Honors 3010/English 4030     Fall 2010                                       9:30-12:00 Monday

Joseph Carroll                                     Office 456 Lucas                   

home phone # 432-5583                     jcarroll@umsl.edu

office phone #  516-5543                    Office hours 1:45-2:15 MW and by appointment

 

The best way to reach me is to send an email. You can also call my home phone.

 

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Aug. 23  

 

   Introduction: The Historical Position of Literary Darwinism

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Aug. 30   

 

   ELF through ch. 12 (to p. 155)

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Sept. 6  

 

   Labor Day Holiday                                                           

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Sept. 13

  

   ELF through ch. 28 (to p. 359);

   On Blackboard: Carroll, “Gene-Culture Co-Evolution: An Emerging Paradigm”  

   On Blackboard: Higgins: “Impassioned Speech about Poetry and Evolution”

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Sept. 20

  

   ELF: chapters 29, 30, 31, 34, 36, and 37; that is, the chapters by Flesch (ch. 29), Carroll (ch. 30), Cooke (ch. 31), Bordwell (ch. 34), Gottschall (ch. 36), and Salmon & Symons (ch. 37).

   On Blackboard: Vandermassen, “Woman as Erotic Object in Mainstream Cinema”

   Also: Bring in your essay topic, a brief outline of the essay, and a draft of an introductory paragraph.

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Sept. 27 

 

First paper due; no class meeting.

               This paper should be on the topics in the assigned reading. It can consist of a critique or commentary on specific readings; or it can be an independent essay on the same topics. If it is an independent essay, it must nonetheless make substantial reference to the assigned reading.

               The paper should be between three and four pages in length, typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins all around. Send it to me as an attachment in email.

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Oct. 4

  

   Hamlet—read the whole play, and in the Norton edition (2nd ed.) read “Extracts from the Sources” (pp.127-43); in class-screening of Hamlet

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Oct. 11  

 

   In the Norton edition of Hamlet (2nd ed.), read the critical essays on pp. 147-207 (John Dennis through Ernest Jones), skip the essays by Levin, Seng, and West, then read the essays on pp. 237-83 (Arnold Kettle through Jacqueline Rose). Skip the last essay (Empson).

   On Blackboard: Carroll, Intentional meaning in Hamlet: An Evolutionary Perspective.”

   Also: in ELF, read chapter 38 (Scalise Sugiyama)      

 

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Oct. 18  

 

   ELF, chs. 32 (Saunders) and 39 (Carroll, Gottschall, Johnson, and Kruger).

   On Blackboard: stories by Hurston (“The Gilded Six-Bits,” “Sweat,” “Spunk”)

   On Blackboard: Vermeule, “Fiction: A Dialogue”      

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Oct. 25

 

   Bring in your essay topic, a brief outline of the essay, and a draft of an introductory paragraph.

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Nov. 1   

 

Screening Citizen Kane in class.

               Second paper due.  The paper should be on either Hamlet or Hurston. If you take Hamlet as your topic, you can discuss the film if you choose, but you must also discuss the play. You can if you wish discuss the play without reference to the film. If you discuss Hamlet, you must make substantial reference to the criticism on Hamlet. If you discuss Hurston, you must place her work in some definite relation to one or more theoretical and/or critical works in the assigned reading.

               The paper should be between three and four pages in length, typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins all around.   

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Nov. 8    

 

   ELF ch. 33 (Anderson)

   Read all of Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics

   Online: read Boyd, “On the Origin of Comics”: http://aliceandrews.tumblr.com/

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Nov. 15 

 

   Read three books by Spiegelman: Breakdown; Maus I (My Father Bleeds History); and Maus II (And Here My Troubles Began)

   Also: in ELF, ch. 35 (Boyd)  

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Nov. 22 

 

   Thanksgiving Holiday

 

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Nov. 29  

 

   The Picture of Dorian Gray; read the 1891 version (pp. 5-184); in-class screening of The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Dec. 6    

 

   In the Norton edition of Dorian Gray (2nd. ed.), in the criticism section, read the essays by Gillespie (pp. 387-403), Liebman (pp. 433-54), Ragland-Sullivan (pp. 470-90), and Riquelme (pp. 490-510).

   On Blackboard: Carroll, “Aestheticism, Homoeroticism, and Christian Guilt”

   Also: Bring in your essay topic, a brief outline of the essay, and an introductory paragraph.

 

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Term Papers Are Due By 4:00 P.M. On Monday, Dec.  13

               The term paper must on Citizen Kane, McCloud, Spiegelman, The Picture of Dorian Gray, or some combination of those topics, with reference also to the readings in ELF. The paper should be between six and seven pages in length, typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins all around. Send me the paper as an attachment.   

If you want your term paper returned to you, please give me a self-addressed, stamped manila envelope.  Make sure the envelope is big enough and that it contains adequate postage. 

              

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Grades

 

There will be no midterm and no final exam.  The quizzes and the two short papers are designed to take the place of a midterm and final exam.

Grades will be based on the average of five grading units: a cumulative quiz grade, two short papers, and a term paper.  The quiz grade and each of the two short paper grades will count as one grading unit each.  The term paper will count as two grading units.  (That is, the grade on the term paper will be counted twice in the averaging of the grades.)

 

 

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Quizzes

 

Quizzes will be given at the beginning of each class period and will always consist of simple factual questions about the assigned reading.  The quizzes are designed purely as a reading check.  There are no make-ups on the quizzes, so being absent or late will hurt your cumulative quiz grade. 

If you are going to have to leave class at any point before the end of class, please do not come to class.  If you come, plan to stay.  If you come and then leave, your quiz grade for that day will be cancelled.

 

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Discussion Topics

 

Each student will be required to lead discussion several times in the course of the semester. I’ll hand out a sign-up sheet on the first day. You should have several subsidiary points for your topic—questions, aspects, problems, issues, contexts. These assignments are designed merely to involve everyone actively in class discussion. They will not be graded. Often, though, students find that preparing a discussion topic provides the inspiration for a paper topic.