Effective
Date of this Description/Syllabus: Spring 2014
Prepared
by: Dr. Rhonda Wilcox
Office:
Honors House 104
Phone:
(678)359-5296
email:
rhonda_w@gordonstate.edu
Spring
Office hours: TR 12:30-1:45; T 3:30-4:30;
W
12:15-2:00, 3:30-5:45; R 3:30-4:00
COURSE
DESCRIPTION/SYLLABUS
Course Designation:
Colloquium 2994H (Honors)
Section A
Course Title: Romantic Comedy from Shakespeare to the Present
Class hours per week: 3
Credit hours: 3
Division offering course: Humanities
Prerequisite for the course: Honors status or permission of the instructor
Course description for college bulletin: Humanities Colloquium: A colloquium on
selected topics in the humanities emphasizing the development of critical
thinking skills.
Course description for college schedule: We will
study a selection of romantic comedies from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing to the present in terms of genre, narrative,
cultural studies, and historical context.
Teacher’s Course objectives:
How do you define romantic comedy, and what does romantic comedy
tell us about the world in which it was created? Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing provides a starting point for many elements
of later comedies. We will study a selection of romantic comedies from his work
to the present to engender intellectually stimulating critical thinking in the
following categories:
1) genre definition;
2) narrative, style, character, and other elements of traditional
literary analysis;
3) cultural studies analysis in terms of gender and class;
4) historical analysis in terms of continuity and difference.
The overall purpose is
to learn from each other (teacher and students alike), to enjoy the art that we
encounter this semester, and to propel ourselves to further exploration after
the course is ended.
Course Content:
Students
will read selected plays, screenplays, and novels, view selected screen works,
engage in discussion, and write in response to the various texts. Each student
will also produce an honors project for the semester.
Required Texts:
William Shakespeare’s late sixteenth-century Much Ado About Nothing (as adapted by Joss Whedon)*
William Congreve’s seventeenth-century The Way of the World*
Jane Austen’s nineteenth-century Pride and Prejudice*
Dorothy Sayers’ early twentieth-century Strong Poison* and Have His Carcase*
Robert Riskin’s early twentieth-century It Happened One Night (available for rental)
Robert Butler and Michael Gleason’s late twentieth-century Remington Steele, selected episodes
(available for rental)
Nora Ephron’s late twentieth-century When Harry Met Sally*
Other works may be assigned.
*Available in the bookstore.
We will also consult the work of Wes Gehring, whose short monograph
on screwball comedy is a seminal text, and who also has written a broader work
on romantic comedy. I will place his work on reserve in the library.
Honors
Project:
Your honors project should be developed over the course of most of the term.
You are required to have at least one planning conference with me and are welcome
to have more; feel free to show up at my office. (Bring your friends!) You may,
if you wish, write a term paper on any of a variety of subjects: there is a
considerable body of written scholarship on our topics, and you could discuss
any work’s class or socioeconomic themes, gender presentations , visual representation
on screen (visual rhetoric), music, or many other topics. You may also, if you
wish, plan another type of project that demonstrates thoughtful exploration of
the subject. For example, you could yourself write a piece of fiction that serves
as a brief sequel to one of the romantic comedies we study, if you like. You
could attempt a set of songs (words and music) appropriate for the characters. You
could create a videogame based on the characters’ experiences (N. B. Remember
copyright laws.) You could do an audience study, devising a set of questions on
matters important to you and surveying and videotaping responses of various
readers and/or viewers of a particular romantic comedy. You could draw maps or
illustrations for Austen or Sayers, writing a commentary to explain your
choices. You could even create a very brief play or film yourself. Whatever you
choose, you will need to include some non-fiction prose explaining your
thinking process (more details on this later).
You have great freedom in shaping your
project. Start thinking now, and talk to me about your thoughts soon.
Expecially if you feel a bit lost, talk to me soon. After we bounce ideas
around, you should be able to come up with an idea for something you would be
happy to share with others. Then you can slowly develop it throughout the
semester.
Grading: Participation (including attendance,
quizzes, and other work) 20%
Midterm Exam: 20%
Short paper (800 words or more, typed) 20%
Honors project (oral presentation required) 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Standards: A=90-100,
B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69
Attendance policy:
The word colloquium refers to the
idea of conversation. Class participation is essential to a colloquium, as the
percentage of the grade accorded it above would suggest. You will find that
experiencing a group’s reaction to a piece of writing is something that cannot
be recreated through merely reading class notes. Furthermore, specific in-class
activities will be used to help establish your participation grade, and in most
cases these activities must be carried out during a particular class period. I
do understand that some absences are unavoidable; if you must miss a class, let
me know beforehand if you can (or leave a phone or email message even during
class if need be); ask me or a classmate about assignments so you can prepare
in case there is a pop quiz when you return to class. If you miss more than
four classes you should not expect to pass the class. My home phone number is
(404)373-5328. If you cannot contact me or a classmate, then read the next
assignment listed on the syllabus. If you are in class, you will be expected to
take the quiz. I hope you will find that you do not want to miss this class.
