Frederick Community College

 

EN 216-ONL: The Short Story

On-line Syllabus

SUMMER 2011

 

Class begins: June 6,                2011

Class ends: August 1, 2011

Last Day to Withdraw: July 13, 2011

 

 

 

 Instructor Information:

Name:   Donna Harrison

Office: 

E-mail:  Dharrison@frederick.edu

Phone Number:  Cell:  301-491-0051              

Contact Hours:

Email—expect a reply within 24 hours

Office Hours:  To be announced

 

Campus Mail Box #:  805

 

 

Course Information:

Credits:  3

On-campus Meetings:  0

On-campus Exams: 2

Prerequisites:  EN 101

Co-requisites: none

 

Course Description:

EN 216 surveys a wide variety of short stories and analyzes the elements of the short story with emphasis on thematic development and relevance of the stories to life experiences in a variety of cultures and nations

 

 Core Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will have written papers, completed examinations, and participated in online discussions that demonstrate:

 

1.      informed critical responses to a variety of short stories and to the human values they express

       through an awareness of short stories as both a record and a reflection of culture.

2.      college-level communication skills and appropriate documentation of source material.

3.      an understanding and interpretation of social values by identifying and evaluating moral

       issues and conflicts, by displaying academic honesty, and by valuing lifelong learning.

4.      critical thinking skills in the analysis, comparison, synthesis, interpretation, and evaluation of

       short stories and the techniques used by writers to create them.

5.      appropriate use of literary terminology.

6.      the value of short stories as evidence of a multicultural society expressing the universality

       and diversity of the human experience and the importance and responsibility of the individual.

7.      the use of technology to format papers and conduct research.

 

  Instructional Methods:

This course consists of reading, online lectures, class discussion, collaborative learning, instructor comments on written work, and online (or library) research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  How the Course Is Organized:

EN216-NET is not a self-paced course. You will be responding to a series of questions based on the short story and critical readings listed in the Assignments folder for a given week, posting them in the Discussion Board, and responding to other students. Your own contribution is due by 11:59:59 PM Thursday each week and your responses to others in the discussion forum are due by 11:59:59 PM Sunday of the week. Quizzes are due by 11:59:59 PM Sundays. In addition to the Discussion Board responses and quizzes, there are two essays and two exams. The main course support documents are located by way of the Course Information button (syllabus, policies, and resources.)  Everything you need to do will be listed under the Assignments link, including access to all lectures, discussion board assignments, essay assignments, and quizzes.  You will have access to the current and following week’s material if you choose to work ahead, though assignment submission links will be made available at the start of a given week.

All assignments have due dates that must be met.

 

Text and Course Materials:

Gioia, Dana, and R. S. Gwynn.  The Art of the Short Story. Longman, 2006.

A college dictionary.  (A good online dictionary and thesaurus can be found at: www.m-w.com

 

Progress Report:

By the end of the fourth week of the semester, I will have given you written comments on your work in the course.  At this point, you will be able to evaluate your progress and decide if you need to make any adjustments (additional time devoted to course, tutoring, conference with me) to best assure your success in this course.

 

Assessment

Point Value

Final Grade Scale

 

First essay

100

666-740     =A

Second essay

200

592-665     =B

Midterm exam

100

518-591     =C

Final exam

100

444-517     =D

Quizzes

 80

 

Discussion Board Posts and Responses

160

 

 

 

Student Services

A variety of services is available to assist students in succeeding at FCC. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Student Services web page: http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/index.aspx.

Students with disabilities who are in need of accommodations or who have questions related to disabilities services should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office at 301-846-2408. Students can learn more about these services by visiting the Services for Students with Disabilities web page: http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/disability.aspx.

 

 

 Participation Policy:

 

Your participation in discussions will be noted and evaluated as part of your grade.  In addition, your attendance on campus is required for the midterm and final exams. 

