And you thought the printed copy of the syllabus distributed in class was long-winded!

Here's the full, unexpurgated, encyclopedic version, complete with detailed information about "Practice" Writing, Plagiarism, and University Policies. Read this long and intimidating document and familiarize yourself with its contents.  As they used to say on the old TV cop drama Dragnet:  Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

To download your very own copy of this tome, click on this link.

Course Goals  
This is the second of four courses that form the “core” of our major curriculum. (It can, however, be taken concurrently with, or even before, English 120).  English 220 introduces English majors to the ways in which social identities are created through language and texts, and particularly to the ways in which various categories of identity (race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality) are central to the study of texts.  It also focuses on what is loosely termed the “politics of representation”:  how certain ideological constructs and relations of power are fashioned and sustained through representations of self and other.

Specifically, this semester, we’ll consider the following questions, among others—questions whose answers will always be provisional, not definitive:

• how do human beings come to acquire a sense of a personal and/or social identity—or, rather, identities?
• what are some of the elements that comprise those identities?
• to what extent (and to what purpose) are those identities inventions—constructions that are mutable and contingent?
• to what extent (and with what ramifications) are those identities essential—inherent to the individual and unchanging?
• how do textual representations contribute to our sense of our own identities, and of the identities of others?
• how do those representations help to enforce—or to challenge—relations of power among social groups?
• how do we read texts—what critical strategies can we employ—when we read with an eye to identity and representation?

If English 120 (which I typically subtitle “Literature, History, Ideology”) is concerned with the production of meaning against larger contexts (genre; literary history; political and social history), English 220 is concerned with the ways in which texts summon specific kinds of interiorities in the producers and consumers of texts. 

This course is a work-in-progress, and as such it may well suffer from certain shortcomings and weaknesses:  faulty operating assumptions, wobbly organizing principles, unfortunate choices in reading selections, ill-conceived assignments.  Please bear with me, and know that you’ll have an opportunity at the end of the semester (and along the way) to provide feedback.

Required Materials/Resources

• First and foremost, regular access to the course website (accessible through the “Courses” page of my main website, whose URL is listed above).  A good deal of the required reading will be available on the course website only, via the password-protected “Course Reader” page (not via Moodle or ONCORES).  You'll be prompted for a username and password in order to gain access to this page. These can be found on the print version of your syllabus; e-mail me if you've mislaid them. You’ll need the latest version of Adobe Reader for many of the files.  Campus computers are equipped with this software, but if you’re working from home and don’t have it, you can download and install it for free (a link to Adobe’s site is provided on the online syllabus).  If you don’t have convenient access to the web at home, make plans to spend some time each week in a campus computer lab, reading and/or printing out copies of the readings for the coming week.

If you lose this print syllabus and can’t remember the password, e-mail me and I’ll remind you.  The password does not appear—for obvious reasons—anywhere in the online version of the syllabus.

• James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans.  I've ordered the Penguin Classics edition ($11 new, available at the HSU bookstore), but you're free to use any reputable edition of the text, including one you may already own or one purchased at an online or second-hand book store.
  
• J. M. Coetzee, Foe (Penguin, $14 new).
  
• Zadie Smith, White Teeth (Vintage, $14.95 new).

(N.B.: both Mohicans and White Teeth are long!  Get your hands on them and start reading, pronto!   And DON'T IMAGINE YOU'RE GONNA RELY ON SOME DRAMATIZATION to avoid slogging through the former—not the BBC/Masterpiece Theater adaptation of the early 1970s and especially not the cheesy Daniel Day Lewis vehicle from 1992.  No dramatization captures the weirdness of the novel itself—and we'll be very much concerned with that weirdness this semester.)

