Read this long and intimidating document. It outlines all course policies, and everyone in the class should be familiar with its contents. As they used to say on “Dragnet”: Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
N.B.: Please refer also to the "Course Policies" page of this web site for an even more excruciatingly detailed description of your responsibilities for this class.

Course Goals
This course is an introduction, not to literature, strictly speaking, but to the discipline of English. We’ll spend some time discussing what exactly that means, and what skills and concepts you’ll need in order to make your way through the undergraduate major.  While no one can anticipate all of the texts and assignments you’ll encounter in future English courses, this course should prepare you for many of them. 

Introduction to the English Major is the first in a four-course cluster (to be followed by English 220, 225, and 320) which is the “core” of our department’s major curriculum. It's a perpetual work-in-progress, and it will undoubtedly suffer from any number of shortcomings and weaknesses: faulty operating assumptions, wobbly organizing principles, unfortunate choices in reading selections, ill-conceived assignments. Please bear with me; you’ll have an opportunity at the end of the semester (and along the way) to provide feedback.

Specifically, this semester, we’ll consider the following questions, among others:

• What is literature? Why is there an academic discipline devoted largely (but not exclusively) to its study, and how did that discipline evolve?
• What research resources for our discipline are available in and through the library, and how do I use them?
• What exactly are we doing when we do “literary criticism”? What are the aims of literary criticism? How have those aims changed over time? Why should aspiring writers or teachers be concerned with teasing out a text’s meaning?
• What role does genre play in a text’s meaning?
• What is the relationship between a literary text and its larger historical and cultural contexts?

Required Materials/Resources
First and foremost, regular access to the course web site (accessible through the “courses” page of my website; the main URL is listed above). A good deal of the course material will be available on the website only, through the “Course Reader” page of this site (not Moodle or ONCORES). When prompted, enter the username and password revealed on the print copy of your syllabus (e-mail me if you've mislaid them). You’ll need the latest version of Adobe Reader for many of the files; campus computers are equipped with this software, but if you’re working from home and don’t have it, you can download and install it here. If you don’t have convenient access to the web at home, make plans to spend some time each week in a campus computer lab, reading and/or printing out copies of the readings for the coming week.

We'll also spend time with the following texts:

• J.D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye ($6.99 new). I've ordered the 1991 reissue from Little, Brown (available at the HSU bookstore), but you're free to use any edition of the text, including one you may already own or one purchased at an online or second-hand book store.
• Joseph Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. ($17.50 new). The bible for any self-respecting English major in matters of style and format, regardless of her chosen concentration. Read it, study it, refer to it—constantly. (And while much of the work you do for this class will indeed involve research, you should feel free to mentally remove “of Research Papers” from the title. Ambitious and/or well-to-do members of the class may also wish to purchase a reputable research handbook such as Wayne C. Booth, et al.’s The Craft of Research or Nancy L. Baker and Nancy Huling’s A Research Guide for Undergraduate Students, 6th Ed.)

Course Requirements/Major Assignments

Regular monitoring of the Course Updates page: Any homework assignment for the next class session will be posted on the “updates” page of the class web site, normally by 8:00 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you have to miss a class, you’re expected to log on and be prepared for the next one, just the same. Announcements and minor schedule changes will be posted to the “updates” page, as well, though I’ll also announce any changes to the course calendar in class and I’ll certainly consult with you before making any radical changes. Just the same, you should check the updates page regularly in case you missed an announcement or forgot to note it in your own schedule.

Informal writing assignments: eight (8) times in the semester I’ll make very informal writing assignments that will ask you to kick around some ideas about the critical issues/problems/puzzles currently under discussion in class. These assignments must be typed (otherwise some folks will use class time to write them out, as I've learned from past experience); if for some reason you must handwrite an assignment (computer malfunction, etc.), you’ll have to present it to me at the start of class. These will be graded on a CR/NC basis. These are not expected to be formal essays in any sense, but are more in the spirit of a math problem set—a place where you think on paper. All I ask is that your train of thought be reasonably coherent; vague and incomprehensible mumbling and painfully glib or superficial thinking will not be awarded credit. If you’ve been keeping up with the work all along you should be able to write an acceptable assignment in thirty minutes or so.

These assignments are due at the end of the indicated class session and must be placed in my hand; under no circumstances will I accept them after I leave the classroom. If you leave them in my mailbox or slip them under my office door; they’ll be returned unread. This is true even if you must miss a class when an assignment is due, or if you did it but left it on your desk at home. As you all know by now, life is unfair.

