English 342: American Literature since 1865

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COURSE POLICIES

REQUIRED TEXTS:

· Nina Baym, gen. ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 5th ed., vol. 2. New York: Norton, 1998 (henceforth  abbreviated as NA).

· Julia Alvarez. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. New York: Plume, 1992.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:

· William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000.

· Joseph Gibaldi. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association, 1999.

FURTHER REQUIREMENTS:

· Regular class attendance with all required course materials. After five absences, excused or unexcused, your final grade will be lowered one half grade for each additional absence.

· Punctuality. Late arrivals cause class interruptions. For every two late arrivals you will be assessed one absence.

· Careful reading and preparation of all assignments. For every two times that you are obviously not fully prepared for class your oral participation grade will be lowered by one half grade. You may make up for your failure to prepare and participate by visibly working harder than average during the following days.

· All assignments must be handed in on time to receive full credit. Under extraordinary circumstances an assignment may be handed in late if you obtain permission at least 24 hours beforehand. Unless specified otherwise, all assignments are due during class time.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

English 342 examines the evolution of the American literary tradition from 1865 on. As we attempt to cover the major literary movements, we shall seek to do justice to various writers coming from different cultural backgrounds. In compliance with the competencies required by the English undergraduate program, we will cover various genres including poetry, the short story, the novella, and the novel. Engaging with a culturally diverse literature, we will learn to analyze and critically evaluate a wide range of ideas, arguments, and points of view. While we will attempt to acquire factual knowledge, we shall also seek to develop practices that meet the New Teacher Standards, such as use of technology and assessment of one another's work. Finally, English 342 will provide us with the ability to think and write critically, leading to an oral and written mastery of discourse appropriate to the study and teaching of language and literature.

ESSENTIAL OBJECTIVES OF THIS COURSE ARE:

· Gaining a broader understanding and appreciation of intellectual/cultural activity, in this case, literature.
· Learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view.

AN IMPORTANT OBJECTIVE IS:

· Developing skill in oral and written expression.

EVALUATION:

paper 1:	10% or  20%
in-class examination:	20%
paper 2:	20% or 10%
in-class essays:	10%
oral participation:	10%
final examination:	30%

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PAPER 1 (10% or 20%):

The first assignment consists of a 3-4-page typed essay. You will be given a choice of questions, and you will be asked to respond with as much detail as possible. If your grade on this assignment is stronger than on assignment 3, it will make up 20% of your final grade, whereas your grade on assignment 3 will account for 10% of the final grade.

MID-TERM EXAM INATION (20%):

This closed-book examination covers all materials discussed by the examination date and may consist of ids, factual questions, and short responses. Duration: 1 h.

PAPER 2: (20% or 10%):

Students will write a 4-6-page typed essay for assignment 3. If your grade on this assignment is stronger than on assignment 1, it will make up 20% of your final grade, whereas assignment 1 will account for 10% of the final grade.

IN-CLASS ESSAYS (10%):

Every student will be responsible for administering one handwritten in-class assignment. Your duties will be to 1) devise a topic related to the readings of the week, 2) show me the topic you have chosen before class, 3) come to class a few minutes early and write the topic on the board, 4) time your fellow classmates as they write a ten-minute essay, 5) grade and comment on the essays and return them to me within one week, 6) provide me a filled out cover sheet. Your topic should reflect what you find to be the most interesting, important, or even confusing element of our most recent text. The topic may be thematic or technical (concentrating on stylistic choices such as language, setting, point of view, characterization, use of irony, etc.). It should have a very narrow focus and include key words (like analyze, summarize, compare, define) that will enable your classmates to devise a writing strategy quickly. Grading will be conducted holistically on a scale of zero to ten. Your focus as a grader should be on content and structure. As this is a very spontaneous exercise, you can mark spelling, grammar, and mechanical errors but must not penalize the student for them unless you no longer understand his/her ideas. Please pay careful attention to the way in which words are used, the depth of insight, and the clarity, grace, and coherence of sentences, paragraphs, and the essay as a whole. Be sure to comment on the essays so that your peers understand why they received the score you gave them. As the instructor, I will double-check all grades and take the liberty to make changes if necessary. There is no way of making up an in-class essay if you are absent. However, you may drop your two lowest scores. Grading guide:

9-10 Excellent. Perfect. Very detailed. You can find no room for improvement.

