SYLLABUS FOR AMERICAN LITERATURE II

Term: Fall, 2006-7

Course Number: English 271X

Instructor: Dr. Chris Buczinsky

Office: 519

Office Phone: 219-473-4250

E-mail: cbuczinsky@ccsj.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday 11:00-12:00, 3:30-4:30

Wednesday 3:00-7:00

Friday 11:00-12:00, 3:30-4:30

Instructor Background: I graduated from Northwestern in 1994 with my Ph.D. in English. Before coming to CCSJ I spent four years as a performer of children’s poetry and two years as an associate editor of a trade magazine. This is my fifth year at CCSJ. I teach Rhetoric and Composition, Writing for the Media, American Literature, Global Perspectives, and Literary Theory and Criticism. I am also the faculty advisor for The Shavings.

Course Time: Wednesday 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Course Description:

This course is a survey of American literature from the end of the Civil War to the present. We will organize our study around the important literary movements of the period: realism, regionalism, naturalism, modernism, and post-modernism. We will take a variety of excursions in the themes typical of the period (e.g. money, love, the frontier, the immigrant, the city, etc.), and try to link these themes to the era’s distinctive literary forms and techniques. Throughout the course we will concentrate our energies on learning how to read particular literary works with greater insight.

Prerequisite: English 103 and 104

Texts:

William Dean Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham

Jack London The Call of the Wild

F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

Thomas Pynchon The Crying of Lot 49

selected poetry and short-stories from the period

Course Goals

We have five main goals:

to know the major authors, books, and literary/historical movements of the period
to learn how to read and interpret particular American literary works with greater insight.
to understand the role of these works in reflecting and shaping American history
to bring the insights of American authors into our individual lives and into the life of our society
to develop a life-long love of our national literature.

Related INTASC Principles (For Education Majors)

#1 The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry and the structures of the disciplines he/she teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for students.

#3 The teacher plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.

Teaching Methods: Lecture, Class Discussion, Student Presentations.

Assessment:

You will be evaluated on five areas of performance:

a. Homework 100 pts.

b. Quizzes 100 pts.

c. Class Presentation 100 pts

d. Interpretive Essay 100 pts.

e. Mid-Term Exam 150 pts.

f. Final Exam 150 pts.

700 pts. possible

I reserve the right to add, subtract and otherwise change these requirements; if I find it necessary, you will be the first to know.

Grading Scale:

Final grades will be assigned according to the student’s fulfilling the requirements listed above. They will be assigned on a following traditional scale:

	607-629 = B+	534-559 = C+	467-489= D+	0-419 = F
666-700 = A	583-606 = B	513-535 = C	443-466= D
630-665 = A-	560-582 = B-	490-512 = C-	420-442 = D-

AREAS OF PERFORMANCE

1. Homework (100 pts.)

In addition to the regular, weekly reading you will also be assigned a variety of literary critical problems, short passages from novels or individual poems that will reward close reading or require interpretation. These interpretive challenges are designed to develop and refine the interpretive skills you will need to write your interpretive paper. There will be 12 assignments during the semester, ten of which will count toward your final grade. Each homework assignment is worth ten points.

2. Weekly Quizzes (100 pts.)

The weekly quizzes are mainly designed to make sure you do the weekly reading. The quizzes will cover the week’s reading and the previous week’s lecture and class discussion. Like the homework assignments, there will be 12 quizzes during the semester, ten of which will count toward your final grade. Each quiz will be worth ten points.

3. Power-Point Biographical Report (100 pts.)

Your Power-Point biographical report is a 10 minute Power-Point presentation on the biography of a post-civil war American author of your choice. You may choose any author from the period, including those we have not read in class. Pick an author you like. The presentation should be an organized speech that includes

The main events of his or her life. (Don’t get bogged down in boring details; just give us a good overview.)
A description of

the most important books he or she wrote, including his or her major themes and style
the literary/social world in which the author moved.

Good pictures of the author at different ages and entertaining stories from his or her life

Submit a hard copy of the presentation on the night of your oral presentation. The presentation will be graded on interest, clarity, development, and organization.

4. Interpretive Essay (100 pts.)

Your paper will be a 10 page interpretive essay on one of the class texts. You may consult outside authorities for necessary philosophical, historical or literary background, which you should properly cite (MLA style), but this is not a research paper. The aim of the assignment is to give you a chance to practice the skill of literary interpretation, not to present what professional critics think. (See Interpretive Essay Description and Guidelines for the details of this assignment)

5. and 6. Mid-Term and Final Exam (150 pts. each; 300 total)

The mid-term and final exams are comprehensive tests of your knowledge and understanding of post Civil War American literature. The first half of both exams will include T/F, Matching, Multiple Choice, and Short Answer questions; the second half will pose several essay questions. The test will cover the assigned reading, my lectures and our class discussions. Hint: keep a well-organized and complete notebook of the semester’s work. The week before the final is set aside for a final exam review.

