Dr.

Randy Compton
Heath Hardwick Hall 117
RandallCompton@letu.edu

Office Phone: (903) 233-3386

Office Hours: MWF 9:45-10:40 a.m.
1:55-2:50 p.m.
TTH 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Additional hours by appointment

English 2103: Introduction to Literature

Text
Booth, Alison and Lelly J. Mays ed. The Norton Introduction to Literature Shorter Eleventh
Edition (ISBN: 978-0-393-91339-2)
Catalog Description
A study of how literature shapes our experience and understanding of life. The course includes a
discussion of the elements of literary interpretation and its genres. Class 3: Prerequisite: ENGL
2103 Fulfills literature requirements only for non-English majors. (Fall and Spring)
Purpose
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the fundamentals of textual analysis in
order to deepen their enjoyment and understanding of fiction, poetry, drama, and film.
General Learning Objectives
This course seeks to achieve the following objectives:

Introduce students to basic elements of literary analysis;

Facilitate the students ability to understand, write about, and discuss written and visual
texts;
Enable the student to relate the assigned texts to life experiences;
Enhance the students appreciation for the historical, social, and aesthetic significance of
literature and its relation to other forms of artistic expression.

Specific Behavioral Objectives

As a result of the activities and study in this course, the student should be able to perform the
following tasks:

Understand and correctly use the basic elements of literary analysis;

Demonstrate understanding of written and visual text in written and verbal analysis;
Relate assigned texts to life experiences.
Demonstrate appreciation for the historical, social, and aesthetic significance of
literature and its relation to other forms of artistic expression.

Student Responsibilities

Regular attendance
Timely reading of assigned material
Participation in class discussion and activities
Completion of four examinations
Completion of daily quizzes/written responses on assigned reading
Completion of a textual analyses (4.5-5 pages long)

Attendance
Attendance is required. If at all possible, you need to be in class every time it meets. Absences
can cause you to miss crucial discussions, workshops, and in-class assignments that are essential
for your learning and performing well in this course.

Excessive unexcused absences (3 missed classes) will cause your final grade to drop one
letter grade. If you miss more than 20% of the class, you will receive a failing grade in
the course.

I will grant excused absences for university athletic competition or other universitysanctioned activities.

I may excuse absences due to illness or extreme emergency. In such cases, please notify
me on the day of the emergency or illness via e-mail or phone message. I need to see
verification of your illness in the form of an e-mail or note from campus nurse or your
doctor. I reserve the right to determine excused and/or unexcused absences.

Requests for other non-emergency excused absences must be made in writing (e-mail
will be fine) to the instructor prior to the absence. I reserve the right to accept or reject
requests depending on your personal circumstances.

Late Work Procedures

I expect you to turn all assignments in at the beginning of the class period for which they are due
unless otherwise noted. I accept late work, but I will penalize all late work a full letter grade for
each class day it is late. If your work is not ready to turn in when I collect papers, it is lateeven
if you turn it in later in class or later that same day. I will not accept late work beyond one week
from the original due datethis policy includes assignments not turned in for both excused and
non-excused absences. I will accept not work after the last day of class.
Making Up Assignments for Excused Absences

Turn in assigned work due during the excused absence before you leave unless you have
made prior arrangements with me.

You must submit work due during the illness or emergency on the day you return to class,
except by prior arrangement.

I will set the times / dates for make-up exams for an approved excused absence.

You may turn in late work in class or in my office. For shorter assignments, you may email me late work, but if I do not respond it means I did not receive it.

Please speak with me if you have unique circumstances so we can make special
arrangements. Unless you have communicated with me, I will make no exceptions to this
policy.

I will not accept late assignments or make-up exams for any reason after the last day of
classes.

Final Exam Schedule

You are responsible to take the final exam at the scheduled period. I will not give make-up
exams for anyone who misses the exam; please dont ask for exceptions to this rule. Make your
travel plans accordingly.
Coming to Class Late
Please arrive on time and remain for the entire class session. If you leave early, I will record a
tardy. Three tardies will count as an unexcused absence. If you are present in body but not in
spirit i.e. head down on desk, sleeping, doing work unrelated to the class, etc. I will count you
as absent. If you miss a test, quiz, or assignment due to an unexcused absence or tardy, you will
not be allowed to make up the work, and you will receive a grade of zero.
Cell Phones and Laptops
Please turn off cell phones before class begins; dont text during class. If you are using a laptop
for notes, please sit on the front row and dont surf the web. Cell phone usage and improper
laptop usage during class distract the class and the professor. If I see you looking at a cell
phone during a quiz or exam, I will give you a failing grade for that quiz or exam.
LETU e-mail
Your LeTourneau University email account is an official avenue for communication. You should
check your email daily for course updates and other helpful information.

