The one Site for All my Students
The Winsome Scholar is proudly powered by
WordPress
Glad you made it to the site okay. Today was a bit of a whirlwind, but we have a lot to do.
Homework:
To find the latest information on your class on this site, go to “Categories†above, then “Courses.â€
Some of you asked about materials for my classes, which I seem to have overlooked in the syllabus. Here’s what you’ll always need:
As always, send me an email if you or your parents have any questions.
Thanks for the input, guys. I’ve placed a copy of the syllabus on WinsomeWiki, so I can edit it as needed throughout the semester, because plans always change.
Ellen and Okie—the (relatively) modern works you mentioned would be great for World Literature and Brit Lit, as well as the connections we’ll make to our primary texts. Keep ‘em coming! I’m trying to keep our required reading sources before 1000CE, though that may change as the semester progresses.
Let me know what you think.
I’ll port more syllabi as they become publishable.
How’s summer going? I had planned on updating throughout, but things have been busy. If any of you are still checking, drop me a comment below. Might give me motivation to share the coolness I come across.
So, I’ve been working on the syllabus for the Great Stories class I’ll be teaching in the fall, and thought I’d ask for your input. What stories from religious texts, fairy tales, myths, fables, and such should we read? What were the stories you loved as a child, or only recently discovered? Basically, what stories should every person know?
This will be a chance for us to increase our cultural capital, and better understand Western life.
My list:
If you need to get in contact with me, please send an email.
If you need to know what we did in class, check this blog.
The primary objective of this course is to show you that the things you do every day—be it reading, watching television, listening to music, drawing, arguing, watching movies, sleeping can be applied to how you write. I’m just going to show you how. If you already know how, I’m going to show you how to do it better; if you already know how to do it perfectly, I’ll let you write our lesson plans. Really.
During the next two semesters we will be studying works by major British authors and their impact on modern literature and culture. This means that we will be folding the chronology of Brit Lit upon itself—we will look at Nick Hornby’s work alongside Donne’s poetry; punk music alongside classic nonfiction texts and dystopian novels (Brave New World, anyone?); Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Stoppard’s postmodern play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Brooks’s Young Frankenstein (well, maybe…) and anything else we can mash together.
This course is a survey of British Literature from the present day to the Renaissance, but as you can see from the above outline, it will not be chronological. This presents us with a number of advantages (stronger understanding of intertextuality and impact, immediate understanding of the contemporary relevance of canonical texts, not being stuck in the Middle Ages for an entire “unit”…), as well as one major disadvantage (temporal connections and movements can be de-emphasized). Fear not, noble students: In order to gain an understanding of why Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she did, or why The Clash became popular when they did, we will talk about what was going on in Great Britain when each piece was penned.
In addition to all of this, we will be writing. Often. This will give you the chance to improve your communication skills and interact with the consumables on a deeper level. We will be writing some form of essay once every other week.
You will come away from this course with a solid understanding of British culture and consumables, and a solid grasp on research/writing mechanics. If that’s not enough, you will also get all of those Brit Lit allusions in Family Guy and The Simpsons (e.g. Brian: "Does a dog not feel? If you scratch us do our legs not kick?" or even better, from the episode "The King is Dead," when a group of monkeys are writing Shakespeare: "No, they did that on last week’s Marlowe").
It’s fake because we will never get to all of these works, because we will be sidetracked often, because we will spend lots of time on one section because we really get into it, because we may find better things to read, and because we will not go in this order. You have been warned. But we will listen to The Clash. I’m sorry to have to put my foot down, but The Clash will be listened to and thoroughly enjoyed. Thoroughly. Enjoyed.
The other reason this is a fake reading list is that I am not sure what we should do with it. I have plenty of lessons planned, and a timeline for us to learn the nuts and bolts of writing, but it matters little what we write about. So, I have two guidelines for this section: We all read together, and we write some papers. Oh, and The Clash thing. Other than that, I’m open. Bring stuff in for us all to read (Clean. So help me if it isn’t clean!), watch, draw, listen to, whatever. We will work, but I don’t know what we will be consuming at any one time. Like a little Cracker Jack prize for your junior year. Only you’ll be tested over it. Surprise!
