Dr.

Kyle Dickson
Chambers 312
(325) 513-9116
dicksonk@acu.edu
ENGLISH 221 Hybrid
Major British Writers I Section 04

Office Hours
This semester I’ll have two offices on campus. If you need to set up a
conference, call me on my cell above, and we can try to set something up.

University Mission
The mission of Abilene Christian University is to educate students for
Christian service and leadership throughout the world.

Departmental Mission
The mission of the Department of English is to contribute to the University’s
core-curriculum goal of writing effectively in English as a result of clear
thinking and extensive reading, writing, and observation.

Course Description
English 221 is a sophomore-level, reading-intensive course focusing on the
major authors, periods, and themes of British literature before 1789. The
course is designed to give students a broad overview of the literature, history,
and social and cultural values of each period through the in-depth study of
key texts. Additionally, students will evaluate attitudes toward Christianity
and spirituality from the past with the ultimate goal of encouraging them to
analyze and deepen their own faith.

Required Textbooks
Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed.
Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2006.

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Faith and Learning

The English Department at ACU shares a common commitment to preparing
thoughtful, mature graduates for Christian service and leadership throughout
the world. Spiritual maturity doesn’t develop overnight but is nurtured
through serious and sustained study of texts sometimes sympathetic to the
Christian worldview and sometimes opposed to it. We believe that genuine
maturity is formed often by struggling with the issues raised by texts and
reflecting on the significance they hold for ourselves and our world. Just as
Jacob wrestled with God and was blessed, we believe the questions students
encounter during their time at ACU may be as important as the answers in
shaping their future faith and character. This course seeks to raise challenging
questions that lead students to read carefully, think critically, and
communicate clearly.

COURSE OVERVIEW

Course Objectives
This course seeks to help students:

 develop skills to analyze and interpret texts and authors through strategies of
close reading;
 appreciate the religious, philosophical, political, and social movements which
have shaped Britain and the western tradition;
 identify and analyze texts from a variety of genres and periods;
 write effectively as a result of clear thinking, extensive reading, and careful
observation;
 appreciate the profound influence of Christianity upon the western tradition;
 articulate their own worldview as they evaluate the worldviews that inform
the course readings.

Course Format
Hybrid, or Blended, learning describes courses that combine typical
classroom instruction with online assignments and discussions. Hybrid
courses, then, combine the familiarity and accountability of regular face-to-
face meetings with the flexibility and convenience of an online class. One
tendency will be to see virtual class meetings as “days off,” but our online
assignments and discussions often require at least as much time as a typical
class meeting. Like their online counterparts, hybrid courses reward students
who actively participate, manage their time carefully, and take a higher level
of responsibility for their learning.

Our course will organize online and face-to-face class meetings with a series
of Assignment Cycles. Many weeks, you will be asked to complete an
assigned reading and begin a learning module containing introductory
material and active-learning activities in place of our Tuesday class meeting.
Then on Thursday our class meeting will focus on more in-depth discussions
building on your online posts. As you’ll notice, most modules attempt to

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make larger connections with history, politics, or contemporary culture

through research and group discussion.

Course Competencies
By the end of the course you should be able to:

 interpret texts from a variety of periods and authors with the tools of textual
analysis;
 discuss the unique religious, philosophical, political, and social influences
which have shaped these texts and their authors;
 compose clear and persuasive arguments that draw on careful reading and
observation;
 discuss the far-reaching influence of Christianity upon the western tradition;
 connect your own views and values to the distinct worldviews that inform
the course readings.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS

Reading Notebook
As you complete each of the course readings, you will want to keep a reading
notebook. Despite what you’ve heard, the most productive reading is often
slow reading. This kind of reading is more than skimming the pages, so one
way to improve your comprehension of challenging texts is by taking notes as
you read. Individual entries might include plot summaries, unfamiliar
vocabulary, character lists, or outlines to help you distinguish authors or
readings from one another. These notes will also provide a mine of ideas that
can be shaped and polished later in discussion posts, Major Projects, or the
Final Portfolio. Your notebook will not be graded but is highly recommended
given the scope of the course and the amount of material we will cover.

e-Journals
After each reading assignment, you will logon to Blackboard to begin the
corresponding Learning Module. These modules will include short lectures,
web research, and other active learning exercises that provide context for the
reading and prepare you for the online discussion. Many weeks will also
include a collaborative e-Journal which you will bring to class. These journals
will range from comprehension questions to short reflections that help
demonstrate your close reading of assigned texts. e-Journals turned in late
cannot receive a passing grade, so don’t wait until the eleventh hour. See the
Class Commons for suggestions on completing your e-Journals.

