Syllabus: Science and Scientists
EN 2252 L. Schachterle
Science and Scientists in Modern Literature Project Center
Term C; SL 105-- 3:30 pm
INTRODUCTION
EN 2252 provides an introduction to reading selected works of fiction for
thematic content. The theme of this course is how writers depict science and
scientists, but what you learn about identifying and contrasting themes
should be useful in your own reading as well as in preparing the theme for
the final Sufficiency essay.
OBJECTIVES
1. Help students develop an ability to identify and discuss important
themes in works of literature, and to compare and contrast these themes in
different texts.
2. Help to articulate ideas about these themes in written and oral
forms. Team oral presentations will be emphasized.
3. Provide an introduction to how science and technology are discussed
in literature: does science have an ideology and an ethics?
GRADING
Grades for this course will be based on class participation and on seven
marks: two hour exams, two short essays (3-5 pages), class participation,
and a team oral presentation (separate grades for team and individuals).
ALl seven activities must be completed to receive a grade for EN 2252.
Note: to participate in class, you must be there.
The hour exams will be open book (but with no notes or secondary sources)
and will consist of identifying and discussing major passages from the books
read. You should read your texts carefully, and in preparing for classes and
the exams, underline passages which seem important thematically.
BOOK LIST
Shelley, Frankenstein
Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Huxley, Brave New World Brecht, Galileo
Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 Duerrenmatt, The Physicists
SYLLABUS
January
11 Introduction
12 The "Two Cultures" Debate: C. P. Snow, scientist and artist
15 Frankenstein, Preface-ch. 4 (author and character)
16 " chs. 5-11 (character and plot)
18 " chs. 12-19 (plot and structure)
19 " chs. 20-end (theme: Asimov, "The Damned Frankenstein
Complex"
22 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, chs. 1-7; First essay
due: "Authors often use one or more pairs of characters to contrast,
in important ways, the points they are making about the central character.
Discuss three important character contrasts in the novel Frankenstein with
respect to helping the reader most fully understand the character and role
of Victor."
23 " chs. 8-12
25 chs. 13-17
26 chs. 18-24
29 chs. 25-28
30 chs. 29-end
February
1 EXAM ONE for first two books
2 Brave New World
5 "
6 "
8 The Physicists, Act 1
9 " Act 2
12 " "21 Points of The Physicsts"; Galileo, Introduction
13 Galileo, scenes 1-5
(15==WPI Academic Advising Day; no classes held)
16 " , scenes 6-12
19 " , conclusion; Brecht's essays at the end
20 The Crying of Lot 49
22 " Second essay due: "Joseph Rotblat, a nuclear physicist who
founded the Pugwash Conference, won the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize. Using some
materials distributed in class, discuss what you believe are the
responsibilities of scientists to society by analyzing at least three of the
narratives discussed in this course."
23 "
26 "
27 "
29 EXAM TWO ON LAST FOUR BOOKS (Three questions will be from the last
book, to help you to decide how carefully to read it!)
POINTERS FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS:
1) Prepare individually and as a team, with a FIVE MINUTE MAXIMUM per
person. Everyone must participate equally.
2) Rehearse several times. Making a good oral presentation is hard, but may
be the most important thing you take away from this course professionally.
When rehearsing, critique each other for such factors as
o quality of projection (can you hear the speaker? does he or she
look at you?)
o pace--too fast or too slow?
o avoidance of mannerisms like "UMMMM," "you know," slang, etc.
3) Be imaginative in how you organize the presentation. Props, visuals and
handouts are welcome. Avoid "talking heads"!
4) You do not need to dress formally, but you must be reasonably
presentable. Note: wearing a cap indoors is not presentable.
GRADING.
I assume for many of you, this will be the first occasion to speak before
college classmates. Grading will be generous; a "B" is the norm. If you
have severe stage fright or other impediments, please feel free to see me.
POINTERS FOR WRITTEN PRESENTATIONS
All essays will be graded equally for content and expression--qualities that
really cannot be separated intelligently. Students with difficulties in
writing should consult with me, or with the WPI Writing Resources Center or
WRC (in Salisbury Labs), for help in oral and written communications.
Footnotes will be reviewed in class. Please use the following form:
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (NY: Signet Classic, 1968), pp. 10-11.
ALL essays should be word-processed and spell-checked, and must be easily
legible (no worn ribbons!).
Do not repeat the plot for its own sake, or to take up space. I have
already read the books, and do not need to be reminded what happened.
Analyze the stories; do not retell them!
The following errors are common, and should be avoided. Most dictionaries
will have brief grammar sections you can review, or check in the WRC.
Credit will be deducted for making such errors on formal essays.
1. Possessives and plurals-- the former use apostrophes ('); the latter do
not.
2. Affect/effect. The former is usually a verb; the latter is usually a
noun.
3. Semicolons (;). This punctuation mark joins together two complete and
separate sentences (as in #1 and #2 above). Learn to use this mark
correctly; don't confuse it with the colon (:) which usually introduces a
list--not a separate new sentence.
4. ITS/IT'S. A very easy confusion. Just remember that ITS is the
possessive of IT (just like HIS or HERS, without the apostrophe). IT'S is
the contraction of IT IS.
Informal essays (written in class as quizzes or otherwise) will be graded
for spelling and grammar, but not as stringently as formal essays.
GRADING OVERALL. EN 2252 is intended to be a reasonably easy course to
pass, but a hard course in which to get an "A." I reserve "A"'s for the top
20% or so of the class who CONSISTENTLY show original, thoughtful, high
quality productivity throughout the course.
*********
EXAM STRUCTURE. Both exams you take in this course will have the following
instructions, followed by 4 passages.
Choose three of the four quotations below to discuss. For each passage,
indicate in a brief essay why the passage is thematically important to
the book from which it was taken--that is, how the ideas presented in
the passage illustrate concerns central to this course. You may combine
two or even all three questions together into longer essays, or deal
with each of the three questions separately.
Whichever strategy you follow, try wherever possible to refer to other
passages in the book which are thematically related to this passage.
However, I reserve the right occasionally to give an alternative question.
Department of Humanities Statement on
Documenting Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism
DOCUMENTING SOURCES:
Research papers, sufficiency projects, and other writing that incorporates
information or ideas from sources must include suitable documentation of
the sources.
You must provide documentation:
--when quoting directly from a source, that is, copying the words of
another;
--when paraphrasing ideas or information from a source, that is,
rewriting a passage in your own words;
--when incorporating into your paper information or ideas that are not
general knowledge (or discussed in class).
The documentation may take one of the following forms:
--parenthetical citations in your text following the borrowed passages,
plus at the end of your paper a list of works cited.
--footnotes or endnotes, that is, raised numbers following the borrowed
passages in your text, plus citations either at the bottom of your pages
or at the end of your paper.
By documenting your sources:
--you demonstrate to your reader how your own ideas stem from, differ
from, or relate to those in your sources;
--you support your ideas by showing that authorities in the field have
held similar ideas;
--you assist your reader, who may want to look further into the sources
that you found helpful;
--you share intellectual activity honestly and properly.
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of another without properly
documenting them. The WPI Student Conduct Policies booklet clearly
specifies that plagiarism, the misrepresentation of the work of another
as your own, is an act of academic dishonesty. It is also academically
dishonest to allow another person to copy your work and present it as
his or her own work. Cases of deliberate plagiarism can result in loss
of credit for the assignment or for the course or project during which
plagiarism is committed. A serious act of plagiarism can result in the
student's suspension from WPI.
Students will avoid plagiarism by learning to use and document sources
correctly.
