AS/EN2220: Introduction to Canadian Literature—Tutorial Guidelines

Course Instructors

Instructor: Allan Weiss

Email: aweiss@yorku.ca

Office: SC (Stong College) 208D

Office Hours: Tuesday 3:30-4:30 and Friday 3:30-4:30 or by appointment

Teaching Assistant: Melissa Dalgleish

Email: meldal@yorku.ca

Office: CC (Calumet) 303

Office Hour: Wednesday 1:30-2:30 or by appointment

NOTE: I do accept emails or assignment submissions by email, except in the case of

late assignments. However, I am extremely flexible with setting up appointments
during or outside of my office hours.

Tutorial Description

What is Canadian literature? Is it writing by Canadians? Is it writing by people living in

Canada, no matter where they were born? Is it writing about Canada? What is Canadian
about Canadian literature? Should Canadian literature reflect our experiences of living in
Canada? Should it reflect some version of Canadian identity? Is the label “CanLit” an
arbitrary way of organizing what and how we read? Does it distort our perceptions of what
we read? Of where we live? How does CanLit represent women, men, children, immigrants,
Native Canadians, visible minorities, differently-abled people, the LGBTQ community, class
structures? How does Canadian literature represent Canadian nature, and Canadian cities?
How does the definition of CanLit, and the texts that we include under its umbrella, change
depending on the time period, where we live, or who we are? All of these questions are
crucial ones that we will be exploring in tutorial throughout the year. By the end of the
course we will hopefully be able to answer, at least partially, many of them.

Attending and actively participating in the tutorial component of EN2220: Introduction to

Canadian Literature is crucial to your success in the course. While you will not be graded on
attendance, weekly attendance will be taken, and your participation makes up a significant
portion of your tutorial grade. Active participation in the tutorial includes having done the
readings, contributing interpretations of and questions about the text, and respecting the
opinions and ideas of your classmates.

The purpose of your tutorial for EN2220 is:

• To explore the course texts in greater depth and breadth than the lecture allows for
 • To reinforce, reconceptualise, and re-examine ideas, terms, and concepts from lecture
in an interactive format

• To develop and practice crucial academic skills including (among others) giving
presentations, contributing to discussions, performing close textual analyses, editing,
and academic essay writing

• To experience learning and developing as a student within a collaborative academic

environment

• To allow students to explore their responses to and interpretations of the texts

Evaluation

Participation in the tutorial counts for 15% of your overall course grade. That 15% is made
up of the following five components:

• Four 1-2 page response papers (two per term)

1% each

• Two 5-minute oral presentations (one per term)

2% each

• One resource-sharing presentation

1%

• Cogent and informed tutorial participation

6%

• Participation in peer review for both of the major essays

1% each

Submission of Assignments

All assignments must be submitted in tutorial (your tutorial, not one later in the day) the
week that the assignment is due. Submitting the assignment after tutorial or during another
tutorial will result in the assignment being graded as late. If you are unable to submit the
assignment on the due date, you must email me your assignment as soon as it is complete,
and then provide me with a hard copy of your assignment in the next lecture or tutorial.

Class Listserv & Blog

Melissa has set up a course listserv that will allow you to communicate and collaborate via
email. The listserv email address is EN2220@yorku.ca. Anyone who is registered in the
course can post to it. The listserv should be your first resource for questions about the
course, getting notes from missed lectures, etc. Melissa has also set up a course blog;
students must post information about their shared resource on the blog by the Friday of the
week they present. The blog can be found at http://en2220.posterous.com. To post to the
blog :
 • Write an email with the subject line as the title of your blog post and the body of the
email as the contents of the post

• Attach any files that you’d like to share along with your post; hyperlinks will show up
in the post automatically. Posterous allows you to post any kind of file—Word doc,
pdf, video, mp3, YouTube video, etc.

• Send it to post@en2220.posterous.com

Tutorial Assignments

Oral Presentation:

Each term, each student must prepare a 5-minute (approx. 2.5 page) oral presentation on
one or more of the texts on the reading list for the week in which he/she presents. The
presentation should explore one concept or feature of the text (ex. issues of gender, genre,
representation of Native Canadians, relationship to nature, form, class dynamics, &c.) in
some depth. Each presentation should conclude with at least three questions designed to
promote class-discussion. Students will also be graded on how effectively they facilitate this
discussion.

Response Papers:

Students are responsible for submitting four response papers (two per term). Each paper
should be 1-2 pages (double-spaced) in length, and should attempt to point out and work
through some problem in the text. Response papers do not need to be in formal essay style,
but must still be written in full sentences with care paid to writing style and coherency.
Students must submit their papers by these dates:

• First paper due by Thursday October 22nd (tutorial following Fall Reading Week)

• Second paper due by Thursday December 3rd (last tutorial before fall exams)

• Third paper due by Thursday February 11th (last tutorial before Spring Reading Week)

• Fourth paper due by Thursday April 1st (last tutorial before spring exams)

Resource Sharing:

Students will present to the class, in 1-2 minutes, a useful resource that can assist their
fellow students with one of these aspects of the class: research skills; writing skills; MLA
format and citation; finding reputable information about Canadian literature, poetry, and
authors; grammar; another aspect suggested by the student and approved by the teaching
assistant. These resources can be online, in book format, or can be workshops or programs
offered by York University. Resources offered by the university—online, in the library,
through the writing centre, or elsewhere—should be your first focus.

Peer Review:

One week before each of the two essays for this course is due, students will bring a draft
copy of their paper to class for peer review. Prior to the peer review day, we’ll discuss
guidelines and skills for reviewing. Learning how to review, assess, and edit papers—both
your own, and that of your classmates—is an essential skill for academic success.

NOTE: You MUST attend the tutorial in which you are registered. If you wish to
switch tutorials, you must do so officially. You may not simply attend any tutorial you wish.
Should you attend a tutorial in which you are not registered, you will receive no credit for
attendance or participation.