engl 273 Introduction to Fiction: modernist writers in italy
Summer 2011
Professor: Elizabeth Geoghegan
Email: egeoghegan@luc.edu
Office Hours: TBA; by appointment
Day/Time/Location: T/Th
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Writers have long depicted Italy as a place of transformation and — at times — transgression. This course will introduce students to fiction by exploring works that embody this component of change, even crisis, while examining the influence of Italy upon the literary imagination. Our discussion will focus upon the Modernists in Italy such as E. M. Forster, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Thomas Mann, and Ernest Hemingway whose characters often grapple with the cognitive dissonance of life “abroad” and, in particular, the transformative qualities of the Italian landscape.
OUTCOME: Student will be able to demonstrate understanding of works of literary fiction and issues raised by fiction writers, whether aesthetic, cultural, or historic. Students will also be able to demonstrate aptitude in the critical and communication skills necessary to analyze and discuss works of literature.
Knowledge Area(s) satisfied: | Literary Knowledge and Experience |
Skill(s) Developed: | Critical Thinking & Reading; Communication Skills |
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Through the careful analysis of representative texts, this class will deepen student knowledge of fiction, specifically Modern and Contemporary literature, and increase understanding of the personal, cultural and political experience reflected in literary works set in Italy.
Students will acquire and learn how to employ the technical vocabulary necessary for understanding works of fiction (plot, theme, symbol, characters, etc.) as well as use that vocabulary in discussions and presentations, as well as in written responses to the works.
Students will enhance skills in critical thinking and oral and written expression. Students will practice thinking and reading critically and will analyze varied interpretations and assumptions connected to the texts in question. The course will encourage students to develop their own hypotheses, theories, and interpretations of the literature covered.
Students will practice their descriptive, analytical, and argumentative skills in oral discussion and in formal, written analyses. They will improve their ability to frame questions, present background information, analyze specific images, symbols, passages, or scenes, and to present interpretations of literary work in both oral and written form.
The course will improve student ability to understand how multiple interpretations of literary works are possible, and how differing interpretations reflect particular cultural and historical conditions that change over time. They will improve their ability to understand meaning in an historical context, to explore the denotative and connotative meaning of words, and to develop a facility for using different critical approaches to produce different analyses and interpretations of the texts.
SKILLS — CRITICAL THINKING and READING & WRITTEN & ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Through in-class discussion and writing assignments and oral presentations, students will learn to understand, paraphrase, summarize, and contextualize the meaning of assigned texts and develop their own ideas, hypotheses, theories, questions, and proposals about the works in question, synthesizing ideas to support their own arguments and analyses of the text(s).
LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Readings and discussions will provide information regarding the texts, placing them in an historical context and providing avenues for critical analysis. Student(s) will be expected to read the materials in advance and be prepared to both ask and answer questions about the reading assignments. Discussion, homework assignments, written responses (of varied lengths), a midterm, an oral presentation, and a final paper will be used to assess literary knowledge, as well as writing and critical thinking and communication skills.
EVALUATION & GRADE BREAKDOWN:
Participation/Attendance/Homework 20%
Midterm Paper 25%
Oral Presentation 25%
Final Paper 30%
REQUIRED TEXTS
Forster, E. M., A Room With a View, Signet Classics, 2009. [Published in 1905] ISBN-10: 0451531388
Hemingway, Ernest, A Farewell to Arms, Scribner, 1995. [Published in 1929] ISBN-10: 0684801469
James, Henry, Daisy Miller, Oxford World Classics, 2009. [Published in 1878] ISBN-10: 9780199538560
Mann, Thomas, Death in Venice, Penguin Classics, 1999. [Published in 1912] ISBN-10: 9780141181738
To be held on reserve in the IC:
“Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton
“In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway
“Cat in the Rain” by Ernest Hemingway
“Che Ti Dice La Patria” by Ernest Hemingway
Excerpts from the novel Flush by Virginia Woolf
Room With A View (DVD)
Where Angels Fear to Tread (DVD)
Death in Venice (DVD)
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Since our discussions (and your participation in them) are such a large component of this course, and we have fewer meetings than most courses, your attendance is mandatory. Two unexcused absences will result in the lowering of your final grade by one complete grade. For example, a student with an A will drop to a B, a student with an A- will drop to a B- and so on. Three or more unexcused absences may result in failure for the course. Absences (medical or otherwise) should be cleared with the JFRC Dean’s office.
DISABILITY POLICY: If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me within the first week of classes
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Plagiarism is considered a serious offense, will be reported to the Dean of the Loyola Rome program, and could result in expulsion. Please see me if you have questions about how to do research, document and cite sources, or with any other questions you may have about papers and assignments.
COURSE SCHEDULE: To be distributed in class
