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Major Authors - Arthur Conan Doyle 385-1 TTH 12:30-1:45   
Fall 2024
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This is a "real time" syllabus that will be regularly updated to reflect our progress throughout the semester. You can easily check it from a mobile device or from any computer.

The syllabus consists of the Reading Schedule and Course Policies. Students are responsible for understanding and following the reading schedule and the course policies, which are in effect from the first day of class. Please read them carefully (and review them throughout the semester). Please see me if you have any questions.

Think of the syllabus as a flexible guide. It will structure our semester, but we will adjust it to fit our needs as the semester progresses. Not all assignments and quizzes are listed at the beginning of the semester; some will be added throughout the semester. It may also be necessary to finish some readings the following class period; I will update the syllabus after each class.  Again, be sure to check the syllabus regularly. 

You do not need to print the syllabus, but if you decide to, be sure to check the online syllabus regularly for new information, added assignments, or reading schedule changes. The print icon above is for print copies.

Our main vehicle this semester for course content will be the Course Website, but it is linked to Canvas, which we may use for some things, such as discussion posts or for accessing video. We will not use the Canvas Gradebook; instead, the Grade Sheet on our Course Notes page (on the course website) will help you track assignments and grades. 

 Readings should be finished for the day assigned. For example, the introduction to the Penguin SH should be read (completed) by Sept. 10. The White Company should be completed by the day I introduce it/we begin discussing it - Nov. 14.  Also, be sure to read the footnotes/endnotes as you read the novels along with the critical introductions.  Also, The Strand Website has the Holmes stories as they appeared to Victorian readers with the Sydney Paget illustrations.  You should read/review the Holmes stories here in addition to the Penguin text.

SEPTEMBER
Tuesday Thursday
03 Course Introduction: Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes and Beyond

Review Course Website

The Strand Magazine - Internet Archive (Holmes stories with Paget illustrations. Locate by publication date--see month/year after each story on syllabus. You can also refer to Penguin
notes. )
05 Review Course Website

Lecture: Brief History of Detective Fiction/Bio: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
10 Finish lecture from TH

Reading: Introduction to Penguin Sherlock Holmes

Bkgrd: NA of English Literature--Introduction to the Victorian Age 6-8; 13-14; 16-19; 21-22



12 Bkgrd: NA of English Literature--Introduction to the Victorian Age 6-8; 13-14; 16-19; 21-22

"A Scandal in Bohemia" (July 1891)






17  "A Case of Identity" (Sept 1891)

In-class card: groups (5pts)






19 In-class screening: House, Pilot espisode
(Handout--Note Sheet)








24 Discussion of House, pilot episode


As time allows, final thoughts about "A Case of Identity"


Quiz 1: Bkgrd: Brief History of Detective Fiction, "A Scandal in Bohemia"; House (pilot episode - adaptation)



26 "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" (Oct 1891)


OCTOBER
Tuesday Thursday
01 "The Man with the Twisted Lip" (Dec 1891)
**1912 Adaptation--Film Clip









03 In-class screening: Elementary, "Flight Risk" episode
(Handout--Note Sheet)








08 Discussion of Elementary "Flight Risk" episode


As time allows, final thoughts about "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" (Watson's service in Afghanistan) and "The Man with the Twisted Lip" (Kate Whitney and Mrs. St Clair)

Write question about assigned story for in-class group work TH (5pts)
10 "The Blue Carbuncle" (Jan 1892)

"Silver Blaze" (Dec 1892)


In-class group work (cards): Answer assigned question (5pts)




15 "The Yellow Face" (Feb 1893)

Quiz 2: "Flight Risk" (from Elementary); "The Boscombe Valley Mystery"; "Silver Blaze"




17 In-class screening: Law & Order: Criminal Intent,"Art" episode






22 Discussion of Law and Order: Criminal Intent,"Art" episode


Finish discussion: "The Blue Carbuncle" and "Silver Blaze"



Review for Midterm--as time allows


24 Midterm (No early exams)


29 "The Musgrave Ritual" (May 1893)


31 Finish "The Musgrave Ritual" - Holmes & Watson's domestic relationship
-----------------------------------------

"The Final Problem" (Dec 1893)

Due: Essay One + Outline
(Turn in on TH in class or Friday at my office--bin on my office door--by 2pm)


NOVEMBER
Tuesday Thursday
05 "The Empty House"  (Collier's, Sept 26, 1903; The Strand, Oct. 1903)  Bring your laptop/tablet to class so we can focus on the text during our discussion). You can also access the story using the Internet Archive site (see above - The Strand magazine - Internet Archive)

Game Playing in the Holmes stories (Course Notes)




07 Game Playing in the Holmes stories (Course Notes)

Adaptation Film Clip: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
[4:00-12:45 & 1:06-1:19:08]

Discussion
12  Adaptation Film Clip: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
[1:00-11:00 & 1:44:48-1:58]

