English 333.01: Introduction to Shakespeare

Spring, 2008, Coulter 203, MWF 11:15-12:05, 42 class periods

Instructor: Dr. Terry Nienhuis (9-hice), Coulter 415, nienhuis@wcu.edu, 227-3926

Office Hours: MWF, 10 am; home phone: 293-7479

Web site: http://paws.wcu.edu/nienhuis

<>I. Rationale/Purpose: The WCU catalog description of this course is: “general survey of Shakespeare’s life, times, and most popular plays.” The course is designed for the non-English major. Literature majors should take English 431, Shakespeare and His Age. This course is closed to first-year students, 0-24 hours. The course satisfies the P4 category for Liberal Studies and the Upper Level Perspectives Course requirement.  <>

II. Course Aims and Objectives:

Aims: to increase the student’s basic familiarity with Shakespeare and to build more confidence, ease, and joy in the reading of Shakespearean texts. I believe that being relatively familiar and comfortable with Shakespeare is one of the marks of an educated person; I hope that you believe this as well. Furthermore, I believe that we learn what we think we need and that we learn more easily what we find pleasurable. I hope to make our study of Shakespeare relatively pleasurable so that you will be able to learn more easily, but reading Shakespeare is always a challenge for everyone.

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Objectives: by the end of this course, students will:

                        Be able to paraphrase Shakespearean lines (paraphrasing is putting into

                        completely new words the precise meaning of more difficult language)

                        Be able to visualize from the page what can happen on stage

                        Be able to write interesting profiles of Shakespearean characters

                        Be able to discuss thematic issues in Shakespeare’s work

                        Be able to discuss genre issues in Shakespeare’s work

                        Know some basic facts about Shakespeare’s life and times                   

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III. Course Materials: Shakespeare From Page to Stage, book rental, free at bookstore  <>

IV. Expectations of Students/Course Policies,

Statement on Accommodations for students with disabilities:

Western Carolina University is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for students with documented disabilities. Students who require disability services or reasonable accommodations must identify themselves as having a disability and provide current diagnostic documentation to Disability Services. All information is confidential. Please contact Disability Services for more information. Phone: (828) 227-7127 or 144 Killian Annex.

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Statement on Academic Integrity (including plagiarism),

WCU’s Academic Honesty Policy:

Western Carolina University, a community of scholarship, is also a community of honor. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students work together to achieve the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense at Western Carolina University because it threatens the quality of scholarship and defrauds those who depend on knowledge and integrity. Academic dishonesty includes intentional cheating, plagiarism, and the facilitation of the academic dishonesty of other students.  Consult the WCU Undergraduate Catalog, The Record, pp. 70-72, for a detailed description of the university’s procedures for cases involving allegations of academic dishonesty.

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Plagiarism—avoid it in Out-of-class Writing:

To avoid plagiarism, use the “Look Away” method of note taking

“Malicious Plagiarism” (conscious cheating)--an immediate F in course

“Inadvertent Plagiarism” (sloppy note-taking)—a zero on the assignment

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Attendance Policy: I adhere to the official WCU Class Attendance Policy (pp.82-83 of the WCU Undergraduate Catalog, The Record): all undergraduates are expected to attend all meetings of the courses in which they are enrolled; any absence is incurred at the student’s own risk. Coming to class is your “job” at this point in your life; therefore, coming to class every day is like showing up for work every day. I urge you to build good work habits now and to maintain these disciplined work habits throughout your working life. If, in missing a class, you miss an assignment, you will have one week from that event to complete any make-up work; students are responsible for initiating all make-up work. Any student who misses 20% of the semester’s course meetings (8.4 absences with 42 class periods), for any reason, will not be able to receive a passing grade in the course (this number will be adjusted whenever the class does not meet as a whole and the total number of class meetings changes during the semester). This semester, the regular W-Day is Wednesday, April 2; the medical W-Day is Wednesday, April 23.  <>

V. Grading Procedures:

Grading Scale:

96-100    A+    (WCU does not record the A+)
91-95      A
88-90      A-
86-87      B+
81-85      B
78-80      B-
76-77      C+
71-75      C
68-70      C-
66-67      D+
61-65      D
58-60      D-
All final grade averages of .5 or better are rounded up

(notice that my grading scale is 2 points lower that the typical 10-point scale; this is because I think that my academic standards tend to be higher than the average)

<>Final Grade:

Participation—25%

Out-of-class writing—25%

Midterm Exam—25%

Final Exam—25%

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Participation:

There will be some out-of-class and many in-class exercises during the semester designated as Participation Exercises. Each will earn + or – Participation Points ranging from .0 to 1.0. The total number of Participation Points for each student will be used at the end of the semester to calculate a Participation grade based on a class curve.

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Out-of-class Writing:

Please read carefully the “Writing Help” section on my web site (under “Additional Links”), as well as the “Tips on How to Read Shakespeare.” Bring these materials to class each day.

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Include for each out-of-class essay:

a description of your writing process (the steps you went through to create the essay),

a source narrative (a description of the sources you used, if any),

a self evaluation (your evaluation of the essay’s quality)

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General Requirements for Out-of-class Writing:

Staple multiple pages

No “fuzzied” paper (torn out of notebook with spiral “fringe”)

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Midterm (TBA) and Final Exam (Monday, May 5, 3:00-5:30). These in-class writings will demonstrate how well you have met the course Aims and Objectives.  <>

Two Behavioral Rules for the Classroom:

No eating

No cell phones

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VIII. Tentative Course Schedule

May change to accommodate student needs

<>Week 1            Introduction to course and participants; students choose the first play

Week 2            Continue work on the first play; focus on paraphrasing and visualizing   

Week 3            Focus on character profiles; essay # 1, Bringing a Character to Life

Week 4            Students choose the second play, different genre

Week 5            Focus on thematic analysis; essay # 2,

                        What is Shakespeare saying about life?

Week 6            Students choose the third play, different genre

Week 7            Midterm preparation, taking of Midterm, debriefing on Midterm

Week 8            Spring Break

Week 9            Students choose the fourth play, different genre

Week 10          Essay # 4, genre analysis, short week, Easter Break

Week 11          Students choose the fifth play, refined genre distinction

Week 12          focus on Shakespeare’s life and times; essay # 5, refined genre analysis

                        (regular W-Day is Wednesday, April 2)

Week 13          Students choose the sixth play, refined genre distinction

Week 14          TBA

Week 15          TBA (medical W-Day is Wednesday, April 23, Shakespeare’s birthday)

Week 16          Preparation for Final Exam