ENGL 202.

02: Introduction to Literary Studies

Fall 2010
MWF 1:10-2:00, McDonnell-Douglas 1075
Instructor: Jennifer Stebick, M.A.
E-mail: jstebick@slu.edu
Office Hours: M 10-12:30, T 1-5, W 10-12:30 and gladly by appointment.
COURSE TEXTS AND MATERIALS
Textbooks
Flannery OConnor: Collected Works. Library of America, 1988.
Samuel Beckett: Collected Shorter Plays. Grove Press, 1984.
Ian McEwan, Atonement. First Anchor Books Edition, March 2003. Must have this
edition.
E-reserve
Some readings for this course are not in your textbooks or on the web. Those readings
will be available through Library E-reserve. You do not have to go to the library to access
the material. Simply go to http://libraries.slu.edu and select Course Reserves from the
maroon menu on the left side of the page. From there, click the first option, Electronic
Reserves & Reserves Pages. Search by my last name (Stebick) and enter our course
password: litstud to access the reading. I will provide links to general web texts on the
announcements page of SLUglobal.
SLUglobal (aka: The New Blackboard)
I will communicate with you through SLUglobal, posting assignments and
announcements there. Though the official name is SLUglobal, Ill likely refer to it as
Blackboard because thats the name Im used to and thats the platform SLUglobal
uses. So remember, Blackboard=SLUglobal. You can access SLUglobal/Blackboard
through the Tools tab that appears when you sign into myslu. You can also access it
simply by going to http://global.slu.edu. Be sure to check for announcements on
SLUglobal/blackboard at least once every day. If you miss a class, be sure to check
SLUglobal for the assignment, as you will be responsible for turning it in on the assigned
due date regardless of your absence.
COURSE OBJECTIVES

Students will learn to practice literary criticism in the vein of seminal literary
theories.
Students will understand literature as rhetoric and as a means of collective
meaning-making.
Students will analyze the distinct dynamics of oral, textual, and electronic
literatures.

Students will read closely and critically, learning to interpret literature in ways that
are both intellectually rigorous and personally significant.

Students will discuss their own written reflections on literature in group settings,
enriching their ability to express clearly their points and insights.

COURSE COMPONENTS
Journals
Your journal, created on SLUglobal, makes up 35% of your final grademore than
any other assignment. You will write approximately 35 journal posts over the course of
the semester, usually worth 10 points each. If I deem a journal particularly easy or
particularly difficult, I will adjust the point amount accordingly. A few journals may hold
no particular weight and instead be factored into your participation grade. I will provide
a specific prompt for each journal, and they will appear in the Journals tab on your
SLUglobal homepage. There you will also find the point value of the assignment, which,
as I mentioned before, will most likely be 10pts.Journal entries should be about 300-500
words in length depending on the scope of the prompt. Please note that your fellow
students can read these journals, not just me. Also note that I may sometimes refer to
journal entries as posts or blogs, but they should always be entered in the JOURNALS
section of blackboard. Journal posts are due Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights by
10pm so we can discuss them in class.
Midterm
Your midterm will be completed outside of class and will be a 7 page paper of literary
criticism. It makes up 25% of your final grade. Details to follow as the due date
approaches.
Final
Your final will be a traditional exam completed during our university-assigned final exam
period. Like the midterm, the final makes up 25% of your grade. Details to follow as
finals week approaches.
Participation
To determine participation grades, I consider student engagement in class discussions
and activities, attendance, completion of homework and readings, and general ambition
(ie: did you visit office hours or Writing Services?). Participation is 15% of your final
grade.
ASSESMENT
Journals
350
Participation
150
Midterm
250
Final
250
Total
1000
945 and up = A
910 = A870 = B+

840 = B
810 = B780 = C+

750 = C
730 = C650 = D

below 650 = F

GRADING POLICIES
I DO NOT accept late work. If an assignment is late, it gets a 0. I do, however,
accept reasonable requests for extensions if they are made at least 3 days before an
assignment is due. If I find the extension policy is being taken advantage of/abused, Ill
revoke the policy and disallow extensions.
I have no tolerance for plagiarism. Stealing the work of others or failing to cite
others work in your own will lead to a 0 on the plagiarized assignment. This course also

has a strict 2 strikes and youre out aka 2 offenses and you fail the course policy.
Questionable work may be submitted to turnitin.com. Plagiarism cases may also be
turned over to CAS, where the student may face probation, suspension, or expulsion.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Academic Integrity and Honesty. Students are expected to be honest in their academic
work. The University reserves the right to penalize any student whose academic conduct
at any time is, in its judgment, detrimental to the University. Such conduct shall include
cases of plagiarism, collusion, cheating, giving or receiving or offering or soliciting
information in examinations, or the use of previously prepared material in examinations
or quizzes. Violations should be reported to your course instructor, who will investigate
and adjudicate them according to the policy on academic honesty of the College of Arts
and Sciences. If the charges are found to be true, the student may be liable for
academic or disciplinary probation, suspension, or expulsion by the University.
Students with Special Needs - Disability Services. Any student who feels that he/she
may need academic accommodations in order to meet the requirements of this course
as outlined in the syllabus, due to presence of a disability, should contact the Office of
Disabilities Services. Please telephone the office at 314-977-2930, or visit Room 331 in
Busch Student Center. Confidentiality will be observed in all inquiries
FINAL NOTES
You are expected to be familiar with all of the aforementioned policies, regardless of
whether the instructor explicitly discusses them in class.
The Instructor maintains the right to make changes to the above policies and schedule of
assignments for the benefit of the class. If necessary, these changes will be announced
in class in a timely manner