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English 2302/2303: Poetry & Fiction Dr. Perry Guevara Fall 2016, 1.5/1.5 Units perry.guevara@dominican.edu MW 4:30 – 5:45 PM Office Hours: MW 3:00 – 4:00 PM Guzman 113 (415) 482-1941, Angelico 326 ______________________________________________________________________________ Course Description This course serves as an introduction to the study of poetry and fiction. As we read selected works from ancient through contemporary times, we will study various genres, styles, and forms in an effort to better understand the conventions of literary craft. During the first half of the semester, we will encounter poems from the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Eighteenth Century, Romanticism, Victorian era, American and British Modernism, Beat Generation, and contemporary poetics. The first half of the course will introduce students to key terms (i.e. metaphor, imagery, meter) as well as to poetic forms (i.e. villanelle, sestina, sonnet). The latter half will turn to fiction including subgenres of micro fiction, short story, novella, and novel. General Education Requirements Students are required to have passed English 1004 to enroll in English 2302/2303. Student Learning Outcomes By the end of the semester, students should be able to distinguish the conventions of poetry and fiction from those of other literary genres, while appreciating the versatility of forms in diverse cultural, historical, and aesthetic contexts. Students will also learn to construct a debatable thesis statement supported by textual evidence within a coherent essay structure. Finally, students will learn

Poetry & Fiction

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how to not only identify key literary elements but also demonstrate mastery of such elements by composing creative works of their own. Required Texts and Resources

Against Forgetting: Twentieth-Century Poetry of Witness, ed. Carolyn Forché (recommended) Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories, Truman Capote Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger Howl and Other Poems, Allen Ginsberg Micro Fiction: An Anthology of Fifty Really Short Stories, ed. Jerome Stern Paradise Lost, John Milton Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neal Hurston The Art of the Story, ed. David Halpern (recommended) The Art of the Tale, ed. David Halpern (recommended) Other readings will be available on the course blog. Supplementary materials are available online and at the Archbishop Alemany Library. Should you have questions about obtaining materials, contact our course library liaison, Alan Schut, at alan.schut@dominican.edu or the manager of the Dominican Bookstore, Cameron Casey, at bookstore@dominican.edu.

Course Websites

Twitter: twitter.com (@English2302) Blog: english2302.wordpress.com Moodle: dominican.moodle.edu

Course Particulars

Attendance is mandatory. You are allowed three absences without an excuse. Any absence beyond the third will result in a half letter grade penalty (for example, a B+ will become a B; a C- will become a D+) against your final grade. Six or more absences will result in a failing grade for the course. Assignments will include weekly tweeting, weekly blog posts of 150-300 words, weekly responses to your peers’ blog posts of approximately 150 words, a midterm, and an oral presentation on a literary topic. All assignments must be submitted on time. Late submissions are not accepted and will result in a failing grade. Finally, students are expected to complete all assigned readings and to actively participate in class discussions. Cellular phones are not allowed in class.

Twitter

We will use Twitter for pre-writing. The goal is to express reactions and preliminary ideas about literary and cultural texts as succinctly and eloquently as possible. The 140 character limit imposed by Twitter demands that we minimize verbiage to articulate claims with economy. Not only will we learn to write with concision, but we will also gain digital literacy in an increasingly wired world. Each student is expected to tweet at least once a week. Tweets are due by midnight on Sunday and should engage one of the texts, performances, or

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cultural artifacts assigned for that particular week. Students are also encouraged to share relevant links, news stories, events, etc. via Twitter.

Blog

Blogging is the second step of our digital pre-writing process. In 150-300 words, we will expound on the ideas expressed in our prior tweets. Students are also expected to meaningfully comment on their peers’ blog posts. As an informal yet public medium, the blog allows us to explore, elaborate, and share our thoughts and ideas with one another. Posts are due by midnight on Tuesday. Comments are due by midnight on Thursday. The blog is also an appropriate space where to share images, audio, and videos relevant to the concerns of the course.

Assessment

Weekly Tweets, Blogs, and Responses 10% Exam 1 15% Exam 2 15% Paper 1 15% Paper 2 15% Poetry Portfolio 10% Fiction Portfolio 10% Oral Presentation 10%

Academic Honesty Honor Code

Dominican University of California is rooted in the Dominican ideals of love of truth, beauty, and the life of the mind, combined with a deep respect for the dignity and worth of the individual. All of our community members are expected to abide by ethical standards both in their conduct and in their exercise of responsibilities toward other members of the community. Plagiarism is an act of academic dishonesty and is a serious ethical and scholarly violation. Broadly defined, plagiarism is presenting the work of another person as one’s own. The format of the information you use is irrelevant; any material [produced] by another that you incorporate into your papers must be properly acknowledged using the style manual appropriate to the discipline or required by the instructor.

Diversity

Dominican declares its commitment to diversity, and the fulfillment of its educational mission is best achieved when every member of the University community upholds in thought, word, and deed E Pluribus Unum; Ut Unum Sint (“Out of many, one; that all may be one). Two profound visions—our American civic tradition and our Catholic heritage—inform Dominican’s commitment to the principle of pluralism and to the dream of a reconciled community. Faithful to these birthrights, Dominican seeks to nurture attitudes and behaviors that promote global awareness, inclusive sensibilities, and respect for the

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dignity of each individual regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, culture, political conviction, or disability—all in the light of the Truth that breathes forth love and in the hope of a common life that transforms the world.

