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Course Information

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ENGL 2100, Section F
Lit and Humanities — Modern Ireland in Lit and Film
CRN: 10318
MW 2:30 - 3:45
1004 Info Tech

Course Description

Examination of literature as an expression of the humanities through study of several complete works from at least two historical periods, two genres, and two cultures/countries. Includes an essay or projects involving documentation.

Course Dates

January 12: Classes begin. Attendance Verification must be completed
January 12-15: Drop/Add period (ends at 11:59 pm on January 15
January 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday - administrative offices closed - no classes
March 16-21: Spring Break
April 3: Last day to withdraw without academic penalty
May 4: Last day of classes
May 5-9: Final Exams

Core IMPACTS

Core IMPACTS refers to the core curriculum, which provides students with essential knowledge in foundational academic domains. This course will help students master course content and support students’ broad academic and career goals.

Required Material

W.B. Yeats. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats. Edited by Richard J. Finneran, 2nd edition, 1989. ISBN 13: 9780684807317. Amazon: $11.99 new pb
James Joyce. Dubliners. Wordsworth Classics, 1993. ISBN 13: 9781853260483. Amazon: $3.95 new pb
Seamus Heaney. Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. ISBN 13: 9780374526788. Amazon: $9.64 new pb; $8.98 new hb
Claire Keegan. Small Things Like These. Grove Press, 2021. ISBN 13 : 9780802158741. Amazon: $11.49 new hb

If you must buy from the University Bookstore:

Barnes & Noble, who run the University Bookstore, offer a price match guarantee. Here's a screenshot from their site (visible only to faculty). I can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but if you'd like to get a better price on your books for this class (or any other) you should take them up on this.

If you buy these books new from the University Bookstore without doing the price match, they'll cost you $72.99. If you show them the Amazon prices, your cost should be $36.41.

Films

We'll be watching four films in class. If you miss those class periods, you'll be responsible for viewing them on your own.

Trigger Warnings

A “trigger” is anything that might cause a person to experience a strong emotional and/or psychological response. Some triggers are shared by large numbers of people (for example, rape), while others are more idiosyncratic (for example, orange juice).

All texts read in this course, all class discussions, and all ancillary materials may contain instances of the following potential triggers, as well as other unanticipated and so unlisted potential triggers: ignorance; willful ignorance; cultural insensitivity; oppression; persecution; swearing, abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal, sexual), self-injurious behavior (self-harm, eating disorders, etc.), talk of drug use (legal, illegal, or psychiatric), suicide, descriptions or pictures of medical procedures, descriptions or pictures of violence or warfare (including instruments of violence), corpses, skulls, or skeletons; needles; racism; classism; sexism; heterosexism; cissexism, ableism; hatred of differing cultures or ethnicities; hatred of differing sexualities or genders; body image shaming; neuroatypical shaming; dismissal of lived oppressions, marginalization, illness, or differences; kidnapping (forceful deprivation of or disregard for personal autonomy; discussions of sex (even consensual); death or dying; beings in the natural world against which individuals may be phobic; pregnancy and childbirth; blood; serious injury; scarification; glorification of hate groups; elements which might inspire intrusive thoughts in those with psychological conditions such as PTSD, OCD, or clinical depression.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, the views, findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in the texts read in this course, the classroom discussions, and the ancillary material do not necessarily represent the views of the University or the course instructor.

All texts read in this course, all class discussions, and all ancillary materials may also contain instances of overwhelming beauty, profound truths, and serious reflection on what it means to be human.

By remaining registered in this class, you agree to be exposed to all of the above. As Jenny Jarvie has written,

In short, texts and/or discussions in this class may make you uncomfortable. . . for many of them, that may be the whole point.

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COURSE STRUCTURE

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General

This course will explore the ideas and images that create one understanding of modern Ireland. The texts we'll be considering will come from multiple genres: fiction, poetry, and film. When we discuss the written works, we'll be addressing matters like:

• literary forms and devices;
• specific moments in Irish history; and
• Irish identity as a colony, a site of rebellion, and an independent nation.

When we discuss the visual works, we'll be addressing matters like:

• elements of visual rhetoric and visual literacy;
• modern expressions of traditional Irish themes; and
• Irish self-definition and self-representation.

Readings

As you will see in the schedule below, the written texts are a fairly even mix of fiction and poetry, but the amount of poetry we'll read may be more than some of you are comfortable with. I've set up the class this way for two reasons; the first is philosophical and the second is practical. Primarily, I think the best way to capture the zeitgeist of a particular historical moment, or to understand the impact of a literary movement, is through poetry. Works in this genre contain far more distilled language than those in any other genre, so it's easier to get at the essence of the subject at hand. Also, studying poetry allows us to cover far more ground. We could spend the semester reading longer political tracts, histories, or novels, but the nature of the academic calendar means that we would deal with far fewer texts, and you'd be familiar with far fewer authors.

Notes

Let me veer into a bit of advice for you about this class. YOU SHOULD BE TAKING NOTES ON THESE WORKS AS YOU READ THEM (OR VIEW THEM). While you may be familiar with that process when it comes to written texts, you should also be doing the same with the films in the class. Believe me, you will have a much harder time if you don't take notes in every class.

