ENGLISH 100/001 2012-13 TERM ONE:

Note revised requirements:
Participation: 10%
Midterm Essay (in-class) 15%
Response Journal Portfolio 20%
Term Paper requiring Research 25%
Final Exam 30%

ENGL 464B Twentieth-Century Studies (3 credits)

Section: 002 2012-13 Term: 2

”Martin Luther was asked, what would you do if tomorrow the world would come to an end, and he said, ’I would plant an apple tree today.’ This is a real good answer. I would start shooting a movie.” – Werner Herzog (Interview. Guardian. Online. 14 April 2012.)

This course will examine, using the lenses of literary and cultural studies, late 20th/early 21st century texts representing concerns rooted in significant events and developments of the 20th century: social and political restructuring; war, epidemic and genocide on a previously unimaginable scale; technological revolutions; demographic shifts; environmental exploitation; millennial anxieties. The focus will narrow from that of previous sections to consider the post-apocalyptic narrative, and its shift from the mid-century Cold War fears of nuclear annihilation, to the millennial realization that there are many ways the world could end. These texts will also demonstrate there are many ways of representing landscape(s) and the lives of human beings after the end.

Tentative Core Text List (subject to minor revision in the fall):
• Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
• Angela Carter, Heroes and Villains
• Russell Hoban, Riddley Walker
• Margaret Atwood, Oryx & Crake
• Cormac McCarthy, The Road
• The Matrix (1999 film; dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry (now Lana) Wachowski)
• Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, The Walking Dead (edition TBA)

Students are encouraged to introduce in discussion related texts and films; clips from a variety of relevant films will be screened.

Course Requirements:
• participation (largely based on contribution to in-class and online discussion, completion of at least one online exercise: 10%)
• midterm essay (25%)
• term paper requiring research (40%)
• final examination (25%)

Note: Much of the course material is potentially very disturbing. Also, if the course appeals to you because of one particular text, look up information on the other texts before deciding to register, as you will be expected to read and reasonably discuss all texts required for the course.

Notices of updates will be posted on Twitter (@drgmbaxter).

ENGL 468A Children’s Literature (3 credits)

Section: 002 2012-13 Term: 1

”You are always in danger in the forest, where no people are.” – Angela Carter, ”The Company of Wolves”

Children’s literature has long been the focus of both fascination and controversy. Despite crossover texts appropriated by unintended audiences, and the emergence of daring and diverse material, the folk/fairy tale ”refunctioned” as a sort of metaphorical life lesson and the ”girls’ books”/”boys’ books” dichotomy continue to influence reading, popular culture, and constructions of gender. This section will employ cultural and gender studies to consider the concept of children’s literature itself, its evolving boundaries and assumptions, and will examine texts that reflect, challenge, and/or subvert its conventions. We will also examine the problematic relative of children’s literature, ”young adult” fiction, and the relationship between narratives about young people and those written specifically or primarily for them.

Evaluation will be based on a midterm essay (25%), a research-based term paper (40%), a final examination (25%), and participation (10%: based on contribution to in-class and online discussion, completion of at least one online exercise, submission on time of assigned work, and attendance).

NOTE: This senior undergraduate literary studies course is concerned with relationships among audience assumptions, style, and content, and with the cultural conditions surrounding production and reception of these texts. We are not concerned with whether the texts are ”good” for young readers or with how to introduce texts to them, nor are we concerned with taste-based assessment of the books. The set texts represent no specific hierarchy or cross section; many others will come up in discussion. If you chose this section because of one specific text, find out about all the others, as you will be responsible for bringing the same attention to each of them.

Tentative Core Text List:
• Folk & Fairy Tales (Broadview 4th ed.)
• J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
• J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
• Alan Garner, The Owl Service
• J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Tim Wynne Jones, The Maestro
• Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki, Skim
• Labyrinth (1986 film dir. Jim Henson)

Notices of updates will be posted on Twitter (@drgmbaxter).

ENGL 100 Reading and Writing About Literature (3 credits)

Section: 001, 2012-13 Term: 1

Art, like Nature, has her monsters… – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

This course will focus on three novels, all inheritors of the Gothic impulse characteristic of the late 18th century, and all concerned with secret lives and locked rooms. These late 19th-century novels have had considerable influence on popular culture; we will, in studying the novels themselves, discuss that influence in terms of film, television, contemporary popular fiction, graphic novels, etc.: students will be encouraged to find and introduce examples. Through related readings in criticism and theory, we will examine the nature of literary and cultural studies, and their relationship to other academic disciplines (such as history, psychology, and sociology), through consideration of genre, production, and reception, as well as the difficulty, if not impossibility, of reaching a ”fixed” or consensus reading of any text. When possible, film clips will be screened; supplementary material will be made available online and on reserve in the Koerner Library.

