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ENGL 1030 Syllabus

Course Syllabus

ENGL 1030 - Literary Studies Abroad

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

In this course, students explore the literary and cultural legacy of selected foreign destinations (which change yearly, depending upon travel destination) through online reading, discussion, research, and writing. Students will explore the fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and film associated with the travel destinations, as well as the societal, cultural, philosophical, and historical forces that influenced their development.

Course Outcomes:

As a result of class instruction, you will . . .

  • Engage not only in the exploration of a destination’s literary legacy, as represented in text and film, but come to regard travel as an apt metaphor for the joy of exploring literature itself.
  • Develop an understanding and appreciation for the cultural venues and points of interest unique to the particular destination/region.
  • Understand the society’s literary contributions as they are reflected in its culture. Use critical thinking skills to analyze, interpret, and discuss selected literary and film selections associated with a particular country, region, or culture.
  • Analyze, interpret, and discuss how the societal, cultural, philosophical, and historical contexts of the particular destinations influenced the development of the literary and film selections.
  • Use online collaborative activities to interact within a community of learners, actively engaging and fostering others in their analysis and appreciation of literature and the power of place. 
Prerequisites & Co-requisites:

ENGL 1010 and ENGL 1020

Course Topics:
  • MODULE 1: Preparing for Literary Travel: Inner and Outer Pilgrimages
  • MODULE 2: Our Literary Tour Begins: The Journey is the Destination?
  • MODULE 3: En Route: Traveler or Tourist?
  • MODULE 4: Arrival: Absorbing the Local Color
  • MODULE 5: Sightseeing: Exploring the Role of "Place" in Literature
  • MODULE 6: Travelogue #1
  • MODULE 7: Destination #1: Selected Poetry
  • MODULE 8: Destination #2: Selected Short Fiction
  • MODULE 9: Destination #3: Selected Creative Nonfiction Essays
  • MODULE 10: Destination #4: Selected Films
  • MODULE 11: Destination #4: Selected Films (Continued)
  • MODULE 12: An Independent Excursion: The Novel
  • MODULE 13: An Independent Excursion: The Novel (continued)
  • MODULE 14: Travelogue #2
  • MODULE 15: Story of a Place Project 

 

Specific Course Requirements:

To complete this course successfully, you should have mastery of the college-level reading and writing skills taught and developed in ENGL1010. 

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course. Move your cursor over the "Books" link in the navigation bar and select "Textbooks & Course Materials." Select your Program, Term, Department, and Course; then select "Submit."

Supplementary Materials:
Hardware and Software Requirements:

Minimum hardware requirements can be found here.

Minimum software requirements can be found here.

Common applications you might need:

Web Resources:

Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab (for APA, MLA, or Chicago style)

The Writing Center Online Writer's Handbook

Student Resources:
  • Technical support information can be found on the TN eCampus Help Desk page.
  • Smarthinking virtual tutoring is available FREE of charge. to access Smarthinking, visit the course homepage and select Smarthinking under Course Resources. You also view sample sessions to see what Smarthinking offers and how it works.
  • Information on other student issues or concerns can be located on the TN eCampus Student Resources page.

Instructor Information

Please see "Instructor Information" in the Getting Started Module for instructor contact information, virtual office hours, and other communication information. You can expect to receive a response from the instructor within 24-48 hours unless notified of extenuating circumstances.

Participation, Assessments, & Grading

Testing Procedures:

You will have online quizzes over readings during the first five weeks. Other assignments include discussions, Travelogues, and the Story of a Place Project, assignments which make use of the discussion board and the Drop Box 

Grading Procedures:

Travelogue #1 = 90 points
Travelogue #2 = 130 points
Five Reading Quizzes worth 30 points each = 150 points
Class Discussions 1-5 worth 25 points each = 125 points
Class Discussions 6-12 worth 50 points each = 350 points
"Story of a Place" Project = 155 points
Total: 1000 points 

Grading Scale:
900-1000 pointsA
800-899 pointsB
700-799 pointsC
650-699 pointsD
Less than 650 pointsF

 

Assignments and Projects:

Travelogues – 220 points

Students will develop and participate in two “travelogues” throughout the course of the semester. Variously defined in our culture as everything from a simple log of sites visited to an individual’s record of the encounters, events, and impressions he or she experiences during a journey, our “travelogues” will involve both individual and collaborative elements.

As you may have observed from the layout of the modules, topics, and their respective assignments, our course is set up as a journey itself through the literary landscapes of our featured destination—intended both to inspire the armchair traveler and to prepare the physical traveler who will eventually visit that region or culture.

