Dr. Caltvedt
Office hours: TWF 8:30-9:00 A.M.; 1:00-1:35 P.M. e-mail: lesc@elmhurst.edu ext 3106
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
a. from the LITERATURE Category of General Education:
* Increased ability to understand and appreciate the nature and uses
of language.
* Increased awareness of the historic, cultural, spiritual, and personal
contexts of literature.
* Increased appreciation of the unique opportunities for life-long
learning afforded by reading and thinking about literary texts.
b. from my list:
*To gain an understanding of literature as such (see below)
*To enhance your understanding of humankind
*To increase your appreciation of writing
*To express yourself on literature
*To confront major issues raised in literature (war & peace, love,
death, etc.)
BOOKS TO BUY at Book Cellar--(All are in English)
1. Voltaire: Candide. Dover $1
2. Kleist: The Marquise of O. And Other Stories.
3. Demons of the Night. Kessler, ed. U. Chicago Press
4. Maupassant: The Necklace & Other Stories $1.
5. Kafka: Metamorphosis & Other Stories & Other Stories.
Dover.$1
6. Calvino: Numbers in the Dark & Other Stories.
7. Solomon, ed. Other Voices, Other Vistas
[8. More Readings on-line, and as hand-outs. Cf. Below.]
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SHORT TEXT HAND-OUTS: (please return photocopies, after tests): Myths; 1001 Nights; Fairy Tales collected by the Grimm brothers; Colette, Borchert & Robbe-Grillet: Short narratives (as time permits).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & PROCEDURES
1. 1/2 Quiz at the beginning of every session on groups of stories at the beginning of our discussion. Most questions will be of the "Did you read it" and "Did you read it carefully?" variety. Lowest (whole) quiz is thrown out. Missed quizzes are not made up. This quiz routine is meant to help you to read ahead, and thereby to know what your fellow students are talking about. One quiz grade is thrown out. If you miss a quiz, you must write a 1-1/2 page paper on some of the works discussed on the day you were absent, though your grade will still be affected by excessive absence. ß n.b. For example, if you get all A's, miss 3 classes, and are not hospitalized, you will not get an A.
2. Study Questions will be provided on-line for almost every work. You do not hand these in, but you should read them as you read your assignments, for these reasons:
a] They alert you to aspects the instructor thinks important;
b] They are often used as quiz questions, and groups of them are the basis for some exam questions;
c] They act as a memory aid and compass for interpreting what you read.
STUDY QUESTION links:
Study Questions for Voltaire’s Candide
Kleist: The Marquise of O. And Other Stories -- Study Questions
CALVINO Stories--Study Questions
KAFKA Metamorphosis & Other Stories
Study Questions--Maupassant: "Boule...", "The Necklace," "Mme Tellier," & "Mlle Fifi."
OVOV:
Other Voices, Other Vistas
3. Class contribution, including presence and active participation in discussion. A note on attendance: many faculty members have taken steps to spell out consequences of excessive absences. In this class, your second absence will start to erode your grade average. In the case of an extended illness, contact me to explain your situation and to get assignments. **If you are absent for any reason (whole or ½ period), please write a 1-1/2 page paper which uses the study questions to interpret the work(s) discussed in your absence.**
4. Writing Assignments.
a. Journal. Please keep a journal for your readings of Voltaire, Kleist, and Balzac. You are encouraged to write down your reactions to each work as you read. What thoughts does it provoke? What is the main character like? If helpful, include some answers to study questions. (See Suggestions for Study.) Staple the entries together or use a special notebook. The purpose of the journal is to give you practice in expressing yourself freely about literature; therefore it will not be graded for content. However, you will hand it in at the end, and missing or inadequate journal will affect your grade. Minimum length: 7 pages; absolute maximum length: 20 pages.
b. Paper. Please think of this as a process.
Stage 1: read the work, and write study questions on the work (like those I give you in class).
Stage 2: Write draft of about 1/3 of what you plan to write, as per guide sheet which you will receive.
Stage 3: Write up and hand in the final draft.
