Instructor: Paul Schacht | Office: Welles 219B | Phone: 245-5141 | Email: schacht@geneseo.edu | Spring 2008 Office Hours: M 1:20-2:30 p.m., TR 2:10 p.m. - 3:25 p.m., Welles 219B.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., Welles 26
Office Hours: Mondays, 1:20 - 2:20; Thursdays, 2:10 - 3:25; and by appointment.
You may be looking at this course site on the web. Or you may be looking at it inside mycourses.geneseo.edu. I've made it available both ways in order to keep as much of it as possible open to public view. Whether you're inside or outside mycourses, you'll use the navigation links on the right to get to most of the site's content. When inside mycourses, you'll have access to additional content using the tabs at the top of the mycourses window (Tools, Calendar, Communicate, etc.).
This course examines selected works of Victorian England's inimitable novelist and social activist in the context of his turbulent and spectacular times.
Class discussions, papers, oral presentations, and other assignments in this course are all based on two simple principles. First, reading is action. We don't passively receive the meaning of a text; we make meaning through the act of interpretation. This act of interpretation is not something we do in addition to reading; it is reading. There is no reading that is not interpretive.
Second, reading is a collaborative, not a private act. We interpret texts by following routines that we have learned from other readers, such as ascribing motivation to characters, treating images and actions as symbols, grouping related ideas as themes, and connecting texts to contexts. Moreover, we usually formulate interpretations through conversation (oral or written) with others.
The purpose of our class discussions will be to take collaborative action on the assigned texts: that is, to engage in a shared effort to make meaning. The purpose of the papers you'll write will be to sharpen your skill at participating in a highly ritualized form of conversation known as the literary essay. The purpose of your oral presentation will be to connect our collaborative efforts in the classroom to the more or less systematic collaborative activity known as scholarship. And the purpose of other assignments will be to take advantage of new forms of collaborative meaning-making made possible by digital technology.
Indvidual students in Engl 358-02 will:
The Engl 358-02 (Spring 2008), community will:
Pickwick Papers (Penguin)
Dombey and Son (Penguin)
A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings (Penguin)
Bleak House (Norton)
Great Expectations (Penguin)
One 5-page essay - 25%
One 7-page essay - 35%
Online writing - 15%
Oral presentation - 5%
Final Exam - 20%
You are required to present an oral report on an article, essay, or book related to the current reading. Your oral presentation should last no longer than 10 minutes and provide a summary of your chosen source. (Look under the "Calendar" tab in mycourses to see when you will be presenting.) Before or immediately after giving your presentation, you must contribute an entry on your source to the Annotated Bibliography of Nineteenth-Century British Fiction on the SUNY Geneseo wiki. Together, the oral presentation and bibliography entry count for 5% of the final course grade.
You are required to participate in online discussion forums for this class. For each class meeting, I will post a discussion question at the Coffeehouse to which every student must reply by 11:59 p.m. of the day before that meeting.
You are required to participate in collaborative writing on the SUNY Geneseo wiki. To fulfill this requirement, you may annotate a passage from one or more of the novels on the syllabus; contribute to a collaborative essay or article; help develop genetically modified literature; or propose and contribute to another collaborative project.
You may permit 50% of your final exam grade (i.e., 10% of your course grade) to be determined by an optional project that explores, examines, or illuminates one or more of the semester's texts using means other than the conventional literary essay. Examples of such a project might be:
This is not an exhaustive list; you are welcome to propose other kinds of unconventional project. However, bear in mind the following constraints:
SUNY Geneseo will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented physical, emotional or learning disabilities. Contact Tabitha Buggie-Hunt, Director of Disability Services to discuss needed accommodations as early as possible in the semester.
You must complete all assignments to receive a passing grade in this course.
This schedule is tentative and subject to change until January 24, 2007.
Jan. 22 - Introduction
Jan. 24 - Who was Charles Dickens?
Jan. 29 - Meet in Milne Library - Room 213
Jan. 31 - Pickwick Papers
Feb. 5 - Pickwick Papers
Feb. 7 - Pickwick Papers
Feb. 12 - Pickwick Papers
Feb. 14 - Pickwick Papers
Feb. 19 - Dombey and Son
Feb. 21 - Dombey and Son
Feb. 26 - Dombey and Son
Feb. 28 - Dombey and Son
Mar. 4 - Dombey and Son
Mar. 6 - Dombey and Son
Mar. 11- A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings
Mar. 13 - A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings
Spring Break: Mar. 17-21
Mar. 25 - Bleak House
Mar. 27 - Bleak House
Apr. 1 - Bleak House
Apr. 3 - Bleak House
Apr. 8 - Bleak House
Apr. 10 -Bleak House
Apr. 15 - Great Expectations
Apr. 17 - Great Expectations
Apr. 22 - G.R.E.A.T. Day - No Class
Apr. 24 - Great Expectations
Apr. 29 - Great Expectations
May 1 - Great Expectations
May 6 - Conclusion
For general policies on papers and exams, see The Fine Print.
The final exam, worth 20% in the calculation of your final grade, will be held on in our regular classroom.
A make-up exam will be administered for medical reasons only. You must supply documentation of all illnesses and accidents. (A note indicating merely that you were seen at the infirmary won't suffice.) Please do not request special arrangements to alleviate any of the following: a crowded exam schedule; a heavy workload; conflicts with employment, extra-curricular responsibilities, or job-hunting; familial celebrations (e.g., weddings or graduations); crises in other people's lives (e.g., severe depression of best friend's roommate); crises in your own life that are a normal and inevitable part of the collegiate experience (e.g., demise of relationship with boyfriend or girlfriend.) Fairness dictates that such accommodations cannot be made for one without being offered to all.
