Course Outline Example

Below is an example of a course outline used to demonstrate acceptable documents to submit for course assessment. Ultimate determination of course overlap resides with subject matter experts in the various Faculties.

  • Course Code: EN 1001 3.0A
  • Course Title: Introduction to Literary Study
  • Couse Director: John Horton
  • Term: Fall/Winter 2009-2010

Course Description

The Course Description should provide a detailed summary about the subject matter, approach, breadth and applicability of the course.

EN 1001 strengthens the student's ability to engage a variety of shorter literary texts sampled from different genres and time periods. That activity of engagement or "literary study," begins with observation, recognition, comprehension, analysis and evaluation of what the text is saying (content and theme) as well as how that text is organized and how it presents itself. Such preliminary activities are followed by exercises assignments) that gradually increase in complexity and difficulty. These exercises allow students to practice thinking and then writing clearly and effectively about their own reflections on the material. Lectures will examine different modes of writing with particular emphasis on elements and strategies of composition such as rhetoric, structure, genre, voice, audience, idiom, diction.

Attention will also be paid to the basic relationships between text, subtext, context and intertextuality (what the text is saying, what the text is implying, the cultural, historical, and biographical contexts in which the text was produced, and the text's relationship to other texts). Tutorials provide opportunities for students to practice and apply lecture material.

The course emphasizes close textual readings (sight passages) and encourages students to explore different ways to contextualize their own arguments. Some attention will be paid to grammar and language (style) and how they create meaning and ambiguity in the texts you read and in your own writing. Finally, the course also explores ways to use specific textual evidence as support for deductive and inferential reasoning, and introduces students to basic research principles and methodologies.

Regular attendance in lecture and tutorial are essential for success in this course.

Course Requirements

Course Requirements outline any form of assessment (course participation, quizzes, tests, assignments etc.) that cumulatively determine a student's completion of the course and final grade.

  • In-class Assignment #1 (10%) – Due September 29, 2024
  • In-class Assignment #2 (10%) – Due October 18, 2024
  • Short Comparative Essay (15%) – Due November 1, 2024
  • Library/Research Assignment (10%) – Due November 21, 2024
  • Tutorial Participation (10%) - Weekly
  • Research Paper (25%) – Due December 7, 2024
  • Exam (20%) – TBA

Reading List

The Reading List includes all reading materials covered in the course.

  • Laura Moss and Cynthia Sugars, Eds. Canadian Literature in English: Texts and Contexts, vol.1 and 2. Toronto: Pearson, 2009.
  • Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Green Gables.
  • Bates, Judy Fong, Midnight at the Dragon CafĂ©, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2005.

Course Readings

Course Readings lists the timeline that students are expected to follow when reading course materials found in the Reading List.

Wk. 1: Introduction

Wk. 2: Narratives of Encounter

  • Jacques Cartier, The Voyages of Jacques Cartier, p. 42-51
  • John Franklin, Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, p. 92-102
  • Inuit Testimony of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, p. 104-107

Wk. 3: Narratives of Emigration, Settlement, and Invasion

  • Catharine Parr Traill, The Backwoods of Canada, p. 196-208

Wk. 4: Narratives of Emigration, Settlement, and Invasion

  • Susanna Moodie, Roughing it in the Bush, p. 211-227

Wk. 5: Post-Confederation Period

  • The Indian Act, 1876, p. 321-325
  • Louis Riel, Address to the Jury, p. 333-336
  • Duncan Campbell Scott, “The Onondaga Madonna,” “Indian Place Names,”

Wk. 6: Post-Confederation Period

  • Isabella Valancy Crawford, “The City Tree”
  • Archibald Lampman, “The Railway Station”

Wk. 8: Post-Confederation Period

  • Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Wk. 9: Narratives of Emigration, Settlement, and Invasion

  • Susanna Moodie, Roughing it in the Bush, p. 241-258

Wk. 10: Post-Confederation Period

  • Inuit Testimony of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, p. 104-107
  • Louis Riel, Address to the Jury, p. 391-406

Wk. 11: Post-Confederation Period

  • Isabella Valancy Crawford, “The City Tree”
  • Archibald Lampman, “Among the Timothy,” “The Railway Station”

Wk. 12: Post-Confederation Period

  • Catharine Parr Traill, The Backwoods of Canada, p. 240-263

Final Exam: TBA