Tentative Core Text List:
• Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Bram Stoker, Dracula
• Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
• A selection of short fiction, including Charles Perrault’s ”Bluebeard”, selections from Edgar Allan Poe, and Angela Carter’s ”The Bloody Chamber” and ”The Lady of the House of Love”
• The Canadian Writer’s Handbook: Essentials Edition
• Custom Course Materials for English 100/001

Course Requirements:
• participation (largely based on regular contribution to in-class and online discussion, as well as a private response journal: 10%)
• response journal portfolio (including at least four entries, responding to at least two novels, one short story, and one article: 25%)
• midterm in-class essay (15%)
• term paper with research requirement (25%)
• final examination (25%)

Notices of updates will be posted on Twitter (@drgmbaxter).

What is an Online Course anyway?

If you are curious as to the relationship between an online course and a classroom course, read on: this is the description I’ve sent everyone registered in ENGL 468A/98A, as well as all people on the wait list.

468A/98A is the online version of a classroom course, and follows the same pace, with the same requirements; it is designed as an upper-level course in literary studies. Unlike classroom summer courses, it runs 13 weeks, from May to August (Week 1 in the course schedule is the week starting May 7). As in a classroom course, there are weekly readings, and the equivalent of attendance is met by online contribution to general discussion and a response journal via the Vista online blackboard system. Your interaction will be at least as much with your classmates as with me; I am accessible via email and frequently post questions in the discussion topics and respond to posts there. However, students must also respond to what classmates post (as in an in-class discussion). Evaluation is based on two short critical analyses and a research-based major term paper (I generally eliminate the graded proposal option and apply the five points to the value of the term paper), plus an essay-based invigilated final exam. Because of the pacing issue of the course (it’s NOT a ”work at your own pace” course, and it is NOT a ”correspondence course”), students must spend the same amount of time weekly on it as on one three-credit course in winter term. You need daily access to a computer with a current operating system and browser, and a reliable highspeed internet connection. The text list for this summer is as follows:

FOLK & FAIRY TALES (BROADVIEW) 4TH ED.
TREASURE ISLAND
ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
PETER PAN
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
SKIM
THE MAESTRO
NUMBER THE STARS
CUSTOM COURSE MATERIALS

Please note as well that the exam date in August is set by the university (usually in July), not by me, and if it conflicts with holidays, I cannot schedule an exam ahead of the exam date.

Wait List Structure for ENGL 468A/98A

In an attempt to establish a wait list that tries to ensure that people who really need the course get in if a space becomes available (the cap will not be raised above 40, which is comparable to the classroom-version cap: see my blog post on overloads/wait lists directly below), I’d like anyone contacting me about space to provide me with the following information:

1. Your year and major.
2. Your student number.
3. Your expected date of graduation.
4. Whether this course is needed to fulfil degree requirements (keep in mind that no one *has* to take 468: what you need is a level or area course).

The wait list will follow this order of priority:

1. English Majors/Honours students needing a senior literature course to graduate this fall, especially if no alternative is available because of scheduling or location issues.
2. English Majors/Honours students needing a senior literature course to graduate in spring 2013, especially if no alternative is available because of scheduling or location issues.
3. Students with other majors requiring a literature/or arts credit to graduate this fall, especially if no alternative is available because of scheduling or location issues.
4. Students with other majors requiring a literature/or arts credit to graduate in spring 2013, especially if no alternative is available because of scheduling or location issues.
5. English Majors/Honours students with third year status attempting to fulfil degree requirements, especially if no alternative is available because of scheduling or location issues.
6. Students with other majors and third year status attempting to fulfil degree requirements, especially if no alternative is available because of scheduling or location issues.
7. All other students eligible to take this course as an elective.

There are currently 10 people on the list.

Overloads and Wait List Policies

OVERLOADS

I don’t take overloads. I don’t add extra students beyond the enrollment cap number determined by the Faculty of Arts and the English Department for specific classes.

The caps on enrollment are there for various reasons; I respect and support those reasons. They help to ensure student access to instructors, interactivity in the classroom setting, and careful evaluation of assigned work with comments explaining the grade given.

The assumption with a classroom course is that there is some interactivity: this can take the form of question period, general discussion, small group discussion, and individual or group presentation. The larger the class, the more difficult this interactivity becomes, and people miss out on chances to participate.

Even if I were to choose just to lecture (although I will not), there is still the matter of assigned work to be evaluated. I do not have teaching assistants in any of my courses; I never do. I do all the marking myself.
Instructors are discouraged from taking overloads so that departments can legitimately argue for reasonable class enrollment sizes. As for online courses, because they too require participation and evaluation, their enrollments are capped as well.

NOTE RE: RESTRICTED SPACES – This is why if you see unclaimed restricted spaces I won’t force anyone into them. If I do so, the unclaimed restricted spaces still exist, and if eligible students decide to claim them, I end up with an overload.

WAIT LISTS

I don’t keep a formal wait list. I’ve tried to do so and have mostly found people change their minds and enroll in other courses and then don’t tell me. What I do is keep your email message on file, in a special folder for enquiries concerning the class you are interested in joining. After 4-5 people express interest, I start telling enquirers how many have done so (e.g. ”you are the 25th person to ask about space”). A week or so before the start of term, I send a general email to everyone who has emailed me, and ask if they’re still interested. If you reply that you aren’t, or if you don’t reply, then your name is taken off the list.

