This is a "real time" syllabus that will be regularly updated to reflect our progress throughout the semester. You can easily check it from a mobile device or from any computer.

The syllabus consists of the Reading Schedule and Course Policies. Students are responsible for understanding and following the reading schedule and the course policies, which are in effect from the first day of class. Please read them carefully (and review them throughout the semester). Please see me if you have any questions.

Think of the syllabus as a flexible guide. It will structure our semester, but we will adjust it to fit our needs as the semester progresses. Not all assignments and quizzes are listed at the beginning of the semester; some will be added throughout the semester. It may also be necessary to finish some readings the following class period; I will update the syllabus after each class.  Again, be sure to check the syllabus regularly. 

You do not need to print the syllabus, but if you decide to, be sure to check the online syllabus regularly for new information, added assignments, or reading schedule changes. The print icon above is for print copies.

Our main vehicle this semester for course content will be the Course Website, but it is linked to Canvas, which we may use for some things, such as discussion posts or for accessing video. We will not use the Canvas Gradebook; instead, the Grade Sheet on our Course Notes page (on the course website) will help you track assignments and grades. 

 Readings should be finished for the day assigned. For example, the introduction to the Penguin SH should be read (completed) by 9/10. You should aim to keep ahead of our class meeting schedule with your reading of the novel.  Also, be sure to read the footnotes/endnotes as you read the novels along with the critical introductions.  Also, The Strand Website has the Holmes stories as they appeared to Victorian readers with the Sydney Paget illustrations.  You should read/review the Holmes stories here in addition to the Penguin text.

Final Exam Week: Dec 16-20

Final Exam: Dec 18, Wed, 10:15-12:15pm, in our usual classroom (No early exams, please)

Office Hrs during Finals Week: See Home Page

Course Grades Posted: TBA

The humanities explore the fundamental ideas and values shaping cultures and civilization, in life and as represented in the written word, using scholarly approaches that are primarily analytical, critical, or interpretive. By introducing students to concepts and beliefs within and outside their own perspectives, courses in the humanities help students to understand and critically engage a variety of worldviews and the ideas that give them meaning.

Upon completing this requirement, students will be able to:

• Read closely, think critically, and write effectively about texts or cultural artifacts that reflect on perennial questions concerning the human condition (such as the search for truth and meaning, the confrontation with suffering and mortality, or the struggle for justice, equality, and human dignity).
• Investigate and thoughtfully respond to a variety of ideas, beliefs or values held by persons in situations other than one's own.

In this course we will read and discuss the Sherlock Holmes short stories as well as screen adaptations of the stories.  Our investigations will certainly focus on the following questions: How has Sherlock Holmes evolved as a character from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, and what do modern adaptions reveal about our attraction to the Sherlock Holmes? Although Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, we will also read two novels that reveal Doyle's interest in science and history.  We will consider and discuss a variety of issues, concerns, and questions, including genre, aesthetics, philosophy, history, gender, culture, and empire. Related to these are the meaning of individualism, the social issues that define the world of the novels, and the ways in which individuals relate to the world they inhabit.  Questions about the Victorian period and its relationship to our own times will also be crucial to our investigations. 

During the semester, we will work to:

• Summarize and explain plots and themes when reading literature individually and during class discussions.
• Analyze literature critically through writing to demonstrate an understanding of key themes, of the conventions/language of literature, and of key concepts/theories about nineteenth-century British history, society, and culture.  Explain the reciprocal relationship between literature and culture—how literature and culture interact to reinforce and challenge social, historical, political, and economic perspectives.
• Evaluate and engage literature as an imaginative expression of the human condition.

The course texts are available at the bookstore.  Please purchase all books at the beginning of the semester.  If you do not purchase these editions, you will have trouble following class discussions and accessing critical introductions.

Text Rental

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Victorian Age, 11th ed., Vol E. Eds. Catherine Robson and Rachel Ablow.

Purchase

Conan Doyle, Arthur.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.  Intro by Iain Pears. Penguin. (ISBN: 978-0-140-43771-3)

---. The While Company.  Dover.  (ISBN: 978-0-486-43763-7)

This is a reading-intensive course. Students should be prepared to discuss all of the reading assignments for the days they are scheduled. Success in the course will require that students establish set (and consistent) reading times outside of class when reading and thinking can occur. To prepare for class discussions, it will be helpful to take notes outside of class when reading and during class discussions. Mark key passages or language that points to central concerns or ideas in the works, and write out key themes as well as questions that you have.

Our class discussions will focus on the assigned readings, but we will not read everyone work line by line. In keeping with the course learning outcomes, you will be able to use our class discussions to study sections of works we do not have time to cover fully in class. Office hours are also designed to help you with questions about the readings. Quizzes and exams will measure how you read, think, and formulate your own interpretations but also how you comprehend class lectures and discussions.  Effective written responses require more than personal opinion; they should articulate a thesis and support it with evidence as space and time allow.

The course grade will be determined mathematically using the percentages below. Please remember that your course grade will be based on the work that you submit, not simply the effort you make or just my subjective opinion.

All work must be completed on time. It is your responsibility to keep copies of all of your essays and assignments. Some assignments maybe submitted via email, and email communication will be required throughout the semester.
You should check your university email account at least once a day.

Late Assignments: Assignments due on a given day must be submitted during the class period. Assignments due electronically must be received by the day and time specified.An assignment finished but not printed out and ready to hand in is late. Late assignments will be accepted one day after the original due date (not necessarily the next class period), but will lose one letter grade or the point equivalent. After that, they will not be accepted. (Assignments due on Friday will be accepted as late on Monday with an additional penalty.)  For any special circumstances, please contact the instructor ahead of time. It may not be possible to make up some quizzes or assignments.

Also, no incompletes will given in the course. There is no extra credit.

Essays submitted late will lose 1/3 of a letter grade each day they are late, including weekends (e.g., original grade B. Two days late, C+). For any special circumstances, please contact me ahead of time. It may not be possible to make up some quizzes or assignments.