Course Calendar:

Class	Topic/Text
1	Introduction to Class/Syllabus
	American Realism, Regionalism, Naturalism
2	Realism in the Material Age William Dean Howells The Rise of Silas Lapham
3
4	Regionalism and the Lure of the Local Sarah Orne Jewett “A White Heron” Bret Harte “The Outcasts of Poker Flat”
5
6	The Dog-Eat-Dog Darwinian World of Literary Naturalism Jack London The Call of the Wild
7	MID-TERM EXAM
	Modernism
8	Modernism in the Jazz Age F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby
9
10	How to Read Modern Poetry	Interpretive Essay Draft 1 Due
11
12	The Modern American Short Story: Faulkner, Hemingway, Wolfe
	Postmodernism
13	Post-Modernism in the Hypertext Age Thomas Pynchon The Crying of Lot 49
14		Interpretive Essay Final Draft Due
	FINAL EXAM

Please Note: Modifications to this calendar may be made to meet the needs of this specific class.

Class Policy for Assignments:

All assignments must be handed in on time. Late homework assignments will be docked 1 point for every day they are late. All late homework should be put in my mailbox or under my office door.

Late papers will adversely affect your grade. I will deduct one letter grade for every class that the paper is late, and I will not accept late papers during the last week of classes.

Class Policy on Tardiness and Attendance:

In accordance with English program policy, any student missing more than NINE (9) hours of class will receive an F. These nine hours include both excused and unexcused absences; it also includes all tardies of more than 15 minutes. Please be aware these hours include birthdays, sport events, illness, work, etc. If a problem arises with your absences, please come and talk to me immediately.

Our class begins at 7 o’clock sharp. If you are tardy, I have to stop the class to get you up to speed. This is unfair to other students, and it wastes time. I reserve the right to lock the doors to all who are consistently late. I also reserve the right to mark you absent for the whole class if you develop a habit of leaving early (which is especially disruptive). In short, I want the pleasure of your company for the entire class period.

Class Policy on Electronic Devices:

Please turn off all cell phones, beepers, etc. It is disruptive to have them going off during class. If there is an important reason why you must have your phone or beeper turned on (e.g. illness at home, work situation), please ask permission before class begins. If I catch you looking at a cell-phone, text-messaging, or in an other way engaging in high-tech distraction, I will dock you 10 points.

Center for Academic Excellence:

Tutoring assistance is free to all students of Calumet College of St. Joseph. Call the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE), to make an appointment at 473-4287. The Center has experienced and well-trained tutors in most subject areas to help students who are struggling in a course or who are doing well and would like to do better. Regular weekly tutoring sessions are likely to improve your grade.

Statement of Plagiarism:

If an instructor or other Calumet College of St. Joseph personnel find that a student has plagiarized or been involved in another form of academic dishonesty, the instructor or other personnel may elect to bring the matter up for judicial review. The maximum penalty for any form of academic dishonesty is dismissal from the College. The procedures for judicial review are listed under the section of CCSJ handbook that addresses student grievances. (Academic Planner 2001/2002 p.27) Please be aware that your paper may be submitted for examination for plagiarism to Turnitin.com, a plagiarism-check Internet company with which the college has contracted.

Withdrawal from Classes Policy:

After the last day for class changes has passed (see College calendar), students may withdraw from a course in which they are registered with permission from the faculty member conducting the course. A written request detailing the reason(s) for the withdrawal must be filed with the Registrar. The Registrar must receive a written request for the withdrawal by the last day of classes prior to the final examination dates specified in the catalogue. Written requests may be mailed to the Registrar or faxed to the College fax number 219-473-4259. Students are to make note of the refund schedule when withdrawing from courses.

The request is forwarded to the faculty member, who makes the final determination to accept or deny the request. If the request is honored, the student will receive notification of official withdrawal; if denied, the notification will indicate why the withdrawal is disallowed. Note: Degree Completion Division (DCD) students should consult the DCD Student Handbook for information on DCD withdrawals.

An official withdrawal is recorded as a "W" grade on the student's transcript. Dropping a course without written permission automatically incurs an "F" grade for the course (see Refund Schedule).