345-18 World Literature:
The Western Tradition, Homer to Shakespeare
3 Hours Humanities
Instructor: Elliot Adams
3210 Pinrose Avenue
Toledo, OH 43614
(419) 389-0944 EST (h)
eadams73@hotmail.com
*Contract must be completed within 6 months of enrollment.
*Prerequisites: Recent successful completion of 6 semester hours
of English composition course and 1 literature course.
Important
Contract Policies
Purpose
This course introduces students to the literary tradition of western
civilization through critical analysis of representative texts.
*NOTE: All contact between student and instructor will be through e-mail
or, if the student prefers, written correspondence.
Learning Objectives
To acquaint students with some of the more influential works in the Western Literary tradition, from the Classical period through the Renaissance; also, to allow students to refine their skills at critical reading and argumentative writing.
*Students interested in contacting the instructor to ask questions (or for any
other reason) should feel entirely free to do so. Such contact is encouraged.
Your questions will be welcomed and answered, in most cases, within 1 day of
receipt. If you wish to write, write as often and as much as you wish.
Methodology
The student will read the assignments in the syllabus sequence and write 4-5 pg., double-spaced essay on each one. Essays should conform to the guidelines included with the course contract. Once a paper has been returned to the student, he/she may submit the next assignment.
Syllabus may be found as an online course reserve. Go to http://www.lib.ua.edu, click on "course reserves" and select "Elliot Adams." Note: the document is in pdf format. You will need to download Adobe's free reader at http://www.adobe.com. If you need help, please call us at (205)348-6000.
Resources
- The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Mack and others,
4th ed., Vol. 1.
- Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Wife of Bath's Prologue
and Tale, from
The Canterbury Tales. Preferred translations: Theodore Morrison,
in The Portable Chaucer (Viking) or Neville Coghill, in The
Canterbury Tales (Penguin).
Evaluation
The critical essays will be evaluated for their comprehension of the text; their analytical and argumentative skills; and for the writing's clarity, focus, and grammatical correctness. The 4 essays which receive the lowest grades will each count for 10% of the final course grade. The 4 essays which receive the highest grades will each count for 15% of the course grade. Upon permission of the instructor, the student may customize this study for his/her own personal interests or needs. |
