ENG 494.10: Junior Seminar [Fall 2019]

(How To Do Things With Criticism)

Professor Sean Meehan |Smith 115|  Hours: T/TH 10-11, 2.30-3.30 and appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION.  This course will provide insight into central methodological issues within the field of literature studies. A primary goal is to give you an understanding of the diversity of methods that characterizes literary criticism. While our main question will be, in effect, “what does literary study look like today?” we will break that question down into its potentially infinite subsets, including questions surrounding what literary study should look like, what literary critics can do with texts, what texts do to literary critics, and how we can conceive of criticism as both a vocation and as a transferable skill. The course aims to train you in developing research questions and to assess the applicability and relevance of different research methods, thus providing a foundation for developing compelling SCE projects, which you will be undertaking (shortly) in the final year of your studies as an English major.

COURSE OBJECTIVES.  By the end of this course, you should be able to:

1. Identify and put into historical context major schools of literary theoretical thought;
2. Comprehend abstract and information-dense critical prose and paraphrase it clearly;
3. Apply methodological frameworks to texts and artwork, and be able to identify the most fruitful methodologies for you to use on a given object;
4. Understand more deeply what literary study brings to your life and what you, as a literary critic, bring to the world.
5. Engage more fully as an active member of the literary community at Washington College.

 

English Department Learning Goals	Assignments
1)     Literary History •       Students read representative authors at an advanced level. •       Students understand the conventions of at least one literary genre, especially the critical essay, the polemic, and theoretical texts.	Readings and class discussion.
2)   Critical Reading  •       Students analyze texts critically using literary terminology, close reading and analysis. •       Students demonstrate the ability to use at least one critical method or interpretive strategy in analyzing a text, especially using the methodologies taught in class to analyze other works.	Class discussion and writing assignments
3)    Rhetorical Knowledge ·      Students grasp the linguistic and stylistic conventions of writing within the discipline of literary studies. ·      Students make effective use of revision and editing strategies. ·      Students demonstrate the ability to present a clear argument and support that argument with evidence, using close reading and analysis.	Writing assignments
4)   Building a Learning Community ·      Students demonstrate civility and leadership in their engaged, prepared, active participation in class discussion. ·      Students abide by the Washington College Honor Code.	Class discussion, Seminar Project, Campus Events

This is also the English Department’s W3 course—thus there are related learning goals for the College Writing Program (note useful overlap with English goals):

• Critical Thinking: the ability to raise questions and identify problems related to particular subjects or situations and to make thoughtful decisions based on that analysis, through writing, reading, and research;
• Writing Process: the ability to use appropriate strategies for generating, developing, composing, and revising writing and research;
• Rhetorical Knowledge: the ability to analyze and act on understandings of audiences, purposes, and disciplinary contexts in creating and comprehending texts;
• Knowledge of Conventions: an awareness of the formal guidelines, ranging from matters of grammar and style to conventions of research and documentation that define what is considered to be correct and appropriate to writing in a particular discipline or context.

 

REQUIRED Materials.

Course Text: Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. Third Edition. Routledge, 2015.

A notebook to serve as reading journal/commonplace book/writer’s notebook.

A folder of some sort to store articles/papers printed or handed out.

 

COURSE POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS.

Participation:

I expect active and engaged participation in discussions of our readings and in the work we will do throughout the semester on your seminar project. Your participation will be assessed, along with attendance, as part of your overall grade. I suggest you check in with me during a conference if you want to know how you are doing or ways you might improve your engagement. A general rubric for that assessment:

90-100: very strong to excellent; thorough engagement in all aspects of course; exceeds expectations.

80-89: strong engagement in all aspects; meets expectations.

70-79: average to sufficient, room to improve engagement; below expectations.

60-69: weak to average; need to improve engagement in most areas; significantly below expectations

below 60: failing

Attendance Policy: Since participation counts in this course (and in being a good scholar, reader, writer), your attendance matters. Every student is granted up to two absences during the semester for whatever reason. Three or more absences (excused or unexcused) will begin to affect your final participation grade (approximately a half-grade per absence). Any student missing more than 6 classes during the semester should not expect to pass.  I am flexible and reasonable (was once a student, have kids, get sick, etc.)—so communicate with me regarding your attendance. But be aware that I consider it very important for a course such as this.