Students with Disabilities

Dominican University of California is committed to equal access for students with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Any student who feels she/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Disability Services at (415) 257-1388 or write to maude.nazaire@dominican.edu as soon as possible to discuss specific needs. Please submit the relevant paperwork to the instructor.

Student Health Center

The Student Health Center at Dominican is committed to quality care and the promotion of optimal health. Prevention of disease and health awareness are encouraged in our student clients. Services at the Health Center are available to all students currently enrolled at Dominican. The Health Center is located in Bertrand Hall, Room 100. For information and appointments, call (415) 485-3208.

Counseling Services

Counseling sessions are personal and private. Our program provides a supportive environment where you can explore, change, and grow at your own pace, based on your own needs and desires. For information and appointments, call (415) 485-3285.

Teaching and Learning Center

The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), located in Bertrand 110, is an academic resource for all Dominican students. It houses eight computer work stations, four tutoring carrels, and conference area for group tutoring. To sign up for a tutor, fill out an electronic tutor request form at http://secure.dominican.edu/tutor/request.php.

Student Course Evaluations

Dominican University of California is committed to an ongoing evaluation of its programs and courses through a culture of constructive dialogue and feedback. As part of that process, students are required to fill out the online anonymous course evaluation for every course with the understanding that these evaluations have direct bearing on departmental and university hiring and promotion decisions. The instructor will designate a specific day at the end of the semester on the syllabus and set aside time during class time for students to complete the evaluation. Students are to bring a laptop, tablet, or smart phone to class on that day to complete the evaluation. If a student lacks such a device, a laptop can be checked

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out from the library. The link to the survey will be sent to all the students enrolled in the class by the Information Technology Department. The instructor will leave the room for approximately 15 minutes as the students complete the evaluations.

Schedule Week 1 August 22 Introductions “Cædmon’s Hymn,” Bede August 24 “What Is a Poem?”, Mark Yakich “Speech Therapy,” Barbara Johnson Sonnet 73, Shakespeare Week 2 August 29 Sonnets, Shakepeare From the Holy Sonnets, John Donne From Amoretti, Edmund Spenser “On His Blindness,” John Milton “Ozymandias,” Percy Bysshe Shelley “Leda and the Swan,” W.B. Yeats Sonnet 42, Edna St. Vincent Millay Sonnet 2, Ted Berrigan August 31 Writing Workshop Week 3 September 5 Labor Day—No Class September 7 “How to Read a Poem,” Edward Hirsch From Geography III, Elizabeth Bishop “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” Dylan Thomas “Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape,” John Ashbery Week 4 September 12 “In a Station of the Metro,” Ezra Pound Haiku, Taniguchi Buson From A Spray of Water: Tanka, Tada Chimako “Ghazal of the Better-Unbegun,” Heather McHugh “Fog,” Carl Sandburg From Pictures from Brueghel, “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “This Is Just to Say,” William Carlos Williams “The Fish,” Marianne Moore “Wild Geese,” Mary Oliver

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“Persimmons,” Li-Young Lee September 14 Writing Workshop September 16 Othello, Marin Shakespeare Company Week 5 September 19 Exam 1 September 21 Film Screening: Romeo is Bleeding dir. Jason Zeldes From Getting a Grip, Frances Moore Lappé From Poetry as Insurgent Art, Lawrence Ferlinghetti “Letter Home,” Natasha Tretheway “We Real Cool,” Gwendolyn Brooks “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note,” Amiri Baraka “Theme for English B,” Langston Hughes Week 6 September 26 “Introduction” to Against Forgetting and “The Colonel,” Carolyn Forché “Motto,” Bertolt Brecht “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Anthem for Doomed Youth,” Wilfred Owen “O the Chimneys,” Nelly Sachs “Queer,” Frank Bidart “How to Watch Your Brother Die,” Michael Lassel “Diving into the Wreck,” Adrienne Rich “Rites of Passage,” Sharon Olds September 28 Howl and Other Poems, Allen Ginsberg “Ah! Sunflower,” “The Sick Rose,” and “Little Girl Lost,” William Blake Week 7 October 3 Paradise Lost, John Milton October 5 Paradise Lost, John Milton Week 8 October 10 Writing Workshop Poetry Reading: The Rain in Portugal, Billy Collins October 12 Paper 1 Due

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Week 9 October 17 Micro Fiction October 19 Writing Workshop Week 10 October 24 CMEMS Conference—No Class October 26 “The Sacrificial Egg,” Chinua Achebe “Order of Insects,” William Gass “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” Gabriel Garcia Marquez “Never Marry a Mexican,” Sandra Cisneros Week 11 October 31 “Pornography,” Ian McEwan “The Elephant Vanishes,” Haruki Murakami “Reflections of Spring,” Duong Thu Huong November 2 Writing Workshop Week 12 November 7 Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger November 9 Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger Week 13 November 13 Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote November 15 Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote Week 14 November 21 Exam 2 November 23 Academic Holiday—No Class Week 15 November 28 Writing Workshop November 30 Student Presentations Week 16 December 5 Finals Week—No Class Paper 2 Due Poetry & Fiction Portfolios Due Disclaimer

This syllabus is subject to modification. The instructor will inform students of any changes.