Dr. Yoder
English 2337.07     World Literature
Spring 2009     TTh 10:50am-12:05pm     Ross Hall 317

Office: Stabler Hall 501V     Office Hrs.: TTh 9:00-10:00am; W 4:00-5:00pm; also by appt.
Office Phone: 569-8321       email: rpyoder@ualr.edu
Homepage: http://www.ualr.edu./rpyoder/

Text: Rosenberg, Donna, ed. World Literature. 2004.

Goals:

1. Students will read a variety of types of literature from different times and different cultures
   in both western and non-western traditions.


2. Students will learn to do close reading of a literary text, with emphasis on analysis of form
   (poetry, fiction, drama), stylistic features (such as word choice, imagery, or
   characterization), and content (ideas; literary, historical, cultural traditions), and to
   make connections between what they are learning in this course and knowledge they
   have acquired from other areas.


3. Students will participate in both oral and written discussions of ideas, moral issues, and
   values reflected in the literature read for class.


4. Students will learn to examine a text from within a context or from a variety of perspectives.


5. Students will be given the opportunity to reflect on the ways in which ideas and values
   depicted in literary works from other times and cultures interact with or contrast with
   those of American culture or the culture of the students' countries of origin, and to
   present the conclusions drawn from their analyses in both written and oral forms.
   

Objectives:

1. To write about meaning and form in a specific literary text at a higher stage of development
   at the end of the course than at the beginning.


2. To write a well-developed essay analyzing how one or more literary texts reflect the culture
   that produced them.


3. To write a well-developed essay comparing and contrasting the cultural values reflected in
   one or more literary texts with values in American culture or the culture of the
   students' country of origin.

Course Assessment
My course will include an ongoing assessment of my teaching in the form of weekly
journals. These journals consist of a 250 word (minimum requirement) written response to the
class readings or discussion. These journals allow me to assess how well students are
understanding what I think I am teaching them, and I make adjustments to my class
presentations and assignments accordingly. Taken as a whole, the journals count for 15% of
the student's final grade, thus insuring that the students take this assessment seriously.

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