Taking notes is an essential part of the reading and/or viewing process. It helps you internalize difficult ideas by putting them into your own words and can help you be more focused when you're reviewing for the exams. You're far more likely to remember material you have thought about and made notes on than material you have read or viewed passively.

Beyond marginal glosses, which you should be making, many students find it effective to take notes in two stages:

1. Write down the main points (the setting, major plot points, characters, etc.)
2. Summarize, condense, and organize those initial notes, making as many connections between those notes and your own experiences as you can.

But there are dozens of different ways to take good notes, so you should be working with a process that makes it easy for you to remember what you read.

In general, your notes should be brief and to the point.

• Don't attempt to write everything down, just reflect the main themes. Aim to get the gist of the topic or the main points.
• If you come across something you don't understand, make a note of it and come back to it later.
• Don't lose track of your purpose in taking these notes in the first place; keep focused.
• Don't worry about whether anyone else could make sense of your notes; you're the only person who needs to read them.

If you come to see me to ask how you should study for the exams, or even what you should be studying for those exams, the first thing I'm going to ask is to see the notes you've taken. If you don't have any notes, or if those notes are thin and incomplete, there's not much I can do to help you succeed in this class.

Essays

You'll write two short essays for this class. The first will be an out-of-class assignment requiring you to incorporate some research into the essay. You'll submit that essay to an asssignment dropbox in Folio, where it will go through TurnItIn to check for academic integrity. The second will be written as part of your final exam; you'll write it in class during that exam.

The prompts for both essays are included below.

Exams

You'll have two exams, one halfway through the course and one at the end of the course. These will contain some practical questions (can you use the vocabulary of literary and visual analysis?), some questions about the works we've covered (can you remember what you've read and watched?), and some background questions (can you understand a work in its in relation to Irish history and culture?). The second exam will also include the essay I mentioned just above.

Exams are listed on the syllabus, on the schedule, and in the calendar in Folio. If you miss an exam because you misread the date, or because you didn't check any of the multiple places that tell you when it is, you should not expect to take it at a later date. If, however, circumstances cause you to need to take an exam early, please let me know and we will come to some accommodation.

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COURSE EXPECTATIONS

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Learning Commitment

The "Carnegie Unit" is how universities define credit hours and categorize the amount of work students do for each credit hour. Each credit requires fifteen "contact hours" which are essentially the hours you spend in class during the semester. And each contact hour requires two hours of outside work, or time devoted to the class that doesn't happen in the class. This is a three-credit course, with 45 contact hours. Those 45 contact hours necessitate at least 90 hours of out-of-class work on your part. That's at least 135 hours committed for each three-credit class that you take.

It's easy to lose sight of this fact in any course. And I certainly didn't set up this course thinking that you'll devote exactly nine hours each week to it. But remember, reading takes time. You might need a full nine hours to read some of the longer texts we're covering in this class.

If you're not a self-starter, or you have problems with deadlines, or you just don't think you can commit to this level of work, you should probably look for another section of this class.

Your Preparation

This expectation is closely connected with the one above; it's ow you should think about those 90 hours of out-of-class work. I expect you to read the poems, short stories, and chapters listed below BEFORE class on the day that they appear on the schedule. The quality of our time together is based on your level of preparation. If I am forced to explain plot points, or "what happened next" in a text, I'll do so. But I will still expect you to know the higher-level material (that which is appropriate for a college class) that I would have discussed with you in that class, had you been properly prepared and familiar with the material.

So if you want your exams to evaluate you on what we've covered in class, you will need to come to class having read the material. If you don't want that, then you should be prepared for the exams to evaluate you on the work you will have to do on your own regarding these texts and films.

I get it; it's easy to hide in a class with 140 students. You can duck into the back of the auditorium and hope I don't address a question to you individually. Believe me, that will work for you for few weeks, probably up until the first exam, which will be essentially a test of your preparation for class. There are no grading curves here, and no extra credit assignments, so you sink or swim based solely on your level of performance during the semester.

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COURSE SCHEDULE

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Remember, any reading listed below should be completed before the class period. We will not be reading these in class; we'll be discussing and analyzing them.

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INSTRUCTOR

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Dr. Pellegrino

I'm Dr. Joe Pellegrino, an Associate Professor in the Department of English. My initial research areas were Irish and postcolonial literature, but we reinvent ourselves as we go, so now my fields of interest include things like graphic novels and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

I did my PhD in English at UNC-Chapel Hill, and before that I studied at The New England Conservatory, Mannes College of Music, St. Louis University, and Duquesne University. I taught my first college class in 1982 at Duquesne; since then I've taught at UNC, Eastern Kentucky University, the University of South Carolina-Upstate, Greenville Technical College, Converse College, and here at Georgia Southern.