For help writing exam essays, consult Writing Essays Exams in the Geneseo Online Writing Guide.
You will write two papers for this course. The first paper is worth 25% in the calculation of your final grade and should be approximately 5 double-spaced pages (1250 words) long. The second paper is worth 35% in the calculation of your final grade and should be approximately 7 double-spaced pages (1750 words) long. For the second paper, you must draw on at least two critical or scholarly works on nineteenth-century British fiction.
You may submit your own topics for papers as well as the final exam. Under "Tools > Surveys" in mycourses, go to the "Submit a Topic" survey.
The "due-date" for each of the papers in this class is not a single date but a one-week range during which you may submit your finished work. I grade and return papers in the order in which I receive them, so the earlier you submit, the sooner your work will be returned. The Online Writing Guide offers help on a wide range of essay-writing matters, including proper conventions for citation. In both papers for this class, you must follow MLA format for citations.
Due February 19-26 (no later than 11:59 p.m. on February 26)
Topics will appear in this space when available.
Due April 15-23 (no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 23)
Topics will appear in this space when available.
The two papers for this class must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. of the last date in the due-date range (e.g., February 26 for Paper One). Submit your papers using the drop box in mycourses. (Look for the Drop Boxes under the "Tools" tab.) Late papers lose one-half grade per day.
Be sure to keep a copy of your work.
If you need help with this electronic submission procedure, contact the CIT HelpDesk. If they can't assist you, contact me.
I will return work electronically, in the order in which it was received, with corrections and comments included in the returned file. Please do not expect work submitted close to the deadline to be returned in less than 2-3 weeks.
I encourage you to use the internet resources below, as well as other sites on the web, to learn more about the topics covered in this class.
However, please keep in mind a few general principles about the use of internet resources for this or any other college course:
Below are some links that you may find useful. If you come across additional links on your own, please let me know.
You can access the MLA Bibliography and a multitude of other helpful resources through your very own Geneseo library.
For help writing papers, you may want to turn to the Geneseo Online Writing Guide. You can get human help with your writing at the Geneseo Writing Learning Center.
If you come across any interesting sites not listed here, please let me know about them. Watch this page throughout the semester for additions posted as you or I discover them.
During office hours I am available to talk with you about anything related to this class or to your studies at Geneseo. No need to make an appointment for an office hour; just drop in. I encourage you to come. I get to know you; you learn more from me. If you cannot make it to any of the scheduled office hours, we can set up a time to meet.
From time to time I will need to communicate with the class as a whole or with you individually by means of email. When communicating with the class as a whole, I will use the class listserv address. Since emails sent to this address will come to students' Geneseo email accounts, it is absolutely imperative that you either regularly check your Geneseo email or have it automatically forwarded to the account you prefer to use. To set up automatic forwarding, go to http://webmail.geneseo.edu from any internet-connected computer, on campus or off. Log in with your Geneseo username and email password. In the left-navigation bar, click "forward account" and carefully follow instructions.
All members of the class are welcome to use the listserv address to communicate with the class as a whole on any matter related to the class. (Do not use the listserv to advertise parties, cars for sale, etc.)
Please feel free to email me at schacht@geneseo.edu on any matter related to the class or to academics generally. I will reply to whatever email address you send from; if the email comes back to me as undeliverable, I will reply to your Geneseo address.
Attendance is your responsibility. Please do not phone or email just to explain why you weren't in or won't be in class on a particular day. On the other hand, if sickness or genuine crisis keeps you from the classroom for any length of time, of course I want to know. Conflicts with other classes or your personal life (weddings, friends who've just broken up with boyfriends/girlfrieds, etc.) must be resolved by you. I regret that I cannot make special arrangements to accommodate them.
Be sure to proofread your paper closely for faulty grammar or usage, spelling errors, and typos; you are being graded partly on your ability to produce presentable work, an ability that matters both in the classroom and in the world beyond it.
Use the drop boxes in mycourses (Tools tab) to submit your papers. I will grade papers in the order that I receive them and return them electronically.
Though committed with alarming frequency and dispiriting casualness by people in high places, plagiarism is still a serious academic offense. You are committing plagiarism any time you
If it is discovered that you have plagiarized on an assignment for this class, you will certainly fail the assignment and probably fail the class. In addition, the Dean of the College will be notified that you have committed an act of academic dishonesty, and you may face disciplinary measures from the administration. No excuses. No second chances. Not even for graduating seniors.
Examples of plagiarism:
Since other students' papers and Cliff's or Sparks Notes are not appropriate sources for a college essay, you should avoid them altogether.
There is no such thing as accidental plagiarism. If you are unsure of the proper conventions for documentation, see me and I will tell you how to find the information you need. Better yet, consult the reference librarian at Milne.
If you think for yourself and use sources properly, you will not run into trouble. But remember, in questionable cases you are unlikely to receive the benefit of the doubt. If you err, be sure it is on the side of caution.
For help writing exam essays, consult Writing Essays Exams in the Geneseo Online Writing Guide.
Your grade reflects my honest and considered evaluation of your work. You have the right to question it. I have the right to stick by it, and that is what I invariably do (with certain obvious exceptions, such as miscalculation of an exam score). Total objectivity is no more possible in grading writing than in making any other judgment of value, but I do my best to maintain consistency and adhere to clearly defined standards. I base my grade on my opinion of your work, not on my opinion of you. If you have a question about your grade on an assignment, I encourage you to see me during office hours or schedule an appointment. I welcome the opportunity to explain to you why you got what you did.
In grading papers and exams, my reference point is the "B."