ENGLISH 222: Survey of British Literature II
Instructor: Bruce Matsunaga
Class Line # 58231
Meets daily @ 11:20-1:00

OFFICE: LL 545B
OFFICE HRS: Monday and Thursday from 2:00-3:00 pm.
PHONE: 965-3884
E-MAIL: bhm@asu.edu

REQUIRED TEXTS
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2, 7th Ed.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course attempts to "survey" a span of English (i.e., British) literature stretching from the late eighteenth century to the present day. Such is the ambitious scope of the Norton Anthology (vol. 2), a monumental collection of diverse writers from William Blake to Tom Stoppard. It is impossible to do justice to the nearly three thousand pages of fascinating material contained therein. Thus, we will cover primarily the Romantic and Victorian periods with a slight nod to the Modern. Thus, we must invariable neglect many valuable and interesting authors. My advice to you is "read them on your own."

A good deal of the instruction and writing for the class will be communicated via the computer. Because this class is a hybrid class, you will be required to sign up for an ASU e-mail account and make yourself familiar with computers, the Internet, various sundry computer applications and electronic means of discourse. In addition, student participation in weekly on-line discussions is required of all students.

ATTENDANCE
The work of the class is cumulative and incremental, and attendance is critical to your success.

***Note
If you are coming to class, you must make a commitment and arrive on time. If you make a practice of arriving late, you will be counted absent as well.

OFFICE HOURS
Office hours are times I set aside to meet with you and discuss problems you may have with a concept we have discussed in class or specific problems you may experience on a report. Please note that I will not read entire rough drafts during my office hours. I will address specific questions and look at detailed outlines or selected parts of your reports.

ASSIGNMENTS
Exams (35%): your exams will be in-class and composed of identification and short essay questions. Please bring a bluebook or two. Exams are probably less painful in a summer course than having you do three critical essays.

Author Presentation (10%): for this assignment you will give a ten minute presentation to the class on an author that is in the Norton but not on the syllabus. Try to include some of the author's well-known work and how he/she fits into (or doesn't fit) their period. You should reference at least one outside work (internet sources are fine). You will also hand in a two page report that summarizes your presentation.

Critical Essay (25%): this essay should be between 5 - 7 pages in length and reference secondary sources. You should follow the MLA guidelines for research papers.

Participation (25%): in this short class, participation is very important. I will expect every student to contribute to the class on a regular basis. Since this is a hybrid class, there will be at least one prompt each week that you are required to give a thoughtful response. By thoughtful, I mean much more than just a line or two, you should be able to write one standard page. I have found that it works best when you write the response in a wordprocessing program like Word first, and then copy and paste it into WebBoard. This allows you to use Word's toolset and prevents lost writing due to a computer crash or disconnection.

ESSAY FORMAT
The major assignments must be typed. For my eyes, try to use 12-point font with standard one-inch margins. In the upper right hand corner of your assignment put your name, my name, English 222, the date, and the assignment title. This will help me to keep track of your essays. Since this is a hybrid class, your final paper should be posted to WebBoard as a Word/Wordperfect/Richtext attachment before midnight (AZ-MST) on 6/29/01.

LATE PAPERS
Papers are due at the beginning of class on the day specified in your syllabus. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade per class day (M-F) past the due date. I will accept late papers without penalty if you have a valid documented excuse such as a doctor's note specifically covering the days you are absent. If you are sick on the day a paper is due but you do not visit the doctor, you should arrange to have a friend deliver the work to me at the beginning of class.

REVISION POLICY
Since much of the class time in will be spent working on your drafts, and due to the compact nature of a summer courses, there will be no revisions. Successful writing usually involves multiple drafts. However, at some point, you must bring that drafting to a close and submit your best effort. At that stage, I will grade your work. If you ever have questions about a paper, if you are stuck, if you are having problems, see me in office hours or make an appointment. I want you to succeed in this class.

GRADING
I use the ASU standard A through E grading system. I assign the following point system to letter grades when I calculate your overall grade:

A = 4.0	C = 2.0	Midterm 15%
A- = 3.7	C- = 1.7	Final 25%
B+ = 3.3	D+ = 1.3	Critical Paper 25%
B = 3.0	D = 1.0	Presentation 10%
B- = 2.7	D- = .7	Participation 25%
C+ = 2.3	E = .3	TOTAL 100%
	No assignment = 0

 

There is a significant point difference between failing a assignment and not turning one in.

Since final grades are reported as whole numbers as well (i.e., there are no plus or minus final grades), the following scale will be used to determine the final grade. A student will receive a final grade no lower than the grade determined by the following formula:

A = 3.5-4.0
B = 2.5-3.49
C = 1.5-2.49
D = .5-1.49
E = .49 & below

PLAGIARISM
Knowingly presenting the language or ideas of another person as well as one's own is plagiarism. It is stealing. Plagiarism is cheating yourself and someone else. The consequences are severe, including failure for the assignment, probable failure for the course, disciplinary referral to the Dean, and possible expulsion from the University. Whenever you borrow a phrase, sentence, paragraph, or even an idea stated in your own words, from any outside source without giving credit to that source, you have plagiarized.

THE WRITING CENTER
Located on the 3rd floor (B wing) of the Language and Literature Building, the Writing Center offers excellent free tutorial services for those needing any kind of help with writing, research, or brainstorming skills in one-on-one tutorial sessions, workshops, and computer modules. If you can't kick the comma splice habit, or find that agreement errors plague your writing, don't wait until these problems have already affected your grades. Those who attend one or two sessions usually find that their work improves. The help is free and the instructors who work there are well qualified. The center also offers workshops and help to those more advanced students who wish to improve their writing.

INCOMPLETES
Incompletes are not an option in this course.

THE PUBLIC NATURE OF CLASS WRITING AND DISCUSSION
Part of becoming a good writer is learning to appreciate the ideas and criticisms of others and in this course our purpose is to come together as a community of writers. Remember that you will often be expected to share your writing with others. Avoid writing about things that you may not be prepared to subject to public scrutiny or that you feel so strongly about that you are unwilling to listen to perspectives other than your own. This does not mean that you are not entitled to an opinion but that you adopt positions responsibly, contemplating the effects on others, that you take responsibility for your words and for engagement with the words of others.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Since this class is hybrid, you must have an access to an Internet enabled computer.

OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
A floppy disk, access to an MLA style manual, and an up-to-date hardcover college-level dictionary.