Week 1

Oct. 26

No class

Introduction

Reading

• Sharon Olds, "Rite of Passage"

  • About Sharon Olds

  • Sharon Olds (1942– ) (biography)

  • The Salon Interview: Sharon Olds

  • Kenneth Lincoln, Sharon Olds' Poetry (excerpt)

  • Laurel Blossom, "Sharon Olds," Poets & Writers Magazine (1993; interview excerpt)

  • Physical Experience and the Body in the Poetry of Sharon Olds

• Thomas Hood, "Past and Present"

  • Thomas Hood

Study Questions

• What is lost?  How does the poem convey that loss?

• How is humor used in expressing loss?

Loss

Reading

• Robert Frost, "Out, Out—" (1916)

• Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art" (1979)

  • On "One Art" (criticism on the poem)

  • Robert Shapiro, "On a Villanelle by Elizabeth Bishop" (1979)

Loss

Reading

• John Keats, "This Living Hand"

• Louis Simpson, "The Battle"

  • Operation Homecoming: Louis Simpson recalls the Battle of the Bulge (WWII) (audio clip)

  • The War (stories and memories of WWII)

• Tim O'Brien, "The Things They Carried" (1986; study guide)

  • Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried (1990)

Loss

Reading

• Tim O'Brien, "The Things They Carried" (1986; study guide)

  • Tim O'Brien, "Writing Vietnam" (President's Lecture, Brown University, 1999)

  • Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War

Loss

Reading

• Tim O'Brien, "The Things They Carried" (1986; study guide)

  • A Conversation with Tim O'Brien

  • Tim O'Brien, "Good Form"

  • Tim O'Brien, "How to Tell a True War Story" (1990)

    • Catherine Calloway, "'How to Tell a True War Story': Metafiction in The Things They Carried" (1995)

  • Howard Zinn, "The Impossible Victory: Vietnam" (photocopy can be ordered at CO-OP Copy Center in the basement of BRK Building)

Reading response 1 due

Bring weight to class

Mystery

Reading

• "The Two Ravens"

  • "The Twa Corbies" (the Scottish version with English translation, analysis)

  • The Twa Corbies (text of ballad with vocabulary gloss)

• Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven" (1845)

  • Edgar Allan Poe, "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846)

  • Creation: The Raven (radio story with audio clip of the poem read by Rathbone)

  • The Poe Decoder: Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"

  • Edgar Allan Poe Museum: Poe's Life

  • Edgar Allan Poe (brief bio)

  • The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore

  • Poe as a Student

  • The Raven: An Interactive Study Resource

  • The Gothic: Overview

Mystery

Reading

• Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven" (1845)

  • Edgar Allan Poe, "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846)

  • Poe and the Unconscious

  • American Romanticism Overview

  • A Glossary of Literary Gothic Terms

• Thomas Hardy, "The Withered Arm" (1888)

  • Suzanne R. Johnson, "Metamorphosis, Desire, and the Fantastic in Thomas Hardy's 'The Withered Arm'" (1993)

  • When Does Thomas Hardy's "The Withered Arm" Take Place?

  • The Short Stories of Thomas Hardy: A Selected Bibliography

  • Sigmund Freud, "The Uncanny"

• William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily" (1930; study guide)

Quiz 1 (15 points; 30 minutes)

• Quiz 1 discussion

Mystery

Reading

• William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily" (1930; study guide)

  • Reading Questions

  • The Gothic

  • "Town and Time: Teaching Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily,'" Mary Ellen Byrne

Mystery

Reading

• William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily" (1930; study guide)

  • Reading Faulkner: Glossary and Commentary

  • "A Rose for Emily": Selected Bibliography

  • Typical Elements of American Gothic Fiction

  • William Faulkner on the Web: William Faulkner's Short Stories

  • William Faulkner (biography)

  • "Changing Portraits in 'A Rose for Emily,'" Janice A. Powell

Mystery

Reading

• J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)

  • The J. B. Priestley Society: Biography

Mystery

Reading

• J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)

  • J. B. Priestley

Bring your journal recording your trip home (Monday–Wednesday)

Quiz 2: An Inspector Calls (10 points; comprehension check questions)

No Class (Father's Day Observed)

No Class (Constitution Day)

Mystery

Reading

• J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)

  • An Inspector Calls (playing at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Jan. 30–Feb. 14, 2009; with audio introduction [12:58 min.])

  • An Inspector Calls (playing in London at the Wyndham's Dec. 3–Mar. 20, 2010)

Mystery

Reading

• J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls (1947; study guide)

  • An Inspector Calls (1954, dir. Guy Hamilton; final scene [5 min.])

  • An Inspector Calls trailer (dir. Stephen Daldry; 1:42 min.)

