ENGL 124: Contemporary Literature
| Course Home Page | Blackboard | Instructor's E-mail |
| Course Structure | Texts | Expectations and Requirements |
| Discussion Forum | Additional Resources | Final Exam |
| Honor Code | Grading | Course Mechanics |
| Lesson Schedule | ||
Course Structure
English 124 introduces literature of the past twenty-five years, with an emphasis on the cultural forces that influence contemporary fiction, drama, and poetry. Making no claim to be comprehensive, the course instead provides a diverse reading experience from a number of different sources. The syllabus highlights American writing, including two novels, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and a comic book. The course also considers international short fiction, with works by authors from five continents. English writers are represented by two novels, but their settings extend beyond the English-speaking world, ranging from Venice to the silent land of Chup. The course offers a view of the endlessly imaginative ways writers approach contemporary issues, asking questions about the place of history and of mass media in recent literature, and about the power of new technologies to shape our view of reality.
The course will be divided into ten units:
- Introductions and Background Information
- March—Fact Meets Fiction (Lesson 1)
- City of Glass—Popular Culture/High Culture (Lesson 2)
- The Piano Lesson—African-American Voices (Lesson 3)
- Hey Nostradamus!—Contesting Explanations (Lesson 4)
- Short Story Unit One (Lesson 5)
- The Passion—Magical Realism (Lesson 6)
- Contemporary Poetry Unit (Lesson 7)
- Short Story Unit Two (Lesson 8)
- Haroun and the Sea of Stories—Storytelling and Metafiction (Lesson 9)
Even though the reading list may not seem all that extensive, many of the works on the list require close attention to detail, so it will always be important to achieve far more than a superficial comprehension. Much of the discussion we'll be doing and a number of the writing assignments will ask you to make detailed comparisons between two or more of the works, so keep up and take notes for yourself as you go along.
Texts
Texts can be purchased from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center either in person, online, or by printing out a book order form. If you purchase your texts elsewhere, make sure to get the same edition. These are the required texts to purchase:
- March, by Geraldine Brooks (2005), Penguin, ISBN 0-143-03666-1
- City of Glass: The Graphic Novel by Paul Auster (author), Paul Karasik, D. Mazzucchelli (illustrators), (Reprint Edition, 2004) Picador, ISBN 0-312-42360-8
- The Piano Lesson, August Wilson. Penguin; ISBN: 0-452-26534-7
- Hey Nostradamus!, by Douglas Coupland (2003), Bloomsbury USA, ISBN 1-582-34415-9
- The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories, Daniel Halpern, editor. Penguin; ISBN: 0-14-029638-7
- The Passion, Jeanette Winterson. Grove Press; ISBN: 0-8021-3522-6
- Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Salman Rushdie. Penguin; ISBN: 0-140-15737-9
Purchase all the required texts at the beginning of the semester. The bookstore may ship unpurchased books back to the publisher after the first few weeks of the semester.
Expectations and Requirements
You are responsible for reading the books on time, reading all of the lessons, contributing to the discussion forum, contemplating what you've read and what others in the class say, completing all assignments on time, and taking the final exam.
There is no general theme that unites the works we'll be reading, so I can't tell you in advance what the final exam will look like. Much of that is up to you. In the lesson reading, I will suggest themes and topics that I think are important to the comprehension of a given work, but none of these are intended to be exclusive. If we get into an extended discussion about an aspect of a work that was not mentioned in the lesson, it's likely that you'll see a question about that on the exam. In this way, your active participation can help shape the ideas you'll be expected to know by the end of the class.
The lesson schedule below also includes the sequence of lessons and links to each lesson. Each lesson includes introductory material, questions for the discussion forum, and (if applicable) a writing assignment to be submitted via e-mail. Assignments range from short response essays to essays as long as 1500 words. The final exam will be administered at the end of the semester and must be completed according to the guidelines below.
You are responsible not only for participating in the discussion forum and completing assignments, but also for exploring any links that are present in the lessons. I will frequently add links to material that will help with background details for the work we're reading.
The assignments are explained in detail in the lesson page in which they appear. You should also familiarize yourself with the Guidelines for Writing Assignments, as these are the basic criteria I will use to evaluate your work.
Please e-mail your papers as attachments either in Microsoft Word document format (.doc) or in rich text format (.rtf), not simply as text pasted into the body of an e-mail message. When you e-mail an assignment, please include a word count.
The written assignments are described below. (See Guidelines for Writing Assignments for more information on what is expected of a “response essay,” a “close reading,” or a “comparative essay.”) I will check the word count when I receive your essay. Generally, you'll be unable to provide a satisfying response to the assignment by going under the suggested minimum. The upper limit I'm less concerned about, and if you find yourself exceeding it by 100-150 words, that's okay. The limits are there to suggest how many words are necessary for a complete answer to the assignment.
