"What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an Angel in apprehension, how like a God: the beauty of the world; the paragon of Animals; and yet to me, what is this Quintessence of dust?"--Hamlet (from Shakespeare's Hamlet)

"When I thought of my Family, my Friends, my Countrymen, or human Race in general, I considered them as they really were, Yahoos in Shape and Disposition . . . . When I happened to behold the Reflection of my own Form in a Lake or Fountain, I turned away my Face in Horror and detestation of my self."--Jonathan Swift (from Gulliver's Travels)

You will learn (hopefully) that one does not think well in a vacuum--our ideas benefit immeasurably when exchanged with others in a series of critical dialogues. Preparing for and participating in class are vitally important to your success in this class, and therefore, your contribution to in-class discussions as well as your attendance record will be factored into your final grade. While some class time will be devoted to lecturing, an equal amount of time will be devoted to discussing various aspects of the readings and films and the ideas they raise, and I want to see students vigorously engaging with the readings. Allow me to also note here that if I sense that students are not keeping up with the reading or are coming to class unprepared to discuss the readings, I will institute weekly reading quizzes. Please don't make me resort to this.

Textbook Rental Services>

Abrams et al, eds. Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1. 8th ed. Norton, 2006. [If you have the 7th edition, published in 2005, that's perfectly all right.]

Approximately every other week, I will post discussion questions on the website syllabus that are related to the readings and films under discussion (you will find these on the Schedule of Events--see below), and it will be your responsibility to type responses to these questions and turn these in during the appropriate class period. These questions will be mainly interpretive in nature and will be graded on the requisite effort (or lack thereof) put forth, and not on whether or not the answers are "right" or "wrong." Speaking of which, in this class, there are never any right or wrong answers, only more or less interesting ones.

GROUP VIDEO PROJECT (10%)

LATE PAPER POLICY

I do not accept late papers. Period. If there is an extraordinarily good reason for needing an extension on a paper due date, let me know in advance, and we will work something out.

Attendance, promptness, and participation are essential to success in college courses. Faculty members recognize that unexpected occasions may arise when a student must be absent from class, but my general attendance policy is that if you are absent more than the number of required class sessions per week (in this case, that would be more than 1 session), I have the option of lowering your final course grade by one letter grade for each additional session missed. Furthermore, if absences become excessive (more than two weeks' worth of sessions), the SIUE Registrar, at my request, reserves the right to withdraw the student administratively. For more information on this, please consult the following: SIUE Class Attendance Policy. Failure to attend class in a responsible and committed manner may thus be grounds for failure in or administrative withdrawal from the course.

Any student found engaging in an act of academic dishonesty will be promptly dismissed from the course with a grade of "F." By "academic dishonesty," I mean PLAGIARISM (the act of representing the work of another as one's own), which the University considers a grave breach of intellectual integrity. All definitions, terminology, concepts, and patterns of organization taken from an outside source must be identified and given credit in any essay or exam you write--whether it be for the English department or any other department. For more detailed information on this, please consult the following: SIUE Plagiarism Policy.

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS

If you feel that you are entitled to special accommodations (for example, a volunteer note-taker, interpreter, special desk, or extra time on tests), please contact the Disability Support Services office in Rendleman Hall #1218 (Jane A. Floyd-Hendey, Director), and they will help you fill out the necessary paperwork.