Policy and Procedures

Policy and Procedure Sheet

English 303 Canadian Literature

• Dates:            Thursday Evenings: 5:00 – 7:30

• Location:      Meetinghouse 213
  

• Assistant Professor Adam Crowley

General Catalog Description:

• This course will focus on the major thematic concerns that have shaped Canadian literature from the pre-Confederation era to the present day. Literary examples will be drawn from works concerned with ethnicity, colonization, the wilderness, identity formation, and the Francophone/Anglophone divide. Primary attention will be given to texts focusing on the world of work as it has been envisioned by Canadians. Selected poetry and prose from diverse, canonical authors such as Frances Brooke, Susanna Moodie, Isabella Valancy Crawford, Charles Sangster, John Richardson, Joy Kogawa, Alice Munroe, Margaret Atwood, David Adams Richard, and Yann Martel will be examined. Depending on the season, a day trip to Kings Landing – a living museum of Canadian history about three hours from Bangor – can be undertaken.

Specific Rationale for the Class

• The primary purpose of this course is to make you conversant with the major social and cultural issues that have shaped Canada and Canadian literature.

• Canada is a primary trading partner with our state and New England, and its history is intertwined with our own on numerous levels.

• Students will continue to build on the analytical writing skills they began to develop in Eh 123, 124, and 200 through a close – and advanced – examination of particular texts.

• Additionally, students will continue to develop their oral communication skills through a series of professional in-class presentations.

Required Texts:

• Kogawa, Joy                           Obasan

• Richards, David Adam        Nights Below Station Street
  

• Atwood, Margaret                 The Handmaid’s Tale
  

• Martel, Yann                          Life of Pi
  

*Other supplemental readings to be provided in an electronic format

Attendance Policy:

• You will be required to attend this class regularly and promptly in order to pass.  If you show up more than a few minutes late, you will be marked absent. Students are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions for courses in which they are enrolled.  You can miss two classes over the course of the semester, and that is it: for any reason. More than two will result in an automatic X grade.

Snow Days and Sick Days:

• Class will only be canceled if the university is closed or I am ill. On average, there are typically one to two major winter storms during the winter semester, but with global warming today, it’s anybody’s guess how many we may see.

• If you are sick, stay home! Don’t make your classmates sick. Two absences should be more than enough to cover potential sick/snow days in a given semester.   Do not waste them!

Due Dates:

• Papers and assignments are due in person at the beginning of class on the day specified.  They must meet all the requirements listed on the writing prompt, including those of length and format. All papers must be accompanied by previous drafts.   Late papers will receive a penalty of one-third of a grade for each class period that passes, assessed from the final grade of the paper. All revisions are due within one week of the receipt of the paper. Late papers can be turned in no later than one week after the due date. Failure to do so will result in a grade of F on the paper, and you will lose the chance to revise.

Grading:

• Journal                                                                 10%

• Individual Presentation                                  10%

• Group Presentation                                          10%

• Short Research  Paper                                    20%

• Midterm                                                              10%

• Long Research Paper                                     30%

• Final Examination                                          10%

Brief Description of Graded Activities:

Journal:

• We will be writing in our journals every day in this class, and missed journal assignments cannot be made up. Entries will generally be on the topic of the reading that was assigned for our meeting. While I do not believe in trick questions, you can expect to be asked specific questions about the text. You will be “on call” to demonstrate a basic understanding of the material at all times.

Individual Presentations:

• During our second week of classes, we will all be signing up for our individual presentations for the semester. These presentations will be 10 minutes long, and will occur throughout the semester. You will be presenting to the class on a particular aspect of a story or poem that interests you.  As part of your presentation, you will be facilitating classroom discussion.

Group Activities:

• During our third week of classes, we will all be signing up for our group presentations for the semester. These presentations will be 20 minutes long, and will occur throughout the semester. In groups of 4, you will be presenting to the class on important historical and cultural information that you believe contextualizes a specific book or books that we will be reading this semester.

