FYS101 First-Year Seminar Syllabus: Fall 2011
Shakespearean Temper I
Rebecca Ries Teaching Fellow:
Office: Jordan Hall 325A // 317-940-6535 Amy Nicholas
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30-2:15 & by appointment Office Writers’ Studio JH304
Email: rries@butler.edu Email: arnichol@butler.edu
Texts:
The Norton Shakespeare: Essential Plays of Shakespeare, Ed. Stephen Greenblatt
A Pocket Style Manual, 5th edition, Diana Hacker
Opening Remarks
For the fall and spring semesters, we will examine how one particular artist, William Shakespeare, makes meaning of the life that surrounds him. Within the artificial world of his dramas he supplies the very real values and morals of his time—complete with the conflicts that result—especially as these impinge upon one’s experience and one’s desire. Shakespeare’s characters must weigh their allegiances—to whom? And at what cost? A young woman finds she must choose between her father and her lover. How far can the father’s claim hold? Or a heroic warrior in the height of his developing powers must weigh the cost of his ambition. How far will he go to get what he wants and how much farther will he go to keep it? Or this: What does it take to propel a man to destroy the very woman he loves? Or yet another: A young prince learns that he must destroy a corrupt king in order to cleanse the kingdom of this corruption. But what happens when the corrupt king is married to his mother? How can this young prince kill the king without destroying everything that is good in his life? These are the kinds of conflicts that surface in Shakespeare’s plays – very human conflicts that require very human responses.
But you may wonder, Why study the fictions of writers, dead or living, male or female, writers whose constructed worlds are not even real, only imagined? You could survive without all of this. You could live your life without reading and thinking about Shakespeare or experiencing any other artist. Thus the question isn’t really a matter of survival, not in any physical sense. But though the question is not about survival, it absolutely remains a question about living your life. It is a question about the quality of life itself – the kind of life you choose to live. How might Shakespeare and his plays help us choose how to live our lives? That, my friends, will be turned over to us to make our own examination. So . . . let’s read Shakespeare and see for ourselves!
Goals of the First-Year Seminar
- To reflect on significant questions about yourself, your community, and your world.
- To develop the capacity to read and think critically.
- To develop the capacity to write clear and persuasive expository and argumentative essays with an emphasis on thesis formation and development.
- To gain an understanding of basic principles of oral communication as they apply to classroom discussion.
- To understand the liberal arts as a vital and evolving tradition and to see yourself as agents within that tradition.
- To develop capacities for careful and open reflection on questions of values and norms.
- To develop the ability to carry out research for the purpose of inquiry and to support claims.
Seminar expectations & policies
The First-Year Seminar, as part of Butler’s Core Curriculum, uses the seminar method quite intentionally. In this environment, students study a topic of interest, think deeply about the issues of this topic, and share their discoveries with one another. The goal is for each of us to develop authority over the material through our engagement with both primary and secondary texts as well as our engagement with one another. We will be in the company of one very engaged and energetic thinker, but the real success of our course is directly related to the energy each of us brings to our own thinking and our own willingness to engage with the issues we discover. Each class will operate primarily as a student-oriented discussion – which means that responsibility for preparedness falls squarely on everyone’s shoulders. Have the material read and responses prepared the day they are due on the schedule of assignments.
Writing, speaking, & research assignments
This course is required to address academic writing and clear, civil discourse, which serves as a guarantee that the university sees a direct relationship between serious and provocative writing/speaking and the quality of such a liberal arts education. To foster and promote intellectual development, the course will include a variety of writing and speaking opportunities including personal response, critical analysis, and academic research. The goal is to study, learn, record, report, synthesize, and create – to leave the course with much more than when we came.
Writing Assignments
- Approximately ten (10) informal essays. These will be in response to the plays, analyzing and responding to a small section of the week’s readings. These assignments roughly translate to weekly writings and will be based on the play under study for the week. The format for these assignments will be fairly standard, but the writing focus will vary in order to allow practice with a number of academic writing concerns. The due dates are listed on the schedule of assignments. A more complete description of these informal writing assignments along with a sample will be posted on Blackboard in the Course Documents folder.
