Course Description

The city of London has been a center for art and commerce for centuries. It has also been a city of immigrants, especially with the arrival in 1948 of the Empire Windrush. Traveling from the far reaches of a fading Empire, this ship's passengers hoped for a better life in the mother country but arrived in a city whose doors were often closed to people of color, a city ravaged by the bombs of World War II. What kind of London emerged from the rubble of war? What kinds of lives did these new immigrants build? How did existing Londoners respond? What is the legacy of this immigration in contemporary British culture? During the next few months, we will explore answers to these questions as we study the culture of post-WWII Britain through its literature.

Course Objectives

• To become familiar with a particular period of British literary and cultural history
• To use relevant cultural and historical information when interpreting literature, film, and other cultural texts
• To participate in lively and informed discussions about our reading and films
• To develop and apply critical skills for reading, thinking, and writing about several genres
  – what a literary or cultural text conveys (its themes, its view of the world)
  – how a literary or cultural text conveys that knowledge (its aesthetic form, its selection/omission of detail)
• To contribute to current conversations about literature of London (Grad students: to develop a publishable idea and thus enter the existing critical conversation about literature of London through a research-based, scholarly argument that intervenes in and advances that conversation.)

Readings and Class Participation: Given the course objectives stated above, this class will foreground discussion. Class participation is therefore expected and will count for 20% of your final grade. This portion of your grade includes your contributions to our discussions in class (in large and small groups) and to our discussions on the online message board (further information below). To participate, you must complete the reading assigned for each class session, think carefully about what you have read, and come to class ready to share your ideas.

Attendance: The University requires that students attend all classes in which they are enrolled, and so your attendance is required. Further, your attendance is important to the success of our discussions. I recognize, though, that the unexpected will happen. Therefore, you will not be penalized for your first absence. However, subsequent absences will lower your final course grade; excessive absences (three or more) or excessive lateness/early departure may result in failure of the course. While I appreciate your offering explanations for your absence, the only way to excuse an absence is to provide me with an official letter from your Dean or the Graduate School or an official notice of illness from the Health Center or your doctor. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out from another class member any announcements or assignments.

Class Discussion Questions / "Continuities": As part of the class participation grade, students will complete two scheduled contributions.

Students will sign up in pairs to initiate discussion for one of our class sessions. Questions for class discussion (4-5 in number) should highlight issues or themes or queries you think we should address in our class discussion of the reading assigned for that day. Critical commentaries or historical context assigned for that class session can be included, too, to help us explore the primary reading. After conferring about and drafting the questions, pairs leading discussion should email me their questions by 6 p.m. the night before; I will confirm receipt and offer any suggestions for the order or focus of the questions

The first evening of class, students will draw a reading selection from Peter Ackroyd's London: The Biography; this reading selection should be incorporated into our discussions for the designated class period through two venues: an additional posting to the online message board and a brief (5 minute) contribution to discussion in class highlighting 3-4 key observations from that slice of London's life. For both contributions, you should reflect on connections between the historical and cultural information about London that Ackroyd provides and our assigned reading for that week.

Online Message Board: To offer another venue for discussion, we'll be using an online message board in Canvas (K-State Online). Each week, each student is required to post at least one paragraph-length comment about the materials we're reading and discussing in class. I will read these discussions and assess a grade (at the end of the semester) based on the thoughtfulness of your comments, their ability to foster discussion among your classmates, and their responsiveness both to our readings and to your classmates' comments in class and on the board. Postings will count for half (10%) of your class participation grade (20%). If you would like to know your message board grade to date at any point in the semester, please ask.

I'll provide some weekly question prompts as I follow these conversations, and I may also participate in the discussion, but I see the message board primarily as a way for you to raise issues we haven't addressed -- or addressed fully or to your satisfaction -- during our regular class meetings. The work contributed to the message board can become source material for more formal writing assignments.

