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Prof. Jim Garrett
Office: E & T A608
Office Hours: TBA
Phone:  (323) 343-4163
Email: jgarret@calstatela.edu
Course web site: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jgarret/500

Course Requirements

On average, a minimum of six to eight hours will be required to prepare for each class meeting. Some weeks, for example when written assignments are due, will require more. While the amount of reading in this class is not particularly great, much of it is difficult and will require not merely reading but re-reading. Therefore, you will need to be diligent about planning ahead in order to complete your tasks on time. Listed below are the requirements for this course. Please note that students must complete all assignments to pass this class.

·         Seminar Presentation (10% of your grade): The seminar presentation is a 15-20 minute presentation to the rest of the class about an assigned reading or about a supplementary reading (i.e. not on the schedule). For the presentation, plan to go beyond regular class preparation, at the very least, providing background about your topic, a generous overview, and a discussion of its relation to other readings for that week (or read earlier). You should also be prepared to answer questions and help lead class discussion for that topic. A handout might be useful; however, do not simply read from a prepared handout or paper.

·         Two-Page Close Reading Exercise (10% of your grade): The close reading exercise is a short (at least 2 but no more than 3 pages) essay that uses a careful reading of a short passage of text to unpack (or unfold) the meaning of the text (or how the text means). The short passage should be less than twenty contiguous lines taken from Hamlet.

·         Hamlet Paper (20% of your grade): This assignment is a 7-10 page literary analysis paper that focuses on a specific aspect of the play. This paper does not involve any research other than critical commentary found in the Bedford/St. Martin edition of the play.

·         Annotated Bibliography (10% of your grade): The annotated bibliography is a list of at least ten secondary sources (theoretical, critical, or historical) that you have found in your research for your term paper. This list can include secondary sources you have read, but which you do not intend to use for your paper. At least half of the entries should be texts we did not read for class.

·         Final Research/Analysis Paper (approximately 12-15 pages; 30% of your final grade): This is a paper on a topic related to Austen’s Northanger Abbey. The paper will combine some of the theoretical perspectives discussed during the quarter, the critical literature made available in class and found in research, and the writer’s own argument. Obviously, the goal of the annotated bibliography is to help you with your research for this paper.

·         Final Exam (15% of your final grade): this will be an essay exam of one or two questions which will ask you to incorporate several of the readings in a theoretical examination of the general themes of the seminar.

·         Participation (5%): I expect full participation from all members of the class. Absences or failure to prepare are unacceptable. You will be graded on the following scale

5 points for being fully prepared and offering frequent and insightful comments in class

4 points for being well prepared and participating in discussion several times/class

3 points for being somewhat or superficially prepared and participating in discussion occasionally (once or twice/class)

0-2 points for absences, failure to participate significantly in class discussion

Policies

Grading Policy: Course grades are based on standard percentages (i.e. 90% and greater is some version of an A, 80%-89% is some version of a B and so on). Plus and minus grades are used in the class.

Cell Phones and Other Electronic Devices: Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, portable radios, televisions, computers, MP3/CD/Disc/Mini-disc players, and any other electronic communication and/or entertainment devices before coming to class.

Contacting the Instructor: Email is the most effective way of contacting the instructor.

Attendance: Be there or miss out on the fun.

Please read the assigned texts before class. Often I will offer some guidelines about future reading assignments in class. For example, I might tell you to focus on a particular character or scene for the next class meeting. If you are absent, you are responsible for getting the assignment from a classmate.

Written Assignments: Please note the following carefully when preparing your written assignments for this class:

¨       Written assignments must be typed following standard formatting practices for college writing—use a readable type style (12 point type), indent paragraphs, double space between lines, and use one inch margins. Any style guide will contain information on formatting your written assignments for submission.

¨       Before handing in written assignments, edit and proofread your work carefully.

¨       Do not use plastic covers or report folders or title pages on your written assignments. Each assignment, though, should have your name, the course number, the date, and my name on separate lines (double-spaced) in the upper left corner of the first page. If the paper has a title, center it on the first page, after the above information.

¨       Use page numbers and place them in the upper right corner of the page. If you are uncertain how to have word processing software generate the correct page number in the header of your document, ask someone in one of the labs.

¨       MLA format and style conventions should be followed for all written assignments (essays and responses). For more information on MLA format and style conventions, see The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, the appropriate section of a recent (published after 2000) writer’s handbook, or one of the many reputable online sources.

¨       Late papers are not accepted. The assignment due dates are distributed on the first day of class, and the assignments are made available often weeks before they are due.

Academic Dishonesty/Cheating: Collaborating with others is encouraged when you are planning your papers, reviewing each other’s work, preparing for presentations or for exams. Study or reading groups can be effective ways to study and learn. However, when you write your papers, the text needs to be your own.

¨       You must carefully observe the standard rules for acknowledging the sources of words and ideas. If you make use of a phrase or a quote or if you paraphrase another writer’s words or ideas, you must acknowledge the source of these words or ideas telling us the source of these materials. APA and MLA style differ on the exact format of this attribution, but the simple version is the name of the author and the page number (if appropriate) in parentheses at the end of the sentence containing the use of the source material. If you fail to acknowledge properly the source of your text, you will receive a zero on the assignment and be reported to the Student Disciplinary Officer.

¨       If you plagiarize or otherwise misrepresent the source of your work, you will receive a zero on the assignment and be reported to the Student Disciplinary Officer.