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ELIT 10 Fiction

ENGLISH 10-INTRODUCTION TO FICTION
BOB DICKERSON-DE ANZA COLLEGE-FALL QUARTER 2011
Office-F-11f      Phone-864-8540   Email address: dickersonbob@fhda.edu
Office hours: M-Th 11:30-12:20

PREREQUISITE

Eligibility is established through successful completion of English 211. Completion or concurrent enrollment in English 1A is preferred.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The student will be able to:
   1) Become familiar with various writers of fiction and their works and be able to recognize, identify, relate, and compare their styles and their particular social, political, religious, intellectual, and philosophical ideas;
   2) Understand and appreciate the distinctive qualities of plot development, character development, theme, structure, setting, allegory, symbolism, point of view, irony, and related narrative concerns in both short stories and novels;
   3) Be able to recognize and discuss major trends in fiction regarding both its stylistic development and its social, political, religious, intellectual, and philosophical development;
   4) Be able to relate various types of fiction to yourself and your surroundings and culture.

TEXTS

Martin (ed.), We Are the Stories We Tell (Pantheon)
Kureishi, Love in a Blue Time (Scribner)
Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (HarperPerennial)
Nabokov, Laughter in the Dark (Vintage)
Morrison, Sula (Plume)
Stern, The Frozen Rabbi (Algonquin Books) [RECOMMENDED]

ATTENDANCE

We meet four times a week. You are allowed to miss a maximum of five classes (excused or unexcused). If you miss six, I will subtract five points from your final grade. If you miss seven, I will withdraw you from the class if the seventh missed class occurs before the drop date (11/18). If it occurs after that date, you will receive an F for the class. If you arrive significantly late or leave early, you will be assessed either a full or half absence for that day depending upon the time you miss. If you miss a class you are responsible for getting the assignment from one of your classmates. Please exchange phone numbers and/or email addresses with at least two of your classmates.  A missed class is no excuse for failing to complete an assignment. 10/8 is the last day to apply for any enrollment fee refund should you drop any or all courses (10/1 for out-of-state or foreign students). 10/15 is the last day to drop with nothing showing on your record. 11/18 is the last day to drop with a "W."

   
COURSE REQUIREMENTS

The student will be expected to:
     1) Read all the assigned texts and any additional materials that may be submitted to the class during the quarter.
     2) Participate in class discussions.
     3) Write one long essay of approximately 1,000 words.
     4) Write several short in-class and out-of-class essays on the readings.
     5) Complete a midterm and a final, both of which will have an essay component.
     6) Submit occasional written or oral reports to the class on various topics that pertain to the assigned reading.
     7) Perform successfully on impromptu reading quizzes.
    
EVALUATION

Your final grade will be primarily determined by the quality of your written work, but it will also be affected by your class attendance (I like to see students attend class), class participation, and your ability to submit your completed assignments on time.
Late papers will only be accepted up until one week after the due date. Late papers will be marked down three points for each class they are late, and I will write no annotations or suggestions on them. If you do not turn a paper in within one week of the due date, you will receive a 0. Thus, it seems advisable to submit all papers and submit them on time.

PLAGIARISM— Don't do it!!!

FLAKE FACTOR—Excessive tardiness, absences, protracted break-taking, late papers, unread assignments, etc. are considered annoying, deleterious, and bad form; consequently, they may affect your final grade (and your future income and investment portfolio, as well). They upset me immensely.

CELL PHONE RULE—You may not use cell phones during class for any reason. If you need to use them, please go outside the room and text or call or whatever you need to do.

FINAL EXAM

The final exam will be given in L-83 from 9:15-11:15 A.M. on Tuesday, December 13.

 Updated Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 10:12:03 AM by Bob Dickerson - dickersonbob@fhda.edu
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