an eiland distance education course

Course Calendar & Presentations

photo of random spark at the blackwatch
photo © g eiland 2007

How To Use The Course Calendar
Using all of this information requires a bit of organization, so follow these general instructions. The works themselves, listed by title and author, are primarily on the internet or handed out in class. You are then to view the Web pages for the authors and topics for that week, listed as a link on the English Internet Resource List section of the Web site (not all are covered). That means all you have to do is click on the colored (usually blue) label of the name or address of the site. Following that, read the online presentation of the format strategy for the week (Org & Outline, Quoting Your Sources, How To Take A Test, etc.). You are also required to read the thematic presentation for that week in Online Presentations (Character, Theme, Irony, etc.). Finally, read Questions for Reading and Writing. This will allow you to follow the schedule and be topical in the classroom. Read the directions. Assignments and due dates for papers and tests are posted on the Message Board. Most of this syllabus is self-explanatory. The following is a plan for the semester.

Tentative Schedule

Week 1
Introduction
ASSIGNMENT:
  • Writing About Literature,
  • Objectivity in Analysis
  • Research Sources
  • Poetry,
  • Lyrics
  • Roots: Jazz, Blues And Folk
  • Life of a Musician
    • Browne. Loadout
    • Seger. Turn the Page
    • Lindley. Catfood Sandwiches
    • Garcia, Hunter, Lesh, Weir (Grateful Dead). Truckin'
    • Phillips (The Mamas and the Papas). Creeque Alley

Week 2
ASSIGNMENT:

Week 3
ASSIGNMENT:
  • Formalist Criticism
  • Writer's Voice: Diction/Style/Tone
  • Secondary Sources
  • Argumentation
  • What to Cite
  • Taking a Test
  • Stefani. Just a Girl
  • Amos. Precious Things
  • Cooper. Only Women Bleed
  • Berry, Buck, Mills Stipe (REM). Losing My Religion

Week 4
ASSIGNMENT

Week 5
ASSIGNMENT:

Week 6
ASSIGNMENT:

Week 7
ASSIGNMENT:
  • Irony,
  • Myth Criticisms,
  • Drama--Character
  • Grease (Cont.)

Week 8
ASSIGNMENT:
  • Mythological/Archetypal Criticism
  • Character/Point of View
  • Dickinson, Smith (Iron Maiden). The Flight of Icarus
  • Page, Plant (Led Zeppelin). The Song Remains the Same/Rain Song

Week 9
ASSIGNMENT:
  • Marxist Criticism
  • Haggard. Okie from Muskogee
  • Springsteen. Born in the USA
  • Cruz. Island Style

Week 10
ASSIGNMENT:
  • Deconstruction/Post-Structuralist Criticism
  • Analysis: Interpretation and Evaluation
  • Psychedelia: US
  • Kreutzmann, Weir (Grateful Dead).The Other One
  • Garcia, et al. (Grateful Dead). The Wheel
  • El-Din, Garcia, Nordine. Flibberty Jib,
  • Garcia, Nordine, waits. The Movie

Week 11
ASSIGNMENT:
  • Cobain (Nirvana). All Apologies
  • Densmore, Kreiger, Manzarek, Morrison (The Doors). The End
  • Mitchell. Coyote

Week 12
ASSIGNMENT:

Week 13
ASSIGNMENT:

Week 14
ASSIGNMENT:
  • ASSIGNMENT: Your Turn
  • Presentations

Week 15
ASSIGNMENT:
  • ASSIGNMENT: Your Turn
  • Presentations Term Paper due/Final Test Prep

Week 16
  • Finals Week: Final Exam

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    Questions for Reading and Writing

    Something to keep in mind in your essays for this class:

    Be able to answer these four questions somewhere in the context of your essay. Please don't merely list the answers... make them part of your general discussion of the work.

    1. What is the message? Clearly state it and support your response from the text itself. There can be more than one answer.
    2. Who is the speaker of the message? Be as specific as you can. This is NOT necessarily the author. Authors will create characters or "voices" to tell a story or give a viewpoint. In lyrics, this often makes singer appear to be a different person than they really are or hold different values than they really do. In drama, that is all you get... all characters, no narrator.
    3. Who is the audience of the message? There can be more than one, often linked to the message...or a single message may have different audiences wits the audience of the message? There can be more than one, often linked to the message...or a single message may have different audiences with different expected results. Again, be specific and use text for support.
    4. What methods does author use? Be specific, using terms from ENGL 101 -- irony, symbolism, theme, conflict -- and new terms from this course.
      • In poetry, the use of meter and rhyme and condensation of ideas into brief images is common.
      • In drama, the use of character, dialogue and setting are often important.
      • In literature, all of these aspects may be factors.
    Once you've gotten this information into your paper, then we apply the critical approaches to discuss HOW EFFECTIVELY the message was delivered by author.

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    © T. T. Eiland, January 1998
    Last modified: Sepember 1, 2008