This class meets in person, currently scheduled in two different rooms (Tues vs Thurs). Ignore the Zoom link.

Professor Burstein Jb2@uw.edu

Autumn 2022 Reading Prose Fiction

Office hours are in person: Tuesdays 8-10 am and by appointment Padelford A502

Phone: 206-616-4181

Backup Zoom office: https://washington.zoom.us/j/98414369304

 

This class meets in person unless announced otherwise, 10:30- 12.20 in…

Tuesdays: Mechanical Engineering Bldg (MEB) 242

Thursdays: Electrical & Computer  Eng. Bldg (ECE) 105 10:30-12.20

 

If you have confirmed COVID: please notify the UW Environmental Health & Safety COVID-19 Response Team at  covidehc@uw.edu, or call 206.616.3344. Then contact me by email so we can get a plan for you in place.

 

Texts

 

The class may be reading literature containing explicit sexual language; explicit references to violence and suicide; the use of racially demeaning terms; and misogynist language. Alongside a commitment to anti-racist pedagogy, I adopt Dr. Koritha Mitchell’s pedagogical practice: “The N-word is not uttered in my classes, even if it appears in the reading. We simply say N or N’s when reading passages aloud.”  http://www.korithamitchell.com/teaching-and-the-n-word/ (Links to an external site.) https://soundcloud.com/c19podcast/nword

 

Ali Smith, How To Be Both. Anchor Books ISBN-13: 978-0307275257

 

Hard Copy Course Reader to be available at Rams Copy Center. 4144 University Way NE. 206-632-6630.

 

 

Schedule

Week 1

Thursday 29 Sept: Introduction. Syllabus, Terms.

 

Week 2   Fable, Allegory, Realism, (Fairy Stories)

This week’s readings are posted on Canvas “Files.

            Tuesday 4 Oct: Perrault, Grimm, Carter; LeGuin

 

            Thursday 6 October Du Maurier, “The Birds”

RP #1 due: Carter or Du Maurier.

 

Week 3:  Point of view

Tuesday 11 October   Mansfield, “Bliss” ; Adiche, “The Thing Around Your Neck”

Joyce, “Araby”

         

 

Thursday 13 October, Joyce, Adiche, Mansfield; Hemingway, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”

 

Week 4: Big Picture

NOTE DEADLINE CHANGE.

Monday 17 October 5 pm. RP 2 due.

Tuesday 18 October: Hemingway, “TSHLoFM” con’t

 

 

Thursday  20 October: Chiang, “Story of Your Life”

 

 

Week 5: Experimental Style

 

NOTE RP 3 DEADLINE CHANGE.

Monday 24 October 5 pm. RP 3 due.RP #3: Nors due.

Tuesday  25 October: Nors, “Minna Needs Rehearsal Space”

Thursday  27 October: No class; JB at conference.

 

Week 6: Love

 

NOTE RP DEADLINE CHANGE.

Monday 31 October 5 pm. RP 4 due.

Tuesday 1 November: Proulx, “Brokeback Mountain”; Raymond Carver, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”

 

 

Thursday 3 November  Munro, “The Bear Came over the Mountain”

 

Week 7 Ekphrasis Etc.

Monday, 7 November @ 5 pm: Extra CREDIT RP due in light of in-class 3 November discussion.

Tuesday  8 November : Ali Smith, How To Be Both

 

Wednesday 9 November 5 pm Smith RP#5  due.

Thursday  10 November: Smith, con’t.

 

Week 8: Everything Else

Tuesday  15 November:  Smith

 

Thursday  17 November : Smith

 

 

Week 9: “It was a dark and stormy night”

Tuesday  22 November:  Write it yourself: In class group work. Further details TBA.

 

Thursday  24 November : National holiday

 

 

Week 10: Fiction?

Monday 28 November 5 pm. RP 6 due.  See new instructions. 

Tuesday  29 November : Serpell, “The Work of Art,”; Roupenian, “Cat Person,” and  Nowicki, “‘Cat Person’ and Me”

 

Thursday  2 December : Serpell, Roupenian, Nowicki continued; plus [as in optional reading] Ricoeur on identity.

