CPLT 324 World Lit. to 1650 Syllabus, Fall 2009 – Alfred J. Drake's Academic Site

SYLLABUS FOR CPLT 324 WORLD LITERATURE TO 1650
CSU FULLERTON, FALL 2009

*2023 Note: Most links have been removed from this archival version of the syllabus.

COURSE INFORMATION. Comp. Lit. 324, Course Code 11286. Section 80. Wed. 7:00 – 9:45 p.m., Irvine Valley Campus (IRVC) 201. Instructor: Alfred J. Drake, Ph.D. Office hours: Wednesday 6:00-6:55 p.m. in IRVC Office 208. Email: cplt324_at_ajdrake.com. Catalog: “Prerequisites: junior or senior standing and completion of any literature course from General Education (GE) Category III.B.2, Asian and Western literature … to 1650. Units (3).”

REQUIRED TEXTS AT IRVINE CAMPUS BOOKSTORE

Lawall, Sarah, ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd. ed. New York: Norton, 2003. Package 1: Volumes A, B, C: Beginnings to 1650. ISBN 0-393-92453-X.

Buddha. The Three Cardinal Discourses. (Free Online Text)

COURSE RATIONALE AND ACTIVITIES

FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES. This course will cover a selection of texts by authors from various ancient literary and cultural traditions in Europe, Asia, the Middle/Near East, Africa, and the Americas. A survey should help you build your knowledge of the periods, authors, and movements studied. My comments will provide historical and thematic background, but the course will center on discussion of the specifics of our assigned texts. Rather than trying to impose claims of universal coherence, thematic unity, etc. on such wide-ranging material, I prefer to follow a roughly chronological order and to discuss themes and issues as they occur throughout the course, making connections where appropriate.

ACTIVITIES. In class, there will be a mix of lectures, student presentations, whole-class and smaller-group discussion, occasional quizzes, an essay, and a final exam. I encourage questions and comments—class sessions improve when students take an active part. Outside class, do the assigned readings before the relevant discussion dates, complete your journal sets as outlined below, start planning and drafting your essay early, and work on your presentation drafts. In literary studies, the aim is to read and discuss actively and thereby to develop your own voice in response to the texts you read. Insightful interpretation and the ability to make compelling connections are central goals. The essay, discussions, presentations, and journal-keeping should combine to help you work towards these goals.

HOW YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE EVALUATED

COURSE POLICIES. Please review the course policies page early in the semester since it addresses matters such as attendance, incompletes and withdrawal, late or missing work, and academic integrity.

PRESENTATIONS REQUIREMENT. Students will sign up for two to four (depending on class size) 5-minute in-class presentations on assigned authors of their choosing (if possible). I will provide presenters with specific questions from the online journal questions and will post a schedule on the Presentations page. Each session will feature one or more presentations. Required: At least one week before you present, contact me to discuss your ideas. After you have given your in-class presentation, email me a version of your comments and I’ll post it as a new entry to the appropriate collective students’ blog. Other students may, if they wish, access the entries as they’re added by visiting the appropriately named link on the Course Blogs Index Page. Your emailed version should resemble your class comments, but need not be identical. (Please avoid indentation and bulleted lists.) 20% of course grade.

JOURNALS REQUIREMENT: Link to Full Instructions. Responses to a choice of questions on each author. Three separate journal sets due by email as specified below in the reading schedule. Electronic format required. Acceptable late, but not for full credit. (30%)

TERM PAPER REQUIREMENT. By November 22th (Sunday of Week 13), a one-paragraph description addressing the topic and argument of the projected paper will be due by email. (Full rough drafts are also encouraged.) Not providing this description on time may affect the final draft grade. Please read the term paper instructions carefully since they contain the prompt, some possible topics, and advance draft comments. I reserve the right to require proof of the final paper’s authenticity, such as notes or an early draft. Final draft (5-7 pages; graduates 10-15 pages) due by exam day or as specified towards the bottom of the syllabus page. Follow MLA guidelines. CSUF academic integrity policies apply (see UPS 300.021). For undergraduates, research is optional; graduate papers should respond to primary texts and secondary criticism; see CSUF Library. See Resources/Guides/Writing Guides: MLA, Grammar, Deductive, Citing, Analyzing, and Editing. (30%)

