Spring
2006 Phone: 351-2985
Eng.
325--008 Dr. Sharon Wilson
Ross 1170B Office T Th
1:00-1:45,
Blackboard:
http://bb.unco.edu. W 2:45-3:45& by appt.
Home Page: http://www.asstudents.unco.edu/faculty/swilson Dept. Fax:
351-3378
sharon.wilson@unco.edu
FANTASY: SECRET CHAMBERS, FANTASTIC TRANSFORMATIONS, HOBBITS,
AND HEROES
REQUIRED READING:
Doris
Lessing. Memoirs of a Survivor. Vintage.
J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Scholastic.
Angela Carter. The Bloody Chamber and Other
Adult Tales. Penguin.
Edith Hamilton. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Meredian..
Hero, Demeter-Persephone, Pandora, Isis, Snake
Goddess, Medusa
E. R. Eddison. The Worm Ouroboros. Replika.
Tolkien. Hobbit. Houghton Mifflin.
Franz Kafka. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Dover
Thrift.
Peter Beagle. The Last Unicorn. Roc Trade.
Hunt and Sterne,
trans. The Complete Grimms Fairy Tales. Pantheon.
Handouts:
RECOMMENDED:
Joseph Gibaldi and Walter S.
Achtert.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Newest edition. MLA.
This
is the required form for the research paper.
REQUIRED FILM
VIEWING:
The Last Unicorn
The Hobbit.
Harry Potter and The Chamber of
Secrets.
COURSE GOALS:
To develop students' awareness of
the origins, functions, and varieties of fantasy
To develop students' understanding of the
themes, structure, symbols, characterization, and techniques of fantasy
To develop students' abilities to speak,
write, and think
imaginatively, particularly about literature
To develop students' appreciation
of fantasy as an art form and of fantasy elements in literature and the other
arts.
GENERAL
REQUIREMENTS:
l. Research
Paper on one or two class readings or, for extra credit, an Outside
Reading. Advance and support a thesis on a
focused aspect of the fantasy genre or of
the work(s), such as character,
theme, narrator, motif, significance of
setting, symbolism, or particular technique, such as fairy tale or myth intertexts in fiction..
Recommended length: 7-l0 typed pages.
Support interpretation in detail, including some relevant quotations and
at least FIVE scholarly articles
(including two from books), which should be internally cited in MLA form with
Works Cited Assume that many readers
would not agree with your reading or your critical method and that you will
need to persuade them. See me for help
and, if necessary, go to the Writing Center.
See the MLA Bibliography (also on-line), Academic Search Premier,
and the card catalogue for reference to critics; not all reviews and Internet
information are reliable. Thus, do not count any Internet sources, reviews,
excerpts, or encyclopedia entries in the 5 required sources. The teacher will present essay suggestions
in introductions and discussions. See
Plagiarism Policy. 20
points/ percent. If you are doing a comparison
or haven't written many
papers, see me for assistance, go to the
Writing Center, and consult Kelley
Griffith's Writing Essays About
Literature. 20 points
2. Three Brief
Papers of 1 1/2-2 ½ typed, double-spaced pages. Each should be a very
specific interpretation and analysis of one aspect, such as an image or
motif that interests you, of the assigned novel. Due on the first day of discussion for
full credit and marked down one letter for each late class. This should not be a summary or a like/
dislike reaction but should have a tightly focused thesis and demonstrate that
you have finished and understand the text. 5 points
each (15 points/percent).
3. Oral
Presentation--an informal discussion of one of the assigned or Outside
Readings, either
by yourself or with another person. As
above, advance and
support a thesis on a focused aspect
of a fictional work. Schedule a time with me as soon as possible,
by the end of the fourth week at the latest. Recommended
length: l0-20 minutes for each person.
If you are ill on the scheduled day, notify me or the English secretary before classtime; if
you do not, the grade is 0. The presentation must
be well-prepared and
well-delivered: summary without analysis is not
acceptable. 15 points
4. Choice of writing a
a. Paper
of 5-10 typed pages on a different assigned or Outside Reading than in other
papers..
or
Fantasy short story of five to ten typed pages.
Knowledge
of fantasy elements and techniques will
be judged in either
option. Declare option
by the end
of the fourth week. 15 points
5. Participation
and Regular Attendance. Completion of all
reading and other work on
time, preparation for and
participation in
discussions, and regular attendance.
