Literature 3300

Section 001
Fall 2005
Professor Sigrid Koepke

University of Texas at Dallas

School of Arts & Humanities

DAYS/TIME/LOCATION:

MW 2:00 -- 3:15 PM CB1.110

OFFICE/OFFICE HOURS/CONTACT:

I will hold regular OFFICE HOURS Wednesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 PM in

JO 5.416 (Professor Bambach’s office).
In addition, you can schedule ON-LINE MEETINGS with me via E-MAIL and WebCt. Due to
insufficient PHONE LINES in the faculty office (972-883-2168), your best way to CONTACT me is via
WebCt and, in case of emergencies, via E-MAIL Sigrid@utdallas.edu ).

The syllabus, course information, and possible changes and announcements are available on WebCt.

This syllabus is merely a “plan” that can and will change anytime
if and when class or news events require an adjustment.
However, I will continuously keep you informed in the WebCt
discussion area.

Course Description

The aim of this course is to introduce students to a number of texts from the Western Literary tradition
in light of the recurring themes. By looking at a variety of works, from the ancients to the modern,
from Greece to America, we will pay special attention to education and/or the roles of women as they
are described or implied in these works.
While the background to the texts will be provided by lectures, our class will adopt a seminar format
that will include the viewing of videos, student presentations, class discussions, and group work.

Required Texts & Supplies

Please note that our close textual reading will require attention to individual words. It is crucial to use
the same translation/edition as the one ordered through the bookstores (I have provided the ISBN for
the books in WebCt so you may shop for the best price).

Homer, The Odyssey

Sophocles, Theben Plays
Euripides, Bakkhai
!!! Euripides, Medea
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Goethe, Faust I and II

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Perkins Gilman, Herland
Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

Recommended Texts & Supplies

Tuana, The Less Noble Sex

Hesiod, Theogony and Night and Day
MLA Handbook

Attendance Policy

Because participation is vital to the successful completion of this course, you should attend every
class. If you must be absent, then check with me for any work that can be made up. However, much
of the work is done collaboratively in class. Alternative assignments are generally not given, nor can I
“re-teach” missed classes for individual students. If you miss three classes, your grade will be
negatively affected and/or you may be encouraged to drop the class.
Chronic tardiness is unacceptable (three late arrivals or early departures are counted as one
absence). Equally unacceptable is coming to class unprepared, doing work that is not for this
course, sleeping in class, or using computers or other personal electronic devises for personal
messaging, research, or entertainment. Please turn off cellular/mobile phones, pagers, and other
personal electronic devices during class. If your cell phone interrupts class, it will count as partially
missed class (If you are required to carry a pager, please inform me in writing and turn the volume
off).

Office Hours

Please note that I will hold office hours on campus on Wednesdays—I will be able to give you the
exact time by next week. Additionally, you can schedule (via e-mail or after class) on-line meetings in
the WebCT.
Please make use of the internet for contact.

Grading Policy

This course is concerned with your development as a critical reader and writer; the grading strategy
will track and monitor that development by grading multiple drafts of your paper. Your grades will be
based on your written work which includes observations, various drafts of the main essay, and the
written essay that accompanies your presentation, and your oral work, which includes class
participation and the presentation.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism is the representation of another person’s work as your own, whether you mean to or not.
For example, copying or paraphrasing passages from another writer’s work without acknowledging
that you have done so is plagiarism. Allowing another writer to write any part of your essay is
plagiarism. Copying or purchasing a paper from any source is plagiarism.

Plagiarism is a serious offense. The possible consequences range from failing the assignment to
failing the course, or worse. Each incident of plagiarism at UTD must be reported to the
administration. If you are not sure how to properly cite a quoted or paraphrased source, or if you need
help with the format of a citation, check with the MLA Handbook and/or with your teacher. Although

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you can (and, in fact, should) seek help and advice from friends, classmates, tutors, and others, be
sure that your written work is your own.

I reserve the right to submit any student essay to a plagiarism checker. See the Undergraduate
Catalog for information about the consequences of Scholastic Dishonesty, or view the policy here
(which is also a link on the Rhetoric Program website):

http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/dishonesty.html.

Major Assignments

1. Observations: regular informal written responses to the readings that include a work cited entry,
your name, and YOUR TAKE on the readings for the day. You will bring these type-written
observations to class to serve your memory during class discussions and then hand them to me by
the end of class.
Completeness and thoughtfulness of these observations are more important than style and
execution.
2. One oral presentation based on an essay with full documentation, edited, and proofread.
3. One five-page paper in two independent drafts—the second draft will dramatically differ from
the first and will include ideas and sources that we will have read between the two drafts.
4. Final essay question (take home). You will receive three different questions that you answer by
incorporating a close reading of selected texts we will have read during our semester.

Syllabus Itinerary (subject to change)

[Assignments are due by the next class period unless noted otherwise]

WEEK ONE
Introduction
Syllabus
Begin reading of Homer’s Odyssey (Introduction 3-76)

WEEK TWO,
Odyssey, Discussion of the first seven books, known as the Telemache.

WEEK THREE,
Continuing Homer’s Odyssey

WEEK FOUR,
Finishing the Odyssey
Gorgias, “Encomium of Helen,” Aristotle, Poetics

WEEK FIVE,
Background for the tragedies

WEEK SIX,
Discussion of the tragedies

WEEK SEVEN
Finishing the tragedies

WEEK EIGHT

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 st
DUE: Essay 1 draft (This date may have to be adjusted to reflect the new mid-term grading policy.)
Discussion of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream

WEEK NINE
Video of Hamlet

WEEK TEN:
Goethe: Faust

WEEK ELEVEN
Goethe: Faust

WEEK TWELVE
Introduction to Charlotte Perkins Gilman:
“The Chair of English” and “If I were a Man.”

WEEK THIRTEEN
nd
DUE: Essay 2 draft
Herland

WEEK FOURTEEN
V. Woolf: A Room of One’s Own

WEEK FIFTEEN
Wrapping up the discussions

WEEK SIXTEEN
Final Take home essay questions