Short Research Paper:

• Your short research paper will be 4-5 pages in length. It will offer a literary argument on one of the texts we have read by mid-semester. The paper will need to follow MLA conventions, and have at least four academic secondary sources.

Midterm:

• The midterm examination will be an essay exam that asks you for meaningful reflections on specific texts that we will have read by the middle of the semester.

Long Research Paper:

• This paper will build on your short research paper. It will propose a mature literary argument capable of sustaining the intense critical scrutiny of your peers. The length will be 7-8 pages, and you will need to use 8-10 peer-reviewed secondary sources.

Final Exam:

• The final examination will be an essay exam that will ask you to write detailed answers to questions that are focused on the materials we have covered since the midterm.

Grading Policies

• All assignments will be graded on a standard letter-grade scale.

• Late assignments will be downgraded one letter-grade per day late [including weekends].

• Once assignments are handed back to students, no further late assignments will be accepted.

• The student must complete all assignments to pass the course.

• All papers must be typed.

• An act of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will result in an F for the course grade.

• Students MUST contact the instructor prior to the due date of an assignment if they have any problems with the assignment.

Equal Opportunity Policy:

• If you require any specific assistance with regard to a physical or mental disability, please let me know right away. I will make every reasonable effort to accommodate your specific classroom needs.

Writing Center:

• The writing center is a resource you should use to help you improve your writing. The writing center is not for remediation; both inexperienced and experienced writers are encourage to take full advantage of the center’s services. The writing consultants the center employs can help you invent, organize, and revise your documents to meet the specific requirements established during class. Take the time to become familiar with this resource and use it regularly. Please note: To improve the effectiveness of the writing consultation, please set up an appointment with a tutor at least 2 days before the assignment is due. Also, bring 2 copies of your paper with you to the tutoring session. Also note that the writing center is not an editing service. When you attend a session, you will sit down with the consultant and have a 15 to 30 minute conversation with him or her about how to improve your writing.

Writing Center Hours:

• Tutors will be available between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (and by appointment) Monday through Friday. However, hours will be adjusted to meet the needs of the Husson community.

Location:

• Peabody 210

• Email: writingcenter@husson.edu

• Phone ex: 1097

Academic Integrity:

• Simply put, I will simply flunk you for plagiarism. Academic honesty is expected of all students at all times. Any work that is not the student’s own is a violation of Husson University’s policy and of the student’s own integrity.  Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated.  The penalty for cheating or plagiarism will be failure of the course.  Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Copying from another student’s papers, quizzes, exams or reports

• Copying sections from books or articles or any other source without proper citation

• Allowing work to be copied by another student

Privacy:

• As adults, your academic privacy will be protected. I will only discuss academic issues with YOU, not with Mom or Dad or anyone else, unless you first sign a FERPA waver form that designates the individual or individuals you would like me to speak to.  This is a law, and is not an option. FERPA forms can be obtained from the Registrar’s office on campus.

Written Work Preparation:

Students’ papers should meet the following guidelines:

• ALL work should be typed

• Font size should be 12

• Margins should be 1″ (do not justify the right margin)

• Text should all be double spaced

• First page should include students’ name and assignment identification

• Citations to material must be in MLA Style

Grading System:

The system of evaluating a student’s achievement at Husson is by letter grade with the following percentage equivalents:

A                     95-100                         C                     73-76

A-                    90-94                           C-                    70-72

B+                   87-89                           D+                   67-69

B                     83-86                           D                     63-66

B-                    80-82                           D-                    60-62

C+                   77-79                           F                      Below 60

Other grades you may encounter include:

E          Exited without withdrawing (student disappeared from class during first four weeks of semester)

WW     Withdrew before midterm (no grade is given)

WP      Withdrew Passing

WF      Withdrew Failing

X         Credit Denied for Excessive Absences

WA     Administrative Withdrawal

I           Incomplete

Q         Audit

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