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Course Description:
ENGL 2323 Survey of
British Literature studies the major authors, their works, and the trends
in British literature from the Eighteenth Century to the present. Writing
about literature is a major component of this course.
Required Textbooks
and Supplies:
Greenblat, Stephen.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 2. Eighth
Edition
Gardner, Janet. Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide
MS Word (or a word processor that is capable of saving documents
as MS Word .doc documents and the ability to perform that function)
Internet access
Educational Objectives:
- Understand works
of literature as expressions of individual and human values within an
historical and social context; demonstrate an ability to respond critically
to such works of literature
- Engage in and
comprehend the creative processes and intellectual accomplishment of
literature and the work of its authors
- Articulate an
informed reaction to works of literature
- Demonstrate appreciation,
awareness, and knowledge of the aesthetic principles reflected in literature
and its influence on intercultural experiences
Student Responsibilities:
1. Readings - Students
must read and annotate the selections listed in the course outline. After
reading the selections, explore Internet resources and any available print
resources to enhance understanding of the text and to investigate questions
that emerged while reading the text.
2. Discussion Board
Responses - Students must participate in Blackboard on-line discussion
boards by initiating discussion topics discovered during reading the text
and responding to on-going discussions generated by questions the instructor
or fellow students.
3. Projects and
Papers - Students will prepare literary arguments and other writing
assignments in addition to participation in weekly discussion lists. Topics
for projects and papers must be approved by the instructor. Students must
use MS Word to prepare papers and projects turned in electronically.
Assignments composed in other programs may be unreadable on the instructor's
computer and will not be accepted. Attempts to send documents in unreadable
formats will not be considered timely completion of the assignment. (Rationale:
We must have a standard word processing program with which we can exchange
documents. Programs such as Open Office [www.openoffice.org] or AbiWord
[www.abisource.com] may be downloaded at no cost and are capable of saving
documents in Word [.doc] format. )
4. Weekly activities
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Students will read representative selection from Norton Anthology of
English Literature and Writing about Literature, participate
in discussion boards, review web sites, and complete other activities
designed to reinforce learning. Throughout the semester, students will
prepare documented essays and projects. Because this is not a self-paced
course, students must adhere to the established timeline. Students
must motivate themselves to follow the course guidelines and to allocate
adequate time to meet the course requirements.
5. Assessment
-
Discussion list participation and weekly assignments - 30%
Quizzes - 20%
Critical/Analytical papers and Wiki projects- 30% (not all papers and
projects are valued the same)
Final Exam 20%
6. Final Exam
-
Students complete the final exam online August 12-13. Students have only
one opportunity to take the exam and are limited to 2 1/2 hours to complete
it.
7. Late Work -
Late work will not be accepted. Students must maintain contact
with the instructor to report any circumstances that might prevent them
from completing assignments on time. Technical problems such as personal
computer breakdown, ISP or email problems, difficulties with attachments
will not be considered as excuses for late work. Mistakes in typing in
email addresses, failure to remember a logon password for Blackboard, errors
in posting online assignments, inability to navigate Blackboard, and other
problems of this nature, also will not be accepted as excuses. Any problem
that affects the whole class, or a number of students at once, will usually
be excused (for example, an interruption of Internet service because of
phone line problems; natural disasters; Del Mar server problems, etc).
There are no sick or personal days in cyberspace. Blackboard is available from
any computer with an internet connection.
8. Blackboard Mail -
Class email should be sent via the Blackboard mail system. By doing so, the
mail can be accessed from any computer with internet access. Students
should also be familiar with their MyDMC email account and should check
it at least every other day. The account is availabe at http://mydmc.delmar.edu.
Use your myDMC.delmar.edu address to contact me if Blackboard is unavailable.
Always put Eng
2323 and a topic identifier in the subject line and your full name in
the message.
During the semester
I will usually respond to student messages within 24 hours; however, my
family takes precedence weekends and holidays. Therefore, any message
sent Friday evening may not receive a response until Monday.
9. Writing Quality
-
Since this is an English class, writing skills should not deteriorate
because one uses a word processor and submits work electronically. The
essays and exams require the same amount of care and time as an important
paper written as hard copy for a classroom course. Email & discussion
list entries should also be composed as carefully as possible concerning
grammatical correctness, but the focus should be on producing content
which reveals (and provokes) critical thought.