The overall grade for these assignments will be based strictly on the number you submit: 7 or more assignments will earn an “A”; 6 will earn a “B”; 5 will earn a “C”; 4 will earn a “D.” You’ll receive no credit if you hand in any fewer. (As an aside: if you know you have trouble piping up in class discussions, these informal assignments are another good way to keep me apprised of your intellectual progress in the class.)

Projects (see the calendar below for due dates, and the “major assignments” section of the class website for details as the projects are introduced): During the semester three (3) informal projects will be due. These are in the spirit of homework assignments, but more elaborate; two will involve additional outside research. You’ll have several days to complete each assignment, and these will certainly be collected and graded.

• The “Lycidas” Project (research/collaborative)
• The Ballad Project (creative)
• The Catcher in the Rye Project (research/critical)

The Final Project: A final research/analytical paper will be due at the end of the semester in lieu of a final exam. This project will ask you to think about a text in light of the various critical issues we’ve discussed during the semester. We’ll spend the last several weeks of the semester discussing critical essays as you work on this assignment; you’ll also share a preliminary draft of your paper with me and several of your peers for feedback and advice (the draft will factor into the final grade for the project; see the assignment description for more details).

Attendance: It’s important in a discussion- and workshop-oriented course that everyone attend regularly, so even though many people understandably resent such apparent condescension, I’ll pass around an attendance sheet at the beginning of each session, and you should make sure you’ve signed in. You’re entitled to miss four (4) classes to cover all the contingencies of life—no explanations, no apologies, no penalties (though a courtesy call is always welcome, and it is up to you to find out what you missed and/or what’s expected of you for the next meeting). Miss more than four, and your final grade will start to suffer; the more you miss, the more it’ll hurt. If you’re gone more than six times (that’s 20% of the course!), I’ll probably encourage you to withdraw. Routine absences should not include sessions when major assignments are due.

Please make every effort to get to class on time, and bear in mind that it’s especially bad form to arrive late on a day when a major assignment is due.

Grading
Here’s where the oppressive substructure of my apparently benign classroom shows through. I try to grade by the book, which was written before the days of rampant grade inflation: “A” is reserved for truly stunning, outstanding work; “B” work goes solidly beyond minimal expectations for basic competency; and “C” is “standard” and “normal”—i.e., it meets the basic course requirements in every way. “D” is worthy of credit, but barely, and I guess we all know what “F” means. I don’t expect to give any incompletes. Here’s how your final course grade will break down:

• Final Paper: 30%
• “Projects”: 30% (10% each)
• Informal Written Assignments: 30%
• Participation, punctuality, all-around good citizenship: 10%

Miscellany
Disabilities: Please let me know of any documented disabilities and recommended accommodations that would promote your success in this class.

Plagiarism: I take academic dishonesty very seriously. Passing off someone else's work or ideas as your own will result—at the very least—in a failing grade for the course. The university definition of and policies regarding academic dishonesty can be found in the HSU catalog. Please be aware that plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty can result in expulsion from the University.

Communicating: I’ll read and respond to everything you hand in and put a grade on your formal written work, and I’ll happily meet with you at any time to talk about your progress and prospects. If a personal disaster befalls you in the course of the semester—your home burns down, your computer crashes, a marauding horde carries off your livestock—please let me know! I can direct you to campus resources that may help; at the very least, we can figure out a plan to help you make it through the semester successfully. As for more routine problems: if you’re getting behind in the class, feeling as though you’re not “getting” something, or just having an intangible problem either mild or severe, don’t sit around fretting and cowering: come and talk to me without delay.

If you’re not able to make my regular office hours, that doesn’t mean we can’t meet. I’m happy to set up appointments at other times—just stop me after class or send me an email if you’d like to talk one-on-one.

Class listserv: While I generally post important announcements on the “updates” page, I may occasionally issue announcements, afterthoughts, and so on via an electronic mailing list, so get in the habit of checking your e-mail regularly. You, too, are welcome to use this mailing list to pose questions or to carry on conversations with the rest of class during any of the 165 hours per week that we don’t occupy the same room. Just send a message to this e-mail address: hsu-engl120-2@redwood.humboldt.edu (that’s ee-en-gee-el-hyphen-120-hyphen-numeral-two)

CALENDAR
(Danger! All quantities approximate! Subject to explosive change!)