Student A:____________________________ Student B:_____________________________
Classroom/Time: Tuesday and Thursday, 9:40-11:05, in Cedar 10
Teacher: Jim Toner
Office: Cedar 7
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 1:00-2:30; and
Tuesday and Thursday, 11:30-12:30
Phone: 588-5226
E-mail: tonerj@yosemite.cc.ca.us
Required Text: The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th Edition, Volume 2.
Recommended Book: King Leopold’s Ghost, by Adam Hochschild
Foreign Language Requirement: Teeka-teeka
Computer Requirement: You will need an email address. I’m also in the process of creating a course web site. More later.
Also: A blank cassette tape (used to record comments on your essays).
Objectives:
· I want us to read some of the greatest writers in the English language and do our best at understanding them and the times in which they wrote. Along the way, I want us to get some sense of how our language developed, stage by stage, into the English we speak today; I want us to celebrate the majesty of great writing; I want us to use these texts as ways to illuminate our own lives, right here and right now.
· I want us to be active and complete learners—full-bodied learners who do the mental work but also utilize the rest of us. This means that we’ll try to act and draw and pretend and move and play and…, well, do anything that will nudge these words deeper into our bones. Maybe for now the best thing is for you to just trust me and my madness.
· I want us to become better writers. Part of my job is to be sure that by the end of the semester you can write very good essays. I don’t have an exact number or nature right now, but it will likely be four essays in the neighborhood of five pages each. I know that the word “essay” is a dirty and distasteful word, but remember two things: one, “essay” comes from the French word meaning “to try”; and two, writing is a means by which you can come to understand and discover what might otherwise remain vague.
· I want us to be very flexible with how this course proceeds. I’m not laying out a grid of our week-by-week readings because that will eliminate chance, serendipity, discovery. Think of it this way: Let’s just get our bodies into Italy, and then, without any advance hotel reservations, we’ll roam from village to village according to our pleasures.
Expectations:
Okay, I need to be straight with you. Yes, I’ll do everything I can to help you, and yes, I want this class to be the love of your life. At the same time, be sure you have enough time for this course, because you will need to…
…read a lot of the book, which is full of tiny print;
…come to all or nearly all of the classes;
…be prepared for each of these classes and be willing to participate;
…write essays, each of which will take many hours;
…do the many other shenanigans that are typical of my classes.
The college guideline for a 3-unit class is 6-8 hours of homeplay per week. I’ll do my best to honor that.
Grading:
Every assignment, test, and essay is given a point value according to its importance and difficulty: for example, 10 points for a bit of homework, 150 points for an essay. All totaled, there will be around 1500 points for the semester. These points are tabulated on a computerized grading program, which makes it easy for you to see your status throughout the semester.
Grading scale: A+: 100-98 B+: 90-88 C+: 80-78 D+: 70-68 F: 60 and
A: 97-94 B: 87-84 C: 77-74 D: 67-64 below
A-: 93-91 B-: 83-81 C-: 73-71 D-: 63-61
My little opinion on grades: Because I work in an institution that requires grades, I will grant them with as much fairness as I can. Still, I must leave this talk of grades with a few honest words: My view is that grades are a dangerous thing, a thing that often impedes education itself. Grades can diminish wonder and enchantment and the importance of your own personal journey. Grades are the playthings of the concrete-minded, of those who struggle with ambiguity, grayness, soul, story. How do you assign a grade to that moment when you fall to your knees at the power and the beauty of great writing? So: do your best to put them in the right perspective.
Extra credit:
I seldom offer any because I feel the course work alone is enough. But if you are highly motivated, and if your grade is borderline, propose some extra work and I’ll probably agree to it.
Late work:
I have a heart, and I know that unexpected things happen. Under those rare
circumstances, please come see me so we can work something out. Otherwise, I have to hold you to deadlines.
Plagiarism:
Please don’t do it. I have the bizarre skill of being able to sniff out work that is
not yours, so you’ll probably get caught. But much worse is that you break a vow of trust between you and me, and that’s what crushes me. You need to know that the college penalty for plagiarism is immediate expulsion from class with an “F” grade. So don’t do it, okay.
Misssed Classes:
It is never a good idea to miss a class. If you do, my assumption is that you will call another student to find out what we did, what you missed, and what is due the next class. When you return, please don’t come up to me and say, “What did I miss last time?” My assumption is that, when you return, you will be all caught up and ready to go.
If you miss three consecutive classes and don’t notify me, I’ll presume that you’ve dropped the class.
This syllabus is depressing me. Okay, I suppose it’s necessary to give you some sense of what you’re in for, but the tone seems so negative and menacing. The truth is that I’m THRILLED about teaching this course. I have a soft spot for all twenty of you because you’re willing to take on a big-time English challenge. So what do you say we all jump into the sandbox and start playing with all these colorful toys, all these words full of wonder and song.