Professionally, I edit a journal, The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. I'm interested in a number of fields, but most of my publications are either on Irish studies, postcolonial lit, or teaching. For the last few years I've been splitting my time between the English Department and the University's Office of Institutional Assessment and Accreditation, where I've worked on our reaccreditation materials. I'm currently working on materials concerning our consolidation with East Georgia State College.

I also work on the British Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Conference, the the oldest and longest-running annual meeting of its kind in the United States. Check out that web site; the design is one of my best.

I've got two daughters who are growing in wisdom, beauty, and grace. I make heirloom furniture, keep my finger on the pulse of new technology, wish I could spend more time doing music, and try to keep my head above water. I've crossed most items off my bucket list, but still have one: to see the Northern Lights.

Contact

Aurora Borealis from below

Dr. Pellegrino Office: 3308B Newton Building Office hours: MW: 8:00 am - 1:00 pm and by appointment Phone: 912.478.5853 Email: jpellegrino@georgiasouthern.edu

In-person and Virtual Office Hours

During the semester, I will be working half-time at the University's Office of Institutional Assessment and Accreditation. That means I will be in my office in Newton only on Mondays and Wednesdays.

I'll be available for drop-ins, or be able to zoom with you, on those days during the times listed above. I can be available at other times on those days, but you'll need to email me to set up an appointment for those times.

A WORD ABOUT EMAIL

OK, maybe two words: CONTENT and FORM

CONTENT
Please don't hesitate to post to me if you have a question about any of the readings, especially if you're struggling to figure them out. But please think twice about posting questions where the answer is in this syllabus. If you do, I have two options for a reply: I can copy and paste material from the syllabus or schedule just for you—because you didn't actually check it yourself—or I can reply with something like "check the syllabus" or "check the schedule." Both of these options are redundant, because you already have access to the answer to your question, and you should already know to check the syllabus. And both of these options reflect poorly on your abilities, either to understand what is required of you or to comprehend what you have read. Since I don't want to think less of your abilities, neither of these options are satisfactory. So if you ask a question that is already answered in the syllabus or in the schedule, I won't be replying at all.

FORM
See that image to the right above this? It's not just some funny advice about how to write an email to one of your instructors or teaching assistants; it's a guide to acting like an adult, so it's something we expect you to follow. When you write anything, you change the form to suit the content. So you don't write an email to a professor like you're writing a DM to your friend. Look at the graphic, then follow the rules on it.

And as with the questions that have already been answered in this syllabus, I could embarrass you by reminding you of those rules when you don't follow them, or I could just not respond to you until you actually get it right. And just in case you can't parse what those rules are, I'll put them into a list:

• My name is not "Hey," "Yo," "'Sup," or "Dude" — use a proper greeting.
• Don't use acronyms or texting shorthand — write in full sentences. Use a grammar checker.
• Spell-check it before you send it. When you have tools available to you and you don't use them, you're not only demonstrating that you don't know how to communicate at anything beyond a middle-school level, you're also demonstrating your inability to use simple tools in order to make yourself look better.
• Check the syllabus before you make yourself look foolish (see the previous point).
• Sign your name.

So let me sum this all up:
if you don't hear back from me after you sent me an email, it's either because you can't write an email correctly for the audience you're trying to address, or you're asking a question that I've already answered in this document.

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CLASS POLICIES

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Attendance

The University Undergraduate Catalog states unequivocally: “Students are expected to attend all classes.” Attendance in this class is not optional. Attending class means that you are present and attentive for the whole class period and that you are prepared for the day’s lesson. Unless you are missing class for a University-sanctioned reason, missing class, regardless of the excuse, will be counted as an absence.

But life gets complicated. So you'll have a free pass to miss almost 15% of our classes, regardless of the reason. You can miss because it's a nice day and you don't want to be inside, or your friend is coming in from out of town, or you were just up too late last night. The reason doesn't matter. Now, let me be clear, I certainly don't encourage you to miss any classes that you're physically well enough to attend. But I'll give you two weeks of absences (that's four classes) before your absences begin to negatively affect your grade for the class. If you are absent more than four times, regardless of the excuse, your final grade will be lowered by one point for every subsequent absence.

If you have to miss more than your allotted absences, there is obviously something going on in your life that does not allow you to pursue this degree wholeheartedly, so you should consider withdrawing from the course, if not the University. Keep this in mind when using your absences—that’s ALL you will be allowed. You do not want me in the position of deciding whose excuse is valid and whose isn’t, so I don’t need any documentation for your absences. If you’re within the limit it is not necessary, and after the limit it will not matter.

By now you recognize that arriving on time for class is, at its core, a sign of respect for your classmates and your professor. Tardiness, therefore, is a statement saying that your time is more important than anyone else’s. I will strike a blow for the group by counting every instance of tardiness as 1/3 of an absence. So, if you’re doing the math, you can be tardy several times without any consequences, save the collective disdain for your actions. And yes, your tardiness works in conjunction with your absences, so a combination of the two will push you toward the negative consequences outlined above.

Academic Integrity

I expect that you will conduct yourself within the guidelines of the Honor System. All academic work should be completed with the high level of honesty and integrity that this University demands.

