E314L Course Policy
English 314L: Banned Books and Novel Ideas
Unique #: 33720
Spring 2007
FAC 10, TTh 8-9:30
Course website: http://instructors.cwrl.utexas.edu/foran/bannedbooks
Instructor: Greg Foran
E-mail: gforan@mail.utexas.edu
Office: Parlin 408
Office phone: 471-8739 (only call during office hours)
Office hours: Tuesday 9:30-11:30; Wednesday 12-1; and by appointment
Course Description
“Banned Books and Novel Ideas” introduces undergraduates to the English major by using censorship and freedom of speech as its organizing themes. Students will learn about how societies assess the merit of a literary work, and how authors and readers engage in complex negotiations over religious, sexual, and political mores. By the end of the course, students will have learned to close read texts to better appreciate the power and flexibility of the English language; to use various modes of literary criticism to interpret poems, plays, and novels; and to think and write critically about literature and culture.
Texts
John Milton, selection from “Areopagitica”
Paradise Lost, Book 9
William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Cambridge UP, 2nd edition. ISBN: 0521532515
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Illustrated), Dover. ISBN: 0486443221
Vladimir Nabokov, The Annotated Lolita, Vintage Books. ISBN: 0679727299
Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye, Plume. ISBN: 0452287065
A course packet containing the Milton readings and other secondary readings is available at Jenn’s Copies, underneath the Scientology building on Guadalupe.
Assignments and Grades
Since “Banned Books” is a significant writing component (SWC) course, the bulk of your course grade will be based on writing assignments of varying length. Your course grade breaks down as follows:
Paper 1: 15%
Paper 2: 25%
Paper 3: 40%
Annotated bibliography: 5%
Reading responses and other homework, reading quizzes, in-class presentations: 15%
Note: I will administer reading quizzes at my discretion, depending on my sense of whether students need incentive to keep up with the reading assignments
Attendance
Regular attendance--which entails arriving on time, bringing with you the relevant texts for the day’s discussion, and being prepared to discuss the assigned reading—is crucial to your success in this class. Upon reaching your sixth absence, you will fail the class. Reading quizzes missed due to absence cannot be made up unless you provide documentation of illness or family emergency. In the event that your final grade stands on the border between letter grades, I may take your good attendance into account and round the grade up to the higher letter.
Late Assignments and Drafts
Papers and other out-of-class assignments must be turned in during class on the day they are due. I will penalize late work by deducting one letter grade for every day the work is past due. If you cannot attend class on the day an assignment is due, arrange to have a classmate or friend drop it off during scheduled class time.
Computer Use, Availability, and Etiquette
Computers are available to you in the Student Microcomputer Facility (SMF) on the second floor of the Flawn Academic Center (FAC) (the same building as the Undergraduate Library, or UGL). You should plan to get your IF number for the SMF immediately if you have not already done so. The CWRL also provides computers for your use in Parlin 102, FAC 9, and FAC 10. (These rooms will only be available to you if they are not already being used by a class.)
From time to time we will make use of the computers in our classroom. (You will be given a permanent login name and password after the 12th day of class.) Checking e-mail, instant messaging, web-surfing, etc. are acceptable before class begins, but not during class. Please be respectful of your instructor and classmates by not distracting them with private computer usage. Students engaging in these activities will be asked to leave and marked absent for the day.
Scholastic Honesty
Turning in work that is not your own, or any other form of scholastic dishonesty, will result in a major course penalty, and possibly failure of the course or even expulsion from the university. A report of the incident will be made to the Office of the Dean of Students. I strongly encourage you to use the services offered by the Undergraduate Writing Center (FAC 211, 471-6222) and the Learning Center (JES A332A, 471-3614). The consultants at these centers are trained to help you resolve your own writing problems without violating the rules of scholastic honesty.
Students With Disabilities
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TDD.