Student
Evaluation of Instruction: Near
the end of this course, you may be asked to evaluate the instruction of the
course. Your honest responses will help make this a better course. Also, please
feel free to make suggestions during
the course. Remember, I want to hear from you.
Plagiarism, Cheating:
The English
faculty of Gordon College views any form of cheating as a serious violation of
commonly accepted standards of honesty. All student work must be solely that of
the person submitting the work. Any giving or receiving of unauthorized help
from others or from notes or other materials during the course of taking a
quiz, test, or exam or in writing a paper will result in an F on the work; any
use of forbidden materials such as rough drafts during the course of in-class
writing will also result in an F for the assignment. Note that an F on the work
involved in cheating is the minimum punishment; a zero on the work is another
possible consequence; if justified by aggravating circumstances, the matter may
be referred to the Academic Dean or (according to a rule approved by the
Faculty Senate in Fall 2009) the Dean of Students. See the Academic Dishonesty
Policy in the Academic Catalog (pp. 60-61).
Moreover, when
source materials are used in the writing of papers, the student must document such
use of sources both by clearly indicating material being used as quotation and
by giving proper recognition when ideas or information has been paraphrased or
summarized; the following principles enunciated in the section on avoiding
plagiarism in James D. Lester's Writing
Research Papers: A Complete Guide, 8th edition, should be scrupulously
observed:
1.
Acknowledge borrowed material by introducing the quotation or paraphrase with
the name of the authority. This practice serves to indicate where borrowed
materials begin.
2.
Enclose within quotation marks all quoted materials.
3. Make
certain that paraphrased material has been rewritten into your own style and
language. The simple rearrangement of sentence patterns is unacceptable. [To
illustrate: It is unacceptable to simply rearrange sentence patterns.]
4.
Provide specific in-text documentation for each borrowed item. For example, MLA
[Modern Language Association] style requires name and page for all in-text
references. Requirements differ for other fields . . . .
5.
Provide a bibliographic entry on the Works Cited page for every source cited in
the paper.
6. Omit
[from the bibliography] sources consulted but not cited in the text. This point
is important.You do not want your instructor leafing back through the paper
trying to find your use of a source that, in truth, was not cited. (140-41)
Furthermore, you must avoid collusion. Here is a definition from
the Humanities Division Chair: Collusion
is defined as receiving excessive help to the point that a work can no longer
be considered the product of a single author and therefore cannot be accurately
assessed an individual grade. If I suspect a submitted work to be the result of
collusion, I reserve the right to refuse credit for that work if the claimed author
is unable to demonstrate sole authorship. A good way to avoid this problem is
to get help from the Student Success Center rather than from family or friends.
I may decide to have you submit some of your work to Turnitin.com.
Terms and Conditions of Use may be found at http://www.turnitin.com/static/usage.html.
In general, if you have a question, feel free to ask it. My goal is
for you to learn and to enjoy learning.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Week 1, 1/7-9 Introduction: Romantic Comedy in genre,
literature, culture, history; 16th Century: Much Ado About Nothing
Week 2, 1/14-16 Much Ado About Nothing
Week 3, 1/21-23 Much Ado About Nothing; 17th
Century: The Way of the World
Week 4, 2/28-30 The Way of the World
Week 5, 2/4-6 19th
Century: Pride and Prejudice
Week 6,
2/11-13 Pride and Prejudice
Week 7, 2/18-20 Early 20th
Century Strong Poison
Week 8, 2/25-27, Strong Poison; Early 20th
Century Have His Carcase
Week 9, 3/4-6 Have His Carcase; Midterm
Week 10, 3/11-13 Spring Break
Week 11, 3/18-20 Early 20th
Century It Happened One Night
Week 12, 3/25-27 It Happened One Night
Week 13, 4/1-3 Late 20th
Century Remington Steele
Week 14, 4/8-10 Late 20th
Century When Harry Met Sally
Week 15, 4/15-17 When Harry Met Sally
Week 16,
4/22-24 21st Century
Week 17,
4/29 Overview discussion; Oral presentations
FINAL EXAM: Wednesday May 7, 10:15 am-12:15 pm