I don't know of a person at this institution who tolerates academic dishonesty. Beyond the moral implications, as professors, we find it insulting. All instances of cheating or plagiarism in this class will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct. Any instance where you are found responsible will result in an F in the course and possible further sanctions. Here are some shorthand definitions (for more expansive explanations, see those from the Code of Student Conduct 25-26 below):

A note about group work: I encourage you to use an app like GroupMe amongst yourselves to discuss the texts we're covering, the assignments, and any other aspect of the class. If for no other reason, you need a space to complain about me, without me listening. This engagement, where you can share and improve each other's work, is, in many ways, the core of our endeavor, as we hone our own ideas about the material we're covering through discussions with others. You should also discuss your writing with your classmates, as hearing a number of ideas will help you create and polish your own. However, this does not mean that you should write your papers as a group. While discussion is obviously a group activity, writing is a solitary one, and should be treated as such. Any attempt to subvert this would be an instance of academic dishonesty.

The University has a far more extensive definition of Academic Dishonesty (from the Code of Student Counduct 25-26):

1. Cheating is
(a) the use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise; or
(b) actions taken to gain unfair or undue advantage over others. Examples of cheating include (but are not limited to):

1. Receiving, providing, and/or using unauthorized assistance or materials on any work required to be submitted for any course to include (but not limited to) online services, social media and/or the assistance or use of generative and agentive Artificial Intelligence to perform central requirements of an assignment (i.e. reading, synthesizing, interpreting, writing, coding, programming, etc.) without the explicit permission of the instructor. Complete attribution and citation of all assistance, including but not limited to, online services, social media, and A.I. assisted components are required unless otherwise detailed in the course syllabus.
2. Alteration or insertion of any grade so as to obtain unearned academic credit.
3. Fabricating information, research, and/or results such as taking, or attempting to take, an examination for another Student, alteration of legitimate research data, alteration or distortion of laboratory experiments, or deliberate distortion of another's work or results.
4. Collaborating with others on assignments without the faculty’s consent.
5. Impeding the ability of Students to have fair access to materials assigned or suggested by the Faculty Member (e.g., removal or destruction of library or other source materials).
6. Demonstrating any other forms of dishonest behavior.

2. Classroom Copyright Infringement

1. Any recording and transmission of classroom lectures and discussions by Students without prior written permission from the class instructor, and without all Students in the class as well as the guest speaker(s) being informed that audio/video recording may occur (it is not a violation if Student has educational accommodations through the Student Accessibility Resource Center).
2. Uploading any recordings of lectures and/or class presentations to publicly accessible web environments.

3. Facilitation

1. Cooperating with and/or helping another Student to cheat such as instigating, encouraging, or abetting plagiarism or cheating and/or failing to report a known violation to the Office of the Provost or the Faculty Member of the class.

4. Plagiarism is
the offering of the words, ideas, computer data programs, or graphics of others as one’s own in any academic exercise. Examples of plagiarism include (but are not limited to):

1. The offering of another's work, whether verbatim, paraphrased and/or via the use of an artificial intelligence software without explicit permission by the Instructor, as original material without identifying the source(s) in an academic paper, discussion post, exam, assignment or any other academic work.
2. Directly quoting the words of others without using quotation marks or indented format to identify them.
3. Self-plagiarism: re-submitting work previously submitted without appropriate or accurate citation or credit and/or without explicit approval from the instructor.
4. Use of materials prepared by another person or agency to assist in the completion of coursework. This may include but is not limited to the selling or purchasing of term papers or other academic materials, as well as the using of online platforms or websites to post/receive answers to coursework/exams.
5. Demonstrating any other forms of dishonest behavior.

Should you wish to pursue a case of academic dishonesty through the Office of Student Conduct, I will speak at your hearing and send a copy of this syllabus along with the documents in question to the Hearing Officer, so a plea of ignorance or non-malicious intent on your part will not be valid.

Artificial Intelligence

The University System of Georgia has guidelines in place addressing five areas of intentional misuse of AI. Only one of those concerns us here:

Fraud: Using AI to manipulate or cheat otherwise unsuspecting individuals or organizations using scams or other fraudulent behavior, including financial and academic fraud.

This is also at the heart of the University's AI Statement, as it considers academic fraud within two categories: plagiarism and cheating:

Students are accountable for their use of AI as detailed in the University’s Academic Dishonesty Policy and Code of Student Conduct. Any use of AI to generate content that is submitted as one's work without faculty permission and/or proper attribution is considered plagiarism. Use of agentive AI to complete assessments without human interaction is considered cheating.

Let me be clear; you do not have permission to use generative AI to create content in this class. (Generative AI are systems that create new content based on patterns learned from existing data.) Nor do you have permission to use agentic AI to complete your assignments. (Agentic AI are systems that generate content and/or predictions, and can also act autonomously to achieve specific goals.)

To sum all this up, if you use any form of AI to complete an assignment in this class (beyond an independent spell-checker) you will be committing academic fraud. The consequences of that action are spelled out in the "Academic Integrity" section above.

