Winger ENGL1003T, Summer 2017

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, TRENT UNIVERSITY @ UOIT, Summer 2017

ENGL 1003T/H: Revolution!

Days: Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:10 to 4pm
Location: University Building A1, UA2240 (UOIT)

Instructor: Dr. Rob Winger Administrative Assistant, Dept. of English:
Office: 120 Wallis Hall, Traill College; Patricia Heffernan
Office hours: by appointment only Office: Wallis Hall 134, Traill College
E-mail: robwinger@trentu.ca Phone: (705) 748-1011 ext. 7733
Email: pheffernan@trentu.ca

About the Course:

Revolution is variously defined as a) a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of
thinking and behaving, b) the overthrow of a government by those who are
governed, and c) rotation: a single complete turn. This course looks at how authors
create and respond to the revolutions that turn our world upside down and then,
sometimes, back around again.

Required Texts:
English 1003 Online Readings (online; see Anticipated Reading Schedule)

Margaret Atwood. Oryx and Crake (2003)
Dionne Brand. In Another Place, Not Here (1996)
Allen Ginsberg. Howl and Other Poems (1956)
Alan Moore. V for Vendetta (1988)
*The Wachowski Brothers, Dirs. The Matrix (1999) film
Jeanette Winterson. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985)

* Available for rent/purchase on iTunes.

Course Format
Each of our meetings will involve an interactive, three-hour lecture, consisting not
only of formal lecture time, but also informal discussions, tips on writing, and group
activities, depending on the needs and interests of our group. Attendance and
participation in both halves will be mandatory. All students are expected to read all
materials in advance of their attendance, and will lose grades accordingly.

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Learning Objectives and Expectations

This writing-attentive course relies on critical engagement with the texts we

examine, whether discussing them in class or writing about them for assignments.
All evaluation is based on the depth and clarity of student engagement with the texts
and ideas we talk about in class, as demonstrated by a students ability to create and
defend a critical argument. By the end of the course, students are expected to
accomplish the following:

Appreciation of language, along with an understanding of the value of literary

study as a way of approaching and interpreting the world.

Familiarity with critical practice, including knowledge of literary terms.

Development of professional work habits and the ability to complete tasks.

Development of critical and analytical reading skills, and the ability to apply those
skills in evaluating, responding to, and creating a range of texts.

An understanding of rhetoric, constructive debate, and respectful disagreement.

Familiarity with the cultural and aesthetic history of English literature and the
English language.

Confidence in ones ability to express an opinion clearly and effectively.

We will devote class time to the development of writing and critical thinking skills
throughout the semester. Students are therefore expected to attend all classes,
having already read and reflected upon assigned materials on the syllabus.

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EVALUATION AND ASSIGNMENTS

All assignments for this course must be submitted online via SafeAssign on the dates
that they are due. For best results, Trents IT gurus recommend using either Firefox or
Google Chrome. All assignments should be uploaded in a recognizable format (such as
.doc, .pdf., etc.); once youve uploaded it, please return to the assignment area and re-
open your submission to ensure its readable and complete. You cant upload more
than once, so be sure all is correct before hitting the submit button.

Late assignments will lose 5% per calendar day (including weekends) unless
accompanied by a certified Doctors note or a well-argued, exceptional explanation
of circumstances beyond the students control. Any assignment submitted even a few
minutes after the deadline will be considered one day late. This means that if you
upload your essay two days late, you automatically lose 10%! Please plan ahead to
avoid this.

ANY ASSIGNMENT SUBMITTED MORE THAN 3 DAYS LATE will not be graded and
automatically receive a mark of zero; all plagiarized assignments will also receive
automatic marks of zero. All formal writing in the course should follow conventional
MLA format.

All assignments have strict word limits, and you will lose marks according to
how much you go over these limits. Thus, for example, if the limit is 1000 words
and you submit an essay that is 1500 words, you have exceeded the word limit by
50% and will automatically lose 50%. If your essay is 1095 words, we will round up
to a 10% violation and you will lose 10%. To avoid this, stick to the limits!

