The Experience of Literature (Telecourse)

Schedule of Assignments: Fall 2004

Updated Sept. 10 (new links!)
Note changes to essay deadlines.
Most recent update Nov. 5
Telecourse Broadcast Schedule
INSTRUCTIONS
  • Do the reading for each class before viewing the video and participating in online discussion.
  • Check Pipeline at least once a week for discussion questions, study instructions, etc.
  • Note that each week there will be set questions to respond to in Pipeline.
  • When only the first page of an assignment is given, read until the end of the section, essay, story,  poem, or play--not just the bottom of the page.
  • "Optional" refers to material which will help you understand the subject but on which you will not be tested specifically.
  • Lesson # indicates the telecourse viewing assignment.  Literature refers to Roberts & Jacobs' Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing (7th ed.)  SG refers to  Penfield's Study Guide: Literary Visions (7th edition).  Assignments in SG typically end with the "Viewing Guide" section.
  • For the essays, there are three due dates: postmark date, telecourse office stamp date and in-my-box date. Please observe the due date appropriate for your method of delivering the work to me. (Please note that I do not accept final drafts via e-mail, fax or any other electronic means. I require a properly formatted hard copy.)  IMPORTANT CHANGE: Because of problems with submitting through the telecourse office, this method will not be an option for essay 3.

NOTE:  Every effort will be made to post links to essay assignments to the 2030 Links page and to the Pipeline page at least 2 weeks before each due date. If posting to the web becomes impossible, I will e-mail assignments to students. It is your responsibility to check your e-mail and to make sure that I have a valid e-mail address for you. (If you don't hear from me e-mail or phone.) All changes in the syllabus will be announced  in the 2030 Announcements page and in Pipeline if possible.

Week I Aug 29- Sept. 4

Orientation   (Attendance required.)   August 31(6-8 PM)

 (If you have a good reason for missing the orientation, you need to contact me, no later than Sept. 2, about a make up. Tentatively I will have a group make-up session on Sept. 8, [PECK HALL 307] but you need to contact me first.)

View:
Lesson 1  First Sight:  An Introduction to Literature
Lesson 2  Ways of Seeing:  Responding to Literature

Study:
"What is Literature..." Literature 1-3
"Guidelines for Reading" Literature  12-13
SG  1-4, 9,13-22

Read:
Giovanni, "Woman" Literature 1098
Maupassant, "The Necklace" Literature 4
Glaspell, Trifles 1182

Week II Sept. 5-11

(Note: Lesson 3 is optional. You will not be responsible for the material in the video or study guide.)

View:
Lesson 4   Reflected Worlds:  The Elements of Short Fiction

Study:
"Writing Essays on Literary Topics" Literature 14-16,
"Drafting the Essay" Literature  25-31
"Developing and Strengthening Your Essay Through Revision" Literature  32-40
"Fiction: An Overview" Literature  47-58
SG   41-53 (Key Terms: 43-45)

Read:
Chopin, "The Story of an Hour" Literature 362
O'Connor, "First Confession" Literature 531
Gaines, "The Sky is Gray" Literature 460
Olsen, "I Stand Here Ironing" Literature 646

[OPTIONAL:View Lesson 3   A Personal View:  The Art of the Essay
Read: Morris, "A Love that Transcends Sadness" SG 355]

Week III Sept.12-18

View:
Lesson 5   The Story's Blueprint: Plot & Structure in Short Fiction
Lesson 6   Telling Their Tales: Character in Short Fiction

Study:
"Plot and Structure" Literature  107-112
"Characters" Literature  158-63
"Point of View"  Literature  222-34
 SG  57-65, 69-76 (Key Terms: 64, 75)

Read:
Crane, "The Blue Hotel" Literature 115
Faulkner, "Barn Burning" Literature 190
Jackson, "The Lottery" Literature 244

Week IV  Sept. 19-25

View:
Lesson 7   In That Time & Place:  Settings in Short Fiction
Lesson 8   The Author's Voice:  Tone & Style in Short Fiction

Study:
"Setting" Literature 275-79
"Style" Literature  312-19
"Tone" Literature  350-56
SG   80-88, 92-101 (Key Terms: 100)
Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers" Literature  188
Williams, "Taking Care"  Literature 92
Poe, "The Masque of the Red Death"  Literature 302-06

ESSAY I DEADLINE HAS BEEN MOVED TO OCT. 4.