FINAL EXAM REQUIREMENT. The exam will consist of substantive i.d. passages, mix-and-match questions (match phrase or concept x to author/text y), and short questions requiring a few paragraphs in response. There will be more choices than required responses. Books and notes allowed for all sections. No laptops during the exam. Students may not share books or notes during the exam. Exam date: see below. (20%)

EMAILING ASSIGNMENTS TO CPLT324_AT_AJDRAKE.COM. Email journals, presentations, and term paper as attachments. Don’t send more than one document in the same email. Label subject lines appropriately: “CPLT324 Journal 1, Jane Johnson” etc. You can paste journal sets into a regular email or send them as an attachment. (Journal “sets” include responses to questions about several authors; do not send entries on each author in a given set separately—responses on the relevant authors should be combined into one document.) Contact me if you don’t receive a prompt email confirmation.

QUESTIONS FOR JOURNALS AND PRESENTATIONS

*2023 Note. Visitors may download the following questions in PDF format: WORLD LITERATURE TO 1650.

SCHEDULE: WORKS DISCUSSED ON DATES INDICATED

WEEK 1

08/26. Introduction to class and Wiki features.

WEEK 2

09/02. Epic of Gilgamesh (Vol. A, 10-41). Egyptian Poetry (Vol. A, 41-52).

WEEK 3

09/09. Genesis and Job from The Old Testament (Vol. A, 52-93).

WEEK 4

09/16. Aeschylus. The Oresteia. (Vol. A, 533-611).

WEEK 5

09/23. Virgil. From The Aeneid. (Selections from Books 1-6, 1052-1125). Journal Set 1 due.

WEEK 6

09/30. Classic of Poetry, Confucius, Chuang Chou. From Classic of Poetry (Vol. A, 812-20). Confucius’ The Analects (Vol. A, 820-31). Chuang Chou Selections (Vol. A, 832-58).

WEEK 7

10/07. Buddha’s Three Cardinal Discourses. (Online text). The Jataka (Vol. A, 1002-1010). The Bhagavad-Gita (Vol. A, 1010-28).

WEEK 8

10/14. The Koran (Vol. B, 1426-60) and Ibn Ishaq’s The Biography of the Prophet (Vol. B, 1460-76). Jalâloddin Rumi’s Selections (Vol. B, 1544-49).

WEEK 9

10/21. Designated by Admin. as Furlough Day. No class. Please use the time to catch up on reading or to look forward to coming weeks’ reading.

WEEK 10

10/28. Sei Shonagon, Yoshida Kenko, Zeami Motokiyo. Shonagon’s The Pillow Book (Vol. B, 2270-2300). Kenko’s Essays in Idleness (Vol. B, 2326-2342). Motokiyo’s Atsumori (Vol. B, 2350-55). Journal Set 2 due.

WEEK 11

11/04. Francis Petrarch, Niccolo Machiavelli, Baldesar Castiglione. Petrarch’s “Letter” and Sonnets (Vol. C, 2476-90). Machiavelli’s The Prince (Vol. C, 2517-34). Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier (Vol. C, 2552-64).

WEEK 12

11/11. Veterans’ Day Holiday: No Classes.

WEEK 13

11/18. Michel de Montaigne. Essays (Vol. C, 2632-70). One-paragraph description addressing paper topic and argument due by email.

WEEK 14

11/25. Thanksgiving Holiday: No Classes.

WEEK 15

12/02. Lope de Vega. Fuente Ovejuna (Vol. C, 2783-2821). Florentine Codex (Vol. C, 3070-73), Cantares Mexicanos (Vol. C, 3073-76), Popol Vuh (Vol. C, 3076-92).

WEEK 16

12/09. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. (Vol. C, 2821-2918).

FINALS WEEK

Final exam date Wed., Dec. 16, 7:30 – 9:20 p.m. Due by email on exam day: Journal Set 3. Due by Tuesday, Dec. 22: Term Paper. (I must turn in grades by Jan. 04, 2010.) For your other courses, check CSUF’s Final Exam Schedule.

SYLLABUS FOR CPLT 324 WORLD LITERATURE TO 1650CSU FULLERTON, FALL 2009