Course Syllabus: English 2322, Survey of British Literature 1

Instructor:   Roberta Walden

Instructor Website:

 

http://www.tvcc.edu/Faculty/rwalden/

 

            The above website  is where you go for instructions at the beginning of the semester.  Make a point to remember right now that you can also get to this website by going  to "www.tvcc.edu,"  finding "Faculty Pages," and clicking on "Roberta Walden."  If you just memorize "www.tvcc.edu," you will be in good shape to find my website from anywhere you might be.  

            Announcements will be posted on my website beginning the first week of school telling you  when class will begin and what you need to do to get started.


Instructor Cell Phone: 830-591-3372   .   I keep this phone for my  students, so, clearly, I want you to call me if you want to.  You may call any day of the week, but please do not call me before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. 

 

e-mail:   rwalden@tvcc.edu   E-mail me if your questions are unanswered by my website.  Please include your name, your class, and a hint of your question  in the subject line if you   e-mail me at this address

 

Office Phone: 903-675-6369 (If you get my voice mail, please leave your name, your class and your message. Speak slowly, please, and say your name and phone number twice.)

 

Office: Room 231 in the Gibbs Building on the Athens Campus (My office hours may vary from week to week.  If you want to come by my office, you should call to confirm that I will be in my office that day)

 

Course Description: (from the TVCC catalog): A study of British literature from Beowulf to the Romantic era.  Authors studied include but are not limited to Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.  A fully documented research paper is required as part of the course work. 

 

Prerequisite: English 1302 

 

Required Textbook:  The Longman Anthology of British Literature  (1A, 1B, 1C)  (You may call the TVCC bookstore to have your set of books delivered to your home).

 

If you want the ISBN, please call our bookstore. 

 

The bookstore  number is 903-675-6223.  PLEASE BE SURE THE BOOK STORE UNDERSTANDS YOU NEED ENGLISH (BRITISH) LITERATURE!

Course Goals:

The student will be able to describe selected scenes, summarize selected works, define selected terms,  identify characters,  recognize quotes,  respond to readings, assess the value of the study of  English literature, and recognize significant  English writers. In addition, students will be able to discuss character motive, recognize recurring  themes, compare themes,  and research and discuss historical and authorial perspective in selected works of English literature. 

Students will:

1.  Interact with literature which represents and / or has influenced the evolving consciousness of England. 

2.  Place selected British literature in the context of its own time by examining the  historical, political, and artistic backgrounds of  the literature. 

3.  Identify authors, characters, and content of selected pieces of  literature  which has  influenced English  literary styles, politics, and / or thinking. 

4. Analyze emotional, psychological, moral, and  political issues in selected English literature. 

5.  Respond to questions about the texts which they are asked to read. 

6.  Read  and think critically as they survey English literature. 

Class Policies:

Students will be respectful of each other. Students will complete assignments and do their own work.  Students will not copy  from any source without proper documentation or present an ywork as his own which is not, indeed, his or her own. At the instructor's discretion, students may be assigned a grade of "F"  in the course for such plagiarism.

As dictated by the TVCC catalog, a researched essay is required for credit in this class.

Course Content (Order of course content is subject to change)

Unit 1:Introductions

Unit2: Backgrounds of English literature

Unit 3: Anglo Saxon Backgrounds 

Unit 4: Beowulf 

Unit 5: Anglo Norman Backgrounds and the Arthurian cycle

Unit 6: Middle English Literature in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Unit 7: The Canterbury Tales

Unit 8: Elizabethan English                                                                                       

Unit 9: The English Bible

Unit 10: The early Seventeenth Century 

Course Evaluation (Grades): 1105 total points are possible including extra credit
 

 

Activity

Points Possible

Your Points

Attendance and participation: 

105 Points Total 


(7 pts. per week)

 

Attendance points are gained by filling out an attendance form online once weekly. The attendance form opens and closes according to the Attendance and Participation schedule below this table.

