spirituality, consciousness, and literature syllabus

TiffinUniversity,SchoolofArtsandSciences Spring2013

Spirituality,Consciousness,andLiterature

ENG290h‐01Spring2013CourseDescription

Spirituality,Consciousness,andLiteraturewillfocusonsignificanttextsinthehistoryofbothwesternandnon‐westernliteratureandphilosophythataddresshowthehumanmindunderstandsitselfinrelationshiptoalarger,spiritualworld.Textswillreflectavarietyofperspectives,genres,andtraditions.BecausethiscoursefillsrequirementsforENG142,thiscoursewillalsoteachresearchwriting.

JamesRovira

OfficeHours

M‐Th,1:30‐5:30

W10:00‐12:00

Classhours

M‐Th,11:00‐12:45

ClassLocation

LibraryL1

About M.Phil.DrewU2004

Ph.D.DrewU2008

Contact [email protected]

419‐448‐3586

BridgewaterHouse5

TostudyliteratureistostudysomeofthemostcomplexusesoftheEnglishlanguage.Itwillimproveyour

communication,listening,reading,writing,andcriticalthinkingskills.

ThissemesterwewillbereadingliteratureandphilosophythatexploresthehumanmindThiscoursewillexploreavarietyofphilosophicalandreligioustraditionsfromantiquitytothetwenty‐firstcenturythatconsiderhowthehumanmindunderstandsitselfinrelationshiptothepossibilityofaspiritual,immaterialworld.PhilosophywillberepresentedbythewritingsofPlatoandNietzsche;theologyinAugustineandOrigen;sacredtextswillberepresentedbytheearlychaptersofGenesis;poetrybyJohnMilton,WilliamBlakeandEmilyDickinson;dramabyWilliamShakespeare;thenovelbyJonathanCarroll,andshortstoriesbyJhumpaLahiriandFlanneryO’Connor.

Thisselectionwillsupportyourstudyofliteraturebypresentingarangeofauthors,genres,andperiodsfromaroundtheworld.ReadingsinPeterBarry’sBeginningTheoryareintendedtopresentinterpretiveapparatusfromavarietyoftheoreticalschoolsthathavebeeninformedbyandthatrespondtosomeoftheliteraturethatyouwillbereadinginthisclass.YourWritingMatterstextisanimportantwritingresourceintendedtohelpyoudevelopresearchwritingskills.

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TiffinUniversitySchoolofArtsandSciences Spring2012

CoursePoliciesParticipationinthiscourseimpliesagreementwithallpoliciesasstatedinthecoursesyllabus.Applicablepoliciesarenotlimitedtothoseexplicitlystatedinthecoursesyllabusbutalsoincludeverbalinstructiongivenprivately,giveninclass,anduniversity‐widepolicies.

RequiredTexts: WritingMatters BeginningTheory BonesoftheMoon,JonathanCarroll Midsummer’sNighDream,Shakespeare InterpreterofMaladies,JhumpaLahiri BeyondGoodandEvil,Nietzsche Studentsmustpurchasetheassignedtextsforthisclassasnotes,

introductorymaterial,andcriticismunavailableonlinewillbeassignedfromthesetexts.

Allfinaldraftsofwritingassignmentsaretobeuploadedtoturnitin.com.TheinstructorwillgradethemusingtheGrademarkfunctioninturnitin.com.Oncethewritingassignmenthasbeengraded,studentscanviewinstructorcommentsbyopeningtheassignmentandclickingtheGrademarkbuttonintheupperlefthandcornerofthepage.Instructorcommentswillappearbothintherightsidebarandinlittlebluebubblesonthepaper.Thebluebubbleswillrevealinstructorcommentswhenthemousecursorisplacedoverthem.Pleasedonotjustviewfinalgradesonturnitin.com.Readallinstructorcommentsandcorrecterrorsonyournextassignment.Errorsthatarerepeatedfromassignmenttoassignmentwillcostmorepointseachtimetheyarerepeated.

AcademicHonestyPolicyThiscoursewillfollowtheacademichonestypolicyasstatedinthemostrecenteditionofthestudenthandbook.Thefollowingcourse‐specificpolicieswillalsobeenforced:AnystudentfoundplagiarizingonanypaperoverthecourseofthesemestertoanyextentmaybeawardedagradeofXFfortheclass.Thispolicymaybeappliedretroactivelytoanypapersfoundtobeplagiarizedafterafinalgradehasbeenissued.Pleasenote,however,thattheinstructordistinguishesbetweencitationand/ordocumentationerrorsandblatantplagiarism,thefinaldeterminationofwhichrestswiththeinstructoralone.Impropercitationswillresultinalowergrade,butnotnecessarilyagradeofXF.

