COMPARATIVELITERATURE270
GLOBALLITERATUREANDSOCIALCHANGE
WINTER2015
SYLLABUS
JeremyMetz,[email protected]
OnlineonElms
Officehours,byappointment:2232TawesHallorSkypejeremymetzumd
1.CourseDescription
CMLT270,GlobalLiteratureandSocialChange,isdevotedtothestudyofmajorliterary
worksthatinterpretsocialandculturalchangeinthemodernworld.Wereadworksthat
respondtomajorsocialdisruptions,thatareinfluentialintheirownright,andthat
contributetotheformationofsocieties’collectivememoryofthepast.Weexamine
representationsandcritiquesofcultureintheliteratureweread,asweremainalerttothe
roleofgovernmental,educational,andreligiousinstitutionsinshapingsocieties.Weconcern
ourselveswithethicalproblemsraisedbytheworkswestudyandwepayparticular
attentiontotheirstagingsofsocial,gender,race,andclassconflicts.
Studentsareencouragedtothinkcriticallyandtosharetheirideaswiththeirpeersin
frequentshortwritings,onlinediscussionsandgroupwork.Wespendtimelearningabout
thehistoricalcontextfortheworksweread,sothatstudentsmayfindtheirknowledgeof
contemporaryhistorytobeenhancedthroughtheirparticipationinthecourse.Coachingis
providedonwritingaboutliteratureandstudentsmayfindthattheirwritingimproves
duringthecourseofthesemester.
Thisthree‐weekcoursecoversmaterialthatwouldusuallytakeafullsemester:wewillbe
movingquicklyand,todowell,youmustkeepupwiththecoursework.Pleasereadthis
syllabusinfullandthencloselyfollowthedailyscheduleforreadings,lectures,quizzes,and
assignments.
2.LearningOutcomes.
ThiscoursesatisfiesuniversityGeneralEducationrequirementsinHumanitiesandin
UnderstandingPluralSocieties.
HumanitiesLearningOutcomes.Atthecompletionofthiscoursestudentswillbeableto:
1)Demonstratefamiliarityandfacilitywithfundamentalterminologyandconceptsinthe
fieldofgloballiterature.
2)Demonstrateunderstandingofthemethodsusedbyscholarsinthefieldofglobal
literature.
3)Demonstratecriticalthinkingintheevaluationofsourcesandargumentsinscholarly
works,andintheevaluationofapproachesandtechniquesintheliteraryarts.
4)Describehowlanguageuseisrelatedtowaysofthinking,culturalheritage,andcultural
values.
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5)Conductresearchonatopicingloballiteratureusingavarietyofsourcesandtechnologies.
UnderstandingPluralSocietiesLearningOutcomes.Atthecompletionofthiscourse,students
willbeableto:
1)Explicatetheprocessesthatcreateorfailtocreatejust,productive,egalitarian,and
collaborativesocieties.
2)Analyzeformsandtraditionsofthoughtorexpressioninrelationtocultural,historical,
political,andsocialcontexts.
3)Useacomparativeandintersectionalframeworktoanalyzemulticultural,multilingual,
andtransnationalencountersthroughtheexplorationofthepoliticsofGlobalLiterature.
4)Useinformationtechnologiestoaccessresearchandcommunicateeffectivelyaboutplural
societies.
3.Texts(onorderattheUMDBookCenterandtheMarylandBookExchange)
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ChinuaAchebe,ThingsFallApart(1958),ISBN9780385474542
AlanPaton,Cry,TheBelovedCountry(1948),ISBN,9780743262170
MarjaneSatrapi,TheCompletePersepolis(2000),ISBN9780375714832
GabrielGarcíaMárquez,OneHundredYearsofSolitude(1967),ISBN
9780060883287
Note:AllofthesetitlesareavailableinexpensivelyfromusedbookvendorslistedonAmazon
andonothersites.YoushouldusetheISBNcodesshownaboveinordertoensurethatyour
book’spagenumberswillmatchthoseusedforreadings,quizzes,discussions,etc.
AdditionalreadingswillbeavailableviathecourseElmssite.
4.CourseSchedule
Reading—Withtheexceptionofthefirstday,readingsshouldbecompletedthenightbefore
thedayindicated.Forthefirstdayonly,thereadingmaybecompletedduringtheday.
Conferences—TherewillbeadailyCanvasconferenceatatimethatwillbesetin
consultationwithclassparticipants.Iwilllectureviaanaudiofeedwithfrequent
opportunitiesforquestionsanddiscussions.Studentsareencouragedtojointheconference
inrealtime,butmaylistentothetapedconferencelaterintheday(butbeforemidnight).
GroupWork—WewillusetheElmsDiscussionsboardtoexchangeideaswithintheworking
groupswewillform.Youwilleachcomposearesponsetoonequestion,andthenrespond
brieflytothethreeorfourotherclassmatesinyourparticulargroup.Payattentiontothe
gradingrubric,availableonthe“Assignments”pageofELMS.
Quizzes—YouwilltakequizzesonElms,eachofwhichcoverstheday’sreading.Quizzesare
closedbookandgivenonthehonorsystem.Studentswillaffirmforeachquizthattheyare
notconsultingtheirtextsorothermaterials.Quizzesmustbetakenbymidnightontheday
due.
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Essays—Eachweekstudentswillwritethreeessays,whichmustbesubmittedviaElmsby
midnightonthedaysdue.
Finalexam—Studentswilltakea15‐minuteoralexamviaanElmsconference.
