Instructor: Prof. Amardeep Singh
Office Hours: Wednesday 2-5 (or appointment)
4.
Final Paper topics
5. Final paper suggested readings/bibliography
(includes online sources)
William Strunk, etc., Elements of Style.
Joseph Garibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Fifth Edition.
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness & Selections from the Congo Diary.
W.E.B. DuBois, Dark
Princess.
Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient.
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous
Conditions.
Salman Rushdie,
The Moor's Last Sigh.
Hanan al-Shaykh, Beirut Blues.
Alex Garland, The
Beach.
Course Description
The main goal of this course is to help you develop your academic writing skills in response to a series of challenging, exciting novels from different parts of the world. Though a great deal of our attention will be on the novels as works of literature, we will also incorporate ideas from numerous subjects that are not specifically literary, including sociology, anthropology, history, and economics. As an introduction to debates on “globalization,” this course might help you prepare for any of these majors (or even entirely different majors such as biology). As a writing seminar, this course will (I hope) be helpful to you wherever you go; strong writing skills will help you professionally once you are out of college whether you are a doctor, engineer, businessman, lawyer, etc.
Attendance
and participation. This course is a seminar, which means it only works if everyone shows
up consistently, does all of the reading, and participates. I have avoided
overloading the syllabus with gigantic books, but that means I need people to
read carefully. Come into class every day with questions and issues you wish to
discuss. I will be taking attendance regularly; if you are late to class it is
your responsibility to be sure I have marked you ‘present.’
'Good' Academic Writing
Good
academic writing is not a magic skill that some people have and others lack.
Much of what makes a piece of writing ‘good’ has nothing to do with
polysyllabic words or extensive footnotes. Rather, quality of a piece of
writing is its efficacy: how effective it is at doing what it sets out
to do. In other words, everything you write should be specific to the context
in which you are writing it. When you write papers, you need to know a set of
conventions that define 'academic' writing: use of appropriate language, the
presence of a clear argument, a sense of context, and proper documentation and
support of facts and assertions. That is not to say that other things are not
also important. Good writing also reflects concentration and mastery of a
subject; as well as the creativity with which the problem is approached.
Course Requirements
·
Class Participation
·
Writing Assignments, including
·
short
assignments (1-3 pages)
·
argumentative
and research papers (5+ pages)
Grading
25% Class Participation
35% Short written Assignments (‘response papers’)
40% Longer Papers
Longer
papers will receive a letter grade. Minor assignments are given a check (+/-),
at least for the first half of the term.
Papers and assignments
Always
bring two copies of your longer papers
and assignments. Besides handing them in to me, you are to trade it with a
classmate. You will read each others' papers and comment on them.
All
writing assignments should be typed, double-spaced in a standard font with
1" margins. (A standard font, such as 12-pt. Courier or Times, will give
you 250-300 words per page.) Pages should be numbered in the top right-hand
corner and paper-clipped or stapled. Your name, the course number, my name and
the date should be in the top left-hand corner of the first page. Do not use a
title page. I recommend that you do all your writing on a computer, keeping a
disk and an extra 'hard' copy. If you work in computer-labs, I highly recommend keeping copies of your
work on multiple floppy or Zip disks, or on your Lehigh internet account (using
FTP).
Papers
will be collected at the beginning of class on the day they are due.
Papers
by email. At
this time, I do not accept papers by email except under extreme circumstances (i.e.,
you are away from campus for a family emergency or an authorized athletic
trip). This may change as the semester progresses.
Late Papers. As a rule, papers will not
be accepted late. If for some reason you cannot be there to turn in the paper
yourself, have someone (a friend or a classmate) deliver the paper to me before
the class begins. If you absolutely must have an extension, ask me at least a week in advance. If you will
be unable to complete a project due to illness or an emergency, contact me immediately.
Hints for Paper-writing
1.
Use
technology! Spell-checks are required. Grammar checks (MS Word 97 or higher)
are generally recommended. Even if you do not follow the grammar checker's
suggestion, it can be educational to see what the computer tells you about your
writing. I would especially encourage using the grammar checker in concert with
Writing Essentials. (To turn the
“grammar checker” on in MS Word: Tools à Options à Spelling & Grammar.)
2.
But
don't abuse it. Specifically, don't
abuse the web. Sometimes you just have to sit down and read, think, and
concentrate. Turn off the stereo, TV, even the computer. Go for a walk in a
quiet area... Give yourself time to THINK.
3.
If
you are having trouble, come to me. I also encourage that you take advantage of
Lehigh’s resources for paper writers (there is an office on the first floor of
Drown Hall).
4.
If
you are printing out in a computer lab in the daytime, give some extra time to
print out. I would encourage you to find alternative places (such as friends'
computers) to print out your work. Or get a printer of your own.
Sept
3-7: Heart of Darkness
Definitions: Globalization, Imperialism,
Civilization/Savagery
Strunk & White: Chapter 1
Sept.
10-14: Dark Princess
Strunk & White: Chapter 2
[Monday 9/10: Last day for
fall registration; last day to drop a course w/out a W]
Sept.
17-21: Dark Princess.
Sept.
24-28: The English Patient
à DUE Sept. 24: 5 page paper
on one of the first two novels.
Oct.
1-5: The English Patient
Oct.
10, 12: The English Patient
MLA
Guide: Chapter 2 (technicalities)
Oct. 15-19:
Nervous Conditions
[Friday Oct. 19: I will
likely be absent]
Oct.
22-26: Nervous Conditions/ start The Moor’s Last Sigh
à DUE Oct. 22: 5 page paper
on Ondaatje or Dangarembga
Oct.
29-Nov. 2: The Moor’s Last Sigh
Nov.
19-21: Beirut Blues
à DUE Nov. 21: 5 page paper
on Al-Shaykh or Rushdie
Nov.
26-30: The Beach
Dec.
3-7: Recap/readings on globalization (from photocopies)