Sunday, May 08, 2005

Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus & Information

Course Texts and Reading Schedule:


Kipling, Rudyard - Stalky & Co.
May 2nd & 4th
May 9th & 11th
Greene, Graham - Brighton Rock
May 16th & 18th
May 25th
Richler, Mordecai - Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
May 30th & June 1st
June 6th & June 8th
Stillitoe, Alan - Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
June 13th & June 15th
June 20th & June 22th
Burgess, Anthony - Clockwork Orange
June 27th & June 29th
July 4th & July 6th
Amis, Martin - Success
July 11th & July 13th
July 18th & July 20th
Hornby, Nick - High Fidelity
July 25th & July 27th

The two recommended texts for the course will be discussed throughout the term and should be read before and after the Mid-Term assignment.
See support material available on Library Reserve.

Assignment Deadlines: Nb. There is a 3% per day late penalty for assignments, documented medical or bereavement leave excepted.

1. Mid term paper, two thousand words: due June 20th in lecture. Assignment sheet with suggested topics will be handed out in lecture on June 6th. Criteria will include literary analysis, engagement with course themes and writing mechanics.
2. Group e-text project: in collaboration with the Course Instructor, create a web log dedicated to a distinct topic the works from the course reading list. Groups set & assignment sheet handed out May 25th. Seminar time will be set aside throughout the term to work with the Instructor on this project
3. Individual class presentation: schedule and assignment sheet handed out in seminar. A five minute polemical presentation, on one of the course texts, that adds to the class' understanding of the course material and which lays out a possible research direction for your Final Paper.
4. Final Paper, three thousand words: due in lecture July 27th.

Course Approach

The course is looking for a literary understanding of a collection of British fiction written after 1945. These books share a common theme: in the words of the course outline, "the mutual and open aggression between the British social establishment and young men of the lower-middle and working classes." We begin with Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co. which expresses a model of masculinity that had engrossing influence before 1945, and then read the subsequently-written works of fiction and consider how the texts engage and disengage the Stalky model.

It is hoped that students will engage the material critically, test the hypothesis fairly and present a detailed, reasoned and rigorously researched essay expressing their individual analysis and response to the course of study.

Course requirement weighting:
15% Course participation
10% Seminar presentation
20% Group e-Text project
20% Mid-term paper (approx. 1500 words)
35% Final Paper

Nb: “Participation requires both participation in seminar and attendance and punctuality at lecture and seminar."

Instructor Contact:


Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11:30 – 12:30 in the lecture room. Bring your coffee and discuss course matters freely. ogden@sfu.ca and http://amongthethugs.blogspot.com Use campus mail accounts only for email contact. please.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

very interesting. kinda makes you think