CORE 180 -- Responding to Literature

Responding to Literature

Core 180 (MWF)

Instructor:           Joshua Matthews

Email:                 joshua.matthews@dordt.edu

Office:                CL 2226

Office Hours:         

                                                            Office Phone:

                         

Required Texts

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice            978-0393976045  (3^rd edition of Norton Critical)

Homer, The Odyssey                             978-0140268867  (Penguin Classics, trans. Fagles) 

Charles Portis, True Grit                     978-1590204597 

Frank Miller, The Dark Knight Returns  978-1563893421

Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics   978-0060976255

Films:

The Karate Kid (1984)

Say Anything (1989)

Note: I do not necessary support any of the messages, themes, values, events, characters, or anything else you may find in the course texts.

Course Description

         

            This course is fundamentally about narratives, or stories. We all love stories and many story genres.  Most of us enjoy reading books, watching movies, and playing video games.  But not many know how to think about stories beyond issuing simple value judgments such as “I liked it” or “It’s just okay,” which are usually statements of personal preference based on unexamined standards.  This class aims to teach you several of the reading tools by which you can critically analyze stories at a sophisticated, culturally engaged level of understanding. 

            These reading tools are entirely useful for your everyday life because stories are fundamental to all human cultures.  We are surrounded by stories and we often speak in terms of stories.  Some of our most important stories give us cultural and personal identity, practically shaping our lives and our thoughts for us in many ways. This was true of the ancient Greeks and the Homeric epics, as we’ll see with Homer’s Odyssey.  This is also true with you, me, and Dordt College, for witness our use of the Bible. The Bible is in large part God’s storybook.  The chief means that God chose to communicate with all of us are through the stories of the ancient Hebrews and New Testament saints.  We know of Jesus Christ through stories, through the narratives of the four gospels.

            Thus reading comprehension of stories, right interpretation of stories, and daily response to stories are all crucial to the Christian life, as well as to everyday life.  This means that you, as children of God, are expected to strive to improve your ability to interpret literary texts and to respond appropriately to them.  This class aims to help you improve your ability to make proper and sophisticated interpretations of all kinds of stories, thereby helping you to become an active, attentive reader/viewer, critically engaged with your own culture and any other historical culture you may choose to study.

            Finally, all stories contain and respond to worldviews.  Closely examining a story allows us to expose the presuppositions of an artist and his/her culture.  We will do our best to learn to expose these, in order to be as wise as serpents and to be in the world but not of the world.

Course Goals

1) To learn to closely read and interpret stories properly, in order to understand the various worldviews, values, and messages of stories.  (We’ll strive to keep in mind Biblical morality and issues of Christian liberty while judging stories and interpreting them.)

2) To contextualize stories as messages of and about a particular culture in a particular time and place, to study how stories from one culture can be reapplied in another culture, and to recognize in each story the universal appeals to the general human condition.

3) To improve your writing and communication about stories, especially improving the range of what you are able to say and write about a story.

4) To understand and discern what the given standards of “literature” are, recognizing who makes those standards, what their presuppositions are for making those standards, and then thinking through what these standards of “literature” should be.

5) To be acquainted with various genres of literature, and to know how genre standards and literary traditions impact the art of interpretation.

Grading

Participation/Professionalism:   16%

Responses:                                      24%

First Exam:                                     15%

Second Exam:                                 20%

Final Exam:                                    25%

Assignments

Participation and Professionalism: Throughout the semester, I’ll give several announced and unannounced reading quizzes.  Sometimes these will be simple attendance quizzes; other times bring-your-book quizzes; and others multiple reading-question quizzes.  All of these will test and help quantify your participation in class, which is a must.  Participation includes bringing your book to class, answering questions when called upon, volunteering questions or answers during class discussions, and acting always in a professional and respectful manner.  So be sure to show up, bring your books, and read the books on time; do these and you’ll likely get a high grade here.  I’ll also probably assign various in-class exercises—summaries, reading responses, or group activities—and these may also be included in the participation grade at my discretion.

Responses: You’ll write eight responses during the semester.  At the beginning of the semester, I’ll assign you to one of three reading groups: A, B, or C. Responses are due TWO HOURS before class starts and should be posted in the class forum.  Each must be at least 250 words long (approximately one double-spaced page).  All responses must reply to one of the following prompts:

·       Find a strange or unusual moment/paragraph/sentence in the text. Why is this moment strange or unusual to you? How is it significant for your reading of the text and/or in terms of the texts we’ve read so far?

·       Which character is your favorite? Why? What political/social/moral/spiritual issues does the character represent? What political/social/moral/spiritual issues does the character confront?  Be sure to quote from the text.

·       What in this text is relevant to the modern world, or to our daily lives? What real-world issues does it grapple with?  What do you think the narrative is arguing for or against?  What are the implied messages in this narrative?