Online/Blackboard
I will post documents such as the syllabus, schedule, and assignment guidelines on Blackboard.
Every essay you turn in will need to be submitted to Safe Assignment via a link I will provide on
Blackboard. I also post and update the course grade book periodically. If you do not know your
password to access Blackboard, go to www.letu.edu/start/ for the necessary information.
Owlet
To improve your writing, visit the OwLet at http://owlet.letu.edu. All students are strongly
encouraged, but not required, to submit their papers to the OwLet. You will need to make your
submission several days before the paper is due in order to receive feedback and make the
necessary adjustments. No credit is awarded if your paper is still at Owlet when it is due.
Achievement Center Services
The Achievement Center exists to promote student success by providing supportive resources for
students at no additional cost. The center offers a number of services for all undergraduate
students who would like to improve their learning skills and academic success at LETU. Services
include Supplemental Instruction (SI), Tutoring, Math Lab, Study Skills Coaches, Round Table
Sessions, Peer Advisors (PA), and the AIM (Academic Intervention and Mentoring) Program.
For more information, visit the Achievement Center at www.letu.edu/AchievementCenter or
contact Connie Puryear, Director for Student Achievement, at ConniePuryear@letu.edu, (903)
233-4470. The Achievement Center is located in the Student Affairs building next to Glaske.
Students with Disabilities
Students enrolled in an institution of higher education are required to self-identify if they would
like to request academic support services on the basis of a disability. LeTourneau University
encourages a student with a disability to self-identify after admission and to provide required
documentation to the Office of Student Support Services (in the Student Affairs Building). The
Office may be reached by calling (903) 233-4450 or by emailing CarltonMitchell@letu.edu.
General Requirements
1
2

Participation: I expect you to participate enthusiastically in all class discussions and

activities; you cant participate well unless you come to class preparedread and
think about the material before you come to class!
Ethics: Plagiarism consists of submitting someone elses words or ideas as your own
without giving proper credit to their author. Please remember that I want the work
you submit to be your work. Thus, plagiarism or cheating will result in a grade of
zero for the assignment or exam in question. Repeated offenses will result in a failing
grade for the course.

Grading Scale
A
B
C
D
F

90-100
80-89
70-79
65-69
Any grade below 65

Grade breakdown is based on the following values:

4 Exams 15% each
1 Textual Analyses
Quizzes / in-class responses

60%
20%
20%

Dr. Compton
English 2103
Reading and Assignment Schedule

Jan.

Date

Topic / Assignment

Page Numbers

13

Introduction to course
Why Read Literature?

1-9

15

Fiction: Reading, Responding, Writing

Cathedral

12-51

20

Plot
The Jewelry
Quiz

82-95

22

Narration and Point of View

Quiz
The Cask of Amontillado
Hills Like White Elephants
In-class Writing (Effects of Narrative Style)

160-164

Character
Quiz
Barn Burning
A Good Man is Hard to Find

180-187

29

Setting
The Lady with the Dog
Sample Writing
Symbol
The Birth-Mark
Quiz

245-251
251-263
280-284
285-290
290-302

Theme
The Open Boat
In-class Writing (Theme)
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
In-class response

334-338
338-356

27

Feb.

Exam 1

164-170
590-594

187-200
423-433

551-557

10

Reading and Responding to Poetry

In-class Writing: Blackberry Eating
Ars Poetica
Introduction to Poetry
Speaker
Death of a Young Son by Drowning
Home Burial

670-697
859
700
705
707-721
712
715

12

Situation / Setting
Daystar
To a Daughter Leaving Home
Dover Beach
Morning Song
In-class Writing

735-749
736
736-737
740-741
745-746

17

Theme and Tone

Leaving the Motel
Woodchucks
Aunt Jennifers Tigers
Barbie Doll
Alzheimers
Begotten
Quiz

765-779
766
767-768
768-769
770-771
784-785
785-786

19

Language
In-class Writing: My Papas Waltz
Sex Without Love
At the San Francisco Airport
Pied Beauty
My Last Dutchess
Musee Des Beaux Arts

788-801

Visual Imagery /Figures of Speech

The Beautiful Changes
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day?
The Twenty-third Psalm
Batter My Heart, three-personed God
At the Hospital
The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

802-812
803
807
810
810
811
811
812

24

793-794
795-796
798
1078-1079
1075

26

March 3

Symbol
The Leap
Internal Structure
Smiles
The Victims
Digging

813-824
814-815
857-874
857-858
864
1093

Sounds of Poetry
Dirge
The Raven
External Form
Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
Sestina
Quiz

825-845
828-829
838-841
875-887
878
879-880

Exam 2

10

Spring Break

12

Spring Break

17

Reading and Responding to Drama

Trifles
Quiz

1122-1124
1125-1135

19

Writing about Drama

A Doll House

1168-1179
1189-1224

24

A Doll House (Cont.)

Elements of Drama
In-class Writing

1224-1238
1180-1189

26

Introduction to Raisin in the Sun

Raisin in the Sun

1460-1470
1470-1498

31

Raisin in the Sun (Cont.)

In-class Writing
Fiction / Poetry / Drama Analysis Paper Due

1498-1534

April 2
7

Exam 3
Watching and Responding to Film: Understanding the Medium
Sample Film Clips: 2001 A Space Odyssey
Movies, Truth, and the Origins of Culture
Handout
In-Class Writing

Watching and Responding to Film: Analyzing Film

Sample Film Clips: Blade Runner
Thinking About Looking
Blackboard

14

Watching and Responding to Film: Form

Sample Film Clips: Apollo 13
The Many Ways of Misunderstanding
Basically Everything

16

May

Mise-en-Scene
Sample Film Clips: Star Wars
How to Interrogate a Movie
In-Class Writing

21

Narrative
Citizen Kane

23

Citizen Kane (Cont)

Study Questions

28

Rear Window (Cont.)

30

Rear Window (Cont.)

Study Questions

Final Exam

Blackboard

Blackboard

Blackboard

Blackboard