Spring Syllabus 2008

Course Syllabus

Course Information

Course Number/Section: LIT 3328.001
Course Title
: Ethics and Literature
Term Spring, 2008
Days & Times: TR 11:30 - 12:45 p.m.

Professor Contact Information

Professor: Zsuzsanna Ozsvath
Office Phone: 972-883-2758
Other Phone
Email Address
: zozsvath@utdallas.edu
Office Location: JO 5.116
Office Hours: Thursday 10:30 - 11:30a.m. and by appointment
Other Information

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions

N/A

Course Description

Central to this course is the study of a selection of landmark nineteenth- and twentieth-century literary texts that embody concepts and arguments springing from the realm of ethics. Noting that such concepts and arguments assume a crucial importance in the plot and structure of these works, we shall explore the genre by analyzing some of its representative aesthetic schemes and moral statements. Furthermore, we shall ask questions about the boundaries between the field of morality and aesthetics as well as about the relevance of ethical considerations in evaluating literature. Ultimately, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which a work’s moral system and its aesthetic scheme can illuminate and enrich one another.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

Students will discuss the ethical implications of several philosophical concepts embedded in  literary works by major nineteenth- and twentieth century thinkers, writers, poets, and critics. In addition, they will consider some of the basic questions about the relevance of ethical considerations in evaluating literature. 

Required Textbooks and Materials

Required Texts

H. von Kleist, “The Marquise of O,” (ISBN 9780140443592-Penguin, 1978)

Victor Hugo,  Les Miserable, (ISBN 9780449300022-Fawcett, 1982)

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, (ISBN 9780393959031- Norton, 1991)

Leo Tolstoy, “The Death of Ivan Ilych,” (ISBN 9780393960167-Norton, 1990)

Emil Zola, L’Assomoir, (ISBN 9780192838131-Oxford, 1999)

E. M. Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, (ISBN9780316739924 – Little Brown & Co., 2005)

J. P. Satre, No Exit, (ISBN 9780679725169- Knopf, 1989)

Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child, (ISBN 9780679721826 –Knopf, 1989)

(Please check that the publisher and the ISBN number of the books you plan to purchase match those given in this syllabus.)

Required Materials

Also, texts by Schiller, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Keats, Shelley, and Dylan Thomas.
 
(these works are noted below with *).                             

* These assignments can be found on Dr. Ozsvath's Spring 2008 syllabus located on her homepage at: http://www.utdallas.edu/~zozsvath/ . THESE ASSIGNMENTS ARE NOT ON WEB CT. You will need an Adobe Acrobat reader. You can download the reader free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html Should you have browser problems, or if you cannot open the readings for any reason after downloading Adobe Acrobat, please call Debbie Pfister at 972-883-2100 or email: dhpf@utdallas.edu .

**These readings will be provided in class.

Suggested Course Materials

Suggested Readings/Texts

A bibliography will be provided on the website.

Suggested Materials

See above.

Assignments & Academic Calendar

Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates

January
8:

Introduction

 
10:

*E. Kant,  “What is Enlightenment,”pp.29-34 and “The Nature of Might,” pp.53-62
* Hegel, "On Classical Studies,” pp. 201-205, “The End of the Romantic Form of Art,”
pp. 226-233 and “Poetry,” pp. 233-41 in German aesthetic and literary criticism: Kant, Fichte, Schellling, Schopenhauer, Hegel.

  15:

*Shelley, “Ode to the West Wind,” pp 801-803; *Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn,”
pp.  848-849; and *Coleridge, “Kubla Khan,” pp. 741-742 in The Norton Anthology of Poetry; and *Schiller, “The Gods of  Greece,”  pp. 156-160 Life of Schiller.

  17:

H. von Kleist, “The Marquise of O.”

  22:

“The Marquise of O.”  

  24:

Victor Hugo,  Les Miserable

  29:

Les Miserable 

  31:

Les Miserable 


February 5:
Tolstoy, “The Death of Ivan Ilych”
 
7:

“The Death of Ivan Ilych”

  12:

First Paragraph Due; No class: UTD Conference Echoes of a Century

  14:

*Bakunin,  pp. 97-110, 185-191, and 198-200 in Mickhail Bakunin: From Out of the Dustbin ; *Marx, The Communist Manifesto, pp. 119-160.            

