literary criticism syllabus 2014-15

En8N-‐EDU Literary Criticism First Semester, AY 2014-‐15 Instructor: Maria Teresa (Trina) Tinio Monday/Thursday, 9:00-‐10:30, EB802 Course Description: Literary Criticism is the study, analysis, and evaluation of literature. This course proceeds from the assumption that literary texts are different form ordinary, everyday speech and from practical prose such as scientific, business, and technical writing, and everyday writing such as letter, blog, or report writing. Literature (novels, short stories, poetry, literary essays), on the other hand, is seen as a special kind of writing that works on its own special aesthetics, codes, and conventions. It is the unfamiliarity with these special aesthetics, codes, and conventions that make literature appear, to the ordinary reader, dense and distanced or deep and unknowable. The student of literature must first understand these aesthetics, codes, and conventions in order to understand literature. In high school, the emphasis in the study of literature has been on the story, meaning, or theme of the literary piece and on the values imparted. This is what is known as literature’s content. Collegiate study of literary must emphasize a more complete and deeper analysis by involving these aesthetics, codes, and conventions. This is what is known as literature’s form. The evaluation or critique of literature then applies not only to the content of literature but to the form as well. The teaching of high school literature also emphasized understanding the moral values conveyed by the literary text. Literature, however, especially contemporary literature, is very rarely written with the objective of conveying a direct, didactic and moral point. A disjunct then exists between how literature is often studied (extracting a moral) and the actual conventions of literature (literature as an expression of lived experience). The collegiate approach to literature has to focus instead on an understanding about what each literary piece conveys about the actual values (materialism, patriarchal values, modernism, technology and efficiency, etc.) or the interplay and negotiation of conflicting values and practices (global v. local, modern v. traditional). This course is a practical course where students will be expected to write critiques of contemporary literature. Whereas most other courses entitled Literary Criticism take a historical approach and study writers of the past who have tried to theorize on the aesthetics of literature (Aristotle, Alexander Pope, T.S. Eliot, etc.), this course focus on getting students to write complete and comprehensive literary critiques that first provides a precise and concise summary, second a thoughtful appreciation of the methods employed by the author, and third conveys an opinion on the value of the work.

Course Objectives: At the end of the course, the student is expected to:

1. appreciate why it is important to understand and teach literature 2. better understand the aesthetics, codes and conventions of literature 3. write precise but concise summaries of literary works 4. identify and explain the literary techniques used by the author 5. express one’s opinion on the value of the literary work based on what it conveys about actual

and/or conflicting values

Required Readings/Texts: A selection of short stories, essays, and poems (listed in the course outline below) that will be uploaded to the course website for download by the students. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The Simon and Schuster Enrich Classic edition is recommended. Attendance at two FEU Theater Guild productions: Urbana at Feliza, (Sept. 12, 13, 15,16) and Makikitawag Lang Ako (no date yet but sometime in October)

Monday/Thursday

WEEK READING/OBJECT OF STUDY

STRATEGIES EVALUATIVE MEASURES

1 2

June 30 and July3

Introduction to Literature and Literary Criticism “First Lesson,” Philip Booth

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ What I read; why I read; How I read.

3 July 7 and

10

“Iguana Hunting,” Hernan Lara Zavala Glossary of Literary Terms

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ Summers in the Countryside Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐plot; foil; initiation story; bildugsroman

Recitation: Personal Narrative Sharing Prepared Summary and Literary Critique

4 July 14 and 17

“The Happiest Boy in the World,” N.V.M. Gonzalez

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ Unbeknownst to Me Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐subtext, dramatic irony, social commentary

Recitation: Personal Narrative Sharing Prepared Summary and Literary Critique Quiz for Great Expectations, Chapters 1-‐10

5 July 21 and 24

“Homage to Isaac Babel,” Doris Lessing

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ On Hindsight Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐charcterization

Quiz for “Homage to Isaac Babel” Recitation: Personal Narrative Sharing Prepared Summary and Literary Critique

6 July 29 and 31 PRELIMS

“The Chieftest Mourner, “ Aida Rivera-‐Ford

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ Studied Disregard Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐subtext; oxymoron; foil; point-‐

Quiz on “The Chieftest Mourner” Recitation: Personal Narrative Sharing Prepared Summary and Literary Critique

of-‐view; social commentary Prelims: Full Paper on any of the four stories previously discussed

7 Aug. 4 and

7

“The Unfinished Story,” Joy Dayrit

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ The Country and the City Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐subtext; foil; verbal irony; social commentary

Quiz on “The Unfinished Story” Recitation: Personal Narrative Sharing Prepared Summary and Literary Critique

8 Aug. 11 and 14

“Looking for a Rain God,” Bessie Head

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ Abject Poverty Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐plot; creating sympathy; social commentary

Recitation: Personal Narrative Sharing Prepared Summary and Literary Critique Quiz on Great Expectations, Chapters 11-‐19

9 Aug.19 21

(HOLIDAY)

“The Chaser,” John Collier

Discussion Collective Writing

10 Aug. 25

(HOLIDAY) 28

Collective Writing Quiz on Great Expectations, Chapters 20-‐29

11 Sept. 1 and 4

“The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket,” Yasunuri Kawabata

Discussion Personal Narratives: -‐ My Story Through a Stranger’s Story Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐Point-‐of-‐view; imagery; “plotlessness”


12 Sept. 8 and 11

MIDTERM

Urbana at Feliza, (Theater Guild Production, Sept. 12, 13, 15,16)

