English 326/626: Seminar in James Joyce

Weekly Response Papers

Every Sunday, you must e-mail me a response to the readings for the next day's class. This weekly response must be at least three pages in length (five pages for graduate students), and you must submit it before 9:00 pm on Sunday. The first part of this brief assignment each week should function like a reading journal, and should focus on your responses to the reading; here you can write informally about issues raised in class discussions, thoughts on how the readings fit into the larger development of Joyce's writing, and questions and problems you are having with the week's primary reading in Joyce. The second part of your weekly writing must answer one writing suggestion or question I will provide each week. The third part of your weekly writing must provide one question of your own for class discussion; these questions should be detailed -- not vague or overly general -- and may apply to very specific issues in the text -- passages, characters, or situations that puzzled or pleased you, for example. Finally, when appropriate, a brief summary and response to any supplementary readings (e.g., chapters in Beja) or critical articles you have read should constitute a fourth section. Weekly writings received after 9:00 pm on Sunday will receive a late penalty; I will never accept weekly writings after our weekly seminar meeting, under any conditions. The reason for this rule is that I consider these writings preparation for class discussion, and I would like to know what you were thinking before class, rather than a summary of what is said in class. Please bring a copy of your weekly writing to our seminar meeting each week.