Discussion


Sherlock Holmes - Loose ends/Final thoughts


14 The White Company (TWC)

Introduction: Victorian Medievalism: The White Company

Bring the NA, Vol E, to all classes along with TWC

 
19 "Vitai Lampada" (NA, pp 13, 33)
-----------------------------

The White Company (TWC)
**Victorian Medievalism
**Muscular Christianity

Chpts 1-8 (Chapter Summaries)
21 The White Company 
**Victorian Medievalism: 1066 Conquest/Anglo-Saxons, Normans
**History as literary text (narrative)

Chpts 9-14 (Chapter Summaries)





26 The White Company

Chpts 15-20 (Chapter Summaries)
    --
Alleyne & Maud; the White Company & Sir Nigel; aboard the Yellow Cog--fight with the pirates; arrival in France

Quiz 3: "The Final Problem"; "The Empty House"; TWC (chpts 1-8)
28 Thanksgiving Break
DECEMBER
Tuesday Thursday
03 The White Company

**Chpts 15-20
   
--Alleyne's maturation (meeting Lady Maud, battle with pirates, fight with Tranter)
    -
-Sir Nigel as knight
    --business of war
---------------------------------------

Chpts 21-26 (Chapter Summaries
)
**Chapters 18-22: Sir Nigel's vow; views of war; English court in France; Alleyne proves himself
**Chpts 23-27:  jousting tournament, Sir Nigel--Lady Loring--Alleyne--Maud


05 The White Company


Chpts 27-32 (Chapter Summaries)


Encyclopedia Brown Assign (10pts):  Post on Canvas
by Sunday, Dec 8, midnight (11:59pm)

Quiz 4: TWC (chpts 15-24)

10 The White Company

Chpts 33-38 (Chapter Summaries)

In-class card: groups (5pts)





12 The White Company

Final thoughs on TWC/Conan Doyle
------------------------------

Essay 2 Due Date: Dec 20, 5pm (See blue box below)

Review for Final Exam as time allows
**Bring midterm, quizzes

Course Wrap Up

 

Final Exam Week: Dec 16-20

Final Exam: Dec 18, Wed, 10:15-12:15pm, in our usual classroom (No early exams, please)

Essay Two Due: Dec 20, 5pm.  Drop off outline + essay in the bin on my office door

Office Hrs during Finals Week: See Home Page

Course Grades Posted: TBA

The General Education Program Humanities Learning Outcomes

The humanities explore the fundamental ideas and values shaping cultures and civilization, in life and as represented in the written word, using scholarly approaches that are primarily analytical, critical, or interpretive. By introducing students to concepts and beliefs within and outside their own perspectives, courses in the humanities help students to understand and critically engage a variety of worldviews and the ideas that give them meaning.

Upon completing this requirement, students will be able to:

  • Read closely, think critically, and write effectively about texts or cultural artifacts that reflect on perennial questions concerning the human condition (such as the search for truth and meaning, the confrontation with suffering and mortality, or the struggle for justice, equality, and human dignity).
  • Investigate and thoughtfully respond to a variety of ideas, beliefs or values held by persons in situations other than one's own.
Course Description and Learning Outcomes

In this course we will read and discuss the Sherlock Holmes short stories as well as screen adaptations of the stories.  Our investigations will certainly focus on the following questions: How has Sherlock Holmes evolved as a character from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, and what do modern adaptions reveal about our attraction to the Sherlock Holmes? Although Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, we will also read two novels that reveal Doyle's interest in science and history.  We will consider and discuss a variety of issues, concerns, and questions, including genre, aesthetics, philosophy, history, gender, culture, and empire. Related to these are the meaning of individualism, the social issues that define the world of the novels, and the ways in which individuals relate to the world they inhabit.  Questions about the Victorian period and its relationship to our own times will also be crucial to our investigations. 

During the semester, we will work to:

  • Summarize and explain plots and themes when reading literature individually and during class discussions.
  • Analyze literature critically through writing to demonstrate an understanding of key themes, of the conventions/language of literature, and of key concepts/theories about nineteenth-century British history, society, and culture.  Explain the reciprocal relationship between literature and culture—how literature and culture interact to reinforce and challenge social, historical, political, and economic perspectives.
  • Evaluate and engage literature as an imaginative expression of the human condition.
Texts

The course texts are available at the bookstore.  Please purchase all books at the beginning of the semester.  If you do not purchase these editions, you will have trouble following class discussions and accessing critical introductions.

Text Rental

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Victorian Age, 11th ed., Vol E. Eds. Catherine Robson and Rachel Ablow.

Purchase

Conan Doyle, Arthur.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.  Intro by Iain Pears. Penguin. (ISBN: 978-0-140-43771-3)

---. The While Company.  Dover.  (ISBN: 978-0-486-43763-7)

Requirements

This is a reading-intensive course. Students should be prepared to discuss all of the reading assignments for the days they are scheduled. Success in the course will require that students establish set (and consistent) reading times outside of class when reading and thinking can occur. To prepare for class discussions, it will be helpful to take notes outside of class when reading and during class discussions. Mark key passages or language that points to central concerns or ideas in the works, and write out key themes as well as questions that you have.