Week V Sept. 26-Oct 2

View:
Lesson 9  Suggested Meanings:  Symbolism & Allegory in Short Fiction
Lesson 10   The Sum of Its Parts:  Theme in Short Fiction

Study:
"Symbolism and Allegory" Literature 393-98
 "Idea or Theme" Literature  439-44
SG  105-113, 117-126 (Key Terms: 112, 125)

Read:
Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown" Literature 403
Lawrence, "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" Literature 478
Walker, "Everyday Use" Literature 86

In Writing: **ESSAY 1** [NEW DEADLINE]

(Postmarked by Sept. 29, or stamped by Telecourse office by Oct. 1 or in my box by 3PM Monday Oct. 4.)

Week VI Oct. 3- 9

(New Deadline for Essay 1 --in my box by 3PM  Monday Oct.  4)

View:
Lesson 11  Sacred Words:  The Elements of Poetry
Lesson 12  A Sense of Place:  Setting & Character in Poetry

Study:
"Meeting Poetry" Literature  609-19
"Character and Setting . . . in Poetry" Literature 664-71
SG 130-40, 144-51 (Key Terms: 132, 139)

Read:
Arnold, "Dover Beach"  Literature 671
Brooks, "We Real Cool" Literature  811
cummings, "next to of course god america i" Literature 68
Giovanni, "Nikki-Rosa" Literature 863
Owen, "Dulce et Decorum Est." Literature  760
Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" Literature 876
 Marlowe, "The Passionate Shepherd" 681
Walker, "Revolutionary Petunias" Literature 1152
Browning, "My Last Duchess" Literature 673
Dickinson, "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" Literature  620
Frost, "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" Literature  621
Hughes, "Theme for English B" Literature  113
Kumin, "Woodchucks" Literature [optional]  653
-----    "Hello, Hello, Henry" Literature   [optional] 1110
Robinson, "Richard Cory" Literature  655
Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz" Literature  784
Shakespeare, "Sonnet 29" Literature 1138
Sanchez, "right on: white America" 1133

Week VII: Oct. 10-16

MIDTERM EXAM   Tuesday Oct. 11 at 6:00 PM (PH 311)

Week VIII Oct. 17-23
(Note that this week the class will cover the lessons a week after the broadcast date.)

View:
Lesson 13   Tools of the Trade:  Words & Images in Poetry
Lesson 14   Seeing Anew:  Rhetorical Figures in Poetry

Study:
"Words: The Building Blocks of Poetry" Literature
"Imagery" Literature
"Figures of Speech" Literature
"Tone,"   Literature
SG  material for lessons 13 and 14. Pages to be listed later.
(Pay special attention to key terms in "Before Viewing")

Read:

MacNeice, "Snow" Literature  [optional] 624
Soto, "Oranges"  [optional] 1143
----- "Kearney Park"  [optional]  1144
Pound, "In a Station of the Metro" Literature  [optional]  717
Halpern, "Snapshot of Hue" Literature [optional] 1100
Carroll, "Jabberwocky"  Literature  646
Clifton, "Homage to My Hips" Literature 768
----- "The Poet" Literature  1082
----- "This Morning" Literature 1081
Eliot, "Preludes" Literature 707
Hopkins, "The Windhover" Literature   1107
Jarrell, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" Literature 624
Piercy, "The Secretary Chant" Literature 1125
-----  "Will We Work Together" Literature  1126
Plath, "Metaphors" Literature 744
Williams, " The Red Wheelbarrow"  1159

Week IX Oct. 24-30

(Note that this week we resume covering lessons during the same week they are broadcast.)
(Oct. 25 is the last date to drop with a W.)

