Welcome to Willhardt's version of English 180: Introduction to Literature:  Cover Versions!

Now I suppose you're going to ask me what that means.  And well you should.

In music, a "cover version" is when one artist or group records a song originally recorded by another artist or group.  For instance, the Dixie Chicks recently had a hit with Stevie Nicks' "Landslide," which was also covered by The Smashing Pumpkins ten years or so ago.  The idea is that the covering artist brings something new to the song: a new twist, a new sound, a new passion.  I love cover versions, since it's always fun to see how an original gets changed, for the better or worse, in someone else's hands.

What I want to do in this class is set up and study the literary equivalent of cover versions:  looking at an original text (either explicitly or implicitly) and then seeing how other authors have "covered" the same material/story.  We're going to address "literature" by looking at some classic texts and some new riffs on the same.

Read.  It's pretty much that simple in this class.  Since this is an "Introduction to Literature" class, that means that you've got to read the literature to be introduced to it.  If you don't like to read, you ought to get out now; we're going to cover a lot of ground in here.  That said, the works we're reading here are plot-driven, which means that they ought to be page-turners.  The likelihood is that once you've started them and get sucked in, you're not going to want to stop them.  Thus, make time during your day -- and weekends -- to read. 

To keep you honest, I'm going to give lots of reading comprehension quizzes in here.  Sometimes these will be over plot or character details; sometimes they'll include terms we've introduced from class.  Always, they'll be ways to make sure that you're reading and, more importantly, that you're comprehending what you're reading.  If you keep up, you'll be fine.  If you don't, you're going to be in trouble. 

There will be two essays for this class; assignments will be given later.  Finally, there will be two exams, a mid-term and a final.  For the tests, you can expect some identifications (I give the passage; you give the book, author, and, probably, speaker), some questions on background facts, some literary terms to be explained or exemplified, some essay questions to be answered. 

The Mellinger Learning Center

The Mellinger Writing Center is available for all students: strong as well as inexperienced writers can benefit from suggestions and help from others. Even professional writers get feedback from colleagues, friends, and editors. Our writing fellows provide confidential help with any stage of the writing process: generating ideas; organizing paragraphs; writing introductions, conclusions, or transitions; or developing an analysis or topic.

Plagiarism

Given what you've heard in Introduction to the Liberal Arts and elsewhere, the following about PLAGIARISM ought not have to be said, but I will include it anyway. It is really simple:  if you copy someone else's direct words or exact ideas -- intentionally or not -- without giving them credit you fail the class.  Universities and colleges are built upon the notion that ideas matter; if you plagiarize someone else's ideas, you're denying that fundamental tenet.  Thus there will be zero tolerance for plagiarism in here.  If you do it, you will fail the course, period. (Please see also p. 24 "Academic Dishonesty" in the college's  2004-05 catalog and Section 54 of Hacker's Bedford Handbook.)