Documentation

AllpapersinthiscourseshallbeformattedanddocumentedfollowingMLAstyleasdescribedintheMLAHandbook7thedition.SeetheWritingMatterstextforMLAstyle.AllpapersshallbesetupaccordingtotheMLAHandbookfollowingtheexampldeprovidedbythesamplepaperinWritingMatters:TimesNewRoman,12pt.fontdoublespacedfromtoptobottomwithoutinterruptionorextralinespacesandwith1”marginsallaround.Propersetupofassignedpaperscountstowardthemechanicalhalfofpapergradesdescribedbelow.

Followingcorrectdocumentationstylegivesyouinvaluablepracticeinreadingandfollowingcomplexwritteninstructionsandinpaying

attentiontodetail.Itisasignofprofessionalisminwrittenpresentations.

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AttendanceandGradingPolicies

TherearenoexcusedabsencesexceptforcompetitionsportstravelasperNCAAregulations.Absencesforfamilyillnesses,births,deaths,weddings,etc.,andthestudent’sownillnessesarenotexcusedabsences.StudentswhomissmorethanthreeclassesexceptforcompetitiontravelwillreceiveanautomaticgradeofFintheclass.

Allstudentsarerequired•tosubmitallwrittenworkbytheduedateandtime,•todemonstratecomprehensionofthematerial

intheirwrittenwork,•toargueathesisoriginaltothestudentinevery

paper,unlesssummaryisexplicitlyassigned,•tofollowMLAstyle.

Nolateworkwillbeacceptedunderanycircumstances,includingcompetitionsportstravel,unlessthestudentmakesarrangementsinadvancetowhichtheinstructorhasagreedeitherinwritingorbyemail.Latepaperswillotherwisebeissuedagradeof0.GradingTherewillbe100pt.quizzesgiveninclassoneachweek’sreading.Quizzescannotbemadeupunlessyoumakearrangementsinadvance.Iwillagreetoonemake‐update.Ifyoudonotmeetthatdate,youwillnotbeabletomakeupthequiz.Quizzeswillcoverfactualinformationabouttheassignedreading,beingverysimilarincontenttoyourmidtermandfinal(seebelow).Youmusttakenotesonyourreadinginordertopassthequizzes.

Studentsmustcompleteaninitialtwo‐pagepaper,athreetofivepagepaper,aresearchprojectproposal,anannotatedbibliography,anda10‐12pageresearchpaper.Duedatesareoncourseschedulebelow.Allpapersshallbefocusedontheassignedreadings,

shallbeaboutanyoneormoreoftheliteraryworksfoundintheassignedtextsbutnoneexternaltoit(thoughsupportedbysecondarysources,seebelow),shallargueathesisoriginaltothestudentabouttheliterature,andshallsupportthatthesiswithevidencequotedfromtheliterarytextsandfrompeer‐reviewed,scholarlysourcesproperlydocumentedfollowingMLAstyle.Classdiscussionwillservethepurposeofhelpingstudentsdevelopideasabouttheliterature.SeealsothehandoutWritingaLiteraryThesisoneCollege.Studentsarealsorequiredtoincorporateatleastsixcriticalsourcesintotheirwriting.Thesecriticalsourcesmaycomefromtheassignedtexts,fromtheMLAInternationalBibliographyonOhiolink,fromTiffinUniversity’slibrary,orfrompeer‐reviewedarticlesobtainedbyInterlibraryLoan.Studentsarenotallowedtouseanyworksonthepubliclyavailableinternetwithoutadvancedwrittenpermissionfromtheinstructor.

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Continuedfrompreviouspage

Eachindividualpaperwillbegradedonthefollowingbasis:• 50%‐‐grammar,spelling,MLAformatting.• 50%‐‐clarity,style,organization,content,andfulfillmentoftherequirementsoftheassignment.

• Pointswillbedeductedfromthefinalgradeofanypaperforbeingshortoflengthrequirementsin¼and⅓pageincrementsasdeterminedbytheinstructoraddingupto100pointsperpage.Studentsshouldnotpadtheirpaperswithunnecessarywords,phrases,orideasiftheyarecomingupshort.Theyshouldaddmoredetail,moresupport,moreexamples,and/orfurtherexplanation.

• PapersusinginternetortextmessageabbreviationswillreceiveanautomaticgradeofF.

