English 4890: The Academic Novel

English 4890

Instructor: Dr. William Greenway
Time: TTh 11-12:15
Place: DeBartolo 252
Office: DeBartolo 241
Phone: 742-3418/3415
E-mail: willgreenway@aol.com
Office hours: TTh 9-11, W 1-2
Web Site: http://www.as.ysu.edu/~english/Greenway.htm

Prerequisite:  12 hours in upper-division courses

Texts (read them in this order):

Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis
Coming From Behind, Howard Jacobson
Small World, David Lodge
Nice Work, David Lodge
Moo, Jane Smiley
Straight Man, Richard Russo
White Noise, Don Delillo
Blue Angel, Francine Prose

Course requirements:
1.) Class participation will comprise 20% of your grade.  You must attend class and complete each reading assignment prior to the class period in which it will be discussed.

2.) There will be two exams in which you will be asked to identify, or explain the significance of, passages, characters, or situations from the readings and the class discussions.  You will be graded on the expression of your ideas (your writing) as well as on the ideas themselves.

3.)  You will write a 12-15 page researched paper on an original topic prompted by our readings and discussion.  This is to prepare you for your life as scholar, so it should make a new contribution to our knowledge about some aspect of these novels and/or novelists. Though the paper should be based on research, it should not just re-hash what has already been written but should depart from the known and explore the heretofore unknown about your subject.  Since you’re looking for what has not yet been covered, you need to familiarize yourself with what has already been done.  Nor should your discussion be only theoretical or abstract—relate your argument to the text(s) you are writing about.
    The best way to learn what critical writing is is to read some.  Begin reading secondary sources about the novels and novelists as soon as possible. 

Grading:

Daily grade           20%
Mid-term exam     25%
Final exam            25%
Paper                30%
Attendance Policy and Late Papers:
You’re expected to be in class and on time for each meeting, but you are responsible for what goes on in a class whether you attend it or not. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade per class except in emergency and with my prior approval.  I’ll lower your final grade one letter grade for every four classes or every eight unexcused class hours missed.

Class attendance is important because the course is a process we will go through together, not so much learning something as learning how to learn.  One of the ways I can measure how much you’ve learned in the course is by measuring how much you’ve participated in the process.

You must complete all the work in order to pass the course. You are also responsible for what the English department handout has to say about plagiarism and incomplete grades. Plagiarism of any kind will result in an F in the course. 

Classroom Etiquette:
· Be in class on time.  Late arrivals are disruptive.
· Turn off cell phones and pagers.
· Tell me if you will be leaving class early—don’t just walk out.
· Don’t talk while someone else is talking, especially me.

Return to Greenway syllabus list