English 109 - Cora Agatucci
Survey of Western World Literature: Modern

ENG 109 Syllabus -CRN # 20355 -  Spring 2003
Eng 109 course website: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng109/

Instructor: Dr. Cora Agatucci
Home Page: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/
Office Location: Deschutes 14 (Bend campus)
Office Hours: TBA & by appointment
Cora's current Schedule: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/schedule.htm
Office Phone & Voicemail: (541) 383-7522
Mailbox: Modoc 226 (Humanities Dept. Office, Bend campus)
Fax:  (541) 330-4396 (be sure to address to Cora Agatucci)
Electronic mail: cagatucci@cocc.edu

Course Grading

"I am, however, encouraged by a keen sense of WORLD LITERATURE
as the one great heart
that beats for the cares and misfortunes of our world,
. . . even though each corner sees and experiences them
in a different way."
--Alexander Solzehnitsyn, 1970 Nobel Lecture
Official Website of the Nobel Foundation: http://www.nobel.se/enm-index.html  

Welcome to English 109!

English 109 is one of three courses in the Survey of Western World Literature humanities sequence. Students will be introduced to some of the major literary voices, themes, genres, and movements of Western literature from the late eighteenth century to the late twentieth century, including Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, literature of the World Wars, and Post-Colonialism. We will study representative authors and forms of creative expression critically recognized as influential in shaping the Western world literary heritage. We will trace continuities and divergences evolving in that heritage over the last two hundred years, along with significant non-Western and multicultural literary voices entering mainstream Western literary culture. The diverse literary voices of our increasingly interconnected world are thus shaping a new kind of global literary culture for the 21st century—and a wider, deeper understanding of the modern human experience.

In an introductory survey course like English 109, we must cover a great deal of ground in a short time and many very fine works must be left out of our reading list. Nevertheless, we can lay a valuable foundation for understanding key historical, intellectual, and social developments which have shaped Western world literature. And in the process, we may come to better understand ourselves. Where appropriate, key literary concepts and critical approaches to interpreting and evaluating Western world literature will be introduced. Students will be encouraged to be active learners, close readers, and critical thinkers. Students will be given ample opportunity to respond to the literary works, consider varied critical appraisals, exchange ideas with others, and formulate their own oral and written interpretations.

English 107, 108, and 109 need not be taken in sequence. Taking all three satisfies the “A” list Humanities sequence requirement for the Oregon transfer Associate of Arts degree.

Course Learning Outcomes:

Given a selection of significant works of Western world literature, representing a variety of forms of literary discourse from the late eighteenth century to the present, the Eng 109 student will be able to:

1. Explain the defining characteristics of major Western literary-historical periods (such as Romanticism, Realism, Symbolism, Modernism, Post-Modernism and Post-Colonialism) and analyze individual texts from these periods in relation to their historical, social, and cultural contexts.

2. Define and illustrate key period, genre, and other literary terms (such as Sensibility, lyric poetry, Realistic novel, narrative point of view, art for art’s sake, literature of the Absurd, (post-)colonial response literature, magical realism).

3. Explain how Western literary texts reflect or represent their contexts: e.g., cultural values and beliefs, literary and intellectual traditions, historical and biographical backgrounds, social and political realities.

4. Trace major developments in Western literature over time, identifying elements of continuity and change in selected works from different Western literary-historical periods.

5. Apply literary critical methods, comparative analysis, and defensible criteria appropriate to the literary-historical context, to analyze, interpret, and evaluate these texts.

6. Use effective oral and written communication to express these literary interpretations, analyses, and evaluations, developed both independently and collaboratively.

7. Use pertinent evidence from the literary texts and their contexts, to explain and support the student’s literary interpretations, comparative analyses, and evaluations.

Statement on Plagiarism

Proper citations and documentation of any sources that you quote, paraphrase, and/or summarize in your writing are required whenever you borrow the words, facts, and/or ideas of others. Note well that even putting others’ ideas into your own words still means you are borrowing, and you need to give credit where credit is due. To avoid plagiarism source(s) must be cited and documented, both (a) at the point in your papers where the borrowing occurs (using parenthetical citations for most documentation styles), and (b) in a list of all sources cited given at the end of your papers. Plagiarism—intended or not—is considered a serious academic violation of intellectual property rights, and may earn your written assignment an automatic "F" or worse. Quick and acceptable ways of citing your sources in English 109 assignments will be discussed further in class.

I look forward to working with and learning from all of you this term! ~Cora 
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Last Updated: 06 March 2004  

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Humanities Department, Central Oregon Community College
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