View:
Lesson 15   An Echo to the Senses:  Prosody & Form in Poetry
Lesson 16   Distant Voices:  Myth, Symbolism, & Allusion in Poetry

Study: 
"Prosody"  Literature, 794-810
"Form" Literature, 845-57
"Symbolism and Allusion" Literature 889-92
"Myth" Literature, 921-29
SG 179-92, 196-205 (Key Terms: 191)

Read:
Atwood, "Siren Song" Literature 929
Auden, "Musée des Beaux Arts" Literature 938
Dickinson, "I Heard a Fly Buzz--When I Died" Literature 1023
Field, "Icarus" Literature 938
Hopkins, "Pied Beauty" Literature 1107
Howe, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" Literature  [optional] 1108
Hughes, "Let America Be America Again" Literature 818
Kennedy, "John While Swimming in the Ocean" Literature [optional] 775
----- "Old Men Pitching Horseshoes" [optional] 908
Merwin, "Odysseus" Literature 931
Parker, "Penelope" Literature 932
Piercy, "Wellfleet Sabbath" Literature  [optional] 682
Poe, "The Bells" Literature 826
Sexton, "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph" Literature 940
Spender, "Icarus" Literature 941
Tennyson, "The Eagle" Literature 847
Wagoner, "March for a One-Man Band" Literature  [optional] 835
Williams, "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" Literature 941
Yeats, "The Second Coming" Literature 913

NOTE THAT ESSAY 2 DEADLINE HAS BEEN MOVED TO NEXT WEEK.

Week X Oct 31 - Nov 6

(NOTE: The video for lesson 18 will not be broadcast. Discussion of Lesson 19 will be delayed until next week.)

View:
Lesson 17   Artful Resonance:  Theme in Poetry

Study:
"Idea and Theme in Poetry" Literature 955-62
"The Dramatic Vision"  Literature 1163-81
SG 209-20 (Key Terms: 220)
"The Elements of Drama" (material in your study guide for lesson 18) SG 228-38, Key Terms: 229-39

Read:

Donne, "The Sun Rising" Literature  813
Lowel, "Patterns" Literature  1115
Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress" Literature 909
Reed, "Naming of Parts"  Literature  654
Shakespeare, "Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun" Literature 1137
Shapiro, "Auto Wreck"  Literature  1138
Smith, "Not Waving But Drowning"  Literature 1141

(Begin) Shakespeare, Hamlet   in Literature 1350
IMPORTANT: Shakespeare isn't easy. Read this play carefully. We will be discussing it next week.
[Optional: Rent a video of a Shakespeare production and watch it after you read the play.]

In Writing: **ESSAY 2 DUE**

(Postmarked by Monday, Nov. 1, or stamped by Telecourse office by Wednesday, Nov.3, or in my mailbox by noon [12 PM] Thursday, Nov. 4. )

Week XI Nov. 7 -13

(Note: Starting this week, we will be discussing lessons a week after the broadcast)

Lesson 19   Playing the Part:  Characters & Actors in Drama

Study:

"The Dramatic Vision" Literature 1163-81
"The Tragic Vision" Literature 1247-63
SG 243-56

Read:
Shakespeare, Hamlet  in Literature 1350

Week XII Nov. 14-20

(Note: We are discussing these lessons a week after the broadcast date.)
View:
Lesson 20   Patterns of Action:  Plot & Conflict in Drama
Lesson 21   Perspectives on Illusion: Setting & Staging in Drama

Study: SG 260-69, 273-87
SG   "Speech and Silence: The Language of Drama" 292-98 (material from study guide for lesson 22)

Read:
Williams, The Glass Menagerie, Literature 1675

Week XIII Nov 21- 27

(NOTE: The video for Lesson 22 will not be broadcast.)

View:
Lesson 23   The Vision Quest:  Myth & Symbolism in Drama

Lesson 24   A Frame for Meaning:  Theme in Drama

Study: SG 303-13,  316-26

Read:

Sophocles, Oedipus the King Gould translation. Literature 1263  

Week XIV Nov. 28- Dec. 4

View:
Lesson 25   Casting Long Shadows:  The Power of Literature
Lesson 26   Continuing Vision: The Uses of  Literature

Study: SG 333-41, 345-51

REVIEW FOR FINAL

In Writing: **ESSAY 3 DUE**
(Postmarked by Monday November 29,  or in my mailbox by noon [12 PM] Thursday, Dec. 2. )

FINAL EXAM
Tuesday Dec. 14 at 6:00 PM PH 311

NOTE: Special announcements will be posted on Pipeline if possible and on the  2030 Announcements Page as back up.

Course Description Link (for an online version of the description you got at orientation.)