You may also wish to procure yourself a copy of Joseph Gibaldi’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. ($17.50 new), which is the bible for any self-respecting English major in matters of style and format, regardless of her chosen concentration.  Read it, study it, refer to it—constantly.  (Ambitious and/or well-to-do members of the class may also wish to purchase a reputable research handbook such as Wayne C. Booth, et al.’s The Craft of Research or Nancy L. Baker and Nancy Huling’s A Research Guide for Undergraduate Students, 6th ed., and/or a good bluffer’s guide such as Ian Littlewood’s The Literature Student’s Survival Kit.)

Course Requirements/Major Assignments

Regular monitoring of the course Updates page:  after every class, homework assignments for the next class session will be posted on the “Updates” page of the course web site, normally by 8:00 p.m..  If you have to miss a class, you’re expected to check the Updates page and be prepared for the next one, just the same.  Announcements and minor schedule changes will be posted to the “updates” page, as well, though I’ll also announce any changes to the course calendar in class and I’ll certainly consult with you before making any radical changes.  Just the same, you should check the updates page nightly.

Attendance and participation:  It’s important in a discussion-oriented course that as many people as possible participate in the conversation; to do that, you’ve got to be here.  To give you credit for your presence, then, I willpass around a sign-in sheet at the beginning of each session, and if you’re present, you should make sure your name gets on it.  You’re entitled to miss up to six (6) classes—that’s two entire weeks of class time—to cover all the contingencies of life:  family emergency, Humboldt crud, hangover, busted alarm clock, death, flood, fire, famine.  No explanations, no apologies, no penalties.  (It’s always up to you, however, to keep on top of what you missed and/or what’s expected of you for the next class meeting; see “Daily Updates,” above.)  Miss more than six, and your course grade will start to suffer; the more you’re gone, the more it’ll hurt.  If you miss more than 20% of the course I will strenuously encourage you to withdraw…assuming you still can. 
If you know in advance that you must be absent when a major assignment is due, alert me early; I'm usually open to making alternate arrangements when the request is justified and I'm given sufficient notice.  Otherwise, routine absences should not include sessions when major assignments are due.  Finally:  please don’t ask me to make individual exceptions to this policy.  Use your sanctioned absences wisely and you won’t need to put me in the unfair position of judging the relative validity of your priorities.

A few related exhortations, all having to do with etiquette:  please get to class on time, don’t wander in and out, and don’t leave early.  Texting or web-browsing while class is in session is just plain bad manners—the equivalent of reading a newspaper or passing notes in class.  And bear in mind that it’s especially bad form to arrive late on a day when a major assignment is due.

Some of the assigned readings that we discuss will be dense; if you find a particular assignment especially challenging and/or infuriating, please say so in class so we can discuss strategies for coping with difficult material.  That’s a valid area for discussion.

One last word about discussion:  it’s easy for people to get embarrassed, consternated, or tongue-tied when they take up some of the subjects we’ll be dealing with this semester, so let’s all agree to be courteous, respectful, and generous in this classroom.  If someone says something you find questionable or objectionable, by all means pursue your objections, but do so in a constructive way and with a civil tongue.  By the same token, give your colleagues the benefit of the doubt; if someone says something you find offensive or simply naïve, assume that the speaker didn’t mean to give offense, and count to ten before you speak.  Public humiliation in the classroom is rarely a useful pedagogical tool.

Informal writing assignments: six (6) times in the course of the semester I’ll make informal writing assignments that will ask you to kick around some ideas about the critical issues/problems/puzzles currently under discussion in class.  These assignments should be at least 500 words in length and they must be typed; otherwise unscrupulous folks will use class time to write them out.  If for some reason you must handwrite an assignment—because of a computer malfunction, for example—then you’ll have to wave it under my nose at the start of class.

I will grade individual assignments on a CR/NC basis. They are not expected to be formal essays in any sense; they’re more in the spirit of a math “problem set”—a place where you think on paper.  All I ask is that your train of thought be reasonably coherent; vague and incomprehensible mumbling and/or glib or superficial thinking will not be awarded credit.  Neither will perfunctory efforts.  For the most part I won’t evaluate you on mechanics—grammar, punctuation, spelling, and so forth—but I will not struggle through the incomprehensible.  If you’ve been keeping up with the work all along you should usually be able to write an acceptable assignment in thirty minutes or so.

