Informazioni sul corso

The sections of Analysis of Texts are devoted to close study of the literary texts listed in the programme for the Introduction to Literature lecture course. Each section is taught each semester by a single instructor, who assigns written work and administers written examinations. The section provides a forum for discussion and addresses questions of textual analysis for a two-hour period each week.

Texts:

1. William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Folger Library edition

2. Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway, Penguin Classics edition with introduction by Elaine Showalter

N.B. It is important to use the right editions. We choose authoritative scholarly editions of the texts we teach in order to provide you with the best possible primary sources. Also, it makes in-class discussion easier if we are, literally, all on the same page.

Goals: This class aims to:

1. Give you hands-on experience in analysing drama and prose fiction;

2. Help you to develop your critical thinking whilst expanding your mind in new and perhaps unexpected ways;

3. Help you work on expressing your ideas, in both oral and written media.

Requirements:

1. Doing the homework (this is mainly keeping up with the reading, and keeping in mind the questions assigned for each week—see the AT Booklet for advice on how to prepare for class);

2. Participating in class, including formalized oral reports

3. Fulfilling formal course requirements:

i. Graded work:

- an in-class close reading test, 9^th November

- a graded paper due Monday, January 10^th 2022

ii. Ungraded work:

- Tasks 1: close reading exercise, due 19^th October. You are required to write one paragraph analysing a passage from Hamlet (you may be asked to rewrite this assignment). Please refer to the assignment on Moodle for more details.

- Task 2: essay planning exercise, due 7^th December. You are asked to choose one of the questions for the final essay, and develop an outline and write an introduction (you may be asked to rewrite this assignment). Please refer to the assignment on Moodle for more details.

- Task 3: due 20^th December. Correct and modify your outline and introduction as indicated in my correction of Task 2. Be prepared to share your essay project (thesis) with the class orally.

Absences:

Please send me an email before class if you are going to be absent. If you are absent from class, you can arrange to attend a different Tuesday or a Wednesday or Thursday class (get in touch with me organise this). If you are repeatedly absent without a valid excuse, you will not receive credit for this class.

Plagiarism:

We do not tolerate plagiarism in this institution. It is a question of academic ethics, and avoiding it is based on telling your reader where you get your ideas from. You will be learning about how to properly reference ideas and information that are not your own. Of course, if the ideas are your own, we are delighted! We will discuss plagiarism in class, and it will also be covered in Critical Writing. If you have any questions, please ask me.