On-line Course Syllabus
ENC 1102.1719
Fall 1999

• Course Description and Purpose
  Even though the title of ENC 1102 is "Writing About Literature," the course focuses on developing students' abilities to read, write, and think critically. Prewriting, writing, and revising are the main concerns of the course, with attention to punctuation, grammar, and correct usage of "college English." The course is more concerned with writing than with literature itself. We will use literature and reactions to it as sources of ideas to write about -- especially concerning literature's relation to the "outside," "non-literary" practical world. We will learn and employ various literary terms and concepts -- specifically, traditional explication de text, Reader-Response, Marxist, and Feminist critiques -- as tools to discuss literature.
  Note: I assume that students enrolled in ENC 1102 have passed ENC 1101 or an equivalent course, or have otherwise displayed sufficient proficiency to enter ENC 1102. Therefore, I expect students already to have a grasp of composition basics: thesis, paragraph, elementary grammar, etc. We will attend to these items throughout the semester, but only as necessary.
• Texts and Materials
  Writing: A Concise Handbook, Heffernan (available at Wild Iris Books on University Avenue)
  course packet(s -- possibly 2) (available at Wild Iris Books on University Avenue)
  Antigone, Sophocles (available at Wild Iris Books on University Avenue)
  The Woman Warrior, Hong Kingston (available at Wild Iris Books on University Avenue)
  also various handouts, and/or materials on Webluis reserve
  (strongly suggested) an affordable recent COLLEGE dictionary no "happy family" dictionaries!)
  (strongly suggested) an affordable recent thesaurus

• As stated above, this syllabus is deliberately brief to be flexible enough to meet the unpredictable needs of students, while still providing sufficient information about the course.IT IS THE STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW WHEN SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE, AND TO TURN THEM IN ON TIME. STUDENTS SHOULD ALSO BE PREPARED FOR EACH CLASS SESSION, WITH ASSIGNED READINGS READ AND NOTES TAKEN.
• To ensure that you do not miss assignments or notes given in class (due to an illness or other absence) I advise you to familiarize yourself with at least two other students -- trade 'phone numbers so that you have TWO people to contact. You should not have to contact me for assignments -- in fact, I should be the last person you contact for any such information, and only as a last resort. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN ASSIGNMENTS AND NOTES.