F A L L 2 0 0 8 O N L I N E

World Lit 2
“No one shall know our joys, save us alone, / And there’s no evil till the act is known; /
It’s scandal, Madam, which makes it an offense, / And it’s no sin to sin in confidence.”

81277 ENGL 2112.04 Tues 2-4:30p EDUC-211 Second Session Dr. Gerald R. Lucas

Online Considerations Requirements Policies Schedule Procedure Contact

An online course has
particular difficulties
that you should
consider before
undertaking it.
Consider your
enrollment carefully.
Page 3
What is expected that These are the rules of Each class meeting will Where and how to
you complete in order to the class that all follow a certain contact me, your
pass the course. All of students are expected to procedure. From quiz to professor for the course,
these requirements follow, from attendance questions, from lecture Dr. Lucas.
must be completed to technological to discussion, the Page 4
successfully for a literacy. These policies procedure will be
student to pass the are always the final followed daily.
course. word. The reading, Page 2
Page 2 Page 3 assignment, and exam
schedule.
Page 4

Materials
Modern Text

Literature
Lawall, Sarah, et al. The Norton Anthology of Western
Literature, Volume 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005.

This section of World Literature, ENGL 2112, explores
the genesis and maturity of modern thought and literary
expression from the latter-seventeenth century until the
present
World Literature 2 examines national literatures
other than those of Britain and America from the
Renaissance to the present. Particular emphasis is
placed on western literature, especially continental,
Russian, and Latin American fiction of the 19th and
20th centuries.
World Literature 2 explores texts — poems, novels,
novellas, plays, and short stories — in their
historical and cultural contexts (particularly the
scientific and intellectual movements of
Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Modernism) as
well as consider how those texts still inform our
views of ourselves today.
“The Wanderer above a Sea of Fog” by
Caspar David Friedrich (1818)
Since we have only a limited time in this survey, we
will concentrate on both diversity of texts explored
and the detail of that exploration. Authors could
include Voltaire, Pushkin, Dostoyevsky, Baudelaire,
Rimbaud, Ibsen, Mann, Borges, Kundera, and
Calvino, among others.
Computer
Since this is an online course, you must have access
to a newer computer with a reliable Internet access.
As a part of this requirement, your computer should
have a current web browser, like Safari or Firefox,
and Adobe Acrobat installed.
There are computers available for open-use on
campus, but you should not rely on these. The work
for this course is too much for you to accomplish in
the ARC.
LitMUSE
You are required to have an account on LitMUSE,
the server that will support all of your work in this
class. You should login to the server at least once a
day to receive any announcements or changes that
are made to the class.

Fall 2008 Online Second Session http://litmuse.net/ 1

 W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E 2 O N L I N E 2 N D S E S

