ENGL 4430/Spring 2023/Schedule

From Gerald R. Lucas

This schedule represents the ideal outline for our study this semester. Yet, like all best-laid plans, we may not be able to keep up with our agenda. Please be flexible and try to look and read ahead whenever possible.

We will do our best to stick by this schedule, but I will inform you verbally, via an email, and/or a literal change to the schedule below whenever there is a deviation. Getting these updates is solely your responsibility. Therefore, this schedule is tentative and subject to change contingent upon the needs of the students and the professor, and dictated by time and other constraints which may affect the course. For face-to-face classes, this schedule reflects only an overview of the assigned reading and other major course assignments. It may not indicate specific class session assignments or activities. Specific in-class assignments may not be reflected on the schedule.

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Overview and Instructions for Work

All assignments are due Tuesday evenings at 11:59 pm. Have the assigned text(s) read by Sundays at the latest, so you can post your questions and responses to Packback well ahead of the due date. Procrastination and posting at the last minute will earn you lower grades. I suggest the following work schedule for each week:

  • Wed: Begin reading the week’s text(s), including background materials; take notes as you read.
  • Sat/Sun: Post your question to Packback. Read[1] and consider responding to a seed prompt: i.e., one of the questions I have asked about the material.[2]
  • Sun: Finish the reading.
  • Mon: Discuss/Respond on Packback. Be sure to support your discussions with evidence from the the week’s primary text and/or the secondary texts, like background materials and assigned videos.
  • Tue: Add follow-up posts to Packback.

Look ahead and plan your reading accordingly. I have tried to keep reading to a minimum, but if you are a slower reader, like I am, you may want to plan out your reading schedule so that you can meet the course deadlines.

 Note: The due date for the Lit-Crit Response is Friday, May 3, but you may submit it at any time during the semester. I recommend that you try to get to it earlier, as you might find getting to this short research assignment at the end of the semester a bit challenging.


 Texts: All texts, unless they are PDFs (see below), are in Halpern, The Art of the Tail (see Requirements).

 PDFs: All PDFs may be downloaded from my server. Please download all of these texts at the beginning of the class. The access password is on D2L.

Week Date Assignments
1 Jan 11–Jan 17
Course Introduction: Short Fiction
2 Jan 18–Jan 24
Russia
  • Read
    • Chekhov, “The Lady with the Pet Dog” (PDF)[6]
    • Nabokov, “Spring in Fialta”
    • Aksenov, “Little Whale Varnisher of Reality”
  • Post your question and responses on Packback.[7]
3 Jan 25–Jan 31
Eastern Europe
  • Read
    • Borowski, “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen”
    • Kafka, “A Hunger Artist” (PDF)
    • Kundera, “Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead”
    • Singer, “Henne Fire”
  • Post to PackBack.
4 Feb 01–Feb 07
Italy
  • Read
    • Calvino, “The Adventure of a Traveler”
    • Ginzberg, “The Mother”
    • Moravia, “Jewellery”
    • Pavese, “Suicides”
  • Post to PackBack.
5 Feb 08–Feb 14
India
  • Read
    • Mukherjee, “The Management of Grief” (PDF)
    • Narayan, “Naga”
    • Rushdie, “Chekhov and Zulu” (PDF)
  • Post to PackBack.
6 Feb 15–Feb 21
Africa
  • Read
    • Achebe, “The Sacrificial Egg”
    • Boulaich, “Cowardice”
    • Mrabet, “Doctor Safi”
  • Post to PackBack.
7 Feb 22–Feb 28
Europe
  • Read
    • Bachmann, “Everything”
    • Camus, “The Adulterous Woman”
    • Dineson, “The Cloak”
    • Rodoreda, “Rain”
  • Post to PackBack.
8 Mar 01–Mar 07
Midterm
  • Complete your midterm exam on D2L.
9 Mar 08–Mar 14
Japan
  • Read
    • Kawabata, “One Arm”
    • Mishima, “Patriotism”
    • Murakami, “UFO in Kushiro” (PDF)
    • Seirai, “Insects” (PDF)
  • Post to PackBack.
10 Mar 15–Mar 28
Latin America 1
  • Read
    • Fuentes, “The Doll Queen”
    • García Marquez, “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (PDF)
    • Rulfo, “Talpa”
  • Post to PackBack.
11 Mar 29–Apr 04
Latin America 2
  • Read
    • Borges, “The Aleph”
    • Cortázar, “Bestiary”
    • Valenzeula, “I'm Your Horse in the Night”
  • Post to PackBack.
12 Apr 05–Apr 11
North America: Marginalized Voices
  • Read
    • Baldwin, “Going to Meet the Man”
    • Jen, “In American Society” (PDF)
    • Silko, “Yellow Woman” (PDF)
    • Tan, “Two Kinds” (PDF)
  • Post to PackBack.
13 Apr 12–Apr 18
North America: Alternate Visions
  • Read
    • Atwood, “Homelanding” (PDF)
    • Butler, “Speech Sounds” (PDF)
    • Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (PDF)
    • Tiptree, Jr., “The Women Men Don’t See” (PDF)
  • Post to PackBack.
14 Apr 19–Apr 25
England and the US

 note: This week’s readings are bonus, optional readings. If you missed a week responding along the way, here’s your chance to make that grade up. Otherwise, work on your project.

  • Read (Optional)
    • Banks, “The Child Screams and Looks Back at You”
    • Cheever, “The Country Husband”
    • Gass, “Order of Insects”
    • McEwan, “First Love, Last Rights”
  • Post to PackBack (Optional Make-Up).
15 Apr 26–May 02
Final Exam
  • Complete your final exam on D2L.
  • Submit your project on D2L.



notes

  1. Even if you do not respond to a seed prompt, you are required to read them and the links they contain. This is crucial background material about the texts and course content. Failure to read these will result in potential lower grades and failure.
  2. Again: pay attention to these prompts, as they might give hints as to what is important for you to know for tests. These are often asking about the background materials I have posted for the primary texts, usually based on lectures.
  3. It is imperative that you have the unit complete by the end of the first week of class. Failure to do so will have you reported as a no-show, and you will be removed from the class. If this happens, you will not be readmitted.
  4. You must follow the writing conventions and guidelines outlined in this document, including the presentation of titles. This should all be review from ENGL 1102.
  5. You should have received an invitation from Packback already, unless you just registered for the course. If you were not invited, please let me know or register yourself. Note: you need to know your course section number when registering.
  6. All required PDFs may be downloaded from my server. The password is on D2L. Please download all of the texts at the beginning of the semester.
  7. Be sure you read the seed prompt(s) if applicable on this week’s material even if you do not respond to them. Then, ask one question and respond to at least two threads—these responses could be on the prompt(s). This is the minimum participation on Packback to meet your writing requirement. See the outline of the week above for guidance on how to approach your writing on Packback.
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