WOMEN AND WAR IN THE 20th AND 21st CENTURIES
MTWRF,
11:30-1:00, Bate 2021
Summer II, 2008
Professor: Dr. Anna Froula
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Description
Instructor Specifics
Course Requirements
Assignments
Grading Scale
Course Calendar
Class Standards
Web Links
Description:
This course will take as its focus literature written by women both in war and its aftermath. To introduce you to the rich body of women's writing, we will read a variety of works to discuss the dynamic interplay of the cultural-historical moment and the text. We will also examine the continuities/discontinuities among the writers and the wartimes they represent. We will discuss the ways in which war and violence influence the construction of culture, gender, and identity. Assignments will emphasize close-reading and consist of class discussion, response papers, a midterm, and a longer final essay.
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Instructor Specifics
Professor: Dr. Anna Froula
Department of English
Office: Bate 2149
Office Hours: MT 2-4, W 2-3
Office Phone: 328-6663
E-mail Address:
froulaaATecuDOTedu
Required Texts
Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
Marguerite Duras, The War
Toni Morrison, Sula
Helen Z. Smith, Not So Quiet . . . Stepdaughters of War
Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran
Bobbie Ann Mason, In Country
Kayla Williams, Love My Rifle More Than You...Young and Female in the U.S. Army
You are responsible for completing all reading assignments before class discussion.
Course Conduct and Expectations
All beepers and cell phones must be turned off in class. Class meetings will consist of a combination of lecture, discussion, and analysis of readings and films. Lectures will represent a wide range of supplemental materials and class readings. Thus some of the material addressed in class will not be covered in your textbook. Because much of the class is interactive, it is essential that you come to class having carefully read the assigned readings and prepared to discuss them. I seek to provide a classroom in which all individuals are comfortable contributing their thoughts, questions, viewpoints, and ideas. To that end, it is important to respect the diverse backgrounds of other classmates.
Attendance and Tardiness Policy
You are expected to arrive at class ON TIME, stay the duration of the class, and actively participate in class discussions. It is of the utmost importance that you attend EVERY CLASS. You must provide official, documentation for university-excused absences and make up any work. Failure to provide documentation will result in a 0 participation grade for the day. Likewise, arriving to class more than 10 minutes late or leaving more than 10 minutes early will counted as a “late” (yes I do keep track of this). After 4 “lates” your final grade will drop 5% for every additional “late” you accrue.
WRITTEN WORK: All written work must be in the following format: 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1" margins (check your word processing program - the default is usually 1.25"), name, date, class section SINGLE-SPACED in the LEFT margin, with an interesting title.
LATE WORK PENALTIES: The standard penalty for late work is one full letter grade for each day it is late, 1/4 letter if you submit it later than the day it was due but before the next scheduled class meeting. (Excused absences, of course, negate such penalties.)
MAKE-UP EXAMS: You may only make up an exam in the case of an excused absence.
CELL PHONES AND BEEPERS: In class, keep them turned off and in your bag. No exceptions. Each time yours rings, I will take one letter off your final grade.
ACADEMIC OFFENSES: Pay particular attention to the stipulations concerning "Plagiarism," "Cheating," and "Penalties for Academic Offenses" in Student Rights and Responsibilities, for I will enforce university policies concerning these matters. Read over them carefully; if you have any questions about them, ask me.
Click here for more information on avoiding plagiarism.
ASSIGNMENTS
The entries below briefly describe the assignments you will be responsible for in this class and indicate the percentage value of the final course grade. I take your writing seriously and am available to help you with specific problems and issues.
RESPONSE PAPERS (325 points): This course fulfills the University Writing Intensive requirement through weekly response papers/close-reading analyses. Requirements for students earning WI credit : 3 pp. minimum for 5 (50 points each), one must be 5 pp. minimum and untilize 3 academic sources (75 points); follows MLA format, grammar, punctuation, includes a thesis, lines of reasoning and evidence, and follows the syllabus guidelines. While blog posts can be starting points, response papers should be more well-developed and complex to earn full credit. More guidelines will be presented throughout the semester.
Click here for Jack Lynch's "Getting an A on an English Paper."
Click here for a list of easily avoidable writing mistakes.
BLACKBOARD ENTRIES (25 points)You will need to regularly access, read and post entries ranging from your reading observations to impromptu research assignments on blackboard. You are required to complete 2 entries/week that detail (1) your initial impressions of the readings, (2) your assessment of what issues the text(s) raise and how, and (3) a brief summary of how you are interpreting the text(s), i.e., your "read." You have the option of responding to another student's entry, but you must situate your own thoughts in dialogue with it rather than allow someone else's voice to speak for you.
MID-TERM and FINAL EXAMS (100 points each) These in-class examinations will be a mixture of identification and short answer questions.
CLASS PARTICIPATION (50 points) Homework, quizzes, class participation, in-class writing assignments, and everything else all figure into this last category.
GRADING SCALE
A = 537-600 total points
B = 477-536 total points
C = 417-476 total points
D = 357-416 total points
F = 0-356 total points
Course Calendar
Week 1
R (6/26) -- Course Introduction, Women and War Fun Facts, Visualizing American Women in War
F (6/27) --Not So Quiet, chs. 1-6
Week 2
M (6/30)--Not So Quiet, chs. 7-end, including "afterword." Response paper #1 due to Bb dropbox by 11 a.m.
T (7/1)--Sula, part I, African-Americans and World War I, Field Service Postcard
W (7/2)--Sula, part II-end
R (7/3)--Mrs. Dalloway,1-64
F (7/4): NO CLASS: UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY
Week 3
M (7/7)--Mrs. Dalloway, 64-122, Response paper #2 due to Bb dropbox by 11 a.m.
T (7/8)--Mrs. Dalloway, 122-end
W (7/9)--MIDTERM EXAM
R (7/10)--NO CLASS
F (7/11)--NO CLASS
Week 4
M (7/14)--The War, Response Paper #3 due to Bb dropbox by 11 a.m.
T (7/15)--The War
W (7/16)--In Country
R (7/17)--In Country
F (7/18)--In Country
Week 5
M (7/21)--Persepolis, Response Paper #4 due to Bb dropbox by 11 a.m.
T (7/22)--Persepolis
W (7/23)--Reading Lolita in Tehran
R (7/24)--Reading Lolita in Tehran
F (7/25)--Reading Lolita in Tehran,
Week 6
M (7/28)--Love My Rifle More Than You, Response Paper #5 due to Bb dropbox by 11 a.m. (WI students only)
T (7/29)--Love My Rifle More Than You
W (7/30)--Love My Rifle More Than You
R (7/31)--Response Paper #6 due to Bb dropbox by 11 a.m., (WI students only), catch-up, exam prep
F (8/1)--FINAL EXAMGeneral Web Resources:
Jack Lynch's Guide to Grammar and Style
Purdue's Online Writing Lab
The Oxford English Dictionary (only available through school computers or via proxy)
Posters of Women in WWII
Writing Lolita in Tehran
Women and War - Links
Imperial Museum Exhibit of Women in War
Women Soldiers and the Wounds of War
A Woman Soldier's Battles on the Front Lines
Wounded in War: The Women Serving in Iraq
Women in Vietnam
Newt Gingrich on Women in Combat
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