Professor: Alisse Theodore
Email Address: alisse@umich.edu
Office: 4174 Angell Hall, 764-6370
Office Hours: Tuesdays 12 - 12:50, Thursdays 4:30 - 5:30, and by appointment
Mailbox: 3161 Angell Hall

Grader: Jess Row
Email Address: jrow@umich.edu
Office: 4174 Angell Hall
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 12:00 - 12:50

Welcome
Welcome to English 239. This course has as its title a deceptively simple question: "What is Literature?". That question invites discussion, both serious and playful, more than it points to a correct answer. In our exploration of literature this semester, we will read, discuss, and write about six novels. Though the novels are varied in style and content, each has something important to say about the power of language--of speaking, of writing, of telling stories.

What do you think about the title of our class being in the form of a question? For me, the very idea that we are setting out to answer a question this semester implies activity: critical reading, collaborative discussion, analytical writing. Although English 239 is a prerequisite for concentrators in English and the English Honors Program, this course will be useful to students at a variety of skill levels. It will offer you an opportunity to learn, practice, and strengthen skills which are simultaneously basic and complex: reading, inquiring, thinking, conversing, and writing.

Frequently, you will have the chance to consider ideas with which you disagree or examine things from a completely new or foreign perspective. Additional objectives of this class are that you increasingly will exhibit what Howard Gabennesch of the University of Southern Indiana calls "the willingness to grant due process to [different] ideas . . . before rendering an informed and reasoned verdict" and that you will "recogni[ze] that the world is often not what it seems." To help us achieve these objectives, would you please keep them in mind as you read and participate in the other activities of this course?

A Word (or Two) about these "Activities"
A common misconception about college these days is that it is a "commodity." But the commodity metaphor does not work as a way to understand higher education. You are not a consumer in the sense of one who pays for a product; in fact, even if you pay full tuition at the University of Michigan, you pay for only part of the cost of your education (the rest of the tab is picked up by tax-payers, corporations that fund research, etc.). In addition, according to the University's Code of Student Conduct, "when students choose to accept admission to the University, they accept the rights and responsibilities of membership in the University's academic and social community." If you choose to accept rights and responsibilities as a member of this community, clearly you are an active participant in what must be, then, an activity rather than an object or a product. Your diploma is simply a symbol of your completion of the processQthe activity that is your undergraduate education.

Texts
I have selected a sampling of novels--a small sampling, but a sampling which ranges two centuries and whose authors are from six different countries. Each says something interesting about language and telling stories, and will help us complicate the question "What is literature?". You'll notice that we will not be reading these novels chronologically. Of the first two books, one is a classic and the other is a recent revision or response to the classic. The next two books consider, among other things, some differences between oral and literate cultures. The fifth and sixth books experiment with novel-writing in ways which foreground storytelling. Although I have described these texts in pairs, rest assured that all of the novels speak to and with each other, and that we will consider each novel among the others, rather than only in isolation or paired.

These books are available at Shaman Drum Bookshop (313 South State Street, 662-7407, http://www.shamandrum.com). If you have other editions of these books you certainly may use them. However, since I ask people to refer directly to the texts during discussion, it is your responsibility to compare your texts to these editions before class so that you can easily and quickly point your classmates (and readers of your essays and papers) to the passage(s) under consideration.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 1847. Penguin, 1997. ISBN 0-451-52655-4.

Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. 1966. W.W. Norton, 1982. ISBN 0-393-30880-4.
Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. 1977. Penguin, 1987. ISBN 0-452-26011-6.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 1959. Anchor Books, 1994. ISBN 0-385-47454-7.
Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. 1989. Anchor Books, 1992. ISBN 0-385-42017-X.
Calvino, Italo. If on a winter's night a traveler. 1979. Harcourt Brace, 1981. ISBN 0-15-643961-1.

Requirements
A schedule of assignments follows. It includes readings, brief written analyses, and two longer papers. In addition, participation is an important component of your performance in this class and attendance is required.

Readings
This course is based on discussion, not lectures, so I expect you to read all of the texts on the syllabus carefully and come to class ready to talk about your reactions to them. I recommend that you read with a pen in your hand, so you can jot notes or ideas in the margins of your book. I use a color such as blue or red to contrast with the black ink publishers use--that way, I can find my notes easily by paging through the text. Stay away from highlighters: they encourage passive reading, particularly since they cause you simply to mark a passage without writing a note or a thought. If I notice a theme or something that interests me, I usually make a note to myself on the front or back cover (better yet, a blank page in the book) and start a list of the page numbers for relevant passages. Imagine how that kind of active reading will help you when you want to make a point in class or in one of your writings. What other kinds of "active reading" strategies work for you?

Brief Written Analyses and Longer Papers
Brief Analyses are short but interesting analytical responses to the current assigned reading. They can be addressed to your classmates, Jess, and me, or they may be addressed to the author or character of a novel--you may even want to try writing one from the perspective of a character or an author. Longer papers are chances for you to develop your ideas, analyses, and arguments about the texts. These papers will focus on at least two of the semester's books, and they should go beyond analysis to comparison and evaluation. We will talk in greater detail about both kinds of assignments in class, and I will distribute and we will discuss grading criteria for writings and papers before your first brief analysis is due.

Analyses and papers must be typed, double-spaced, left-justified, and printed in a standard font of 10- or 12-point, with one or one and one-quarter inch margins. All assignments are due at the beginning of class. A paper or analysis placed in my campus mailbox after the start of class but before 4:00 p.m. the following day drops one letter grade. It drops two letter grades for each additional day (note: not class session) it is late (weekends count as one day). In other words, if a paper is due on Thursday at the start of class but comes in sometime between Thursday's class and Friday afternoon, it will drop one letter grade. By Monday afternoon, it will drop two more letter grades, and by Tuesday even an "A" paper will drop to an "E." Therefore, I will not accept a paper or analysis more than two days late.

