ENG302: Linguistic Approaches to Literature
(section 1, class number 70851, 3 credit hours, meeting time MWF 11:15-12:05, classroom K310)

Professor:
EMAIL:
Office:
Prof. Sharon Cote
cotesa@jmu.edu
Keezell 209, Ext. 82510
Availability: I am available during my office hours and by appointment.


Description and Objectives: As a beautiful tapestry is shaped by the thread and the loom, so is a work of literature shaped by language. A big difference, however, is that with literary “tapestries,” readers must work be able to work with thread and loom as well. We know, of course, that we need to be English speakers to read a poem or a novel written in English, but it is also true that having a conscious understanding of linguistic patterns and details in a literary work can be a valuable resource for appreciating and analyzing that work. This course examines a variety of such linguistic details and patterns that can be and have been considered in literary analysis. The objectives of this course are for students to learn some of the vocabulary for talking about language in literature and also to develop some skill with using various types of linguistic knowledge to analyze literary works. In doing so, students will advance their ability to read and discuss linguistic texts as well, laying foundations for continuing exploration of linguistic approaches to literature. Students in this course will also enhance their understanding of why it is so difficult to characterize "literary language" in a way that distinguishes it with any reliability from other linguistic forms.


Required Materials:
Simpson, Paul (2004). Stylistics: A Resource for Students. SECOND EDITION 2014. ISBN: 978-0-415-64497-6 (paperback edition)
Most of the reading for this course, beyond the one required text, will be available on Canvas, though some may be handed out in class or placed on reserve in Carrier Library. You will need to print out or photocopy Blackboard and reserve materials as they are made available because you will need your own hardcopy for in-class discussions. Some materials and topics will be chosen by the class as a group.


Work and Grading: Class Participation (10%), Assignments(20%), Questions/Comments/Responses(10%), Tests (45%), Final Linguistic Analysis of a Text(15%). Except where noted, all work must be submitted on time and in-class unless I give you permission for late submission or for an alternative submission method. (Make requests in advance when at all possible and as soon as possible in other, extraordinary circumstances.) All work, must be done independently except when permission is given for group assignments.

Please read my course policies for additional details about grading and other issues. Note: As in all your courses, your work for this course is subject to the JMU Honor Code. If you have a question or uncertainty about how any aspect of the honor code relates to your work in this course, see me for clarification as soon as the issue arises.


Daily Schedule: The details of the schedule will be worked out as we choose topics and readings. Check for updates, especially if you miss a class.

Date Topic Readings
8/31 So, what's dis course about, anyway?
9/2 Language and/versus Literature Textbook sections A1-3 (remember to do a question and comment/response)
9/4 A Bit of Grammar Practice

 

 

 

9/7 Finding the Foreground and Hunting the Literary (in unlikely Places) Textbook Sections B1 and C1 (plus just the part of B3 subtitled "Training constituents and anticipatory constituents" on page 64-65)
9/9 Pay attention to the mind -- an ambitious characterization of storytelling Chapter 1 from The Literary Mind (On Canvas)
9/11 More practice with Mental Patterns in "Parables"

 

 

 

9/14 Drumming your Fingers -- Thinking about Meter Textbook sections A4 and B4
9/16 more on the analysis of meter in poetry
9/18 Playing with Poems "Phonaesthetically Speaking" (on Canvas)

 

 

 

9/21 Words at work -- background discussion of speech acts and the cooperative principle " Talk and Action" (on Canvas)
9/23 Talk and action in "poetic" contexts "Understanding Poetic Speech Acts" and "Speech Acts and Poetry"
-- remember question and comment for each
9/25 What does that really mean? -- Conversation in dialogue and narrative "Implicature, Convention, and The Taming of the Shrew" -- Q&C, of course

 

 

 

9/28 Review - focus on cooperative principle and speech acts
9/30 Additional Review
10/2 In-Class portion of Test #1 and distribution of take-home portion

 

 

 

10/5 TBA Language and Humor? -- Take-home portion of Test One due No Reading
10/7 Humor in Literature? handed out -- From older version of textbook A12 and D12 (Do notes/definitions as described in class rather than usual QRC)
10/9 Taking Funny Novels Seriously? Funny Fiction (remember QRC or alternative as for last reading)

 

 

 

10/12 Bigger patterns of Humor in Literature (Re-)read "Funny Fiction"
10/14 A first look at Metaphor and Metonymy Textbook section A11
10/16 Finding Metaphors Everywhere "Introducing Metaphor"

 

 

 

10/19 There's metaphor and there's metaphor "Metaphor in Literature" (Q&C)
10/21 Humor and Metaphor together? (plus recapping)
10/23 Test # 2

 

 

 

10/26 Youse guys should get dis - dialect and dialect in literature NO READING - material will be introduced in class
10/28 (**TAKE HOME PORTION of TEST 2 DUE AT START OF CLASS **) Y'all bin lis'nin? -- more on style, register, and dialect in literature Just Section C2 from our textbook(No Q &C required!)
10/30 Details on literary uses of dialect excerpt from _Using English_ on narrative, dialogue, and dialect, and "A Brief History of American Literary Dialect" (Q about one and C about the other, your choice)

 

 

 

11/2 Final discussion on Dialect, some background on "discourse" No reading
11/4 Discourse Structure and Coherence Relations Hobbs's "The Coherence and Structure of Discourse"(QRC, of course)
11/6 The fuzziness of discourse structure - in-class activity Coherence Relations Handout (on CANVAS)

 

 

 

11/9 The Global" Picture on Discourse Coherence" (No new reading but remember to bring coherence relations handout to class)
11/11 More "coherence" "Gender, Language, and Discourse" and "The Question of Questions" in _Language and Gender_ (Q & C for just one, your choice)
11/13 Ladies and Gentlemen - introduction to Gender in Language "Gender, Language, and Discourse" and "The Question of Questions" in _Language and Gender_ (Q & C for just one, your choice)

 

 

 

11/16 Gender and Language in Literature "Stylistic Gender Differences in the Literary Representation of Detective Talk" and "Women beware women: detective fiction and critical discourse stylistics" (NO QRC required)
11/18 (**TEST #3 to be handed out in class**) What do the numbers show -- about gender: In-class activity with a large database of literary language, PLUS an introduction to POV Textbook sections A5, A7, B7 (NO QRC, read by Friday if not by this date)
11/20 A Closer look at POV Textbook sections C7 and D7 (no QRC)

 

 

 

11/23 THANKSGIVING WEEK
11/25 THANKSGIVING WEEK
11/27 THANKSGIVING WEEK

 

 

 

11/30 Review/Project work
12/2 (**TAKE-HOME TEST #3 due**) Review/Project work
12/4 Review/Project work

 

 

 

12/7 Analysis Related Work
12/9 Project Progress reports
12/11 Loving Language, Loving Literature -- Last Words?

 

 

 

12/16/15 (***NOTE NEW DATE: WEDNESDAY ***) FINAL TEXT ANALYSIS paper is due to my office (K209) by noon on this date (or earlier :) ). Hard copy required. You can give me a copy or, if you email me to confirm receipt, you can leave one in my departmental mailbox before the deadline. Make sure to keep your own copy.

"All disciplines depend on language, but two of them also have language as an object -- literary studies and linguistics. Their objectives are not the same -- but they are sufficiently similar to invite close cooperation." Wolfgang Klein



Look here for assignments (beyond the reqular question/comment pair due for each secondary source as we begin to discuss it.)





Linguistics ResourcesWriting ResourcesOxford English DictionarySend email to Prof. Cote


ENG302, fall 2015, © JMU