Professor Mark Canada
 University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Introduction to Literature

 Portfolio
 Schedule
 Resources
 Strategies
 Read On!

Professor Mark Canada

Required Supplies

Introduction

This course is one of the most practical and impractical courses you will take in college. On the one hand, it helps you develop a crucial life skill--the skill of interpretation--which you already use every day of your life. When you listen to a song on the radio, watch a movie, or even converse with a friend, you use your knowledge of language, plot, and character to make sense of your experience. By increasing this knowledge, this course will make you a better "reader" of your world. On the other hand, much of the appeal of literature lies in its impractical nature--its beauty, its humor, the way it makes us feel. Thus, while this course will improve your ability to function in the world, it also will help you to escape from it.

You are at the center of this course. While I will guide class discussion, design assignments, and serve as a resource, your progress and pleasure in this course depend on your active participation. By writing and talking about literature, you will build knowledge and skills through practical experience. Indeed, much of what you learn in this course will come from you and your classmates, and tests will cover these student contributions, as well as the reading assignments and my contributions. For that reason, you will need to attend class regularly and take careful notes on everything you read and hear.

Portfolio

When you invest a large portion of your time and energy in a class for several months, you should expect something more than a grade in return. If you work hard in this course, you will receive a good grade, but you also will receive several other, more lasting and important benefits. In addition to becoming familiar with some of the world's greatest literature, you will learn to read more carefully and insightfully, to write more articulately, to collaborate more effectively, and to use valuable library and computer resources that will help you to continue your education after this class ends.

While building a sharper, richer mind, you also will build a physical testament of you new skills and knowledge: a literature portfolio, which will contain the following materials.

Notes and In-class Essays (40 points)
Place 50 or so sheets of blank notebook paper in this section and use this paper to take notes on characters, themes, and other features while you read the assignments and while we discuss the works in class. To help guide your reading, I have posted study questions on this Web site. At the beginning of each class, I will ask you to respond to one of these questions in a brief essay. Because I will allow you to refer to anything in your portfolios to write this essay, you will want to take careful notes on your reading. Each of these essays, which may cover anything we have covered in the class up to that point, will be worth 1 to 5 points. You must be present when this essay is assigned to earn credit for it.
Journals (20 points)
Five times before the midterm examination, I will ask you to respond in writing to a particular question about the literature we are reading that week. Please type your response, which should be at least a page long, and include it in this section of your portfolio. These journals are worth 4 points each, distributed as follows: insightful interpretation of specific details in the work (2 points), clarity of writing (1 point), readability (1 point).
Semester Paper (20 points)
In this paper, which should be 4 to 6 pages long, you will turn a poem into a story or a story into a poem and then analyze the literary devices you used to convey meaning.
Examination (20 points)
This examination will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your reading and writing skills by identifying important literary devices and features, explicating a poem, and writing an essay.
Please keep this portfolio neat and organized and bring it with you to conferences with me. While your grade in this course depends on the work that goes into this portfolio, I hope that its value to you will outlast this semester and that you will continue to consult it and add to it when you read and write in the years to come. You may even want to show it to friends, parents, prospective employers, and--someday--grandchildren to demonstrate all that you have learned this semester about literature and life.

Be Your Best

You can expect me to be the best teacher I can be. I will be on time to class, give you my full attention and energy during every class discussion, respond thoughtfully to your oral comments and written assignments, and work hard to make this course interesting and rewarding.

I expect you to be your best, as well. Although this course is no more difficult than most college courses, it demands regular attendance, a commitment to in-class discussion and writing, and a large amount of out-of-class preparation, including reading and writing assignments, library research, and study. I expect you to make these commitments, to show up to class on time and ready to work, and to turn in neatly typed, carefully edited assignments on time. I will not accept late assignments except in the case of personal incapacitation, a death in the family, or an advance arrangement with me. For tips and strategies to help you succeed in this class and the rest of your college career, see the special site called "Be Your Best."

Schedule

Week 1: Introduction to Fiction

Week 2: Point of View and Character

Week 3: Setting and Style

Week 4: Symbolism and Theme

Weeks 5-7: The Novel

Week 8: Introduction to Poetry

March 9-13: Spring Break

Week 9: Sound and Form

Week 10: Figurative Language

Weeks 11-12: Poetry in Depth

Week 13: Introduction to Drama

Weeks 14-15: Shakespeare

Week 16: Review

Read On!