YOUR ENQUIRY MESSAGE should be brief. Don’t sell yourself: I know you’re all terrific students! I know you want to read these books and study them! I don’t deny these are popular courses and I know why! Tell me your degree program, your major (and minor if relevant), and year, and supply your full name and student number (useful because email addresses are often mystifying).

MY REPLY MESSAGE will also be brief. It will tell you I will keep your message on file. It will urge you to check the registrar’s list often (daily! More than once a day!), in case a space opens up for which you can register. It will also urge you to look into alternate courses and have at least one lined up that you know you can take, and that meets your degree requirements and fits your schedule (though be as accommodating as possible about your schedule: sometimes that class at 9 a.m. or 4 p.m. might be the best course you’ll ever take with a wonderful instructor!).

CONTACTING ME DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU A SPACE IN THE CLASS. This is why having an alternative is vital.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE COURSE BEFORE CONTACTING ME. My 400-level courses require six credits of First Year English or equivalent (e.g. Arts One, ASTU) and third year status in order to register.

FIRST YEAR COURSES ARE ALL REGISTERED THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR OFFICE IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT. I cannot sign students into or out of my sections.

UNDERSTAND YOUR REQUIREMENTS. For example, 468 is a senior literary studies course; it is not primarily aimed at students of education, library studies, or child studies, and while it might be recommended in these programs it is not required. It is also not required for the English majors or honours degrees. You rarely need a specific course; what you need tends more to be combination of area, genre, and period, e.g. a senior course in contemporary literature, or a senior Arts elective.

If you have any questions, please email me at Gisele.Baxter@ubc.ca – you may follow me on Twitter at @DrGMBaxter for updates on the size of my current Wait Lists.

Book Orders! I’ve now set and ordered texts for all my term two courses. Course outlines and syllabi, with other relevant information, will be emailed to you in late December.

ENGL 112/99C (online): Find out more about the course, its requirements, and the set texts via this link: http://ctlt.ubc.ca/distance-learning/courses/engl/engl112/

ENGL 112/03M & O5M (Classroom): Your texts will be The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose (2nd ed.) and The Broadview Guide to Writing 4th Cdn. ed.

ENGL 464K/003:

- Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
- William Gibson, Neuromancer
- Don DeLillo, White Noise
- Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen
- Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
- The Wachowskis, The Matrix (shooting script)

Note: We’ll be reading these texts in roughly this order.

English 100/001: Reading and Writing about Literature
UBC 2011/12 Term 1: MWF 9 a.m. Buch D218

Instructor: Dr. Gisèle M. Baxter
Email: Gisele.Baxter@ubc.ca (put ”English 100” in the subject line); Twitter: @drgmbaxter
URL: http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/gmbaxter/
Office: Buchanan Tower 413; tel. 604 822-9455
Hours: MWF 10-10:30 a.m., 2-2:30 p.m., and by appointment
FIRST DAY HANDOUTS: PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY! (Hard copy will be available in class, and remember our class starts meeting September 7, and we’ll be getting right to work, so if you are registered, BE THERE.)

Art, like Nature, has her monsters… – Oscar Wilde

Description:
This course will focus on three novels, all inheritors of the Gothic impulse characteristic of the late 18th century. These 19th-century novels have had considerable influence on popular culture; we will, in studying the novels themselves, discuss that influence in terms of film, television, contemporary popular fiction, graphic novels, etc.: students will be encouraged to find and introduce examples. Through related readings in criticism and theory, we will examine the nature of literary and cultural studies, and their relationship to other academic disciplines (such as history, psychology, and sociology), through consideration of genre, production, and reception, as well as the difficulty, if not impossibility, of reaching a ”fixed” or consensus reading of any text. When possible, film clips will be screened; supplementary material will be made available online and on reserve in the Koerner Library. Note: You will need a Campus Wide Login (http://www.cwl.ubc.ca) username and password to access the Vista site (http://www.vista.ubc.ca) for this course; you will be expected to visit the Vista site at least weekly, and some required readings will be linked there.

Text List (all required):
Note: Any edition of the novels is acceptable, as long as it is unabridged. However, you might choose the bookstore editions as they have useful supplementary material that might help you in developing your term paper or one of your journal responses. You must acquire Gardner’s Writing About Literature and the Custom Course Materials.
• Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Bram Stoker, Dracula
• Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Public domain short fiction: online texts linked to Vista (Charles Perrault, ”Bluebeard”; Edgar Allan Poe, ”The Cask of Amontillado” and ”The Masque of the Red Death”)
• Custom Course Materials for English 100/001: A course pack of scholarly essays and contemporary short fiction
• Janet Gardner, Writing About Literature with 2009 MLA Update: A Portable Guide

Course Requirements:
• participation (based on regular contribution to in-class and online discussion, as well as attendance and submission on time of all assigned work: 10%)
• response journal (at least four entries, responding to at least two of the core novels, at least one short story, and one article: 25%)
• midterm in-class essay (15%)
• term paper with research requirement (25%); an informal proposal will be required
• final examination (25%)

Notes (with University and Department Policies):
• Attendance of your assigned class is required. Please see the university attendance policies in the UBC Calendar for 2011-12; frequent absences from class could result in exclusion from the final examination. According to the Department of English attendance policy, ”Students missing 40% or more of the classes, regardless of whether their absences are avoidable or unavoidable, will be considered unable to meet the ’learning outcomes’ of the course and will be excluded from the final examination.” The full Department policy can be found at http://www.english.ubc.ca/attendance.htm.