(I) Content. You have the following options:
OPTION (a): Read an outside work by one of the following authors: (I) any author we read in class; OR (ii) any of these authors: from France--Balzac, Flaubert, Maupassant, Mérimée, Zola, Colette, Gide, Camus, Sartre, Duras; from Germany--Kleist, Hoffmann, Tieck, Keller, Hauptmann, Zweig, Kafka, T. Mann, Handke, Böll, Wolf; from Africa--Bâ, Laye, Ousmane, Achebe. From Canada: Yves Thériault, Michel Tremblay.
Some authors, such as Kafka and Balzac are well represented in our library. For others, you may have to use interlibrary loan or try another library. I tell you this so you can plan ahead if you have an interest in an author who is less well known. Also, some well known authors’ novellas are in collections, with titles such as Five Great German Stories, Twelve German Novellas, German Short Stories or German Stories/Deutsche Erzählungen(or equivalent in Italian). The work you choose must be in PROSE, but may be a novel, novella, or group of short stories, if they total 50 pages or more. Consult with me to get the project approved and to get suggestions on how to proceed.
Include in your paper these 5 components 1. a short plot summary (1-2 pages maximum), 2. a discussion or extended reference to an in-class work, 3. your interpretation of the work or one aspect of the work (cf. Suggestions for Study), 4. a short report on one piece of criticism. If you are unable to find criticism on your chosen work, you may substitute relevant historical or social background, or relevant a report on criticism of another work by the author, with instructor permission. 5. (required!) A list of sources used, with quotations properly attributed. LENGTH: 7-12 pp.
OPTION (b): With instructor permission, you may view and report on a movie which is based on a work by one of our authors. You will need to borrow the video cassette and story from a public library (you'll need a public library card) or rent it. Include outside sources--criticism of the film and a discussion of the important differences between film and prose narration. Read the story, or portions, if a novel. Components 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 all apply here also. LENGTH: 7–12 pages.
FORM: Please follow the form you learned in English 105-106, for example, the MLA form. You must give credit for thoughts and words of others through footnotes. Published thoughts are legal property. *Note re on-line sources: Use hard copy (as in books) as first resort. All on-line information MUST have an author and organization listed. Hand in all web addresses consulted. Get librarian help. Expensive, RESPECTABLE on-line sources (databases) are available only through our COLLEGE library website, or at the library. Use these, if you do use on-line sources, and not newspaper reviews, or popular magazine articles. Questions?________
When you have written a draft, proofread to see that you used complete sentences (but not run-ons), and that spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct. Have someone else read the draft to check for errors and to give his/her reaction to the content.
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GRADING: (short) Mid Term = 10% ; Final - 30%; Class Participation (including attendance) and Quizzes = 40%; Paper 20%.
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY:
1. Ask questions--while reading and in class. Some general ones are these: What is literature? (and what isn't?) What is it good for? How should we tackle a work in order to understand it? Why do we like some works better than others? What should we like?
2. Try to give each work a fair trial before judging it. Look for the positive, even in works you don't like, and expect to learn something from each one.
Include in your paper these 5 components 1. a short plot summary (1-2 pages maximum), 2. a discussion or extended reference to an in-class work, 3. your interpretation of the work or one aspect of the work (cf. Suggestions for Study), 4. a short report on one piece of criticism. If you are unable to find criticism on your chosen work, you may substitute relevant historical or social background, or relevant a report on criticism of another work by the author, with instructor permission. 5. (required!) A list of sources used, with quotations properly attributed. LENGTH: 7-12 pp.
3. Read the first paragraph twice, and also the first page or so, before going on to the rest. When you have read to the end, look at the beginning again to see how the work fits together.
4. Consider different ways of approaching literary texts. Here are some of the most common:
a. The work in and of itself. We look at the work as an object and describe what it is. We look at structure, themes, type or genre, and rhetorical devices.
b. The work and its relationship to the world. These are ways in which literature copies, reproduces, interprets its subject. Here we look at the relationship of the work to its contemporary culture, and consider the audience the author had in mind.
c. The work and its effect. We ask ourselves what it is in the work that moves us and why we identify with the characters in it.
d. The work as an expression of the author. Here we look at the relationship of the author to his work. We investigate the author's biography to see how it affected this particular work.
