Please include some secondary sources in your Wizard of the Crow paper. You may find secondary sources the electronic database JSTORE. Go to Saint Paul's webpage, go to the library page, click electronic databases, and then find JSTOR. You may find some articles on Wizard of the Crow or on other works. Choose one or two quotes from an article. For example, if you are working on satire in Ngugi's writing, you might refer to a scholar's research on the subject of satire in Ngugi's writing. Students who include research from peer reviewed journals will receive extra credit on their work. This is a necessary skill for graduate school if you are planning on attending graduate school.
I have included a couple quotations that you might find useful for your paper.
Wizard of the Crow
Author : Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Publisher :
Category :
Page : 56
Date : 04/14/2011
Highlight : 14He
Page : 876
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : The Global Bank released a statement that the current absence of leadership and the recent mysteriou
Comment : This is strikingly similar to what is occurring in Libya today. The West and investors want political stability and could really care less about true democracy.
Page : 879
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : the tongue was forked,
Comment : Sign of the devil.
Page : 880
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : It was the same self-styled Movement for the Voice of the People, in collusion with fundamentalists
Comment : This is so true today--any Third World country can exploit terrorism to use its power against its own people. Gadhafi accused the rebels in Libya of being associated with Al Qaeda.
Page : 883
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : “Well, they were not mistaken. The fact is, my people, I was pregnant. Yes, I was pregnant,” the Rul
Comment : Symbolic of African dictatorships and their collusion with the West.
Page : 884
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : “And in case our dear friends are worried that we might be going too far in our liberal measures,” h
Comment : Baby D and not real democracy. Isn't this always what happens when a pro-Western regime is installed in power? Democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Vietnam, etc.
Page : 889
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : A boxed item under the heading ARTIST MASTERS THE ART OF WAR showed a picture of Kaniürü. It was tha
Comment : Isn't this how everything always ends in African nations? History is recorded by the oppressor classes, leaving out the voice of the oppressed.
Page : 890
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : There are no moral limits to the means that a ruler can use, from lies to lives, bribes to blows, in
Comment : The trick is to seem like he is democratic, while being the most oppressive ruler of all time.
Page : 895
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : He was possessed by unbearable pain and about to explode. Before his descent into blankness, he felt
Comment : Symbolic of his transformation into a Satan like figure.
Page : 896
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : On the day of the autoexplosion he had not only conquered the bodily form of the Wizard of the Crow
Comment : superstition and dictators are interrelated
Page : 900
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : The Minister of Defense and war hero John Kaniürü signed an agreement for loans to enable Aburiria t
Comment : In the end, oil and weapons are ways to ensure the political stability of a country for multinational investors.
Page : 910
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : The lines were straight out of the Ruler’s Political Theory, wherein Machokali had written that croo
Comment : This is a Machiavellian strategy that resembles politics today.
Page : 914
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : the Buler declared a day when the effigies of the cursed four, Mambo, Machokali, Nyawlra, and the Wi
Comment : Superstition
Page : 922
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : In Aburlria there are those who reap where they never planted and those who plant but hardly ever re
Comment : Nyawira's idealistic philosophy
Page : 928
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : Did you ever hear rumors of a man who came back from the dead after burial at a dumpsite?
Comment : Kamltl, Wizard of the Crow, is a Christ figure.
Page : 928
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : I don’t discount the fact of blackness when used to forge a sense of community across nations, terri
Comment : Critique of black power ideas--using race to justify class oppression
Page : 938
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : It was in his hotel in New York during his first visit as the Minister of Finance that Tajirika had
Comment : White run corporations and Africans emulating them.
Page : 938
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : The white American male was the desirable ideal. Yes. He should have aspired to be a white American
Comment : African leaders and their inferiority complex
Page : 939
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : Then tragedy struck. Tajirika was making preparations to return to America for the other body parts
Comment : Irony!
Page : 941
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : In the book, whatever ills had befallen Aburlria during his reign, like Rachael’s disappearance and
Comment : The rulers write history, and the history of the oppressed remains invisible.
Page : 945
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : The Global Bank and the Global Ministry of Finance are clearly looking to privatize countries, natio
Comment : The corporatization of the entire planet
Page : 947
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : Now, despite years of lonely toil, they were glad to report that people in Aburlria were catching up
Comment : The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
Page : 950
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : He would send his devoted minister, his very trusted counselor, on a last mission, to order the army
Comment : Massacre for the Western world
Page : 956
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : The climax of Tajirika’s ascension to power came when he addressed the nation and pronounced the end
Comment : The succession of dictators has no end.