To write a good response, you can do a number of different things.  One is to come up with a thesis about a text—about its plot, a character, or anything else—and then argue for that thesis.  Another kind of good response might begin by asking a question or two, pose answers to those questions, and then end with more questions based on those answers.  You are free in these responses to be insistent, argumentative, inquisitive, curious, or even uncertain. But be sure to offer substantial content.  All good responses will quote from the text and will comment on the quotes.

Exams: There will be three exams, including the final.  Each exam probably will be in-class and open-book.  Typically an exam will consist of a few short-answer questions and one longer essay question (2-4 pages).  So prepare your hand and wrist to write; strengthen those forearm muscles.  I’ll hand out multiple essay questions a week or so before the exam, then put approximately two of them on the exam itself.  That way you’ll have the opportunity to be well prepared for the in-class exams. 

The following is a brief description of my grading criteria for your exam essays and of my general guidelines for the rest of your writing:

• A+ to A- :  An A paper demonstrates mastery of all parts of the given assignment with its probing critical reading or analysis.  Its organization will show a logical arrangement of parts, with all parts relevant to the thesis.  The thesis statement expresses a clear, confident stance and provides an accurate and concise forecast of topics to be developed in the rest of the paper.  All arguments are sound and reasonable.  Paragraphs have a sharp focus and include carefully selected evidence.  Logical connections and effective transitions link sentences within and between paragraphs.  Sentences are varied in structure and imaginative in style; wording is concise; style and tone create a distinctive voice.  The final, revised paper is free of all serious errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

• B+ to B- :  A B paper shows a decent understanding of all aspects of your argument, as well as good critical reading skills.  It offers a fairly convincing reading and supporting evidence. All parts of the essay are logically arranged and relevant to the thesis.  The thesis statement takes a clear stand and forecasts the topics to be developed in the rest of the paper.  The paper’s paragraphs are unified, and supporting details are sufficient and relevant.  Logical connections and adequate transitions link sentences.  Sentences show variety, but not necessarily imagination or good style. Supporting evidence is good, but may be slightly insufficient. Wording is, for the most part, concise and appropriate.  The final revised paper contains very infrequent errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

• C+ to C- :  A C paper meets or attempts to meet all parts of the assignment and demonstrates an understanding of texts and issues, as well as audience and purpose.  This paper will evaluate evidence in a reasonable way, and will cite supporting evidence, though evidence may be insufficient at times.  The thesis statement does take a clear stand and does forecast the topics to be developed, but it may not be as clear or precise as the thesis statement for a better (B) essay.  Paragraphs and supporting details relate to the topic, most of the time, but the paper may tend to wander or relate generic ideas.  The sentences within the paragraphs are, for the most part, related and contain adequate transitions; Transitions between paragraphs, however, may be unclear or missing or awkward at times.  Sentence style may consist of relatively simple sentence patterns.  Word choice is largely appropriate, but may sometimes be problematic—simplistic or repetitive, perhaps.  Mistakes in grammar, punctuation, documentation, and spelling may occur with moderate frequency.

• D+ to D- :  A D paper fails to answer the assignment or does not demonstrate critical reading and analysis.  It may show an inability to identify correctly the main idea of a text.  It may attempt to defend its thesis in illogical or unconvincing ways.  The paper may resort excessively to summary.  The paper may lack content and repeat ideas or resort to padding, simply to meet the page requirements.  The paragraphs may lack topic sentences.  Some paragraphs may lack adequate supporting detail or may wander from the main idea.  Sentences within paragraphs are only loosely related, and transitions are missing.  Sentences may be excessively wordy or vague.  Style and word choice are flat, inconsistent, or inappropriate to the audience.  The paper displays major or repeated errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

• F :  An F paper, like a D paper, shows a failure to demonstrate critical reading or analysis, but an F paper reveals persistent problems, such as the following:  the paragraphs lack focus and contain little to no supporting evidence; sentences within the paragraphs are unrelated to the main idea, and transitions are missing; sentences are faulty in structure, or vague, wordy, and irrelevant; word choice is inappropriate, incorrect or inconsistent; frequent major errors in grammar, punctuation, documentation, and spelling indicate an inability to handle the conventions of written discourse;  there are excessive misspellings.  A paper that fails entirely to address the assignment topic also merits an F.

Grading Scale:

            A+                               99-100

            A                                 94-98

            A-                                93-90

            B+                               89-87

            B                                  86-83

            B-                                82-80

            C+                               79-77

            C                                  76-73

            C-                                72-70

            D+                              69-67

            D                                 66-63

            D-                                62-60

            F                                  59-0

Late Papers and Missed Work

You alone are responsible for all classes and in-class work that you miss.  You must prepare for all contingencies, especially computer crashes.  I do not accept late work or give makeup exams for any reason, with one exception.  That exception is: you must bring me a signed doctor’s note or a signed statement from a university official, with a contact phone number for the signatory, which excuses and verifies your absence. 