Discussion Collective Writing

Midterm Paper:Full Critique of “A Family Supper” by Kazuo Ishiguro

13 Sept. 15 and 18

The Grammar and Syntax of Poetry Two Sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay Two Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Discussion Exercise in Paraphrasing Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐Imagery, tension and balance

Quiz on Great Expectations, Chapters 30-‐39

14 Sept. 22 and 25

“Soledad” and “I Have Begrudged the Years” by Angela Manalang Gloria

Personal Narratives: -‐ Heaven in the Depths of Hell Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐Paradox; poetic diction


15 Sept. 29 and Oct. 2

“Sow” by Sylvia Plath “Spring and Fall: to a Young Child,” Gerard Manely Hopkins “Makikitawag Lang Ako” (Theater Guild Production, Oct. 2)

Personal Narratives: -‐Smaller as I get Older Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐imagery; poetic diction

Quiz on “Sow” Recitation: Personal Narrative Sharing Prepared Summary and Literary Critique Quiz on Great Expectations, Chapters 40-‐49

16 Oct. 6 and

9

“Demeter,” Carol Ann Duffy; “Persephone, Falling,” Rita Dove; “Ruth was not Penelope, Myrna Peña Reyes; “Zero Gravity, “ Eric Gamalinda

Personal Narratives: -‐A Moment of Infinite Possibilities Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐allusion


17 Oct. 13 and 16

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

Great Expectations: The novel, the hero, the anti-‐hero, “dickensian” characterization

Quiz on Great Expectations, Chapters 50-‐59

18 Oct. 20 and 23

“My Last Duchess,” Robert Browning “Departmental,” Robert Frost

Personal Narratives: -‐Experiences of Overstatement and Understatement Using the Elements in a Critique: -‐understatement


19 Oct. 27 and 30 FINALS

“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” John Donne

Final Paper: Critique of either Urbana at Feliza or Makikitawag Lang Ako

Requirements:

1. Attendance at Class 2. Reading of assigned texts 3. Participation in class discussion 4. Quizzes (at least 3 per grading period), 10 points, open reading and open notes 5. Personal Narrative Sharing, 10 points each 6. Attendance at FEU Theater Guild Productions: Urbana at Feliza and Makikitawag Lang Ako 7. Three Critical Analysis Papers of between 500-‐600 words each

Stipulations for Requirements:

Attendance. The CHED rule on the requirement of at least 80% of class will be strictly followed. This means that students are allowed only up to six (6) absences and will be dropped from the course at the seventh (7th) absence. Attendance is called at the start of class and students who are late are considered absent. There are no excused absences; illness or family emergencies does not excuse one from class.

Punctuality of Submission of Requirements. Quizzes are given at the start of class. Students who arrive after the quiz has been given will not be given a make-‐up quiz. Papers are due on the date designated in the syllabus and announced in class. Papers must be submitted in MS-‐Word format via email no later than 12 midnight of the designated date. Late papers will not be accepted and a zero will be recorded for the missed requirement.

Paper Format. The following information must be included in the top left-‐hand corner of the paper: name of student, Course Title and Instructor’s Name, Identification of Requirement (e.g. First Preliminary Paper). The top right-‐hand corner of the paper must indicate the due date which is also the date of submission. Papers should be written on short bond paper; they should be double-‐spaced, with normal margins and font size 11 or 12. The word count on the paper should be indicated at the very end of the paper (e.g. Word Count: 543).

Academic Integrity. The rules on academic integrity will be strictly followed in this class. The copying, in part or in whole of work that is not one’s own, without acknowledgement, will cause the student to get a zero for the requirement. The instructor may opt to report the student to the Discipline Office for the offense. Cheating at quizzes through copying of a classmate’s work will also be considered a violation of the policy on academic integrity.

Conduct During Class. Students are expected to conduct themselves professionally during class. Participation at class discussions is essential.

Consultation Hours: By appointment, Monday-‐Friday, 10:30-‐6:00, first floor, Office of Academic Affairs, Administration Building

APPROX. DATE

PERSONAL NARRATIVE ASSIGNMENTS MINI CRITIQUE ASSIGNEMENTS

July 7-‐10 Summers in the Countryside “Iguana Hunting” Elements: plot; foil; initiation story; bildugsroman

July 14-‐17 Unbeknownst to Me “Happiest Boy in the World” subtext, dramatic irony, social commentary

July 21-‐24 In Hindsight “Homage to Isaac Babel” Elements: characterization, subtext

July 20-‐31 Studied Disregard “The Chieftest Mourner” Elements: subtext; oxymoron; foil; point-‐of-‐view; social commentary

Aug. 4-‐7 The Country and the City “The Unfinished Story,” Elements: subtext; foil; verbal irony; social commentary

Aug. 11-‐14

Abject Poverty

“Looking for a Rain God” Elements: plot; creating sympathy; social commentary

Sept. 1-‐4 My Story Through a Stranger’s Story

“The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket” Elements: Point-‐of-‐view; imagery; “plotlessness”

Sept. 22-‐25

Heaven in the Depths of Hell

“Soledad” and “I Have Begrudged the Years” Elements: Paradox; poetic diction

Sept. 29-‐Oct. 2

Smaller as I get Older

“Sow” and “Spring and Fall: To a Young Child” Elements: imagery; poetic diction

Oct. 6-‐9 A Moment of Infinite Possibilities

“Demeter,” “Persephone, Falling,” “Ruth was Not Penelope,” “Zero Gravity” Elements: allusion

Oct. 20-‐23

Experiences of Overstatement and Understatement

“My Last Duchess” and “Departmental” Elements: understatement, irony, subtext

literary criticism syllabus 2014-15

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