English 6613
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Instructor: Dr. Deborah Chappel

Office: 221B Wilson Hall

Office hours: 2-4:30 MW and by appt.

Phone: 972-3043 (ASU English & Philosophy office; leave msg)

Email: dchappel@astate.edu

Web page: http://www.clt.astate.edu/dchappel

Required texts: Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. A Case Study in

Critical Controvery. Ed. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: St. Martin's, 1995.

Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth. A Case Study in Contemporary

Criticism. Ed. Shari Benstock. Boston: St. Martin's, 1994.

Mary Eagleton, Ed. Feminist Literary Theory: A Reader. 2^nd ed.

Cambridge: Blackwell, 1996.

Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita. 1955. 2^nd Vintage Intl. Ed. New York:

Vintage, 1997.

Toni Morrison, Beloved. New York: Plume, 1987.

Course description: An introduction to feminist literary theory with emphasis on its application to various literary and non-literary texts.

Course structure: This course will be conducted as a seminar. By this I mean that you will not be passively sitting in a chair waiting for me to deliver knowledge to you. Most class meetings will consist of discussion of material we have read; lectures by me will be kept to a minimum. You will be responsible for presenting material to the rest of the class on occasion, and we will all collectively be responsible for bringing our views and insights to the seminar table. In addition, we will all be responsible for helping one another actively participate in the seminar. This means learning to really listen to others, making connections between our ideas and those of others, and being aware that one of the biggest advantages of the seminar format is the opportunity it afford to sharpen our skills in the give-and-take of academic discourse.

Requirements:

(1) Journal/Presentations. Each week students should send me (by email or other means) a journal on the reading due for the following Monday; if the student is scheduled to present on Monday the journal entry should describe the presentation. Journal entries should reach me by 5 p.m. Sunday evening. The lowest two journal grades will be dropped. Maximum points per entry: 50. The ten highest journal grades will count for 50 percent of the student's grade for the course.

(2) Paper on any of the novels or essays studied during the course. Topic and format must be approved by me. 5-7 pages. 300 pts. (30 percent of total grade for course). Due no later than Nov. 30.

(3) Final exam. Format to be developed by the class. 200 pts. (20 percent of grade for course).

(4) Class discussion. In a seminar, participation by all members of the class is essential. A student's grade may be raised or lowered by one letter according to the quality of that student's preparation for and participation in class meetings.

Paper Format:

Typed or word-processed. If works are cited, proper MLA parenthetical citation and works cited page must be included. No folders please. Keep a copy of your work.

Students with Disabilities:

Students with disabilities should contact me as soon as possible, either after class or in my office, to discuss with me any accommodations they may require to meet course requirements.

Attendance:

If you are unable to be in class for any reason, please let me know ahead of time, especially if you are scheduled to present.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is a serious offense against academic integrity which could result in failure for the test or paper, failure for the course, and expulsion from Arkansas State University. If students have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, they should ask me immediately.

Course Outline:

Aug. 24 Intro to course and syllabus; discussion of popular gender-specific magazines

Aug. 31 Discussion of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (novel only). Journal assignment: discuss ways in which the novel inscribes cultural understandings of gender

Sep. 7 LABOR DAY

Sep. 14 Presentations on case studies from Graff and Phelan's edition of Huckleberry Finn. Journal: brief description of your summary and evaluation of the article you were assigned

Sep. 21 Discussion of Wharton's House of Mirth

Sep. 28 Presentation on critical articles from Benstock's edition of House of Mirth. Journal: brief description of your summary and evaluation of the article you were assigned

Oct. 5 Essays from Eagleton anthology (to be assigned)

Oct. 12 " "

Oct. 19 " "

Oct. 26 " "

Nov. 2 " "

Nov. 9 Guest presentation by Dr. Cyndy Hendershot regarding Jacques Lacan and Feminist Film Theory. Discussion of handouts.

Nov. 16 Discussion of Lolita.

Nov. 23 Discussion of Beloved and chapter from Morrison's Playing in the Dark.

Nov. 30 Student papers due. Discussion of papers and final exam.

Dec. 7 Final exam.

This site is maintained by Deborah Chappel, dchappel@astate.edu 

This page was updated 07/18/05