ENGL 201: Introduction to English in the Humanities (5 Credits)

An asynchronous course. Totally online. No Zoom meetings unless requested for office hours.

Please note that you must register for the course when it is your turn. No add codes will be issued until the first day of the course.

ALSO: You must have texts in hand by the start of the second week. There will be a video assignment in which you will show yourself holding the books and giving me a tour of them!

Department: English
College/School: Arts and Sciences

Credits: 5 (fixed)

General Education Requirements: Arts and Humanities and W (Writing).

English 201 is a writing intensive (W) course. You must satisfactorily complete all writing assignments for the course.

Professor Frances McCueLinks to an external site.

Contact via: CANVAS Inbox or mccuef@uw.edu (for canvas outages or other emergencies)
Office Hours: by appointment

Course Description

In this course, we will read literature and see points of connection with other humanities disciplines. Our theme is “Katabasis.” In Greek myth, katabasis is a descent to the underworld. The hero embarks on a journey that is dangerous and often calls upon the dead. Many religions and myths across cultures follow such trajectories. In katabasis, the hero returns with new learning and an ability to move forward. Even romantic comedies follow this pattern: the hero is in crisis and needs to do something risky to learn from it. Then, that hero makes it through a hard time and comes upon an unexpected resolution.

This term, we’ll look at some literature, classics, art, music and language structures that present the theme of Katabasis. At the heart of our reading will be the novel Katabasis by R.F KuangLinks to an external site.. We’ll also read a book of poems, We Had Our ReasonsLinks to an external site., by UW Alumni Ricardo Ruiz and a short story, “The Search Engine,” from the collection Ten Little IndiansLinks to an external site. by Sherman Alexie. Other readings include a section from Homer’s The OdysseyLinks to an external site.. We’ll view and listen to other materials along the way. From our own journey in this course, we will ask, “How do we know when we are on a hero’s journey?” and “What forms might the underworld take?”

College prepares students for a lifetime of interactions with people of many cultures and with a multitude of career opportunities. The humanities offer opportunities for substantive encounters with culture, language, text, history, and civilization as well as for developing modalities of thinking and acting in a complex world. By reading, writing, thinking, speaking and collaborating, we learn discernment, judgment and perspective—thereby playing our parts in creating an informed citizenry.

Designed for UW students at the beginning of their college careers, English 201 offers a "deep reading" approach in which students map notes onto their texts and document their responses. Students will develop and deepen skills of thinking, speaking, listening, writing and collaborating as they address genre, perspective, metaphor, text, image, and context.

Please note that this is a fast-paced, intensive course that demands that you work on several projects in the same time-period. Quizzes come often and will help assure that you are reading and viewing course materials with alertness and insight.

Course Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Show evidence of analyzing text, image, media through reading, conversation and verbal presentation.

2. Create written evidence of understanding materials from different points of view.

3. Create descriptions, arguments and inquiries in writing and in conversation.

4. Identify disciplines and activities from the broad field of the humanities.

5. Articulate individual learning and experience of reading closely.

Required Materials to Purchase:

Katabasis by R.F. KuangLinks to an external site. ‎ Publisher: Harper Voyager, August 26, 2025, English ISBN-10: ‎ 0063446243; ISBN-13: ‎978-0063446243

Ten Little IndiansLinks to an external site., by Sherman Alexie. Any edition.

We Had Our Reasons by Ricardo RuizLinks to an external site., published by Pulley Press in 2022.

You must have these texts to succeed in the course.

Other materials are provided on Canvas.

Quizzes:

Quizzes are multiple choice and set for two minutes. Quizzes are available for 24 hours and once you start a quiz, you may not re-take it. For equity purposes, there will be no make-up quizzes.

10 Quizzes at 5 points each = 50 points

Discussion Posts:

These posts are crucial to your learning. They are designed to help you display your work in the course, engage with your colleagues and practice for longer papers. Typically, responses to your colleagues will be due within two days of the initial post.

4 Discussions at 10 points each = 40 points

Video of You Holding the books for the term: 10 points

Reading Maps/Journals:

You are responsible for getting the texts in the forms that you see fit. You will show me the texts. Some of these assignments will include writing directly in the books as you read, making lists of responses you had to what you read.

A Reading Map is a page of text on which you write personal responses. You will take a photograph of the page, with your handwriting on it. You'll upload the photographs using the upload media on the menu bar, above.

Four Reading maps: 10 points each x 4= 40 points.

A Reading Journal is a typed summary of what you notice from the reading maps. It includes speculations about humanities connections that you might research. Each reading journal entry is 250-500 words.

Four Reading Journals: 10 points each x 4= 40 points.