  • New Spin for Priestley's Old Copper: An Inspector Calls (September 1992 review by Robert Butler)

  • A Postmodernist Calls: J B Priestley, Stephen Daldry and the British Stage (1999 review by Aleks Sierz)

  • An Inspector Calls (September 2009 review by Brian Logan; with gallery)

  • "An Inspector Calls" at Elmwood (2008 review by Peter D. Kramer)

  • An Inspector Calls (February 2006 review by Owen Richardson)

No Class (midterm Week: December 21–25, 2009)

No Class (midterm Week: December 21–25, 2009)

Midterm (8–10 a.m. in class) There are two parts to the exam. In Part I you will write an essay in response to a prompt on the short story "On the Rainy River" by Tim O'Brien (order a copy at the BRK CO-OP Copy Center). In Part II there will be three essay-type questions on the material we have covered in the first part of the semester, one of the questions will be on An Inspector Calls. See below for more exam help.

• Reading Strategies

  • Reading Strategies and LIE

  • S.O.A.P.S. Document Analysis

  • PDIDLS

  • Tone and Detailed Explanation of DIDLS

• Essay Exam Tips

  • Writing Exam Essays

  • Pointers for Taking Essay Tests

  • Writing Essay Exams (pdf file)

  • Essay Exam Preparation (pdf file)

• Review literary terms

• Sample Midterm Questions and Responses

  • Sample Midterm & Answers (the gothic experience)

  • Example of Strong Responses (Romantic literature)

  • Sample Midterm Questions (pdf file)

  • Sample Midterm Essay Response

Relationships

Reading

• Kazuo Ishiguro, "A Family Supper" (1982; rtf file)

  • A Family Supper (walks you through the literary elements; see if you agree with their reading)

  • National Geographic: Puffer fish video (4:27 min.)

  • Blowfish and Trade

  • Conversations with Kazuo Ishiguro

  • January Interview: Kazuo Ishiguro (2000)

No Class (New Year's Eve)

Relationships

Reading

• Theodore Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz"

• Robert Hayden, "Those Winter Sundays"

• Billy Collins, "The History Teacher" (study guide)

Relationships

Reading

• Susan Glaspell, Trifles (1916; study guide)

  • Mikes Maillakais, A Woman's Place: Literary Background for Glaspell's Trifles

No class (Faculty interviews)

Relationships

Reading

• Jhumpa Lahiri, " Interpreter of Maladies" (study guide)

• Frank O'Connor, "My Oedipus Complex" (study guide)

  • Oedipus Complex

  • Lecture Notes: The Oedipus Complex

  • Freud: Conflict and Culture (online exhibition)

  • Frank O'Connor

  • Julian Barnes, "Everyman's Voice" (2009)

  • Michael L. Storey, "Frank O'Connor: New Perspectives" (book review)

Relationships

Reading

• Katherine Mansfield, "The Lady's Maid" (1922; study guide)

  • A Biography

  • Katherine Mansfield: Short Story Moderniser

Relationships and Class

Review

Final paper progress discussion

No Class (Intervarsity Games: January 22–30, 2010)

No Class (Intervarsity Games: January 22–30, 2010)

Novel

Reading

• Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960; study guide) beginning to chapter 5 (beginning–p. 50)

  • Nelle Harper Lee

  • To Kill a Mockingbird: A Student Survival Guide

Quiz 3 (on To Kill a Mockingbird; quote identification and short answers)

Novel

Reading

• Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) chapter 6–14 (pp. 50–144)

  • To Kill a Mockingbird Allusions and Idioms

Novel

Reading

• Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) chapter 15–19 (pp. 144–99)

Novel

Reading

• Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) chapter 20–31 (pp. 199–281)

Forum

• If you are planning to use PowerPoint, make sure it is compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 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, February 12, 2010.

• 5-minute individual presentation (15 minutes per panel) followed by

• 10-minute question and answer session

• Tentative Schedule

  Monday, February 15, 2010

  Session 1: Paradoxes
  11:00–11:25 a.m.
  Presiding: Tipsuda Chaichana
  Speakers: 
  1. "Women Changing Their Minds: The Ending of Trifles," Natrawee Sungthanu
  2. "Using Trifles to Rebel in Trifles," Bancha Rattanamathuwong
  3. "Children Show the True Character of Adults in To Kill a Mockingbird," Bussaraporn Charoenkulsak
  
  Respondent 1: Tarnrin Adulyanon
  Respondent 2: Buaradee Vechakij
  Respondent 3: Thunsinee Muangthong
  
  
  Session 2: Identity
  11:30–11:55 a.m.
  Presiding: Natsinee Kanokworakan
  Speakers: 
  1. "Justice Is Injustice: Changing Standards in To Kill a Mockingbird," Namrin Nicola Dissaneewet
  2. "Protecting Mrs. Wright Is to Not Kill the Mockingbird," Nicharee Jongwattanasawat
  3. "Father-Son Relationship in Frank O'Connor's 'My Oedipus Complex,'" Nattha Buddhawongsa
  4. "Lost Thought and Hidden Things: Identity in Mansfield's 'The Lady's Maid,'" Nuan Bunnag
  
  Respondent 1: Natawadee Lee-aam
  Respondent 2: Thanyarat Deethong
  Respondent 3: Tanisara Suttanan

Forum and Theme Potluck

7:50–9:55 a.m.