• Examinations (3 hours) are scheduled by the Registrar and take place in the regular examination periods laid out in the calendar. Plan accordingly; you may not ask me for permission to take the examination at another time, except in the case defined in the following note.

• Religious holidays: to be excused from a class or to reschedule an exam to observe a religious holiday, inform me at least two weeks in advance. Find the UBC Religious Holidays calendar at http://students.ubc.ca/current/holidays.cfm. For more information, see http://www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/policy65.html.

• Assignments will be provided in writing in class at least two weeks ahead of the due date (much earlier in the case of the research-based essay), with all requirements clearly stated. If for some serious reason your work cannot be produced by the due date, please let me know ahead of time; unexcused late work will be penalized 5% per day. Students must complete all assigned work (unsubmitted assignments will be given a grade of zero at the end of term); except in cases with serious extenuating circumstances (meriting a Standing Deferred), no work will be accepted after the final examination.

• Plagiarism is using the language, ideas and/or thoughts of another without acknowledgment. It is dishonest. Even partial plagiarism will result in, at the minimum, a grade of zero for the assignment, which may result in your failing the course. Your name will be reported to the First Year Director, the Department Head, and your Faculty. The university has suspended students for plagiarism. Resources concerning plagiarism and its avoidance are provided on Vista via a Web Link. If you are in any doubt, please consult me before handing in the assignment.

• Review of Assigned Standing: For a review, you must submit marked copies of all written work in the course. (Procedures are defined in the Calendar.) The Department keeps your examination and will add it to the package of work. You are responsible for keeping together in a safe place all of the work I return to you after grading.

• Withdrawal: The last day for withdrawal from Term 2 courses without penalty is September 20, 2011; the last day for withdrawal with a W recorded on your transcript is October 14, 2011. Late withdrawals are not permitted.

Syllabus:

• Notes:
o Due dates and format for the response journal and its entries will be described in a separate handout; this will be distributed in class and posted on Vista within the first two weeks of term.
o As soon as I know the exam date and time, I will announce this information in class and online (Vista; Twitter).
o Short readings (e.g. essays, stories) will be announced at least two days prior to their discussion in class; novels must be read by the first day of discussion. Keep ahead of the reading! You cannot rely on notes (and unacknowledged use of internet guides, Sparknotes, etc. is plagiarism); your participation mark will depend a lot on your ability to comment knowledgeably, in class and online, about the assigned texts.
• September 7-23: Introduction to literary studies; short fiction
• September 26-October 14: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• [October 10: Thanksgiving; university holiday: no classes]
• October 17-November 7: Dracula
• October 19: Midterm essay (in class)
• [November 11: Remembrance Day; university holiday: no classes]
• November 9-28: The Picture of Dorian Gray
• November 21: Term paper proposal due
• November 30-December 2: Exam review
• December 2: Term paper due; last day of classes for this course

Classroom Policies:

• Contact: All email messages must have ”English 100” in the subject line; send messages in plain text, and don’t send attachments. I try to answer all email within 24 hours of receiving the message. My office phone does not have voice mail; it is easier and more efficient to contact me by conventional email (I do check Vista Mail but less often).

• Assignment submission: All assignments must be submitted as hard copy in class.

• Attendance and Participation: Since you are required by the university to attend your classes, doing so counts for a very small part of your class mark. The quality of your attendance counts for more. Read all assigned texts, think about questions you are asked to consider, and write down any questions you have, so that you can contribute to discussion. Inattentive attendance (e.g. using class time for email and text messaging, or even for homework for other classes) will cost your class mark much more than absence.

• Notes: I do not expect people to take extensive notes (your essays and exams will be based on application of strategies explored in class, not on memorization of lectures or texts). Take point-form notes of any topics and questions raised, as well as readings assigned, since this can be useful for review and for sharing with people who miss a class. Only record classes electronically if you have a good reason to do so (e.g. an injury or disability), and ask my permission first (or provide documentation from Access & Diversity).

• Arrival and Departure: Since we must always allow for the unforeseen, I can’t tell people never to be late, but if you are habitually late (which is disruptive), take an earlier bus, make different travel arrangements, or tell the instructor in your class just before this one that you have to be here by the start time (I don’t mind being told that it’s time to go: assignments and reminders will be issued at the beginning of class). When you must leave early for some serious reason (e.g. a medical appointment), tell me ahead of time, sit near the door, and leave quietly. You may leave class at any time, without asking, to go to the washroom; check the location of the nearest men’s or women’s washroom.