- In-class essay exams – midterm and final.
- One formal essay to be evaluated & used for assessment purposes. This will be a critical essay derived from earlier informal writings &/or the essay exams. Students will develop at least one of their preliminary writings, revising & expanding it to fulfill the FYS core requirements, including at least one ungraded draft to practice constructing and refining arguments, developing evidence, revising, editing, and proofreading written work. Technical matters: 1200-1600 words, typed, double-spaced, with conventional necessities – an arguable thesis; a unified, coherent, well developed discussion integrating both primary and secondary sources. If requested, this assignment will serve the assessment protocol for the FYS Program at the end of the semester.
- At least two(2) research write-ups. These will be in response to the secondary articles you read about the titles under study. The format for these write-ups will mirror the format of the informal essays described above. The guidelines for these assignments will also be posted on Blackboard. The due dates for these assignments have not been set yet.
Oral Communication Assignments
Because we are working with some of the more fabulous plays in the English language, we will make use of Shakespeare’s English and we can do this in a variety of ways:
- Recitation: To commit to memory a chosen speech or two – which we can recite before our peers.
- Oral interpretation: To perform dramatic readings of a few choice scenes – a great chance to experience Shakespeare’s language first hand.
- Discussion: To lead and guide discussion based on both primary and secondary sources. Students will work in pairs to lead part of class discussion. Students will also be assigned a research group of at least three students to read, discuss, and work through secondary sources to present to class. The research assignments will be posted on Blackboard a little later in the semester.
Reading Quizzes
Expect reading quizzes almost every class. These are meant to help us keep our focus and to help us maintain a disciplined reading schedule. These are also an avenue to hold us accountable for attending class. The goal is to help us retain information both from texts and class discussions so that we can synthesize and internalize new material. No make-ups will be permitted for missed quizzes, regardless of reason, and the score will be recorded as a 0. To be consistent with my attendance policy, the two lowest quiz scores will be dropped to allow for the occasional absence due to illness.
Other Important Details
Technology/Electronic Needs
- Butler email: 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 Butler email regularly – daily.
- Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format: All written assignments (formal & informal) must be typed and submitted in both hard copy and electronic form.
- Blackboard: All course materials and assignments including student grades will be posted on Blackboard.
Assignments Due Dates: Students are expected to submit work the day it is due as listed on the Schedule of Assignments. Late work will be accepted up to one week for informal assignments with a scoring penalty attached; after one week 0 credit. If you anticipate the need for an extension for the essays, formal or informal, please contact me via email. Some leeway may be granted, but only if arranged in advance. The formal essay, if submitted late, will receive a grade penalty—1/3 letter grade per day. Please note that technology breakdowns do occur—systems go down, printers jam. SAVE your work periodically when you are working on it, and use the Butler system as much as possible. You’ve a much greater shot at retrieving work on the system rather than on your own disks or hard drives—assuming, of course, that you save your work before the downtime occurs.
Attendance Policy: Attendance is required, but students will be permitted two absences with no penalty to the final grade. If you are ill or cannot attend for other reasons (competitions, performances, etc.), please provide a brief email explaining your absence. In the event of absence for whatever reason, students are still responsible for material covered in class and for assignments due. Note: Students who miss six classes or more (that equates to three weeks of missed work) will be asked to withdraw. A student who accumulates eight absences or more and still remains in the course may receive an F for the course because of insufficient participation and attendance.
Requests for Academic 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 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. Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the accommodation can be received on a timely basis. Students who have questions about Student Disability Services or who have, or think they may have, a disability (psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, medical, etc.) are invited to contact Student Disability Services for a confidential discussion in Jordan Hall 136 or by phone at 317.940.9308, or by email at sds@butler.edu.
Cautionary Note: Plagiarism. One important task of the First-Year Seminar is for you to master integrating source material correctly and ethically into your own writing. You will have the opportunity to practice summarizing, paraphrasing, directly quoting sources and then integrating the material into your own writing. The task will be for you to differentiate your original ideas from these sources. Recording source material as though it is your original idea constitutes plagiarism—whether intentional or not. 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. An essay, formal or informal, plagiarized in part or in full will receive an F or 0. Plagiarized work also places a student in jeopardy of failing the course. Repeated incidents involving academic dishonesty can result in a student’s suspension from the University. Students should also refer to the Butler University Student Handbook (available online at www.butler.edu) for a full discussion of student rights and responsibilities regarding “Academic Integrity.”