Attendance grades will be based on attendance sheets. Participation grades are based on in-class
and small group discussion. Up to three
absences for illness may be excused if you email or phone me before class. Four excused or unexcused absences may
result in a grade of 0 for Attendance, a 10 percent reduction in course grade. Leaving early, coming late, and interfering
with class may also cause a lower grade here. If necessary, quizzes will be given.
15 points.
6. Take-Home Final Examination. 20 points.
EXTRA CREDIT:
1. 2 points
for handing in all assignments, including quizzes, papers, story (if chosen),
and exams.
2. If class
time permits, an extra-credit oral may be performed on an outside reading (see
list).
3. The Research
or 5-10 page paper could include an outside text from list. Points will be added to your total.
4. 1-3 points for Extra-Credit Films. Write down director and cast for one point.
RECOMMENDED
Extra-credit Films: Some sections may
be shown in class:
If you have seen the film,
see it again and think about course concerns
The Hobbit. (old)
Return
of the King. old and new.
The
Lord of the Rings.
The Never-ending Story
Watership Down
Star
Wars.
The Company of Wolves.
Clash of the Titans
RECOMMENDED
CRITICISM:
Imaginary
Worlds: The Art of Fantasy. Lin Carter.
Of
Other Worlds: Essays and Stories. C.S. Lewis.
Fantasy
and Mimesis: Responses to Reality in Western Literature. Kathryn Hume.
A Reader's Guide to Fantasy. Baird Searles,
Beth Meacham, Michael Franklin.
Tolkien: A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings. Lin Carter.
A
Guide to Middle Earth(Concordance
for The Lord of the
Rings). Robert Foster.
Barbara Walker. Women’s
Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets.
"The Doctrine of Organic Unity: E.R. Eddison and the Romance Tradition." Sharon
Wilson.
Extrapolation, 25 (Spring
1984), 12-19.
RECOMMENDED OUTSIDE READING:
The Robber Bride. Margaret
Atwood.
The Handmaid's Tale. “
Oryx and Crake. “
The
Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The
Return of the King. 3 volumes. J.R.R.
Tolkien.
A
Wizard of Earthsea.
Ursula LeGuin.
Bantam
The Tombs of Atuan. Ursula LeGuin. Bantam
The Farthest Shore.
" "
Marriage Between Zones 3, 4, and 5. Doris Lessing.
The Crock of Gold. James Stephens (may
be OP)
Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern. Anne McCaffrey. Ballantine
Dragonflight. Anne McCaffrey. Ballantine
Dragonquest.
" "
The White Dragon. " "
The Book of the Dun Cow. Walter Wangerin. Pocket
The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. (choose five
or six
stories).
Other
Harry Potter books. J. K. Rowling.
Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales and Stories, ed. Eric Rabkin (choose five or six
stories,
primarily twentieth-century)
The Fantastic Imagination: An Anthology of
High Fantasy, ed. Robert Boyer
& Kenneth
Zahorski (choose five or six stories, primarily
twentieth-century)
Extra credit
for one outside reading from
the above list. Substitutions may be made only with the professor's
consent, before the fourth week.
NOTE: IF ANY WORK IS PLAGIARIZED, THE COURSE GRADE
WILL BE "F."
GRADING:
100 points possible.
Assignment
and course points equate to these percentages and grades. Keep track of points so that you can figure
your current grade by dividing your cumulative points by the total number of
points for those activities. In the case
of in-class quizzes, keep track of percentages.
Scores may be viewed on Blackboard: http://unco.blackboard.com/. If you are uncertain what you might do to
improve, please see me.
Because
your grade is based on percentage points, not completing all sections of an
exam or all assigned work could mean course failure even if individual grades
are passing.
GENERAL GRADING RUBRICS:
Essays will be graded
holistically based on quality and effective expression of ideas. For an A or B,
1. Papers must have a clear
thesis on one focused aspect of the reading(s.)
2. The thesis needs to take a
position.
3. The thesis needs to be
supported with details and short passages from the works.
4. The paper should show
understanding of the texts.
5. The paper must be clear, organized and use
transitions.
6. The paper must be relatively free of
mechanical, punctuation, sentence structure, and
grammatical
errors and should be free of cliches.
7. The paper must be free of logical errors.
For a C, papers must display
few of the above errors. D and F papers
display a number of the above problems.
Fantasies: grade
is based on quality of idea and writing and on knowledge of fantasy.
DISABILITY
STATEMENT: Students with disabilities
who believe they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to
contact the Disability Access Center, (970) 351-2289, as soon as possible to
better ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.