So here it is. If I have left something off, spelled something wrong, given a book the wrong author, etc., let me know. I won’t actually change it, but it would be good to know for the future.
We will begin with this section, but come back to it throughout the year.
| The Beatles: Abbey Road, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band… | The Rolling Stones |
| The Who’s Tommy | John Lennon (solo) |
| The Clash: London Calling, Black Market Clash | Led Zeppelin |
| Nick Drake | The Smiths |
| Radiohead OK Computer | Coldplay Viva la Vita |
| Portishead Dummy |
| A.E. Housman’s "To an Athlete Dying Young" | Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s "Ulysses" |
| Dylan Thomas | John Donne |
| Lewis Carroll’s "Jabberwocky" | Rupert Brooke’s "The Soldier" |
| Siegfried Sassoon’s "Dreamers" | Stevie Smith’s "Not Waving but Drowning" |
| Wilfred Owen’s "Dulce et Decorum Est" | Those Big Romantic Six: Coleridge, Keats, Wordsworth, Byron, Blake, Shelley for flava |
| W.H. Auden | T.S. Eliot |
| Winston Churchill "Be Ye Men of Valor" |
We will begin our reading journals at this point Your journal does not have to be fancy, but I suggest purchasing one with writing space larger than your hand. Carry it with you always; treat it like a friend. You should begin reflecting on the works in your writing—asking questions of the poems, recording personal reactions, making connections with other works. This is a habit you should get into not only because it will make you a better writer (which it will), but it will allow you to talk to your friends and peers more intelligently about things you consume and become more aware of the world around you.
We will make a smooth transition from Donne’s “Meditation #17” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “I am a Rock” (not British, but thematically applicable) into About a Boy by Nick Hornby. You are responsible for purchasing this. If you have trouble making the purchase, let me know as soon as possible and I will take care of it.
About a Boy is a novel about one immature man who meets a 12-year old who is going on 30. In coming together, they learn from one another and grow because of it. In this section, we’ll be discussing maturity, “coolness,” family, friends, and identity. This will be our first major work of length, and there are one or two sections with questionable language, so now is as good a time as any to make the
We will be discussing some difficult and sometimes controversial topics in this class. That being said, if you have an objection to anything being presented please do not hesitate to let me know. Talk it over with your parents, ask what they think. I will make the necessary changes to the assignment or provide an alternative work for you to read. The change will be subtle, and no one will be the wiser. If you prefer not to come to me in person (though I would appreciate that), just email me. No worries.
To shake things up a bit, and give you some control over the next novel you read, we will be covering Victorian/Edwardian literature in groups. Here’s the list:
Charles Dickens’s The Adventures of Oliver Twist (1839)
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1847)
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847)
George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss (1860)
Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861)
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871)
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883)
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey (1890)
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine (1895)
H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897)—Flip through this before you choose. It’s better than the movies, but not the same.
H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds ( 1898)
Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1902)—More modernist than Victorian, but worth including.
Back to classroom reading. If you’ve read Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, excellent—we’re reading it again. There is so much to discuss with this work that we could devote an entire session to it. Perhaps we will…
This round will be devoted to Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966) and Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1601). Both works are masterfully written, and together make an interesting juxtaposition of English Renaissance and Modern cultures.
George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
Kenzaburo Oe’s Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids
Anthony Burgess’s Clockwork Orange
Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta
Punk music
Canterbury Tales, "The Wife of Bath’s Tale" (around 1390)
Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667)
Jonathan Swift’s “Modest Proposal” (1729) and Gulliver’s Travels (1726)
Mary Willstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
This could also be called “The Fine Print,” but it is important so I’m keeping it readable. No Charlie and the Chocolate Factory surprise clauses here.
If you plagiarize, you will fail. There will be no slapping of hands, no talks in the hall. I will certainly give any suspected plagiarist a chance to explain, but I do not see any reason for a student to represent another’s work as his or her own. So, you may be asking yourself, what does he think plagiarism is, exactly? I’m glad you asked.