The final grade for the course will be calculated based on the following criteria:

Assignment Length Value Due Dates

Attendance and Participation 20%
Reading Quizzes 6 (5 count) 10% May 10, 15, 17, 31; June 7, 12
Essay One 1000 words 20% May 17
Essay Two 1500 words 25% June 12
Final Examination 3 hours 25% June 21-23

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Attendance and Participation (ongoing)

Students are expected to attend all classes and seminars, having fully read and
reflected upon the materials. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE MATERIALS, YOU WILL
BE UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR CLASSES, which will ask you to apply your
readings to conversations, presentations, and dialogues with other students. The
ideas, arguments and debates students bring to our group will define its success,
and student participation is therefore crucial. If you cannot attend a session, please
inform me of your absence before class.


Six Reading Quizzes (May 10, 15, 17, 31; June 7, 12)
Six reading quizzes will be given in class to test your basic knowledge of the
contents of assigned readings. Absence from class will result in a mark of zero. The
top five Quiz marks will be counted to calculate your final mark for the Quizzes.
Tests may include multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, or short answers.


Essay 1 and Essay 2 (May 17 and June 12)
These assignments should be treated as opportunities to create in-depth,
argumentative analyses of the books that most interest you in the course, and will
therefore focus only on one major text each. Both essays require not only critical
analysis, but also the construction of an opinionated thesis that focuses on an idea.
Your essays should follow conventional academic standards. Essays may require
secondary research.

Both essays also require argumentative (rather than demonstrative) writing. This
means that each essay must express your personal opinion about an idea or
controversial issue rather than summarizing or demonstrating your understanding
of a texts contents.

Essay 1, written on either Howl or V for Vendetta, should be no longer than 4 pages
(1000 words) in length, and Essay 2, written on either Oranges Are Not the Only
Fruit or In Another Place, Not Here, should be no longer than 6 pages (1500 words)
in length. Topics will be distributed during class early in each semester. All
assignments will be due during our final class of each semester.


Exam (June 21, 22, or 23; details TBA)
The exam will include passage identification and explication, definitions of literary
terms, and a short essay. All questions will be based on ideas and content
thoroughly discussed during class.

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ANTICIPATED READING SCHEDULE

PLEASE CONSULT the Blackboard site for additional weekly readings

Monday, May 8 Revolution! An Introduction
Texts: Selected poems (posted on Blackboard)

Wednesday, May 10 Revolution for Beginners
Quiz 1 Text: Alan Moore. V for Vendetta

Monday, May 15 McCarthyism and the Beat Generation
Quiz 2 Texts: Allen Ginsberg. Howl and Other Poems

Wednesday, May 17 A Second Wave, Next Door
Essay 1 Due - Quiz 3 Text: Jeanette Winterson. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

MONDAY, MAY 22 NO CLASS VICTORIA DAY UNIVERSTIY CLOSED

Wednesday, May 24 Going Electric
Text: Winterson. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit [continued]

Monday, May 29 Civil Rights and the Question of Violence
Texts (posted online): Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream
and selections from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Wednesday, May 31 The Politics of Forgetting
Quiz 4 Text: Dionne Brand. In Another Place, Not Here

Monday, June 5 Failed Movements and Other Cliffs
Text: Dionne Brand. In Another Place, Not Here [continued]

Wednesday, June 7 Welcome to the Real World
Quiz 5 Text: The Wachowski Brothers. The Matrix

Monday, June 12 Signs of the Apocalypse
Essay 2 Due Quiz 6 Text: Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake

Wednesday, June 14 Designing Utopia
Text: Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (continued)

Monday, June 19 Course Review and Exam Preparation
Texts: All of the above!

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TRENT UNIVERSITY POLICIES

Academic Integrity:
Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely serious
academic offence and carries penalties varying from failure on an assignment to expulsion
from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for dealing with plagiarism and
cheating are set out in Trent Universitys Academic Integrity Policy. You have a
responsibility to educate yourself unfamiliarity with the policy is not an excuse. You are
strongly encouraged to visit Trents Academic Integrity website to learn more:
www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.

Access to Instruction:
It is Trent University's intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a
student has a disability and documentation from a regulated health care
practitioner and feels that he/she may need accommodations to succeed in a
course, the student should contact the Student Accessibility Services Office (SAS)
as soon as possible, at Trent University: Durham, Thornton Road, Room 111
contact 905-435-5102 ext. 5024 or email corinnphillips@trentu.ca. More details
can be found under Access to Instruction in Trents Academic Calendar.

Safe Assignments:
All Essays must be submitted electronically to the SafeAssign drop box in
Blackboard. SafeAssign utilizes plagiarism-checking software. Further information about
SafeAssign will be provided on the class LearningSystem/Blackboard site.

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