The overall grade for these assignments will be based strictly on the number you submit:  5 or more credited assignments will earn an “A”; 4 will earn a “B”; 3 will earn a “C.”  You’ll receive no credit if you hand in any fewer.  (As an aside:  if you know you have trouble piping up in class discussions, these informal assignments are one good way to keep me apprised of your intellectual progress in the class.)

Critical essays (see the “major assignments” page of the class website for details as the projects are introduced):  You’ll write two critical essays this semester, the first due the week after spring break, and the second during finals week (in lieu of a final exam). The first, shorter essay, will focus on one of the texts that we’ve read during the first half of the semester, as well as the issues of identity and representation that we consider; the second, longer essay will take up a theoretical concern from the second half of the semester and apply it either to a new text or a text we read earlier.

Grading

Here’s where the oppressive substructure of my seemingly benign classroom shows through.  I try to grade by the book, which was written before the days of rampant grade inflation: “A” is reserved for truly stunning and outstanding work; “B” work goes solidly beyond minimal expectations for basic competency; and “C” is “standard” and “normal”—i.e., it meets the basic course requirements in every way.  “D” is worthy of credit, but barely, and I guess we all know what “F” means.  I don’t expect to give any incompletes.   Here’s how your final course grade will break down:

• Informal assignments: 25%
• Midterm paper: 25%
• Final paper: 40%
• Participation, punctuality, all-around good class citizenship: 10%

Miscellany

Disabilities:  Please let me know of any documented disabilities and recommended accommodations that would promote your success in this class.

Plagiarism:  I don’t like to play Ideas Cop, but I take academic dishonesty very seriously.  Passing off part or all of someone else’s work or ideas as your own will result—at the very least—in a failing grade for the course.  The university definition of and policies regarding academic dishonesty can be found in the HSU catalog.  Please be aware that plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty can result in expulsion from the University. See additional information regarding plagiarism in the "Addendum" below.

Communicating:  I’ll read and respond to everything you hand in and put a grade on your formal written work, and I’ll happily meet with you at any time to talk about your progress and prospects.  If a personal disaster befalls you in the course of the semester—your home burns down, your computer crashes, a marauding horde carries off your livestock—please don’t be embarrassed, and don’t just disappear: let me know, and as soon as possible!  At the very least, I can direct you to campus resources that may help, and I may be able to help you figure out a plan to get you through the semester in one piece.  I don’t guarantee that I can accommodate every unexpected turn of events; you should also be prepared to withdraw from courses, or from the university entirely, if the situation is dire enough.  But there are sometimes contingency plans that can be put into effect if students alert their faculty promptly of personal crises that will interfere with their academic performance.

As for more routine problems:  if you’re getting behind in the class, feeling as though you’re not “getting” something, or just having an intangible problem either mild or severe, don’t sit around fretting and cowering:  come and talk to me without delay.

If your schedule absolutely cannot be changed to accommodate my regular office hours, that doesn’t mean we can’t meet.  I’m happy to set up appointments at other mutually agreeable times—just stop me after class or send me an email if you’d like to talk one-on-one.

Before and after class: I like to reserve the few frantic minutes before class to attend to technology and classroom setup; if you try to collar me then, you may find me preoccupied and distracted (even brusque!).  After class, I am usually available for a brief time to answer questions, schedule appointments, and listen.

Email: When contacting me via email, be sure to include the course number in the subject line and your full name in the body or the signature of your message.  I try to respond to messages in a timely fashion, but since I receive dozens of messages each day, I ask that you use email judiciously.  Here are some guidelines:

• It’s reasonable to email me to set up or cancel an appointment, or to contact us in the event of an emergency.
• There is no need to contact me about your routine absences from class (unless you will be gone for several consecutive periods due to severe illness or emergency).  I will leave it up to you to decide how to best schedule your time; I have already spelled out how absences may affect your final grade for this course. 
• For questions about what you missed when you were absent, consult the Calendar, a trusted classmate, and/or the “Daily Updates” page of the class website instead of emailing. 
• Subjects that are best handled face to face (or, as a last resort, over the telephone) include the following:
• questions about course concepts and readings, and the nuances of specific assignments;
• desire for feedback on your performance, grades, completed assignments, and work in progress.