Day
M1/5
Tu1/6
W1/7
Th1/8
F1/9
M1/12
Tu1/13
W1/14
Th1/15
F1/16
M1/19
Tu1/20
W1/21
Th1/22
F1/23
Reading/FinalExam
AchebePartOne
AchebeParts2and3
PatonBook1
PatonBooks2and3
LangstonHughes(Elms)
MárquezChapters1‐4
MárquezChapters1‐4
MárquezChapters1‐4
MárquezChapters1‐4
Murakami(Elms)
Satrapi,pp3‐102
Satrapi,pp103‐206
Satrapi,pp207‐end
IsabelAllende(Elms)
FinalExam
Conference
8a.m.
TimeTBD
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TimeTBD
TimeTBD
TimeTBD
TimeTBD
TimeTBD
GroupWork
#1‐1stResponse
#1‐2ndResponse
#2‐1stResponse
#2‐2ndResponse
#3‐1stResponse
#3‐2ndResponse
#4‐1stResponse
#4‐2ndResponse
#5‐1stResponse
#5‐2ndResponse
#6‐1stResponse
#6‐2ndResponse
Quiz
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
#11
#12
Essay
Essay#1
Essay#1
Essay#3
5. Grading Grade distribution Assessment
Reading quizzes (12)
Group Work (3)
Essays (3)
Final Exam
Total assessment points
Points
5 each, 60 total
10 each, 30 total
20 each, 60 total
50
200
Note: Half point decimals may be utilized, e.g. a quiz might receive a score of 4.5.
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Grading Scale
188-200
180-187
173-179
167-172
160-166
153-159
147-152
139-146
133-138
119-132
0-118
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
F
How to do well in this class
Readallinstructionscarefully.Failuretofollowinstructionsisoneoftheeasiest
waystoslipin anonlinecourse.Noteassignmentdeadlines,specificinstructionsfor
eachassignment,and where/howyoushouldbesubmittingyourwork.Reviewthe
instructionsoncemorebefore uploading the finished product.
Takenoteswhilereadingandengaginginotherclassactivities,includingtheonline
lectures.Just likeinareal‐timeclass,youshouldhaveaclassnotebookandyoushould
useitforkeepingtrack ofyourthoughtsandthecoursematerial.Takingnoteswill
alsohelpyoustayfocusedand engagedwiththedifferentcomponentsofyour
coursework.
Turnoffotherdeviceswhileworking.Ifyou’recheckingyouremail,Facebook,or
browsingthe webwhilesupposedlyviewinganonlinelecture,chancesareyouwon’t
absorbmuch.Closeyour otherwindowsandfocusonthetaskbeforeyou.When
you’rereadingfromthetextbook,step awayfromthecomputerandsilenceyour
phone.Thesesmallstepswillhelpenormouslywith yourfocus,andallowyoutodo
betterworkinlesstime.
Writing Assignments
Thiscourserequiresthreeessaysofroughly1000‐1200words,eacharesponsetoa
literarywork fromthecoursesyllabus.Specificassignmentstobedistributed.
AllwrittenworkwillbeturnedinonlineviaELMS,andmusttaketheformofword
docordocx files.
Latepapers:tenpercentwillbedeductedforeach24‐hourperiodafterthedeadline.
Extensionswillbegrantedinextremesituations,buttheymustberequestedin
advanceofthe deadline.Thatis,youcannotfailtoturninyourpaperandthen
retroactivelyaskforanextension.
Thefollowingcriteria,inorderofimportance,willbetakenintoaccountindeterminingthe
gradeforwrittenwork:
 Theoriginalityandqualityofyouracademicargument.
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Themasteryyoudemonstrateofyourchosentexts.
Theeffectivenessofyouruseofevidencefromthetextinsupportingyouracademic
arguments.
Theexigenceyoudemonstrateinyourdiscussionofyourtopic.
Thequalityofyourwriting,includingtheorganizationofyourpaper.
Youradherencetotheprescribedformatforthetextandcitations,andyouradherenceto
goodgrammar,punctuationandspelling.
NoteonAttributionsandPlagiarism
Anyuseyoumakeoftheideasofothersmustbescrupulouslycited.Studentsareurgedto
consultwithmewhenyouhavequestionsontheappropriateacknowledgementof
sources.Studentsareparticularlywarnednottoincorporatetheunattributedworkof
others,eitherthroughdirectappropriationofthespecificwritingofothersorthroughthe
paraphraseoftheworkofothers,intotheirownwork.Idonotencouragetheuseof
Sparknotesandotherliteraturestudyguidesites,butifyoudousethemitisinfinitelybetter
tocitethemthantousethemwithoutattribution,whichwillhaveseriousadverse
consequencesifdiscovered.
AdditionalPolicies
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Suspected violations of the honor code, including plagiarism and cheating. Any suspected violation of the honor code, including plagiarism and cheating, will be referred immediately to the Office of Student Conduct. The outcome of such a referral may, after investigation, lead to meaningful sanctions. Please see http.//www.studentconduct.umd.edu/info/students/default.aspx for more information. Students are urged to consult with the instructor when they have questions on the appropriate acknowledgement of sources. Students are particularly warned not to incorporate the unattributed work of others, either through direct appropriation of the specific writing of others or through the paraphrase of the work of others, into their own work. Students are discouraged from consulting reading guides or Wikipedia when writing their papers, but if they do so they should cite them scrupulously. (There is no deduction for using these sources, provided they are cited.) University‐wide Emergency Preparedness. In case of an extended closure of the University due to an emergency, the instructor will provide specific instructions by email and through the course Elms site on alternative plans for communicating lecture information and conducting discussions, which may be held by conference call or live forums on Elms. Papers and other assignments should be submitted through Elms on the date provided in this syllabus.
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