Our class discussions will focus on the assigned readings, but we will not read everyone work line by line. In keeping with the course learning outcomes, you will be able to use our class discussions to study sections of works we do not have time to cover fully in class. Office hours are also designed to help you with questions about the readings. Quizzes and exams will measure how you read, think, and formulate your own interpretations but also how you comprehend class lectures and discussions.  Effective written responses require more than personal opinion; they should articulate a thesis and support it with evidence as space and time allow.

The course grade will be determined mathematically using the percentages below. Please remember that your course grade will be based on the work that you submit, not simply the effort you make or just my subjective opinion.

Course Grade English 385 %
Assignments/Quizzes** % 10
Midterm % 25
Final % 30
Essay One % 15
Essay Two % 20
** Will be determined by point values: (Approx Grades): 5pt Assignments: A=5-4.5; B=4; C=3.5; D=3; F=2.5-0//10pt Assignments: A=10-9; B=8.5-8; C=7.5-7; D=6.5-6; F=5-0

All work must be completed on time. It is your responsibility to keep copies of all of your essays and assignments. Some assignments maybe submitted via email, and email communication will be required throughout the semester.
You should check your university email account at least once a day.

Late Assignments: Assignments due on a given day must be submitted during the class period. Assignments due electronically must be received by the day and time specified.An assignment finished but not printed out and ready to hand in is late. Late assignments will be accepted one day after the original due date (not necessarily the next class period), but will lose one letter grade or the point equivalent. After that, they will not be accepted. (Assignments due on Friday will be accepted as late on Monday with an additional penalty.)  For any special circumstances, please contact the instructor ahead of time. It may not be possible to make up some quizzes or assignments.

Also, no incompletes will given in the course. There is no extra credit.

Essays submitted late will lose 1/3 of a letter grade each day they are late, including weekends (e.g., original grade B. Two days late, C+). For any special circumstances, please contact me ahead of time. It may not be possible to make up some quizzes or assignments.

 
Attendance

Regular attendance is your responsibility and is essential for success in the course. See the UWSP Course Catalog (UWSP Course Catalog pgs 25-26).

There are no excused or unexcused absences in this course.  The only relevant factor is your number of absences.  However, you have personal days to use and manage as needed: For three-days-a-week classes: 5.  For two-days-a-week classes: 3.  Use personal days for family situations or sickness.  Be careful not to squander them.

If you miss a total of two weeks of class (six class meetings for classes meeting three times a week; four class meetings for classes meeting twice a week), you may fail the course.  If you are on a sports team, absences for games still count as personal days.  However, we will adjust your absence limit if absences because of games exceed the absence limit.  The attendance policy begins with the second class meeting. 

If you are absent and have not exceeded your absence limit, you do not need to email me to explain your absence. If you would like to find out about missed information or assignments, it is best to stop by during office hours or make an appointment to see me. You can also email me, but I may not be able to respond before our next class meeting. However, you should email about an absence ahead of the due date if an assignment is due.

It may be possible to make up missed assignments/quizzes with my approval; therefore, it is your responsibility to contact me to determine work that needs to be completed and to follow up with all logistical requirements.  However, it may not be possible to make up some assignments or quizzes. If you are absent for a quiz, you must contact me the day of the quiz to make arrangements, if warranted, to take the quiz before the next class period.  After that, you will receive a "0" for the quiz.

For an extended absence, do the following:  Follow the syllabus and keep up with readings/assignments; Stay in contact with me for information/resources/help; Look into getting notes from classmates (I can help with this); See me during office hours when you return to class.

Classroom Etiquette

During class meetings, we will discuss and debate issues about writing and literature.  It is fine to express your views passionately and debate others in class, but do so in a civil, constructive manner.  Please do not use phones and mobile devices during class, even if you believe you are doing so quietly.  Not only is this rude, but also it distracts other students as well as your ablity to focus on and follow class instruction and discussion.  Also, please do not wear headphones. It is English Department policy that students cannot and should not record class lectures and discussion without permission from the intstructor.

Also, please get water or use the washroom before or after class, not during class, so that our classroom does not become a bus station. Please see me if you need special accomodations.

Plagiarism (from the Latin "to Kidnap")

You will be expected to do your own work throughout the course. Intentionally or unintentionally passing off the ideas, words, or sentences of others (e.g., published authors, website authors, other students) as your own is plagiarism, which will result in failing the plagiarized assignment and possibly the course. Please review the University policy regarding plagiarism.

Anyone caught cheating during quizzes or exams (e.g., looking at someone else's paper or using a cell phone) will fail the quiz or exam and be reported to the Dean of Students Office. Please review the University policy regarding plagiarism. Generative AI has many potential uses that are interesting and helpful.  However, AI will not be used in this course. Using AI to generate assignments and essays that you turn in as substitute for your own work is cheating and will be treated as a form of plagiarism.