Plagiarism is taking another’s ideas, words, images, term paper, etc and putting your name on it, without saying, “Hey, this section is by so-and-so.” Quoting from Shakespeare in a paper is not plagiarism as long as you include his name in a citation or works cited page. (We will discuss MLA formatting later in the year.) If you read someone else’s paper, website, book, or the like, and re-write or paraphrase the ideas without telling your reader where you got the idea, that is plagiarism. We will go over plagiarism in more detail later, but the gist of this section is: Do your own work. If you get information or ideas from another source, give them credit. Simple as that. If you have any questions or concerns that a part of your paper might be plagiarized inadvertently, ask me. No one is going to get in trouble for it before the paper is turned in. Again, ask and I will help.
I will print grade checks often, so there should be no problem with anyone wondering where they are in my class. If you really must know, come by right before school (I get to school at seven every morning) and I’ll tell you your grade.
A large portion of your grade will be based on your participation in class discussions. It is important that you all become comfortable speaking/sharing in class—ideas, insights, things you are currently reading, your best British accent, that sort of thing. The remainder of your semester grade will be divided between various projects, papers, and your final(s). We will work out the percentages for each assignment. I am willing to change any of this if you guys can give me a good reason to do so.
Because this is a discussion-heavy class, attendance is very important. If you have more than five unexcused absences (that’s all year, not per semester), I will reduce your grade one letter. All assignments are due the day you get back.
[It’s still funny.]
If you need to get in contact with me, please shoot an email, or come by my room before school. I’m here at 7:00 every day.
If you need to know what we did in class, check this blog.
The primary focus of this course will be the active study and evaluation of rhetorical devices in several canonical works: Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason—Begin this as soon as possible; his discourse on ethics (particularly the categorical imperative) can seem daunting at first, but his point will be clear after a hundred pages or so. This is an excellent exercise for understanding proper logical arguments. In addition to Kant, we will deconstruct Plato’s The Republic and Crito with the goal of tracing the various rhetorical devices to an early source. For reference, our four textbooks will be George Kennedy’s Classical Rhetoric and its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times, Thomas O. Sloane’s Encyclopedia of Rhetoric (Oxford University Press, 2001), Heinrich Lausberg’s Handbook of Literary Rhetoric: A Foundation for Literary Study (2nd ed. 1973), and Winifred Bryan Horner’s The Present State of Scholarship in Historical and Contemporary Rhetoric (University of Missouri Press, 1983).
For universities around the country, the Advanced Placement exam results have become one of the most important signs of an excellent student.
Okay, okay, not really. Relax. There will be no Kant in my classroom. Anyone caught with Kant on his or her person will be sternly glared at—perhaps with some head-shaking and mumbling about the current state of high schoolers. In reality, this class is about arguments: good ones, bad ones, and why one is one and the other the other. (Many rhetorical sources say that repetition not only makes a statement more memorable, but it gives it a good rhythm, a certain momentum. Did it work? Eh? More on this later.) Oh, and I swiped that fake book list from Wikipedia; more later (we have all year…) on why this was doubly terrible. We don’t even have a textbook.
We all argue. Whether we argue that London Calling was the greatest punk album ever, or that a socialized medical system in the US is a good idea, we are making a statement, presenting evidence, and answering any appropriate counterargument. This course will build on this daily habit while providing us all with a neat vocabulary of words like “litote†(Rhymes with “My goatee.†E.g.: “That kid’s no Einsteinâ€) and “syllogism†(Classic example: All men are mortal. Aristotle was a man. Therefore, Aristotle was mortal). We will discuss this further as we begin our readings (later).
This is not a literature course, but we will be reading constantly. When I say “reading†I mean reading short essays, articles, journals, magazines, television, music, poetry, cartoons, advertisements, speeches, movies, and plays. Well, “reading†is not the right verb for most of those, so feel free to fill in your own as you see fit. I use “consume,†though it holds a connotation of throwing away after use. I try to ignore that.
This course differs from other English classes in that we are concerned with the structure of argument (how an argument is presented, persuasiveness, etc.), instead of literary value. Take Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a quick example: Instead of discussing possible motivations for Viktor’s desire to create life, or the symbolism behind the Gothic weather, we delve into what Shelley could be arguing regarding possible repercussions of the industrial revolution. This used to be called Rhetoric. It was deemed vital for centuries, but it has waned in popularity since the sixties. It is only within the last few years that the College Board has decided that the AP English Lang and AP English Lit classes should not be the same thing.
