FALL 2001
COURSE SYLLABUS
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HERE FOR STUDENTS AND STUDENT WORK
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A study of representative works of world literature from
Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. The course
emphasizes the study of the literary, cultural, and human
significance of selected great works of the Western and
non-Western literary traditions. An important goal of the class
is to promote an understanding of the works in their
cultural/historical contexts and of the enduring human values
which unite the different literary traditions. Readings include
originals and translations; works of prose and poetry; epics,
drama, lyric poems, and novels.
TEXTBOOKS
The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Maynard
Mack, Expanded Edition, Volume 1, (Norton, 1995)
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
1) Term Project & Presentation (20%)
All students will be required to undertake and complete a project which
may be an original paper or a creative work such as a short story, play, or
set of poems (5-10 written pages or equivalent). Also acceptable are substantial
and original art works (performance pieces, painting, drawing, music, film,
websites, etc.). All creative options must be clearly relevant and related to
the class materials. All works must be created during and for the specific purposes
of this course. Students will make a 5-10 minute presentation in class describing
and/or performing their projects (see Schedule below). All projects must be
approved by the instructor in advance (see Schedule below). Students choosing
to write a paper must follow the guidelines
provided by the instructor. For further information on the writing and grading
of essays see Grading Standards and Procedures,
and Grading of Essays and Other Written
Work. ALL PROJECTS ARE DUE ON THE DAY WHEN THEY ARE SCHEDULED TO BE PRESENTED
(see Schedule below).
2) Four Exams (15% each)
All exams will feature essay sections as well as objective questions dealing
with literary texts, their features, authors, and history. The essay portions
of the exams will ask students to read closely, analyze, and interpret a particular
passage from one of the texts studied and/or develop a theme/issue related to
the readings, lectures, or class discussions. The same criteria which apply
to papers will be used in the grading of exams (see "Grading
of Essays and Other Written Work"). Students should expect to do a substantial
amount of writing (4-6 handwritten pages) during an exam and must bring paper
and pens to each examination (no pencils please). All handwriting in an exam
must be neat and easily legible. No credit will be given for illegible exams.
3) Participation and Other Performance (20%)
In addition to other grades, the instructor will assess and grade each student's
overall accomplishment, development, and involvement in the course. This grade
will take into account aspects of a student's performance such as class participation,
preparation, contributions, effort, attentiveness, interest, improvement, responsibility,
etc.
4) Grading Scale, Attendance, and Other Policies
All aspects of the course will be graded on a 100-point scale where 90-100 = A, 87-89 = B+, 80-86 = B, 77-79 = C+, 70-76 = C, 60-69 = D, and 0-59 = F
Make-ups/extensions for a missed deadline will only be given in cases of documented serious illness or other valid, non-frivolous excuses such as documented participation in official University sports or academic/service events (it will be up to the instructors to determine and decide on the acceptability of an excuse).
An attendance measurement will be calculated equal to the percentage of total class time attended. The course grade may not exceed that percentage (i.e. if a student attended only 75% of the total class time, the course grade may not be higher than 75 or C). Notice also that, at the discretion of the instructor, any student missing more than 30% of the total class time may fail the course.
All students in the class are expected to observe the University's guidelines
on student conduct as described in Creighton University's Student Handbook (see
"Code of Conduct," and especially the section on "Academic Misconduct"
dealing with problems of plagiarism, cheating, etc.).
5) Out-of-Class Event
All students in the course are required to attend at least ONE out-of-class
event such as a lecture, poetry/fiction reading, film, play, exhibit, or live
performance relevant to the understanding and appreciation of the course materials.
Satisfaction of this requirement will be taken into account in the "Attendance"
and "Participation and Other Performance" grade categories. Special events arranged
for this semester are the following (students attending any of these two events
do not need to write a report but must sign the instructor's attendance sheet
on the day of the event):
Students unable to attend the events listed above can satisfy the requirement
by attending the alternative events listed in the document "World
Literature Program Special Events" or by using the videotapes on reserve
at the Reinert Alumni Library for the World Literature courses. Special efforts
by students attending more than two events will be taken into consideration
in the "Participation and Other Performance" grade category. Notice that students
using alternative or videotaped events must write a one-page report/analysis
for each event.
See documents entitled "Grading Standards
and Procedures" and "Grading of Essays
and Other Written Work." for further information on grading. At the discretion
of the instructor, a normative curve may be applied to the grades at the end
of the term. The course grade will be calculated according to the following
formula:
|
Exams |
60 % |
|
Term Project and Presentation |
20% |
|
Participation and Other Performance |
20 % |
|
Total |
100 % |
SCHEDULE
All reading is due on the date indicated. Read the introductions and preliminary materials as well as the literary texts for all assignments. Click on the individual subjects in the online syllabus for study questions and background facts.
Thu Aug 23
Tue Aug 28
Thu Aug 30
Tue Sep 04
Thu Sep 06
Tue Sep 11
Thu Sep 13
Tue Sep 18
Thu Sep 20
Tue Sep 25
Thu Sep 27
Tue Oct 02
Thu Oct 04
Tue Oct 09
Thu Oct 11
Tue Oct 16
Thu Oct 18
Tue Oct 23
Thu Oct 25
Tue Oct 30
Thu Nov 01
Tue Nov 06
Thu Nov 08
Tue Nov 13
Thu Nov 15
Tue Nov 20
Thu Nov 22
Tue Nov 27
Thu Nov 29
Tue Dec 04
Thu Dec 06
Mon Dec 10