ENGL 123

African Literature

Fall 1998

MWF 10:30-11:20 (SH 347)

Course Description: This course surveys contemporary literature written in post-colonial Africa, focusing on fiction written in English from the second half of this century; we will also read several plays, and one novel in translation.

Required Texts

Recommended Texts: Students should have access to a dictionary, thesaurus, composition handbook (from English 1A), and The Bulwer-Lytton Guide: How to Cite Sources and Avoid the Perils of Plagiarism (or something equivalent). Students are expected to look up any unfamiliar words encountered in the texts, and to be able to define them if called upon to do so in class. This is particularly important in a course covering works from Africa, since some of the settings, concepts, items, and expressions may be unfamiliar. Also, a basic survey of the history and demography of the continent, such as David Lamb’s The Africans (Vintage) is recommended.

Grading: There will be two essays (about 1500 words each), a midterm, and a final examination. Each of the essays and the midterm will count 20% toward the course mark; the final will count 30%, and will be comprehensive. The remaining 10% will reflect class participation, performance on quizzes, the timely completion of written work, and the presentation of one ungraded oral report to the class.

Submission of Written Work: Essays must be typed, double-spaced, and follow standard MLA format. Papers may be handed in only during class only and only by a student in attendance; do not leave them in the English department office or under my office door. Please keep a copy of all work submitted (on disk at least), and retain all graded work returned until the end of the semester. Late essays will only be accepted by prior arrangement. Students should anticipate a minimum of two weeks delay in the return of late work, for both the original essay and its revision.

After they are returned, your essays must be revised in accordance with the written corrections and suggestions and resubmitted (together with the original) within two weeks. Students are therefore strongly encouraged to do their final drafts on a computer, in order to make the process of revision less onerous—and to take advantage of this ease of revision even before submitting the original version, especially because improvements on the resubmission will not change the original grade. The grade of an essay will not be counted, and the work will not be considered complete, until the revision is acceptably resubmitted. Even in the case of late essays, the first paper must be acceptably revised before the second paper can be submitted, regardless of any delay or inconvenience this may entail.

Plagiarism, the submission of another's work as one's own (in any sense), is the sort of intellectual dishonesty that undermines the very education you are here to receive, and must be dealt in accordance with university policy.

The Department of English reaffirms its commitment to the differential grading scale as defined in the official SJSU Catalog ("The Grading System"). Grades issued must represent a full range of student performance: A = excellent; B = above average; C = average; D = below average; F = failure. Courses graded according to the A, B, C, No Credit system shall follow the same pattern, except that NC, for No Credit, shall replace D or F. In A, B, C, No Credit courses, NC shall also substitute for W (for Withdrawal) because neither NC nor W affects students’ grade point averages. This statement shall be included in all Department of English syllabi or "greensheets."

Syllabus