Page : 966
Date : 04/27/2011
Highlight : “What is to prevent them from worsening? When the farmer and the manufacturer grow and make things w
Comment : copolonialism=the future of African democracy
4/18/11
If you are a graduating senior, please send me your papers by the deadline. Some seniors have not sent me all of their work. Please note that if you want me to revise your work, so you can resubmit it, then you should send me the work ASAP.
4/15/11
Please write a 5-7 page paper on The Wizard of The Crow. There are several important themes in the novel that could be topics for a paper:
1) women in The Wizard of the Crow: how are women like Nyawira oppressed throughout the novel? How does oppression of women relate to political oppression in the novel?
2) oral culture in The Wizard of the Crow: how does oral culture play a role in Wizard of the Crow? What are some of the proverbs used in the novel?
3) cultural hybridity in The Wizard of the Crow: how does Ngugi mix together different religious traditions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and many other cultures into his novel?
4)symbolism in The Wizard of the Crow: what symbols does Ngugi use throughout the novel and what are the hidden messages within the symbols used in the novel?
3/16/11
We will now start reading intensively Wizard of the Crow, a satire by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o on political corruption in Africa. These notes represent a discussion of the first chapters of the novel. The leader of Aburiria, an imaginary nation in Africa, is ill, and he has so much power that his every move is watched by the press. There are different theories on his illness, and one is that the cause of his illness is his anger. An example of the dictator's obscene use of power is the Law of the Beard, a law that the ruler created because an oracle said he would be threatened by a bearded man. He subsequently ruled that all goats and people should have their beards shaved. The story is tied to an alleged curse placed on the ruler by medicine men who had inserted his hair into a goat and attempted to seal its orifices. Another theory about the ruler's decline was the time he was in power: "His rule had no beginning and no end, and judging from the facts, one may well believe the claim. Children had been born and had given birth to other s and those others to others and so on, and his rule had survived all the generations" (Ngugi 16).
An important question is how does this relate to the history of African dictators today. For instance, the ruler bares some resemblance to Muammar Gaddhafi, who has been in power in Libya for several generations and has currently fought a civil war against Libyan rebels. An important question is: how have African dictators controlled their population through fear? How does Ngugi's novel illustrate this concept?
Sexism also appears to be a factor in the oppression of the African people according to Ngugi. Do you think that female leaders would behave the same as male leaders in Africa? Is there are a relationship between an almost all male class of political leaders throughout Africa and the oppression of African people through violence? Rachael, the dictator's wife, states: "You father them [the girls he sleeps with] today and tomorrow you turn them into your wives?" (Ngugi 17). What does the dictator do because of her rebellion against his authority?
Another issue in the novel is the brutal oppression of the people by the dictator, who hung the skulls of his enemies on the walls of his palace. Also, the leader's gift on his birthday is a symbol of his incredible vanity, as he will receive a building leading to the heavens. It is also not surprising that all of his clothes are designed in Europe: "Rumor had it that all his clothes were made in measure in Europe, that his London, paris, and Rome tailors did nothing else but make his clothes" (Ngugi 31). How does this pattern reflect the palaces and Western lifestyle of many African dictators today?
3/1/11
Describe the concept of something torn and new in your papers. Also, describe the figures and important events that Ngugi refers to with pictures, images, and more detailed info. You should also prepare to ask the class questions about the African renaissance.
"Renaissance describes a moment when the quantity and quality of intellectual and artistic output are perceived as signaling "a monumental historical shift" in the life of a people, nation, or region" (Ngugi 45).
"The tendency in the African Renaissance is to refer to it as a desirable ideal, an outcome that can be willed into being rather than a thing that has already happened or is happening now" (46).
"...the African renaissance has already started: it began at the historical moment when the idea of Africa became an organizing force" (46).
2/25/11
In your papers on Something Torn and New, please describe the importance of language and of the African struggle for self-consciousness and democracy. Refer to passages from different chapters in Ngugi's book and discuss his concept of an African Renaissance in light of recent current events in Africa as well, such as the rise of protests in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.
Refer to sources and use MLA format.
