Office: 24A -
Wilkinson
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9:45-11:45am & by appointment
Phone: 997-6754
(office)
Email: ruppel@chapman.edu
Class Meetings: Tuesday & Thursday: 8:30-9:45am. Beckman
Hall 205
Texts:
·
The Art of the
Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories, ed. by Daniel Halpern
·
The Handmaid’s
Tale,
Margaret Atwood
·
Miss Garnet’s Angel, Salley Vickers
·
A Pale View of
Hills,
Kazuo Ishiguro
Course Description and
Objectives: This course will
introduce (or, for many of you, re-introduce) the elements of fiction: plot, character, scene, style, point of view,
symbols, themes, and conflict. And we’ll
look at the stories and novels from several different theoretical points of
view: feminist, Marxist, and
new-historical, always paying close attention and reading closely. We’ll read stories and novels by authors who
are still living, so this is a course focusing on contemporary fiction. English is increasingly an international
language – spoken as the official language in fifty countries, and the most
preferred second language. So we’ll read
novels and stories by authors from all over the world.
Because
we will pay attention not only to the themes and cultural implications of our
readings but also to fiction as an art form, English 250 satisfies the
“Artistic Inquiry” General Education requirement.
Like all
literature courses, this class has an important writing component. We
will devote class time to developing your essay topics, and we'll go over the
criteria I'll use to evaluate your essays. You will discuss and clear
your topics with me, and I will accept a revision of one of your essays.
You can expect me to read your essays closely.
Finally,
250 is one of the electives you may take to fulfill the English literature
major. We will pay special
attention to numbers 1, 2, 4, and 6 of the English Literature Program Learning
Objectives listed below, and you will be able to develop and demonstrate these
skills in your discussion board responses, formal essays, and essay exam:
1. Skill in critical
reading, or the practice of identifying and interpreting the formal,
rhetorical, and stylistic features of a text
2. Ability to
identify and compare key literary movements and genres
3. Ability to
explain and apply significant theoretical and critical approaches in the field
of English studies
4. Skill in writing
grammatically, coherently, and persuasively
5. Skill in finding,
analyzing, and utilizing secondary sources (including the appropriate methods
of citation)
6. Skill in crafting
a compelling thesis-driven essay, with substantiating evidence
Weekly Syllabus*
Week 1 – January
31-February 2: Introductions and one
story from the anthology.
Week 2 –
February 7-9:
Week 3 – February 14-16:
Week 4 –
February 21-23:
Week 5 –
February 28-March 1:
Week 6 – March 6-8:
Week 7 – March 13-15:
Week 8 – March 20-22:
Week 9 – March 27-29:
Spring Break
Week 10 – April
10-12: A Pale View of Hills and Group 6 presentation: Mary Morris, “The Lifeguard,” and Joyce Carol
Oates, “Mark of Satan.”
Week 11 – April
17-19: Stories, including group 7’s
presentation on Ishiguro’s “A Family Supper” and Murakami’s “The Elephant
Vanishes.”.
Week 12 – April
24-26: Stories including student
selection and presentation (8) and discussion of paper topics.
Week 13 – May 1-3: Stories. (Paper 2 due)
Week 14 – May 8-10: Last words, preparation for final.
Week 15 - Final: 8-10:30am, Tuesday, May 15.
*These dates
may change, but I'll give you plenty of notice, and I'll keep the syllabus
updated on the Web.
Grades:
Assignments & Participation*: 20%
Presentation: 10%
Essay 1: 15% (5-6 pages)
Essay 2: 25% (6-7 pages)
Final: 30%
*This is primarily
your grade on the Blackboard Discussion Board posts and for your work leading
class discussions. Here are my criteria for evaluating your posts:
1. The posting should respond as specifically as
possible to the prompt (or you should indicate why you’re modifying the
prompt).
2. The posting should reveal close engagement with the work under discussion.
3. The posting should contribute to the discussion, so later postings should
not simply repeat earlier postings, and they should reflect some engagement
with earlier postings.
4. Postings should be substantive.
Student-led discussions: You and one or two
other colleagues will lead one class discussion this semester, beginning
February 23. (The schedule is posted in
the “Contents” section of Blackboard.)
Chapman University Academic Integrity Policy:
Chapman
University is a community of scholars that emphasizes the mutual responsibility
of all members to seek knowledge honestly and in good faith. Students are
responsible for doing their own work, and academic dishonesty of any kind will
be subject to sanction by the instructor and referral to the university's
Academic Integrity Committee, which may impose additional sanctions up to and
including dismissal. (See the Undergraduate Catalog for the full policy.)
Chapman's Students with Disabilities Policy:
In compliance with ADA guidelines, students who
have any condition, either permanent or temporary, that might affect their
ability to perform in this class are encouraged to inform the instructor at the
beginning of the term. The University, through the Disability Services Office, will work
with the appropriate faculty member who is asked to provide the accommodations
for a student in determining what accommodations are suitable based on the documentation
and the individual student needs. The granting of any accommodation will not be
retroactive and cannot jeopardize the academic standards or integrity of the
course.
