Welcome to your Fall 2020 Literature course with Robert Allen!
In this course, we’ll sample English literature of various mediums from various eras, from classic novels to modern films, all linked by the evolution of piratical characters in the arts. To better understand literature—how it works and what it means—we’ll also discuss a number of literary concepts and apply specific analytical tools from select literary theories.
We’ll divide the semester into three phases.
Phase One, Reading & Responding (Weeks 1-7)
The first phase involves reading a few influential pieces that will provide writers with essential context and specific points-of-reference for later viewing and discussion. Writers can find these course-related materials online, free of charge, through links on this page’s attached reading list. In the comment section below the reading list, I will offer a new instigating question each week that relates to the assigned reading. Each week, writers must either respond to the original question or to one of their classmates’ responses. We’re not looking for length in this comment section. Instead, we’re looking for wit and originality and insight. Feel free to think unconventionally and humorously—and even with academic irreverence. If writers like, they can toss out an idea simply for the sake of testing the reaction.
Phase Two, Screening & Discussing (Weeks 8-12)
The second phase involves watching three feature films, during optional on-campus screenings, with one brief intermission during each film for focused discussion. Attendance at each screening and discussion earns a writer 15 points. Writers who do not wish to attend a screening may still earn these points by writing ten short paragraphs that relate each of ten literary concepts (from a provided list) to the missed film, due before the end of Week 12—Saturday, November 7.
During Phase Two, writers will also consider and complete short proposals (200-300 words) for their final projects. These documents should explain each writer’s general plan and purpose for his or her own academic work. These proposals, if emailed to me at allenrob@easternflorida.edu before Saturday, November 7, will earn each writer 5 points based on a simple pass/fail scale.
I will also facilitate live group discussions (through the chat function found in my website’s lower right corner) during the first 30 minutes of each section’s scheduled class period—an optional opportunity for all students who want to engage in another element of synchronous and immediate interaction beyond the on-campus class meetings.
Phase Three, Writing and Revising (Weeks 13-16)
During Phase Three, writers will complete the project they proposed at the conclusion of Phase Two. These projects must fit into one of two categories. Writers may A) complete one piece (1,200 words) of thesis-driven literary analysis that considers or compares or contrasts any two of the creative works discussed in class, due before the end of Week 16. These papers need not include any sources other than the two creative works under the writer’s analysis. I will consider these papers on a 20-point gradient, organized into four 5-point categories:
1) Original and Accurate Content
2) Conceptual Clarity
3) Sound Grammar and Mechanics
4) MLA Style
Or writers may B) complete a creative piece that further builds on one of the academic literary themes discussed in class. These creative works may take the form of a hand-illustrated children’s story of at least 10 pages (or 20 pages for LIT2300), a one-act play with a 12-minute read time (or a 20-minute read-time for LIT2300), an audio recorded collection of four (eight for LIT2300) narrative folk songs, or a 1,500-word work of narrative folk history (3,000-word work for LIT2300) that unfolds the writer’s original treatment of a true piratical story about real figures.
I will also consider these pieces on a 20-point gradient, organized into four 5-point categories:
1) Presence and Expansion of Genre Themes
2) Use of Literary Devises
3) Originality of Plot/Concept/Characterization
4) Clarity/Continuity of Narrative
*
In short, this means that each writer’s grade will form through earning 100 possible points:
Final Paper: 20 points
Final Paper Proposal: 5 points
Screening and Discussion Participation: 3 x 15 = 45 points
Comment Section: 6 x 5 = 30 points
Office Hours and Attendance:
Please note that while students can, of course, email me at any time and on any day, I tend to review and respond to these messages during my office hours, 8:45 AM to 12:15 PM, Monday through Friday. I will also be happy to meet with any of my students, by appointment, at my office (Building 1, 124B) on the Titusville Campus.
Please also note that I will withdraw any students who falls out of correspondence with me for more than 28 days.
Additional College-wide Information
Religious Observations:
When the observance of a student’s religious holiday(s) interferes with attendance in class, class work assignments, examinations, or class activities, the student must notify the instructor in writing within the first week of class. Students are held responsible for material covered during their absence. The instructor should provide alternative arrangements for students to complete the work for the missed session. Students excused for religious observances will be expected to meet the class requirements for those days without undue delay. Students who believe they have been unreasonably denied educational benefits due to their religious beliefs or practices may seek redress through the student appeal procedure. [FS 1001.64, 1002.21, 1006.53] Nationally recognized religious holidays shall be acknowledged plus any significant day of religious observance as recognized by the highest governing body of that particular religious faith. Students may be required to provide information or proof the religious holiday if such holiday is not generally known.
