ENGLISH 221--POPULAR
FICTION: TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE LITERATURE
Winter 2006
Instructor: Michael Meyer Office:
R 230 F
Phone: 564-2537 Email: mmeyer@bcc.ctc.edu
Office Hours:
11:30-12:30 & appt.
Texts:
The
Best American Travel
Bones
of the Master, George
Crane
The
Violet Shyness of Their Eyes, Barbara Scot
Catfish
and Mandala, Andrew
Pham
A
Country Year, Sue
Hubbell
Course Outcomes:
Demonstrate an awareness
of varying points of view within travel American literature.
Identify major themes
and ideas.
Recognize how style
relates to content.
Apply analytical process
to literary works.
Apply writing skills to
analyzing literature.
Course Requirements:
Seminar Papers 50%
Two Exams (2x20) 40%
Participation & Attendance 10%
TOTAL 100
%
Scale: A =100-90; B =
89-80; C = 79-70; D = 69-60; F = 59-
For each work assigned,
you will write (a) seminar paper(s).
These papers must be typed (computer generated) and should be about one
page long single-spaced. Papers are due
the first day of story discussion. You
might think of this as interacting with the text, as a dialogue between you and
what is on the page. You write comments,
questions, responses, arguments, etc. These papers are not overviews or
summaries; they are not reading notes or outlines. Nor are they diary entries; a diary is about
you, while a response paper is mainly about the text and your interaction with
it--the emphasis is on the text. These papers will help prepare you for class
discussions and will also be useful in preparing for exams. Late seminar papers will not be accepted. Two
(one the first half of the quarter and one the second half of the quarter)
seminar papers will be more formal response and will be from 2-3 pages long.
Small groups will be
assigned specific book seminars and will be responsible for the activities on
these class days.
The mid-term and final
exams will evaluate your knowledge of the literature and your ability to
analyze and synthesize. A review session
prior to the exams will familiarize you with the nature of the exam.