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

Dordt College is committed to developing a community of Christian scholars where all members accept the responsibility of practicing personal and academic integrity in obedience to biblical teaching.   For students, this means not lying, cheating, or stealing others’ work to gain academic advantage; it also means opposing academic dishonesty.   Students found to be academically dishonest will receive academic sanctions from their professor (from a failing grade on the particular academic task to a failing grade in the course) and will be reported to the Student Life Committee for possible institutional sanctions (from a warning to dismissal from the college).  Appeals in such matters will be handled by the student disciplinary process.  For more information, see the Student Handbook at: www.dordt.edu/campus_life/student_handbook/

Students’ Rights to Accommodations

Students who need access to accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability should contact the Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (CSSD): Marliss Van Der Zwaag, ASK Center (Library Basement), (712) 722-6490, mmvdzwaag@dordt.edu.

On Proper Interpretation

Some students mistakenly believe that the act of interpretation is a subjective free-for-all. They ask: “What right do you the teacher have to give me a bad grade on an essay? After all, I interpret the text differently from you.  You gave me a bad grade just because you don’t like or agree with my interpretation.” Or they say: “This is an English class. Any interpretation is right!” 

Yet these students forget that not all interpretations are valid interpretations.  In fact, almost all possible interpretations are either wrong or irrelevant.  Believe it or not, the Harry Potter books are not about your grandmother’s cat.  Nor are they about the life of Abraham Lincoln.  The former example demonstrates that while interpretations may be personal—I may like a work because it has some important meaning for my life, a meaning only I and my grandmother really understand—they are irrelevant as public arguments, since few share your unique life experiences. 

Interpretation is a social act.  Arguments for an interpretation must be relevant, useful, and applicable to other people, especially to the intended audience of your argument.  They also must take into account all available textual evidence.  1984 cannot be interpreted as a book that promotes a totalitarian state, or as a book that promotes torture as a political tactic, or the Machiavellian use of lying in politics.  Such interpretations fail to account for textual evidence, the author’s biography, and the book’s historical and cultural contexts—all of which are crucial to right interpretation. Be aware that if your interpretation would seem novel or crazy to most people, then its arguments and evidence must be rock solid.   

Course Calendar

Note: this is a tentative calendar.  Readings and assignment dates may change at my discretion, depending on special circumstances (e.g., bad weather, sickness).

Date	Readings/In Class Activity	Assignment
Aug. 29:	Introduction to Class

“Well, What Do You Think?” – Narratives, Characters, and Literary Standards
Aug. 31	Understanding Comics, Chapters 1 and 7
Sept. 3:	The Karate Kid
Sept. 5:	The Karate Kid
Sept. 7:	Flannery O’Conner, “A Good Man is Hard…”	Response Groups A, B, C
Sept. 10:	Say Anything
Sept. 12:	Say Anything
Sept. 14:	Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going…”	A, B, C
Novels, Perspectives, Values
Sept. 17:	Pride and Prejudice 1-40
Sept. 19:	Pride and Prejudice 40-89	A
Sept. 21:	Pride and Prejudice 89-128	B
Sept. 24:	Pride and Prejudice 128-195	C
Sept. 26:	Pride and Prejudice 195-234	B
Sept. 28:	Pride and Prejudice 234-end	A
Oct. 1:	True Grit 1-64
Oct. 3:	True Grit 64-107	C
Oct. 5:	NO CLASS –Reading Days
Oct. 8	True Grit 108-168	A
Oct. 10	True Grit 169-215	B
Oct. 12	FIRST EXAM

Poetry, Heroes, Worldviews
Oct. 15:	Odyssey, Book I
Oct. 17:	Odyssey II-IV	A
Oct. 19:	Odyssey V-VIII	C
Oct. 22	Odyssey IX-X
Oct. 24	Odyssey XI-XII
Oct. 26	Odyssey-inspired poems and paintings
Oct. 29	Odyssey XIII-XV	B
Oct. 31	Odyssey XVI-XIX	A
Nov. 2	Odyssey XX-XXII	C
Nov. 5	Odyssey XXIII-XXIV	B
Nov. 7	Tennyson, “Ulysses”	C
Nov. 9	Odyssey-inspired material: 20th century
Nov. 12	SECOND EXAM

Historical Contexts, Cultural Meaning, Visual Media
Nov. 14:	Understanding Comics, Chs. 1-3
Nov. 16:	Understanding Comics, Chs. 4-6
Nov. 19	Understanding Comics, Chs. 7-9
Nov. 21	THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov. 23:	THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov. 26	THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov. 28	The Dark Knight Returns, Book 1
Nov. 30	The Dark Knight Returns, Book 2	A
Dec. 3	The Dark Knight Returns, Book 3	B
Dec. 5	The Dark Knight Returns, Books 1-3 Neil Postman on TV (essay handout)
Dec. 7	The Dark Knight Returns, Book 4	C
Dec. 10	TBD
Dec. 12	TBD
Dec. 14	Exam Review	FINAL EXAM