Messages and voicemail: You can leave a written message in my mailbox in the English Department Office (Founders 201), or you can leave me a voicemail on my office phone.  I do not check messages daily, however, and I generally do not return student calls, except in emergencies.

(Very Rough) Calendar

Danger!  All quantities approximate!  Subject to explosive change!
(I may distribute more detailed calendars for each unit as it approaches; in the meantime, monitor the “Updates” page.)

Addendum: Other Course Policies and General Information

Some of the following information I’m required by the University (whose obedient servant I am) to include.  Some, I provide out of more than a mere sense of obligation; I actually believe in it.  Much else originates purely with me rather than my employer, and I’m fairly fervent about it.  (Come talk to me during office hours and I’ll tell you which is which, if you can’t tell already.)  In any event, you’re responsible for familiarizing yourself with all of it.

Course meeting time and place (Spring 2009)
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 1:00-1:50 p.m., Founders Hall 179

HSU Catalog description
“How social identities are created through language and texts; how categories of identity (gender, sexuality, race, nation, class, ethnicity, etc.) are central to the study of literature."

Course mode and format
This course is classified by the university as a “lecture-discussion” course.

English Department Learning Outcomes

Stay tuned.

This course is also meant to contribute to your acquisition of skills and knowledge relevant to several of HSU’s 7 overall Learning Outcomes, according to which HSU graduates will be able to demonstrate:

1. Effective communication through written and oral modes.  This course uses class discussion and requires written responses of different lengths.

2. Critical and creative thinking skills in acquiring a broad base of knowledge and applying it to complex issues.  Students in this course should learn some of the concepts, vocabulary, and practices typical of the discipline of literary study, and they should understand some of the mechanisms by which different forms of textuality achieve various effects.  They should be able to use and draw upon this knowledge in discussion, on exams, and in their written work.

4.   Appreciation for and understanding of an expanded world perspective by engaging respectfully with a diverse range of individuals, communities, and viewpoints.  Students will read texts by writers from diverse and sometimes underrepresented groups, and they will sometimes be asked to discuss and write about these texts in relation to the political and ideological implications of their production and consumption, often with respect to such issues as class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.

6.   Responsibility for lifelong learning.  Students will begin to learn how to read and think critically about cultural texts, and how to make cultural and aesthetic choices for their individual enrichment and their social responsibilities.

7.   A commitment to social justice, environmental responsibility, and economic improvement in the workplace and the community.  Both literary and critical texts in this course take up issues connected with these themes.  Modern English Studies strongly emphasizes an understanding of the historical and social contexts and the ideological underpinnings of many different kinds of texts.

Hours outside of class required for course preparation
“In general, it is expected that the successful student will spend two hours of preparation per week for each unit earned” (Humboldt State University Catalog 2007-2008 p. 43).  For a 4-unit course, this means you will need to devote at least 8 hours per week outside of class to this course.  This is the recommended minimum.  Spending 8 hours per week does not guarantee a passing grade, however, nor does it guarantee any particular letter grade.

Campus resources that may increase your academic success
Writing center: 205 Founders Hall, 826-5946
http://www.humboldt.edu/~english/wrtgcntr.html

Learning center: House #71 (across from & north of HSU library), 826-5217
http://www.humboldt.edu/~learning/index.php

Academic (dis)honesty
All members of an academic community are responsible for supporting intellectual freedom and openness through rigorous personal standards of honesty and fairness.  Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty undermine the very purpose of the university and diminish the value of an education.  All cases of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism and cheating, will be handled in accordance with University policy.  Students are responsible for knowing HSU policy regarding academic honesty.  These guidelines, along with sanctions for violations, can be reviewed at www.humboldt.edu/~studaff/judicial/academic_honesty.php.