The weekly message board will run from Saturday to Friday, to encourage you to post right after as well as before our weekly class discussions, but I encourage you to contribute your ideas throughout the week and to check the board for others’ postings. Your postings do not need to be long, but they do need to be substantive: they must be long enough to convey clearly the problem you are taking up and your point of view, connecting your comment to others’ comments whenever possible. I will offer models of successful comments early in the semester.

To post to the message board, follow these directions:

1. Go to my homepage at http://www.ksu.edu/english/westmank/ and click on our course (ENGL 635), and then "Message Board" to login to K-State Online Canvas and go directly to "Discussions." (You may also login to the Canvas course page for ENGL 635 and click on "Discussions.")
2. You should see all the messages posted to date and the newest threads first.
3. To post, choose to "reply," so you can engage directly in the conversation and your message can "thread" beneath the one you’re responding to. Feel free to create a subject line that reflects the content of your contribution.

 

Papers and Response Papers: During the semester, you will be doing different kinds of critical writing: not only informal postings to the message board, but also more formal papers. All students will write one shorter paper (4 pages in length); undergraduates will also write a longer paper (7-8 pages in length), while graduate students will also write a longer paper with secondary sources (8-10 pages in length), an abstract of that paper, and an essay review of four articles about one of our authors on the syllabus. You will have a choice of two topics for Paper #1, and you will have a choice of text for Paper #2. Both papers should follow the general rules of composition and be typed or word-processed with standard double-spacing, 1-inch margins, and either 11- or 12-point typeface. Title pages and cover sheets are unnecessary. Pages should be numbered, stapled together, and spell-checked. Papers are due by the date and time on the syllabus; late papers will be penalized one grade (i.e.: A to B) for each day late. (Note: The University's Honor Code obliges you to cite the source of any idea that is not your own. Otherwise, you have plagiarized. If you do plagiarize, you will fail this course.)

You will also write four response papers (2 pp in length) in response to our readings. Response papers are designed to ready you for class discussion and to explore ideas you could develop further in a longer paper. They are due the day indicated on the syllabus. In your response paper, you should not repeat previous class discussions or provide a mere summary of the reading. Instead, your response should begin to analyze the primary and secondary reading assigned for that class session, selecting an issue or theme or question you feel to be significant. I recommend that you select a word, phrase, or short quotation from the reading to initiate your response. (See sample response distributed in class.) Responses will be graded on a 1-5 scale: 5=A, 4=B, 3=C, 2=D, 1=F. I do not accept late response papers.

 

Multi-Media Project: You will choose one of four possible multi-media projects to complete during the semester. Your multi-media project can be submitted on any class day but must be turned in no later than Tuesday April 30. Each project should demonstrate insight and understanding of the text with which it connects, should be thoughtfully constructed, and should be presented professionally with attention to detail.  Refer to the grading rubrics (posted in Canvas as of January 29) for detailed grading criteria. The assignment will be distributed the second week of class, but here are brief descriptions:

• Option 1: Create a soundtrack cd or playlist to accompany one of the texts we're studying. It must have 5-6 tracks and be accompanied by a written explanation (2 pages in length) of how each selected song relates to the text and its themes.
• Option 2: Using events, situations, or characters from a text we're studying, create a fictional front page of a newspaper about that text. Format appropriately (single spaced, columns, headings/headlines), and include a written explanation (2 pages in length) about your process of selection, research, or design, in light of the text's themes.
• Option 3: Create a collage of pictures and words (cut from magazines or assembled from digital images/print) that connects with a text we're studying. Include a written explanation (2 pages in length) explaining why you chose those particular images and/or words for that text and why you arranged them as you did, given the text's themes.
• Option 4: Create a trailer for one of the printed texts we're studying. The trailer should be 30-45 seconds in length and be accompanied by a written explanation (2 pages in length) your process of selection and design in light of the text’s themes and the trailer’s audience.