- March, a 400- to 600-word response essay (2 pages)
- City of Glass, a 400- to 600-word response essay (2 pages)
- The Piano Lesson, a 400- to 600-word drama response essay (2 pages)
- Hey Nostradamus!, a 400- to 600-word response essay (2 pages)
- A 750- to 1,000-word close reading of a short story (3–4 pages)
- The Passion, a 400- to 600-word response essay (2 pages)
- A 500- to 750-word close reading of a poem (2–3 pages)
- A 1,000- to 1,200-word comparative paper on two works of fiction we read (4–5 pages)
- Rushdie, a 400- to 600-word response essay (2 pages)
This may seem like a lot of writing, but keep in mind that the ability to express your interpretations clearly in written form is essential to becoming a skilled reader of literature. These papers do not require outside research other than the occasional request to persue useful Internet links. They primarily ask you to think vigorously about what you've read and to articulate your ideas clearly.
Discussion Forum
In this class, we will use an electronic discussion forum to discuss the works we'll read during the term. You can use the forum to post comments and/or questions, read the comments of other students, post substantial responses, and read comments from me. Please plan to visit the discussion forum at least three times a week, and post to it a minimum of twice a week (and keep in mind that meeting minimal requirements is not the same as doing A-level work). If everyone contributes regularly and thoughtfully to the discussion forum, we will have an engaging class. I will assign discussion forum leaders for each lesson; the leaders' duty is to post the initial responses. Keep in mind that the discussion forum is designed to help you work through ideas as you read the works and develop your papers. Responses posted after you've turned in a lesson's assignment will not count toward the grade you'll receive for the discussion forum.
Our discussion forums are on the UNC Blackboard site. See Course Mechanics for details.
See Discussion Forum Guidelines for more details on rules and requirements.
Draft Groups
This section is the “writing workshop” component of our course. “What?!” you say. “I thought I was signing up for a literature course, not a composition course!” Well, yes—but we'll still have draft writing groups. Here's why:
- Your grade in the course depends on your writing, so you'll want help with it. As many of you probably learned in English 101 and 102, papers climb in quality (and the grades they earn!) in proportion to the work you put into revision.
- Writing isn't just a way to show what you've learned: it's a way of learning in itself. Unless you've written about a book, you probably don't know it as well as you could!
- It's hard to get to know twenty other people well even when you see them in person, let alone online. This is an opportunity for you to get to know three other people better in a smaller group setting. You will be assigned to a draft forum group early on in the course. You are welcome to chat about other matters besides your drafts in this small group forum as well.
- It's always easier for me to provide appropriate help on assignments when I see what people are actually writing. By checking the drafts for each assignment (one from each group) about a week before they're due, I'll see the problems you're facing. Then I'll send comments to the whole class to steer you all in the right direction before you turn in your assignments for a grade.
During the first week of class, therefore, you will be assigned to a draft forum group (Draft Forum Group A, B, C, D, or E), which will remain your group throughout the course. For each of the numbered writing assignments, one person in each group will post a draft in the designated area of the Blackboard discussion forum by the date listed on the schedule. The other group members will then respond by the date listed (about two days later), offering feedback and revision suggestions. I will assign the dates that each student must submit his or her draft, but you are welcome to swap draft dates with a group member if you e-mail me well in advance.
Please be aware that you will need to work ahead a little during the week before you post a draft; drafts are often due shortly after the last writing assignment. The benefit to you, of course, is that you will then have a somewhat easier time right after you post the draft: you'll have feedback and you'll have already gotten the hardest work done on your paper.
As in a regular composition workshop, I will not comment on each draft individually. The draft forum is primarily a place for you to get to know each other, read one another's work, provide one another with comments, and form smaller communities within the larger class. However, I will check the forum groups and use them as the basis for comments that I will post before each assignment is due to help everyone complete each assignment successfully. I will grade this section of the discussion forum work according to:
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punctuality of postings: drafts and responses must be prepared as assigned and posted by the dates listed on the course schedule to receive any credit. There's no time to lose in getting drafts and responses posted! Let me know as far in advance as possible regarding any conflicts you foresee in responding to others' drafts (of course you can't respond to something before it's posted, so this is a less flexible part of the course); the sooner you contact me, the more likely it is that we can work something out.
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draft length: The draft need not be absolutely finished, but it should be at least within 100 words of the minimum length of the assignment. In other words, if the paper has to be 500-750 words, this draft needs to be at least 400 words.
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draft quality: It need not be perfect, but the draft must at least have a working thesis statement, a short clear argument for every paragraph stated in the first sentence of that paragraph (this is what we call a topic sentence), and some evidence for every topic sentence. You must also run spellcheck: egregious spelling and grammar errors can distract your groupmates and make it difficult for them to help you. Without these four elements—thesis statement, topic sentences, evidence, and good mechanics—the draft will not earn full credit.
I will e-mail you with more information about the draft groups after the semester begins.
Additional Resources
The following links provide additional material on reading and writing about contemporary literature.
Writing Resources
- UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center
- Purdue Online Writing Lab
- The Elements of Style
- Documentation
- MLA Online
- Getting an A on an English Paper
- Columbia Guide to Online Style
Academic Resources
Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works, including dictionaries.