If nothing else, by the end of this course you will never look at a commercial the same way again; I promise you will be better for it.
school(1) “place of instruction,†O.E. scol. from L. schola, from Gk. skhole “school, lecture, discussion,†also “leisure, spare time,†originally “a holding back, a keeping clear, [?!] †from skhein “to get†+ -ole by analogy with bole “a throw,” stole “outfit,†etc. The original notion is “leisure,†which passed to “otiose discussion,†then “place for such.â€
[First assignment, look up “otiose†and think of a class that fits this description.]
This, unfortunately, seems to be the state of affairs in most classrooms. But, this is not how we do things at TSAS. I recognize that I do not hold all the knowledge in my classroom (see “holding backâ€). We are going through this learning process together. While I will lecture at times, the dominant mode of learning in my classroom is discussion. We are not only learning about how to analyze arguments and persuasions; we are learning how to put this knowledge into practice through discussion and debate.
The following are my expectations for myself in teaching this class:
· As a teacher, I promise to never “hold†information as if it were something to pass out when you are ready. This is a good trick for teachers working from a textbook’s Teacher’s Edition, but as I said before, we have no textbook. Houghton Mifflin does not plan our activities (though we might be more organized if they did); we do.
· As a teacher, I understand that you (my students) will have insights and ideas that may be different from mine. This is a good thing.
· As a teacher, I will give you access to all of the resources at my disposal. This includes my own learning, books, websites, cool articles, movies, music, answer keys, examples from previous years, and anything else I come across.
· As a teacher, I will push you to work harder than you think possible. I do this to show you what you are capable of if given the chance and motivation.
· As a teacher, I will not “hold back†when grading your written work or when discussing issues in class. To do so would be patronizing and not conducive to learning.
We will discuss your expectations of one another on the first day of class.
We will begin with a discussion of the three basic rhetorical modes of argument:
· Ethos
· Logos
· Pathos
Broken down:
· Tone
· Diction
· Imagery/Detail
· Language
· Syntax
You should bring in two articles/essays/works of art/books/etc. each week (every Tuesday and Thursday, even if I forget to remind you) with an analysis of the argument presented for each. We will work through several at the beginning, and I’ll bring examples. They do not need to be typed, but each must contain the following:
1. Your name and date at the top. (This is logistical; I cannot give you credit if I do not know it is yours.)
2. MLA citation of the work.
3. Author, name of article/work, and name of periodical (if you pulled it from a magazine or journal) in the first paragraph.
4. Short (single sentence) explanation of which rhetorical devices the author uses and whether the work is persuasive.
5. One paragraph outlining (with examples) how the author uses these rhetorical devices.
6. One paragraph explaining why the article is or is not persuasive.
This may seem like a lot to do, but once you start writing them it will become second nature. We will discuss these articles in class, so pick articles that argue a point (this is important; many newspaper articles merely report on a topic, so check the Opinion or Editorial pages for arguments) and come prepared to discuss. If you have trouble finding something to bring to class, check out this blog. I have set up an RSS feed for articles that I think are worth reading. Not all argue a point—some I just think are cool. Snag one, write an analysis, and enjoy class knowing you came prepared. It’s a good thing.
The other days will be devoted to pursuing whatever topic we deem fit for class-wide interest. We will cover the Civil Rights movement in the U.S., the impact of the media on society, the “green†movement, the presidential elections, drug problems (or perceived problems) in our society, philosophies, and any social problems we feel the urge to discuss. Note I’m using the first-person plural: Please come to me if you have an idea for a project or discussion.
By this time we will begin preparing for the AP test. I will introduce the analysis, synthesis, and argumentative essays, and the multiple choice sections. We will start out slowly, with partial sections each week, moving up to a full exam by the end of the year.
