ENGL 301 (Section 004, Schedule #34560)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Fall 2019
TR 12:30-1:45pm :: Hibbs 430
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 333 Hibbs Hall
Fall 2019 Office Hours: TR 2-3:30

Introduction to the English Major

This class provides an overview of the study of literature and interpretation. Our focus will be on understanding the variety of approaches used in the discipline. We’ll read both original literature and criticism about that literature, exploring the many ways that readers and writers respond to and make sense of textual expression. The class is taught primarily by discussion, and significant attention will be devoted to the construction of solid interpretive essays about literature, including workshopping each other’s papers and doing other classroom exercises about the written interpretation of literature and media.

Texts

Texts for purchase (note that in some cases, students are required to obtain the specific edition of the book listed below):

• Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street (Vintage, 1991)
• Jonathan Culler, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (second edition, Oxford University Press, 2011) · this specific edition is required
• William Faulkner, The Portable Faulkner (Penguin 2003) · this specific edition is required
• Roxanne Gay, ed., The Best American Short Stories 2018 (Houghton Mifflin 2018)
• Langston Hughes, The Ways of White Folks (first published 1933; Vintage 1990) · this specific edition is required
• Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (first published 1861; second Norton Critical Edition, 2018) · this specific edition is required
• Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis (written 1915; first Norton Critical Edition, 2015) · this specific edition is required

Assignments and Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on written exercises and course participation as follows:

• Written Assignments: 60%. Students will write and edit 4 different essays and exercises over the course of the term. Each will count for 15% of the total grade.
  Link to Assignments pages:
  Assignment 1.
• Course Participation: 40%. A combined grade reflecting vigorous course participation and attendance. Being in class most of the time and contributing to discussion at least occasionally in such a way as to reflect having done the course reading will result in full or nearly full credit for course participation.

Course-Specific Policies

• Attendance. This course is taught primarily via discussion. Your attendance and participation are vital to its success.
• No Late Work. No late work is accepted in this class. Work handed in late is automatically marked down one-third grade (e.g., a B becomes a B-) for each day it is late, and after one week becomes a failing grade for the assignment.
• Class Preparation. You are expected to have done the primary reading and any other primary course assignments before the beginning of course each week.
• Honor System. All work in this course is subject to the University's Honor System. You may work in teams for some assignments, but all written work must be solely your own, and any reliance on published work must be properly cited.
• Evaluations. Final grades for the course will not be released until the entire class has submitted online course evaluations.

Official VCU Policy Statements

Please consult the Provost's official page on topics such as classroom conduct, email, the Honor System, and other important policy issues.

Week-by-Week Syllabus

Week One. Introduction. No reading.

• Tues Aug 20
• Thurs Aug 22

Week Two. Best American Short Stories

• Tues Aug 27. Stories by Anderson, Brinkley, Choi, and Cline
• Thurs Aug 29. Stories by Elliott and Evans

Week Three. Culler, Literary Theory

• Tues Sep 3. Pages 1-95
• Thurs Sep 5. Pages 96-end

Week Four. Best American Short Stories

• Tues Sep 10. Stories by Ferrell, Gujardo, Henriquez, and Johnson
• Thurs Sep 12. Stories by Rash, Sittenfeld, and Wang

Week Five. No classes

• Tues Sep 17. No class; instructor away
• Thurs Sep 19. No class; instructor away

Week Six. The Metamorphosis (all readings listed from 2016 Norton Critical Edition)

• Tues Sep 24. Kafka, The Text of The Metamorphosis. First paper due before midnight.
• Thurs Sep 26. Preface, Translator's Note, Texts and Contexts: Kafka

Week Seven. The Metamorphosis (all readings listed from 2016 Norton Critical Edition)

• Tues Oct 1.Texts and Contexts: Kafka's Contemporaries. Criticism by Anders, Sokel, Straus
• Thurs Oct 3. Criticism by Anderson, Boa, Duttlinger, Driscoll, Miron

Week Eight. Hughes, The Ways of White Folks

• Tues Oct 8. "Cora Unashamed," "Slave on the Block," "Home," "Passing," "A Good Job Gone"
• Thurs Oct 10. "The Blues I'm Playing," "One Christmas Eve," "Father and Son"

Week Nine. No classes

• Tues Oct 15. No class; instructor away
• Thurs Oct 17. No class; instructor away

Week Ten. Harriet Jacobs

• Tues Oct 22. "Introduction" and text of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Second paper due before midnight.
• Thurs Oct 24. "Introduction" and text of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.

Week Eleven. Harriet Jacobs

• Tues Oct 29. "Public Statements" (pages 173-189); essays by Yellin, Smith, Ernest, Foster
• Thurs Oct 31. Essays by Gunning, Foreman, and Sommers

Week Twelve. Faulkner (all readings from The Portable Faulkner)

• Tues Nov 5. "Was," "Wash," "An Odor of Verbena"
• Thurs Nov 7. "That Evening Sun."

Week Thirteen. Faulkner (all readings from The Portable Faulkner)

• Tues Nov 12. "Ad Astra," "A Rose for Emily," "Percy Grimm."
• Thurs Nov 14. No class; instructor away

Week Fourteen. The House on Mango Street

• Tues Nov 19. Third paper due during class period.
• Thurs Nov 21

Week Fifteen. No classes

• Tues Nov 26. No class; Thanksgiving
• Thurs Nov 28. No class; Thanksgiving

Week Sixteen. Paper conferences

• Tues Dec 3. Paper conferences
• Thurs Dec 5. Paper conferences

Final paper is due by the end of the final exam period for the course, 3:20pm, Tues, Dec 10, 2019, per the registrar's exam schedule. The paper should be submitted on Blackboard. No late papers can be accepted for the final paper assignment. There is no other final exam for the course.

Last updated  October 30, 2019.