Plagiarism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “plagiarize” as “to take and use as one’s own the thoughts, writings, or ideas of another,” to represent someone else’s words or ideas as your own. The general rule is that if you incorporate any information (e.g., analysis, opinions, interpretations, or facts that are not common knowledge), into your papers, examinations, discussion forum posts, presentations, and so on, you must honestly and accurately credit and document your sources of words and ideas.  This includes not only books or other printed materials, but also formal lectures and interviews, as well as information of any kind posted on the Internet.  Submitting any part of a borrowed, stolen, or purchased paper to fulfill all or part of an assignment also constitutes plagiarism—never mind that it’s desperate and pathetic. 

Professors have a finely tuned “ear” for prose that their students probably aren’t capable of producing.  Even a close paraphrase of someone else’s words—borrowing the sentence or paragraph structure while making small changes in wording or phrasing—can be construed as plagiarism, especially if you have not properly attributed the source.  And while the Web has made it much easier to buy or steal work produced by someone else, it’s also made such fraud much easier to spot, thanks to plagiarism-detection websites and ever-improving search engines. 

The university definition of and policies regarding plagiarism and other types of academic dishonesty can be found online and in the HSU catalog; it's your responsibility to know these policies and to ask questions if you don't understand them.  If you are unsure what counts as plagiarism, please feel free to talk to me about it (preferably before turning in an assignment!), as ignorance of the policy is not an acceptable excuse for failure to comply with the guidelines.  If you plagiarize in my course, you will automatically fail the assignment and, in most cases, the course.  Additionally, I will notify the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.  Consequently, you may be subject to further University disciplinary action, such as special counseling, dismissal from certain programs and organizations, and academic probation, suspension, or expulsion.  If you are having difficulty completing an assignment on time and through honest means, please come talk to me before resorting to plagiarism.  For a free on-line tutorial about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it, consult one or all of the following resources:

• HSU Library
• HSU Learning Center
• HSU Composition Director Tracy Duckart's Instructional Website
  

Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, both between students, or between a student and a faculty member, is illegal and will not be tolerated in the classroom or outside of class.  HSU defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” which may be blatant or subtle.  For a detailed description of and HSU’s complete policy on sexual harassment, see
http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/sex_assult.php.

Accommodations for students with disabilities or special needs
Please let me know without delay if you have special needs and are (or think you may be) eligible for disability-related accommodation, so that we can discuss any and all available aids and measures that would facilitate your success in this class.  Our campus Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) can assist you with determining eligibility for accommodations and obtaining necessary resources to meet your needs.  The SDRC is located in House 71, on the north end of Library Circle, directly across from the HSU library.  It can be reached by calling (707) 826-4678 (voice) or (707) 826-5392 (TDD) or by emailing the director, Kevin O’Brien at kjo2@humboldt.edu.  For more information, go to http://www.humboldt.edu/~sdrc/index.html.  Please be aware that some accommodations may take up to several weeks to arrange.

Disruptive Behavior
According to HSU policy, “any student who has neglected the work of the course or is disruptive to the educational process may be excluded from a course. . . .  Disruptive student behavior in the classroom is defined as behavior which interrupts, obstructs, or inhibits the teaching and learning process. The faculty member determines what is disruptive and has a duty to terminate it. Disruptive behavior may take many forms: persistent questioning, incoherent comments, verbal attacks, unrecognized speaking out, incessant arguing, intimidating shouting, and inappropriate gestures. . . .  Faculty also have the authority and responsibility to establish rules to maintain order, and to eject students from the course temporarily for violation of the rules or misconduct.”  Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and disruptive behavior.  For more information, click on the link below:
http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/judicial/attendance_behavior.php