7-8 Very good. Though not perfect, the ideas and insights are persuasive, and the argument, paragraphs, and sentences are clear, coherent, and interesting.

5-6 The essay is flawed to the extent that you find yourself filling in gaps and details in the argument. Or the argument seems fine, but poor diction, sentence structure, or paragraph organization makes the essay awkward and confusing.

3-4 Incoherent essay. The writer does not seem to grasp the topic. You find yourself working extremely hard trying to make sense of the paper.

0-2 The writer of the essay has not done the reading or has failed to write anything of acceptable length.

ORAL PARTICIPATION (10%):

Oral participation consists of responding to my and fellow students' comments, asking and answering questions, volunteering information, suggesting new aspects and topics, and generally taking an active part in the discussions we conduct.

FINAL EXAMINATION (20%):

The final examination will cover all materials discussed in class and may consist of ids, factual questions, and short responses. Duration: 2 hours (from 12:45-2:45 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12).

STUDENT PARTNERS:

In the first week, I will set up permanent student partnerships for the entire semester. Partners will be responsible for each other in the event of absence (i.e., sharing lecture notes, reminding each other of deadlines, exchanging information about syllabus changes, etc.). Partners may also want to study together and exchange and edit papers before they turn them in. You and your partner are responsible for the success of your learning experience.

ACADEMIC HONESTY:

The Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Philosophy is strongly committed to academic honesty. For your information, here is the definition of plagiarism:

"Using another author's words, sentences, or even ideas without explicit acknowledgment is plagiarism. If you quote directly from a source, put the sentence(s) or portion(s) of the sentence(s) you use in quotation marks. Then indicate your debt with a footnote or a parenthetical annotation."

The consequences of plagiarism range from failing the class to being expelled from the university. Plagiarism will most certainly have serious repercussions on your academic as well as professional future.

AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA):

In compliance with the American with Disabilities Act, all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to "reasonable accommodations." It is the student's responsibility to inform me of any special needs before the end of the second week of classes.

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DAILY SCHEDULE

week 1   |   week 2   |   week 3   |   week 4   |   week 5   |   week 6
week 7   |   week 8   |   week 9   |   week 10   |   week 11
week 12   |   week 13   |   week 14
week 15   |   week 16
week 17

Week 1: Introduction

T 8/20
Introduction to the course.
Th 8/22
Organization of partners and in-class essays. Review of MLA-style. Room to be announced.

Week 2: American Humor & Realism

T 8/27
Mark Twain/Samuel L. Clemens, NA 18-20. "The Art of Authorship," NA 217. "How to Tell a Story," NA 218-19. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, NA 28-39.
Th 8/29
In-class essay #1. Huck Finn, NA 39-57.
F 8/30
Huck Finn, NA 81-95; 165-71.

Week 3: American Realism Continued

T 9/3
In-class essay #2. Henry James, NA 281-84; Daisy Miller: A Study, NA 285-312.
Th 9/5
Daisy Miller, NA 312-23.

Week 4: American Regionalism

T 9/10
Kate Chopin, NA 455-56; The Awakening, NA 467-77. Web research and evaluation. Room to be announced.
Th 9/12
In-class essay #3; The Awakening, NA 477-503.
F 9/13
The Awakening, NA 503-32.

Week 5: American Regionalism Continued

T 9/17
The Awakening, NA 532-58.
Th 9/19
MLA brush-up. Bring disks with papers. Room to be announced.

