HAFS British Literature for International Program 2016
Instructor: John M. Rodgers
Office Hours: open and by appointment
Office: P407 International Affairs
Email: jmrseoul@gmail.com
Greetings, students. Please keep a link to this page handy or bookmark it. I will post information here as the year unfolds.
Assignments (I will update this section as needed)
12/13: Best film adaptation of A Christmas Carol, in my humble opinion.
12/9: Remember that our exam is not until Monday, December 19. I’ll be taking any questions the Saturday and Sunday before. Study smart!
Here’s the PPT for Victorian Era.
11/20: Here’s the Enlightenment & Romanticism PPT.
11/19: Both classes should finish reading Stave I for homework. Stave I audio here for those interested (not required).
11/17: Here is the link to an introductory video about A Christmas Carol. I decided this would be as — or more — helpful than reading a long foreword. In other words, you should watch this video (there’s no hidden reading).
Life and Literature Essay Assignment (Fall 2016)
Update (11/6): Class 2–1 will print rough drafts for class on Monday, Nov. 7; 2–2 will print rough drafts for Tuesday’s class. Final drafts for both classes are due by 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.
Note (10/29): The most important part of this assignment is you showing that you understand and can illustrate the common theme shared by the works, and that you have identified and can evidence the point of connection in our world. I am not overly concerned with the numerous differences/contrasts between the works; mentioning a major contrast would suffice.
For this assignment, you must choose at least two readings from those we’ve done this year, discuss how they relate to and differ from one another, and how they’re connected to modern life. You should focus on the works in their context and our context as we’ve explored how they applied to the world in which they were written and, in part, the world in which they are now read.
Like last semester, you must submit an outline that specifically shows how you will construct your essay with the expected excerpts and examples. This working outline is due on Halloween at 2 p.m. The rough draft of the essay is due Monday, November 7. The final draft is due on Friday, November 11. Basic guidelines: 700–900 with 1.5 spacing and 1 inch (2.5cm)margins. Print on both sides for outline (if necessary) and rough draft. Use all previously learned skills/guidelines.
Formatting guidelines:
- Word count: 700–900 words.
- Type your paper and print it out on standard, white, A4 paper
- Set spacing at 1.5 for the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g., Times New Roman). The font size should be 12 pt.
- Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks
- Set the margins of your document to 1 inch (2.5cm) on all sides
- Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. Use “tab” key
- Insert page numbers (upper right corner)
- Use italics in your essay for the titles of longer literary works and, only when absolutely necessary, for emphasis
- Staple your papers
- Do not double space the name and date section
- Triple-check everything
Exam notes:
Material: “Sonnet XXX”; “Meditation XVII”; The King James Bible; “The Parable of the Prodigal Son”; Spencer Kim’s “Dark Windshields, Island Living”; Steve Yoo’s story; The Renaissance and Protestant Reformation info.
Remember to study in intervals (give yourself — and your brain — rests during the day), and to study in different locations; cognitive science shows that having new scenery creates “new associations in your brain and make[s] it easier to recall information later,” according to Benedict Carey’s How We Learn: The Surprising Truth about When, Where, and Why It Happens.
And if you have any doubts about the necessity of sleep for productive preparation, then listen to this short podcast with Prof. Russell Foster, a circadian neuroscientist (aka sleep expert) at Oxford. I promise that it’s enlightening. Bottom line: You need sleep to store information properly so you can effectively retrieve/recall it later.
Here is a link to The King James Bible video we watched.
Here is a link to 유승준(Steve Yoo)’s interview.
Here is the Late Renaissance and Protestant Reformation PPT.
Here is the Shakespeare as Psychologist PPT for those in need.
Welcome back, Students! Link to Freakonomics’ “How to Be More Productive.” Listen to the podcast and take note of interesting and important places, using your transcript to keep track.
Here is the link to the Renaissance PPT for test prep.
For those interested, here is a doc with the heroic couplets from the gray paper referenced in class, the Nevill Coghill translation.
Great link here to all Shakespeare’s Sonnets.
Here is the link to the Middle Ages PPT for test prep.
Some students asked me to post the Kahoot quiz. You will need to register to access it.
Link for those interested in greater detail about the power of the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages.
Benjamin Bagby reading “the Battle with Grendel” section of Beowulf.
Anglo-Saxon Period and Beowulf PPT
For those curious about the Geats (aka Yeats) and the Beowulf timeline.
Cain and Abel refresher (if needed) from Genesis 4:1–17, King James version: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/cain.html#genesis
Full text of Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (2000) http://bit.ly/1EWKcEu
Timeline for the Beowulf story/script: http://www.rhetcomp.gsu.edu/~jlawrence/Documents/English%202120/Beowulf%20Timeline.pdf
Heaney reading “Battle with Grendel” section: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3hQTugGqCM
Audio of entire first half of Beowulf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaB0trCztM0
British Library information about the only existing Beowulf manuscript.
