Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University



2202234  Introduction to the Study of English Literature

 

Puckpan Tipayamontri

Office: BRK 1106

Office Hours: M 13 and by appointment

Phone: 0-2218-4703

puckpan.t@chula.ac.th

 

Section 2 (BRK 312)

M 9:3011:00, W 8:009:30

 

Tentative Schedule

Week 1


Aug. 6

Studying Literature: Tools, Skills and Conventions


Play: (7:30 p.m., Sodsai Pantoomkomol Center for Dramatic Arts) An Inspector Calls
Aug. 8 1: The Stories That Stories Tell: Close Reading
Reading
Discussion: How does one read and study a literary text? What is the use of this kind of reading and studying?; close reading; short fiction; diction: denotation, connotation

Aug. 10

2: Language and Meaning in Fiction: Literary Conventions

Reading

Discussion: point of view; character, characterization; irony; defamiliarization


Passage Explication: After continuing your active reading of (conversation with) the text of "A Dark-Brown Dog" from where we left off in Monday class to the end of the story, choose a passage to explicate to classmates. Organize and condense your findings so that you can speak for no more than three minutes. A sample explication is available on the study guide page for the story. In your close reading of the passage, here are some things to note and briefly explain:

  • Context (where the passage occurs in the work, what significant incidents occurs within it or are associated with it)
  • Structure (how the passage is organized, what movement, trajectory, or logical flow is evidenced in it)
  • Diction (word choice, denotations—how the dictionary meaning of a word is used, connotations—how associative meanings of the a word is used)
  • Figurative language (what similes, metaphors, symbols are used)
  • Imagery (what sensory or cognitive perceptions are appealed to)
  • Point of view (the viewpoint represented, shifts in perspective, information revealed or withheld within that point of view)
  • Plot (conflicts, resolutions)
  • Character (characters involved in the scene, their depiction, relationships)
  • Setting (where the scene takes place, its significance)
  • Other (irony; voice, tone, style; grammar, syntax; pace)

Week 2

Aug. 15

3: Crafting a World: Techniques and Choices

Reading

Discussion: structural elements of a story; plot, conflict, suspense, resolution; in medias res

Aug. 17

4: Driving a Narrative: Techniques and Choices 

Reading

Discussion: imagery; diction; theme

Tracking Civilization v. Savagery: Trace textual indications of civilization and savagery in Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" for today's class. Be prepared to share in two minutes your findings about Connell's use of the civilized versus the savage in the work. A sample first page comparison list is available on the
study guide page for this story.

Writing Practice 1: (40 minutes) General Zaroff, the “bit of a savage” Cossack who tries “to be civilized here,” mentions two ideas that abound in the story: civilization and savagery. What characters, actions, objects or qualities are associated with each? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each in this game? How do these two ideas play out? Discuss Connell’s use of civilized and savage depictions in “The Most Dangerous Game.” Download practice test practice test 1

Week 3

Aug. 22

5: Things and Meaning  

Reading

Discussion: truth and fiction; plot; setting (time and place); allegory; fallacies

Aug. 24

6: Acts and Meaning 

Reading

Discussion: imagery; symbolism; theme; style; irony

Writing Practice 2: (40 minutes) To practice writing under pressure, time yourself for 40 minutes as you respond to the topic prompt of your group. After that, you can treat the response as your first draft and rework it for your first reading response, if you like. Download the questions practice writing 2 prompts.

Week 4

Aug. 29

7: Ideas at Play

Reading

Discussion: student selected short stories; character, characterization; setting

Each student brings to class a short story that will make a good exercise for close reading. You can either e-mail me the story or a link to it online, or bring a hard copy to class.

*Writing Practice 2 due (Download the questions practice writing 2 prompts. You can e-mail your practice writing to me or hand in a hard copy in class.)

Aug. 31

8: Ideas at Play

Reading

Discussion: student selected short stories; figurative language; theme

*Quiz 1 (10 points, 20 minutes) on An Inspector Calls (Expect reading comprehension type questions on who, what, where, when in the text in formats like short answer, matching, and true/false.)

