Texts: The books that are starred below can be found in our bookstore. To buy the non-starred books, you will have to visit your local bookstores. When you do, please purchase the book by the publisher I've listed for each one--that is Scribners,

*Dickinson, Emily. Emily Dickinson's Poems. Final Harvest.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribners.
*Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook. Bedford/St. Martin's. Most of you should aleady have this text from last semester.
*Hemingway, Ernest. Short Stories, The First Forty-nine. Simon and Schuster.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. HarperPerennial
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Penguin.
---. The Death of a Salesman. Penguin.
---. A View from the Bridge. Penguin.
Webb, James. Fields of Fire. Bantam.

Description:
Honors English 112 is a three-hour semester course that serves as a further study of argumentation in writing, of literature of the human experience, and of documentation of sources. This honors course is linked with History 122, 02A, and we will discuss the literature with particular reference to the historical periods in which it was written. To enroll in the course, you should have been selected for this particular section by Dr. Windham or me.

Throughout the semester, we will focus on writing argumentative, interpretative, analytical essays based on the readings assigned in class. The essays will be at least twelve hundred words apiece. Within these papers, you will use critical thinking skills to draw conclusions and formulate ideas about the literature under discussion. The purpose of these essays is for you to analyze and interpret the works and then to construct arguments to convince a reader that the conclusions you draw from the texts are valid. To do this, you will use supporting material from the literature and appropriate articles and essays from sources outside your text. These sources will be documented according to the standard MLA format discussed in English 111 and in Diana Hacker's The Bedford Handbook.

Course Objectives:
By the completion of this course, you should be able to accomplish the following tasks:

to read and interpret essays, poetry, fiction, and drama with an understanding of both explicit and implicit meanings

to understand and apply literary terms appropriately to the assignments required for class

to create competent, well-developed essays that argue, interpret, analyze, and evaluate the literature under discussion

to support your arguments with research and your own critical thinking, connected logically and convincingly to your thesis

to demonstrate proficiency in documentation according to the MLA format

Evaluation:
I will evaluate you by the five critical essays you write throughout the semester. At least two of these assignments will be written in conjunction with Dr. Windham's history course.

The Essays:
For each of the five essays you write, I will provide criteria, but these guidelines will allow you the flexibility to approach the material with imagination and creativity. Before you write the essays, be sure to visit my web site that discusses what a good thesis statement--and an effective essay--is. Each essay will be worth one hundred points, and each must be typed and double-spaced according to standard ms. format.

The Reading Schedule:
The following is a list of readings, along with the weeks they should be ready for discussion. With Emily Dickinson's poems, I've listed the first number of the poem as it's given in your text, not the number in parenthesis.

Your first essay will be on the poetry of Emily Dickinson.   Your essay will be due on February 4. The late date for this paper is February 6. I'll reduce your grade on a late essay by a full letter. That is, if you normally would have received an A (100 points) for that paper, you will receive an B (85 points) because of its tardiness. If the late date has passed and you still have not turned in an essay, you should talk to me about your reason for missing both dates. If I think that your reason is valid--and this approval will not be automatic--I'll allow you a third opportunity to submit the paper. In that case, I will approve the date with the stipulation that the essay receives no higher than a C. At least that will be better than your receiving a zero on the paper, because a zero will virtually insure that you do poorly in the course. Please take advantage of the opportunity to discuss your topic and rough draft with me.  Because I give you this opportunity to avoid errors before you turn in each essay, I will not allow you to revise the paper for a higher grade after you submit it and I evaluate it.

2/4	Hemingway	"Soldier's Home," "A Way You'll Never Be," "The Big Two-Hearted River: Part I," The Big Two-Hearted River: Part II," "Hills Like White Elephants," "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"
2/11	Hemingway	"Up in Michigan," "Indian Camp," "My Old Man"
2/18	Hemingway	"The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," "The Undefeated"

Your second essay will focus on some aspect of Ernest Hemingway's short fiction. The due date for this essay is February 25. The late date is February 27, with the same stipulations mentioned for the first essay.

For your third essay, you may choose between Fitzgerald's Gatsby or Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. The essay is due on 3/31. The late date is 4/2, with the same stipulations as mentioned in essay one.

Your fourth essay is on the plays of Arthur Miller. The essay is due on April 21. The late date is April 23, with the same stipulations as for essay one.

Your fifth essay will focus on Fields of Fire. The due date is May 7. There is no late date for this essay.

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