 

Week 11: The Stakes of Fiction

Tuesday  6 December. Conclusion

 

Thursday  8 December. In-class exam.

 

 

Course Requirements

 

Complete all of the reading by the day we begin its discussion. Always have it with you in hard copy.

 

Know what every word in the text means. Look it up here if you do not know: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/encydict I recommend the OED.

 

You will be uploading work as .doc or docx. Work on a machine that allows this. Other formats will not be accepted.

 

Unscheduled in-class quizzes may be given.

 

Grading rubric

 

In class work: Group work, scribing, discussion: 25% See “How to Scribe” in Files.

 

RP’s: 50%. See “How to Write a Response Paper” in Files if it’s not stapled to a piece of paper you are currently holding. There are 6 RP’s. You can skip one if you’d like.

 

Exam: Identification, short answer, short essay. Held on last day of class. 25%

 

Grading: Response Papers

See “How to Write a Response Paper” in Canvas “Files.”

Response papers receive in descending order: check minus, check [minus], or check, or a zero if it’s not on point: because you didn’t respond to directions or because it’s not on point or you didn’t read the book or whatever.  Your goal is to get and maintain a check. At the end of the quarter, I will assess your performance on the responses papers over the arc of the course as a whole. You can get a 4.0 in the course if you start out with a check minus.

Check minuses mean you need to try harder next time. There is at least one basic error. See the comments I’ve given you—in the text as well as overall--on what to not repeat next time. Repeating the same errors from RP to RP will increase the weight of the error.

A check [minus] means you’re on the fence, almost at a check.  

Checks mean you are doing well.

Write at the top of the page “I don’t want comments” if you know that you don’t want comments—that’s fine, truly. My hope is that you learn a lot of stuff that can’t be done in class*  from my comments, but they do take serious time to read (and to write). If I write them, I expect you to read them.

*You are welcome to make appointments with me to go over your RP’s one-on-one.

 

Class / Office Hours Conduct

 

1. This is college. Regard your relationship to this class as a professional one. Further, this classroom is a place of respect.

 

2. Write me from your UW account. I do not open emails sent from personal accounts. Call IT if you are confused about the mechanics of forwarding email to different accounts.

 

3. Intellectual debate and discussion are vital aspects of humanities classes.

 

1. If you want to respond to something relevant and I don’t stop talking which is let’s face it quite likely raise your hand and stare at me impatiently. If you are responding to another student or students, and they don’t stop talking after a few minutes, raise your hand and stare at me impatiently.           
2. Don’t be shy about saying, “Actually I disagree with you, Prof B/Atalanta; look at p. 32—the character is laughing, and I don’t think that fits  with what you are saying.”

 

1. If you do not know the person’s name, tell them yours and ask them theirs.

          

1. When someone disagrees with you, you are guaranteed a chance to respond. This does not mean you have to agree. If possible, send the ball back to their end of the court—consider their point and explain to them for example how it doesn’t pertain to your point, modify what you’re saying if that seems intellectually credible, or ask them a pertinent question.

             

1. I may interrupt conversations for logistical reasons like time; if so, please feel free to continue the conversation during office hours.

 

1. Discussions will shift in focus. If you don’t get your say, raise your hand and say, “I’d like to go back to what Jorge was saying earlier…” Your response continues to matter, and others will likely appreciate your continuing the thread.

 

1. Present your ideas on the grounds of concrete textual evidence. (That’s a learning outcome.)

 

8. Emails to me are not texts; employ proper grammar.

 

9. Office hours are never conducted via email.

 

10. Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism includes lifting material from the internet, collusion, and the use of sources without full citation. Papers are to be the result of your own labor, and all sources must be documented. If you have any questions regarding what constitutes plagiarism, consult me.

 

11. Job hours and classes must be structured around this class’s meeting times, or you need to find another class. See “Office hours” below for office hours planning.

 

Absences

 

This is college (see above). You don’t need to email me with an explanation for an absence. That said, repeated absences may impact the course grade (see rubric).

