Hank Smith | Gulf Coast State College

Language and Literature, Associate Professor of English

5230 West U.S. Highway 98
Panama City, FL 32401
T 850.769.1551 ext. 2873
F 850.873.3522
hsmith@gulfcoast.edu

Gulf Coast State College

Language and Literature Division

Fall 2015

Lit 2380: Women in Literature

QEP Vision Statement
We believe that teaching Critical Academic Literacy
(CAL) strategies will improve student learning.
Students will construct knowledge as they develop
their analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills. CAL
strategies must be taught explicitly through direct
classroom instruction and be reinforced through
consistent practice.

Course Syllabus
Prerequisite
To be a member of this class, you must have completed ENC 1102 with a minimum grade of C.
Course Description
Women in Literature. 3 Hours, 3 credits. This course meets the Area III Humanities Requirement.
As is stated in the General Catalog, we will explore [m]ajor themes, works, [and] authors of literature by women. This
course is a Gordon Rule Writing course in which students will produce extensive college-level writing and which requires
completion with a minimum grade of C.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of assigned readings through written essays to objective tests to be graded by the
instructor.
2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of assigned readings through written essays to be evaluated according to a rubric
for literary analysis.
Course Materials
Required:
Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar, eds. The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women. 3rd ed., Vol. 1. New
York: Norton, 2007.
Recommended:
The Little, Brown Essential Handbook or Prentice Hall Reference Guide to English Grammar and Usage. 6th or
7th ed.
A USB or other portable electronic storage device.
Academic Integrity

Honest participation in academic endeavors fosters an environment in which optimal learning can take place
and is consistent with the college's mission. Academic misconduct is destructive to the spirit of an educational
environment and will not be tolerated. The following definitions will apply:
a. "Cheating" includes but is not limited to use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests or
examinations; dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing
papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; the acquisition without
permission of tests or other academic materials belonging to a member of the College's faculty.
b. "Plagiarism" includes, but is not limited to, the use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or
unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the
unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term
papers or other academic materials.
c. The term "academic misconduct" includes any or all forms cheating and plagiarism. In addition,
academic misconduct may include the following:
Destroying, damaging or stealing another persons work or work materials including, but not
limited to, lab experiments, computer programs/files, term papers, projects or copy of an
examination.
Theft, damage or misuse of library resources; removing uncharged material from the library;
defacing or damaging library materials; intentionally displacing or hoarding library materials
within the library for ones unauthorized private use or any other abuse of reserved materials.
Theft, damage or misuse of computer resources including, but not limited to, computer accounts
codes, passwords or facilities; damaging computer equipment or interfering with the operation of
any computer system in the college.
d. Individual instructors or programs may provide students with additional academic integrity policy
statements at the start of a semester.
e. Sanctions for incidences of academic misconduct, depending on the severity of the incidence and/or its
repetition, may range from receiving an F grade (or zero) for the test, assignment, or activity, to failure
of the course, to suspension or dismissal from the program or the college.
Students with Disabilities
Students who need academic accommodations because of a disability, who have emergency medical
information to share with the instructor, or who need special arrangements in case the building must be
evacuated are encouraged to contact the instructor privately after class or in his or her office.
To request academic accommodations (for example, a note taker, reader, testing accommodations or
accommodations for access to materials), students must also register with the Office of Disability Support
Services in room 59 of the Student Union East building. It is the campus office responsible for reviewing
documentation provided by students requesting accommodations and coordinating services for students with
disabilities.

Support Services
The Writing and Reading Lab, located in RC108/110, proudly serves the needs of Gulf Coast State College
students who will benefit from help with components of writing, reading, Spanish, and French. The staff is
prepared to assist students who need clarification regarding assignments, suggestions regarding revision and the
recognition of patterns of grammatical and mechanical errors, and remediation with specific content area skills
including reading comprehension, organization of ideas, transitions from one idea to another, grammar,
vocabulary development, basic computer skills, MLA, APA, and Chicago style formatting, etc. In addition, the
Writing and Reading Lab tutors are happy to help students set up and navigate their Pearson MyLab account(s).
If you would like to visit the Writing & Reading Lab, tutors are available from 7:30 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Monday
Thursday and from 7:30 a.m. 1:30 p.m. on Fridays. NEW!! ONLINE TUTORING: Professor Melanie
Donnahee is able to aid students with tutoring in English, writing, reading, and French. She is available
Sundays from 4:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m., Mondays from 8:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m., and Tuesdays from 5:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m. NOTE: All of our tutoring services require active participation. This is NOT a proofreading
service.
Tobacco Free/Smoke Free Rules 5.290 (IMM)
The use, distribution, or sale of tobacco, including any smoking device, or carrying of any lighted
smoking instrument, or electronic smoking-simulated instrument, in GCSC buildings or on GCSC premises is
prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to all GCSC sidewalks, parking lots, landscaped areas, recreational
areas and buildings on any GCSC property and in GCSC owned, rented, or leased vehicles, and at events on
GCSC premises.
The inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying of any lighted smoking material, including cigarettes,
cigars, pipes, or electronic cigarettes is prohibited on college property. The use of other tobacco products, such
as smokeless or chewing tobacco, is also prohibited on college property.
Smoking materials must be extinguished prior to entering upon any GCSC property without exception.
All tobacco products in use must be disposed of appropriately prior to entering upon any GCSC property, which
includes exiting a vehicle. Improper disposal includes:
1. Spitting smokeless tobacco product;
2. Littering (i.e. discarded cigarette butts, throwing or disposing of cigarette butts out of windows,
leaving spit container);
3. Anything that creates a fire hazard.
Printing Information
A new print management system, Pay4Print, is used in all computer labs and in the library. For complete
information, please see the Pay4Print page on the college website:
http://www.gulfcoast.edu/pay4print/default.htm

