English 2332 (World Literature 1)

Instructor:   Roberta Walden

Instructor Web Site: http://www.tvcc.edu/Faculty/rwalden/

How to Get Started:

As time for classes to begin nears, go to my web site at http://www.tvcc.edu/Faculty/rwalden/   for information about getting started in class.

If you just memorize "www.tvcc.edu," you will be in good shape to find my web site from anywhere you might be because from anywhere you might be, you can go to the TVCC main web site and click around until you find my web site. Many students create a page within an online class folder in their own computer to keep class materials and online class links. On that page, they include a link to my web site . Some students like to keep a flash disk for class information so that class materials are portable.

What to Expect When Getting Started:

Class Management Software The class will use a free “class management software.” Beginning the Fall 2007 semester, the class management software TVCC will use is “Blackboard.”  If you have taken an online course before and used WebCT,  you will find Blackboard to be somewhat similar to what you have used before.  Because of the change from WebCT to Blackboard, however, even if you have taken an online class before, it will be very important for you to consult my web site before going to class. Even though there are similarities to WebCT, there are some differences which will be uncomfortable unless you get good instructions to help you understand the differences. If you have never taken an online class before, or if you have never used a class management system, you will get good instructions which will help you learn to navigate it.  

First Communication with Me It's important to note that I do not receive a list of e-mails of Trinity Valley students who enroll in this class, so you will not receive an e-mail from me that it is time to start class. On your own, you will need to visit my web site for instructions which will tell you what you need to do to get started.

Logging into Class After you register for an online class at Trinity Valley, your name and class are forwarded to Karen McGrew (kmcgrew@tvcc.edu) . Karen and her assistant(s) enter you into the class(es) for which you sign up. The TVCC distance learning group has a password / ID system they use for getting you signed up. If, once class begins, you go to the web site I designate but you are not able to log in with the password and ID information specific to you, that means there is one of several (or a combination of several) problems. 1) you have not been entered by Mrs. McGrew or her group 2) the password / ID information they entered for you is wrong 3) the registration system has not made your name available yet 4) you’re typing in something different than what the group typed in for you 5) you’re going to the wrong website 6) you’re not signed up for the course for which you meant to sign up

TROUBLESHOOTING:

1. Go to my web site and check to see if there is a message there for you. Maybe nobody can get in class yet because there is something wrong with the system.

2. E-mail kmcgrew@tvcc.edu with a copy to rwalden@tvcc.edu with the subject line: fall student trouble and your last and first name. In the body of the message, place your first and last name, your social security number (sorry about this, but the college requires it for identification), where you registered for your class, your phone number, the class you are concerned about getting signed on for, a pasted copy of the website where you try to log in, the information you typed in when you tried to log in, and the specific problem you are having (“can’t log in” or “can log in but another class shows up instead of this one” or “can log in and one of my classes shows up but this one doesn’t” or “can log in but my class is not there” or “could log in before but can’t log in now”). If you changed your password and can’t remember it, mention that..

Please note that I do not enter you into the WebCT or Blackboard class management system myself. Trinity Valley employs two distance learning assistants who enter names into the class management software.  If you are not entered into the system by them, you will not be able to access the class. Still, I want a copy of what you send to them if you are having trouble.

4. If Mrs. McGrew says she does not show that you are enrolled in the class and you know that you are, call or go to the registrar’s office and make sure the clerical staff there has your correct information and ask them when Mrs. McGrew will be able to access it.

5. If, after giving Mrs. McGrew a day to respond to you, and if, after trying what she suggests, you still have trouble, forward a copy of the above e-mail to tspurlock@tvcc.edu He is the distance learning director and he is a web magician who has tricks none of the rest of us understand.

6. Call me at 830-591-3372 if the above process fails. You can call me beginning at 10 a.m. in the morning until 7 p.m. at night any day of the week.

DO NOT TRY TO “SELF-ENROLL.” DO NOT ASK THE SYSTEM TO TELL YOU YOUR PASSWORD. THESE FUNCTIONS DO NOT WORK!


Prerequisite: English 1302

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.  Please, please, please always speak slowly and clearly.   If you must leave me a message, say your name, the class you are in, and the problem you are having.  As well, please, please, please say your number twice.  I have often received frantic calls from students whom I could not call because their information was unclear.

Instructor e-mail:   rwalden@tvcc.edu

In the subject line of e-mails outside the class management system of Blackboard,  please include your name, your class, and a hint about your question.  The word "help" in a subject line is most UNhelpful.

Instructor 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.)

Instructor Office:

Room 231 in the Gibbs Building on the Athens Campus (I sometimes walk across campus, so if you want to come by my office, you should call to confirm that I will be in my office at a certain time on a certain day.)

