Donnelly Syllabus ENGLISH 20XXX: PRIZE WINNING LITERATURE

Instructor: Kara Lee Donnelly Class Time: Location: Email: kdonnel3@nd.edu Office Hours: Office Location:

COURSE DESCRIPTION Many contemporary readers are overwhelmed by the number of books that are out there in the world, available not only through traditional libraries and bookstores but also through instantaccess on e-readers and through other forms of media. In this course, we will consider one of the ways that readers find and choose books: literary awards. These awards, including the Nobel, the Pulitzer, and the Booker, aim to celebrate the best literary works and authors. They are designed both to support authors who produce quality literature and to encourage consumers thats usto buy and read those high-quality works. But what makes a work or an author the best? And who gets to decide? In this class, we will interrogate these questions in order to figure out what qualities different literary prizes value and how those literary concerns intersect with other concerns, including nationality, gender, race, and language. We will read a variety of works that have won literary awards, from works by some of the first Nobel Prize winners to film adaptations of prize-winners from the present day. We will end the course by becoming a prize committee and selecting our own winner for a literary prize. This course will hone your skills as a reader of literature, help you develop a vocabulary to debate a literary texts qualities, and increase your awareness of the complicated relationship between prizes (as well as other cultural institutions) and what readers choose to read. COURSE GOALS You will analyze works of literature and communicate your analysis both orally and in writing You will describe the relationships between prizes and the reading practices of general audiences You will reflect on your own reading practices and engagements with literature and literary culture TEXTS You will need to purchase the following texts: Rudyard Kipling, Kim Wole Soyinka, Death and the Kings Horseman Naguib Mahfouz, Midaq Alley Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day Yann Martel, Life of Pi

Donnelly Syllabus All other reading assignments will be available from Hesburgh Librarys e-reserves. For those assignments, please print a copy of the reading rather than relying on a PDF on your laptop. ASSIGNMENTS Readings Reading is at the heart of this literature class. Please read all of the assignments carefully and come to class prepared to discuss them. I expect that you will read everything. If I suspect that students are not completing all of the reading assignments, we will have reading quizzes.

Reading Responses (1-2 pages each) At five occasions during the semester, you will write short responses to the literary works we are studying. I will give you prompts and suggestions to direct your responses. These response papers are meant to help you reflect on the literature, get you to think about the course themes, and prepare you for class discussions/projects. Close-Reading Paper (4 pages) In this paper, you will analyze one or two poems by poets who won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1950s. You will craft an argument about how the author communicates with readers and why it was successful in winning the prize. Audio Book Review (5 minutes) In this assignment, you will record a book review of a work that won the Booker Prize or by an author who won the Nobel Prize. We will use models of book reviews from radio programs to determine the content and the style of an audio book review. You will record this book review using either Garage Band or Audacity software. In this review, you will make an argument about the literary quality of the work and why it is or is not an interesting cultural work. Commonwealth Short Story Prize Project This is a whole-class project in which you will read the finalists for the 2012 Commonwealth Short Story Prize and select a winner. This project will have a number of parts, including reading responses (two of the five total assigned over the course of the semester) to prepare you for debate, course participation, and a group assignment in which you will write a speech announcing the winner. Commonwealth Short Story Prize Paper (6 pages) Frequently, after a judge serves on an award panel she writes a tell-all describing the merits and flaws of the finalists, explaining the panels reasoning for choosing the work it did, and sometimes describing her disagreements with the panels ultimate finding. For your final paper for this class, you will write a paper that follows these methods. You will reflect on your overall experience as a judge while analyzing literary works. COURSE POLICIES Attendance Your attendance and active participation is essential. In the event that you must miss a class, please contact me in advance. You may miss up to three classes without penalty (this includes both University Excused and unexcused absences). After three absences, each additional absence

Donnelly Syllabus will lower your course grade (e.g. from an A to A- or A- to B+). You are responsible for all the work that you miss during an absence. Please check the website for handouts and assignments and contact fellow students for notes. Please note that if you are absent during a class in which work is due, you still must turn in the work on time or it will be late, resulting in a grade reduction. If you come to class very late or are completely unprepared (meaning you have not completed readings and informal assignments), I will consider you absent. If you fall asleep in class, I will consider you absent. Grading Your grade in this course will be based on performance in the following major areas. I. Participation (15% of your grade). This category includes completing all reading (and quizzes if necessary), active participation in class discussion, and thoughtful contributions during the Commonwealth Short Story Prize Project. II. Major Assignments (85% of your grade) a. Reading Responses (5% each, 25% total) b. Close Reading Paper (15%) c. Audio Book Review (20%) d. Commonwealth Short Story Prize Award Speech (5%) e. Commonwealth Short Story Prize Paper (20%)