**Tentative Grade Scheme
Assessment Essay (1): 50 50
Informal Essays (10): 5 each 50
Exams (2) 50 each 100
Quizzes (~10?) 5 each 50
Participation: 50 50
300 pts
Grading will be based upon a 90% = A, 80% = B, 70% = C, 60% = D scale. Criteria for written and oral assignments will be posted on Blackboard.
**Note: This is a tentative distribution plan. If changes to the schedule of assignments occur during the course of the semester (more quizzes, for example), I do reserve the right to modify the grade scheme – both number and grade equivalency – as I deem equitable for all and as a fair reflection of the work completed in our course.
Schedule of Assignments
Note: The schedule of assignments will remain close to what is set up, but adjustments sometimes are in order for various reasons. Students will be asked to sign up for particular days to share the responsibilities of leading and guiding class discussion as well as to target the interested research topics that our class generates.
Week 1 R Aug 25 Introduction to course
Week 2 T Aug 30 Midsummer Night’s Dream (MND)
R Sep 1 MND [Informal 1]
Week 3 T Sep 6 MND
R Sep 8 MND [Informal 2]
Week 4 T Sep 13 Romeo & Juliet (RJ)
R Sep 15 RJ [Informal 3]
Week 5 T Sep 20 RJ
R Sep 22 RJ[Informal 4]
Week 6 T Sep 27 Writing Workshop & Prep for exam: Moving from observation to insight
[Raising good questions & constructing preliminary hypotheses]
R Sep 29 Writing Workshop & Prep for in-class essay exam: Evidence to support
hypothesis via primary sources.
Week 7 T Oct 4 Exam 1
R Oct 6 Merchant of Venice (MoV)
Week 8 T Oct 11 MoV [Informal 5]
R Oct 13 Reading Break – No Class
Week 9 T Oct 18 MoV
R Oct 20 MoV [Informal 6]
Note: Plan to attend IRT (Indianapolis Repertory Theatre)
production of Julius Caesar: October 21-November 5
Week 10 T Oct 25 Writing Workshop: (1) Understanding, analyzing & integrating
secondary sources. (2) Choosing informal essay to expand
R Oct 27 No Class
Week 11 T Nov 1 Julius Caesar (JC)
R Nov 3 JC [Informal 7]
Week 12 T Nov 8 Individual Conferences: Draft of Formal Essay due at conference
Can also bring response to IRT Production of Julius Caesar [Informal 8]
R Nov 10 Individual Conferences: Draft of Formal Essay due at conference
Week 13 T Nov 15 Much Ado About Nothing (MAAN)
R Nov 17 MAAN [Informal 9]
Week 14 M-F Nov 21-25 Thanksgiving Break – No Class
Week 15 T Nov 29 MAAN
R Dec 1 MAAN [Informal 10]
Week 16 T Dec 6 Writing Workshop: Editing & Proofreading work
R Dec 8 Final version of formal essay due. Concluding remarks.
R Dec 15 Final Exam 8-10 JH303
“To the Reader”
This Figure, that thou here seest put,
It was for gentle Shakespeare cut,
Wherein the Graver had a strife
With Nature, to out-doo the life:
O, could he but have drawne his wit
As well in brasse, as he hath hit
His face; the Print would then surpasse
All, that was ever writ in brasse.
But, since he cannot, Reader, looke
Not on his Picture, but his Booke.
–Ben Jonson*
* Jonson’s poem commenting on Droeshout’s engraving that accompanied the 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare’s collected works.
VA
Paper Due Dates
Formal Paper #1 First Draft 9/15
Peer Review 9/20
Final Draft 9/27
Formal Paper #2 First Draft 9/29
Peer Review 10/4
Final Draft 10/11
Formal Paper #3 First Draft 10/27
Peer Review 11/1
Final Draft 11/8
Final Paper 12/1
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