• Legitimate Absences: There are legitimate reasons for absence: illness, family or personal emergency, unforeseen traffic issues. Let me know about them as soon as you can. University-sponsored athletic activities or course-related field trips will require a note (email is fine) from your coach or instructor.

• Absences which negatively influence class marks include using class time to do work for other courses, to entertain visiting friends and family, to extend holidays, to participate in recreational activities (whether sponsored by UBC or not), or to be at your job (you will have to find another section if your work and class schedules conflict, so check with your employer at the beginning of term).

• Disruption: I will not permit fraternity/sorority pranks or stunts to be performed, public service announcements to be made, or surveys to be conducted during class time (however, you may announce the location of online surveys conducted as part of academic assignments).

• All phones, personal listening devices (e.g. iPods), and laptops must be turned off and put away before you come to class.

• Food and Beverages: Please avoid messy food or food with a strong aroma, and dispose of all wrappers, peels, cores, etc. as you leave. Noisy wrappers should be torn open before class starts. Beverages should be in covered containers unlikely to spill or smash.

English 468A/002: Children’s Literature
UBC 2011/12 Term 1: MWF 1 p.m. Buch B313

Instructor: Dr. Gisèle M. Baxter
Email: Gisele.Baxter@ubc.ca (put ”English 468” in the subject line); Twitter: @drgmbaxter
URL: http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/gmbaxter
Office: Buchanan Tower 413, 604 822-9455
Hours: MWF 10-10:30 a.m., 2-2:30 p.m., and by appointment

”You are always in danger in the forest, where no people are.”
Angela Carter, The Company of Wolves

Description:
From John Newbery’s 18th-century publishing revolution to Harry Potter and beyond, children’s literature has been the focus of both fascination and controversy. This section will employ cultural and gender studies to examine the production and reception of this enigmatic genre. Despite crossover texts appropriated by unintended audiences, and the emergence of daring and diverse material, the folk/fairy tale ”refunctioned” as a sort of metaphorical life lesson and the ”girls’ books”/”boys’ books” dichotomy continue to influence reading, popular culture, and constructions of gender. We will consider the concept of children’s literature itself, its evolving boundaries and assumptions, and will examine texts that reflect, challenge, and/or subvert its conventions. We will also examine the problematic relative of children’s literature, ”young adult” fiction, and the relationship between narratives about young people and those written specifically or primarily for them. Evaluation will be based on a midterm essay (25%), a research-based term paper (40%), a final examination (25%), and participation (10%: based on contribution to in-class and Vista-based online discussion, completion of at least one formal exercise on Vista, submission on time of assigned work, and attendance).

NOTE: This senior undergraduate literary studies course is concerned with how assumptions of a young readership influence style and content, and with the cultural conditions surrounding production and reception of these texts. We are not concerned with whether the texts are ”good” for young readers or how to introduce texts to them, nor are we concerned with taste-based assessment of the books: we are neither here to praise nor dismiss them, but to discuss them, and they are all interesting, often provocative texts, well worth discussion. They represent no specific hierarchy or cross section. Many other texts will come up in discussion. If you chose this section because of one specific text, find out about all the others, as you will be responsible for bringing the same attention to each of them.

Required Texts:
Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek, Folk and Fairy Tales (Broadview 4th ed.); J.M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy (Broadview ed.); J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit; Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass; Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning; Tim Wynne-Jones, The Maestro; Stephenie Meyer, New Moon; Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki, Skim; Film clips will be screened in class; you will be directed to supplementary material via Reserve in Koerner and online (Vista; Twitter). Except for Folk and Fairy Tales and Peter and Wendy, any unabridged editions may be used. While required to read the set texts, students are encouraged to read extensively beyond the list. However, discussion of series novels will not require knowledge of the rest of the series.

Syllabus:

• September 7-23: Introduction and background; Folk & Fairy Tales (readings TBA)
• September 26-October 3: Peter and Wendy
• October 5-14: The Hobbit
• [October 10: Thanksgiving; university holiday: no classes.]
• October 17-24: The Golden Compass
• October 19: Midterm essay due
• October 26-31: A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
• November 2-9: The Maestro
• November 14-21: New Moon
• November 23-30: Skim
• December 2: Exam review; Term paper due

Notes and Policies:

• KEEP AHEAD OF THE READING! If you’ve read any of the texts recently enough that you have a good memory of their details, leave those till last. Many of the novels can be read quite quickly, but some are quite long: this is a course with a lot of reading! All students are required to write on at least FIVE separate novels (Skim counts as a novel; Folk and Fairy Tales does not) over the midterm essay, term paper, Vista exercises, and final examination essay.
• If for some serious reason your work will be late, tell me as soon as possible; unexcused late work will be penalized 5% per day.
• Please see the attendance policies in the UBC Calendar for 2011-12, and see http://www.english.ubc.ca/attendance.htm for the English Department policy on attendance; frequent absences can result in exclusion from the final examination.
• To be excused from a class or to reschedule an exam to observe a religious holiday, please inform me at least two weeks in advance. See the UBC Religious Holidays calendar at http://students.ubc.ca/current/holidays.cfm and UBC Policy 65 at http://www.policy.ubc.ca/policy65.htm for more about religious holiday observance.
• You need a Campus-Wide Login username/password (http://www.cwl.ubc.ca) to access Vista (a requirement). I will provide a link re: on-campus computer access.
• The last day for withdrawal in Term 1 without a record on your transcript is September 20, 2011; the last day for withdrawal, with a W recorded, is October 14, 2011.
• Give all email messages the subject ”English 468”, and put your full name in the message itself. My office phone has no voicemail; it is easier to reach me by email and I respond to messages within 24 hours.
• All assignments must be submitted as hard copy in class.
• All laptops, phones, and personal listening devices (e.g. iPods) MUST be turned off and put away in class.
• Classes may only be recorded for a good reason (e.g. injury or disability), and with my prior permission (or documentation from Access and Diversity).

English 301/001: Technical Writing
UBC 2011/12 Term 1: MWF 11 a.m. BIOL 2200

Instructor: Dr. Gisèle M. Baxter
Office: Buchanan Tower 413; tel. 604 822-9455
Email: Gisele.Baxter@ubc.ca (put ”English 301” in the subject line); Twitter: @drgmbaxter
URL: http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/gmbaxter/
Office Hours: MWF 10-10:30 a.m., 2-2:30 p.m., and by appointment

General Description:

This course studies the principles of written communication in business and professional activities, and practice in the preparation of abstracts, proposals, reports and correspondence. English 301 is not a course in essay writing.

Note: English 301 cannot be counted toward a major or a minor in English. Prerequisite: 6.0 (completed) credits of First-Year English, Arts One, Foundations or equivalent.

Texts:
• Graves and Graves, A Strategic Guide to Technical Communication. Broadview.
• The Broadview Pocket Guide to Writing.
• A good university-level dictionary.

Requirements:
There is no final examination in this course.

• Essay 1: Correspondence (10%)
• Essay 2: Report Proposal Memo (10%)
• Essay 3: Instructions (15%)
• Essay 4: Summary/Progress Report Memo (15%)
• Formal Report (35%; oral presentation on report: 5%)
• Participation Mark (10%: based on contribution to in-class discussion, completion of at least three Vista exercises; posting of and response to at least one draft on Vista; attendance and submission on time of assigned work)

Syllabus:
Keep ahead of the reading to allow for connections to be made among topics discussed. Reading assignments, as well as specific exercises and dates/formats for completion of them, will be announced in class and online (Vista; blog; Twitter).

• September 7: Introduction
• September 9-23: Correspondence
• September 26: Essay 1 due
• September 26-October 3: Definition and Technical Description
• October 5: Essay 2 due
• October 5-21: Instructions and Processes
• [October 10: Thanksgiving; university closed: no classes]
• October 24: Essay 3 due
• October 24-31: Summary
• November 2: Essay 4 due
• November 2-9: Reports
• [November 11: Remembrance Day; university closed: no classes]
• November 14-16: Technical Speaking
• November 18-December 2: Presentations
• December 9: Formal Reports due by 4 p.m.

Notes and Policies (Please Read Thoroughly!):

• Grading will be based not only on content and adherence to the requirements of the assignment (including format), but also on grammar and mechanics. I will assume that you have read the pertinent material in your textbook, and that you make diligent use of both the assigned writing handbook and dictionary. I will also assume that you proofread your material. No paper with technical errors will receive a grade of A.
• Drafts: Since I am teaching three full courses without marking or teaching assistance, I do not read drafts, nor do I permit graded essays to be rewritten. I will look at short outlines or opening paragraphs if you are concerned about the focus and direction of an assignment in progress. I do, however, encourage posting of drafts on Vista for peer feedback (this helps your class mark).
• Late work: If for some serious reason your work will be late, tell me as soon as possible; unexcused late work will be penalized 5% per day.
• Attendance: Please see the university’s attendance policies in the UBC Calendar; as well, see http://www.english.ubc.ca/attendance.htm for the English Department policy on attendance.
• Religious holidays: To be excused from a class in order to observe a religious holiday, please inform me at least two weeks in advance. Find the UBC Religious Holidays calendar online at http://students.ubc.ca/current/holidays.cfm and see UBC Policy #65 at http://www.policy.ubc.ca/policy65.htm for more about religious holiday observance.
• Vista: You must have a Campus-Wide Login user ID and password to access Vista (a requirement); get one at http://www.cwl.ubc.ca – I will post online a link to Arts ISIT, and information about computer access on campus.
• Contact: All email messages must have as a subject ”English 301”, and your full name clearly identified in the message itself. Send messages in plain text format, and do not send attachments. As my office phone does not have voicemail, it is easier and more efficient to contact me by email. I reply to messages within 24 hours.
• All assignments must be submitted as hard copy in class.
• All phones, personal listening devices (e.g. iPods), and laptops must be turned off and put away before class begins.
• Classes may only be recorded for a good reason (e.g. injury or disability), and with my prior permission (or documentation from Access and Diversity).

