Introduction to Literature- Fiction

Course Number:
ENG 104
Transcript Title:
Introduction to Literature- Fiction
Created:
Aug 10, 2022
Updated:
Jul 11, 2023
Total Credits:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture / Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0
Satisfies Cultural Literacy requirement:
No
Satisfies General Education requirement:
Yes
Grading Options
A-F, P/NP, Audit
Default Grading Options
A-F
Repeats available for credit:
0
Prerequisites

WR 121 or WR 121Z

Course Description

Enhances enjoyment of various forms of fictional prose, increases understanding of the conventions of fiction and various forms of storytelling, and encourages exploration of the diversity of human experience. Prerequisite/concurrent: WR 121 or WR 121Z. Audit available.

Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Recognize and understand the variety of stylistic choices that authors make within given forms and how form influences meaning.
  2. Articulate ways in which the text contributes to self-understanding.
  3. Engage, through the text, unfamiliar and diverse cultures, experiences and points of view, recognizing the text as a product of a particular culture and historical moment.
  4. Understand the text within the context of a literary tradition or convention.
  5. Evaluate various interpretations of a text and their validity through reading, writing, and discussion in individual and group responses analyzing the support/evidence for a particular interpretation.
  6. Conduct research to find materials appropriate to use for literary analysis, using MLA conventions to document primary and secondary sources in written responses to a literary text.

Alignment with Institutional Learning Outcomes

Major
1. Communicate effectively using appropriate reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. (Communication)
Major
2. Creatively solve problems by using relevant methods of research, personal reflection, reasoning, and evaluation of information. (Critical thinking and Problem-Solving)
Not Addressed
3. Extract, interpret, evaluate, communicate, and apply quantitative information and methods to solve problems, evaluate claims, and support decisions in their academic, professional and private lives. (Quantitative Literacy)
Minor
4. Use an understanding of cultural differences to constructively address issues that arise in the workplace and community. (Cultural Awareness)
Minor
5. Recognize the consequences of human activity upon our social and natural world. (Community and Environmental Responsibility)

To establish an intentional learning environment, Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) require a clear definition of instructional strategies, evidence of recurrent instruction, and employment of several assessment modes.

Major Designation

  1. The outcome is addressed recurrently in the curriculum, regularly enough to establish a thorough understanding.
  2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a thorough understanding of the outcome.
    • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Minor Designation

  1. The outcome is addressed adequately in the curriculum, establishing fundamental understanding.
  2. Students can demonstrate and are assessed on a fundamental understanding of the outcome.
    • The course includes at least one assignment that can be assessed by applying the appropriate CLO rubric.

Suggested Outcome Assessment Strategies

Assessment tools may include informal responses to study questions; evaluation of small- and full-group discussion; in-class and out-of-class writing; formal essays, as well as informal responses to study questions and other types of informal writing; presentations by individuals and groups; short and long essay exams; close reading exercises using support/evidence; writing exercises which include evaluation of various interpretations of a text and their relative validity. Both instructor and peer evaluation may be incorporated in the assessment process.

Course Activities and Design

The determination of teaching strategies used in the delivery of outcomes is generally left to the discretion of the instructor. Here are some strategies that you might consider when designing your course: lecture, small group/forum discussion, flipped classroom, dyads, oral presentation, role play, simulation scenarios, group projects, service learning projects, hands-on lab, peer review/workshops, cooperative learning (jigsaw, fishbowl), inquiry based instruction, differentiated instruction (learning centers), graphic organizers, etc.

Course Content

  • Feminist theory
  • Setting
  • Psychoanalytic theory
  • Plot
  • Marxist theory
  • Point of view
  • Structuralist theory
  • Tone/voice
  • Postmodern theory
  • Narrative styles
  • Reader response theory
  • Narration: 1st, 2nd, 3rd person
  • New historicism
  • Omniscient, etc.
  • Biographical criticism
  • Unreliable narrator gender
  • Rhetorical strategies
  • Race
  • Diction
  • Evidence
  • Character
  • Climax
  • Documentation
  • Denouement
  • Thesis
  • Symbol
  • Imagery
  • Intertextuality
  • Regional or national literatures
  • Flashback
  • Ambiguity
  • Irony
  • Allusion
  • Censorship
  • Stereotyping
  • Class
  • Form/structure
  • Dialogue
  • Contextualizing
  • Sources/influence
  • Genres of fiction

Suggested Texts and Materials

At least 60% of all course texts and materials in the WFLL should be written by a combination of women and other marginalized communities (people of color, LGBTQ, disabled authors, etc.

The Story and its Writer or individual stories chosen at the instructor’s discretion. 

Recommended to teach 2-3 novels. Completely at the instructor’s discretion, but may include: 

  • As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
  • Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
  • Bel Canto  by Ann Patchett
  • Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
  • My Antonia by Willa Cather