ENGL 2332/ Fall 2020 / Schedule

Week 1 8/24–8/27: Introductions

First: As soon as possible, get set up on Slack [link] and send a brief introduction — one to two short sentences in the #introduction channel, include a GIF or meme that tells us something about you.

Create a free Medium account, have a look around and get acclimated. Follow our class publication page, and I will add you as an “editor.” This will allow you to post your work on our page. Make sure to check out the Help [link] page on “posting to publications.”

Do: Write a brief essay thinking that addresses the following: “How can you connect literature (any art for that matter) to your lived experience (i.e. the real world)?” Post this on Medium using the hashtag #Literature

Week 2 8/31–9/3

Slack: Tell us a favorite something (it can be anything, or multiple things…movie, book, etc etc) using the channel #favorites

Read: Anaxagoras p.45; and Lucretius p.47 from “On The Nature of Things”

Do: Pick one of the above and write a brief response. What do you think? What do you want to say — or what would you say to the writer if they were here? How you respond is up to you. Post this on Medium using the hashtag #Response

Week 3 9/7–9/10

Slack: What is it to be wise?

Read: Sophocles, Medea

Do: Medea…feminism…misogyny…outsider…you take it from there. Post whatever you come up with on Medium using the hashtag #Medea

Week 4 9/14–9/17

Read: Marie De France, “Lanval” (on BlackBoard)

Slack: What do you notice (what’s different) about this poem?

Week 5 9/21–9/24

Read: Basavanna, poems: 8, 59, 97, 111

Laozi: III, V, XIX, XX

Do: No need to “do” anything this week, other than read. I’m more than happy to answer any questions or engage in discussion if you’d like, just holler.

Week 6 9/28–10/1

Read: Sugawara No Michizane, “I Stop Practicing the Zither,” “The Hardships of Professors”

Slack: What is something you have given up? Use the #general channel

Week 7 10/5–10/8

Watch: “What is Dante’s Inferno?” on YouTube

Read: Dante, Inferno, “Canto 1”

For the next several weeks, I’d like you to focus on reading Dante. I will reach out via Slack and pose some questions, discussion points, but really, jut read and think, By week 14, I’d like you to post a project on Medium — details below…

Week 8 10/12–10/15

Read: Dante, Inferno, “Canto 2”

Week 9 10/19–10/22

Read: Dante, Inferno, “Canto 3”

Week 10 10/26–10/29

Read: Dante, Inferno, “Canto 4”

Week 11 11/2–11/5

Read: Dante, Inferno, “Canto 5”

Week 12 11/9–11/12

Read: Dante, Inferno, “Canto 6”

Week 14 11/16–11/19

Do: Create some kind of “mixed media” project over Dante’s Inferno. What you cover is up to you, I would ask that you use more than one (preferably several) modality: for example: use text and images, or include a video, or interpretative dance, or stand-up comedy on losing one’s religion. Be brilliant, be creative, have fun. Post this on Medium using the tag Dante. Pictures of your project are fine, too.

Thanksgiving Break 11/23–11/26: No Class

Do not: do not do any work for this class during this break. Enjoy the time off.

Week 15 11/30–12/3

Read: Paradise Lost, Books 1 and 2

Watch:

Do: You have a choice: on our class Medium site, write a short post (300–500 words) about either 1). Why does evil exist? — OR — 2). Does free will exist? Post your response with the #FreeEvil

Week 16 12/7–12/10

Take this week to finish whatever you need to finish up — even if it’s not for this class

Finals Week 12/14–12/16

Email: Compose a self-reflective essay using the criteria on the grading narrative. Email this essay to me — it’s a private essay, I’m the only one who will read it.