Here is my policy on Wait Lists and Overloads:

By now my classes for 2011-12 are filling up or full, and I’m starting to get several enquiries about space. To keep my reply messages from being too long and expository, I’m going to explain my policies concerning wait lists and overloads here.

OVERLOADS

I don’t take overloads. I don’t add extra students beyond the enrollment cap number determined for specific classes.

The caps on enrollment are there for various reasons; I respect and support those reasons. They help to ensure student access to instructors, interactivity in the classroom setting, and careful evaluation of assigned work with comments explaining the grade given.

The assumption with a classroom course is that there is some interactivity: this can take the form of question period, general discussion, small group discussion, and individual or group presentation. The larger the class, the more difficult this interactivity becomes, and people miss out on chances to participate.

Even if I were to choose just to lecture (and I will not choose to do so), there is still the matter of assigned work to be evaluated. I do not have teaching assistants in any of my courses; I never do. I do all the marking myself.

Instructors are discouraged from taking overloads so that departments can legitimately argue for reasonable class enrollment sizes. As for online courses, because they too require participation and evaluation, their enrollments are capped as well.

NOTE RE: RESTRICTED SPACES – This is why if you see unclaimed restricted spaces I won’t force anyone into them until a point after the start of term when all spaces are unrestricted. If I do so before the start of term, the unclaimed restricted spaces still exist, and if eligible students decide to claim them, I end up with an overload.

WAIT LISTS

I don’t keep a formal wait list, because I’ve tried to do so and have mostly found people change their minds and enroll in other courses and then don’t tell me. What I do is keep your email message on file, in a special folder for enquiries concerning the class you are interested in joining. After 4-5 people express interest, I start telling enquirers how many have done so (e.g. ”you are the 25th person to ask about space”). A week or so before the start of term, I send a general email to everyone who has emailed me, and ask if they’re still interested. If you reply that you aren’t, or if you don’t reply, then your name is taken off the list.

YOUR ENQUIRY MESSAGE should be brief. Don’t sell yourself: I know you’re all terrific students! I know you want to read these books and study them! I don’t deny these are popular courses and I know why! Tell me your degree program, your major (and minor if relevant), and year, and supply your full name and student number (useful because email addresses are often mystifying).

MY REPLY MESSAGE will also be brief. It will tell you I will keep your message on file. It will urge you to check the registrar’s list often (daily! More than once a day!) in case a space opens up for which you can register. It will also urge you to look into alternate courses and have at least one lined up that you know you can take, and that meets your degree requirements and fits your schedule (though be as accommodating as possible about your schedule: sometimes that class at 9 a.m. or 4 p.m. might be the best course you’ll ever take with a wonderful instructor!).

CONTACTING ME DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU A SPACE IN THE CLASS. This is why having an alternative is vital. Sometimes classes have quite a lot of movement of students between first registration and start of term; however, my 468 last year had almost NO movement between the end of June and September.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE COURSE BEFORE CONTACTING ME. My 400-level courses require six credits of First Year English or equivalent (e.g. Arts One, ASTU) and third year status in order to register.

FIRST YEAR COURSES ARE ALL REGISTERED THROUGH THE FIRST YEAR OFFICE IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT. I cannot sign students into or out of my sections.

UNDERSTAND YOUR REQUIREMENTS. 468 is a senior literary studies course; it is not primarily aimed at students of education, library studies, or child studies, and while it might be recommended in these programs it is not required. It is also not required for the English majors or honours degrees. You rarely need a specific course; what you need tends more to be combination of area, genre, and period, e.g. a senior course in contemporary literature, or a senior Arts elective.

If you have any questions, please email me at Gisele.Baxter@ubc.ca – you may follow me on Twitter at @DrGMBaxter for updates on the size of my current Wait Lists.

The other courses I am teaching in 2011-12 have generic descriptions on the English Department website (www.english.ubc.ca). For 301/001 (Technical Writing), which I am teaching Term 1 MWF 11 a.m., I have ordered THE BROADVIEW POCKET GUIDE TO WRITING and A STRATEGIC GUIDE TO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION (Graves & Graves, Broadview Press). Both of these specific texts are required; similar texts CANNOT be substituted.

I have not yet ordered texts for 112/03M and 05M (both Term 2); I will do so in the fall and provide an update at that point.

Here is a Term 2 course description and tentative text list; updates will be posted here in the fall when I do the book orders.

English 464K/003: Twentieth-Century Studies
Term 2 2011-12 MWF 2 p.m.

”…but there is no shelter… and the future is bearing down like an express train…” Alan Moore, Watchmen

Description:
This course will examine late 20th/early 21st century texts representing concerns rooted in significant events and developments of the 20th century: social and political restructuring; war, epidemic and genocide on a previously unimaginable scale; technological revolutions; demographic shifts; environmental exploitation; millennial anxieties. Do these texts actually tend towards the utopian/dystopian impulse, or towards the recapture of something like the Gothic sublime? Why have the 1980s become such a focus of concern? Why did the 1980s generate so much near-future speculative/alternate history fiction?