In Something Torn and New, Ngugi predicts an African Renaissance based on African people creating democracy through their countries. The history of Africa in the postcolonial era has been marked by the rise of postcolonial African elites who have often ruled with an iron hand over the African people by squashing any dissent, by living a lavish lifestyle, and by using the army and mercenaries to control their own people. Now, we are watching throughout the African continent many African people in a struggle to free themselves from the grip of dictatorship and exploitation.
Egypt recently lost its dictator, Hosni Mubarak, and now, the Libyan people are trying to rid themselves of their dictator, Colonel Gaddafi. Most countries in Africa are still under dictatorships and are experiencing poverty while their leaders amass huge amounts of wealth from selling oil and precious minerals to huge multinational companies.
This relates directly to Ngugi's story as he describes the struggles of African people with poverty, dictatorship, and neocolonialism.
Muammar Gaddafi talks about his viewpoints on Libya through Libyan state television in front of pro-government protestors:
"The African body became a walking commercial for European memory" (Ngugi 15).
"No different from the branded bodies of the enslaved, African bodies carry marks of Europe in the form of names" (15).
"Linguicide is the linguistic equivalent of genocide. Genocide involves conscious acts of physical massacre; linguicide, conscious acts of language liquidation" (16).
"In the African continent, African languages--deprived of the food, water, light, and oxygen of thought, and of the constant conceptualizing that facilitates forging of the new and renewal of the old--underwent slow starvation, linguifam" (18).
"Language is a communication system and carrier of culture by virtue of being simultaneously the means and carrier of memory" (18).
"To starve or kill a language is to starve and kill a people's memory bank" (18).
"... the view that blackness could be washed off by generous contact with Europe was carried out symbolically with the production of a European-languages-speaking elite and the attachment of European names to the body" (22).
2/22/11
Today, we discussed the following quotes. Also, please start working on your papers as soon as possible. You should send me your five page papers to raphaeljohncomprone@gmail.com.
"The masses, by a kind of (infantile) reasoning, are convinced they have been robbed" (79).
"it is common knowledge that for 95 percent of the population in developing countries, independence has not brought any immediate change" (79).
--Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
Frantz Fanon: "All colonized people--in other words, people in whom an inferiority complex has taken root, whose local cultural originalty has been committed to the grave--position themselves in relation to the civilizing language: i.e. the metropolitan culture" (18).
"White civilization and European culture have imposed an existential deviation on the black man. We shall demonstrate furthermore that what is called the black soul is a construction by white folk." (16)
"The educated black man, slave of the myth of the spontaneous and cosmic Negro, feels at some point in time that his race no longer understands him." (16)
"What we are striving for is to liberate the black man from the arsenal of complexes that germinated in a colonial situation" (26).
Black Skins, White Masks
"The black man possesses two dimensions: one with his fellow Blacks, the other with the Whites. A black man behaves differently with another black man" (17).
These are some of Fanon's thoughts in Black Skin, White Masks, which is one fo the most important books in postcolonial literature because of his analysis of the psychology of the colonized. The emphasis Fanon places on language is important because it also ties together with Ngugi's idea that a renaissance of African languages would be necessary to create a more emancipated African society. A question for today is whether African countries that have gained political independence are still free from the economic dependence on colonial cultures. Most African countries during the postcolonial period suffer from dictatorships, poverty, unemployment, and lack of basic infrastructure. In cases like Muammar Gaddafi's Libya, where a people's revolution is occuring, the military becomes an instrument of violence used by the state to suppress people's revolt.
2/15/11
Fortunately, I have healed enough to walk, so I am returning to class.
If you click the link below, you can read an interesting article on the relationship between the current Egyptian revolution, which is nonviolent, and and the U.S. Civil Rights movement, which occurred many years ago in the U.S. Democratic movements are spreading across the world today. Is Africa experiencing an African Renaissance in which the quest for greater civil rights and democracy are motivating African people to revolt? This relates directly to Ngugi's discussion of the importance of language and democracy in African culture.
This Tuesday, I will be out because of a sprained ankle. I hope to have this injury healed soon. Meanwhile, I would like you to send me your presentations. I plan to do more lectures on Ngugi's writing. Please send me your Powerpoint presentation, so I can look over it and make suggestions. Also, we will have our midterm exam on Something Torn and New, so please read it. It is a very short book, but Ngugi makes many references to important figures in African American and African history. I would like you to include an analysis of the current political transformations and upheavals in Africa today in your presentations.
Dr. Comprone's video lecture on Ngugi:
When analyzing Ngugi's writing and preparing your presentations on Something Torn and New, be sure to keep abreast of recent developments within African societies. The themes of dismemberment, remembering, Renaissance, and political and literary transformation are important when analyzing African literature and the development of an African literary renaissance. It is important to see how lthe loss of language is central to the loss of cultural memory in many African countries; when many African countries became independent in the 1960s, African elites consolidated their power over the African masses and further marginalized working Africans from developing their own culture. As discussed earlier in class, there is a dialectical relationship between literature and the historical, economic, and political forces operating within African societies. In order for African cultures to flourish, there must be an economic base and a strong middle class in order to erect a cultural superstructure--in order to facilitate the development of African languages and African cultural practices. Africa has been torn apart by colonialism and Eurocentrism, but also, Africa has been the site of contending neocolonial forces. Egypt is not only considered the center of the Arab world, but also the epicenter of political and cultural change in the African world. Consequently, many African citizens and African leaders are watching very closely the developments in Egypt. As indicated earlier in class, multinational corporations and the West have often supported African dictators, who have often used violence to stabilize their population and amass huge fortunes. Many African dictators are elderly and are out of touch with the increasingly young population of Africa. Most of the population in Africa is under 40, but the leaders of many African nations are in their 80s. Also, African dictators have used their close ties with multinational corporations to consolidate their wealth. An example of the wealth dictators amass is the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's wealth, which is estimated as anywhere from 40 to 70 billion United States dollars, while the rate of unemployment is rising among Egyptian youth.
In Africa, many nations are underdeveloped, but some nations are experiencing a rapid rate of economic growth (which often does not translate to an overall increase in the average income of its citizens, but the consolidation of wealth in the hands of a neocolonial bourgeoisie or upper class controlling state power, often through control of the army and the military, and through contributions from powerful multinational corporations and more developed nations). Ngugi's central argument in Something Torn and New is that Africans should develop African literature by promoting African languages and by promoting democratic regimes in Africa that reflect the voices of common African people rather than the neocolonial elite. African languages are not the official language of most African countries; usually, the language of the ruling class since the independence of most African nations is typically the language of the colonizer.
Ngugi imagines that the erasure of African languages from the African curriculum is an example of the erasure of memory in the minds of most Africans. He imagines that the neocolonial elite and the ruling class in most African nations participate in the repression of African cultures by denying the working masses of Africans a voice and by suppressing African languages.
The problem of language that Ngugi describes is tied to economics--the persistence of poverty, dictatorships, and underdevelopment in Africa. Some African countries have more wealth than others because of material resources, such as diamonds, oil, gold, and precious minerals, but the vast majority of African nations do not have a sizable middle class; the elite class identifies with the cultures of the developing world, rather than with the working class.
Poverty in Central African Republic:
Western Sahara, the African country that is not recognized and that is in a struggle with Morocco:
The Tunisian Revolution and one man's story of unemployment, government oppression, and suicide:
African dictator becomes the leader of the African Union:
Not all of African countries are run by dictators, but many African leaders are the beneficiaries of rigged elections. In the slideshow below, you can see some of the most prominent African dictators. Can you recognize who they are? You will be surprised that many of these African leaders possess huge amounts of wealth from international corporations that are supporting them.
Dr. Comprone's video on African dictators and Ngugi's analysis in Chapter One of Something Torn and New:
Egypt uprising music video (very positive about democratic change):
Important for your presentations and papers (please keep up to date about these current events and be prepared to include them in your presentations on Ngugi's work):
For thirty years, the U.S. has supported the Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, and the people of Egypt are demanding his resignation. At this point, President Obama is stating that President Mubarak should remain the leader of Egypt until free elections are arranged in September; the protestors are rejecting this and will be marching towards President Mubarak's palace. Israel is concerned that Mubarak's fall could lead to the rise of Muslim extremism, and Saudi Arabia, other Arab countries, and African countries are concerned that Egypt could cause uprisings in their own countries. The Egyptian army has tanks from the U.S. and is considered a key ally in the war on terror. This is an important issue geopolitically and particularly for the African continent because many African dictators are supported by Western governments and could be toppled by popular revolts like the one in Egypt.
On Tuesday, we will go over some of the current events and discuss the reality of African dictatorships throughout the African continent. To give you an idea of the amount of dictators present in Africa, you can go to this site (watch the videos, they are terrific! We will watch these movies in our class!):
Much of the revolution is tied to a revolt of the growing gap between the rich and poor in Arab nations. This possesses significance in north African nations because it symbolizes the collective power of the masses and of democracy versus the totalitarian tactics of the restricted elite. The United States and many European nations have often possessed close ties to the dictators in the Arab world; hence, there is a perception in the Arab world that many of the leaders supporting inequality in the Arab world are puppets of the Western world. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become instrumental in this revolt. There is doubtless a fear that the revolution in Tunisia will go viral, destabilizing regimes not only in Africa, but also even in Western nations where unemployment has risen and the gap between the poor and the rich has increased as a result of the global economic recession. Sparked in part by collective action and by the prevalence of computers and social networking, this revolutionary movement in the Arab world represents a new type of revolutionary movement that is expressive of the power of the underprivileged sectors of global society. It is particular relevant to Ngugi's Something Torn and New as these revolutions represent a collective uprising of the people to regain their power and to destroy the dismembering practices of colonialism and neocolonialism, which involves the erasure of the memory of underprivileged classes and the democratic masses of Africa.
Today, a revolution is occurring in Egypt, inspired by the successful revolution in Tunisia. Click the links below to read about this:
On the following dates, the following students will complete presentations on the following material:
Feb. 8th, Tiffany, Dreams in a Time of War
Feb. 10th, Natalie, First chapter
Feb. 15th, Christa, Second Chapter
Feb. 17th, Lauren, Third Chapter
Feb. 22nd, Courtney, Fourth Chapter
Feb. 24th, Asteway, Tiffany
March 1st, Gale, Wizard of the Crow
Midterm exam
Your presentations should involve: at least 15 slides; you should have images to complement your research; the written material on slides should not be too small to read, and if you only read the slides without lecturing/discussing beyond the material on the slides, points will be deducted from your grade; is the presentation interactive? well organized?
We will also have a midterm exam at the end of February/beginning of March. You will have to write a paper on Something Torn and New.
Chapter Two: Remembering Visions
Egyptian story of Osiris, Isis, and Horus
Osiris is killed by Set, his evil brother, who then throws his body, which is in a coffin, into the Nile; Isis recovers the box and hides it; Set finds the recovered bodey and cuts Osiris into fourteen pieces, scattering his body parts all over Egypt. Isis recovers the body parts of Osiris with the help of the deity Thoth and restores Osiris to life.
This concept of restoration and wholeness is central to what Ngugi describes in chapter two of Something Torn and New, particularly in the context of decolonization.
1/18/2011
Your first exam will be in the middle of February. Please purchase Something Torn and New and begin taking notes. We will have an in class essay that will take several class periods. You will need to address Ngugi's theory of colonialization and the role language plays in colonization.
Today, we will continue reading and discussing Something Torn and New. We will also discuss the works of Karl Marx in order to illuminate some of the concepts that the early Marx used when describing the alienation of the proletariat. This will be useful because it will help us understand how Marxist ideology has often been used to critique the hegemony of the African ruling class. In our last class, we discussed the concepts of linguifam and linguicide. Linguicide is akin to genocide and is a term signifying the destruction of a people's linguistic practices. Linguifam combines language in famine in order to describe how the people of Africa did not have the material base to support an ideological superstructure; in other words, they did not have the funds from commerce to support literature in their own language. This concept links the material conditions of existence to the ideological relationships in society. In Ngugi's Something Torn and New, we also discussed how African memory was dismembered by colonialism and imperialism. Lastly, we discussed how most African nations in our present time are productions of the European colonial imagination as a result of the Berlin Conference in the late 19th century. We analyzed the reasons why Ngugi has chosen to write in his native tongue Gikuyu and the reasons why some African writers still choose to write in the language of the colonizer, partially for environmental and historical reasons. Also, we discussed the role of post-Marxist ideas in Ngugi's writing as well as the role of Marxism and socialism in the context of African literature and African cultures. Many African writers have turned to Marxism because of the bleak material conditions in many African countries. The African bourgeoisie or middle class often flee Africa and live in more developed countries in Europe or America; this phenomenon represents a cultural "brain drain" as the intellectual vigor of African nations is drained away. The material resources in many African countries are being plundered by large multinational corporations that have made agreements with African elites and with African dictators.
1/13/2011
Today, we discussed purchasing the ebooks for our class, Wizard of the Crow and Something Torn and New by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o. We discussed today the history of culture and imperialism in Africa and Ngugi's theory of decolonizing the mind. You absolutely must purchase books for this class. By the beginning of February, we will have a written exam on Something Torn and New. I will also assign PowerPoint presentation dates on Wizard of the Crow. Each of you will have to analyze a different aspect of the novel. We wil also have our midterm exam on Something Torn and New and Wizard of the Crow.
Saint Paul's Department of Humanities & Behavioral Sciences
Contemporary Literature
Course Information: Instructor:
English 337-1 Dr. Comprone
Spring semester 2011
Class Time: Office:
9:30-10:45 A.M. RH 136
Classroom: Office Hours:
RH Humanities Conf. Room MWF 2-4 P.M. T R 1:15-3:15 P.M.
Office Phone: Credit Hours:
contact by email only 3
Email: raphaeljohncomprone@gmail.com
Website: www.comprone.info
Pre-requisite: This course is an upper level course primarily designed for English majors.
Required Texts:
Wa Thiong'o, Ngugi. The Wizard of the Crow.
Selection of Texts:
We will update the list of works to be read in this course as the semester progresses. We will begin with The Wizard of the Crow.
Course Description:
This course is designed for upper level English students who are interested in developing a comprehensive understanding of contemporary literature. You will learn how to write an effective essay in this course, and you will learn about theories concerning contemporary literature. We will discuss different literary works and their historical, cultural, and political significance.
Course Rationale:
The purpose of this course is to prepare students to write effectively on the graduate level.
Course Goals, Objectives, and Corresponding Program Outcomes:
1 Students will complete two 5 page essays on selected novels of their choice, as well as two Powerpoint presentations
2 Students will develop the ability to write at the graduate level
3 Students will develop critical thinking skills
4 Students will be able to use the tools of contemporary critical theory
Expectations for Student Behavior as Related to Course Objectives and Their Corresponding Program Outcomes:
Please arrange for meeting with me during office hours. Students must behave appropriately by: 1) avoiding talking when the professor is speaking, 2) being punctual (students will lose points for tardiness and excessive absences), 3) ALWAYS bringing their textbooks to class, 4) actively participating in class, 5) not plagiarizing, 6) avoiding the use of foul language and abusive behavior, 8) adhere to the dress code, 9) do not use any slang or inappropriate language in your speeches, 10) being polite to other students, and 11) send all revisions of your assignments with an email to raphaeljohncomprone@gmail.com (you must CLEARLY label your assignment and the attachment when you send it to my email. In the text of your email, put your name, the course you are taking, and the assignment that you are attaching. If you send an assignment to the wrong email, you are responsible for the missing assignment).
The attendance policy is as follows:
Students missing more than 6 times (EXCUSED or UNEXCUSED) must WITHDRAW or receive a
failing grade of F.
This policy will be strictly enforced.
Students with 2 or less absences will receive an additional 10% for their final grade. Excused absences will not be factored into this calculation, e.g. a student who has three excused absences and no unexcused absences will not receive an additional 10% added to his or her final grade.
Students cannot obtain excuses for absences after the semester is over.
Class Format, Process, and Methods of Instruction:
Students can only receive incompletes upon permission by the instructor (an incomplete can only be filed for during the semester) and only if they are experiencing financial difficulties or a grave personal matter (I must be notified in person by the student or by a relative before the end of the semester). Excuses will only be accepted from the Provost's office. I will only accept assignments in person (do not slip any assignments under my office door--I am not responsible if any of these assignments should end up missing). It is the student's responsibility to make up any missing work and to check on his or her grade during the semester. Absolutely no excuses for absences can be issued after the semester is completed (if you do not show me the excuse during the semester--you have to show me the excuse in person, do not put it under my door--I will not give you an excuse--this applies to athletes as well). Athletes must personally give me a copy of their game schedule and indicate to me the days they will be absent. They must also make up any work and or missed instruction the day after their absence. ABSOLUTELY no grade changes are possible after the semester. Please check with me before the end of the semester to see if you have any outstanding work to complete.
In Class Exams and coursework: 50%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 20%
Participation, classwork, and attendance 10%
Grading Scale:
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
59% and below F
Course Outline and Assignment Due Dates:
TBA
Tentative List of Assigned Readings and Assignments:
TBA
FINAL EXAM
Recommended Internet Sites: www.comprone.info for updates on assignments, syllabi, poetry club submissions (extra credit)