Academic Dishonesty:
EFSC Policy: Any form of academic dishonesty is subject to the disciplinary actions set forth in the Student Code of Conduct. Cheating, plagiarism and any other misrepresentation of work are prohibited. Students who are found to be in violation of this standard may receive severe sanctions, including a failing grade in their respective course and depending on the circumstances, possible expulsion from Eastern Florida State College.
In general terms, plagiarism is the adoption or incorporation of another’s ideas without proper attribution of the source. It is more simply defined as taking the writings of another person or people and representing them to be one’s own. Please note that access to or obtaining information/copying assignments provided from sources like CHEGG, Course Hero, Accounting Tutor, or any other online applications that purport to offer the answers to exercises or instructor materials for courses, may be considered CHEATING, and any instances that can be substantiated will be treated as such.
To avoid plagiarism, you should always credit the sources used when writing as essay, research paper, or other assignment in accordance with the appropriate style manual or format required in your course. Confirm with your instructor the appropriate format to use.
Types of actions defined as plagiarism include but may not be limited to:
- Cutting and pasting to create a written document from a single or various sources.
- Citing a source with false or inaccurate information. (Bibliographical or URL).
- Quoting less than all the words copied or paraphrasing a source without proper citation or notation the document has been altered.
- Submitting papers, assignments, exams, or forums that were completed by someone other than yourself.
- Working in a group or otherwise colluding with other students to prepare and submit work without prior acknowledgment and approval from the instructor.
- Receiving or giving outside help without prior written faculty consent, this includes assistance from tutors, websites, or other online resources.
- Sharing assignments, exams, or discussions with other students.
- Selling or purchasing (or copying) papers, assignments, or exams from any website that buys or sells them and submitting them as your work in whole or in part.
- Using a quotation without proper quotation marks and citation.
- Preparing a draft for final paper for another student.
- Submitting a paper, assignment, quiz or exam that you submitted in a previous and/or concurrent class without requesting and receiving in writing prior permission from your instructor(s). This could also apply to “revising” papers, assignments, quizzes or exams that were previously submitted in any course.
- Copying a non-text material such as: image, audio, video, spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation, etc., without proper citation and reference.
- Altering any information on forms, electronic attachments or emails after the original has been submitted.
- Presenting statistics, facts, or ideas that are not your own, or is not common factual knowledge either by the general population, or commonly known within the particular discipline, without citation, even if you view them as common knowledge in your own educational background.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding plagiarism, ask your instructor or Associate Provost for assistance before a plagiarism problem arises. For more information about plagiarism and proper citations please visit the campus learning lab and/or writing center.
Sexual Misconduct:
Eastern Florida State College is committed to providing a safe and productive learning environment. Title IX and our school policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual Misconduct—in any form, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking—is prohibited at EFSC. Our school encourages anyone experiencing Sexual Misconduct to talk to someone about what happened, so they can get the support they need and our school can respond appropriately. For more information about your options, please visit easternflorida.edu/our-campuses/campus-security/titleix-sexual-misconduct. Our school is legally obligated to investigate reports of Sexual Misconduct, and therefore it cannot guarantee the confidentiality of a report, but it will consider a request for confidentiality and respect it to the extent possible. As an instructor, I am also required by our school to report incidents of Sexual Misconduct and thus cannot guarantee confidentiality. I must provide other EFSC officials with any relevant information reported to me.
Sail:
Faculty at EFSC are innovative and may utilize additional resources and technology (including recording devices) above and beyond the required course materials to enhance the instructional experience. EFSC strives to provide equitable access at the same academic and instructional level for all students and is committed to ensuring access for students with documented disabilities. A person with a disability may qualify for reasonable accommodations. SAIL (Student Access for Improved Learning) ensures that reasonable accommodations are provided for students with documented disabilities that significantly impact major life functions While personal services and personal aides cannot be provided, reasonable accommodations will be arranged to assist a student with a disability based on documentation provided by the student. For more information about accommodations and the resources available to students with disabilities, students are encouraged to go to the website or visit a SAIL office on any campus.
Additional Information:
Thoughts, Revised & Refined 