  19:

Discussion  

  21:

First Test  

  26:

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles

  28:

Tess of the d’Urbervilles   


March 4:
Tess of the d’Urbervilles   
 
6:

*W. B. Yeates,  “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” pp. 470-471 in Modern American and Modern British Poetry, and “Sailing to Byazntium,” pp. 1094-1095  “The Second Coming” p. 1091 in The Norton Anthology of Poetry;  Dylan Thomas, “Fern Hill,” 
pp. 1464-1465 in The Norton Anthology of Poetry.

  11:

Spring Break

  13:

Spring Break

  18:

Second Paper Due
E. Zola, L’Assomoir

  20:

L’Assomoir  

  25:

L’Assomoir

  27:

E. M. Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front   


April 1:
All Quiet on the Western Front
 
3:

P. Sartre, No Exit

  8:

No Exit

  10:

No Exit

  15:

Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child  

  17:

Papers Due
The Fifth Child

  22:

Discussion

  24:

Second Test

Guidelines for Papers

Grading Policy

Grades will be based on class attendance (15%); participation in class discussions (15%); two tests (each 10%), two introductory paragraph (each 10%), and one paper (30%).

All papers must be submitted in paper form on the due date designated above unless other plans have been approved at least 48 hours prior to the actual due date of the paper.   The paper must also be submitted to turnitin.com by midnight of the paper due date.  The assignment is not complete unless papers have been submitted to turnitin.com   Instructions for the use of tunritin.com will be provided in class.  

In addition, you must comply with university policies regarding dishonesty: cheating and plagiarism.

Course Policies
Make-up exams

Make-up exams must be taken within one week of the original exam date.

Extra Credit

N/A

Late Work

If you cannot turn in your paper by April 17, 2008, please notify Professor Ozsváth at least 48 hours prior to this due date to make other arrangements.  If an incomplete is approved, an “X” will appear on your Spring grade report, and your paper will be due at the beginning of the Summer semester.  All papers turned in as a result of an incomplete must be turned in two weeks prior to the due date of final grades. Please check the UTD Catalog and Academic Calendar for incomplete work due dates.  

Special Assignments

N/A

Class Attendance

Regular class attendance and participation in class discussions comprise 30% of the final grade.

Missing more than 3 classes will affect your grade.

Classroom Citizenship

See above.

If you require media equipment for a class presentation, please notify Debbie Pfister at 972-883-2100 or dhpf@utdallas.edu with your requests two weeks prior to the date you will require the equipment.

Field Trip Policies / Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities

N/A

Student Conduct & Discipline

The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide , which is provided to all registered students each academic year.

The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University of Texas System , Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3 , and in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities of the university's Handbook of Operating Procedures Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and local laws as well as the Regents' Rules, university regulations, and administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

Academic Integrity

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one's own work or material that is not one's own. As a general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes, and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the university's policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

Email Use

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of each individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official student email correspondence be sent only to a student's U.T. Dallas email address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel. The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.

Withdrawal from Class

The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.

Student Grievance Procedures

Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student Services and Activities, of the university's Handbook of Operating Procedures .

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor, supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates (hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain primary responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the respondent with a copy of the respondent's School Dean. If the matter is not resolved by the written response provided by the respondent, the student may submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by the School Dean's decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is final. The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed to all involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in interpreting the rules and regulations.

Incomplete Grade Policy

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work unavoidably missed at the semester's end and only if 70% of the course work has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8) weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade of F .

Disability Services

The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:
The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
PO Box 830688
Richardson , Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility assistance.

It is the student's responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact the professor after class or during office hours.

Religious Holy Days

The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section 11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be penalized for the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or assignment within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.

Off-Campus Instruction and Course Activities

Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to state law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-related activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be found at the website address given below. Additional information is available from the office of the school dean. (http://www.utdallas.edu/Business Affairs/Travel_Risk_Activities.htm)

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.

 

 

 


GUIDELINES FOR PAPERS

NOTE: Important Notice to Students:

U.T.D. provides each student with a free email account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel.  This allows the
university to maintain a high degree of confidence in the identity of all individuals corresponding and the security of the transmitted information.

The Department of Information Resources at U.T.D. provides a method for students to forward email from other accounts to their U.T. D. address and have their U.T.D. mail sent on to other accounts.  Students may go to the following URL to establish or maintain their official U.T.D. computer account: http://netid.utdallas.edu/

If you do not receive a response to your email or phone message within 48 hours, please resend your email or leave your message again.

If you require media equipment for a class presentation, please notify Debbie Pfister at 972-883-2100 or dhpf@utdallas.edu with your requests two weeks prior to the date you will require the equipment.