English 320: The Short Story
Using the Course
Schedule
Here are some important things to keep in mind
in using the course schedule.
- Reading assignments should be
completed before you come to class on the day the
assignment is listed.
It will be impossible to understand
what goes on in class if you haven't already read the
assignment before you come to the discussion.
Equally important is the fact that we will almost always
do some close reading and small-group discussion during
class. You will not be able to participate
effectively in these discussion if you have not done the
reading before you come to class. This means you
will end up disadvantaging whoever ends up being your
discussion partner. And since these class
discussions will often involve close attention to the
particular details of a story, you should always bring your text with you to class.
Yes, it is heavy! But it's also essential. If you can't
bring yourself to lug it along, consider that you don't have enough
interest in the course to remain enrolled in it without risk to your
GPA. (No kidding!)
- Take seriously the promptings --
generally once a week (but occasionally more or less frequently) -- to
participate in message board discussion.
These reminders will be highlighted
in yellow.
- What's required,
and what's only recommended. In the
course schedule, you will find two kinds of assignments
-- required and recommended. Assignments that are
recommended only show up only from time to time, and are
clearly indicated as such. Unless an assignment is
specifically indicated as recommended, it is
required. Almost all the assignments you will
encounter in the schedule are required.
- All page references in
the assignments are to the Gioia/Gwynn text. The
other kind of reference you will find in the assignments
is to something to be found on the Web. Just click
on the link provided. If the assignment linked to
is short and simple, you can just read it on-line.
But for stories, and for longer and more complicated
discussions of critical concepts, you'll do better to
make yourself a copy (by printing it out), so that you
can work through it slowly, make notes in the margin, and
review it at leisure.
In order to make sure everyone is able
to acquire the text in time to keep up with the
assignments in it, I will arrange the schedule so that
the assignments in the first week of the course are
also available on the web. Just click on the
link. In some cases you will find more than one
link to the same story.
- An important
caution: you'll find it useful to print
out a copy of this Course Schedule. But when you
look over your copy, keep in mind that anything that appears as underlined
is a web link that you can only follow up by getting
on-line and clicking on the word or phrase that's
underlined!
I never use underlining on a web page
for emphasis. (Instead I use bold, italics, colored
font, or large font, or some combination of these.
If you don't keep this in mind, you'll be hopelessly
confused in trying to make use of pages you have printed
out!)
- This schedule is
tentative. I may make adjustments in reading
or writing assignments if I think doing so best serves
the interests of the course as it develops. I will notify
you of these through an e-mail message or through the
Message of the Day.
The examination dates, however, you may
take as firmly set. About a week before the date cited,
you will receive special information (a "prep
sheet") designed to help you to review in a focused
way for each exam.
-
Return to the Course Home Page
(English 320: The Short Story).
-
Go to Course Schedule 1,
for remaining assignments up to the Mid-Term Exam.
-
Go to Course Schedule 2,
for assignments between the Mid-Term and Final Exam.
Suggestions are welcome.
Please send your comments to lyman@ksu.edu
.
Contents copyright © 2002 by Lyman A.
Baker.
- Permission is granted for non-commercial educational use;
all other rights reserved.
This page last updated 17 January 2003.