5. Literature belongs to the humanities. Make notes to yourself about the way human beings are treated by the author. For example, is each major figure an independent person or a being-in-relation-to-something? Is mankind seen as a subject (active, in control of his/her life) or more as an object (passive, an arena for the interplay of forces larger and stronger than the self?) Does the novel direct your attention outward from the individual, or does the world beyond him seem to be irrelevant to the concerns of the work? Is the relation between the individual person and human society an important issue? What is the person's situation in society? What is his/her attitude toward that situation?
6. What happens? Do psychological or spiritual events dominate? social events? Are the events symbolic--do they suggest other areas or planes of existence than those on (in) which they take place? Is there change or is the accent on permanence despite temporary variations?
7. With help from the instructor and class discussions, ask yourself how the work is put together--what is its structure? Who tells the story? How much does the narrator know? (everything?) Can you trust the narrator? Is the author's approach generally speaking more narrative (told by someone) or dramatic (presented in scenes so that the characters speak for themselves?) Does any particular character seem to speak for the author? Is the plot tight or loose, more or less important than other features, probable? Are the characters convincing? Are they individualized or types?
8. Together, we will deal with the question of the theme of the work. Sometimes it will be easy to put this into a sentence or two. What concerns keep coming back? What is stated and/or implied about the justice of the state of affairs envisioned in the work? the desirability? Does the situation at the end differ from the situation at the beginning? How does style relate to theme?
Sequence for JANUARY 2001. There are 1/2quizzes every class period, based on study questions I'll give you and "did-you-read-it" questions. There will be a short essay mid-term on the 2nd Friday, and a final. You will write a paper as described above.
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CALENDAR January 2001
Tues. 2 Jan. *after today, there will be a 1/2 Quiz every day at the beginning of class. 1 quiz is thrown out. NO make-ups. If you miss class or part of class you will write a 1-1/2 page paper, as described above.
In class: intro to course; syllabus on-line @ this address: http://www.elmhurst.edu/library/courses/forlang/209syl.html; Literature; Myths and legends from whole world; Fairy Tales; Intro to 1001 Arabian Nights; Begin reading Voltaire's Candide. Computer lab help re on-line assignments.
A. Assign for Wed.: A. Read Grimm Fairy Tales on-line: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/ Read these tales: 1. "The Three Spinners": http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/011.txt (=2 pp); 2. Faithful John: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/005.txt ; 3. "The Three Languages": http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/025.txt
B. Aesop’ Fables -- Section I -- at this address:
http://classics.mit.edu/Aesop/fab.1.1.html
-- Read the 1st 8 (ca. 2 pp):
The Wolf and the Lamb ; The Bat and the Weasels ; The Ass and the Grasshopper
;The Lion and the Mouse ; The Charcoal-Burner and the Fuller ; The Father
and His Sons ; The Boy Hunting Locusts ; The Cock and the Jewel.
C. "1001 Arabian Nights" on-line: i ] Read "Introduction" and skim "Summary": http://mfx.dasburo.com/an/a_index_commented.html ; ii] Read "The First kalandar’s Tale": http://mfx.dasburo.com/an/a_night_5.html ; iii] Read "Conclusion": http://mfx.dasburo.com/an/a_conclusion.html (total pages = ca. 12)
D. Voltaire: Candide, ch's 1 - 5 (some in class) (ca. 10 pp)
Wed. 3 Jan. 1/2 quiz; discuss assignment; You may choose your paper topic.
Assign for Fri: Candide, ch's 6 - 25 (ca. 60 pp.)
Fri. 5 Jan. 1/2 quiz
Assign: Candide, ch's 26 - 30 (ca. 13 pp.);
Begin new book, Kleist: The Marquise of O. And Other Stories:
"Earthquake in Chile" pp. 51-67] (16); ?The Marquise of O.? pp.68-113]
(45); ); ?The Beggarwoman of Locarno? pp. 214-216] (3); ??The Duel? 287-320]
(33)
Tues. 9 Jan. 1/2 quiz
Assign:Kleist's ?The Foundling? 270-286] (16);
Begin the book Demons of the Night: Balzac, ?The Red Inn? (First
part); pp. 30-44] (14) (TOTAL pp. = 30)
Wed. 10 Jan. 1/2 quiz
Assign: Demons of the Night, Finish ?The Red Inn?; pp. 44-62]
(18); Mérimée, ?Venus of Ille? 63-90] (27); Gautier, ?The
Dead in Love? (first part) 91-108] (17). (total pp. 62)
Fri. 12 Jan. 1/2 quiz; discussion of assigned readings;
*mid-term – a short essay exam –open book-.
