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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Feb 28, 2008 15:58:06 GMT -6
Syllabus for ENG1159 - Hemingway Seminar "Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada. Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee." - "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" In this eight-week lecture series, we will learn about the work of Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), one of the most important authors in American literature of the 20th century. A very polarizing figure, his writing is nonetheless heartbreakingly beautiful and profound. All individual opinions are welcome, and indeed encouraged. Liking Hemingway will not be required, but understanding some of his most important themes will be an essential part of the course. An understanding of basic literary theory will be helpful but not necessary, as we will spend only a limited amount of time considering Hemingway's works from the perspectives of such approaches as reader response theory, Derrida's deconstruction, Campbell's theory of the monomyth, and so on. Readings will be very light for the most part, consisting of eight short stories and one novella. Virtually every modern English library contains copies of Hemingway's Complete Short Stories or The First Forty-Nine Short Stories, as well as The Old Man and the Sea. If you still have trouble obtaining copies of the required material, please contact me and I will locate copies in a library near you to the best of my ability. This course will be worth three credits if work is completed to my satisfaction. That satisfaction will depend to a great deal on whether or not you do the reading, participate in discussion meaningfully, and pass your final exam. The final will take the form of a brief set of two essays, in which you will demonstrate your grasp of key concepts within Hemingway's work and how he applied them. While the course itself is eight weeks, up to a whole final ninth week may be spent in the composition of your final exams. Homework should be done by that week's class, not afterwards! If you have not read, you cannot discuss your work on the message board thread for that evening and you will not receive any credit for that day!April 1 - Week 1 - Introduction to Hemingway: Overview of life and writings, initial thematic exploration. No homework. April 8 - Week 2 - Young Hemingway, the First World War, and Agnes von Kurowsky. Read "Soldier's Home" and "A Very Short Story". April 15 - Week 3 - Paris: Hadley and Gertrude. Read "Cat in the Rain" and "Hills Like White Elephants". April 22 - Week 4 - The Sun Also Rises, Key West, and Suicide. Read "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" and "The Undefeated". April 29 - Week 5 - Spain: Bullfighting and Civil War. Begin Old Man and the Sea. May 6 - Week 6 - World War 2 and Decline. May 13 - Week 7 - The Old Man and the Sea. Finish Old Man and the Sea. May 20 - Week 8 - Hemingway's Impact. Read "Big Two-Hearted River" and "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place". Final exam distributed. May 27 - Week 9 - Final exam due. I reserve the right to change this syllabus at any time. If you have any problems with the material, please feel free to email me at Distain@kingdomoftalossa.net, and I will be happy to help. If you have any problems with me as an instructor or feel you are being treated unfairly, please contact Regent Laira. Please post in this thread if you intend to take this class, or if you have any questions. Do not make this commitment unless you intend to fulfill it. Class registration is open until the first week of class.
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Post by Aspra Roseta Laira on Feb 28, 2008 23:14:56 GMT -6
Please enroll me. I'm a nut looking for squirrels -- or is it the other way around? Anyway, I look forward to learning more about Hemingway, and I'm off to the library to check out the books/find the stories.
Professor Davis -- are these all separate books or can you find some of them in a collection?
Aspra Laira
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Feb 28, 2008 23:20:08 GMT -6
Only two books are required for the course: The Complete Short Stories (or The First Forty-Nine Short Stories) and The Old Man and the Sea. They should be available in virtually any bookstore or library.
Material on Hemingway's history, other works, and the literary approaches and criticism about him will all be provided by me as needed, so the above two works are the only ones you need to worry about.
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Post by Róibeard Laira on Feb 29, 2008 0:01:11 GMT -6
Professor Davis -- are these all separate books or can you find some of them in a collection? Aspra Laira Raises hand spasmodically.Professor, Aspra's asking silly questions without reading the syllabus thoroughly. Do I get points for tattling? Oh, I'm a squirrel seeking nuts, please enroll me. Roibeard
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Feb 29, 2008 0:25:55 GMT -6
There are no silly questions, only silly people.
But she is a silly person, so I guess you get Tattling Points.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Mar 7, 2008 0:48:33 GMT -6
I am surprised I only have two students so far, although they are of course of the exact variety for which I could have hoped. Let me assure anyone contemplating taking the task that the workload will be light (two short stories a week, and a novella in two weeks) and that no prior knowledge is required. It would be best if you had a high school knowledge of English theory (what a "metaphor" is, for example), but even that is not necessary. I will happily answer any questions that may arise, and what little theory into which we shall delve will be explained in full and kept simple.
So consider taking the course, folks. Hemingway was an astonishingly important writer, and it has been said (with only moderate exaggeration) that there have been two kinds of American writers: those who came before him, and those who came after.
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Sir C. M. Siervicül
Posts: 9,636
Talossan Since: 8-13-2005
Knight Since: 7-28-2007
Motto: Nonnisi Deo serviendum
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Post by Sir C. M. Siervicül on Mar 7, 2008 9:11:04 GMT -6
I am surprised I only have two students so far, although they are of course of the exact variety for which I could have hoped. I had been planning on signing up, I just procrastinate. Heck, it's nowhere near 1 April yet! But anyways... I am like unto the squirrel which seeketh nuts, so please enroll me.
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King John
King of Talossa
Posts: 2,415
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Knight Since: 11-30-2005
Motto: COR UNUM
King Since: 3-14-2007
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Post by King John on Mar 7, 2008 10:00:18 GMT -6
Sciurus sum, nuces quaerens. Sign me up dude.
— John R
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Sir X. Pol Briga
Talossan since 11-10-2005 Knight since 12-26-2009
59 is an important number - keep it prime in the thoughts of Talossa
Posts: 1,227
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Post by Sir X. Pol Briga on Mar 7, 2008 14:29:06 GMT -6
I would like to enroll in this class. Hemingway died about 2 weeks after I was born, and perhaps passed something on, as I have indeed run with the bulls in Pamplona.
XPB
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Mar 7, 2008 14:48:43 GMT -6
It looks like I was pretty hasty to speak up, heh. Excellent, and welcome. I would like to enroll in this class. Hemingway died about 2 weeks after I was born, and perhaps passed something on, as I have indeed run with the bulls in Pamplona. XPB Hemingway had a deep connection with Spain, penning an excellent book centered around bullfighting and another about the Spanish Civil War. If you are interested in such things, I am happy to say that we will cover them in depth.
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Post by Çelís del Þeracour on Mar 20, 2008 19:23:22 GMT -6
I would like to enroll in this class. I will have my books and be ready by April 1.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Mar 20, 2008 21:39:34 GMT -6
You'll have to check with the Regent... I don't know what the rules on prospectives registering for classes might be. I have no problem with it, of course, and assuming she okays this, welcome aboard and get ready to learn!
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Post by Çelís del Þeracour on Mar 24, 2008 20:40:01 GMT -6
Thank you....I didn't mean to be presumptuous ... I did forget my status there for a moment.
I guess I would need to be considered for a student visa - I am afraid that I would not pass the TSL class (Talossan as a Second Language) that I know is required of all international students though.
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Post by Aspra Roseta Laira on Mar 25, 2008 21:40:51 GMT -6
The regent recognizes D:nâ Swanson's Visa, and welcomes her as an international student. I leave it up to the Instructor to determine whether she can join the class. Her status as "prospective" citizen should change before the report cards are given out. If for some reason she does not become a citizen, she will not receive credit for the course.
I will make a note on our regulations to this effect in case other prospectives have considered enrolling but thought twice about it. The change will read as follows: "Prospective Citizens may enroll in courses upon receiving the instructor's approval, but only Talossan citizens are eligible for credit; that is, a prospective may enroll, but he or she should be a full citizen by the end of the class term to get credit." Should there be any objections, this should be discussed within the regulations thread.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Mar 26, 2008 1:38:23 GMT -6
I accept her without reservation.
As it stands, the class list for this course is: Aspra Laira Roibeard Laira Cresti Siervicul John Woolley Xhorxh Briga Celise Swanson
I don't believe I missed anyone; and since we are beginning very shortly, anyone planning on signing up should do so immediately. Latecomers are not welcome.
We will dispense with titles and such during class... no formalities. You can call me Alexander. Please let me know if you have any trouble finding the textbooks, but let me know in a timely manner.
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