Format and general requirements

The format will be lecture and discussion.  Participation is expected and required.  Since one cannot participate if not in attendance, coming to class is required and excessive absence (two or more) will result in an automatic reduction of at least one letter grade.

Students are required also to have read all assigned materials before the applicable class session.  Note that a fair proportion of the readings are electronically based. But please buy your own copies of:
G.J. Meyer, A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918 (2007)
Erich Marie Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front (1929)
Seigfried Sassoon, Memoirs of An Infantry Officer (1930)
Pat Barker, Regeneration (1991)
N. Gordon Levin, Woodrow Wilson and World Politics (1970)
Jay Winter, Sites of Memory, Sites of Mourning (1995)

Assignments

Examinations:
There will be two formal examinations, one due on Friday, March 12 and the other a Final Examination during finals.  Details for both will be explained.
In addition to this, there will be several small quizzes on assigned readings, usually before class discussion.

Essays:
There will be four formal interpretive essays of 1,400 to 1,500 words each required during the term.

The first of these will examine memory of battle and will be concentrating on the readings as assigned for the week of March 3 and 5 (Remarque, Barbusse, Mackay, et al.) and will be due in class on 3 March .
The second essay will expand on the first and look at the way in which fiction can relate, expand, or obscure experience.  This piece will especially concentrate on Pat Barker's fictional representation of the war poets Sassoon and Owen, as well as the psychological damage that both men suffered and which became a common horror for many others.  This essay will be due in class on 31 March.
The third essay will be a more traditional historical interpretation of the ideas expounded about Woodrow Wilson in Levin's monograph, coupled with a careful reading of the details and actual assigned documents concerning Wilson's actions during the war and especially during the peacemaking year of 1919.  This paper will be due in class on 21 April.
The fourth essay will address the issues of mourning and memory Jay Winter raised in his 1995 book. This paper will be due in class on 5 May.

Course Evaluation

The final mark for this course will be earned as follows: examinations 40%, other written work 45%, and class participation throughout the term 15%.  (Remember the letter grade reduction for excessive absence, also)
For written work, all due dates are final, binding, and carry substantial penalties for non-compliance.  Permission to hand in work late in no way authorises an escape from these unfortunate consequences.
The definitions of plagiarism to be used throughout the course is that found in the Proscriptions of Conduct.
 

Other

Attendance means attention through the class so please use the bathroom, the drinking fountain, and your cell phone before you come to class or during the break you will have in the middle of most 75 minute classes.

Do not hesitate to contact me, by telephone, electronic mail, or following class meetings if you have problems with readings, scheduling, or any other matter.  Better still, plan to see me during my office hours.  Do not allow a small problem to escalate and help ruin your semester.

Office telephone : x1230;  electronic mail: osborne; office hours: after class, plus 11:30MW

 

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