 

Late Work Policy:

Late work is accepted only if you have asked for and been granted an exception prior to the due date for the work.

 

 

 

 

 

  Email Policy:

 

With the exception of Maryland Online students, all FCC students will receive and are expected to use their FCC email address for correspondence with faculty and staff at the college. Students can establish and access their FCC email accounts at https://myfcc.frederick.edu. Email is an instructional tool essential to student-instructor and student-student communication. In the Blackboard environment by default, your email address is available to all students in this course.

However, students are permitted to use email addresses of other students in this course only for the purpose and the duration of this course.

The instructor can be expected to respond to regular student email inquiries (grades, posted assignments, and tests excluded) within 24 hours.

 

 

Academic Integrity:

Work in this course is subject to the provisions of the FCC Code of Academic Integrity. Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. As a student, it is your job to practice academic honesty at ALL times.  Make sure that all sources, particularly Internet sources, get proper credit for quotations, paraphrases, and ideas. More information about this and the Student Conduct Code are available at http://www.frederick.edu/student_services/studentpolicies.aspx

 

You must send your Academic Integrity Pledge to the instructor. The form is available at http://courses.frederick.edu/_utilities/regform.htm

 

 
 
Topical Outline

 

NOTE:  Your instructor reserves the right to make changes to this outline as needed.

 

 

Week

Subject

Content

 

1

Introduction

Syllabus and other course materials

“The Art of the Short Story” (3-6)

Holst: “The ‘Zebra Storyteller” (see Assignments/Week 1 in Blackboard.  This is not in our text)

Concepts: Characterization (854-57) and Setting (859-60)

Faulkner: “A Rose for Emily” (238-45)

Baldwin: “Sonny’s Blues” (27-49)

Munro: “How I Met My Husband” (649-62)

 

Wk 1 Discussion Board

 

  

 

2

Crime and Punishment
Concept: Writing about Fiction (863-67)

Concept: Symbolism

Faulkner: “Barn Burning” (225-38)

Hurston: “Sweat” (378-88)

Gogol: “The Overcoat” (311-31)

Resource Reading #1: Writing about Literature (863-77)

Wk 2 Discussion Board 

Quiz for Wks 1 & 2

 

3

 

 

Heritage

Concept: Theme (860-61)

Silko: “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” (739-42)

Mishima: “Patriotism” (629-47)

Walker: “Everyday Use” (810-18)

Historical Criticism (884-87)

Wk 3 Discussion Board

Essay 1

 

4

Epiphanies

Concept: Plot (849-54)

Wharton: “Roman Fever” (832-42)

Carver: “A Small Good Thing” (88-105)

Wk 4 Discussion Board
Midterm (in the Testing  Center)

 

5

Forces of Nature

Crane: “The Open Boat” (196-216)

Ellison: “A Party Down at the Square” (218-23)

Review Resource Reading #1: Writing about Literature (863-77)

Resource Reading #2: Critical Approaches to

     Literature (for use with Essay #2): Background

     (878-79), Formalist (879-81), Biographical (881-

     84), Historical (884-87), Psychological (887-

     89), Mythological (890-92), Sociological (892-

     95), Gender (895-97), Reader-Response (897-

     98), and Deconstructionist (899-900).

Wk 5 Discussion Board

 

6

Quests

Concept: Point of View (857-58)

Cheever: “The Swimmer” (123-32)

Joyce: “Araby” (430-34)

Mason: “Shiloh” (578-89)

Wk 6 Discussion Board

Quiz for Wks 5 & 6

 

7

Mothers and Fathers

Concept: Style (861-62)

Lawrence: “The Rocking-Horse Winner” (517-29)

Updike: “Separating” (800-08)

Psychological Criticism (887-889)

 

 

Wk 7 Discussion Board
Essay 2

 

8

Matters of Conscience

Melville: “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall

Street” (600-26)

Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omalas”

(530-36)

Wk 8 Discussion Board

Final Exam (in the Testing Center)