Due Dates and Extensions All assignments are due at midnight on the assigned date. All papers should be in MLA format this means double spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman font, with a title, heading, and page numbers. You must turn in assignments electronically by emailing them as attachments to kdonnel3@nd.edu. Except for the Audio Review, all attachments should be Microsoft Word documents (.docx). Please save drafts with your last name, first initial, and the appropriate abbreviations for the assignment. For example, I would save my first Reading Response as DonnellyK_RR1. I will tell you the abbreviation for each assignment on the assignment sheet. If you need an extension, please contact me 48 hours before the assignment is due. I cannot guarantee I will be able to grant an extension, but I will do my best to accommodate emergencies and conflicts. Should you turn in work late without an extension, you will lose one third of a letter grade (e.g. A to A- or B+ to B) for each day the work is late. You are responsible for saving all copies of your work in multiple places. A crashed computer or a faulty email is not an excuse for late work. Drafts I will read up to one page (typed, double spaced) of a draft for an assignment. If you would like me to read part of a draft, please schedule an appointment with me and send me what youd like me to read. In order for this process to be useful, we should meet at least 3 days before the assignment is due. I also encourage you to visit the Writing Center.

Donnelly Syllabus Revision Writing is a process, and for this reason you may revise your major assignments with the exception of reading responses and group assignments. Please note that revising a paper does not guarantee a higher grade. After I return an assignment, you have two weeks to contact me and let me know you plan to revise the assignment. We will then set up a meeting and plan a revision strategy and schedule.

Sakai, Email, and Technology This course requires full participation not just in class but on Sakai. The Sakai page will archive all of our assignments, handouts, and readings. If you miss a class or lose a handout, please refer to the course page. I will communicate with the class and with individuals through your Notre Dame email accounts. Please check your email regularly. If you have any questions for me or need to schedule an appointment, please send me an email. I check email once or twice a day; I may not respond immediately if you email me late at night or on the weekends. In class, you must silence/turn off your cell phone and any other electronics. I understand that you might use your phone or other device to take notes, schedule assignments, etc, but please write yourself a note and enter it into your phone later. For any readings in PDF form, please print them and bring them to class. We will occasionally use computers in this class; however, please do not use your computer unless I specifically ask you to do so. At all other times, leave them in your room or keep them in your bag. Academic Honesty We are privileged to attend an institution that holds us to a higher standard. Part of that higher standard includes the honor code that trusts us, as members of the community, to be honest and ethical scholars. All written work, drafts, and final products must be your own. If you have any questions about proper citation, please contact me. Most instances of plagiarism result not from malice but from ignorance or poor time management. Planning ahead and contacting me if you run into difficulties will help you avoid plagiarism. For info on the Honor Code, visit www.nd.edu/~hnrcode. RESOURCES Writing Center The ND Writing Center is dedicated to helping students become better writers. Tutors will not proofread or fix your papers, but they will help you develop your argument at any stage in your writing process. Go to the Writing Center website to schedule an appointment. http://writingcenter.nd.edu/home/ Disability Services If you have a disability and will need accommodations for this course, please register with Disability Services (http://www.nd.edu/~osd). After you have discussed you accommodation

Donnelly Syllabus

needs with the Coordinator of Disabilities, please speak with me to make whatever arrangements may be necessary. COURSE SCHEDULE **The following course schedule is based on a 14-week semester. When I know which semester I will be teaching, how frequently the class meets, and when breaks in the semester fall, I will assign specific reading assignments for each course meeting and establish the due dates for writing assignments. In general, I have planned for students to read 100 to 150 pages of prose or 10 to 15 pages of poetry per week.** Unit 1: Nobel Prize I [4 weeks] Rudyard Kipling (1907), Kim (1901) Rabindrath Tagore (1913), selections Assignment: 2 reading responses Unit 2: Pulitzer Prize [2 weeks] Gwendolyn Brooks, selections from Annie Allen (1950) Carl Sandberg, selections from Collected Poems (1951) Wallace Stevens, selections from Collected Poems (1955) Elizabeth Bishop, selections from PoemsNorth and South (1956) Assignment: Close Reading Paper (4 pages) Unit 3: Nobel Prize II [3 weeks] Wole Soyinka (1986), Death and the Kings Horsemen (1975) Naguib Mahfouz (1988), Midaq Alley (1947, trans 1966) Toni Morrison (1993), Selections form Playing in the Dark Assignment: 1 reading response Unit 4: Booker Prize [3 weeks] Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day (1989) and film adaptation (1993) Yann Martel, Life of Pi (2002) and film adaptation (2012) Read award speeches Assignment: Audio Book Review Unit 5: Commonwealth Short Story Prize [2 weeks] Jekwu Anyaegbuna, Morrison Okoli (1955-2010) Anushka Jasraj, Radio Story Andrea Mullaney, The Ghost Marriage Diana McCaulay, The Dolphin Catcher Emma Martin, Two Girls in a Boat Assignment: Commonwealth Short Story Prize Group Project (2 reading responses, participation, and whole-class writing assignment) Final Paper: Commonwealth Short Story Prize Paper (6 pages)