Intro To Lit Syllabus 238 Summer 2024

Birzeit University
Department of English Language and Literature

Introduction to Literature
ENGL238
Summer Semester 2024
COURSE OUTLINE
Dr. Laila Shikaki

Email: [email protected]
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the conventions and
characteristics of three literary genres: fiction, poetry, and drama. It helps
students examine important elements of these genres to better understand
literary concepts, what they offer, how they are constructed, and why they
appeal to readers. By studying important literary works, students will gain
experience in reading, analyzing, and interpreting literature. Students will
also develop a critical vocabulary to interpret, analyze and evaluate literary
works.
Course Objectives
By the end of the semester, students should be able to:
 Gain an understanding of the major literary genres and develop a
sense of the way content, form, and context combine to construct
literary meaning.
 Think critically about and interpret the significance of fiction, poetry,
and drama.
 Analyze how literature reflects human values and thus has relevance in
today's world.
 Write clearly and intelligently about literature.
 Identify and apply literary terms, concepts, and devices to the study of
fiction, poetry, and drama.
A Note on Writing
Writing and reading are forever linked. The ability to write about what you
read is an important skill. This ability to analyze and interpret is at the heart
of enjoying literature, but it is also a skill that can be taken from the
literature class to the workplace. So, for you, one goal of this course should
be to write clearly and intelligently about what you read.
If your English is weak upon entering the course, it is important that you
demonstrate improvement in your English writing skills. No improvement
means failure. Ask your instructor for advice and then commit yourself to
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growth in your knowledge and use of the language. Be encouraged to utilize
your instructor's office hours for feedback, advice, and consultation.
Textbook
English 238 Compiled Text submitted via ITC and Ritaj
Course Requirements
First Hour Examination 15 %

Second Hour Examination 30 %
Final Examination 40 %
Class Participation and quizzes 15 %
Class Tentative Sessions

**Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change topics or the order in
which they are covered at his/her discretion.
Week Topic
(1) 1. Introduction to course and instructor
2. Writing Mechanics and baseline writing
exercise
3. Short fiction: “What is literature?” PDF
reading, and
elements of short fiction
4. Kate Chaplin, ”The Story of an Hour”
(2) 5. Kate Chopin, “Desiree’s Baby”

6. “Writing about Stories” PDF
7. Q & A
First Hour Exam (15%)
(3) 8. Poetry: Elements of Poetry

9. Langston Hughes, “Mother to Son”
10. Maya Angelou, “The Lesson”
11. Langston Hughes, “Harlem”
(4) 12. Danielle Boodboo-Fortune, “Mother in the

Morning”
13. “Writing about Poems” PDF
14. Q & A
Second Hour Exam (30%)
2
(5+6) 15. Drama: Elements of Drama
16. Sophocles, Oedipus the King
17. “Writing about Plays” PDF
18. Q & A and Final Exam Revision
Final Examination (40%)
Policies:
Course format
While I sometimes find it useful to give brief lectures to provide contextual
information on the topic under discussion, this will not be a lecture course
where you are asked to listen passively. It will be a course in which you are
expected to participate in lively discussions of the reading material. In order
to actively participate, students should come to class having thoroughly read
the material assigned for that day. This kind of preparation will significantly
increase your ability to understand the material, facilitate interesting and
constructive classroom discussions, and help you fulfill the course
requirements.
Class attendance and preparation

Regular attendance is extremely important if you want to be successful in
this course. If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what
you missed and what you need to make up. Any student missing more than
4 class absences will be dropped from this course.
Quizzes
Occasionally, and without regularity, I will give announced and
unannounced quizzes based on the readings.
Plagiarism
Today, plagiarism is commonly defined as copying, without the use of a
proper form of academic documentation, the ideas or words of another.
There are essentially two kinds of plagiarism; deliberate plagiarism and
accidental plagiarism. One may sound more acceptable than the other,
but the fact is that both are equally serious academic offenses. In this
class, accidental and deliberate plagiarism will be treated the same. You
will be given a 0 for the first assignment found to contain plagiarism. A
second offense will result in a failing grade for the course.
The most common acts of deliberate plagiarism involve copying another
person's work and passing it as your own. The most common acts of
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accidental plagiarism involve failing to place quotation marks around
another writer's words and failing to provide the proper citation when you
rely on another person's ideas.
Don't be fooled by the freewheeling nature of the world wide web and
don't be fooled by the cut and paste functions of your word processor.
Disruption of classes
In case of disruption of classes, I would expect you to continue reading
the material as outlined above.
Ritaj
All course material, handouts and assignments will be posted to Ritaj and ITC
(Moodle). Students can also always communicate with the instructor through
.Ritaj and preferably Gmail

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Birzeit University

Department of English Language and Literature

Dr. Laila Shikaki

First Hour Examination 15 %

Class Tentative Sessions

(2) 5. Kate Chopin, “Desiree’s Baby”

First Hour Exam (15%)

(3) 8. Poetry: Elements of Poetry

(4) 12. Danielle Boodboo-Fortune, “Mother in the

Second Hour Exam (30%)

Final Examination (40%)

Class attendance and preparation

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