“Mycomputercrashed”isnotanexcusefornotsubmittingapapertoturnitin.combytheduedate.Studentsareresponsibleforbackingupallworkeitherontoamemorystick,ontotheschoolnetworkdrive,orontoafilestoragesystemsuchasGoogledocsorDropbox(preferablyatleasttwooftheabove).Studentswhohavetheirworkbackedupwillbeabletocontinuetheirworkonapubliccomputeroncampusshouldtheirpersonalcomputercrash.Studentswhodonotbackuptheirworkareresponsibleforfailingtodoso.Themidtermandfinalexamswillbeworth500ptseach.Thefinalexamwillcoveronlymaterialstudiedsincethemidtermexam.Eachexamwillconsistof50‐100multiplechoicequestionsaskingfactualquestionsaboutthefollowingtopics:

• Associatingauthorswiththeirworks.• Birthanddeathdatesofauthorsandcompositiondatesofworks.• Genreandotherliteraryfeaturesofworks.• Relevantbiographicalandhistoricaldetailsassociatedwiththeworks.

• Quotationorspeakeridentification:pleasenotethatbeingabletoidentifyaquotationorthespeakerassociatedwithquotedtextdoesnotmeanthatstudentsareexpectedtomemorizeassignedreading,onlythattheyhavereadit,comprehendedit,andunderstooditsmajorthemesandmajorcharacterswellenoughtoidentifythemwithinamultiplechoicequestion.

• Questionsonthemidtermandfinalwillbedrawnfromclassdiscussionandfromassignedreading.

Allpapersmustbesubmittedtotheappropriatefolderonturnitin.comontheduedate(bythestartofclassthedaythatthefinaldraftisdue)foragradetobeissued.Studentswillalsohavetosignacontractindicatingwhichpaperoptiontheyhavechosen.Nopaperswillreceiveagradewithoutthissignedcontract.

ServicesTutoring

StudentswhowouldlikeadditionalhelpwiththeirpapersmaytakeadvantageoftutoringservicesofferedbyTU’sStudentSuccessCenter.TheStudentSuccessCenterislocatedinFriedleyHallandisopenfrom9:00a.m.to9:00p.m.MondaythroughThursdayand9:00a.m.to12:00p.m.onFridays.Studentswhowishtoworkwithatutorareencouragedtocallextension3324tomakeanappointment.Pleasebeadvisedthattutorswillnotwriteor“fix”papers,norwilltheyguaranteeparticulargrades.Theirfunctionistoreviewanddiscusswritingwithstudentsandtomakesuggestionsforimprovement.

StudentConduct

TUisaprofessionaluniversity;itsstudentsarepreparingforprofessionalcareers.Theyarethereforeexpectedtodressappropriatelyandbehaveprofessionally.Studentsmustturnoffcellphonesandpagersatthebeginningofeveryclass.Studentsmustnotspendclasstimewritingletters,doinghomework,usingcomputersforactivitiesnotrelatedtoclass,chewingtobacco,and/ortalkingprivatelywithothers.Suchconductishighlydisrespectfulandwillnotbetolerated.

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January14:Courseintroduction,avoidingplagiarism.

January17:WritingMattersTabs1,2,6:WritingResponsibly,WritingMatters,andMLAStyle

January21:Barrych.2,Structuralism

Lastdaytoaddaclass

January25:Plato:selectionsfromtheRepublicandtheSeventhLetter(seeeCollegeforhandouts)

January28:Plato:selectionsfromtheSymposiumandGen.1‐3(seeeCollegeforhandouts)

January31:St.Augustine:selectionsfromTheConfessions(seeeCollegeforhandouts)

February4:Origen:selectionsfromOnFirstPrinciples(seeeCollegeforhandout)

February7:Barrych.8,Marxistapproachestocriticism

February11:Shakespeare,Midsummer’sNightDreamActsI‐III

Firstdraftoftwo‐pagepaperdue:synthesizeatleasttwotextsreadsofartoanswerthequestion,“Howmightdifferentinterpretiveapproachestowrittentextsreflectdifferentstatesofhumanconsciousness?”Printpaperandbringtoclassforpeerreview.

February14:Shakespeare,Midsummer’sNightDreamActsIV‐V

Finaldraftoftwo‐pagepaperuploadedtoturnitin.com

February18:Barrych.6,Feminism

February21:Milton:ParadiseLost,Bk.IV(seeeCollegeforhandout)

February25:Milton,ParadiseLost,BkIX(seeeCollegeforhandout)

February28:Barrych.5,Psychoanalyticapproachescriticism

March4:Blake,SongsofInnocenceandofExperience

andTheMarriageofHeavenandHell(seelinks).

March7:Midterm.

F,March8:Noclass,SpringBreak.