Week 6: American Modernist Poetry

T 9/24
Paper 1 due. William Carlos Williams, NA 1214-16; "Spring and All," NA 1219; "To Elsie," NA 1220-21; "The Red Wheelbarrow," NA 1221-22; "This Is Just to Say," NA 1224-25; "The Ivy Crown," 1228-30.
Th 9/26
In-class essay #4. Gertrude Stein, NA 1091-93; Tender Buttons, NA 1105-15.
F 9/27
Ezra Pound, NA 1232-33; "A Pact," NA 1235; "In a Station of the Metro," NA 1236. Select a Modernist poem and be ready to present it.

Week 7: Modernism Continued

T 10/1
Marianne Moore, NA 1275-76; "Poetry," NA 1276; "Bird-Witted," NA 1279; "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing," NA 1282; "In Distrust of Merits," NA 1283.
Th 10/3
In-class essay #5. Review for mid-term examination.

Week 8: American Modernist Fiction

T 10/8
Mid-term examination.
Th 10/10
Ernest Hemingway, NA 1685-87; "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," NA 1687-1705.
F 10/11
Richard Wright, NA 1756-57. "The Man Who Was Almost a Man," NA 1758-66.

Week 9: A Modernist in Depth: T.S. Eliot

T 10/15
T.S. Eliot, NA 1368-70; The Waste Land, NA 1380-92.
Th 10/17
The Waste Land, NA 1380-92.

Week 10: The Harlem Renaissance

T 10/22
Using the web for research. Room to be announced.
Th 10/24
Langston Hughes, NA 1730-31; "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," NA 1731; "Mother to Son," NA 1732; "The Weary Blues," NA 1732; "I, Too," NA 1733.
F 10/25
In-class essay #6. Countee Cullen, NA 1751-52; "Yet Do I Marvel," NA 1752; "Incident," NA 1752; "Heritage," NA 1753-55.

Week 11: Postmodern Voices: Fiction

T 10/29
Raymond Carver, NA 2197; "Cathedral," NA 2197-2208.
Th 10/31
Toni Cade Bambara, NA 2218; "The Medley," NA 2219-30.

Week 12: A Contemporary Novel in Depth: Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

T 11/5
Garcia Girls, 1-39
Th 11/7
In-class essay #7. Garcia Girls, 40-85.
F 11/8
Garcia Girls, 86-149.

Week 13: Alvarez's Garcia Girls Continued

T 11/12
In-class essay #8. Garcia Girls, 149-91.
Th 11/14
Garcia Girls, 192-238.

Week 14: Alvarez's Garcia Girls Continued & Postmodern Voices: Poetry

T 11/19
In-class essay #9. Garcia Girls, 239-end.
Th 11/21
Sylvia Plath, NA 2742-44. "Lady Lazarus," NA 2744-47; "Daddy," 2748-50; "The Applicant," 2753-54.
F 11/21
Adrienne Rich, NA 2711-13; "Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law," NA 2714-18; "Diving into the Wreck," NA 2719-21; "Transcendental Etude," NA 2722-26. Room: CB 205.

Week 15: Review and Thanksgiving

T 11/26 Review for final examination.

Week 16: A Contemporary Poet in Depth: Gwendolyn Brooks

T 12/3
In-class essay #10. Gwendolyn Brooks, NA 2541-42; "kitchenette building," NA 2542-42; "the mother," NA 2543; "We Real Cool," NA 2545; "The Bean Eaters," NA 2545-46.
Th 12/5
Paper 2 due. Brooks, "The Life of Lincoln West," "Truth"; "To Those Sisters Who Kept Their Naturals" (handouts); "The Coora Flower," NA 2552.

Week 17: Final Examination

Th 12/12
Final Examination, 12:45-2:45 p.m.

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This syllabus provides a general plan and is subject to change.
Check the blackboard regularly for announcements.

COURSE POLICIES | DAILY SCHEDULE | CURRENT COURSES | HOME