Survey of American Literature (English 204)
section 9, Fall 2008
T/R 3:15-4:30 p.m., Knutti
202
Goals for this course In this course, we will read
and study representative works of American literature from Native American
beginnings to the present time. Our
goals are to determine if and why these works are important as literature; how
they may have reflected and advised the period in which they were written; and
how they may be instructive to us as citizens of the 21st
century.
Essential
skills and outcomes The student will demonstrate ability to do
the following:
render
close textual analysis;
synthesize
information from multiple texts;
generate
clear, cogent ideas;
structure
well-developed essays with thesis, textual support, and analysis;
employ
standard written English usage correctly;
express an
understanding of and respect for cultural diversity;
express an
aesthetic and critical judgment for literature;
express an
understanding of the chronology associated with literary periods;
express an
understanding of the inter-relationship of the arts, history, and
philosophy
through
the study of literature.
Required
texts
Baym, Nina, ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter seventh edition.
Hacker,
Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed.
One novel to be selected
from the list on the syllabus and approved by the instructor.
Required
materials
A recent
college level dictionary
A
Notebook,
3x5 cards, pens, a few rubber bands, a stapler, other
materials as you wish
A
Course requirements and
evaluation
We will be reading a lot, and I urge you to come to class with the assigned readings prepared. My suggestion is that you read each assignment (other, perhaps, than the novel) twice. There will be two documented papers, a midterm and a final exam. Each is worth 25 % of the grade in English 204. Participation in class discussion and in small group/peer response activities, quizzes, home assignments, and written exercises will be up to 50% of the grade for each assignment.
Grading scale
A 90-100% B 80-89% C 70-79% D 60-69%
Attendance is important
and it is required. Your presence and
active participation in each class session is your best opportunity to learn
and rehearse the skills which are essential for success in this course. Unless you have an excuse from a doctor or
from the health clinic on campus, there will be no make-up opportunity for work
assigned in class, including the mid-term and the final exam, or for home
assignments checked in your absence. For
Essay One and Essay Two, your grade will drop one letter grade for each day
that the essay is late. All papers and
assignments are due at the beginning of the class session for which they are
assigned.
Extra Credit
I love it. It’s the perfect opportunity to display your
interests, talents, creativity. I assign
lots of it, BUT please don’t rely on extra credit to pass this course. There will never be enough of it.
Plagiarism is unacceptable. Consequences for plagiarism are stated in the Shepherd University Student Handbook and closely adhered to.
Humor me here. Submit each paper in a
Peer tutors are
available by appointment at The Academic Support Center, Knutti
114.
Course of Study (Please note that the syllabus is subject to change.)
American
literature beginnings
Week One
August 19 August 21
Introductions, syllabus, Native American beginnings stories
essential questions
Week Two
August 26 August 28
N. Scott Momaday John Smith and William Bradford
Week Three
September 2 September 4
Anne Bradstreet and John Berryman Orientation to library resources
Directions for Essay One
Week Four
September 9 September 11
Cotton Mather Workshop for Essay One
Note cards and bibliography cards are due. Topic sentence outlines are due.
Please note:
Conferences for Essay One may be scheduled for Wednesday, September 10.
American literature 1700 to 1820
Week Five
September 16 September 18
Thomas Paine Phyllis Wheatley, Soujourner Truth,
Essay One is due. Harriet Jacobs
American literature 1820-1865
Week Six
September 23 September 25
Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau
Preparation for the mid-term
exam.
The
Appalachian Writer-in-Residence is on the Shepherd campus September 29-October
4. All students will participate in at
least one Writer-in-Residence event.
Week Seven
September 30 October 2
Class does
not meet. Use this time
to The mid-term exam.
select and begin your novel* and to prepare Novel choices are due.
for the midterm.
Week Eight
October 7 October 9
Nathaniel Hawthorne Class does not meet. Prepare Whitman presentations in small groups oyo.
Week Nine
October 14 October 16
Edgar Allan Poe Walt Whitman
Week Ten
American
literature 1865-1914
October 21 October 23
Emily Dickinson Bret Harte
Week Eleven
October 28 October 30
Edith Wharton Stephen Crane
Directions for Essay Two
American literature 1914-1945
Week Twelve
November 4 November 6
Wallace Stevens, T. S. Eliot William Faulkner
Topic sentence outlines are due.
American literature since 1945
Week Thirteen
November 11 November 13
Please note: Conferences for Essay Two may be scheduled for Monday, November 10.
Week Fourteen
November 18 November 20
Flannery O’Connor Adrienne Rich, Lucille Clifton,
Li-Young Lee,
Thanksgiving
recess is November 23 through November 30.
Week Fifteen
December 2 December 4
Novel groups meet. Novel groups meet. Preparation for the final exam.
Individual
assignments for the novel are due.
* Select and prepare one of the novels listed below. Each one is available in the Scarborough Library, through the Shepherdstown Library, or at any book store. It is not necessary to purchase the novel you choose, although each one is an important work and you may wish to own it.
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani (2000)
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (1945)
Going After Cacciato by Tim O’Brien (1978) note: only 1 library copy available
My Ántonía by Willa Cather (1918)
On the Road by Jack Kerouac (1957)
A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O’Nan (1999) note: only 2 library copies
available
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2007)
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (1929)
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston (1937)