Group Discussions
Many weeks will conclude with each group member posting a short response
to their group discussion board that analyses some aspect of the assigned
reading. This discussion post represents half of the discussion grade. Over the
remainder of the discussion cycle—usually a day or two—students will post
substantive comments or replies to at least 3 or 4 of their group members,

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raising additional questions, extending an insight in some new direction,

providing additional support, or drawing conclusions based on several
responses from the group. Since online discussion represents a large part of
how learning is accomplished online, regular involvement in these group
discussions will be expected and represents about a third of your final
semester grade.

Major Project
Before Spring Break, our class will choose major projects that demonstrate
learning in the first half of the course. Individual projects may take the form
of an audio essay, slideshow, video interview, or some other original product
which makes use of the unique talents of each group member and can be
shared via iTunes U. Together, each student will submit a proposal that
describes the purpose and form of the project as well as its direct relevance to
at least one of the assigned readings. Evaluation will be based on a number of
factors including originality of thought, connection to material, time
investment, and level of difficulty and completion. For a more detailed
description and guidelines, see the Major Project assignment on Blackboard.

Mid-Term and Final Exams

This semester there will be two major exams. Each will cover all assigned
readings up to that point. Detailed reading notes on each assignment (the
character lists, plot summaries, and outlines from your notebook) will prove
invaluable when studying for these exams. Any student unable to take an
exam on or before the scheduled class period will need to attend the Make-up
Exam at the end of the semester. Failure to complete any exam will result in
failure of the course.

COURSE POLICIES

Grade Distribution
Your success this semester will require a genuine investment of time as you
complete the readings, daily assignments, and major projects.

In the online portions of the class, your success will be distributed throughout
the semester rather than on high-stakes tests or papers. You will notice that
almost half of your final grade will be determined by the quality of weekly
assignments, so plan to begin strong:

e-Journals 15%
Group Discussions 30%
Mid-Term Exam 15%
Major Project 20%
Final Exam 20%

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Evaluation
Most modules will include individual grades for your e-Journals and Group
Discussion. Component assignments in each module will be evaluated with
the same grade scale used to compute your final grade for the course:

A = 99-92
B = 91-83
C = 82-74
D = 73-65
F = below 65

Above average work (receiving As and Bs) should reflect above average
effort, insight, and attention to detail. Average responses to the discussion
board revealing little original thinking; a hurried reading of the assigned text,
or careless writing will not receive above-average marks.

Late Work
Because of the unique nature of hybrid learning, late work cannot be
accepted. Students unable to complete readings and discussion posts on time
will be unable to contribute meaningfully to their group. For online
discussion to work, all group members need to be completing the same
readings and assignments at roughly the same time. Work or travel
commitments are not a justifiable excuse for late or incomplete coursework.
Students who know about such commitments beforehand should contact me
to make arrangements to complete work before it is due. Since online learning
is not self-paced but collaborative in nature, your presence will be missed in
our online as much as our face-to-face meetings. Please plan to have your
work turned in on time.

Attendance
Whether in classroom lecture and discussion or online research and
discussion, this course will require your regular participation from the first
day of classes. Since learning modules represent our online class meetings,
your presence in class can only be perceived through your participation in the
group discussion. To encourage regular “attendance,” our hybrid class will
follow departmental policy stating that students must attend 80% of the class
meetings in order to receive credit for the course. Practically, this means
students can not miss more than 3 class meetings or 3 online assignments (not
whole modules) and still pass the class.

Working full time or enrolling in other challenging classes are both choices
each student should make cautiously. As this is a reading-intensive and
writing-intensive course, you will need to set aside several hours a week to
“attend” class. Carving out regular hours and a comfortable space away from
friends and family to complete class work will also help you keep up with
assignments and discussions.

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Academic Dishonesty
In a traditional classroom, academic dishonesty typically comes up with
questions of plagiarism or turning in another’s work as your own. This kind
of intellectual theft or fraud has significant consequences in any institution of
higher learning. Here, in our own Christian community, academic dishonesty
includes larger questions of character and integrity with longer-lasting
consequences than failing a class or being suspended from school.
Understanding that you share this commitment to honesty in and out of the
classroom, we want to affirm that academic dishonesty has no place in an
ACU hybrid course. In the event that individual students are suspected of
turning in work completed by someone else, their work in the course will be
reviewed and may result in their receiving an F in the course. For more
information, see the university’s Academic Integrity Policy online
<http://www.acu.edu/campusoffices/campuslife/acad_integrity.html>.

Abilene Christian University, Spring 2009