Required Textbook

The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces Expanded Edition in One Volume ,  1997 edition ISBN 0-393-97143-0

You may call the TVCC bookstore to have your book delivered to your home The bookstore number is 903-675-6223.

Course Goals

1.  Students will become familiar with selected pieces of literature through centuries and from around the globe.
2.  Students will become familiar with significant mythological figures, belief systems, and political hierarchies
from around the world in class readings.
3. Students will become familiar with backgrounds (historical, political, artistic), authors, characters, and content ofselected pieces of  literature which has  affected  world thought.
4. Students will analyze emotional, psychological, moral, and political issues which appear in literature from around the world.
5.  Students will learn to ask and respond to questions about the texts which they are asked to read.
6.  Students will consider how literature can reflect the collective consciousness of a culture / country / people as well as how it can influence it.
7. Students will consider the evolution of literary styles
8. Students will consider literature within literary / historical / philosophical eras.
9. When applicable, students will examine literature within the framework of its own time as well as consider its influence as it travels through time from  community to community.
10. Students will examine important human issues embedded as themes in even the most ancient of texts, such as "What does it mean to be human?"
11. Students will consider why humans are compelled to write and create literatures. 

Student Contributions

In a variety of assigned activities, the student will  read and analyze texts, participate in online discussions, share research, and cooperate in group work to address literary questions about various texts. 

The student will be able to compare themes,  discuss historical and authorial perspective, discuss character motive, describe selected scenes,   identify characters,  recognize quotes,  respond to readings, recognize recurring  themes,  summarize selected  works. 

Course Evaluation (Grades) 1105 total points are possible (see grade chart below)

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 any work 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.

Any student requesting a grade of incomplete must have completed all course work with passing grades up to the time of the student emergency prompting the need for an incomplete.

How to Begin Class

Go to http://www.tvcc.edu/Faculty/rwalden/for orientation instructions and announcements (You will not need to attend a face-to-face orientation exercise. My orientation is online)

Reading list

Guided excerpts from most of the following:

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Bible and The Koran

The Iliad and The Odyssey

TheOresteia

TheAeneid

The Apology of Socrates

Student choice between:

Beowulf, The Song of Roland, The Epic of Son-Jara,OREl Cid

The Thousand and One Nights OR The Tale of Genji

Eliduc OR The Divine Comedy (The Paradisio)

TheCanterburyTalesORTheDecameron

Machiavelli OR Montaigne

Approach to Readings

Reading of works in this class will always be for a purpose.The purpose will be to examine something, such as an idea, an element of the work, aculture, a philsophy, an author's purpose, or an author's approach. 

GRADES:

You can earn up to 1105 points. 900 to 1105 points are an A (as long as you take the final exam and complete the researched essay project)

105	10%	Weekly"roll call." Once a week you will open a form and  “click" to demonstrate you are present for that week."Roll call" formswill be open for a week.You can earn up to 105 points for roll call.
100	10%	Self-tests.There will be self-tests you can take as many times as you wish.These auto-grade and will be auto-graded each time you take them. The highest grade will be recorded. You can earn up to 100 points for self-tests.
100	10%	Guided discussions and assigned group projects.You can participate in guided discussions and workshops which are typically asynchronous (at different time) web "posts" that you place on a class discussion board within WebCT. I provide the topics and you respond to them when you are ready (up until the time the discussion "closes.”  (Note:"asynchronous"means "at different times," and, for this class,that translates to "times convenient for you within the time-frame that the discussion is “open") .You can earn up to 100 points for these guided online discussions and workshops.
200 Community Activities	20%	Community activities. Community activities involve mingling with other people at an event that can in some way be related to an item on the above reading list. Community activity credit works like this: you participate in some activity (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 world literature as well as its impact on you personally.  You can earn UP TO 50 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. You can earn up to 200 points for claiming credit for attending community activities related to world literature.
100	10%	Researched essay project.Class project and accompanying researched essay. You can earn up to 100 points for this r-e-q-u-i-r-e-d essay project.
200	20%	Mid-way exam . The midterm exam is not optional. It will be open for one week and will cover material included in the first several weeks of the semester. I will announce dates for this exam early in the semester. You can earn up to 200 points on your mid-way exam. The exam will be graded on a scale of 1 to 100 and then it will be doubled.
300	30% to 100%	Final exam  The final exam is c-o-m-p-r-e-h-e-n-s-i-v-e andr-e-q-u-i-r-e-d for all students. There are NO exceptions. You can earn between 100 and 300 points on your final exam. It will be graded from 1 to 100 .It will then be tripled and added to your semester points .

Note:Minor revisions made to Part 4 on June 1, 2006.Revised August 2006. Revised August 2007.