Writing Proficiency

If you need additional work on the surface features of your writing, I'll let you know. Basically, if I can't understand what you're trying to say in your first paper, then you'll have to work at writing more clearly. I'll ask you to schedule sessions at the Writing Center in order to be more successful on your next paper.

The reason professors make students write papers is not because we love to mark them up, or because we somehow enjoy this. I'm willing to bet that every professor you ask would say that marking and grading papers is the worst part of their job. I know it is for me. The only thing that makes it bearable is hoping that I'll be able to engage with your ideas, or see the texts we're covering through your eyes. But if I have to stop after every sentence to figure out what you're trying to say, I'm most certainly not thinking about your ideas.

So do yourself a favor: give yourself enough time to do a good job on these papers. Remember that writing clearly takes far more time than you think it does, because you have to consider your argument from a reader's perspective, not your perspective.

I realize that the grand academic dance of submitting your work, having it evaluated, then responding to that evaluation (either through improving your work in your next paper, or by coming to see me in my office) is essentially a negotiation between us. You want to demonstrate your abilities with X amount of work, an amount that you think deserves a certain grade. You submit your work without knowing how others will see it, and only become aware of their perceptions when your work is returned to you with my comments. But this puts you at a disadvantage, because, as in any negotiation, the party that makes the first move does so blindly, and so gives up any hope of advantage.

So in the spirit of openness, let me make the first move, and try to level the playing field here by sharing some grading secrets. I'll start with a personal comment:

I know my reputation precedes me, and I know what it is:

He reads our work too closely!
He's just cruel when he asks questions!
He marks every little mistake!
He asks condescending questions!
He expects too much from us!
The way he acts in class doesn't match the way he grades!

While I don't revel in that description, it's pretty accurate. I don't believe it's too much to ask that your subjects agree with your verbs, your tenses are consistent, and you write like you know what you're doing. Expecting anything less from you, or assuming that you can't write for an academic audience, is an insult to your intelligence and abilities.

• This is academic writing, where clarity and concision are essential. If your work isn't clear, if every sentence doesn't hang together, you're losing the negotiation. What you have written may make sense to you, but it needs to make sense to your readers as well.
  
  
• At the post-secondary level, your writing isn't evaluated in terms of the amount of work you put into it. Just like any other skill, the amount of effort necessary to master academic writing varies from person to person. I am sure that it would take me far more effort than most of you to get back to playing football. But even if I did ten times the work you did, when we both showed up on the field, you'd probably still be better at it than me, and we'd both be evaluated on the abilities and skills we could demonstrate, not on the time it took us to gain them.
  
  
• If you pay attention to what each prompt is asking you to write about, and keep that in mind as you think about your paper, you're making a good start.
  
  
• If you look at the rubric, especially the distinctions between the levels of performance in content and form, you should get a good idea of how successful your paper will be.
  
  
• If you're wondering if your "X amount of work" is enough, it isn't.
  
  
• If you're thinking that you've changed enough of that material that you've copied and pasted to make it look like your own work, think again.
  
  
• If you think some LLM can do your work, think again.
  
  
• If you're curious about why I can make such bold statements, ask me why Google reached out to me when they were first getting started to be one of only 25 alpha and beta testers.
  
  
• If writing and evaluating papers is a negotiation, then presenting someone else's work as your own is a gamble, and you're betting your academic career that you can get away with it. I've just told you what I bring to the table, so if you really think you can get away with it, my only advice is to do it as early as possible, so you can spare both of us the work for the rest of semester, because you'll already be gone from this class.

Course Work

All electronically-submitted assignments will be placed in the appropriate dropbox section or discussion forum of the Learning Management System (Folio).

I DO NOT ACCEPT LATE ASSIGNMENTS. NO EXCEPTIONS, NO EXCUSES. A late assignment is any work that is not turned in during the class period in which it is due. This means that you must anticipate any problems that will occur. In other words, a computer / printer / drive / car / arm being broken at the last minute is not an excuse. To avoid last-minute catastrophes (which always occur), DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO YOUR WORK.

Accessibility Accommodation

Georgia Southern University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with documented disabilities as required under federal law. Disabilities may include ADD or AD/HD, autism spectrum disorder, brain injury, chronic medical conditions, communication disorders, hearing loss, learning disabilities, mobility impairment, psychological disorders, visual impairment or temporary injuries. Thepurpose of disability accommodation is to provide equal access to the academic material and equal access to demonstrate mastery of the material.

If you have a disability and need accommodations, please contact the Student Accessibility Resource Center (SARC). You will need to meet with a SARC staff member who can help you gather documentation of your disability or refer you to an appropriate resource for assessment. Once documentation of the disability is approved, SARC staff will provide you with an accommodation letter detailing the approved accommodations which you should present to me so we can discuss and implement your accommodations. Disability accommodations work best starting at the beginning of the semester, but can be approved and started at any point in the semester. Accommodations start at the time the accommodation letter is presented to faculty within reasonable timelines; accommodations are not given retroactively.