Week 5

Sep. 5

Drama Case Study  

9: The Language of Live Theater
Reading

  • J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)
Discussion: the language of drama: what makes meaning in a play; set, lighting, space, costume, acting

Sep. 7

10: Production, Direction, Performance, and Meaning 

Reading

  • J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)
Discussion: enacted stories and performed descriptions: characterization and plot development

Week 6

Sep. 12

11: Reading Small and Reading Big: Scene Focus 

Reading

  • J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)
Discussion: diction, irony, dialogue; humor, word play

*Writing Practice 3 (close reading of passage in Act 3) due (Download the prompt writing practice 3 and scoring rubric rubric.)

Sep. 14

12: Reading Small and Reading Big: Structure Focus  

Reading

  • J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)
Discussion: acts, themes, movement

*Reading response 1 due (prompt: Focus on a scene or passage in one of the works we have read and show how it relates to the work as a whole.)

Week 7

Sep. 19

13: Themes and Interactive Meanings

Reading

  • J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)
Discussion: delivery, spatial dynamics, props; intertextuality

*Performance: Students, in four groups of five students, perform a scene in Act 3 (beginning of the act on p. 48 to Mrs. Birling's "Oh—Eric—how could you?" at the top of p. 50). After your performance, each group please be prepared to explain to the class what you have attempted to achieve in your performance as a result of your group's study of the text.

Sep. 21

14: Themes and Contextual Meanings

Reading

  • J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)
*Literary Discovery: Students each bring a new literary term they have discovered in a dictionary of literary terms or an introduction to literature like some of the titles below. Students tell the class about 1) their literary term, 2) positive features of the book they consulted, 3) negative aspects of the book they consulted, and 4) students bring up at least one question they have about the reading this first half of the semester.
Books with Literary Term Explanations
  • Baldick, Chris. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. 4th ed. Oxford: OUP, 2015. Print.
  • Cuddon, J. A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. 5th ed. London: Penguin, 2014. Print.
  • Abrams, M. H., and Geoffrey Galt Harpham. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 11th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
  • Murfin, Ross, and Supryia M. Ray. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
  • The Norton Introduction to Literature. 12th ed. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2016. Print.
  • Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 13th ed. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Pearson, 2015. Print.
  • The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 10th ed. Ed. Michael Myer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2013. Print.
  • An Introduction to Literature. 16th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, William E. Burto, and William E. Cain. London: Longman, 2010. Print.
  • The Bedford Introduction to Drama. 7th ed. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. Print.
Writing Practice 4: Review of short stories and play. Download prompt writing practice 4 prompts.

Week 8

Sep. 26

*Test 1 (Midterm week: September 28–October 2, 2015)
 
(9:30–11:00 a.m., 30 points, in class) In test 1 you will be discussing short stories. You will be asked to discuss Walker's "Everyday Use" in one of the prompts.

 

It is helpful to take a few minutes to plan an outline before writing your essays. Formulate a thoughtful thesis/argument in responding to the question that allows you to address effectively the requirements of the prompt. For each prompt, you do not need to answer every single question in the cluster in order and separately. The multiple questions are there to help you think about the topic. Cite specific acts, scenes, lines, or words in support of your argument. You will want to show us your critical and analytical skills: demonstrate that you have read closely and understood the material, that you can critically engage with that material, with discussion in class, and with the test question, that you can synthesize material and knowledge gained, and that you can write clear and effective prose. Give your essays a title if you like.

Sep. 28

*Test 2 (Midterm week: September 28–October 2, 2015)
 
(8:00–9:30 a.m., 30 points, in class) In Test 2 you will be asked to respond to questions on An Inspector Calls. There will be a short answer/identification section and an essay.

