English 3440: International Folk Literature
General Course Information
Figure 1 Picture of Sleeping Beauty
Instructor: Dr. Robert S.
Carlisle
Section: (60) from August 28 to December 19, 2017
Email Address: rcarlisle@csub.edu
Required
Texts
Brunvand, J. (2014). Too Good to Be True.� New York: W. W. Norton & Company.� (ISBN:�
978-0-393-34715-9).
Carter, A. (2015).� The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories. �Madison, WI: Penguin Books (ISBN:
978-0-14-310761-3).
Sherman J. (1996).� Trickster
Tales: Forty Folk Stories from Around the World.� Little Rock:�
August House Publishers.� (ISBN:
0-87483-450-3).
Tatar, M. (Ed.). (1999).� The
Classic Fairy Tales.� New York: W. W.
Norton & Company.� (ISBN:� 0-393-97277-1).
Other
readings that the students will be able to get free online.
Purchasing Textbooks
Students may purchase textbooks at The Runner Bookstore on the campus of California State University. Students may also call The Runner Bookstore at (661) 654-3490 and order their books over the phone. The books are also available from amazon.com and directly from the publishers.
Catalog Description
Survey of the various genres of
oral narratives and an examination of their historical and social significance
as well as their influence on literature. Emphasis on studying the universal
motifs of folk narratives and contrasting the folk narratives of different
cultures. Prerequisite: ENGL 1208 or the equivalent or one course from ENGL
2100, 2208, 2210, 2220, 2308, 2310, 2408, or 2410 or permission of instructor.
Purpose
The purpose of the class is to
introduce students to international folk literature.� Although students will be introduced to a
number of the genres of folk literature, the class will concentrate intensively
on folktales (specifically vampire and trickster tales), fairy tales, local
legends, and urban legends.� Students
will also be introduced to literary tales and films based on works in folk
literature to determine how the motifs have changed over time.� Students will also have the opportunity of
find urban legends in film and to write their own urban legend.
Structure
English 3440 is divided into five modules:� introduction to folk literature, trickster tales, fairy tales 1 and 2, and urban legends.� All modules will consist of readings and will end in at least two assessment activities:� a module quiz and a blog assignment.� In addition, three of the modules require students to view movies.
Figure 2 Poster for The Company of Wolves
Pretest
All students in English 3440 must complete a pretest.� Though the pretest does not count as part of the students� final grades, it is a requirement, allowing the instructor to measure academic gains during the quarter.�� The pretest is online and will be available to students from 9:00 a.m. on the first day of class to midnight on the first Sunday after classes begin.� Students should enjoy the pretest because it will allow them to realize how much they realize how much they know about folk literature before studying the content of the class.
Evaluation
Students must complete four requirements for the course. First, they are required to participate in six blogs, at least one for each module.� Students must write at least 400 words in answering the prompt for the blog and another 100 words in responding to the blog entry of another student.� The instructor will grade all blogs using a rubric that students my view.� As illustrated in the table below, each blog is worth 5% of the final grade, for a total of 30%.� Students must complete the blogs by certain dates, which are found in the calendar in Bb.� The instructor will grade all blogs within 72 hours of their due date and time.
The second requirement is for students to complete five quizzes, one for each module.� Each quiz will have 20 objective items, and will constitute 25% of the final grade.� Students may take the quizzes twice, and only the highest score will be recorded.
The third requirement is for students to write an original urban legend as a group assignment.� Students will vote on the best urban legend, and we will try to disseminate the winner on the internet.� This assignment is worth 15% of the final grade.� Graduate students will be substituting a term paper for the urban legend assignment; they need to speak to the instructor about possible topics.
The final requirement is the completion of a comprehensive objective examination. The exam will cover all the textbooks, online readings found in Blackboard, and some movies. The questions for the test will be quite similar for those on the quizzes. Students may take the final exam from any site and will be able to view their grades once the period of accessibility has expired.
The final grade will be calculated according to the following schema.
|
Evaluation Task |
Percentage of Grade |
Deadlines |
|
�6 Blogs |
30% |
Various dates |
|
�5 Module Quizzes |
25% |
Various dates |
|
Urban Legend |
20% |
December
04 |
|
Final Exam |
25% |
December
13 |
Grading Policy
We will assign final grades according to the following schema:
|
The final average will be calculated by averaging the grades of the three requirements discussed above.
Communicating with Other Students and the Instructor
Students can communicate with one another by using the Discussion Topics, Mail, and Chat functions in the Communications folder in Blackboard.� When writing any questions or comments, students are expected to follow the rules of netiquette by avoiding profanity, sarcasm, and ridicule.� All entries under Discussion Topics are public, and students should place all questions about course content in the appropriate folder in Discussion Topics.� If students do not answer a question posted by another student within 24 hours, the instructor will reply.� Postings in Mail are private, and by using this feature, students may communicate with one another without fear of anyone else viewing what has been written.� Students may also communicate privately with one another using the Chat function, which the instructor with never enter.
To communicate with the instructor, use his campus email address located at the top of this document.� The instructor makes a dedicated effort to respond to all student email inquiries within 24 hours.
Getting to the Course
The course is located on a CSUB server running Blackboard, the web-based teaching software used to design the course. To get into Blackboard, students need a userid and a password, which they should already know. Students will be able to enroll into their appropriate section of English 477 a week before classes begin. The instructor will send out an email message with the enrollment code on it.
Accessibility
"California State
University, Bakersfield is committed to providing equal access to Web-based
information for people with disabilities. This is in accordance with Section
504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
Amendment of 1998 and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, and Executive
Order 926 of California State University."
To achieve the goal of universal accessibility, CSUB uses Blackboard as its Learning Management System (LMS), the first LMS to receive the Non-visual Accessibility Gold Certification by The National Federation of the Blind. Students can read more about Blackboard's guarantee of accessibility and its accessibility programs at its website.
Technical Support
For the most part, students will not need any special programs to view the content of the class or complete assignments. Students will need to view several YouTube videos and one MP4 video, meaning that students will need a media player to view the latter. If students have difficulty with the content of the class, they need to contact the instructor, preferably using the 'Discussion Board' so that other students can see both the question and the answer.
If students have any technical problems with Blackboard, then they need to contact the Blackboard Help Desk, either by telephone (661) 654-4357 or by email Helpdesk@csub.edu. Students may also go to the E-Learning Services Building on the east side of the Walter Stiern Library.
Important University Dates
September 25, 2017:� Last date to
withdraw without a "W" being recorded.
November 09, 2017:� Last date to withdraw
for a serious and compelling reason.