SARC on the Statesboro campus is located on the second floor of Cone Hall and the phone number is (912) 478-1566. SARC for Savannah and Liberty campuses is located on the second floor of Memorial College Center and the phone number is (912) 3442572. Web site: Student Accessibility Resource Center

Contingencies

Campus-wide emergencies
If up to one week of class time is missed due to campus closures, I will provide online or out-of-class assignments via Folio and may use the final exam period to recover lost time. For closures exceeding one week, the university may schedule additional make-up time during breaks, evenings, or weekends. If this occurs, I will accommodate students lacking internet or electricity access.

Individual matters
If you are under quarantine:
I can't grant you any extensions to your deadlines unless I receive a report from the GS CARES Team about your status. You can't just email me to say that you think you might have a virus and are self-isolating in order to minimize the chance of infecting others. That means that if you think you might have been exposed, or if you have tested positive, you must complete a COVID-19 Health Reporting Form, which can be found in the COVID-19 Information & Resources section of your MyGeorgiaSouthern page.

If you do have a CARES report and can't work on the class, it'll be like this class did not exist for you during your illness. If a paper is due during your quarantine, you'll have an extension until you return to class. If you miss either exam, we'll work that out on a case-by-case basis.

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COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

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Analysis Essay Assignment

For this essay, you'll select either a single poem from Yeats that we have covered in this class or a short story from Joyce that we have covered in this class, and address this question: "How does this text reflect the characteristics of modern Ireland?"/

In order to answer that question, you'll have to first consider the characteristics of modern Ireland. Then you'll need to explain how one or more of those are reflected in the work you're analyzing. We've spent a lot of time in the class discussing those, so you should be able to be explicit about what characteristics you're considering.

Your complete essay should be somewhere between 500 and 750 words, not counting your Works Cited page. You should format these in accordance with the MLA 9 guidelines. If you want a shortcut for MLA 9 formatting, there's The English Major's MLA 9 Cheat Sheet available to you in Folio.

RESEARCH REQUIREMENT
You will have to incorporate the work of other scholars into this essay. That means, usually, material that has been peer-reviewed. You may consult online summaries or analyses from sites like Shmoop, SparkNotes, or Wikipedia, but they will not count as scholarly sources for the purposes of this essay. I'm not going to mandate a crazy number of sources for you; I would think at least two might suffice, but hearing from more voices is always a good thing.

FORMATTING WARNINGS
I'm serious about the formatting for this essay. If your formatting is incorrect when you submit your first version, I'll return it to you and you'll have to resubmit it. But the ceiling for your grade will be 5 points lower than it was for your first effort. The ceiling for everyone's first attempt is 100; it's 95 for a first resubmission. If you can't get it right the second time, your ceiling will be 15 points lower (an 85). Miss it the third time and your ceiling will be 30 points lower (a 70).

Claiming that your formatting is incorrect because you "just copied what was online" is one of the feeblest excuses you can offer, especially since you have the guidelines to get it right the first time available to you in Folio. The same holds true for any entry on your Works Cited page. You'll have to cite the works you're using properly in your text, and then include them properly as items on your Works Cited page.

Finally, do not trust online citation generators! I've yet to find one that is consistently accurate. Instead, check The English Major's MLA 9 Cheat Sheet. Everything you need to know about formatting is in there.

Your TurnItIn Originality Score
After you submit your paper and TurnItIn has completed its analysis, you are able to see your TurnItIn Originality Score. In general, lower numbers are better here, unless you're quoting a lot of material from the text. Your score will also have a color attached to it. If the color you see is anything other than green, check your paper again to see that you have cited all your sources correctly. If you have, then you're good. If you haven't, then you can revise your paper and resubmit it. I will evaluate only the most recent version of your paper in the dropbox, but you can submit as many versions of it as you feel necessary.

Meaning, Significance, and Ethical Implications Essay

For the second half of your final exam, you'll be writing an essay addressing the meaning, cultural significance, and ethical implications of one of Heaney's poems or one scene from Keegan's novel, or one scene from any of the films we have discussed. Once you've chosen your poem or scene, you'll address the following questions in separate paragraphs:

1. What does this particular moment/site mean? How does it illustrate some thematic concern that the author wants to address? How do specific elements within this moment/site contribute to the author's construction of meaning? These elements will differ based on the genre you're working with. For fiction, you should consider elements like character development, setting, mood, plot, point of view, figurative language, allegory, symbolism, and irony For a poem, you should also consider elements like alliteration, metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, and repetition. For a movie scene, you should consider mise-en-scene, shot composition, framing, salience, vectors, gaze, contrast, and visual symbolism.
2. Why is this moment/site important? What cultural significance does this site have for readers or viewers? Cultural significance, in its simplest form, reflects what we collectively deem important and meaningful within our shared human experience. How does this moment/site connect with the identity, values, and historical context of Ireland? How does it contribute to the collective memory and sense of belonging? Does it promote social cohesion, or is it divisive? Does it create continuity across generations, or bridge economic, social, political, or religious divides?
3. What are the ethical implications of this moment/site? Within the work as a whole, are there potential moral consequences that arise from this site? Does it cause moral reflection in readers/viewers, help them to develop empathy, or consider other ethical frameworks? Are the actions here ones we would imitate, or are they warnings to us as readers/viewers? Does the author reward or punish the character(s) for their actions? Are there wider implications or applications of this site for all readers/viewers?