  • Reminders:
    • Follow instructions. If the test paper asks you to "use 'Everyday Use' and the remaining short story to answer Question 2," don't discuss "Everyday Use" in question 1. If the instructions say to write in the answer sheets, make sure you write in the correct ones.
    • Have a clear point to make in each of your paragraphs, and in the essay as a whole.
    • Support your ideas with textual evidence. Cite specific acts, scenes, lines, or words to illustrate and substantiate your observations.
    • Avoid plot summary. Order your discussion around the point you are making, not according to the the plot of the story. Mention only aspects of scenes or characters that you are going to develop in greater depth.
    • Proofread. Sherly Jackson is not the author of "Everday Use," nor is Reinford a character in "A Most Dangerous Game."
    • Follow academic conventions in writing about literature such as using the literary present tense and referring to authors by their last names. Avoid non-close reading tendencies in your discussion.
  • Practice
    • Writing practice 3 prompt and scoring rubric writing practice 3 rubric
    • Writing practice 4 prompt writing practice 4


Students who have ordered the spiral-bound photocopy of Atwood's The Edible Woman bring 130 baht (exact change, please) and pick up your copy after the test.

Week 9

Oct. 3

Reading and Writing: Academic Conversation

 
15: Observation

Reading

Discussion: diction; imagery; rhyme; line; stanza

Oct. 5

16: Love and Loss

Reading

Discussion: form and content; movement in poetry; overstatement, understatement

Week 10

Oct. 10

17: Symbols of Love

Reading

Discussion: imagery; diction; irony

Oct. 12

18: Symbolic Play

Reading

Discussion: the sonnet form; rhyme scheme; theme; symbol

Week 11

Oct. 17

19: Old and New Forms

Reading

Discussion: the ballad form; effects of repetition, rhyme; synecdoche; mystery

*Reading response 2 due (no more than one page, double-spaced; you may respond to one (or more) of the study questions or your own devised topic.)

Oct. 19

20: Old and New Language

Reading

Discussion: diction; imagery; sound; symbol; themes: memory, life, place

Week 12

Oct. 24

No class (Chulalongkorn Memorial Day observed)

Oct. 26

Narrative Long Form


21: Covering the Novel: Form and Content
Reading

  • Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman (1969; study guide)
Discussion: the novel form; representing content

*Quiz 2 on The Edible Woman

Week 13

Oct. 31

22: Food, Metaphorical Food

Reading

  • Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman (1969; study guide)
Discussion: food imagery; theme

Nov. 2

23: Eating, Literal and Figurative

Reading

  • Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman (1969; study guide)
Discussion: consumption, history and women's history; diction: denotation, connotation, wordplay; character, characterization

Week 14

Nov. 7

24: Structure and Meaning

Reading

  • Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman (1969; study guide)
Discussion: structural framing; plot, narrative techniques and development; point of view; character development

Practice unseen poem
  • Prompt unseen poem (Time yourself for 40 minutes responding to question 1, George Meredith's poem from Modern Love.)
  • Sample student responses responses
  • Scoring commentary commentary
  • Scoring guidelines rubric
Sign-up for final presentation consultation times posted on my office door.

Nov. 9

25: Narrative

Reading

  • Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman (1969; study guide)
Discussion: style; tone; plot; story; unity; plausibility; conflict

*Practice unseen poem (40 minutes responding to question 1) due

Week 15

Nov. 14

26: Context and Meaning
Reading

  • Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman (1969; study guide)

Discussion:

Nov. 16

Review

Reading

  • Coursebook
  • Margaret Atwood, The Edible Woman (1969; study guide)
Discussion: preparing for essay exams; planning an essay response; mock exam

Week 16

Nov. 21

Inspectors Call: Covering Literature

  • If you are planning to use PowerPoint, make sure it is compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 version. Also embed or include files of any nonstandard fonts that are in your presentation.
  • Let me know of any other audiovisual needs by 4 p.m. Friday, November 18, 2016.
  • 5 minutes per speaker (15–20 minutes per panel) followed by a 5–10-minute question and answer session

