ENGL 2322/ Summer 2020 / Syllabus

tccenglish2322.slack.com /richard.kingsley@my.tccd.edu / brockkingsley@me.com / brockkingsley.com

Welcome! Thank you all for joining our course this summer. We’re going to try something a little different in that class will be hosted, here, on Medium. Think of it as a kind of experiment — where it’s okay to break things and fail at others. You can annotate any Medium page, so feel free to add notes, make comments. Feel free to ask questions, and if we need to we’ll make adjustments as we go. I’m really glad you’re here.

Course Spiel

This course, English 2322, is a survey of the development of British literature up to the Nineteenth Century. Students will study works of prose, poetry, drama, and fiction in relation to their historical, linguistic, and cultural contexts. Texts will be selected from a diverse group of authors and traditions. This class is also meant to allow you the space to develop and express your opinions about what you’ve read. As you can imagine, this can get complicated, and hard. And, really, it’s all subjective — isn’t it? Education, traditionally, is meant to prepare individuals for citizenship, for a kind of enlightened leadership, and to enhance your creativity. Really, that is what we’re going for here.

Required Text

The Norton Anthology of English Literature 10th Edition Volume 1. Greenblatt, Stephen, General Editor.

The Work (Projects)

This course will be about “figuring things out” more than following instructions. We’ll be writing posts on Medium, commenting on each other’s work, engaging in other activities, and having discussions (if only in a virtual setting). Some projects will be more structured than others; some will appear to have no structure at all. Know that if instructions are vague, it’s because they are intended to be. Projects are listed on separate “Schedule” document.

Also, know that it’s okay to be confused, feel stuck, or feel lost. Ask questions, ask lots of them, ask them whenever you have them..

• Medium Much of our written work will be posted on the publishing site Medium. This is a public site — people will be able to read your work. I happen to think there is educational value in that. If you’re uncomfortable with your work being readily available, I encourage you to adopt a pseudonym — a pen name, or write anonymously.
• Slack We’ll use Slack to stay in constant contact. There will be some “assigned” postings to Slack, but you should feel free to use the app to reach out at any time. It is a place for conversation, for discussion, for asking questions, asking for help, or just saying “hi.”
• Other Projects There will be other projects, too, throughout the term. Project guidelines are on the class schedule.

Assessment

While final product is important, this course is much more focused on process — what we learn as we continue to work. You will receive a final grade, but I will not be grading individual projects. Instead, I’ll be providing comments, feedback, and questions that engage your work rather than pass judgment on it. Each project will receive a “complete” or “incomplete” marking in the grade book on Blackboard. If you do the project, you receive full credit; if you do not do the project, you receive no credit.

Your final grade will be determined with your input using the grading narrative on this site.

Collaboration

You may collaborate with your peers on any projects we do in this course. If you have questions, or would like guidance, on how that collaboration might work please feel free to chat with me at any point.

Course Objectives

In this course we will:

• Think about the different ways we write; the different place we write
• Think about what we read and what it has to say about our lived experiences — how does literature (art) connect to our world
• Consider ourselves as active agents while we read
• Consider our own identities as writers (and people), how our unique traits transform into style and voice
• Communicate our ideas and continue to work on the different ways we do so
• Try, and fail
• Think about the different ways we learn
• Make mistakes
• Work together to figure out this new learning environment we find ourselves inhabiting
• Promote and practice empathy wherever and whenever we can

My Commitments To You

• I will be prepared for class
• I will be patient, honest, and flexible
• I will challenge you intellectually
• I will hold you to high standards
• I will do my best to foster an environment that is beneficial to everyone
• I will treat you as an individual
• I will never knowingly embarrass you
• I will respect your individual beliefs, and opinions
• I will provide you with timely, and clear feedback
• I will be available for any questions, or concerns about this class, my teaching, or your progress

Office Hours

I will be holding virtual office hours every day from 10am — 11am. But you should feel free to contact me whenever you need via the method you prefer.