English 104

COURSE DESCRIPTION: A course in literary studies, including the writing of formal literary research papers and an introduction to literary genres. Strongly recommended for students intending to major in either the literature or the creative writing track of the English major, and for other students who desire intense literary exposure.

COURSE RATIONALE: Reading, thinking, discussing, analyzing, and writing about literature are integral to a liberal arts education. For students majoring in English or those interested in literary studies, this course will provide a forum for these activities and will introduce the important literary terms and concepts that will be explored more fully in upper level literature courses. In addition, guided assistance in developing and writing formal literary analyses will prepare students for writing in upper level literature courses.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The central objectives of this course are 1) to introduce you to the literary genres of drama, lyric poetry, and fiction, 2) to familiarize you with important literary terminology, and 3) to give you practice in writing literary analyses (Montreat College Educational Objectives IV: 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7).

Additionally, there are several questions we will consider as we work through the course, including, but not limited to:

LIBRARY: All students are encouraged to take advantage of the services and resources available from the library. You can search the online catalog and the library’s databases by going to http://www.montreat.edu/library/. Select “Catalog” to search the online catalog or “Electronic Resources” to search the databases. The catalog lists all of the books in the Montreat College library as well as the holdings of five other colleges. You may check out books from all of these libraries. In addition, you may request books or journal articles via interlibrary loan. From the online catalog, you can also check on reserve materials by selecting “Reserve Desk” and searching by instructor name or course name.

The list of databases at http://www.montreat.edu/library/completeelectronic.asp provides links to a variety of databases containing journal articles, online reference sources, and electronic books (ebooks). These databases are accessible both on and off campus. You can search for journals at http://www.montreat.edu/library/electronic.asp. Ask the library staff for a password for remote access if you live off campus.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Of much interest to you will be the multiple resources available via electronic databases, especially JSTOR. In addition, the following books are on three-day reserve in the library and may be helpful when you work on your out of class literary analyses:

Message from the Writing Center: To write a successful paper in this course, you will need to follow a process of planning, writing, and revising your papers. The Writing Center tutors will work with you one-on-one on any or all parts of this process. This academic service is available to assist you in becoming a confident writer, as both a student and a graduate.

The Center is located on the top floor of the L. Nelson Bell Library in the back of the computer lab. The Center is open Sunday – Thursday between 6:00 and 11:00 p.m. An appointment is not necessary. If you are a day student or a non-traditional student, you may contact the Director, Anne Oxenreider (aoxenreider@montreat.edu), to schedule a daytime appointment. In addition, please know that an excellent internet resource is available to you at all times‑‑Purdue University’s OWL (On‑line Writing Lab). This site provides an “always on” and authoritative resource for composition, grammar, and citation. The address is http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: For all individual assignments students are expected to present their own work; documentation of research must follow the MLA Handbook for Writer of Research Paper or The Columbia Guide to Online Style (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos2006/basic.html). Cases of academic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating and plagiarism, will result in either failure of the assignment or the course. For the college's policy on this issue, please click academic integrity.

As you can see, this syllabus is on-line; for the most accurate information about the course, go to listing for this course on Moodle . Class discussions, tests, and writing assignments will assume you have accessed all these materials via Moodle . Please feel free to come by my office in McGowan Center 107, contact me at extension 3819, or e-mail me at dking@montreat.edu if you need help with any aspect of the course.

I freely give permission to anyone to use the information on this page, English 104, Introduction to Literary Studies, as long as appropriate acknowledgement is given either to me or to author’s whose works I have referred to and noted.