Department of English
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University
2202232 Introduction to the Study of English Fiction

Puckpan Tipayamontri
BRK 1130
218-4728
puckpan.t@chula.ac.th
Office Hours: F 3 - 5 p.m. or by appointment

Group 4
Mon 10 - 12 (BRK 314)
Wed 8 - 9 (BRK 310)

Outline of course:

Syllabus
 
Date
Topic
Readings and Assignments
W 6/3 Introduction  
W 6/10 Plot
  • "Jack Frost"
  • What is "Escape and Interpretive Literature"? 
M 6/15 Plot
  • "Charles"
  • "The Japanese Quince"
  • Reading response for "Charles" or "The Japanese Quince" due
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 18-41
W 6/17 Plot
  •  "Charles"
  • "The Japanese Quince"
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 42-48
M 6/22 Characterization
  •   Read The Joy Luck Club p. 49-66 
W 6/24 Characterization
  •   Read The Joy Luck Club p. 67-83
M 6/29  Characterization
  • "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
  • Reading response for "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" due
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 88-101
W 7/1  Characterization
  • "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 102-115
M 7/6 Point of View
  •  "Just Before the War with the Eskimos"
  • Reading response for "Just Before the War with the Eskimos" due
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 115-131 
W 7/8 Point of View
  •  "Just Before the War with the Eskimos"
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 132-144
M 7/13 Symbolism, Imagery
  •  Read The Joy Luck Club p. 147-165
W 7/15 Symbolism, Imagery
  •  Read The Joy Luck Club p. 166-184
* Midterm week *
M 7/27 Irony, Setting  Text
W 7/29 Irony, Setting
  • "Astronomer's Wife"
  • Reading response for "The Astronomer's Wife" due
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 185-196
M 8/3 Irony, Setting
  • "The Astronomer's Wife"
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 197-209
W 8/5 Irony, Setting
  •  "The Astronomer's Wife"
  • Read The Joy Luck Club p. 213-241
M 8/10  Theme
  •  Read The Joy Luck Club p. 242-252
W 8/12  Mother's Day (no classes)
M 8/17 Theme
  •  Read The Joy Luck Club p. 253-266
  • Reading for Test III handed out
W 8/19 
  •  Finish The Joy Luck Club
M 8/24
  •  The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
W 8/26
  • Test III 
  •  The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • Group 1 leads class discussion (Chapter 2: Scar)
M 8/31
  • The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • Groups 2 and 3 lead class discussion
W 9/2 
  • The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • Groups 4 and 5 lead class discussion
M 9/7
  • The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • Groups 6 and 7 lead class discussion
W 9/9
  • The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • Group 8 leads class discussion
M 9/14
  • The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • Groups 9 and 10 lead class discussion
  • Autobiography Project due
W 9/16
  • The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
  • Group 11 leads class discussion
  • Review
 

Requirements and Expectations

Reading Responses

Students are expected to keep a journal and hand in a reading response every week either by e-mail or on paper. Reading responses must be handed in before class or at the beginning of the class on which it is due. You should think of the reading response as an attempt to explain, discuss or comment on a question that you pose about the reading. Avoid simple questions or those that seem easy to answer, like factual questions. I don't expect more than half a page of written or typed reading responses but these should be well thought out. Quality is more important than quantity.
 

Attendance and Participation

Discussion of the texts will be a big part of this class and students are encouraged to express their opinions, share observations and ask questions. This is an important way to learn and increase your understanding about the readings. Use this opportunity in class to expand your perspectives!
 

Oral Presentations

In the last few weeks of classes when we will be discussing Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, students will take turns leading class discussion in pairs. You will sign up in advance and prepare discussion questions with your partner. You should make an appointment with me some time before your presentation to discuss the questions and points you would like to bring up in class about the chapter. You should hand in the list of prepared questions and discussion topics to me at the beginning of class. Topics to bring up should concern any of the elements of fiction we have studied that are relevant to the day's reading.

Further Reading

Guth, Hans P. and Gabriele L. Rico. Discovering Fiction. New Jersey: A Blair Press Book,1993.

DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.

Kennedy, X.J. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, 4th ed. Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1987.

Hirschberg, Stuart. The Many Worlds of Literature. New York: Macmillan, 1994.

Gillespie, Sheena, Terezinha Fonseca and Carol Sanger. Literature Across Cultures. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1994.

Bruton, Anthony and Angeles Broca. Active reading. Surrey: Nelson, 1993.

Fiction 50: An Introduction to the Short Story. Compiled by James H. Pickering.New York: Macmillan, 1993.

Sage, Howard. Fictional flights: An Anthology of Short Stories for Non-native Speakers of English. Boston: Heinle&Heinle, 1993.

Hurt, James. Literature: A Contemporary Introduction. New York: Macmillan, 1994.

Relevant Websites

Literary Resources on the Net

Online Literature Resources

 

Websites on Amy Tan and The Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan: Biography
Anniina's Amy Tan Page
Provides a brief biography and many links to Amy Tan related pages such as interviews and information on her novels.

Crystal's Amy Tan Page (1K)

Women Writers of Color: Amy Tan

Some Background on Amy Tan


The Joy Luck Club: Some Background (pre-reading)
Chinese-American Women in American Culture
Critical piece of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club.

Reading Borders: Language and Difference - American Languages, The Language of Difference
 

Criticism, Essays
Chinese American Women in American Culture
A critical paper on the chapter "Waiting Between the Trees"

 Announcements
The Final
The final is cummulative.  It will include all the short stories in the packet we have read and discussed in class and all the elements of fiction as well.  If you have any ideas or questions you'd like to discuss about any of the readings, you can drop by my office during office hours or make an appointment or e-mail.

Reading Responses
You may write reading responses as often as you wish.  You can e-mail me or write on paper and put it on my desk.  I am always willing to discuss your ideas or questions about the reading or about the course.

*Remember, I do not expect more than half a page for your reading responses.

Here are some of the imagery in "Astronomer's Wife" we've brainstormed in class:
water
time
hands
feet
eyes
voices
gaping spaces
man
woman
light
height, up-down direction

Here are some themes for this short story:
man & woman
gender roles
time
the mind & the body
the abstract & the concrete
 

Other points to ponder:
Follow adjectives or descriptions of these pairs.  Are they consistent?  Do they change?  How would you explain the development of these descriptions?


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