As you can see from the prompt, this is not something you can just make up on the spot. This is why I'm telling you here what 50% of your final exam will be, 15 weeks before you have to write it. You should have your essay planned out well before you walk into the final exam.

This assignment is optional, but the skills you'll practice in it aren't. Let's start with a question:

When you're reading something, anything, and you come across a word you don't know, what do you do?

1. I just skip it and hope it's not important.
2. I try to use context clues to figure out what it means. If I can't I just move on and hope it's not important.
3. I look it up.

While it would be nice to think that you would all select "C" for your answer, we don't live in that world. In this world, as several national studies have shown, the overwhelming majority of college students answer either "A" or "B." This assignment is designed to show you how easy option "C" is, and how it can help you. You're already better at manipulating that device in your pocket that allows you to access all the world's electronic information than I'll ever be, so it amazes me that so few students take advantage of it.

Your work for this assignment will introduce you to one of the most fundamental reference tools available, The Oxford English Dictionary. You can access the OED from the University Libraries' web site. (It's in the databases collection, under "O".)

If you choose to complete this assignment, you will reduce the impact of a single bad performance on your final grade for the class. There's a lengthier explantion of this mechanism below.

The Assignment in a Nutshell

Your task in this assignment is to find a minimum of 10 words that you are unfamiliar with in any of Heaney's poems in Opened Ground. But there are three limitations to your choices:

1. You can't use words from any of the poems we have read in class.
2. You can't use proper nouns (so no choosing "Grauballe," "Anahorish," "Toome" and the like).
3. You can't address more than three words from any single poem.

Once you have your 10 words, you'll look them up in the OED, copy ALL the definitions listed for those words, then select the definition that best suits that word in the context of the poem it was taken from.

Your Entry for Each Word

1. Your entry for each word you select should begin with the original text where you encountered that word (a line or two from the poem, for context).
2. Next you'll copy into your entry every definition of that word in the OED. You can't just copy the definitions from that initial page that comes up when you search for the word; each of the entries on that initial page may have multiple meanings within the entry itself. (The example I have provided for you in Folio has three definitions when the word is used as a noun, and one definition—on a different web page—when the word is used as a verb. All of them are included in the entry.)
3. You'll then select one of those definitions, the one you consider the most appropriate, and write a paragraph explaining why you think that meaning is the correct one in this instance. You should consider both the definition and the context within which the word was used in explaining your selection.

Please take note of that word above, "paragraph." That does not mean a sentence. Nor does it mean two or even three sentences. Your paragraphs should contain a minimum of four relevant sentences. If your writing falls short of that mark, that particular entry won't count toward your score.

When you look at the example entry in Folio, pay close attention to the formatting, and follow the guidelines in the English Major's MLA 9 Formatting Cheat Sheet. Those rules aren't hard to follow; they're just very specific, and they're the way we communicate in this field. So don't wing it with your formatting, and don't think, "that's close enough." Following guidelines like these is a middle-school activity, so you should get it right. You can't plead ignorance, and you can't say it's too complicated, so consistently getting is wrong can only be a sign of lack of care, which will seriously affect your grade.

I realize that all of the above sounds like a chore, and, in many ways, it is, because it's extra credit. I'm not inclined to make this a free way to add points to your score, or create a grade that is little more than a participation trophy. But there are two elements to this assignment that will make it worth your while.

Redistribution of Assignment Weights

First, should you choose to complete this assignment, it will redistribute the weights for all the other assignments in the class for you. Did you screw the pooch on the first exam? Do this assignment and the weight of that first exam drops from 20% to 15% of your final grade. Completing this assignment lessens the worth of every other assignment/exam in the class by 5%, while this assignment will be worth 20% of your final grade. See the comparison chart after the rubric below for a tabular explanation of the changes to the weights of other assignments.

Scoring Above 100%

As if that ability to turn around your grade isn't enough, you can also score above a 100 on this assignment. Completing 10 entries properly will get you a 100, but you can create up to 14 entries. If they're all correct (see the rubric below) you can score up to 140%. As you'll see in the rubric, each entry is worth a maximum of 10 points. There are ways to lose points on each entry, but you must have a minimum of ten entries (from at least four separate poems) to have this count toward your grade in the class.

Due Date

The due date for this assignment will be 11:59 pm on April 17. You'll place your work in the OED Assignment dropbox in Folio. If you're thinking of turning it in late, save yourself the effort. If it comes in at 12:00 am on April 18, it won't be evaluated, and you won't get any points for it.

Assignment Rubric

Your Oxford English Dictionary assignment will be evaluated according to this rubric:

Comparison of Assignment Weights

The table below shows the weight of each assignment/exam in the class for those who choose to complete this assisgnment and for those who do not.