Add/Drop policy
Students are responsible for knowing University policy, procedures, and schedule for dropping or adding classes.  For more information see:
http://www.humboldt.edu/~reg/regulations/schedadjust.html

To sum up
In the end, I’m asking you only to be reasonably disciplined and responsible in your approach to this course.  Please consider any and all obligations you have in addition to your course load.  I strongly advise you not to commit to more than you can realistically accomplish in the next fifteen weeks (you’re working 30 hours a week?  and you’re on the volleyball team? and you’re the choreographer for an upcoming production of The Sound of Music?  and you’re carrying 20 units?—what are you, crazy?), but if you do, please recognize that you set your own priorities, and that I can’t and won’t cut private deals with you based on your individual circumstances—particularly when those circumstances are of your own making. (Medical emergencies that turn ugly and/or lengthy are a different kettle of fish; in such instances, I may be open to making special accommodations. But let's hope such situations simply don't arise for anyone in our midst!)

Safety information and emergency evacuation
Please review the evacuation plan for the classroom (posted on the orange signs) and review Campus Emergency Preparedness procedures by following the link below:
http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/emergencyops/campus_emergency_preparedness.php

Information on campus closures and emergency information can be found at:  826-INFO (4636) or http://www.humboldt.edu/~humboldt/emergency.  Try to avoid calling University Police for campus status information.

Exits, rally points, and EAP’s

• In each classroom or lab, identify the exit(s). Take note of alternate exits including doors and windows.
• Faculty and students must know how to get to the class “Rally Point” immediately outside the building. This is usually a commonly known outdoor landmark such as a specific walkway, staircase, fountain, or planter. Gather and count heads.  For this course we will gather outside the Natural Resources Building as our rallying point.
• Emergency Assembly Points (EAP’s) are for gathering people when our buildings aren’t safe to occupy (e.g. a following a major earthquake).  Each class should head there to organize themselves. Police arrival at EAP’s will be delayed.  For this course we will gather at the Lower Playfield, outside and across 17th Street from the Natural Resources Building.

What to do for the “Big Three”

• Earthquake: Duck, cover, and hold until the shaking stops. After shaking stops, head to Rally Point.
• Fire Alarm: Evacuate whether there is smoke and/or fire or not. Head to Rally Point.
• Gunshots/Criminal Activity: If at all possible, get out and get away.  Don’t linger at Rally Point.  If you absolutely can’t get out, lock the door and shelter in place.

Power outage procedures

• When electrical power is first interrupted, individual faculty members are responsible for deciding on a class-by-class basis, if the class should continue, be relocated, or be canceled.  I will tell you in class or, if class has not yet begun, post outside the classroom what to do in the event of a power outage.
• If the power outage appears likely to continue for several hours or longer, campus-wide information about continuing/suspending classes will be disseminated from the President through deans, departments, and chairs. Call this number for recorded information: 826-4636.

Students must get themselves prepared

• The North Coast is prone to earthquakes, severe weather, road slides, and utility interruptions. The campus cannot feed/shelter all of our students.
• Every student must store sealed bottled water, non-perishable food, flashlight, and a battery-operated radio.  More information is available at www.prepare.org.
• Interested students may seek specialized training from the American Red Cross and/or by applying to Humboldt’s Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Learn North Coast safety risks

• River safety:  Take river safety training. Study the river with an experienced friend.  Watch for “sweeper” branches that can hold you under water. Stay sober.
• Coastal safety: Keep an eye on the ocean and for “sneaker” waves that may be 2-3 times larger than the surf pattern.  Sneaker waves pull victims out to sea every year. Hypothermia and powerful currents are deadly threats.  If the water draws down low or you hear a loud roar, head to higher ground immediately.

• Earthquake: duck, cover, and hold on during strong shaking. After shaking stops, evacuate.
• Tsunami: If you are at the beach and feel strong shaking, head to higher ground immediately. If you hear that a warning is in effect, evacuate ONLY if you are in a coastal zone (the HSU main campus is not in a coastal zone).