1.___ 


2.___
3.___ 
4.___ 
5.___

6.___


7.___ 
8.___ 
9.___ 
10.___

11.___


12.___ 
13.___ 
14.___ 
15.___

____ Total attendance and participation points

Unit Quizzes: 

100 Points Total

 

Unit quiz points are gained by taking online unitquizzes.These quizzes open when the corresponding unit material is released and close the final week of the semester

1.___       6.____
2.___       7.____ 
3.___       8.____ 
4.____     9.____ 
5.___     10.____ 

____ Total unit quiz points

Discussions

200 Points

 

Online discussion topics will be assigned when unit material is released.You may contribute to any discussion throughout the semester, but unit discussion grades will be given only for discussion contributions made by the discussion due date.  (There may not be 10 discussions.  If not, I will adjust the discussion grade so that it equals 200 points.)

1.___         _____6.
2.___         _____7.
3.___         _____8.
4.___          _____9.
5.___          ____10.

____ Total content quiz points 

Researched Essay

100 Points

 

This essay is required for credit in this course. This requirement is dictated by the TVCC catalog course description.You must submit this essay by the due date to receive credit for the class.

____ Total research points

Extra Credit

100


 

 

Extra credit is possible so that if you miss closing dates, you can overcome the lost grades. Do read the information below this table on extra credit. There is a due date for extra credit.

___ Total extra credit

Exam 1

200 Points


 

 

This exam will be taken online with a testing proctor at your college testing center.The exam is graded 1 to 100 and multiplied by 2.

The begin and close dates for the exam will be announced early in the semester

  Exam 1____ 

    ____ Exam 1. Grade X 2

Exam 2

300 Points 


 

 

This COMPREHENSIVE exam will be taken online under the supervision of a testing proctor at a college testing center (or approved learning resource center or library).The begin and close dates for the exam will be announced early in the semester.The exam is graded 1 to 100 and multipled by 3.

If you miss this exam, your grade for the course will be"F" UNLESS you have a legitimate family emergency AND have participated in weekly activities and discussions, have taken (and passed)your midterm exam, have submitted the required researched essay, AND can provide a legitimate written statement explaining why you are unable to take the final exam.In this case ONLY, and,at the discretion of the instructor, you may be given an incomplete ("I") If you miss the final exam and receive an "I," you MUST contact me within six weeks after the beginning of  the following semester to arrange to take your exam.  Otherwise the registrar's office will assign you a grade of "F" in the course.

a)Exam 2 ___ 

   ____ Exam 2 Grade times  3

Final Grade

1005 points possible

 

If your final exam grade (before it is tripled) is higher than your grades totaled, I will use that grade as your semester grade AS LONG AS YOU HAVE SUBMITTED the REQUIRED researched essay. This means that, even if you are unable to participate in some class activities such as discussions and quizzes, you can pass the class with a high grade.

b) ____ Total Points (with decimal moved one place to the left) 

Your final semester  grade is the higher grade of "a" or "b" above with decimal of "b" moved one place to the left (as long as you have submitted the required researched essay.)

 

 

 

EXTRA CREDIT:

Extra Community activities extra credit.   You can earn UP TO 25 points each for such activities as going to museums, plays, and concerts which are in some way related (culturally, historically, topically) to an item on the reading list.

 

Community activities involve mingling with other people at an event that can in some way be related to an item on the class reading list.

 

Community activity credit works like this: you participate in some activity which involves other humans  (such as going to an outdoor production of a Shakespearian play) . You get someone to take your picture there using a disposable camera .You take the camera to Walmart and get the film developed to disc for about $4.50 (allow yourself at least a couple of days to get the disc back).

 

You submit all your community activity work (you can submit up to four activities) at one time by a date I will give you later in order to claim your credit. To get credit, you will submit a photograph of yourself at the event (or scanned tickets or programs) along with a NARRATIVE REPORT describing the event and its relationship to British  literature as well as its impact on you personally.