Your writing in the forum should total at least 350

Requirements words per week. Course Procedure
There are three major requirements for World Literature Daily Work Every week will follow a similar procedure for your work
2, each of which must be successfully completed to pass and reading. Be sure you keep up with the syllabus and
the course. Assignments are weighed on a point system, Regular class attendance, question posing, and turn your work in regularly and on-time. All of your
depending on their importance. For example, a reading active participation in classroom discussions are coursework will be done on the LitMUSE Moodle server.
quiz might have 10 points while the final exam might required. Participation, effort, and attitude will
have 200. count significantly in this course. Quizzes, other Primary Reading
class activities, and homework assignments not
Final Exam Each week you will have assigned reading that you
explicitly outlined above will be considered daily
should complete before doing anything else. As you
work.
A final cumulative exam will be given that will test read, take thorough reading notes; be sure you are
your knowledge of the subject matter (texts, lecture familiar with the plot, characters, and major
material, and vocabulary), your ability to synthesize concerns of the text.
this material, and your
creativity in going beyond Reading Quiz
the discussion and lecture
After finishing your reading, you should take a brief
materials. The final exam
reading quiz. These quizzes will test you on the
will include vocabulary,
facts of the text, like characters, plot details, and
identification, and
other obvious aspects of the narrative. These are just
interpretation. All exam
to test your literal knowledge of the text(s). There
grades will be based upon
will not always be a quiz assigned.
objective knowledge of the
material, thoroughness, Secondary Reading
depth of insight, precision,
and originality. Since you do not have the benefit of class lecture, I
will assign additional reading for you to do each
Writing week that concerns the primary text. This criticism
will give you background information and assist
To get you thinking more
you in getting your head around the various
critically about the major
interpretations of the text.
works, you are required to
respond to class readings in Forum Discussion
writing both formally and
informally. All writing Finally, you should put what you learned together
should be thoughtful, refer into a forum discussion with your classmates. Your
to specific portions of the total word count for the forum should add up to a
text, use the critical minimum of 350 words, including threads started
vocabulary, and cite and responded to.
correctly using MLA
Each forum discussion will be worth 10 or 20 points.
citation method.
Each post (whether beginning a thread or
Forum responding to one) is only worth a maximum of 5
points. Therefore, you should make at least two
For all of the major works strong posts or comments (or more) to assure that
we study in this class, you you earn the maximum credit.
are required to respond
informally in writing. These Finally, as a bonus, consider making an account on
responses will be posted in an eNotes and posting a question to be answered in
online forum on LitMUSE, so the entire class can their public forums.
benefit from reading your thoughts. The forum will
See “Forum” under Requirements.
also give you a chance to respond to others’ ideas.

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 W O R L D L I T E R
Policies
You will be accountable for knowing and practicing each
of these policies. Consider them like the law: the excuse “I
didn’t know” will carry no weight.
Assignments
Your work represents you. Therefore, I expect
everything you turn into me to exemplify the very
best of your professional self. Please proofread all
writing before submission.
Deadlines
Late work is not acceptable and will receive a zero.
Technical, computer malfunctions are not acceptable
excuses for late work. Quizzes and in-class activities
cannot be made up for any reason.
Email
The best and quickest way of contacting me is via
email. Only use the email address that I provided on
this document for class business:
<worldlit@grlucas.net>.
Grades
Letter grades are based upon a traditional ten-point
scale. If you would like to know your official grade,
you should see me during my office hours or make
an appointment.
Plagiarism
Any time you use ideas that are not your own — be
they paraphrased or copied verbatim — in anything
that you write, you must supply a citation in an
identifiable citation method, e.g., MLA, Chicago, etc.
Willful plagiarism will result in automatic failure of
this class and will be submitted to the Dean for
further potential consequences. Remember two
things:
1. If you use the language of your source, you must
quote it exactly, enclose it in quotation marks,
and cite the source using MLA citation style in all
my courses. A paraphrase employs source
material by restating an idea in an entirely new
form that is original in both sentence structure
and word choice. Quotations and paraphrases
must be cited to avoid plagiarism.
2. If you use ideas or information that are not
common knowledge, you must cite a source.
Unsure as to what to cite, when to cite, and how to
cite? Check your handbook for the best information.
The professor reserves the right to use Turn It In, a
plagiarism prevention service, to evaluate any
written work submitted for this course. As directed
by the professor, students are expected to submit or
have their assignments submitted through the
Fall 2008 Second Session
http://litmuse.net/
A T U R E 2 O N
Detail of “The Disappearing Bust of
Voltaire” by Salvador Dalí (1941)
service in order to meet requirements for this
course. The papers may be retained by the service
for the sole purpose of checking for plagiarized
content in future student submissions.
Special Needs
Any student who has special needs should contact
Ann E. Loyd at the Counseling and Career Center
(478-471-2714) and fill out the appropriate
paperwork. The student should then see me with
the documentation so that the necessary
accommodations can be made.
Technology Competency
Computer competency is an integral skill in any
discipline. Students should be familiar with the
general uses of a computer, particularly using a web
browser. Students should be willing to put forth the
effort to learn what they need to in order to succeed
in the course. Please see me for additional assistance
when necessary.
Online Considerations
So, you're thinking about taking an online literature
or composition course? Please read the following
carefully before committing to a very challenging
course.
When registration begins each semester, online
courses are the first to fill up for some reason.
Subsequently, I get numerous phone calls and
emails asking me about this course. Let me begin by
saying that I cannot add you to the course if it is
closed. Period. I get several requests a week, and I
cannot accommodate them all, so I cannot
accommodate any. Sorry about that. Also know that
if you sign up for the course, the first meeting is
mandatory; if you miss it for any reason, your final
grade will suffer by one letter and you will find it
very difficult to get started in the course on your
own. After this first meeting, we will not meet in a
classroom again. All evaluation, discussion, and
lecture will take place online.
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L I N E 2 N D S E S
Here are some additional aspects that you should
consider:
Time: You may believe that because this course is
offered online, that it will not require as much time
as a traditional classroom course. Well, you should
plan on spending at least twice the amount of time
working on your own to make up for what you
would not receive from class discussions and
lecture. This includes doing extra secondary
research, something you may not be used to doing.
Motivation: Since you will be required to budget
your time, you must also be self-motivated. You will
not have the benefit of having a professor's presence
compelling you to do your work each week; you
will have to take on the responsibility. The reality of
this is more difficult than it may seem.
Procrastination will put you behind and make it
very difficult for you to recover.
Course Work: If you have not successfully
completed an online course before, I recommend
that you do not begin with this one. If you have not
successfully completed a college-level literature
course before (like making at least a B in ENGL
1102), you should not begin with this one. Literature
courses benefit from in-class discussion; many find
the literature challenging, so without the benefit of a
professor's in-class guidance, many find the
challenge too difficult.
The bottom line is that online literature courses are
challenging, which unfortunately produces high
attrition rate because many students are just not
ready for them. I do not want to discourage anyone
from taking it, and I'm willing to discuss this further
with anyone during my office hours or by
appointment. However, I ask that you consider this
carefully; do not sign up for the class with the
expectation that it will be easy. If anything, it is
more difficult than taking the course in-class.
 W O R L D L I T E R A T U R E 2 O N L I N E 2 N D S E S