March11:Noclass,SpringBreak

March14:Noclass,SpringBreak

March18:Firstdraftof3‐5pagepaperdueforpeerreview.Argueathesisofyourchoiceabouttheassignedreadingusinganytheoreticalapproachstudiedsofar.

March21:SelectionsfromEmilyDickinson‘spoems(seeeCollegeforhandout)Finaldraftof3‐5pagepapersubmittedtoturnitin.com.

March22:Lastdaytowithdrawwithoutafailinggrade

March25:WritingMatters,Tab5.Researchpaperproposaldue–250worddescriptionofyourprojectanditsapproachwithanoutline.Nietzsche,Genealogy,PrefaceandFirstEssay

March28:Nietzsche,SecondEssayandpp.167‐198

April1:Barrych.12,Narratology

April4:Noclass.AnnotatedBibliographydue,submittoturnitin.com.Atleastsixsources.

April8:FlanneryO’Connor,“Revelation”and“AGoodManisHardtoFind”

April11:SelectionsfromLahiri

April15:SelectionsfromLahiri

April18:BonesoftheMoon,Part1(pp.1‐40).Firstdraftof10‐to12‐pageresearchpaperdueinclassforpeerreview.

April22:BonesoftheMoon,Part2(pp.43‐134)

April25:BonesoftheMoon,Part3(pp.137‐222).Finaldraftofresearchpapertoturnitin.com

April29:FinalExam,10:30‐12:30

May4:Commencement

CourseSchedule


WritingRubricGradeofA:ExcellentTheApaperisahighlysophisticatedpaperthatsupportsanoriginalthesiswithacomplexargumentthatskillfullyandcorrectlyintegratessubstantialoutsideresearch.TheApaperdemonstratesnotonlysubstantialunderstandingofprimaryandsecondaryreadingbuttheabilitytoadvanceknowledgewithitsinsightintothematerial.Ithasfewornogrammaticalorpunctuationerrors‐‐nomorethanthreeorfourforeveryfivepagesofwriting‐‐andmaintainsahighlyacademictonethatcorrectlyandeffectivelyemploysfield‐specificlanguage.

GradeofB:AboveAverageTheBpaperfulfillsallrequirementsoftheassignment.Itmeetsorexceedsresearchrequirementseffectively,demonstratingcomprehensionofallsources.Itproperlydocumentsitssourceswithnomorethantwoorthreecitationerrors.Itisalmostfreeofgrammaticalorpunctuationerrors,havingnomorethanoneortwoerrorsperpage,butwhilehighlycompetent,theBpaperlackstheinsightandlinguisticcompetencecharacterizingtheAessay.

GradeofC:Average

Theaveragecollege‐levelpaperwillreceiveagradeofC.Thispaperiswrittenwellenoughtobeeasytofollow,butcouldbenefitfromsomerestructuringoradditionalparagraphs.Itmeetsminimumassignmentrequirementsforresearchandotherelementsandintegratessourcescorrectlyfollowingthemostbasicrequirementsoftheassigneddocumentationstyle;in‐textcitationsareclearlykeyedtothereferences,bibliography,orworkscitedpage.Itdemonstratesbasicreadingcomprehensionofbothprimaryandsecondarysources.Itmayhavesomeminorpunctuation,capitalization,grammatical,orspellingerrorsorsomeuseofinformallanguagebutisgenerallyappropriateandcorrect.

GradeofD:BelowAverage

TheDpaperisdeficientinoneormoreofthefollowingareas:structure/organization,research,readingcomprehension,documentation,wordchoice,grammar,orpunctuation,capitalization,orspelling.ThegradeofDindicatesbelow‐averageachievementinorganizingideas,expressingideas,understandingsources,writingcorrectly,orfollowingdocumentationstyle.MostDpaperscontainseriouserrorsinusageandfailtopresentacentralthesisortodevelopitadequately.TheseessaystandardssummarizetheWritingIntensiveClassrubriccreatedbyDr.JimRoviraandDr.SherryTruffinintheSummerof2011.TherubricitselfisoneCollegeandintegratedintoturnitin.comandwillbeusedtoscoreyourpapers.

Investinthisclass.Indoingso,youwillinvestinyourself–inyourknowledgeoftheworld,ofpeople,oflanguage,ofhistory,of

art,andofimagination.

GradeScale

A 93‐100A‐ 90‐92B+ 87‐89B 83‐86B‐ 80‐82C+ 77‐79C 73‐76C‐ 70‐72D+ 67‐69D 63‐66D‐ 60‐62F 59orbelow

spirituality, consciousness, and literature syllabus

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