Theme breakfast hosted by 2202235 group 2.  Menu: chicken and bacon quiches, raven sandwich with pickles, Emily's rose punch.

Session 3: Movers and Changers
8:00–8:25 a.m.
Presiding: Benjamaporn Meekaeo
Speakers: 
1. "Change in William Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily,'" Buaradee Vechakij
2. "An Inspector Calls," Natsinee Kanokworakan
3. "The Role of Children in 'My Oedipus Complex' and To Kill a Mockingbird," Thanyarat Deethong

Respondent 1: Nicharee Jongwattanasawat
Respondent 2: Nuntiya Dejamornthun
Respondent 3: Nuan Bunnag


Session 4: Strange Ideas
8:30–8:55 a.m.
Presiding: Nattha Buddhawongsa
Speakers: 
1. "Teaching Children in Billy Collins's 'The History Teacher,'" Tanisara Suttanan
2. "Miss Maudie's Strange Ideas," Nuchanart Pratoomsuwan
3. "Women's Dreams and Nightmares," Thanida Thongbor 

Respondent 1: Bussaraporn Charoenkulsak
Respondent 2: Tipsuda Chaichana
Respondent 3: Natsinee Kanokworakan
 

 
Session 5: Work and Play
11:30–11:55 a.m.
Presiding: Nicharee Jongwattanasawat
Speakers: 
1. "Father's Work in Kazuo Ishiguro's 'A Family Supper,'" Tarnrin Adulyanon 
2. "Leaders and Followers in To Kill a Mockingbird," Benjamaporn Meekaeo
3. "The Art of 'One Art,'" Thunsinee Muangthong 

Respondent 1: Thanida Thongbor
Respondent 2: Bancha Rattanamathuwong
Respondent 3: Nutrawee Sungthanu
Respondent 4: Nuchanart Pratoomsuwan
 

 
Session 6: Law and Disorder 
11:30–11:55 a.m.
Presiding: Tarnrin Adulyanon 
Speakers: 
1. "Inconvenient Truths in Trifles," Natawadee Lee-aam
2. "Breaking the Law to Uphold the Law in To Kill a Mockingbird," Tipsuda Chaichana
3. "Majority Rules: The Law in To Kill a Mockingbird," Nuntiya Dejamornthun

Respondent 1: Nattha Buddhawongsa
Respondent 2: Benjamaporn Meekaeo 
Respondent 3: Namrin Nicola Dissaneewet  

Final paper due

• 4–6 pp.

• MLA format

  • MLA Formatting and Style

  • Citation Styles Handbook: MLA

  • MLA Citation Examples

  • MLA Citation Style

  • Everything You Could Possibly Want to Know about Citing MLA Style

  • MLA Documentation Guidelines

• Some writing guidelines:

  • "Some Matters of Form" by Yale University (writing guidelines; pdf file)

  • Writing Prose (handbook on college writing, Yale University; pdf file)

  • Sources and Citation at Dartmouth College (pdf file)

  • Writing about Literature

  • Writing Papers for English and Literature: A Word of Advice (also A Few Things to Remember)

  • The Craft of a Literature Paper

  • Writing a Literature Paper: Guidelines, Suggestions, Strategies

  • What Makes a Good Literature Paper?

  • Guide to Essay Writing (helpful reference, where to start, evidence, argument, what is a good essay)

  • Writing about Literature (elements of the essay, the writing process, the research essay, documentation)

  • Developing an Outline (pdf file)

  • How to Write an Outline

• Some sample papers:

  • "To Know Well" by Jane Smith (on Shakespeare's sonnet 129: "Th'expense of spirit in a waste of shame"; Word file)

  • "The Value of Restraint" by Amy Skerry (on Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral"; Word file)

Final Exam (8:30–11:30 a.m.) Dictionaries (electronic or paper) are not allowed in the exam room.

BRK 401

• Reading

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Rich Boy"

    • John Updike, "Poor Little Rich Boy"

    • Introduction to the Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Preparation

  • Writing Exam Essays

  • Pointers for Taking Essay Tests

  • Writing Essay Exams (pdf file)

  • Essay Exam Preparation (pdf file)

• Sample Responses

  • Sample Poetry Question on Kvlividze's poem "In the Metro" (with sample responses)

  • Example of an 'A' Response to an Exam on Wordsworth's "The world is too much with us"

  • Sample Exam Answer

• Reading Strategies

  • TP-CASTT (brief), Poetry Analysis: TP-CASTT (more detailed)

  • Tone and Detailed Explanation of DIDLS

  • S.O.A.P.S. Document Analysis

  • Reading Strategies and LIE

  • PDIDLS

• Review literary terms