Tentative schedule


1.  Covering "The Most Dangerous Game": Traps—Physical, Mental, and Linguistic
9:30–9:50 a.m.
Presiding: Kukasina Kubaha
Speakers:
1.  “Physical Traps,” Naphatsorn Na Nakhon
2.  “Mental Traps,” Pimchanok Boonpok

3.  “Linguistic Traps,” Prompiriya Promsangkaha

Respondent 1: Nuttida Aderektrakarn
Respondent 2: Pimpun Jundaeng
Respondent 3: Surakan Kittiperakorn

 

2.  Covering "First Day at School"
9:50–10:10 a.m.
Presiding: Narawit Kongko
Speakers:
1. 
“Covering Stanza 1,” Patteera Pimsarn
2.  “Covering Stanza 2,” Pattarapol Chanprasit

3. 
“Covering Stanza 3,” Panisara Mankongprapai

Respondent 1: Tam Sothonprapakon
Respondent 2: Pornpatch Thanaprasitikul
Respondent 3: Nattakarn Tantiwanichpun

 

3.  Covering The Edible Woman
10:10–10:30 a.m.
Presiding: Panicha Akkaramongkolchai
Speakers:
1.  “Title,” Ramita Pumekate

2.  “Title,” Chanyanuch Panlainark

3.  “Title,” Warunporn Tiyabhorn

4.  “Title,” Pornpatch Thanaprasitikul

Respondent 1: Nopparuj Saadruks
Respondent 2: Nuttanun Puttanapun
Respondent 3: Panicha Akkaramongkolchai

Respondent 4: Naphatsorn Na Nakhon

Nov. 23

Inspectors Call: Covering Literature


Tentative schedule (download program)


4.  Theme Potluck Breakfast
8:00–9:25 a.m.
Theme potluck breakfast hosted by section 2.
You are welcome to bring themed breakfast foods inspired by our course reading list to eat and share with friends Wednesday morning. Currently on the menu: Ivan's sweet tooth secrets (pryaniki, oreshki, and medovnik), "real" tomato juice.
 

5.  Covering Female Characters in The Edible Woman
8:00–8:25 a.m.
Presiding: Nuttanun Puttanapun

Speakers:
1.  “Title,” Pimpun Jundaeng

2.  “Title,” Tam Sothonprapakon

3.  “Title,” Narawit Kongko

4.  “Title,” Panicha Akkaramongkolchai

Respondent 1: Pimchanok Boonpok
Respondent 2: Kukasina Kubaha

Respondent 3: Panisara Mankongprapai

Respondent 4: Prompiriya Promsangkaha
 
6.
Covering The Edible Woman: Finding Marian
8:30–8:55 a.m.
Presiding: Patteera Pimsarn

Speakers:
1. 
“Marian in Wonderland,” Nattakarn Tantiwanichpun
2. 
“Marian in Toronto,” Nuttida Aderektrakarn

3.  “Marian in Food,” Nuttanun Puttanapun

Respondent 1: Pattarapol Chanprasit
Respondent 2: Narawit Kongko

Respondent 3: Chanyanuch Panlainark
 
7.
(Un-)Covering Myths in The Edible Woman
9:00–9:25 a.m.
Presiding: Naphatsorn Na Nakhon

Speakers:
1.  “Capitalistic Society and Its Implications on the Characters in The Edible Woman: Is It a Myth?,” Surakan Kittiperakorn

2. 
“Deconstructing the Myth of Gender Identity in The Edible Woman,” Kukasina Kubaha

3.  “Exploring the Myth of Freedom of Action in The Edible Woman,” Nopparuj Saadruks

Respondent 1: Warunporn Tiyabhorn
Respondent 2: Patteera Pimsarn

Respondent 3: Ramita Pumekate



*Reading response 3 due (2 pp., MLA format)

Week 17

Nov. 28

Final Exam (8:30–11:30 a.m.) 

 

 


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Last updated November 20, 2016