Professor Jolanta Wawrzycka: English 201 Honors

ENGLISH 201 Honors Section.
SPECIAL TOPICS IN WORLD LITERATURE: Nobel Prize Literature.
  Dr. JOLANTA WAWRZYCKA
  Russell Hall 106. Click for current office hours.
  Voice Mail (540) 831 5176 E-mail: jolanta@radford.edu

TEXTBOOKS and RESOURCES:

Homer: The Odyssey (Selected passages). Translation by Ian Johnston, Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, BC.
James Joyce, Dubliners.
Links to poems by W. B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney and T. S. Eliot.
Other online materials:

Digital Portfolios: Packaging Research for Multimedia Presentations and
Reading Logs for Literary Salons; Term Papers and Tests/Exams.
Digital Portfolio Evaluation Form
Presenter's Check Sheet

The Nobel Foundation

CLASS REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES:

RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTATIONS for "Literary Salons:" you will prepare a presentation that profiles life and work of a the Nobel Prize Laureate (see the list at the end of this syllabus). You are required to present your material in a multimedia PowerPoint format. For details and help, please consult my Digital Portfolios guidelines. This research project is worth 30% of your final grade.

MIDTERM TEST: (10%).

READING LOG PORTFOLIO: (20%). "Literary Salon Discussions." For log content, see Reading Logs.

WIRELESS RESEARCH PORTFOLIO: (20%).

FINAL ESSAY EXAM details will follow (20%).

ATTENDANCE: only 3 absences will be excused (sick; sports; alarm clocks); after that, absences will come at a price of -3 points EACH (no need for documentation or email).

RULES and REGULATIONS: This class is your professional meeting: you don't want to interrupt it by receiving a phone call, so please, remember to turn off your cell phones and keep them out of sight. Disruption of class by your cell will earn you dismissal from classroom and an absence. Laptops: please, note that such unauthorized activities as web browsing, web casting, downloading, checking email or recording, will constitute a violation of RU Honor Code: if you choose not to comply, you will be dismissed and counted absent. Because of messaging/communication capacities provided by cell phones and PCs, repeat offenders may find themselves facing charges of Academic Integrity violation(s). "By accepting admission to RU, each student makes a commitment to understand, support and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code."

WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION

Monday 8/31 Introduction and discussion of the syllabus and class policies.

Wednesday 9/2

Electronic classroom: discussion of past electronic presentations done for my courses.

Distribution of presentations

Friday 9/4

Lecture on "The Invention of Writing; the Earliest Literatures and Theater."

WEEK 2: ASPECTS OF ANTIQUITY & HOMER

Monday 9/7

"Literary Salon:" discussion of The Odyssey, Book VI and VII. Our Literary Salon discussion will be guided by such questions as: what Greek customs can we find in Books Six and Seven of the Odyssey? Prepare Reading Log 1: Homer and please add class notes (see Guidelines for Reading Logs).
Additional Homer assignment (details will follow).

Wednesday 9/9

"Literary Salon:" discussion of The Odyssey Book Eight and Book Nine . Continuing with questions of Greek customs and beliefs; concept of hero: How does Odysseus measure up to our present-day definition of a "hero"? Reading Log 1: Homer (please add class notes).

Friday 9/11

"Literary Salon:" discussion of The Odyssey, Book Ten. Our discussion will be guided by such questions as: what Greek customs can we find in The Odyssey? How does Odysseus measure up to our present-day definition of a "hero"? Reading Log 1: Homer due after class (please add class notes).
Reminder: additional Homer assignment.

WEEK 3: MIDDLE AGES

Monday 9/14

Electronic classroom: hosting Literary Salon -- Multimedia lecture: "Medieval Realms."

Wednesday 9/16

Electronic classroom: hosting Literary Salon -- Multimedia lecture: "Sacred Spaces and European Learning."

Friday 9/18

Electronic classroom: please have your laptops with you. Uploading Homer programs to Adobe Connect server (Breeze).