Technology Policy: Good participation requires a learning environment where attention and invention are possible. As you already know, I am interested in the inventiveness of writing technologies and will encourage you to explore them with me. Having a laptop or other technologies in class can be productive if you can use it to attend to our focus, but not if you are distracted easily by “the restless, grazing behavior of clicking and scrolling” (to cite Birkerts). Since such clicking distracts me, I will expect you to use technology thoughtfully. Here are my guidelines for thoughtful use:

1. No cell phones in class. I’m not interested in them; sorry. I recommend leaving it in your room or car or somewhere else, not on you. However, if that’s not possible, then the cell phone must be put away in a bag when you enter; it may not be left on the table/desk or anywhere visible. It must also be shut off.
2. No laptops out or open in class unless I have (in advance on the assignment page) invited you to use them. On days when a reading assignment is electronic (eg. a pdf) or we are workshopping a draft that you have submitted to Canvas, then I will invite laptop use. However, even on those days, the laptop will also be closed at times when we are not directly using them. For anyone who is in need of the use of a laptop for notes, rather than handwriting in a notebook, please come talk with me to make your case and make arrangements.
3. Notebook and Pen and Book/Text assigned for class that day must be out and ready for use. These are also technologies and we will use them every class as a basis for discussion and further reading and argumentation.

I will give a friendly reminder only once if there is a violation of any of these (cell phone away, put laptop away, get your book out). After that the participation grade will be affected and a conference will be advised.

Experimentation and Communication.

English and literary criticism—like the older term for our field, rhetoric—are inherently experimental and probabilistic; persuasion and argument and insight are possibly only on the condition that someone might disagree or remain in need of further persuasion. In order to experiment and to risk success (and failure)—something we need to do—we also need good information and feedback; we need to know where we are. This applies certainly to my obligation to you as your teacher: I plan to give you a range of feedback and information about your progress and learning. I will also ask for your feedback (don’t be alarmed) at various points in a class or a conference. I always want to know what questions you have, about the course as well as your learning, and will frequently ask you for your questions. A great way to demonstrate engagement and learning, especially with a difficult or challenging text or topic, is to ask a question about what one doesn’t understand. I value questions as a rich form of communication—in fact, many of our discussions will begin and end with exploring and updating the kinds of questions you have.

Another valuable resource for communication and experimentation: the Writing Center (106 Goldstein). We will at times make use of the WC’s talent and services as a class; I encourage you to do so individually as well, to discuss ideas, workshop a draft, follow up on a grammatical or rhetorical issue of interest to you and your progress as a writer, begin to map out ideas for your first book or screenplay. Enough to say, I wish I had a Writing Center when I was an undergraduate.

I encourage any student who has concerns or questions about learning differences, documented or not, to speak further with me as well as to consult Washington College’s Office of Academic Skills (second floor of the library). We can explore arrangements that will support your learning experience in the course.

A good scholar in English also works by being very mindful, which is to say, respectful of audience. As such, discussion in this course will follow the terms for respectful communication emphasized in Washington College’s Diversity Statement:

Washington College welcomes people of all backgrounds and beliefs who wish to participate in a diverse educational community. The College strives to be a place where all students, faculty, administrators, and staff are able to live, study, and work in an atmosphere free from bias and harassment.

The College encourages civil debate and the lively exchange of ideas in the belief that such exchanges promote understanding that will grow beyond simple tolerance of difference to embracing and celebrating the richness of diversity. Our graduates acquire knowledge and learn skills that help them thrive in a culturally diverse world. 

Academic Integrity.

Washington College has the following policy regarding academic integrity and plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined by the Honor Code as “willfully presenting the language, ideas, or thoughts of another person as one’s original work.”  Turning in someone else’s work as your own is obviously plagiarism.  Quoting or paraphrasing someone else’s words or ideas without properly citing your source is also plagiarism.  If you ever have any question at all about whether you are using a source correctly, ask me about it to make sure.  Submitting a paper for this class that contains all or part of a paper that you submitted in another class, without the permission of both professors involved, is also a violation of the honor code. A student found guilty of plagiarism may fail the assignment or the course, and may be referred to the Honor Board for further adjudication.  Whenever you hand in a paper for this course, you must include in your essay a statement that your work has been completed in compliance with the Honor Code.  Washington College has contracted with Turnitin.com, a web-based plagiarism prevention service. You will be submitting copies of your writing projects to Turnitin.com.

Integrity suggests wholeness; a synonym would be ecology. Your integrity affects the integrity of the whole learning environment here, in the class (where you are relying upon the response of your peers) and on campus. We will be talking further about the integrity of your writing and the ways that your writing can be inventive without being plagiarized. The point is that I take plagiarism seriously, but as such, also want you to learn and ask questions about it.

Assessment

I will be emphasizing a range of assessment techniques as a way to communicate with you and provide response to your work in the course, beyond simply assigning a grade. Individual assignments will have more specifics regarding expectations related to the grade. I encourage you to speak with me throughout the semester to enhance the feedback process and ask for clarification or elaboration. In terms of the final grade, it will be determined using the following categories (with approximate percentages of weight).

Reading Response [30%]

Further Reading and other responses to weekly reading

Writing/Seminar Project [50%]

Annotation, Abstract, Literature Review, Proposal

Participation [20%]