We will choose our readings as the class progresses, (check the blog for updates) but here is a list of authors to get us started:
Maya Angelou, Augusten Burroughs, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Frederick Douglass, Helen Keller, Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez, David Sedaris, Richard Wright
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Barbara Tuchman
Gloria Anzaldua, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Joyce Carol Oates, Cornel West
Margaret Atwood, James Baldwin, Joan Didion, Paul Fussell, Edward Hoagland, Zora Neale Hurston, Jamaica Kincaid, Nancy Mairs, N. Scott Momaday, Montaigne, Tillie Olsen, George Orwell, Cynthia Ozick, Adrienne Rich, Scott Russell Sanders, Richard SeIzer, Shelby Steele, Henry David Thoreau, John Updike, Alice Walker, Eudora Welty, E. B. White, Terry Tempest Williams, Virginia Woolf
Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jonathan Swift, Gore Vidal
Rachel Carson, Annie Dillard, Loren Eiseley, Stephen Jay Gould, Barry Lopez, Lewis Thomas
Thrice/The Artist in the Ambulance, Gatsby’s American Dream/Gatsby’s American Dream, Ben Harper/Fight for Your Mind and Both Sides of the Gun, John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band/The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Green Day/American Idiot, The Flaming Lips/At War With the Mystics, The Decemberists/All, Sly & the Family Stone/All, The Beatles/All after Help!, The Rolling Stones/All, The Clash/London Calling, Janis Ian/Between the Lines, Kaki King/Until We Felt Red, Damian Marley/Welcome to Jamrock, Bob Marley/Africa Unite, and, of course, Alanis Morisette/â€Ironic.†That got out of hand. [Actually, I stole this list from last year. There are many more to cover, and we didn’t get to all of them. The best suggestions came from the students, do speak up!]
Hotel Rwanda, Fahrenheit 451, Fast Food Nation, SiCKO, MaxedOut
This could also be called “The Fine Print,†but it is important, so I’m keeping it readable. No Charlie and the Chocolate Factory surprise clauses here.
If you plagiarize, you will fail. There will be no slapping of hands, no talks in the hall. I will certainly give any suspected plagiarist a chance to explain, but I do not see any reason for a student to represent another’s work as his or her own. “So,†you may be asking yourself, “what does he think plagiarism is, exactly?†I’m glad you asked.
Plagiarism is taking another’s ideas, words, images, term paper, etc. and putting your name on it without saying, “Hey, this section is by so-and-so.†Quoting from Shakespeare in a paper is not plagiarism as long as you include his name in a citation or works cited page. (We will discuss MLA formatting later in the year.) If you read someone else’s paper, website, book, or the like, and re-write or paraphrase the ideas without telling your reader where you got the idea, that is plagiarism. We will go over plagiarism in more detail later, but the gist of this section is: Do your own work. If you get information or ideas from another source, give due credit. Simple as that. If you have any questions or concerns that a part of your paper might be inadvertently plagiarized, ask me. No one is going to get in trouble for it before the paper is turned in. Again, ask and I will help.
This course is taught as if it were a college seminar, but we have more than two grades (this is a good thing; I promise). As a college course, there will be topics discussed that you may be uncomfortable with or language in the readings that you may not approve of. That being said, I ask that each of you keep an open mind. The pieces we read are chosen for a reason, and some of the language or topics may be controversial. If we don’t think the language is appropriate for a piece, we will discuss it. Everything is important. That being said, if you have a serious objection to anything being presented please do not hesitate to let me know. I will try to make the necessary changes to the assignment, or provide an alternative work for the class to read. The change will be subtle, and no one will be the wiser. If you prefer not to come to me in person (though I would appreciate that), just email me. No worries.
Late work should not be a problem, as you are considered college students during this class, and college students never turn anything in late. Well, maybe they do. If you realize that you will not be able to turn in an assignment on time, you must come see me at least one day before it is due. If you give me a good reason, I will be happy to give you an extension. If you come to me the day it is due, you had better have an excellent reason. I will probably not allow the extension, but you are welcome to try.
All unopened merchandise may be returned within 30 days of purchase with original receipt for a full refund. Broken, damaged, or otherwise altered merchandise will not be refunded. The purchase of software, books, music, clothing, or bread is considered final and products may not be returned.
[Copy edit c/o Mr. E]