Course description and objectives:
Literature courses have an obvious place in a liberal arts university and as requirements in the degrees it grants.  They expose students to some of the "great ideas" that have shaped our  culture--ideas about such universal topics as love and marriage, religion and morality, the individual and society, and other topics that have been central to all human history--and to some of the imaginative ways people have devised of expressing and exploring those ideas.  They encourage subjective thinking as you respond to what the literature says to you while at the same time exposing you to received methods of interpretation and the most widely held interpretations of literary works.  They also give you practice writing and speaking.

MPEN209 will focus on the subject of the family in drama and prose fiction.  We will examine how writers of the past 200 years have explored the joys and frustrations of husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings, and cousins as they grow and learn about themselves and those closest to them. The readings in this course are also designed to reveal what changes and what remains the same, whether we compare social classes, races, or historical eras. Because this is a literature course, we will focus on how authors create meaning and how readers interpret texts and not on sociological or other aspects of the family relationships, though these topics may enter into our discussions, perhaps frequently.  Our reading list is rather short, which will give us time to get some depth on these works and their authors.

Specific goals are as follows:
1.  Ability to read and analyze texts according to accepted approaches to literary criticism and evaluation.
2.  Ability to articulate interpretations and analyses orally and in writing.
3.  Ability to write clearly and correctly via a process approach.
4.  Ability to think precisely and creatively.
5.  Willingness to be part of a learning community demonstrated through active participation in peer groups, class discussion and activities, electronic communication, and all other in-class and out-of-class activities.

Class time will be a mixture of lecture and discussion, but I will always expect you to have read the assigned material before you come to class, so come prepared to talk and write.  Class participation, including in-class papers, will count for 10% of your grade.  The rest will come from two exams (20% each, open book), a critical paper (10%), a subjective paper (20%), and a final exam (20%, partially comprehensive).

Grade scale:  A = 93-100; A- = 90-92; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B- = 80-82; C+ = 77-79, C = 73-76; C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62; F = 59 or below.

Course policies - attendance, late work, and plagiarism:
Each class period is designed to give you an opportunity to learn from me and your classmates and to show me, via discussion and writing assignments, that you have learned on your own; therefore, you should try to attend all sessions.  Projects that are turned in after the announced due date will probably be accepted, but with penalty of one letter grade for each class period they are late without excuse.  This course will conform to university policies about academic integrity.  Any form of cheating or plagiarism will result in a grade of zero on the assignment and probably in your failing the course.  Students are required to use nonsexist language.

Students with disabilities:
Samford University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Students with disabilities who seek accommodations must make their request through Disability Support Services (phone 726-4078)  in Couseling Services on the lower level of Pittman Hall.  A faculty member will only grant reasonable accommodations upon notification from the Advisor for Students with Disabilities.  Come see me in my office and we will discuss any accommodations you will request.

Prerequisites:  ECEN102 C- or better, or permission

Sep 24 Critical readings on O Pioneers!; Exam 2.
Sep 26 Death of a Salesman, Act 1; critical papers due.