Comparison of Assignment Weights
If you complete the assignment . . .		If you do not complete the assignment . . .
Assignment	Weight	Assignment	Weight
Essay 1	20%	Essay 1	25%
Exam 1	15%	Exam 1	20%
Exam 2 - Part 1 (short answer questions)	15%	Exam 2 - Part 1 (short answer questions)	20%
Exam 2 - Part 2 (Meaning/Significance/Ethical Implications Essay)	20%	Exam 2 - Part 2 (Meaning/Significance/Ethical Implications Essay)	25%
OED Optional Assignment	20%
Class Attendance/Discussion/Participation	10%	Class Attendance/Discussion/Participation	10%

THE EVENT

On Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 2 pm in the Nessmith-Lane Auditorium in the Performing Arts Center, Matt Bryant Cheney, the editor of the Flannery O'Connor Review and a professor at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, will be giving a talk titled "An Eternity Between the House and the Chicken Yard: Flannery O’Connor’s Georgia."

WHAT YOU'LL GET/WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

If you'd like to get 20 points added on to your score for your first essay, you'll need to attend Professor Cheney's talk, then write a 250-word summary of it and submit it to the newly-created dropbox in Folio titled "Extra Credit Assignment." There will be a sign-in sheet at the talk; make sure to sign in. For your response, just throwing words on the paper won't guarantee you the full 20 points available; I'll read and evaluate these, so the quality of your writing matters.

DUE DATE

Submit your response to the "Extra Credit Assignment" dropbox in Folio by April 19, 11:59 pm.

ATTENDANCE

Only those students whose names are on the sign-in sheet from the event will get credit for their work. Period. You have to be there for the entire talk, and I have to know you were there.

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GRADING

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My Process

When I mark your essays, here's my process: I read each of them at least three times. On the first read, I apply the Minimum Standards Rubric below, which comes from the Technical College system in South Carolina. This rubric is applied to papers from students at two-year schools, and it defines the minimum acceptable standards there. If your essay makes it through the Minimum Standards Rubric, I then read through your paper again, going through it looking for your argument and if you addressed the prompt in your essay. In my final reading, I ask the grading questions here and evaluate it with the Essay Rubric below. This reading is where I mark your paper.

Minimum Standards Rubric

Questions I ask while grading

For each sentence in your paper, I ask the following questions:

1. What are you saying?
   At a basic level, I’m trying to decode the meaning of each sentence. If I cannot understand what you’re trying to say, everything that follows is problematic. If your sentence is confused, convoluted, or contradictory, you make it difficult, or even impossible, for me to answer this basic question.
2. Is what you’re saying accurate?
   Does this sentence demonstrate that you understand the text or the critic you’re addressing? For instance, if you’re summarizing someone else’s argument, I need to assess if you’re being true to the original author's intent. In your response, I’m assessing your evidence and examples.
3. Is what you’re saying well-expressed grammatically and mechanically?
   This assumes that your grammar and mechanics aren’t so bad that I’ve been stymied back up at Question #1.
4. Does your writing have appropriate flow?
   Does each idea link up with the one before it and the one following it in a way that meets audience needs, attitudes, and knowledge?

If I can answer all four of these questions positively for every sentence, you’re doing well. But when the answer is no, complications ensue. If I can’t understand what you’re saying, I have no way to engage with your ideas, and so I have additional questions.:

• Do you not understand the original text you’re addressing?
• Do you understand the original text, but your writing leaves a gap between that understanding and what is written on the page?

Essay Rubric

Marks on your papers

When I return your papers to you, they'll have marks on them, but almost no comments. Only in very rare cases, where errors aren’t immediately obvious, will I write a short comment. For the most part, your errors or issues are underlined and marked with a letter representing one of four categories:

MARK	EXPLANATION
A = ARGUMENT	These are errors or issues with the points you’re trying to make. They could be inconsistencies, the use of quotations that don’t do what you need them to do, fundamental contradictions in your macro structure, or a number of other things concerning how you’re moving your argument forward.
C = CLARITY	Usually sentence-level matters where you either need to be more clear and specific, explain yourself better, or resolve a contradiction.
F = FORMAT	You should use MLA 9 formatting for your paper. You'll follow it to set up how your paper looks on the page (your header, your margins, your page numbering) and how you handle things like titles of works, using quotations in your text, and creating a Works Cited page. You have The English Major’s MLA 9 Formatting Cheat Sheet available to you in Folio. “I used an online citation generator” is one of the most damning criticisms of your own abilities you can offer. If I suggested you weren’t capable of looking up and following a simple set of discipline-specific rules, you would be offended. So why would you admit that about yourself, especially since I'm telling you here that they are all, to varying degrees, inaccurate?
M = MECHANICS	Errors in sentence construction, usage, punctuation, spelling, etc. In general, there’s a reason why English has at least 64 different prepositions: they all mean something different. Oh, and burn your thesauruses. Using an elevated word that you think you might know the meaning of works doubly against you: it could be the wrong word for the situation, and it’s not the clear and concise word, which is what you want. Brackets [. . .] usually indicate errors with sentence construction.

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EVALUATION

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