Course Information

A survey of masterpieces of Western World literature: the ancient Near East, ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.

Students will be able to

1. demonstrate knowledge of the literary masterpieces of the ancient Near East, ancient Greece and Rome, the European Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.

2. sharpen critical reading and writing skills by analyzing and interpreting specific literary works from these periods and by using primary and secondary sources.

3. demonstrate knowledge of the diverse social, philosophical, historical, cultural and political contexts of these literary works.

4. demonstrate a basic understanding of how Western traditions and thought—as reflected in the course readings—continue to influence contemporary thought.

5. continue to demonstrate the writing and documentation skills taught in English 1010 and 1020.

Prerequisites and Corequisites:

Students must have completed English 1010 and 1020 before they enroll in English 2410; students may take English 2420 without having taken English 2410.

Course Topics:

This course includes a survey of the masterpieces of Western World literature from the earliest beginnings to about 1600. 

We will be reading assigned sections of literature from the ancient Near East, the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. Along the way we will examine selected topics in the cultures, languages and traditions of the societies that produced the works under study. An emphasis will be placed on critical reading and thinking as seen in students' writing.

Specific Course Requirements:

Students should have the knowledge and abilities taught in freshman composition courses: essay writing, argumentation, documentation of sources, writing about literature, and college level writing abilities in grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Students should also have college sophomore level abilities to read and interpret those readings critically.

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

available at http://ropd.bkstr.com

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. 

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.

Microsoft Word is the recommended word processing software for this course. Students who do not have Microsoft Word should be able to submit essays as web pages (HTML files) or as rich text format files (RTF files). Essay assignments will be submitted to the WebCT assignment dropbox.

At least one of the course assignments allows but does not require Real Player audio. This is free software available from the Internet at http://www.real.com.

Please click on the "Professor" link on the WebCT navigation bar to find instructor contact information as well as other communication information.

Assessment and Grading

• Tests .......................400 points
• Essays.......................200 points
• Homeworks.................200 points
• Literature Discussions...200 points

See the Orientation section of the Course Content for additional details or differences.

Grading Scale:

Note: There are no plus or minus grades permitted for the final grades in RODP.

900 - 1000 points = A
800 - 899 points   = B
700 - 799 points   = C 
600 - 699 points   = D 
<600 points          = F 

Tests:

There are four units of study in the class and four tests for each.  Each test is preceded by a practice test for the unit.  The tests are timed and administered within WebCT.  Students do NOT need to secure a proctor for the tests.

Essays:

The essays are papers in which students write about what they have read. Students will be given several specific topics for the essays, with each topic relating to a specific assigned reading. The essay should address the chosen topic by using the student's critical, analytic, and interpretive powers in relation to the assigned reading and should be at least 500 words in length. The focus of the essay is the student's interpretation about the assigned reading with support for that interpretation. The essays will be evaluated for how well students address the assigned topic, support their thesis and interpretation, and explain their ideas and opinions. Content, form, and MLA format will be evaluated. Internal documentation should be included, but the Works Cited page can be omitted. An example of an informal essay will be given early in the course. Some student essays may ultimately be posted to the class web pages. Also, students should keep on electronic file a record of the evaluations of the essays.

Homework:

During the semester, several short assignments will be made for students to complete. These assignments will consist of emails to the instructor or to other students, postings to the message board, and other short activities related to the content of the course.

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

Students will complete four units on the literary movements covered by the course.  In each unit, students will read background material in the course modules and the textbook, will read assigned readings from the text, will write a formal essay, and will complete homework assignments.  . 

Class Participation:

Students are encouraged to stay in touch with one another and with the instructor by electronic means inside WebCT--sending, reading, and responding to email, discussion, and (optionally) chat.  Doing so is vital in an online course, as is keeping up with assignments and maintaining self-discipline and self-motivation.

Punctuality:

All assignments for the entire course are easily visible in the course modules inside WebCT, and each assignment is given a due date for completion.  All due dates for all the essays, homeworks, papers, and tests are clearly posted in the Calendar of our WebCT class.  Students should be mindful of those due dates posted in the Calendar and should submit assignments in a timely manner.  Ten percent (10%) of the score will be taken away for each 24-hour period an assignment is late.

Course Ground Rules

On English 1010 and 1020: English 1010 and 1020 are prerequisites to this course and must be completed before students enroll in English 2410 or English 2420. Students are expected to demonstrate in their writing those writing and documentation skills taught in English 1010 and 1020.

On English 2410 and 2420: Students may take English 2420 without having taken English 2410.

On plagiarism: Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited. According to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, plagiarism is "to steal and pass off as one's own [the ideas or words of another]; to present as one's own an idea or product derived from an existing source."

Students are expected to communicate with other students, learn how to navigate in WebCT, keep abreast of course emails, and read directions in the Course Modules and Units thoroughly and in detail.  They should use WebCT email in regular communication for the class; email outside WebCT should be reserved for emergency use only. They should also give the professor a web-based email address (such as those available from Hotmail or Yahoo) as a back-up. Students should address any technical problems immediately. (See the help information below.) 

Students should observe course netiquette at all times. 

In an online literature course, regular attendance takes the form keeping up with email from the professor and other students, posting to discussions boards in a timely manner, and submitting class assignments on time.   

If for some reason the student must hand in any assignment late, it is his or her responsibility to contact the professor prior to the due date.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

• Always include a subject line.
• Set email to the UNREAD option.
• Never use all capital letters; this is known as "screaming" in netiquette.
• Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
• Use standard fonts.
• Do not send large attachments without permission.
• Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
• Respect the privacy of other class members.
• Check email frequently; checking email once every day or once every other day is probably about right for most students.
• Always include a subject line.
• Respond to email from others by using the QUOTE feature in email.

Discussions:

• Set discussion to UNTHREADED and UNREAD option.
• Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
• Read what other students have posted before posting your own message.  Much can be learned from what others have to say.
• Reading what other students have posted before posting your own message also serves to give students models of writing that might be helpful in writing your own messages.
• Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" or "Quote" button rather starting a new topic, when appropriate.
• Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the class on the discussion board.  Discussion boards are public communication and should be treated as such. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
• Be patient and read the comments of other students thoroughly before entering your remarks.
• Be cooperative with other students in completing assigned collaborative tasks.
• Be positive and constructive in discussion boards.
• Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
• Avoid responding to how something is said; usually, responding to what is said is a better idea.
• Feel free to disagree with the ideas of others, but do not attack or denigrate their opinions, analyses, or interpretations.
• Always include a subject line when posting a discussion message.
• Respond to discussion postings from others by using the QUOTE feature.
• Respond to discussion postings from others by using REPLY PRIVATELY feature if your response is sensitive or personal in nature.

Chat:

• Chat is not required in this course.
• Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
• Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
• Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
• Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
• Be constructive in your comments and suggestions.
• Avoid creating private rooms if several people are chatting.
• If you wish to chat, be sure to set up days, dates, times, and chat rooms to enter with other students before trying to chat.
   

Web Resources:

• Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor
• Citation Styles Online http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support:

For HELP with:

• STUDENT TECHNICAL SUPPORT  Contact http://help.rodp.org
• REGISTRATION PROBLEMS Contact your home school available at http://www.rodp.org.
• TBR-RODP RELATED ISSUES Contact RODP at 1.888.223.0023