The Final Paper:

Due at the end of the course is a submission of a One page, 500-word, reflection on the connections that you see between the texts and your reading journals. This is in your own words, based on what you’ve observed.

This Final Paper is worth 50 points.

General Discussion Forum

The General Discussion Forum is for use by students throughout the quarter to post their questions or comments about the course, including questions about course materials, assignments, learning objectives, or other course content. Feel free to respond to the comments of your fellow students. (To communicate privately with me, see Contact the Instructor.)

Always keep your posts respectful and constructive. For guidelines about effective posting, see this Netiquette page

Grades

Activity	How Many	Points Each	Total
Quizzes	10	5	50
Video showing you with the required books	1	10	10
Discussion posts	4	10	40
Reading Maps	4	10	40
Reading Journals	4	10	40
Final Paper	1	50	50
Participation— Work in on time, good collegial discussions, high interaction in course	Assessed by professor over the term		20
TOTAL			250

These break down to include:

Introduce yourself with a humanities event or artifact. (Complete/incomplete)

One Reading Map and one Reading Journal for “The Search Engine” 20 points

One Discussion post for "The Search Engine" and "The Odyssey" 10 points

Two Reading Maps, Two Reading Journals, and One Discussion Post from Katabasis. 50 points total.

One Reading Map and One Reading Journal and One Discussion Post from WE HAD OUR REASONS. 30 points.

Final Discussion post. 10 points.

Final Paper: a reflection: 50 points

Video of you holding texts. 10 points

Ten Quizzes, 50 points

Participation, 20

TOTAL POINTS 250

A table that contains the grading scheme data. Each row contains a name, a maximum percentage, and a minimum percentage.
Letter Grade	Range
4.0	100%	to95%
3.9	< 95%	to94%
3.8	< 94%	to93%
3.7	< 93%	to92%
3.6	< 92%	to91%
3.5	< 91%	to90%
3.4	< 90%	to89%
3.3	< 89%	to88%
3.2	< 88%	to87%
3.1	< 87%	to86%
3.0	< 86%	to85%
2.9	< 85%	to84%
2.8	< 84%	to83%
2.7	< 83%	to82%
2.6	< 82%	to81%
2.5	< 81%	to80%
2.4	< 80%	to79%
2.3	< 79%	to78%
2.2	< 78%	to77%
2.1	< 77%	to76%
2.0	< 76%	to75%
1.9	< 75%	to74%
1.8	< 74%	to73%
1.7	< 73%	to72%
1.6	< 72%	to71%
1.5	< 71%	to70%
1.4	< 70%	to69%
1.3	< 69%	to68%
1.2	< 68%	to67%
1.1	< 67%	to66%
1.0	< 66%	to65%
0.0	< 65%	to0%

Grading policies

I do not typically accept late work. In some circumstances, with prior arrangement, I will accept it but will mark it down. I don't allow "do-overs" on quizzes. I don't allow late quizzes or rescheduling of quizzes. These are equity issues. I know that the course is challenging. But you have access to all of the assignments and should be able to plan to complete them.

Disability Accommodations

Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at https://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/Links to an external site.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The UW English Department aims to help students become more incisive thinkers, effective communicators, and imaginative writers by acknowledging that language and its use are powerful and hold the potential to empower individuals and communities; to provide the means to engage in meaningful conversation and collaboration across differences and with those with whom we disagree; and to offer methods for exploring, understanding, problem solving, and responding to the many pressing collective issues we face in our world--skills that align with and support the University of Washington’s mission to educate “a diverse student body to become responsible global citizens and future leaders through a challenging learning environment informed by cutting-edge scholarship.”

As a department, we begin with the conviction that language and texts play crucial roles in the constitution of cultures and communities, past, present, and future. Our disciplinary commitments to the study of English (its history, multiplicity, and development; its literary and artistic uses; and its global role in shaping and changing cultures) require of us a willingness to engage openly and critically with questions of power and difference. As such, in our teaching, service, and scholarship we frequently initiate and encourage conversations about topics such as race and racism, immigration, gender, sexuality, class, indigeneity, and colonialism. These topics are fundamental to the inquiry we pursue. We are proud of this fact, and we are committed to creating an environment in which our faculty and students can do so confidently and securely, knowing that they have the backing of the department.

Religious Accommodation

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/Links to an external site..

Academic Integrity

AI won’t help you in this course because you will be developing your own voice and finding sources you can trace to their origins.

When quoting, paraphrasing, or referring to another writer’s words or ideas (including any you might find on the Internet), you must cite the source properly using MLA citation guidelines. Don’t hesitate to ask me if you have questions about proper attribution. I will hand over any plagiarized work to the Dean’s Committee on Academic Conduct, and plagiarism may result in a failing grade on the assignment or the course.

You can use the calendar to determine due dates, or the assignment list.