English 4W, Section 4

English 4W, Section 4 Office: Royce B14

Critical Reading and Writing Office Hrs: Wed. 2-4 pm

MW 11 am-12:50 pm email: wald@humnet.ucla.edu

Royce 150 Home #: 310.453.6682 (9am-10pm)

Instructor: Carol Wald Mailbox: Rolfe 2225

Course website: http://ecampus.humnet.ucla.edu/classes/engl4w-lec4-99f/

Syllabus

Power Lines: Science, Technology and Literature

"The true poet and the true scientist are not estranged. . . . The interests of the two are widely different, yet in no true sense are they hostile or mutually destructive."

-- John Burroughs, 19^th c. American naturalist

"Naturally, I do not share the common fallacy of an antagonism between science, literature, and art, which appeals to me in much the same way. Creative imagination is a vital factor in all of them . . .

-- George Ellery Hale, Astronomer

"Far back as I can remember, I built rockets and wrote poetry. . . . I always felt torn between two worlds."

-- Alan Lightman, physicist and novelist

Course Description

This introductory course in how to analyze and write argumentative essays about literature fulfills the second quarter (Writing II) of the new freshman English

Composition requirement; English 4 is also the first course in the English major. English

3 or its approved equivalent is a prerequisite for this course. (If you are not sure whether you have fulfilled the English 3, a.k.a. Writing I, requirement, please consult College of Letters and Science counseling in A316 Murphy Hall, 310/825-1965.)

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the skills of close textual analysis, also known as explication, and how to turn this analysis into literary argumentative essays. You'll be working on these skills by reading, analyzing and writing essays about poetry, stories, plays, and novels.

The title of this course, "Power Lines: Science, Technology and Literature," indicates the theme that connects all of the literature we will read this quarter: science and technology as powerful modes of knowing about the world and ourselves, and the rich and varied responses of writers to these ways of knowing The writers whose works we'll be looking at use art to question the ways that science and technology interact with and alter our understanding of the world, human nature and the human condition. You do not need a formal background in science to enjoy and excel in this course, just a lively intellectual curiosity. A few background essays, on reserve in the ERR, will help you understand many of the scientific concepts and attitudes we will encounter in the literature we read.

While the course does have a central thematic interest in science and technology, our main focus will always be on analyzing literature as literature. We will continually ask how form, or the construction of a literary work, relates to content, or the meaning of a literary work. This means our main focus will be to analyze the techniques that writers use to construct their works, and the way these techniques shape meaning.

Required Texts

All texts are at Ackerman Union Textbooks, except course reader.

• True North, Stephanie Strickland

• True North hypertext, Stephanie Strickland (available for both PC and Mac)

• Cosmicomics, Italo Calvino

• Doctor Faustus, Christsopher Marlowe

• Arcadia, Tom Stoppard

• Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman

• A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7^th Edition, M.H. Abrams

• A Writer's Reference, 4^th Edition, Diana Hacker

• UCLA English Dept. Style Sheet

• Course Reader of poetry and stories (available at Westwood Copies, corner of Gayley and Weyburn, next to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; approximate cost $13.00; Hours: M-F 8:30 am-8 pm; Sat. 9 am-5 pm; 310/208-3233

Optional Text

The Ultimate Einstein, book and CD-ROM, Dr. Donald Goldsmith with Robert Libbon (CD-ROM works with either PC or Mac)

Background Reading on Reserve in English Reading Room:

• "Cosmology," from Classical and Christian Ideas in English Renaissance Literature, Isabel Rivers

• "What Was Known," from The Scientific Revolution, Steven Shapin

• Excerpts from The Ultimate Einstein: Ch. 3, "1905: The Wonder Year;" Ch. 4,
"The General Theory of Relativity"

• Excerpts from Chaos, by James Gleich

• Excerpts from In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, by John Gribbin

Course Requirements

• Punctual Attendance: It is imperative that you attend class. More than two unexplained absences will affect your grade. If you are ill or have a family emergency, please make sure you bring me a doctor's note or otherwise explain the absence to me.

• Come to Class Prepared: You are expected to complete the readings before each class.

• Papers: One paper, 2-3 pp.; 3 papers, 5-7 pp.

• Electronic Bulletin Board Postings: Weekly or biweekly postings on website bulletin board, starting with second week. Assignments will be posted on the bulletin board on Fridays and will be due the following Tuesday by 8pm.

• Midterm and Final Exam: Midterm will cover poetry, stories and literary terms and concepts; final exam will be cumulative.