In keeping with this conceptual framework of a journey, the travelogue will provide students with the opportunity to interact closely with the texts of writing and film, to synthesize their impressions, to express their discoveries, and to research the cultural dimensions of the featured destination—for the benefit of themselves and others (as these travelogues will be shared).

Elements of the travelogues may also provide material for further development into the “Story of a Place” Project which will represent the culminating assignment of the course. Although many more specifics will be given as the course progresses, know that the travelogues are collectively worth 220 points.

Reading Quizzes – 150 points

Students will have five online reading quizzes early in the semester over the weekly reading selections from The Oxford Book of Travel Stories and The Norton Book of Travel (these readings are not specific to the literary region which the course will focus on that semester, but they rather prepare students for the destination-specific material they will read later in the course). Each quiz will be composed a combination of multiple choice, matching, true-false, and short answer questions. Each quiz is worth 30 points for a total of 150 points.

Class Discussions – 475 points

Students will respond to twelve discussions throughout the course of the semester. Although the purpose, scope, and “personality” of discussions vary from course to course, please know that discussions form a critical and central component of this course—hence the weight they are given in the grading scheme. Participating in the class discussions is vital not only in earning full credit per discussion, but also because interacting with others helps students maintain a strong learning community—an element especially crucial to success in an online course such as this.

Furthermore, the exploratory nature of this course and its potential for creativity will make the discussions one of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of the class for involved “posters” and readers! To receive full credit for each discussion, students must provide accurate, thoughtful, well- supported, in-depth responses to the original posting. Note below in “Grade Evaluation” that Discussions 1-5 are worth 25 points each, while Discussions 6-12 are worth 50 points each.

“The Story of a Place” Project – 155 points

This creative research project/student presentation will give students the opportunity to synthesize their discoveries, cultural research, and personal interaction with various written and visual texts into the culminating achievement of their “journey.” Although many more specifics will be given as the course progresses, know that the cumulative components of “The Story of a Place” Project are worth, in total, 155 points. 

Class Participation:
Late Policy:

As the online learning environment requires you to be self-directed and independent learners, the course framework and deadlines are designed to ensure that you maintain weekly contact with instructors and fellow learners, as well as be well-prepared for each major assignment. Because punctuality is key to each student's success in this course, the instructor may refuse to accept all late work. 

Course Ground Rules

The following two statements (1., 2.) were derived from the TBR System-wide Student Rules document, released January 2012:

RULES OF THE TENNESSEE BOARD OF REGENTS STATE UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM OF TENNESSEE SYSTEMWIDE STUDENT RULES CHAPTER 0240-02-03 STUDENT CONDUCT AND DISCIPLINARY SANCTIONS

Read the document in its entirety here.

1. Standards of Conduct:

  • Students are required to adhere to the same professional, legal and ethical standards of conduct online as on campus. In addition, students should conform to generally accepted standards of "netiquette" while sending e-mail, posting comments to the discussion board, and while participating in other means of communicating online. Specifically, students should refrain from inappropriate and/or offensive language, comments and actions.

2. Review the TN eCampus Academic Integrity/Academic Honesty Policy:

  • In their academic activities, students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is prohibited.

Such conduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • an attempt by one or more students to use unauthorized information in the taking of an exam
  • to submit as one's own work, themes, reports, drawings, laboratory notes, computer programs, or other products prepared by another person,
  • or to knowingly assist another student in obtaining or using unauthorized materials.

Plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited.

Students guilty of academic misconduct, either directly or indirectly through participation or assistance, are subject to disciplinary action through the regular procedures of the student’s home institution.  Refer to the student handbook provided by your home institution to review the student conduct policy.

In addition to other possible disciplinary sanctions that may be imposed, the instructor has the authority to assign an "F" or zero for an activity or to assign an "F" for the course.

Other Course Rules:

Students are expected to:

  • Participate in all aspects of the course
  • Communicate with other students
  • Learn how to navigate in Brightspace
  • Keep abreast of course announcements
  • Use the assigned course management (Brightspace) email address rather than a personal email address
  • Address technical problems immediately:
  • Observe course netiquette at all times.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

  • Always include a subject line.
  • 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

Discussions:

  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
  • Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of other’s ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in TN eCampus programs and courses. 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 will be included within the course modules. To access the Virtual Library, go to the course homepage and select the Virtual Library link under Course Resources.

Students with Disabilities

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.

Syllabus Changes

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.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this syllabus is for general information purposes only. While we endeavor to keep this information up-to-date and accurate, there may be some discrepancies between this syllabus and the one found in your online course. The syllabus of record is the one found in your online course. Please make sure you read the syllabus in your course at the beginning of the semester. Questions regarding course content should be directed to your instructor.


Last Revised on July 12, 2021