ENGL 215 Outline

THE KING'S UNIVERSITY

COURSE NUMBER:

ENGL 215

COURSE TITLE:

Writing Matters: English Literature and Academic Interpretation II

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Dr Brett Roscoe

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3(hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course, along with its complement, Writing Matters: English Literature and Academic Interpretation I, builds students' skills as critical readers and writers through the discipline of English. Students learn to be sophisticated readers of literature, and to examine the assumptions and implications of a wide array of texts as well as culture. The courses develop students' sensitivity to language use and their appreciation of the relationship between form and content. Students will learn about the range of literary genres, periods, and geographic locations, as well as specific terms and devices for reading narrative poetry, short stories, and two long works (novel or drama). Building from the complement course, assignments will complete stages three and four of a cumulative research paper methodology. Through interpretative practices, we are able to examine the literary foundations of our worldviews and look on the world, ourselves, and others anew.

Prerequisites: ENGL 214

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Babington, Doug, et al. The Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing. 4th Canadian ed., Broadview, 2017.
Casson, Leslie E., ed. A Writer’s Handbook: Developing Writing Skills for University Students. 3rd ed. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2012.
Chalykoff, Lisa, Neta Gordon, and Paul Lumsden, eds. The Broadview Introduction to Literature. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2013.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. 2nd ed. Ed. D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke. Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2003.
Lewis, C. S. Till We Have Faces. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1980.

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Participation	8%
Quizzes	5%
WRiting Feedback Exercise	2%
Essay 1 (4-5 pages)	15%
Essay 2 (5-6 pages)	25%
Midterm	15%
Final Exam	30%

	100%

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Students will . . .

experience and engage with a variety of fiction in the form of short stories, narrative poetry, dramatic monologues, and novels.
develop close reading skills by learning to appreciate the relation between the form and content of a story.
learn basic literary terminology related to fiction.
be encouraged to read both sympathetically and critically within a Christian framework.
practice writing persuasive essays which argue an interpretation of a literary text or texts

COURSE OUTLINE:

Introduction to Narrative

Jan. 5 Introduction to Course
Jan. 8 Narrative Questions: Recognizing Elements of Narrative (Chalykoff, “Short Fiction” 1-16)

Stories for Practice: A Smattering

Jan. 10 Charles Mungoshi, “The Setting Sun and the Rolling World” (207-11)
Jan. 12 William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily” (98-106)
Jan. 15 William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily” (cont.); James Joyce, “Araby” (67-71)
Jan. 17 James Joyce, “Araby” (cont.)
Jan. 19 Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (42-56)

Thinking About Writing

Jan. 22 Writing Workshop I
Jan. 24 IS Conference (regular classes canceled)
Jan. 26 Writing Workshop II

Stories for Practice II: Another Smattering

Jan. 29 Katherine Mansfield, “The Garden Party” (85-97)
Jan. 31 Alice Munro, “Friend of My Youth” (150-67)
Feb. 2 Thomas King, “A Short History of Indians in Canada” (203-05)

Narrative (and) Poetry

Feb. 5 William Butler Yeats, “The Magi” (Moodle); T.S. Eliot, “Journey of the Magi” (1083-84)
Feb. 7 Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” (1015-16)
Feb. 9 Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “The Lady of Shalott” (996-1001)
Feb. 12 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (Moodle)
Feb. 14 Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (Moodle) (cont.)
Feb. 16* Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
Feb. 19-23 Reading Week

The Novel(la)

Feb 26 Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (cont.)
Feb. 28 Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (cont.)
Mar. 2 Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (cont.)
Mar. 5 Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (cont.)
Mar. 7 Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (cont.)
Mar. 9 Midterm

Stories for Practice III: Another Smattering

Mar. 12 Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” (178-90)
Mar. 14 Magical Realism: Gabriel García Márquez, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (Moodle)
Mar. 16 Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” (Moodle)

Story and Theology

Mar. 19 Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (112-25)
Mar. 21* Flannery O’Connor, “On Her Own Work” (Moodle)
Mar. 23 C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces
Mar. 26 C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces (cont.)
Mar. 28 C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces (cont.)
Mar. 30 Good Friday (no classes)
Apr. 2 Easter Monday (no classes)
Apr. 4 C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces (cont.)
Apr. 6 C. S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces (cont.)

Biblical Narrative

Apr. 9 Biblical Narrative: “Esther” (ESV – link on Moodle)
Apr. 11 Biblical Narrative: “Esther” (cont.)
Apr. 13 Review
Apr. 16 Review

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.