The Writing Center w. 713-743-2722
Agnes Arnold Hall 217 713-812-1628
University of Houston www.uh.edu/~kaui
Houston, TX  77204 kaui@uh.edu

Welcome to English 2305:
Intro to Modern and Contemporary Environmental Fiction!
Course Outline & Syllabus


English 2305 teaches students an understanding of plot, narrative point of view, characterization, setting, style, symbolism, theme, as well as how to read, interpret, and analyze fiction. Students expand their knowledge through extensive reading, discussion, and written analysis.


Required Texts


The Story and Its Writer, fifth edition, ed. Ann Charters.
The Green World: Short Fiction about Nature and the Environment, ed. Terrell Dixon.
Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko
Bring book to every class. Students without their books may be marked absent.


Grading


Your final grade for this course will be determined as follows:

Journal 200 points
Paper I 100 points
Midterm 200 points
Paper II 200 points
Participation 100 points
Final Exam 200 points

Journal


Each student is required to write a one-page (single-spaced) response to the reading for each class. These assignments may be handwritten or typed, and will be handed in at the end of each class. DO NOT WRITE THEM DURING CLASS TIME. ANYONE CAUGHT WILL TYPE THEM FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEMESTER. Journal responses should reflect a good attempt at getting "into" that day's reading...give the text a good shake and don't be afraid to admit confusion or dislike. I want to know what you think. These assignments are not graded per se, but if I notice that you are not engaging yourself with the text, it will affect your final journal grade. Read carefully and carefully record your observations. There are no wrong answers, but there are "flabby" answers. Ask questions!


Include one discussion question at the bottom of each journal entry. We will use them as springboards into discussion.


Participation


Absenteeism: Students who miss more than four classes may be dropped without notice. Excessive lateness will affect your participation grade. If you are late, you must check with me after class (not the next class day) to make sure you aren't marked absent.
Late papers are marked one third of a grade (i.e. A to A-) each DAY they are late. Papers are considered late fifteen minutes after the beginning of the class.

Plagiarism


You know the rules.


Syllabus
Subject to change...check this weekly!

Section I: "Manly White Men"

Date

Assignment
1/21 Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness: section one
1/26 Heart of Darkness: section two
1/28 Heart of Darkness: section three
2/2 Ambrose Bierce, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"
2/4 Jack London, "To Build a Fire"
2/9 Stephen Crane, "The Open Boat"
2/11 John Steinbeck, "The Chrysanthemums"
2/16 Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants"

Section II: "'New' Voices, 'New' Paradigms"

2/18 Virginia Woolf, "Kew Gardens"
2/23 Gabriel Garcia Marquez, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"
2/25 Yukio Mishima, "Fountains in the Rain"
3/2 Isabel Allende, "And of Clay We Are Created"
Paper I due
3/4 Jamaica Kinkaid, "Girl"
3/9 Tim O'Brien, "The Things They Carried"
3/11 Midterm
3/16 Ceremony, first 50 pages
3/18 Ceremony, 50-100
3/23 Ceremony, 100-150
3/25 Ceremony, 150-200
3/30 Ceremony, 200-end
4/1 Final discussion of Ceremony
4/6 Spring break
4/8 Spring break
4/13 Sarah Orne Jewett, "The White Heron"
4/19 Special office hours (R. Cullen 101b), 12:30-2:00
4/20 Ursula LeGuin, "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction" (handout),
Paper II outline due
4/22 Annette Kolodny, "Unearthing Herstory" (handout)
4/27 Final Exam
5/3 Second paper and optional revision of first paper due.
Grades will be posted on my office door within the week.