 

Professional Development: During the semester, you will complete three tasks (e.g., participate in a career development workshop/activity, conduct an information interview, and complete a task selected in consultation with me) to help you translate your work in English to professional contexts and explore professional options.

Examination: You will have a cumulative final exam.

 

Online and video resources: Along with some required viewing (see the films/TV listed under "Required Texts") and required online reading, I will refer you to resources available online or on video to complement our readings and discussions. Links within the online "Schedule of Classes" will take you to related online resources, and a "Web Resources" link from our course homepage will take you to a page of links devoted to our selected authors, their work, and the city of London. I will add and update these resources as the semester progresses; if you locate a site or page which you find valuable, please let me know, and I'll consider adding it to the existing links.

 

Email: I highly recommend email as a way of touching base with me about your work for the class -- a kind of virtual office hours. You can send me queries about reading or writing assignments, your thesis statement for an essay, or anything else that could be handled with a quick exchange of messages. I check my email throughout the day, but please remember that I am not perpetually online.

Conferences: I want you to succeed in this course, and I am happy to meet with you about your work and your progress. I encourage you to see me before exams or papers are due, or if you have questions about material we discuss in class. Please feel free to stop by during office hours (M, W 9:00-10:00 a.m.), or contact me by phone or email to arrange a more convenient time to meet.

Note: If you have any condition such as a physical or learning disability that will make it difficult for you to carry out the work as I have outlined it or which will require academic accommodations, please notify me in the first two days of the course. Any student with a disability who needs a classroom accommodation, access to technology, assistance during an emergency evacuation, or other assistance in this course should contact the Student Access Center (formerly Disability Support Services) and/or me. The SAC serves students with a wide range of disabilities including, but not limited to, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, depression, and anxiety.

Academic Honesty: Kansas State University has an Honor System based on personal integrity, which is presumed to be sufficient assurance that, in academic matters, one’s work is performed honestly and without unauthorized assistance. Undergraduate and graduate students, by registration, acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Honor System. The policies and procedures of the Honor System apply to all full and part-time students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate courses on-campus, off-campus, and via distance learning. The honor system website can be reached <http://www.k-state.edu/honor/>. A component vital to the Honor System is the inclusion of the Honor Pledge which applies to all assignments, examinations, or other course work undertaken by students. The Honor Pledge is implied, whether or not it is stated: "On my honor, as a student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic work." If you have any questions about your work in relation to the Honor System, please ask.

Expectations for Student Conduct: All student activities in the University, including this course, are governed by the Student Judicial Conduct Code as outlined in the Student Governing Association By Laws, Article VI, Section 3, number 2. Students who engage in behavior that disrupts the learning environment may be asked to leave the class.

Conceal Carry Statement: In this class, students will be asked on a regular basis to participate in activities (i.e., engaging in group work) that may require students to either be separated from their bags or be prepared to keep their bags with them at all times during such activities. Students are encouraged to take the online weapons policy education module <http://www.k-state.edu/police/weapons/index.html> to ensure they understand the requirements related to concealed carry.

 

Statement of Copyright: Copyright 2019 as to this syllabus and all course materials and lectures. During this course students are prohibited from selling notes to or being paid for taking notes by any person or commercial firm without the express written permission of the professor teaching this course. In addition, students in this class are not authorized to provide class notes or other class-related materials to any other person or entity, other than sharing them directly with another student taking the class for purposes of studying, without prior written permission from the professor teaching this course.

 

Grading:

Undergraduate Students: The two papers will count for 30% of your final grade (10% and 20% respectively); the response papers will count for 15% of your final grade; the multi-media project will count for 10% of your final grade. Class participation (20%), professional development (10%), and a final exam (15%) complete the requirements.

Graduate Students: The shorter paper will count for 10%, the essay review will count for 10%, and the longer paper and its abstract will count for 20% of your final grade. The response papers will count for 15% of your final grade, and the multi-media project will count for 10% of your final grade. Class participation (20%), professional development (5%), and a final exam (10%) complete the requirements.