, at the beginning of the semester, changes to a different classroom. Since it takes time officially to process this change, the change might not appear on the Assist system. If you can’t find the classroom (students almost always have), contact me (or the English Department).

 

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: 

Students with a documented disability (physical, psychological, learning, or other disability which affects academic performance) who would like to receive academic accommodations should contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) as soon as possible to schedule an appointment to initiate services.  Accommodations can be arranged through SAS at any time, but are not retroactive.  Students who suffer a broken bone, severe injury or undergo surgery during the semester are eligible for temporary services.  

 

 

Pregnancy, Pregnancy-related, and Parenting

Accommodations

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination, which includes discrimination based on pregnancy, marital status, or parental status. Students seeking accommodations related to pregnancy, pregnancyrelated condition, or parenting (reasonably immediate postpartum period) are encouraged to contact Student Accessibility Services for additional information and to request accommodations. 

 

Student Accessibility Services:

Brownsville Campus: Student Accessibility Services is located in Cortez Hall Room 129 and can be contacted by phone at (956) 882-7374 (Voice) or via email at

ability@utrgv.edu. Edinburg Campus: Student Accessibility Services is located in 108 University Center and can be contacted by phone at (956) 665-7005 (Voice), (956) 665-3840 (Fax), or via email at ability@utrgv.edu.

 

 

SCHOLASTIC INTEGRITY (ALSO SEE CODE BELOW): 

As members of a community dedicated to Honesty, Integrity and Respect, students are reminded that those who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and expulsion from the University. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: cheating, plagiarism (including selfplagiarism), and collusion; submission for credit of any work or materials that are attributable in whole or in part to


another person; taking an examination for another person; any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student; or the attempt to commit such acts. Since scholastic dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced (Board of Regents Rules and Regulations and UTRGV Academic Integrity Guidelines). All scholastic dishonesty incidents will be reported to the Dean of Students.

 

SEXUAL HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, and VIOLENCE:  

In accordance with UT System regulations, your instructor is a “Responsible Employee” for reporting purposes under Title IX regulations and so must report any instance, occurring during a student’s time in college, of sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, domestic violence, or sexual harassment about which she/he becomes aware during this course through writing, discussion, or personal disclosure. More information can be found at www.utrgv.edu/equity, including confidential resources available on campus. The faculty and staff of UTRGV actively strive to provide a learning, working, and living environment that promotes personal integrity, civility, and mutual respect that is free from sexual misconduct and discrimination.

 

VI. THECB Core Objectives 

A. UTRGV Student Learning Outcomes:

1.   Critical Thinking (CT): Students will demonstrate comprehension of a variety of written texts and other information sources by analyzing and evaluating the logic, validity, and relevance of the information in them to solve challenging problems, to arrive at wellreasoned conclusions, and to develop and explore new questions.

2.   Communication Skills (COM): Students will demonstrate the ability to adapt their communications to a particular context, audience, and purpose using language, genre conventions, and sources appropriate to a specific discipline and/or communication task. 

3.   Social Responsibility (SR): Students will recognize and describe cultural diversity, the role of civic engagement in society, and the link between ethics and behavior. 

4.   Personal Responsibility (PR): Students will demonstrate an awareness of the range of human values and beliefs that they draw upon to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making.

B. Department Objectives for ENGL 2321

        In this course,

1.               Students will extend their communication and critical thinking skills by developing well-reasoned, logical, and ethical arguments and by enlarging their ability to analyze texts, to synthesize ideas, and to think abstractly. (CT, COM,

PR)

2.               Students will be able to recognize literary texts as vehicles of value from an assortment of cultures: national, regional, ethnic, gendered, privileged, and oppressed. (CT, SR, PR)  3. Students will study a mixture of literary works from a variety of cultural backgrounds in order to advance their intercultural literacy. (SR, PR)

4. Students will gain an aesthetic understanding of the creative treatment of social and cultural debates as well as a growing awareness of their own relation to the social/cultural stakes inherent in these issues. (CT, SR, PR) 5. Students will develop thoughtful personal responses to the social issues covered in the course and will further develop an ethical sensibility to inform their own choices as ethical actors. (CT, COM, SR, PR)

6.               Students will develop, evaluate, and deploy a variety of critical methodologies for understanding the human condition, including but not limited to historical, psychological, biographical, social, and feminist approaches.

(CT, COM, PR, SR)

7.               Students will demonstrate their ability to ethically cite from other texts in order to create a persuasive argument.

(CT, COM, PR)

 

UTPA [UTRGV?]CODE OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

The first confirmed violation of academic dishonesty (as defined in HOP section 5.5.2) by an undergraduate student will result in the following action:

The recommended penalty will be an F for the course and completion of an educational program on academic integrity.  If the matter is taken to a hearing officer, the

academic penalty imposed will consider any recommendation of the faculty member involved.

The student will be informed that a second violation may result in suspension or expulsion.

A copy of the sanction letter will be forwarded to the

student’s academic chair.

 

The second confirmed violation of academic integrity by an undergraduate student (or first by a graduate student) will result in the following action:

The recommended penalty will be an F for the course and suspension or expulsion.  If the matter is taken to a hearing officer, the academic penalty imposed will take into consideration any recommendation of the faculty member involved.

If expelled, the student’s transcript will contain the notation, “Expelled for Academic Misconduct,” along with the applicable date.

A copy of the sanction letter will be sent to appropriate academic officials.

Also be aware of “the Bronc/Vaquero Honor Code: As members of a community dedicated to honesty, integrity, and mutual respect in all interactions and relationships the students, faculty and administration of our university pledge to abide by the principles in The Bronc/Vaquero Honor

Code.”