Tentative Core Text List (subject to minor revision in the fall):
• Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
• William Gibson, Neuromancer
• Don DeLillo, White Noise
• Either Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen or Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V for Vendetta
• Cormac McCarthy, The Road
• Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
• Larry & Andy Wachowski, The Matrix: The Shooting Script
• Students are encouraged to introduce in discussion related texts and films; clips from a variety of relevant films (e.g. Blade Runner, Gattaca, District 9, Monsters, Children of Men, Minority Report, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Strange Days) will be screened.

Course Requirements:
• participation (largely based on contribution to in-class and Vista-based online discussion, completion of at least one Vista-based exercise: 10%)
• midterm essay (25%)
• term paper requiring research (40%)
• final examination (25%)

Note: Much of the course material is potentially disturbing. Also, if the course appeals to you because of one particular text, look up information on the other texts before deciding to register, as you will be expected to read and reasonably discuss all texts required for the course.

Here is a course description and text list; updates will be posted here.

English 100/001: Reading and Writing about Literature (3 credits)
Term 1 2011-12 MWF 9 a.m.

Art, like Nature, has her monsters… – Oscar Wilde

Description:
This course will focus on three novels, all inheritors of the Gothic impulse characteristic of the late 18th century. These 19th-century novels have had considerable influence on popular culture; we will, in studying the novels themselves, discuss that influence in terms of film, television, contemporary popular fiction, graphic novels, etc.: students will be encouraged to find and introduce examples. Through related readings in criticism and theory, we will examine the nature of literary and cultural studies, and their relationship to other academic disciplines (such as history, psychology, and sociology), through consideration of genre, production, and reception, as well as the difficulty, if not impossibility, of reaching a ”fixed” or consensus reading of any text. When possible, film clips will be screened; supplementary material will be made available online and on reserve in the Koerner Library.

Tentative Core Text List:
• Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Bram Stoker, Dracula
• Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
• A selection of short fiction (TBA but very likely including ”Bluebeard” and selections by Edgar Allan Poe and Angela Carter)
• Janet Gardner, Writing About Literature with 2009 MLA Update: A Portable Guide
• Custom Course Materials for English 100/005

Course Requirements:
• participation (largely based on regular contribution to in-class and online discussion, as well as a private response journal: 10%)
• response journal portfolio (including at least four entries, responding to at least two novels, one short story, and one article: 25%)
• midterm in-class essay (15%)
• term paper with research requirement (25%)
• final examination (25%)

Here is a course description and tentative text list. Updates will be posted here when necessary.

English 468A/002: Children’s Literature
Term 1 2011-12 MWF 1 p.m.

”You are always in danger in the forest, where no people are.”
Angela Carter, The Company of Wolves

Description: From John Newbery’s 18th-century publishing revolution to Harry Potter and beyond, children’s literature has been the focus of both fascination and controversy. This section will employ cultural and gender studies to examine the production and reception of this enigmatic genre. Despite crossover texts appropriated by unintended audiences, and the emergence of daring and diverse material, the folk/fairy tale ”refunctioned” as a sort of metaphorical life lesson and the ”girls’ books”/”boys’ books” dichotomy continue to influence reading, popular culture, and constructions of gender. We will consider the concept of children’s literature itself, its evolving boundaries and assumptions, and will examine texts that reflect, challenge, and/or subvert its conventions. We will also examine the problematic relative of children’s literature, ”young adult” fiction, and the relationship between narratives about young people and those written specifically or primarily for them. Evaluation will be based on a midterm essay (25%), a research-based term paper (40%), a final examination (25%), and participation (10%: based on contribution to in-class and Vista-based online discussion, completion of at least one Vista exercise, submission on time of assigned work, and attendance).

NOTE: This senior undergraduate literary studies course is concerned with how assumptions of a young readership influence style and content, and with the cultural conditions surrounding production and reception of these texts. We are not concerned with whether the texts are ”good” for young readers or how to introduce texts to them, nor are we concerned with taste-based assessment of the books: we are neither here to praise nor dismiss them, but to discuss them, and they are all interesting, often provocative texts, well worth discussion. They represent no specific hierarchy or cross section. Many other texts will come up in discussion. If you chose this section because of one specific text, find out about all the others, as you will be responsible for bringing the same attention to each of them.

Tentative Core Text List:
• Folk & Fairy Tales (Broadview 4th ed.)
• J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan (Broadview ed.)
• J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
• Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass
• Lemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
• Tim Wynne Jones, The Maestro
• Stephenie Meyer, New Moon
• Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki, Skim
• One more core text may be set.

Except for Folk & Fairy Tales and Peter Pan, which must be acquired in the Broadview editions, any unabridged editions of other set texts may be used.

I’m on Twitter now – @DrGMBaxter

Watch this space! Pretty soon I’ll have a Twitter account linked, and I will be using this blog to supply updates on my courses for 2011-12.