Introduction to English Studies is intended to offer assistance as students transition from the early stages of the major to more advanced course work.

The course aims to provide a deeper understanding of the principles that guide the work that English professors and students do in the class room and on paper. It will give us time to consider what we interpret, how we interpret, and why we interpret. In addition to confronting such broad theoretical questions, the course will introduce you to a range of practical research and writing strategies all English majors should know for effective work in upper-division classes and beyond. In the process, we will encounter a series of interpretive approaches, testing their respective insights and limitations.

Having more deeply thought about models for thinking about, interpreting, researching, and producing literary essays, you will be better positioned to make your way through the English major.

Participation (15%). It is essential that you come to class with the appropriate text(s), having completed assigned reading, and prepared for active discussion. Attendance is mandatory. Every absence after the third one will lower your grade one “notch” (e.g., from B+ to B). I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. If you arrive after class has begun, I will count it as a half-class absence. You are responsible for keeping track of the number of classes you have missed and for information covered and assignments due on days you are absent. I expect to be able to reach you through your official college email account.

Response papers (15%). About once a week, informal writing assignments keyed to assigned readings will be due at the beginning of class. These one-page assignments are designed to encourage you to think more carefully about the topic of the day. You may miss two of them without penalty (with the exception of certain cases in which I ask everyone to do the assignment). Those who choose not to skip assignments will receive extra credit.

Formal Writing (70%). The course requires one short essay (15%), which will require an explication of a passage of prose, and one extended research project. The research project will culminate in a term paper (20%) in which you will develop a critically engaged argument about a topic of your choice. Preliminary assignments include a topic / thesis statement (5%), an annotated bibliography (10%), a framing exercise (10%), and a sample body paragraph (10%). All formal writing assignments will be assessed on the basis of content and style.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7^th Edition. New York: MLA, 2009.

Nealson, Jeffrey and Susan Giroux. The Theory Toolbox. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield,

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism. Ed John Paul Riquelme.

Complete reading and writing assignments in the right-hand columns by the date in the left-hand column. All writing assignments are due by the beginning of class.

IW= informal writing assignment. Each response should be about a full typed page.

	Reading Assignments	Writing / Thinking Assignments
T Aug 24	Course Intro: Why Study Literature?
R Aug 26	Stoker, Dracula (Chaps. 1-8, pp. 23-121)
T Aug 31	Familiar Approaches Dobie, “Familiar Approaches” (e-reserve) Stoker, Dracula (Chaps. 9-13, pp 121-189)	IW: Choose one of Dobie’s “familiar approaches” and describe how you might apply it to Dracula. What sorts of evidence would you try to find inside and outside of the text?
R Sept 2	Formalism / Close Reading Dobie, “Formalism” (e-reserve) Stoker, Dracula (Chaps. 14-22, pp. 189-299)
T Sept 7	Formalism / Close Reading Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Brooks, “Keats’ Sylvan Historian” (e-reserve) Stoker, Dracula (Chaps. 23-7, pp. 300-369)	IW: How does Brooks demonstrate New Critical priorities in his analysis of the poem? Quote selectively to support your points.
R Sept 9	Explication Workshop	IW (everyone): choose a short passage from Dracula that will sustain close analysis. Create a reading log, following the bulleted suggestions that Dobie offers (37). Please write in a form that I can understand – not just cryptic notes or bulleted points.
T Sept 14	Authority The Theory Toolbox, “Why Theory?” and “Authority,” (1-20)
R Sept 16	The Reader The Theory Toolbox, “Reading” (21-34)	Explication
T Sept 21	Subjectivity The Theory Toolbox, “Subjectivity” (35-50)
R Sept 23	Subjectivity / Gender The Theory Toolbox, “Differences” (157-75; note that this is just part of the chapter)	IW: In Dracula, what are the “social laws or codes” (TT 37) that change individuals into subjects? Where do we see them in action? Provide and interpret quotations.
T Sept 28	Gender “Gender Criticism and Dracula” (434-65). Read both introductory section and essay by Sos Eltis.	IW: Eltis turns attention to the text of the novel in her 11^th paragraph (455). What is she doing in the first 10? Briefly discuss how each one functions as an element of her argument. What kind of information does she provide in each?
R Sept 30	Mind “Psychoanalytic Crit. and Dracula” (466-99)
T Oct 5	Mind	IW: Discuss Foster’s introduction of psychoanalytic ideas into his essay. At what points in his argument does he rely on them? How much space does he allot to them? Why does he bring them into his analysis of the novel?
R Oct 7	History The Theory Toolbox, “History” (95-108)
T Oct 14	History “The New Historicism and Dracula” (500-37)	IW: In the essay by Gregory Castle, which critics or theorists are most important? Choose one and describe how Castle uses him or her to advance his own argument.
T Oct 19	Research Skills: Searching Databases	Topic Statement Draft (no thesis necessary)
R Oct 21	MLA Citation Challenge! Bring MLA Handbook	Prepare for the most exciting class of the semester: you will each help devise an interesting presentation on MLA citation style. Woohoo!
T Oct 26	Summary “The Art of Summary” (e-reserve) Bring Dracula anthology	IW: Browse through “A Critical History of Dracula,” finding a passage that does an excellent job summarizing an argument. Explain in detail how the writer effectively conveys a complex argument.
R Oct 28	Summary Workshop Bring chapter or essay.	Carefully read a book chapter or a 10+ page essay that you plan to include in your annotated bibliography. Mark your copy extensively, preparing to write summary in class.
T Nov 2	Developing a Thesis	Annotated Bibliography
R Nov 4	Quotation Workshop “The Art of Quoting” (e-reserve) MLA Handbook, Section 3.7 (92-105)	Revised Topic / Thesis Statement
T Nov 9	Body Paragraph Workshop Bring Dracula anthology	Body Paragraph preparation: type 15-20 short quotations that will help you develop your thesis. These should be drawn from the beginning, middle, and end of your primary text.
R Nov 11	Body Paragraph Workshop	Body Paragraph Draft
T Nov 16	Extended Introduction Workshop Bring Dracula anthology and Brooks essay	Body Paragraph
R Nov 18	Extended Introduction Workshop	Extended Intro. Draft
T Nov 23	TBA	Extended Intro.
T Nov 30	Conferences	Term Paper Draft
R Dec 2	Conferences
F Dec 10		Term paper due in my office by 5:00 PM

The office is on the ground floor of the Robert Scott Small building. The best entrance to use is on the back side of the building across from the Wellness Center. Enter the building by pushing the automatic door control at left. Proceed down the ramp, through an interior door and past the campus police office at left. Turn right and proceed down a long hallway until you reach room 115, a suite of offices in which my office, room 120, is located. If you reach a big open space full of discarded furniture and stagnant water, you have gone too far.