General Literary Resources
- UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center's handout, “Writing Poetry Explications” by Todd Verdun
- ENGL 2F55 Home Page, by Professor John Lye at Brock University, has numerous useful links, including lecture material on concepts like postmodernism, death of the author, and so on.
- ENGL 4F70 Home Page, another useful site by Professor Lye, developed for a course on contemporary literary theory.
Final Exam
Your final examination will be scheduled individually during one of several three-hour periods on the scheduled dates. As the time for the final exam draws closer, I will send out a study guide and a list of time slots available throughout the day in which you will take your exam. I will then send the exam questions to you via e-mail at the beginning of the time period you have selected, and you will have three hours to send me your responses. The test will be multiple-choice, based on information in the lessons and topics from the discussion forum.
Honor Code
Remember that as a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code: “It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity.” This code applies to all assignments, to discussion forum postings, and to the final exam.
Grading
Late papers will be penalized one letter grade for each day they are late. If you foresee yourself having trouble meeting a deadline, contact me before the deadline to work out a fair arrangement. Your grade for the course will be determined as follows:
| Five novel response papers | 5 percent each (25 percent total) |
| Short-story close-reading paper | 10 percent |
| Poetry close-reading paper | 10 percent |
| Drama response paper | 5 percent |
| Longer comparative paper | 15 percent |
| Contributions to the discussion forum | 20 percent |
| Final exam | 15 percent |
Course Mechanics
Blackboard
Some of your class components (discussion forums and announcements) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to log in to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.
There is a link to the Blackboard site in the gray navigation bar at the top of every page in this course. Click on that link, and then use your Onyen to log in to Blackboard. Click on the ENGL 124 link, and you will see navigation buttons on the left side of the screen labeled Announcements, Discussion Forum, and so on.
If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is who you should contact:
- If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen.
- If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), you will find help on the Onyen Web site.
- If you have your Onyen but can't log in to Blackboard, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
- If you can log in to Blackboard but can't find this course listed, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
- If you can't locate a forum in Blackboard, contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center.
- If you have other technical problems while using Blackboard, contact Blackboard Help (use the Help button in Blackboard, or call 919-962-HELP).
Library Services and E-reserves
Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves.
If you are using an off-campus computer, you will need to enter your Onyen to access the readings that are available through the e-reserve system. The UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources. If you encounter difficulties, please report your problem by visiting this Web page for reporting a problem.
All communication from your instructor will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail using Webmail. You can have your e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward e-mail” at the Onyen Web site.
If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff. Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses “blind carbon copy” to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than forwarding to Hotmail for this course.
Submitting Assignments
It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to me via e-mail. If I don't receive your work, you must have a duplicate copy, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered.
Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to me, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to me and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course.
Other Questions
If you have questions regarding
- the content of the course and your progress, contact me. There is a link to my e-mail address at the top of every course Web page. Please include “ENGL 124 CCO” and your name in the subject line of your e-mail.
- bad links or other problems with this Web site, contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center
- enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on, contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669).
Lesson Schedule
You are not expected to participate online during UNC's scheduled breaks.
This schedule gives us about fifteen weeks. For each “week” on the computer, you should log on at least three times and spend the equivalent of six to ten hours of outside time (working on assignments, doing research, reading through the lesson materials) in addition to the time you spend reading the books. This timetable is only a guideline, not a rule, designed to help you judge your involvement in class.
The Lesson Schedule below includes the starting dates for each reading that we will be covering in a lesson. You should complete the required reading for a given lesson in time to start discussion on the date stated in the lesson, meaning no later than the end of the first week of each lesson.
Introductions and Background Information
- Discussion Forum Introduction
- E-mail Introductions
- Reading Fiction
- Characteristics of Contemporary Literature
Lesson 1: March: Revisiting History
- Introduction
- Revisiting History
- Writing Assignment 1: March response paper
Lesson 2: City of Glass: Popular Culture/High Culture
- Introduction
- Popular and High Culture
- Comics
- Writing Assignment 2: City of Glass response paper
Lesson 3: Drama: August Wilson and The Piano Lesson
- Introduction
- African-American Voices
- Writing Assignment 3: Drama response paper
Lesson 4: Hey Nostradamus!: Contesting Explanations
- Introduction
- Postmodernism and the Internet
- Writing Assignment 4: Hey Nostradamus! response paper
Lesson 5: Short Story Unit One
- Introduction
- Short versus Long Fiction
- Writing Assignment 5: Close reading of a short story
Lesson 6: Jeanette Winterson and The Passion
- Introduction
- Magical Realism
- Writing Assignment 6: The Passion response paper
Lesson 7: Contemporary Poetry
- Introduction
- Writing Assignment 7: Close reading of a poem
Lesson 8: Short Story Unit Two
- Introduction
- Writing Assignment 8: Comparison paper using any two works of fiction from the class
Lesson 9: Salman Rushdie and Haroun and the Sea of Stories
- Introduction
- Metafiction
- Writing Assignment 9: Haroun and the Sea of Stories response paper
Final Exam
Course Evaluation: Please take a few moments to fill out a brief online evaluation. We want to know if this course met your needs and expectations.