Participation
In other classes, have you found that your participation increases the learning you achieve? Class participation will be informally but clearly reflected in your papers, since your papers will benefit from the clarity of thought and expression and the exchange of ideas which class discussions provoke. In addition, class participation is formally accounted for in your grade for this class. Class participation includes (but is not limited to) involvement in large and small group discussions, in-class writings, and an occasional unannounced quiz. Some active participation is taken as a given. Intelligent, frequent participation which forwards class discussion or consideration of relevant issues can raise your grade (questions you ask, by the way, may be as interesting as the answers we come up with). Failure to participate at a basic level, including by virtue of excessive absences, can reduce your grade, as can negative or inappropriate participation.

I expect you to come to each session prepared, with reading and writing assignments completed. I also expect you to be attentive and responsive to other members of this class--your colleagues. This classroom must be one of mutual respect and open exchange. The University's Code of Student Conduct names as the University's "central purpose . . . maintaining a scholarly community [which] . . . promotes scholarly inquiry through vigorous discourse. Essential values which undergird this purpose include civility, dignity, education, equality, freedom, honesty, and safety. . . As members of the University community, students are expected to uphold its values by maintaining a high standard of conduct." If you have any questions, please review this Code at http://www.umich.edu/~oscr/ Newcode.html or call the Office of Student Conflict Resolution at 936-6308.

Attendance
Attendance is required. It is a prerequisite for class participation (discussion, workshops, in-class writings, quizzes, etc.); thus, your presence will have a direct and important effect on your grade in this course. A University-sanctioned excuse, if presented in a timely fashion, entitles you to make up--promptly--the work that can be made up, from whatever work or class activities you missed. If you are absent, seek out a classmate for an explanation of what was covered that day, and then see me during office hours.

You may have two absences without penalty (if you are absent on a day a paper or written analysis is due, the assignment still must be submitted by the start of class on the due date to avoid late penalties). For each unexcused absence after that, your final grade will be lowered by one letter grade. Two late arrivals or early departures (of less than fifteen minutes) convert to one absence. If you miss more than fifteen minutes of a class, you will be considered absent.

Bypassing the Requirements
If you have questions about course procedures, or if you want to bypass a course requirement or deadline, write me a memo or send me an email well in advance. Make clear for what you are asking and tell me whatever I need to know to make a decision, which I will convey to you in writing or via email. I can't usually give you full attention in the moments after class. I will make better decisions if I am given good information and time to consider a question or problem.

Office Hours
Jess Row and I will hold office hours throughout the semester. Our office hours are an extension of the classroom. You are welcome to come by with questions, comments, and concerns. If you are enjoying a novel and would like to discuss it further, if you are having a problem with something in the course, if you don't understand something, come and see us. Jess and I are happy to work with you on your analyses or papers during office hours, whether it is to work with you at the brainstorming stage or to give you some feedback on a draft. Why not stop by?

Communication
With Me
Do you use email? The most efficient way to get in touch with me outside of class time and office hours is email. During the semester, I check my email every weekday--more frequently than I check my campus mailbox for notes. The English Department does not provide faculty with voice mail, so I have an answering machine on my office phone, but I may check that only on days when our class meets. You will be much more likely to receive a quick response from me if you email rather than leave a message for me on campus.

I will use email to contact class members in case class is canceled because of snow or some other emergency, or if I want to pass on useful information about the class. Although I will not hold you responsible for information distributed by email, it may be to your advantage to give me your email address so that you will receive such updates. I will also post this sort of information on the website for the course, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~alisse/ENGL239.html.

With Jess
English 239 is only one of Jess Row's many responsibilities this semester. Jess is available during class and his office hours. You may email him with questions about the course, but please understand that Jess's other commitments may compel him to forward your email to me to ensure a quick response.

With Your Classmates
Your classmates are an integral part of your English 239 experience. I recommend that you introduce yourself to people in this class (you will have opportunities to do so early in the semester), and that you exchange email addresses with several classmates so that you can form study groups, find out what you missed in case of an absence, etc. This email exchange is voluntary, so if someone declines to give you his or her email address, please respect that choice.

Grading
Your final grade in this course is a compilation of assignments, as the list below makes clear. Notice that your third analysis and your second paper are weighted more heavily than earlier assignments. Do you expect your writing to improve with practice and feedback? The additional weight on later assignments rewards such improvement.

Remember that absences, late arrivals, and early departures also have an impact on your overall grade for the semester (see the "Requirements" section above for more information).

The Gayle Morris Sweetland Writing Center
You may find the Sweetland Writing Center to be a valuable resource when you write papers for this and other University of Michigan classes. If you are interested in finding out more about their services, including the On-Line Writing Lab, Writing Workshops, and Peer Tutoring, visit the Sweetland at 1139 Angell Hall, call 764-0429, or check out their website at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ecb.

Services for Students with Disabilities
If you think you may need an accommodation for any sort of disability, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities (G-625 Haven Hall, 763-3000, http://www.umich.edu/~sswd/ssd) and make an appointment to see me during my office hours within the first two weeks of the semester.

Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, cheating, double submission of papers, aiding and abetting dishonesty, and fabrication, will not be tolerated. Carefully review the handout on plagiarism I will distribute in class. If you have any questions about "what counts," please see me in advance.

A Final Note
These course policies and the schedule of assignments are subject to change. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out about such changes.

A.T.99