Course Schedule
This schedule represents the ideal outline for our semester, but it is tentative and
subject to change. It reflects only an overview of readings and assignments, but does
not always indicate other specific class session assignments or activities.
Week 1 (10/14) Week 7 (11/25) NOTE
Course Introduction Kafka The Metamorphosis Some of these texts are not in your Norton
LitMUSE Account Creation anthology. Those that are not may be downloaded
Week 8 (12/2) as PDFs off of the LitMUSE web site. If the story is
Week 2 (10/21) Borges “The Garden of the Forking Paths” not in your book, check the web site.
Molière Tartuffe Borowski “Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Gas
Chamber”
Week 3 (10/28) Mishima “Partriotism”
Voltaire Candide Kundera “The Hitchhiking Game”

Week 4 (11/4) Exam (12/6)

Goethe Faust Your final exam will be given online, and it must be
submitted by Friday, 12/6.
Week 5 (11/11)
Dostoyevsky “The Grand Inquisitor”
Gogol “The Overcoat”
Turgenev “First Love”
Chekhov “The Lady with the Pet Dog”

Week 6 (11/18)
Mann Death in Venice

Gerald R. Lucas, Ph.D. LitMUSE

Assistant Professor of English http://litmuse.net/

Email: worldlit@grlucas.net This sever contains all the information presented in this
Office: Macon Campus, H/SS-117 document. It also houses resources that go far beyond this
syllabus. I would recommend that you spend some time
Office Hours familiarizing yourself with these. They are designed to help
you help yourself to produce stellar work both in this class and
Macon Campus: MW 11a-12p; T 4-5:15p
those you will subsequently attempt.
WRC: W 4-5:15p

Humanities Department
Main Phone: (478) 471-5792
The information presented on this syllabus is
Please email me rather than trying to call. I will answer email
current as of October 14, 2008 10:14 AM. For much more quickly than I will return a call.

the most accurate and up-to-date information, 100 College Station Drive
Macon, GA 31206
please consult the LitMUSE web site.

4 http://litmuse.net/ Fall 2008 Second Session