Lit 2380

Class Policy
Attendance:
I encourage you to attend all classes. In fact, if your attendance is perfect, I will reward you by adding two
points of extra credit to your final grade. If you miss one day, you will still receive one point. Please note that to
qualify for this extra credit, you must be physically present in class. In other words, there are no excused
absences. Furthermore, if you are obviously ill (sweating with fever, coughing, etc.), I will immediately dismiss
you and record an absence for the day. If you are sick, therefore, please do not come to class; stay home and
rest.
In addition, I hope you will all encourage each other to attend class. To that end, if a classmate is absent, please
feel free to send him/her a message through Angel. Thanks to Angel, you all have the ability to message each
other and me. If you are at a loss for words, feel free to make use of the following text: We missed you in class.
I hope you are well. Please let me know if you need any notes; Ill be happy to share. Please send me a
courtesy copy (CC) on all such messages. I will award you a half of a point of extra credit on the final exam
for each student messaged. There is no limit on the number of students who may message someone who is
absent; however, the message must be sent during the week of the absence to be effective. You will receive extra
credit for all such messages through midterm week (the week of 10/11).
Please note: Any student attempting my course for a second (or third) time will not be allowed a fifth absence.
This policy is not a punishment. I am simply trying to save students from making a common mistake:
duplicating efforts with the expectation of a different result.
Withdrawals:
If you wish to withdraw from my course, you must withdraw yourself by the withdrawal deadline. Exceptions
to this policy include students who are repeatedly disruptive in class or have documented medical emergencies.
Grading Scale:
A=90-100%
B=80-89%
C=70-79%
D=60-69%
F=less than 60%
Note: I always round up to the nearest whole number.
Assignments:
Writing Quizzes=20%
Author Presentation=20%
Literature Analysis =20% (I will drop the lower of your two literature analysis grades.)
Midterm Exam=20%
Final Exam=20%
The due date for each assignment is located on the course calendar.
There are a total of 24 writing quizzes. I will grade these quizzes pass/fail: you will receive full credit or no
credit. Furthermore, these assignments cannot be made up; however, only 20 of these 24 assignments will

count. In other words, I will drop up to four quizzes. You will receive extra credit for earned credit in excess of
20.
Most quizzes will be short in-class writings. To receive credit for one of these quizzes, correctly respond to my
prompt with no fewer than three complete sentences. Please note that fragments and emoticons do not constitute
sentences.
The author presentation is a collaborative assignment: you will be working in pairs. I will circulate a signup
sheet later. In addition, the rubric and grading will also be collaborative: the class will be responsible for
creating the assignment rubric (in part) and for evaluating the presentations. The rubric average will be the
grade for the assignment. Please note, however, that I retain the right to veto if I believe a grade indicates a bias.
Two literature analyses are assigned; I will drop the lower of these two grades. An unsubmitted assignment will
automatically be your drop.
I will not accept essays past their due dates; however, I will accept them early. To submit an essay, simply
upload it to the appropriate drop box on Angel. Please note that I will treat an unreceived drop box submission
as an unsubmitted paper. In other words, it is your responsibility to get your essays to me.
The midterm and final exams will be objective tests (multiple choice and/or true-false), and the final will not be
comprehensive.
Pedagogy:
My pedagogy (method of teaching) is informed largely by the system known as Writing to Learn. As the name
suggests, this pedagogy asserts that learning happens not simply through reading and instruction but through
writing as well. A process-based approach, Writing to Learn lends itself well to collaboration and promotes both
formal and informal writing assignments.
Email:
I respond to student email messages Monday morning through Thursday afternoon (excluding times when
school is not in session). If you send me an email within this timeframe, you may expect a timely response
typically, within 24 hours. For an even faster response, please email me during my posted office hours
Cell Phones:
Please silence all cell phones prior to class and refrain from texting during class. Use of a cell phone during a
test will constitute cheating.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q
Is there anything I can do to earn extra credit?
A
Other than the extra credit opportunities already discussed in this document, no extra credit is available.
While extra credit may be earned, therefore, I will not be handing out extra credit parachutes at the end
of the semester.
Q
A

Im going to pass this class, right?

Obviously, there are no guarantees. If you are concerned about your status in my class, I suggest that we
discuss the matter during my posted office hours. The sooner we have this discussion, the better your
chances.

Q
A

Can I make up the work I missed?

As I stated earlier, most assignments cannot be made up; however, I have built a certain amount of grade
forgiveness into the course. In addition, not all assignments involve what one scholar has dubbed high
stakes. Please see Assignments in this document for more information.

Q
A

Will you proofread my paper?

I will not proofread or otherwise edit your writing assignments. My purpose, as a teacher, is to foster
independence in my students, to promote writing and critical thinking as lifelong habits. That said, I will
happily read and discuss your work with you. This discussion may be in person or virtual. For a virtual
discussion, please attach your document to an Angel message. To give me adequate time to reply, please
send the message at least 24 hours in advance of the essays due date.

Q
A

When will my essay be graded?

In most cases, you may expect college-level essays to be graded within two weeks of assignment due
dates.

Course Flexibility:
I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus and the course calendar as I deem necessary.