This syllabus is not set in stone, but it will give  you a good idea of the sequence of events as well as the course readings and requirements.  Email me with questions, but please be patient as the beginning of the semester is always chaotic.

I HAVE APPLIED FOR A WEBCT COMPONENT FOR THIS COURSE TO SIMPLIFY THINGS BUT IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL WEEKS TO GET.

 COURSE NUMBER: ENGL 3362
COURSE TITLE: WOMEN IN LITERATURE
PROFESSOR: Dr. Sandy Jordan (note: you will see Dr. Charlotte Berkowitz on the tapes)
EMAIL ADDRESS: jordan66@swbell.net
OFFICE HOURS: by appointment only


COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This course will focus on the representation of women in the literature listed below.  The theory governing our discussion will be post-Freudian,i.e., concerned with the way literary texts can critique and transform social identity by representing woman's desire for the repressed memory of connection to the mother and through her to all life.

TEXTBOOKS: 

Required (any edition):  Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Willa Cather, My Antonia
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
Cynthia Ozick, The Shawl

Recommended Reading: 
Feminisms, ed. Warhol, etal.
Feminist Literary Theory, ed. Eagleton

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 Email requirements:  All students must have a deliverable email address.
Student Information Sheet: The first week of class students must email the following information:
o        Name
o        ID Number (Social Security Number)
o        Mailing Address
o        Telephone
o        Email Address
o        Major
o        List any English or Women's Studies courses previously taken
o        Share a few sentences about why you are taking this course

Course Requirements:  Students must complete all of the following assignments; failure to complete any one assignment is grounds for being dropped from the course.

o       Reading all required texts
o       Weekly responses to the tapes
o       Midterm examination
o       Mandatory midterm meeting for paper topic approval
o       Term paper (10 pages)
o       Final examination

Evaluation/Grading Policy:  This course is interested in literary and cultural analysis of women in literature, the concerns of women authors and women readers in society, the representation or nonrepresentation of women in literature, the social dynamics that create and are affected by these conceptions.  Student responses, papers, and essays are expected to be actively engaged in these issues.  Discussion and assignments should not be argumentative in nature and should pursue a thoughtful, reflective, scholarly approach to the material. 

Writing matters such as grammar, coherence, etc. will significantly affect the grades of all assignments.  This is an upper division English course conducted at the major level.  While all majors are welcome, and encouraged to bring their knowledge of their disciplines to the assignments, upper division standards of English writing and research apply.  Papers should follow MLA (Modern Languages Association) format. 

Weekly responses may be turned in electronically put the response in the text of the email, NOT as an attachment.  State the tape numbers clearly in your subject line and include your full name at the beginning of the email.  Responses are expected one week from the tape's airing.

Research papers may not be turned in electronically.  Printed research papers should  dropped off to my mailbox on campus in the English Department:  Dr. Sandy Jordan, Department of English,  University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204.  In order for papers to be returned, they must be submitted to me with a self-addressed stamped envelope with adequate postage.

Make-ups for exams will not be offered, except in cases of family or personal emergency.  Check your calendars in advance and plan accordingly.  In all cases inform me of impediments to your progress.


As an adjunct (that is not full time) professor, I do not give incompletes.  A grade of W may be obtained in case of medical withdraw. 

Final grades will be available through the university's electronic system.  Please do not request early grade reports.

 ASSIGNMENTS/GRADE BREAKDOWN

Weekly responses        20%     NO CREDIT IF MORE THAN ONE WEEK LATE

One typed, double-spaced page of engaged, thoughtful response to that week's tapes (no response the week of the midterm, Thanksgiving, or the final). Total of 13 responses due. If responses are sent electronically, put the response in the text of the email, NOT as an attachment.  State the tape numbers clearly in your subject line and include your full name at the beginning of the email.

Tapes air on Friday in the early morning; the response for that week is due by 8 a. m. the following Friday.  Send via email (jordan66@swbell.net)

When a webct component becomes available, all discussion responses will be submitted through the discussion board provided on the web. Chats will be held as necessary. Once webct is enabled, we may be able to have our mandatory meeting online through chat at a time of mutual convenience to discuss the topic of the research paper.

Midterm                        20%
Short identification and short essay, followed by mandatory meeting on paper topics.

Term Paper 30%           

Topic must be approved in advance (at the mandatory midterm meeting) and must be on one of the texts covered in the course.  The research paper should engage in literary analysis and actively consider an aspect of women in literature (authorship, representation, cultural conceptions, etc.)  Three outside sources are required, one of which must be a scholarly article.  A suggestion is to use the MLA database in the library to locate scholarly articles in journals of literary, feminist, and cultural criticism.  10 pages is the required length.  Use MLA Style. DO NOT email research papers.  A hard copy should be mailed to me at UH or dropped off in my mailbox on campus.  Include a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) to have papers returned to you, making sure the postage is adequate.


Final examination         30%

A two-hour essay examination.

Class Schedule

TAPE # (please consult broadcast schedule for air dates)                                    

ORIENTATION: Saturday, August 21st

1-2: Course Overview; new theory and ancient paradigms
3-4: Theory and paradigms
5-6: Theory and paradigms 7-8: A Room of Ones Own; Their Eyes Were Watching God
9-10: Their Eyes Were Watching God
11-12: Their Eyes Were Watching God; To the Lighthouse
13-14: To the Lighthouse
15: To the Lighthouse

MIDTERM: October 9, Saturday, 2--4PM

16-17: My Antonia

18-19: My Antonia; Heart of Darkness
20-21: Heart of Darkness; The Great Gatsby
22-23: The Great Gatsby
24-25: The Shawl
TERM PAPER:  Due  November 13th
26-27: The Shawl; Rethinking the issues
28: Review of the texts

FINAL: Saturday, December 11^th room to be announced