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You have reached the syllabus for  Illinois Valley Community College's  Women in Literature Gender 2002, Online Summer 2003 Kimberly M. Radek, Instructor
	Berthe Morisot's La Lecture, 1869-1870

Course Objectives

This course introduces you to representative works by and about women from historical, social, and literary perspectives as it seeks to inform you about gendered identities. You will learn how gender roles develop and change and how women's views of themselves are reflected in their writing. You will read different literary forms, and you should become able to identify motifs, themes, and stereotypical patterns in that literature. Additionally, you will learn historical, philosophical, religious, and cultural information to help increase your understanding and appreciation of the works. By the end of the course, you should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the texts, the authors and literary and social movements that produced them, and the elements of those texts, such as symbols, themes, and points of view.

Prerequisites: You will need critical reading and writing skills to successfully complete this course, hence you must have completed English 1001 and 1002 or their equivalents. 

General Education Credit

This course is a general education course, which fulfills a humanities requirement toward your bachelor's degree. It has been accepted by IAI as a H3 911D course, so you know that it will be accepted by all participating schools.  This course will help you attain the following goals, deemed central to IVCC's general education program: 

1. To apply analytical and problem solving skills to personal, social, and professional issues and situations.

2. To communicate orally and in writing, socially and interpersonally.

3. To develop an awareness of the contributions made to civilization by the diverse cultures of the world, including those within our own society.

4. To understand and use contemporary technology effectively and to understand its impact on the individual and society.

5. To work and study effectively both individually and in collaboration with others.

6. To understand what it means to act ethically and responsibly as an individual in one’s career and as a member of society.

7. To develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle physically, mentally, and spiritually.

8. To appreciate the ongoing value of learning, self-improvement, and career planning.

Required Texts for Purchase

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Fawcett, 1985.

Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic. New Haven: Yale University press, 1979.

Naylor, Gloria. Linden Hills. New York: Penguin Books, 1986.

Rhys, Jean. Wide Sargasso Sea. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1966.

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, Inc. 1997.

Soles, Derek. The Prentice Hall Pocket Guide to Understanding Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. 

Recommended Text

Lynch, Rose Marie, and Kimberly M. Radek. Style Book. 1996. or the revised version (2003) available at the Bookstore, not online, only.

Grading Scale (%)

    A: 100-90     B: 89-80     C: 79-70     D: 69-60     F: 59-0

Breakdown of Grades 

Class Discussions on WebBoard: Extra Credit, TBA
Individual Participation, largely on TestPilot: Extra Credit, TBA             
Examination #1: 10%
Examination #2: 10%
Examination #3: 10%
Examination #4: 10%
Gender Analysis Papers (2): 10%
Literary Analysis Papers (2): 10%
Summation Paper: 10%
Reaction Papers (4): 20%             
Research Paper: 10% 
            

Class Discussions:  For the summer, you may contribute to WebBoard discussions, but they are not mandatory.

Individual Participation: For the summer, you may take the quizzes as study aids, but they are not mandatory.

The Examinations: You will be tested over the material covered in class "lecture" material and assigned readings. The examinations may include short answer, multiple choice, and passage identification questions but will be largely comprised of essay questions. These exams will show that you have read these texts critically and analytically, identifying common themes and gender issues in them, and can write clearly about them.

The Papers: All submitted drafts should be done on a computer. They must be double-spaced and should and follow standard MLA format. You should e-mail them to me either copied into an e-mail or as an attached Word document.

In the gender analysis papers you will determine, analyze, and evaluate the gender messages in a text  you choose as your subject.

In the literary analysis papers you will analyze and evaluate the literary merits of your chosen subject.

In the reaction papers you will react to a work of literature or a critical essay that we've covered in class, explaining how its messages relates to you, whether you find it an enjoyable, truthful, and/or useful read, and whether you think it is a good or great work of literature or criticism and whether you think is is feminist in nature. Take this link to see a sample paper.

Your research paper will be combine the gender analysis and literary analysis, and should be comparative and persuasive. You will either agree or disagree with a historic opinion of women, supporting it or rejecting by reference to women's writings or you will prove that women can be as great in literary pursuits as men or that they cannot.

In the summation paper you will seek to explain and describe  what you have learned about the image of women in literature and how the experience of the course has influenced your learning and your understanding of gender.

All of these papers should, of course, have clearly stated thesis statements in their first paragraphs. Your gender analysis papers are due at the conclusion of Sections 1 and 3; your literary analyses are due at the end of Sections 2 and 4.  Your reaction papers are due at the end of the unit from which you've chosen their subjects.  Your research paper is due at the end of Section 3, while your summation paper is due before you take the final section exam.  Papers will be given letter grades that will be converted to percentage points before the final semester grade is calculated, and they will be evaluated on audience, grammar, organization, presentation, spelling, and style as well as content.

Expected Student Behaviors

1. The student will read texts with understanding and appreciation, reacting to and analyzing what he or she has read, by the date(s) they are to be discussed.

2. The student will participate actively to lectures and discussions, asking/submitting questions for clarification on ideas or issues, if needed.

3. The student will participate in discussion, offering his or her insights about the literature or asking the class or instructor for clarification on material he or she does not completely understand.

4. The student will integrate and cite accurately information of other writers, using other writers' opinions, beliefs, and/or observations to support his or her own opinions, beliefs, and/or observations.

5. The student will synthesize lecture, discussion, and text materials to come to a more solid world view on the impact writing and gender have and have had upon history and literature and the impact history and literature have and have had upon writing.

6.  Students will respect each other's personal beliefs and be committed to helping each other learn more about the course information and themselves. Students will help each other become more confident in his or her own unique personal voice and see the authority in his or her own personal experience. 

Plagiarism

The College's policy on plagiarism applies in this class; I will question you if your work does not appear to be your own. Keep all notes, outlines, drafts, and finished assignments so that you can demonstrate that writing you have submitted is your own work, should any question of plagiarism arise.

Tentative Class Schedule

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Contact Kimberly M. Radek, the instructor of Women in Literature, at Kimberly_Radek@ivcc.edu . 

This page was last updated on 30 May 2006 . Copyright Kimberly M. Radek, 2001.