Course Objectives:

本課旨在以生動活潑方式教授英文文學三大文類的形式基本要素與分析方式，俾使同學對文學產生興趣，懂得如何著手分析文學作品，並思考文學作品與自己和自己的社會的關係。

This course selects interesting English poems, short stories (and a novel next semester) and plays for us to read and

�h-- appreciate how literary texts convey their meanings to us through both form and content; 

-- understand different literary genres, their conventions and components,

�h-- analyze different parts of a text and how they are connected to its overall meaning; and, most importantly,

-- relate the knowledge and experience we have in reading English literature to our understanding of ourselves and our society.

     

TEXTBOOK
An Introduction to Literature.    Barnet, Berman, Burto & Cain.  Thirteenth Ed. Longman, 2005.   (Companion Website: http://wps.ablongman.com/long_barnet_intlit_13 )

GRADING POLICY (subject to change)

Journal and class participation: 30%
2 Midterms- each 20%    
Final: 30% 
　

Course Requirements:

  1. Attendance: Attendance is required.  6 unexcused absences will constitute reason for failing this course.  Grades will be lowered after the third absence.  Three lates equal one absence.

  2. Class Participation: Finish the assigned reading and be prepared to asked questions and discuss in class.  Extra credits will be given to those active participants.

  3. Annotation and Journal: (Format to be explained in class; Annotation due Wed. 5:00 pm; Journal due every Saturday [midnight]) 

-- Annotations – required for Fiction 1-3 and Poetry 1-3 (see numbering on the calendar); optional for the other texts. 

-- Journal -- required for Fiction 3-5, Poetry 3-5 and Drama.  Responses to other students' journal will be given credit to.

* The purposes of doing annotations and keeping a journal is to make you read more actively, think more about what you have read and [gradually] develop your analytical and critical thinking.  More specific instructions will be given in class and as we go along.  Here’re brief explanations of the two activities. 
　

Annotation:
Why: to record your reading responses in the first few readings. 
How: Since we’d like to know how you feel in your first readings in order to have more interactions and offer more guidance in class, we’d ask you to jot down notes and your feelings in the Introduction to Literature platform, but not on your textbook.  When recording your feelings, ask yourself: 
1. The Story: what is happening?  (You can also use ‘who,’ ‘when,’ ‘where’ and ‘why’ to ask the question.)  When do I get interested in the story?  What’s stopping me from reading on, or from liking the story?  Is anything in the story out of the ordinary?  What guesses do I make as I read along?  Am I surprised by the story?  Do I have any similar experience?  (Poems may not tell stories, but they can still imply stories, or arise from some emotions or situations which are part of human stories.)
2. Character: why does the character(s) do this?  Will I do it myself?  Do I know anyone who would do the same? 
3. The Text as a Concrete World Built with Language: What is difficult in the language of this text?  Are there any words that are impressive to me (sometimes difficult words can also be impressiveJ), that stick in my mind?  Do I develop mental images as I read?  Can I “concretize” the world through the language what is described in the text: its sounds, smells, visual details, etc.?   In the case of stories, do I play the stories as if it were film in my mind?  Do I enter this world, or does it become like my world?
4. The Text as a speaker: Does the text say something to me? Ask me any questions?  How do I answer those questions?

Journal:
Why: to organize the first responses we have in the first two readings and present our ideas in an essay form. 
How:  write down

a. what you think about the assigned reading with examples to support your ideas (if you could, analyze the examples);  
b. any question you have about it.  
c. what you have learned from the group discussion (see below).   

4.            Study group: form a group of five to six by yourselves and meet once a week outside of class (or online) to discuss and answer the questions given about the assigned reading.  (Next semester you will be required to do a report with your group, so you should start to learn how to work and learn with your group this semester.)