Dr. Spyra Office: Jordan Hall 302 E Email: aspyra@butler.edu Office Hours: Th 5:15-7:15 & by appointment
Fall 2010
FYS 101 Literary Studies: Irish Literature
Section 38 JH348 TuTh 2:30PM – 3:45PM Section 53 JH335A TuTh 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM
This seminar surveys recent Irish literature to trace Ireland’s transformation from a poor province of the British Empire, which produced a great number of emigrants, into a prosperous European country that attracts immigrants of its own. While majority of the fiction, poetry and plays surveyed here were created in the last twenty years, they engage the history of Ireland and the Irish since the seventeenth century to highlight issues of nation formation and national identity, linguistic and religious conflict, bilingualism and multiculturalism. The course is designed to hone the skills necessary for critical reading and thinking, oral communication, and effective writing.
In accordance with the liberal arts curriculum of Butler University, this seminar will encourage you to ask the most significant of questions: who you are, what shapes your identity, and why you value the things you do. It will also take you on a journey through another culture to promote reflection on worldviews other than our own so that you stand prepared for the diversity of today’s global society.
Required Texts: (please use the editions available at the university bookstore) Brian Friel, Translations
Hugo Hamilton, The Speckled People
Anne Devlin, Ourselves Alone
Colum McCann, Everything in This Country Must: A Novella and Two Stories
Roddy Doyle, The Deportees: and Other Stories
Diana Hacker, Bedford St Martins’ Pocket Style Handbook
Additional readings will be posted on the Blackboard site. Print them and bring to class.
Reading: Insightful, critical reading is central to this class. Since most days you will read only one short story for a class period, you will have sufficient time to read it carefully (perhaps twice) and to think through it before the class discussion. It is important that you read with a dictionary at hand to define unfamiliar words. Also, because the class deals with locations and historical moments foreign to you, you will have to consult encyclopedias and other sources to fully understand what you are reading. As you read, record questions, observations or criticisms in the margins; they will provide starting points for our conversations. Occasionally I will ask to have a look at your notes to make sure you are reading thoughtfully .
Participation: Since this class operates primarily as a student-oriented discussion class and writing studio, class participation is especially important for the quality of our time together. I expect you to participate fully in class discussion by both attentively listening to other students’ interpretations and by contributing your own.
Attendance: Regular attendance is essential for this class: our discussions depend on active participation of every one of us. You are allowed three absences for whatever reason. You do not need to explain, but you do need to turn in any assignments on time and to get in touch with a classmate to learn what you missed. For each additional class session you miss your final grade will be lowered by one-third of a letter grade. If you miss the class more than six times you will be unlikely to pass the course. When you miss the class because of illness, major religious observances or excused University activities it is your responsibility to provide proper official documentation. Also, coming late to class adds up to your total absence count (three tardies equal one absence).
Writing: All written assignments must be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman with a one-inch margin on each side in Microsoft Word. They should be turned in as a hard copy and in electronic form. I will ask for an electronic copy of each of your written assignments – formal and informal. You will have to post the electronic copy in the Digital Dropbox on Blackboard. I expect you to turn in all your assignments on time. If an unforeseen emergency prevents you from meeting a deadline, let me know immediately. Generally, grade for any late work will be lowered by a third of a letter grade per day. Papers that have not been carefully proofread will be returned without a grade. Although you may resubmit the paper, it will be penalized as late. Late papers will receive a grade only (no corrections or comments).
Locks and Keys are one-paragraph writings designed to help you focus your thoughts and write about them clearly. Locks are questions that you have with the text that you would like to see answered or discussed. Keys are insights that you have about the reading that you think will help us interpret the text. The best way to come up with locks and keys is to take notes while you read and then turn your questions or comments into locks and keys. We will use the locks and keys as the basis for our discussions, so you might approach the assignment by thinking about specific aspects of the text you want to discuss further in class. They have to pertain to the page numbers specified in the syllabus for the day, or to issues we have not yet tackled. For example, you might develop your questions or insights around an issue raised by the text, a particular character, or stylistic or technical features of the text.
For each class marked on the syllabus with l&k you should write one lock or one key (just one full paragraph); they must be typed and turned in electronically in the Digital Dropbox on Blackboard the day before we talk about them in class (we will sometimes workshop them), and as a hard copy in class. They will be graded on thoughtful consideration of the text, insightfulness, completeness and clarity of writing. I will not accept late locks and keys.
