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E212: British Literature since 1760 Journal Requirement Instructions Al Drake | Uni Hall 329 | Th. 6:00-7:00 | ajdrake@ajdrake.com Four separate sets of journal entries (word-processed preferred, handwritten okay) will be due on the dates below, either in class or (if word-processed) by email the same day. Please respond to the specified amount of study questions for each author. Numbers in parentheses mean "respond to any x number of study questions total on this author," and the author hyperlinks take you to the relevant study questions pages. So for example "W. Wordsworth (6 questions)" means "there are lots of study questions on the Wordsworth study questions page--just pick any six of them and respond." Wk 04 (02/24) Set 1: Barbauld (2 questions), Smith (2 questions), Burke (2 questions), Wollstonecraft (2 questions), Paine (2 questions), Blake (6 questions), Robinson (2 questions), W. Wordsworth (6 questions), D. Wordsworth (2 questions). Wk 08 (03/24) Set 2: Coleridge (4 questions), Shelley (4 questions), Keats (4 questions), Austen (4 questions) Wk 12 (04/21) Set 3: Carlyle (4 questions), Mill (4 questions), Tennyson (4 questions), Hopkins (4 questions), Rossetti (4 questions), Haggard (4 questions). Final Exam Day (TBD) Set 4: Owen (4 questions), Yeats (4 questions), Shaw (4 questions), Forster (4 questions), Lawrence (4 questions), Desai (3 questions), Coetzee (3 questions), Rushdie (3 questions). *Please skim the study questions before you read the text to which they refer, to get the sense of what you might look for. Then read the questions more carefully while you are reading the assigned text, marking the ones that seem most interesting so you can write about them for your journal entry on the relevant author. (I have provided page numbers where appropriate, often citing phrases to help you anchor your response. Moreover, the questions almost always refer to the text sequentially, from beginning to end.) *I suggest that you do journal entries on a word processor so you can save a copy for your own use in developing paper topics. But if you handwrite, please write legibly and make yourself a photocopy. Bring journals to class on the due dates. Please staple the whole set together -- don't use paper clips, binders, etc. *Label the authors and questions so I know what you're addressing. *You can do more than the specified number of questions, but the extra questions don't mean you should should skip some other author. *Responses will vary in length to suit the complexity of the question. Many responses will require a short paragraph. There's no need to respond exhaustively -- just thoughtfully. Here is a good sample response to a question on Homer's Odyssey, Book One: 2. What first impression does this book give us of the gods? How much of a role do they play in human affairs? What seems to motivate their actions? The gods are a lot like humans, and they take sides in human affairs. Athena, for example, favors Odysseus, so around line 210, she heads down to Ithaca to put some courage into his son Telemachus. Earlier, she had coaxed her own father, Zeus, into making a promise about Odysseus' return. Athena appears disguised as Mentes, Lord of the Taphians -- a trusted elder who can offer Telemachus the right kind of advice since he has some growing up to do. So we can see that the gods will do just about anything to help their favorites; yet sometimes I also get the sense that humans are pawns in a power game. *My questions should help you develop ideas for papers, participate in discussions, and learn more from comments in class. Responses should show an honest attempt to come to terms with the material. They aren't "answers" to rigid test questions. And responses don't have to be perfect -- it's fine if they are just thoughtful first responses based on a first reading. One learns, paradoxically enough, by both "slow exposure" and unpredictable, exponential leaps of insight and connection-making. Expecting 100% comprehension on a first reading isn't realistic -- deep learning doesn't happen that way. *The journals take the place of a midterm exam. Cumulatively, they will count for 33% of the course grade. While I don't plan to assign specific grades to each journal set (check marks for "properly done and on time" and a brief comment if there seems to be something missing would be more like it), here's how the grading for the journal requirement as a whole will go: A: all journal sets turned in complete and on time; responses are specific and consistently thoughtful -- neither vague remarks nor simple yes/ no statements. B: all journal sets turned in on time, but incomplete in terms of numbers or quality of response. C: one journal set missing, but all others completed satisfactorily and on time. Alternatively, all sets turned in, but responses don't show much effort to understand the texts. D: two or more journal sets missing, and/or responses clearly not thoughtful enough to suggest serious engagement with text. F: student has failed to turn in any journal sets. Anyone who does this would probably have to earn an "A" in all other components (attendance, final, paper) just to pass the course. Not a good idea....
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