Assign:i. Demons of the Night, Gautier, ?The Dead in Love? 109-117]
(8); Villiers, ?The Sign? 258-273](15);
Guy de Maupassant, ?The Horla? 284-308] (24); (= End of Demons...)
(= 47 pp)
ii. Begin book, Maupassant THE NECKLACE…: "Ball-of-Fat." 1-31] ; "The Necklace," 31 - 38]; "Mme Tellier's Establishment," 43 - 63]; "Mademoiselle Fifi," 63 - 72]; (Maupassant = 70 pp)
iii. Kate Chopin "A Respectable Woman" http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/hourbase.htm
All these have the same web address. Navigate from the above address
to read the following: 1. The Story of an Hour (ca. 1.5 pp)
Read the story AND the notes and commentary. This is good practice
in using secondary literature, and it's "pre-packaged" so you don't have
to hunt for anything yourself.
2.Read: "Beyond the Bayou" on-line (ca. 4.5 pp.)
http://www.mostweb.cc/Classics/Chopin/bayou/
3. Read: "Desirée's Baby" on-line http://www.mostweb.cc/Classics/Chopin/desiree/
(note: different on-line source) (ca. 4 pp)(Chopin = 9.5 pp)
Tues. 16 Jan. 1/2 quiz
Assign: Begin KAFKA, Metamorphosis & Other Stories: 1] "The
Judgment" (= 9 pp); Read part of "The Metamorphosis" 11 - 33] bottom
Wed. 17 Jan. 1/2 quiz
Assign: KAFKA, Metamorphosis & Other Stories: Continue "The
Metamorphosis" 34]-end (= 18 pp);"In the Penal Colony" (=23 pp); 81] "A
Report to an Academy" (=8 pp) (total = 60 pp)
Fri. 19 Jan. 1/2 quiz
Assign: i. BEGIN Calvino’s book, Numbers in the Dark. p. 7]
"Man who shouted T."; 9] "Flash"; 11] "Making Do"; 18] "Conscience"; 23]
"The Black Sheep"; 54] "The Lost Regiment"; 70] (=6 pp); (=15 Calvino,
so far)
Calvino, Numbers in the Dark:"The Workshop Hen" (=9 pp); 79] "Numbers in the Dark" (=11pp); 90] "The Queen’s Necklace" (=25pp); 135] "World Memory" (=7pp); 151] "Burning of the Abominable House" (=14 pp); 176] "Neanderthal Man" (=8 pp); 203] "Glaciation" (=3); (total Calvino = 92 pp)
ii.OVOV: Other Voices, Other Vistas: AFRICA section: 27] Achebe:
"Civil Peace" (6.3p); 52] Head: "The Collector of Treasures"(20.5p);–INDIA
section: 219] Desai, "Pigeons at Daybreak" (10 p) (Total OVOV = 37 pp)
Tues. 23 Jan. ½ Quiz
Assign:OVOV -- INDIA section: 258] Jhabvala, "The Interview" (12.6p);
291] Singh, "The Wog" (18).
Wed. 24 Jan. Any make-up papers due; 1/2 quiz
Assign:OVOV: Other Voices, Other Vistas: INDIA section: 258]
Jhabvala, "The Interview" (12.6p); 291] Singh, "The Wog" (18). (total =
30.8 pp)
OVOV--JAPAN section: 315]"The Magic Chalk" (12p)(We won’t discuss
this; rather you are asked to interpret, and draw connections to other
authors); LATIN AMERICA section: 429] "Clarisa" (10.5 p); Marquez, "Death
Constant Beyond Love" 462-471] (8) (total = 40.5)
Fri. 26 Jan. 1/2 quiz; Hand in journal; Course Evaluation; Final Exam
Created 2 Jan 2001 and last updated 8 Jan 2001
Elaine Fetyko Page, Elmhurst College Library