10. Classroom presence
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The most apparent weakness of online courses is the lack of face-to-face
contact with the instructor and with other students. This course attempts
to employ the Internet’s strengths and advantages intensively enough to
offset the lack of personal contact. However, "classroom presence"
must be constructed through written communication. The instructor
and the students must develop a written "voice" that effectively communicates
both tone and content.
Give the benefit of
doubt to writers whose tone might at first appear to be negative or harsh.
Take some time away from such discourse before posting flaming replies
or equally as negative dispatches that might only compound a problem of
misinterpretation. Use emote-icons (cheesy as they might be ;-) to qualify
provocative statements that might be misconstrued.
11. Collaboration
and Plagiarism -
Students are encouraged to collaborate in this course. Use email to communicate
with one another, to both ask and answer questions. You will not be hurting
yourself by helping someone else.
However, please note
that although you may share ideas and help one another, students must
do their own work. Every piece of writing you submit must be in your
own words. Do not simply cut and paste from an Internet source or from
another student's email. The sentence structures, vocabulary, and overall
style of the work you submit should be your very own, and any sources
you use in developing your discussion posts, Wiki presentations, or formal
essays must be given proper credit.
Presenting someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Having
someone else write all or part of your paper, quoting directly from books,
web sites, magazines, or newspapers without giving credit to the source,
or representing someone else's ideas as your own is considered plagiarism.
Plagiarism is cause for disciplinary action, which will include
a zero on the assignment in question and may include further action such
as a failing grade in the course, being dropped from the course, or suspension
from the college. See Del
Mar College's policy on Scholastic Dishonesty. Student work may
be submitted to the plagiarism detection service Turnitin.com. Work submitted
to Turnitin.com becomes a part of their database.
12. Drops -
Student retention is an ongoing concern in on-line classes. The freedom
implied by the nature of the course has many advantages, but a major disadvantage
is the temptation to put a low priority on keeping up with readings and
class discussions. Maintaining frequent contact with the instructor and
classmates helps to motivate participation and to alleviate the feeling
of isolation on-line students sometimes experience. Communicate frequently
not only concerning course content, but also problems or issues that might
inhibit your participation and completion of the course. Contact the instructor
if you are considering withdrawing from the course. Then, if for any reason
you cannot finish the course, contact the registrar's office and initiate
a drop. Students may be dropped for non-participation.
13. Technical concerns
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All students taking an online course must complete Blackboard Orientation
conducted by Del Mar's Distance Learning. The orientation is online at
http://ecourse.delmar.edu/webct/RelativeResourceManager/2044148011/Student%20Tutorials/index.htm.
Students will be introduced to Blackboard and its functions. Problems
with Blackboard should be addressed to the Help Desk at 698-2330 or http://www.delmar.edu/itdept/helpdesk/.
Technical problems such as personal computer breakdown, ISP or email
problems, difficulties with attachments will not be considered as excuses
for late work. Mistakes in typing in email addresses, failure to remember
a login password for Blackboard, errors in posting online assignments,
and other problems of this nature, also will not be accepted as excuses.
Any problem that affects the whole class, or a number of students at once,
will usually be excused (for example, an interruption of Internet service
because of phone line problems; natural disasters; Del Mar server problems,
etc).
14. Suggestions
and Advice
- Save and archive all your email pertaining to the class.
- Learn how to copy and paste text from your word processor to Blackboard
and to email messages. Using the word processor this way allows you
to take advantage of spell-check and other features that might not be
available in the other media.
- Learn how to use the Save As feature on your word processor.
Learn how to use your Word processor's Help files.
- Learn how to copy and paste URLs instead of typing them. It is extremely
easy to make a mistake when manually typing each character of a URL.
Use the bookmark capabilities of your browser.
- Stay in contact with the instructor and classmates. Frequent communication
can minimize frustration and unrealistic expectations for the instructor
and students.
- Recognize this course as an opportunity to hone communication skills.
Avoid sending overly emotional or "flaming" emails. Take some time away
to think before responding to discourse that might at first appear to
be negative or confrontational.
- Be generous in extending the benefit of the doubt and assuming good
intent when reading postings. Expect that the same courtesy will be
extended to you if your moments of frustration or confusion.
- Try to have fun!
Disability accommodations.
Students requresting disability accommodations or information are encouraged
to contact the office of Special Services, Harvin Center, Room 188, 361-698-1298
or go online at http://www.delmar.edu/specserv/disability.html.
If the office of Special Services has documented that you have any special
needs, please give me that notification at the beginning of the semester.
Information on other
Resources for Student Success and Student Services at http://www.delmar.edu/distancelearning/transition.php
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