ENGL 2111 (NET) -- World Literature I

Contact Information:

Required Textbooks:

Computer-Related Requirements:

	A computer equipped with 

		-- a modern Web browser installed (Netscape 4 
		   or newer; Internet Explorer 5 or newer;  Opera 5 
		   or newer; Mozilla; Galeon; Konqueror)
 
		-- a reliable connection to the Internet (one that 
		   won't be interrupted in the course of an hour)

		-- an IRC-chat client. IRC is the older cousin of
		   AOL/AIM, ICQ, MSN, and all of that stuff. I have 
		   made two clients available to you: a Java applet 
		   which is clickable from my homepage, and the 
		   standalone program mIRC, which is downloadable
		   from my homepage. We will be meeting in a channel
		   (chatroom) named "engl2111-irc". For instructions
		   on about using either client, see the links near 
	           the top of my homepage.

		-- (optional but highly desireable) a functioning 
		   computer sound system (a sound card and speakers) 
		   and audio software capable of playing .wav, .ra, 
		   .mp3, and similar sorts of files. I recommend 
		   installing the latest available RealAudio client 
		   and WinAmp (XMMS if you use Linux). Macintosh users 
		   will probably want to use RealAudio and Quicktime.

To take this on-line course, you must be comfortable using a Web browser and e-mail.
I will not provide technical support for these basic Internet tools.
I will only provide instructions about accessing and using the on-line tools I will
be making available (a chatroom, an on-line discussion forum, multimedia aids to
the course, and so on). I am especially ignorant of most Macintosh-related lore, so 
you are completely on your own there. The following links should be helpful to you in
downloading and installing the needed software if you don't already have it:

Disclaimer:

The technical and setup information provided on this Web site is for student 
convenience only and does not constitute a promise of computer technical support. 
Students are solely responsible for establishing working electronic
communications in the context of this class and for gaining access to and 
properly configuring computer hardware and software that meets course needs. The 
instructor accepts no responsibility for problems related to Internet Service 
Providers, and will not accept such problems as an excuse for late assignments. 
(Students are advised to submit assignments well before the deadlines in case 
problems do arise.) Students are responsible for detecting and remedying failed 
e-mail communications, disappearing file attachments, problems in accessing or 
using the online discussion forum and online quizzes, and difficulties in 
obtaining, installing, or using third-party software. The instructor accepts
no responsibility for damage to computer hardware or loss of computer programs or 
data that may result from attempts to participate in this online class, including 
the installation of third-party software. Students recognize that the class
reading schedule is subject to change, as are the details of specific
assignments, and that the only reliable course information is that displayed
online in either the syllabus or the online discussion forum. Students will
not be notified of such changes by personal e-mail, but are instead
responsible for checking the Web site regularly. 

Continued enrollment in this class constitutes acceptance of the terms of
this disclaimer.

On-line Course HOWTOs:

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 at times, so do not fall behind. 

2. Class discussion will take place during the scheduled chat times, so it is
extremely important that you be "present" for these. MISSING THREE CHATS 
AFTER THE FIRST WEEK WILL RESULT IN FAILURE FOR THE COURSE. Note that you are solely 
responsible for having the proper hardware, software, data connection, and expertise 
to participate in the chats. (I provide some assistance in getting started under
"On-line Course HOWTOs" above.) Transcripts of the chats will be kept and posted for 
your reference, and will be used in grading. Thus you have to actually take part
in order to not be counted absent. 

3. To aid you in your reading, I may make study questions and/or notes
available through the forum during the week prior to each chat. You are
responsible for keeping track of this by checking the forum frequently.

4. Participation in the on-line forum is expected on a 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. 

5. The weekly chats provide your only opportunity for real-time interaction with 
the instructor and with each other, and are thus crucial to your success in the 
class. I do not grade or keep roll for the chats, since your grade will be bad anyway 
if you fail to be an active participant. Do not make the mistake of thinking the 
chats don't matter. I don't take roll in my regular sophomore classes, either, and in 
my experience, the students who don't attend are the ones who fail. (As if you didn't 
know that already.) 

6. 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 noon the day of the chat.

7. There will be three exams, counting equally, each administered through the 
same Web application as the quizzes.
  
8. Late assignments will not be accepted. Turn things in early if you plan to
be away. 

9. Please note that Inquisition (the testing software we are using) and my backup regime 
make it pointless to claim that materials have been somehow "lost" after being delivered 
to me. It is your responsibility to make sure that they get to me in the first place. If 
they do, they won't get "lost." But since transmission problems are common on the Internet, 
you would be wise to make backups of your quiz and exam answers, or to write them in a 
word processor and cut-and-paste them into Inquisition. 

10. You are also responsible for reading and following the directions provided through 
Inquisition for safe and secure test-taking. If you follow these directions, you will
avoid network timeouts, security breaches, and other such unpleasantness. 


10. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY. Although you are welcome to form study groups, students 
may not share answers with one another when responding to the on-line quizzes or exams. 
Sharing of answers on Inquisition is readily detectable. Such conduct constitutes  
cheating and will be referred to University authorities for disciplinary action. 

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. 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%
	Exam III (Final)	20%
	Forum Participation 	20%
	Quiz Completion		20%
			      =100%

Tentative Schedule of Assignments:

Tuesday 1/7 --- Introduction. Discussion of literary terms and critical practice.

Tuesday 1/14 -- The "Epic of Gilgamesh" (37-73)

Tuesday 1/21--- 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), excerpt from the "Ramayana" (186-219), Introduction to the 
"Mahabharata" (219-220), and the excerpt from the "Bhagavad-Gita" (225-248)

Tuesday 1/28 -- Excerpts from the Hebrew Bible (96-171)

Tuesday 2/4 --- Homer, The Odyssey (Fitzgerald translation)

Tuesday 2/11 -- Sappho, poems (488-491); excerpts from Thucydides (497-510)

        EXAM I -- Due Friday 2/14 at 8 p.m.

Tuesday 2/18 -- Excerpts from Plato (566-626)

        * 18 February is the Withdrawal Deadline *

Tuesday 2/25 -- Euripedes, "The Bacchae" (511-565) 

Tuesday 3/4 --- From Virgil, "Aeneid" (629-670) 

Tuesday 3/11 -- Gospel of Matthew

Tuesday 3/18 -- SPRING BREAK

Tuesday 3/25 --  Selections from The Qur'an (739-761) and selections from The Thousand and One Nights (866-888). 
		 EXAM II -- Due Friday 3/28 at 8 p.m. 

Tuesday 4/1 --- "Atsumori" (1176-1183) 

Tuesday 4/8 --- Dante, "The Inferno" (1310-1344); Chaucer, "Canturbury
Tales" (1349-1366). Chaucer sound clip.

Tuesday 4/15 -- Montaigne, "On Cannibals" (1388-1398)

Tuesday 4/22 -- Shakespeare, "King Lear" (1398-1469) 

        EXAM III (Final): Due 29 April 2003 at 8 pm