WEEK 4: WORKSHOP WEEK

Monday 9/21

Electronic classroom: please have your laptops with you. We will continue with Homer uploads.

Wednesday 9/23

Digital Portfolio Research: your Nobelist, country of origin, his/her life & works; map(s) and visuals. Opening slide &/or title slide. Digital Portfolios Guidelines.

Friday 9/25

Digital Portfolio Research Workshop: please have your laptops with you. Exploring format, content and design of your Digital Portfolios and slides.

Sample printout of your PowerPoint and sample Digital Research Portfolio Log will be due on Monday 9/28.

WEEK 5: JAMES JOYCE: DUBLINERS

Monday 9/28

Sample printout of your PowerPoint and sample Digital Research Portfolio Log due today.

Electronic classroom: hosting Literary Salon -- Multimedia lecture: "James Joyce: Irish Core, European Lore," Part One.
Please start reading James Joyce's stories in Dubliners volume; consult the notes for a better understanding of the stories and visit Dublin where you can see a few photos of the "Joycean" places.

Wednesday 9/30

Electronic classroom: hosting Literary Salon -- Multimedia lecture: "James Joyce: Irish Core, European Lore," Part Two.

Friday 10/2

"Literary Salon:" discussion of "The Sisters" and "An Encounter." What are the three key words in "The Sisters" that indicate metaphorical themes for all of the stories? What similarities can you see in the first two stories? Good notes on these stories will help you if you decide to write your final essay on Joyce. (Prepare Reading Log 2: Joyce; see Guidelines for Reading Logs).

WEEK 6: JAMES JOYCE: DUBLINERS

Monday 10/5

"Literary Salon:" discussion of "An Encounter" and "Araby." How are the three metaphorical themes from "The Sisters" reflected in these stories? What similarities can you see in the first three stories? Add class notes. (You are working on Reading Log 2: Joyce).

Wednesday 10/7

"Literary Salon:" discussion of "Eveline" and "Clay." What are the most important events in the lives of these two women? Add class notes. Please have Reading Log 2: Joyce with you.

Friday 10/9

"Literary Salon:" discussion of "The Boarding House." How would you describe the family in this story and the lives of the young men and women? Add class notes. Discussion of aspects of Joyce's writing. Your Reading Log 2: Joyce is due.

WEEK 7: WORKING WITH THE ADOBE CONNECT ENTERPRISE SERVER

Monday 10/12 MIDTERM TEST

Wednesday 10/14 and Friday 10/16

Wireless Project Workshops: please have your laptops with you. Research folders.

WEEK 8: WORKING WITH THE ADOBE CONNECT ENTERPRISE SERVER

Monday 10/19

Wireless Project Workshops: please have your laptops with you. Research folders.

Wednesday 10/21 Friday 10/23

Hosting Literary Salon -- Multimedia Lecture: "The Legacy of Alfred Nobel: Part 1 & 2."

WEEK 9: The 20th-CENTURY and the NOBEL PRIZE LITERATURE

Monday 10/26 Ireland

Hosting Literary Salon -- Multimedia Lecture: "Life and Works of W. B. Yeats."

Wednesday 10/28 Ireland

"Literary Salon:" discussion of poetry of W. B. Yeats (E-text at California State University, Northridge). We will discuss the following poems: The Stolen Child (1886), The Lake Isle of Innisfree (1890), He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven (1899), Adam's Curse (1902), A Coat (1914), Easter, 1916, The Wild Swans at Coole (1917), Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz (1929).
iTunesU Downloads of audio
Please have Reading Log 3: Yeats (first 4 poems) in front of you.

Friday 10/30 Ireland

"Literary Salon:" discussion of Poetry of W. B. Yeats continued. Reading Log 3: Yeats is due.

WEEK 10: The 20th-CENTURY and the NOBEL PRIZE LITERATURE

Monday 11/2 Ireland

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Seamus Heaney.
"Literary Salon:" discussion of poems by Seamus Heaney from: Readings in Contemporary Poetry, and from The Internet Poetry Archive. We will discuss Death of a Naturalist and From the Frontier of Writing.

Please have Reading Log 4: Heaney in front of you.

Wednesday 11/4 Ireland

"Literary Salon:" discussion of poems by Seamus Heaney continued: "Personal Helicon," "Bogland," and "The Tollund Man" (available here). Please have your laptops with you.

Reading Log 4: Heaney is due.

Friday 11/6 Colonialism: Nigeria and St. Lucia

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Wole Soyinka

and Derek Walcott.

WEEK 11: The 20th-CENTURY and the NOBEL PRIZE LITERATURE

Monday 11/9 China /USA and Japan

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Pearl Buck and The Good Earth.

and Kenzaburo Oē.

Wednesday 11/11 England

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on T. S. Eliot.

"Literary Salon:" discussion of T. S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Reading Log 5: Eliot is due.

Friday 11/13 Sweden and Russia

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Selma Lagerlof

Boris Pasternak and Doctor Zhivago

WEEK 12: The 20th-CENTURY and the NOBEL PRIZE LITERATURE

Monday 11/16 Poland

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Wisława Szymborska

Wednesday 11/18 Friday 11/20 Colonialism: Bengal

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Rabindranath Tagore.

"Literary Salon:" discussion of Tagore's "Punishment" (xerox). Reading Log 6:Tagore is due.

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WEEK 13: Thanksgiving Break November 23, 25, 27

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WEEK 14: The 20th-CENTURY and the NOBEL PRIZE LITERATURE

Monday 11/30 Chile

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Gabriela Mistral
and Pablo Neruda

Wednesday 12/2 Colombia and England

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Gabriel García Márquez

and William Golding

Friday 12/4 Egypt

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Naguib Mahfouz.

"Literary Salon:" discussion of Mahfouz's "Zaabalawi" and "Echoes from an Autobiography" (xerox). Reading Log 8: Mahfouz is due.

WEEK 15: The 20th-CENTURY and the NOBEL PRIZE LITERATURE

Monday 12/7 Colonialism: South Africa

Hosting "Literary Salon:" presentation on Nadine Gordimer and apartheid.

"Literary Salon:" discussion of stories from Jump by Gordimer (xerox): "The Moment Before the Gun Went Off." Start preparing Gordimer Reading log 7.

Wednesday 12/9 Colonialism: South Africa

"Literary Salon:" stories from Jump continued. Your Gordimer Reading log 7 is due.

Friday 12/11 It's a Wrap!

Overview & Assessment. Preparations for Final Exam.

FINAL ESSAY EXAM: 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, December 16

Choices for the Nobel Prize Laureates to be presented in this class:

Selma Lagerlof (1909)
Pablo Neruda (1971)

Nadine Gordimer (1991)

Rabindranath Tagore (1913)

Gabriel García Márquez (1982)

Derek Walcott (1992)

Pearl Buck (1938)
William Golding (1983) Kenzaburo Oē (1994)
Gabriela Mistral (1945)
Wole Soyinka (1986)
Seamus Heaney (1995)
T. S. Eliot (1948)
Naguib Mahfouz (1988) Wisława Szymborska (1996)
Boris Pasternak (1958) J. M. Coetzee (2003)

Updated on 09/04/2009

© 2009 Readings in World Literature
Jolanta Wawrzycka. All Rights Reserved.

Selma Lagerlof (1909)	Pablo Neruda (1971)	Nadine Gordimer (1991)
Rabindranath Tagore (1913)	Gabriel García Márquez (1982)	Derek Walcott (1992)
Pearl Buck (1938)	William Golding (1983)	Kenzaburo Oē (1994)
Gabriela Mistral (1945)	Wole Soyinka (1986)	Seamus Heaney (1995)
T. S. Eliot (1948)	Naguib Mahfouz (1988)	Wisława Szymborska (1996)
Boris Pasternak (1958)		J. M. Coetzee (2003)