·
Essay
on “The Management of Grief.” Drexel interview with Bharati Mukherjee.
·
Interview
with Salley Vickers about Miss Garnet’s Angel.
Vickers’ pages
devoted to the novel.
·
Amos Oz YouTube.
·
Perceptive, early New York Times review
of A Pale View of Hills.
For Thursday, February 2 (Ground Hog’s Day): Read Salmon Rushdie’s
“The
Prophet’s Hair.”
For Tuesday, February 7: Read Richard
Bausch’s “Aren’t You Happy For Me” (85-95).
For Thursday, February 9: Read Russell
Banks’ “My Mothers Memoirs, My Father’s Lie, and Other Stories” (63-68), and
Raymond Carver’s “Are These Actual Miles?” (146-151).
For Tuesday, February
14: Read Sandra Cisneros’s “Never Marry a Mexican” (179-188) and
Lydia Davis’s “The House Behind” (199-202).
Answer the question on Blackboard.
For Thursday, February 16: Read “The
Dry Spell,” by Jim Blaylock, and “The Night in Question,” by Tobias
Wolff. Formulate one question for Professor Blaylock. Begin reading Margaret Atwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale.
For Tuesday, February 21: Read the
first 24 chapters of The Handmaid’s Tale
and, to prepare for the first presentation, “Dirt Angel,” by Jeanne Wilmot
(618-28), and “The Twenty-Seventh Man,” by Nathan Englander (248-60).
For Thursday, February 23: Finish The Handmaid’s Tale and answer the
question in Blackboard by 7pm Wednesday.
For Tuesday, February 28: No new
assignment.
For Thursday, March 1: For Group 2’s presentation, read "The
Immortals" by Martin Amis (25) and "Night Women" by Edwidge Danticat (196). And read “Dharma” (163-178), by Vikram Chandra.
For Tuesday, March 6: Read the description of essay 1 posted in
Blackboard, and bring in two copies of your introductory paragraph. We’ll discuss “The Night in Question” and
“Dharma,” so review those stories and be sure to bring
your book to class.
For Thursday, March 8: Read “The Management of Grief,” by Bharati Mukherjee (435-47).
For Tuesday, March 13: Bring two copies of the polished draft of
your first essay to class. Begin reading
Miss Garnet’s Angel. (We may begin discussing it Tuesday.)
For Thursday, March 15: Be sure to have read through page 180 of Miss Garnet’s Angel. Read Abdulrazak
Gurnah’s “Escort” (298-306) and Ben Okri’s “In the Shadow of War” (477-480) for Group 3’s
presentation. (I’ll assign the
Blackboard Discussion Board question for next week.) Your first essay is due –
please send me an electronic copy (straight to my email – ruppel@chapman.edu) and bring a hard copy
to class.
For
Tuesday, March 20: Finish Miss Garnet’s Angel and answer the
Blackboard question by 7pm Monday (March 19).
For Thursday, March 22: Read Steven Millhauser’s
“Behind the Blue Curtain,” 404-410, for Group 4’s presentation. And be sure to bring both the anthology and Miss Garnet’s Angel to class.
For Tuesday, March 27: Read Amos Oz’s “Where the Jackals Howl,” 481-493.
Answer the questions in Blackboard about the story.
For Thursday, March 29: Read “The Lifeguard” (424-431) by Mary Morris
and “The First Day” (349-352) by Edward Jones for Group 5’s presentation. And remember to bring both the anthology and Miss Garnet to class.
For Tuesday, April 10: Read Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills. And answer the Blackboard question by 7pm
Monday, April 9.
Review “The Lifeguard” (424-431) by
Mary Morris and “The First Day” (349-352) by Edward Jones for Group 5’s
presentation.
For Thursday,
April 12: Read Joyce Carol Oates’ “Mark of Satan” for
Group 6’s presentation.
For Tuesday, April 17: No new
assignment. Bring ideas for your second
paper (or project) to class along with the anthology and A Pale View of Hills.
For Thursday, April 19: Read Ishiguro’s “A Family Supper” (338-345) and Haruki Murakami’s “The Elephant Vanishes” (453-465) for
Group 7’s presentation.
For Tuesday, April 24: By 7pm Monday, April 23, respond to
the Blackboard Discussion question about one story you’d l”ike to read this semester.
For Thursday, April 26: Read
Margaret Atwood’s “Wilderness Tips” (42-57).
Bring the first paragraph of your second paper. If you’re doing an alternative project, bring
a one-paragraph description of the project.
For Tuesday, May 1: Read Angela Carter’s “The Courtship of Mr.
Lyon” (137-145) and Hanif Kureishi’s
“Intimacy” (361-372).
For Thursday, May 3: No new reading assignment. Bring a hard copy of your second essay to
class, and send an electronic copy to me (ruppel@chapman.edu).
For Tuesday, May 8: Read Banana Yoshimoto’s “Helix” (650-655) and
Colum McCann’s “Everything in this Country Must” (387-392).
For Thursday, May 10: No new reading assignment. All papers, projects, and revisions are due
by Friday, May 11.