ENGL 2111-D -- World Literature I

Contact Information:

Required Textbooks:

Course Description:

PURPOSE: This course is the first half of the English program's overview of world 
literature from classical antiquity to the present. We will examine works from
both the Western tradition (Greece, Rome, the Jewish Bible, the Christian New 
Testament, and the European Middle Ages and Renaissance) and from several
non-Western tranditions (Sumeria, India, Japan, and the Muslim world). As you will 
see, this division into "Eastern" and "Western" doesdn't always hold up, as
there is a good deal of communication between the two.

PROCEDURES & PROVISOS: 

1. The reading load will be quite heavy, so do not fall behind. 

2. To aid you in your reading, I will make a set of study questions and/or notes
available online each week.

3. Participation in the on-line forum is expected on a twice weekly basis or 
better. I will post a topic or question several days prior to the chat, and you 
must respond no later than noon the day of the chat, after which time the topic 
will by locked and accessible only for reading, not writing. I reserve the 
right to assign additional optional or required work to supplement the forum
participation grade. For more information about the forum, visit these pages:

4. There will be a weekly graded quiz on the reading. The quiz will be
accessible on-line, and you will submit your answers through a Web
browser. Quizzes will be due by 9 a.m. each Monday.
 
5. Late assignments will not be accepted. Turn things in early if you plan to
be away. 

6. All exams will be take-home. Exams must be sent to the correct (class-related) 
e-mail address by the time stated in the schedule. No paper submissions -- 
electronic only.

Grading Proportions:

Participation will be graded based on the on-line forum (See the handouts for 
details.). I reserve the right to assign additional quizzes or writing exercises 
that will also contribute to the participation grade. Three examinations will be 
given, each non-comprehensive. These will consist of identification questions: an 
excerpted piece of writing will be presented, and you must identify it and 
discuss it in detail, showing a knowledge of the entire work from which it was 
drawn. These passages will be ones that we have specifically discussed in  class. 
(Attendance will not be taken, but you probably won't pass these exams if you 
don't attend regularly.) You will not be tested on the material in the headnotes 
of the reading assignments, but if you are interested in doing well, read the
headnotes. The course grade will be calculated as follows:        

	Exam I         		20%
	Exam II        		20%
	Final Exam     		20%
	Forum Participation 	25%
	Quiz Completion		15%
			      =100%

Schedule of Assignments:

Wed 8/21 --- Introduction
Fri 8/23 --- Discussion of literary terms and critical practice
	
Mon 8/26 --- "Epic of Gilgamesh" (37-73) 
Wed 8/28 --- Continued
Fri 8/30 --- Continued

Mon 9/2 ---- Writings from ancient India: "Hymn of Creation" (177), "Hymn of Man"
	     (177-179), "A Psalm of Vasishtha to the Lord of Lords" (180-181), 
	     "Hymn of the Thoughts of Men" (181)
Wed 9/4 ---- Excerpt from the "Ramayana" (186-219)
Fri 9/6 ---- Introduction to the "Mahabharata" (219-220), and the excerpt from 
             the "Bhagavad-Gita" (225-248) 

Mon 9/9 ---- Excerpts from the Hebrew Bible (96-171) 
Wed 9/11 --- Continued
Fri 9/13 --- Continued

Mon 9/16 --- From Homer, "Odyssey" (430-488) 
Wed 9/18 --- Continued
Fri 9/20 --- Continued

Mon 9/23 --- Sappho, poems (488-491); excerpts from Thucydides (497-510) 
Wed 9/25 --- Continued.
Fri 9/27 --- NO CLASS. Exam I due at 2 p.m. by e-mail.

Mon 9/30 --- Excerpts from Plato (566-626)
Wed 10/2 --- Continued
Fri 10/4 --- Continued 

Mon 10/7 --- Euripedes, "The Bacchae" (511-565)
Wed 10/9 --- Continued
Fri 10/11 -- Continued

Mon 10/14 -- From Virgil, "Aeneid" (629-670)
Wed 10/16 -- Continued
Fri 10/18 -- Continued

Mon 10/21 -- Gospel of Matthew 
Wed 10/23 -- Continued
Fri 10/25 -- Continued

Mon 10/28 -- Selections from the Qur'an (739-761) 
Wed 10/30 -- Continued
Fri 11/2 --- NO CLASS. Exam II due at 2 p.m. by e-mail.

Mon 11/4 --- Selections from The Thousand and One Nights (866-888)
Wed 11/6 --- Continued
Fri 11/8 --- Continued

Mon 11/11 -- Motokiyo, "Atsumori" (1176-1183) 
Wed 11/13 -- Continued
Fri 11/16 -- Continued

Mon 11/18 -- Dante, "The Inferno" (  )
Wed 11/20 -- Chaucer, "Canturbury Tales" (1349-1366)
Fri 11/22 -- Continued

Mon 11/25 -- Montaigne, "On Cannibals" (  )
Wed 11/27 -- THANKSGIVING
Fri 11/29 -- THANKSGIVING

Mon 12/4 --- Shakespeare, "King Lear" (  ) 
Wed 12/6 --- Continued

FINAL EXAMINATION: