L1 EU5 Syllabus
Université de Poitiers
Faculté des Lettres et des Langues Département d’anglais
Anglais L1 LLCER
ue5
Group - C
Room a112 10:00 - 12:00 Friday
Jeanette Lamb
Semester 2
15 Jan –April 2019
Contact information:
Jeanette Lamb Email: jeanette.lamb@univ-poitiers.fr // +(33)0786588712
You should feel free to contact me with any questions.
If you are ill or must miss class (or will be late), please WHATSUP me or a classmate who can relay information to me.
If it is a planned absents, email is fine.
Description: Over the duration of the semester, the class will be presented with a variety of contexts that challenge their English language skills and comprehension of factors that shape English culture. Excerpts will be drawn from a cross selection of interdisciplinary sources, including English literature, poetry, television, film, video, and music.
Objectives: Students will expand their cultural, artistic, and historical understanding of the English culture and deepen their contextural insights & ability to comprehend linguistic references, phrasing, and word meanings.
Learning Outcomes: This course (L1) is an introduction of varies skills, as such, a range of Oral Comprehensive and Expressive exercises will be used in concert with student presentations, discussions, writing, and research activities, the culmination which will enhance student comprehension of English Civilization, Language, & Literature.
Grades are made from a culmination including Class Discussion/Participation, Written Assignments, & An Oral Presentation
35% CLASS DISCUSSION Participation in class discussion includes verbal input, taking notes, and actively listening.
- If you talk during lectures, if you do not add comments and questions, if you use electronic devices for activities not related to the class-- you will fail the Discussion Element
30% PRESENTATION Each student will put together a well composed, well-researched presentation in English on a topic of their choosing.
15% A clearly outlined, well-researched theme
10% between 10 & 20 minutes in length (the time allotted is dependant on a variety of factors:
- How many people are presenting (it is a group or a single person)?
- The level of the presenter’s English skills -- the class is made from students whose skill levels are at different stages. An advanced speaker will create a presentation that is more complex and longer and challenges their skill level.
- Likewise, a speaker whose skill level is not advanced will create a shorter presentation that challenges their skill level.
35% WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
- 1 paper submitted TWICE: (a rough draft & final paper)
- DIGITALLY TYPED
- DIGITALLY SUBMITTED
- 250-word count minimum or higher
Analyze a film, book, poem, video game, graphic design, architecture, artwork, television drama, political system, international economy of your choosing.
Aspects to consider:
Date when the piece was created? By whom the piece was created? For what audience was the piece created? The author? Author’s background? Does the piece have a political message? What is the overarching theme? What are some unifying devices or tropes used? Who are the main characters? Is it a travel tale? A moral tale? An epic?
● 12 point
● Cite sources using APA citation style
Course Outline:
WEEKS 1 -2 Introduction to the session and course overview. The students will reference their cultural relationship with English speaking countries, discuss activities, sign up for presentations, and at this time will be free to ask questions about the class outline, structure, expectations, and timelines.
Lecture#1 A quick review of western history, politics, civilization, religion, art, literature and philosophy will be presented. Major turning points in history that catapult humanity in new and exciting directions: the evolution of cities, transition pantheism to monotheism, rise of individual wealth, global commerce, inventions such as the printing press all impact how human’s see themselves and their place in the world and all impact how colonization shaped North America.
Lecture#2: What is Literary Canon? What are is origins and what does that tell us about the books the canon includes? What does that tell us about the books the canon excludes? Why does epic literature -- like Beowulf -- use lyrical rhyme schemes? What happens when we compare Rap music and lyrics to Shakespeare? To Beethoven? To the poems of Coleridge, Wordsworth, or William Blake?
Week 3
Lecture #3 Incomplete Circles. The rise of the internet has made information easier than ever to convey visually and orally, much the same way it once was before the proliferation of reading and writing. Visually and orally told “stories” today are sometimes formulated to manipulate the viewer. Advertising and marketing campaigns focus their efforts to lure citizens into using their products. We will look at various advertisements and deconstruct their message and whether or not leaving out language is another type of language.
Screening: The Century of Self (45 mins)
No presentations
Lecture #4 (In Class Discussion based on readings) (20 mins) The power of words: Decoding Maps. Examining a map of North America, what can conclusions can be drawn about the history of any given area by the names of the cities and towns? Is the act of naming a landscape the same as claiming possession over it? What conclusions can we draw from comparing the names of African cities and towns to those in North America?
Screening Pt 2: The Century of the Self (45 mins)
Presentations
Week 5
Lecture #4 Another different look into The Literary Canon: major literary works that impact society by shifting ideas, opening new doors and new ways of thinking. We will do a deeper exploration of works that challenge the social norms: George Sands, Marguerite Duras, Rouseaux, Baudelaire, Voltaire, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Samuel Beckett, TS Elliot all slapped society in the face -- what are the similarities and difference exist between their works and today’s writers, filmmakers, photographers, and artists?
Screening Pt 3: The Century of the Self (45 mins)
Presentations
Week 6
Lecture #4 Poets or Punks? Eminem is a wildly well-known rap artist whose lyrically vocabulary has polarized his popularity. He is loved by millions of fans and condemned as a blasphemous outcast by some powerful government officials. In the academic world, he has found an unlikely audience. There, his rhyme scheme has been deconstructed and labeled “genius.” We will look at his music and various poetic works by the British Romantics who were accused of similar behavior.
Screening Pt 4: The Century of the Self
Presentations
Week 7
Lecture #3 Manifest Destiny.
The Thiry Year’s War redefines religions and religious spheres of power. How does this event play into the Europan desire to immigrate to “The New World?” In what ways is the individual desire to immigrate different than that of a colonizing country? Who were the early settlers in the Americas and under what circumstances did they decide to make their voyage? How did that shape the way new cities understood their purpose?
Presentations
WEEK 6
Film# 1: Wonder Woman
This popular comic book superhero first appears in 1942, or did she? Screening the most recent version of this film, we will explore how ancient mythology, politics, and civil codes are relevant to current social norms, especially in newly colonized regions such as the United States & South America.
No Presentations
Week 7: Hour 1: Wonder Woman draws from Greek mythology and is brought to life through Marble Comics. In what other ways do ancient symbols, myths, and ideas reemerge in current society? Think about brands such as Nike & Apple. Is the purpose of this poetic or is it a type of manipulation? Is Lady Liberty (the statue of liberty) an image being pass from The French Revolution to a newly budding society or does she date back antiquity -- and -- if so -- what does that make “America?” A myth? A reality?
WEEK 8 (Will be updated -- check back!)
First Written Assignment Due
WEEK 7
WEEK 8
WEEK 9
WEEK 10
Second Written Assignment Due
WEEK 9
WEEK 10
WEEK 11
WEEK 12
RESOURCES FOR WRITING ASSISTANCE
Grammarly
Chicago Manual Style Org
Mike’s Citation Generator
Oxford Dictionary
Online Etymology Dictionary
BibMe (free online citation generator)
Graffitigoose (a website I created where you will find a variety of student resources -- for writing, internships, scholarships and college information)