 

This class is not recorded. (Exceptions are already aware of their status as such.)

 

If you miss class, you are responsible for learning from your classmates what went on; after learning that you are welcome to make an appointment with me during office hours. Turn to the person next to you before or after a class next week. Introduce yourself. Now you’re “We share notes” buddies. Ta da.

          

Late Papers

 

Contact me in advance if you foresee a time crunch with a deadline; alternate due date/time arrangements may be made. Otherwise

 

• If the assignment’s grading system is on a 4.0 scale each 12 hour late period costs .25 of the highest possible grade on a 4.0 grade scale.
• If they are RP’s, they go down a ranking each 12 hour period: from check/ check [min]/ check minus/ Zero.

 

After 5 days, counting weekends, the paper will not be accepted and the assignment is given a zero.

 

 

Office Hours

 

Listed at the top of the syllabus on the upper left-hand corner. In person. You can make an appointment to hold a time slot, or swing by spontaneously. Zoom appointments and different times may be arranged if classes, work, or other credible life factors prevent you from regular office hours. Not wanting to get up early does not qualify as a credible life facto unless you are working multiple jobs or are a caretaker.

 

If you make an appointment—either in or outside of regular office hours—and a scheduling conflict emerges, cancel as much in advance as possible; 24 hours is requested. If you no-show for an appointment, you have taken up time that others could have used and forfeit being able to make future appointments outside of designated office hours.

 

Emergencies are exactly that: emergencies. The above does not apply. Prioritize health and welfare, and email me ASAP.

 

UW students must take the student conduct code seriously when it comes to academic and

professional integrity. Please do not disrespect those dealing with the impact of Covid by invoking it spuriously. Here is the UW’s Emergency Readiness Committee’s 2021 flow chart for decision making. https://www.ehs.washington.edu/system/files/resources/COVID-19-public-health-flowchart.pdf

 

 

Misc.

 

1. Always write me from your uw.edu email account. I do not open emails sent from personal accounts. Call UW IT if you are confused about the mechanics of forwarding email to different accounts.

 

2. Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism includes the lifting of material from the internet, collusion, and the use of sources without full citation. Papers and presentations are to be the result of your own labor, and all sources must be documented. If you have any questions regarding what constitutes plagiarism, consult me. Plagiarism encompasses unintentional as well as intentional behavior.

           

3. If I get your name or preferred pronoun wrong, please let me know.

 

4. I do not hold office hours via email.

 

5. This syllabus is subject to change. I will announce changes during our in-person classes, and/or notify the class through announcements and/or email. You are responsible for keeping up with these modifications to our schedule and/or assignments.

 

6. Check your UW email account once a day for the remainder of the term.

 

 

Legalities

 

You will be held to the UW’s stipulations regarding health and conduct.

 

If you require accommodation owing to a disability, contact the Disabilities Resources for Students Office (DRS) in Schmitz Hall 448 (206-548-8924; uwdss@u.washington.edu) or the Disabilities Services Office (DSO) at dso@u.washington.edu. It is your responsibility to follow all rules outlined by the If you require accommodation owing to a disability, contact the Disabilities Resources for Students Office (DRS) in Schmitz Hall 448 (206-548-8924; uwdss@u.washington.edu) or the Disabilities Services Office (DSO) at dso@u.washington.edu. It is your responsibility to follow all rules outlined by the DRS/DSO: Should forms be involved, you must ensure delivery to me with time enough to allow for us to arrive at a mutual understanding of the means by which those accommodations are best met.

“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) (Links to an external site.).”

 The Department of English at the University of Washington acknowledges that our university is located on the shared lands and waters of the Coast Salish peoples. We aspire to be a place where human rights are respected and where any of us can seek support. This includes people of all ethnicities, faiths, gender identities, national and indigenous origins, political views, and citizenship status; nontheists; LGBQTIA+; those with disabilities; veterans; and anyone who has been targeted, abused, or disenfranchised.

 

This syllabus is subject to change. You are responsible for keeping up with its modifications.

 

                                                                                                                       --Mon 31 Oct