Grading

• Portfolio Grading: Your writing assignments will be graded as a cumulative portfolio at the end of the course. This means you will receive written comments on the first three papers when the paper is first handed in, and you will have the opportunity to revise the first three papers before handing in your final portfolio. You will receive verbal feedback on your last paper during a paper conference with me during weeks nine and ten. We will also be doing peer editing for each paper. You and a classmate will exchange papers and give each other written feedback, either on paper or via email.

• Bulletin Board postings: Each assignment will receive from one to three points.

• Grade Breakdown: Paper #1 = 5%; Papers # 2, 3, 4 = 20% ea.; electronic bulletin board postings = 5%; midterm = 15%; final exam = 15%

Plagiarism

Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and carry serious consequences at UCLA. During the first week of class, you will be required to read the "UCLA Guide to Academic Integrity" and to sign a statement indicating that you have read and understood its contents. When writing papers, consult the UCLA Dept. of English Style Guide for instructions on how to cite sources.

Schedule

Week One

10/4 • INTRODUCTIONS

• Website Demonstration

• Poem, "The Woman Painting Crates," Alison Hawthorne Deming

• Poem, "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer," Walt Whitman

10/6 • Stories from Cosmicomics, "At Daybreak," "Without Colors," "All at One Point"

• Read syllabus and "Student Guide to Academic Integrity"

• In Abrams, read "Point of View," "Science Fiction," "Short Story"

Week Two

10/11 • Introduction on Emily Dickinson, Reader pp. 33-34; Introduction on Walt Whitman, Reader pp. 116-118

• In Abrams: Read "Meter," "Rhyme," "Stanza," "Free Verse;" portion of "Periods of American Literature:" Romantic Period in America, pp. 206-207; "New Criticism," esp. explication, p. 181

• Poem, "To a Locomotive in Winter," Walt Whitman, Reader pg. 123 (end of poem is on pg. 33)

• Poem #585, 'I like to see it lap the Miles," Emily Dickinson, Reader pg. 35

10/13 • Story, "Training," Susan Straight, Reader pp. 176-179

• Story, "New York to Detroit," Dorothy Parker, Reader pp. 170-172

Week Three

10/18 • Metaphysical Poetry of John Donne:

• Introduction on Donne, Reader pp. 36-37

• "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," Reader pp. 39-40

• "The Ecstasy," pp. 40-41

• "Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward, Reader pg. 42

• Hymn to My God, in My Sickness," Reader pg. 43

• Abrams: Read "Metaphysical Poets," metaphysical conceit under "Conceit," "Paradox,"

•Poem, "That Cartography is Not an Exact Science," Eavan Boland, Reader pp. 16-17

• Background Essay in ERR: "Cosmology," fr. Classical and Christian Ideas in English Renaissance Poetry

10/20 • Story, "The Geometry of Love," John Cheever, Reader pp. 151-156

• Story, "Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius, Jorge Luis Borges, Reader pp. 134-143

• Abrams: read magic realism under "Novel," pp. 195-196;

Fri. 10/22 PAPER #1 DUE IN MY MAILBOX BY 4PM

Week Four

10/25 • "True North," Stephanie Strickland

10/27 • Hypertext version of "True North"

Week Five

11/1 • MIDTERM on poetry and stories - One Hour

• Play, "Dr. Faustus," Christopher Marlowe

11/3 • "Dr. Faustus," Cont'd

• Abrams: Read "Tragedy," "Bombast," "Soliloquy," "Act and Scene," "Plot," "Chorus," "Blank Verse"

Fri. 11/5 PAPER #2 DUE IN MY MAILBOX BY 4PM

Week Six

11/8 • "Dr. Faustus," Cont'd

• Background Essay in ERR: "What Was Known," from Shapin's The Scientific Revolution

11/10 • "Dr. Faustus," Cont'd

Week Seven

11/15 • Play, "Arcadia," Tom Stoppard

• Background Essay on Chaos Theory

• Abrams: Read "Pastoral"

11/17 • Play, "Arcadia," Cont'd

Week Eight

11/22 • Play, "Arcadia," Cont'd

11/24 • Play, "Arcadia," Cont'd

Week Nine

11/29 • Novel, Einstein's Dreams

• Background Reading in ERR on Relativity Theory from The Ultimate Einstein

• Abrams: Read "Novel," esp. fabulation, p. 196; review frame-story under "Short Story," p. 287

• PAPER #3 DUE IN CLASS

12/1 • Novel, Einstein's Dreams

Week Ten

12/6 • Novel, Einstein's Dreams

12/8 • Novel, Einstein's Dreams

Friday, 12/10 PAPER #4 DUE IN MY MAILBOX BY 4PM

FINAL EXAM

Monday, 12/13 3-6pm