Cultural Project Presentation is a collaborative project which allows you to research an aspect of Irish culture that we have not covered during the semester. You may choose to investigate the life and work of a poet, philosopher, painter, filmmaker or focus on a particular sport, music or dance tradition.
Grading:
2 essays:
1 Final exam:
10 locks/keys:
Cultural Presentation:
Class participation:
Dramatic presentation: Diagnostic Writing Assignment:
60 points (30 each) 30 points
50 points (5 each) 20 points
30 points (includes reading notes, quizzes, alertness in class) 5 points
5 points
200 points total
190> A
180> A-
172> B+
Your points will be available on Blackboard, so you can trace your progress.
Academic Honesty: Whenever you use someone else’s ideas without properly crediting their work, you are committing plagiarism. You are not only sure to fail any plagiarized assignment, but you may also fail the entire course. All first-year seminar students are asked to take the “Plagiarism Tutorial” on the Library’s website as well as to complete the “Plagiarism Quiz” available on Blackboard. If you are concerned about the possibility of plagiarism in any work you put out in this class, please talk to me before you hand in an assignment. I will be happy to advise you on how to quote or paraphrase material to
avoid academic dishonesty.
Note on Electronic Needs: Much communication will come to you via electronic format, generally through Butler email. All students should get in the habit of using and checking your email daily.
166> B 160> B- 152> C+
146> C 126> D 140> C- 120> D- 132> D+ 119< F
Accommodations: It is the policy and practice of Butler University to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. Written notification from Student Disability Services (SDS) is required. If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice for each occasion in which the accommodation will be needed. Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the accommodation can be received on a timely basis. Students who have questions about SDS, or who have or think they may have, a disability (psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, medical, etc.) are invited to contact SDS for a confidential discussion in Jordan Hall 136, or by phone at ext. 9308.
Contacting the professor: I welcome questions and comments about the course material and assignments. The best way to reach me outside of class is via email or during my office hours. I usually respond to email within 24-48 hours (with the exception of weekends).
Resources: I encourage any student who wishes to improve his/her writing to visit the Writing Center located in JH 304.
Reading Schedule
All readings are to be completed prior to the scheduled class session.
Week one: August 26 Introductions: imagology
Week two: August 31 Nuala O’Faolain, Chapter 2 from Are You Somebody? + explore the link to Postcolonial Web Ireland (BB)
Ireland Then: Colonization, Emigration and Language
September 2 “Was Ireland a Colony?” (BB); Chapter 18 from Irish History for Dummies + Boland “That the science of cartography is limited” (BB)
Week three: September 7 Lavin, “Tom” (BB) diagnostic due
9 Ní Dhomhnaill, “The Language Issue”(BB) + “Language” (BB)
Week four: September 14 Translations (Act 1) 16 Translations (Acts 2&3) l&k
Week five: September 21 The Speckled People (1-68) l&k 23 The Speckled People (69-136) l&k
Week six: September 28 The Speckled People (137-229) l&k 30 The Speckled People (230-298) l&k
Northern Ireland
Week seven: October 5 Irwin Library Session; Chapter 23 from Irish History for Dummies 7 Draft of Essay # 1 due for workshop
Week eight: October 12 viewing Belfast: the Sad Reality. Essay # 1 due 14 Reading break: no class; instead viewing Hunger Tue night
Week nine: October 19 discussion of the film + MacLaverty “Walking the Dog” (BB) l&k 21 Ourselves Alone l&k
Week ten: October 26 Everything in This Country Must; title story + “Wood” l&k
28 Everything in This Country Must, “Hunger Strike” + Heaney, “Two Lorries” (BB) l&k
Immigration Now
Week eleven: November 2 viewing Once Tue night 4 Essay # 2 draft due for workshop
Week twelve: November 9 The Deportees… “Guess who’s coming for the dinner,” “The deportees” 11 viewing Zulu 9 Essay # 2 due
Week thirteen: November 16 The Deportees: and Other Stories: “New boy,” “57% Irish” l&k 18 The Deportees: and Other Stories: “Home to Harlem,” “I understand”
Week fourteen: Thanksgiving holiday: no class
Week fifteen: November 30 and December 2 Cultural presentations
Week sixteen: December 7 preparation for the exam 9 in-class final exam