SYLLABUS: Humanities 110, Foundations of Western Culture

PRIVATE SYLLABUS: English 27= 5 X, American Literature

Term: &nbs= p; &= nbsp; <= /b>Fall 2010

Instructor:&nbs= p;       =           Ginger G. Rodriguez

E-mail: &nb= sp;                 &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;   grodriguez@ccsj.edu =

Phone:             =             &nb= sp;           219 473-4273

Office Hours:            = Room 520, = Monday 1:30 – 3; Wednesday 6 &= #8211; 7 and by appointment

Course Time:             = Wednesdays, 7 – 10

=

Course Description: This course surveys American literature from the colonial era through the Second World War. It explores major movements, write= rs, and works, giving students enjoyment and understanding of America’s r= ich literary heritage.

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Prerequisites: &n= bsp;           = English 103, English 104

Learning Outcomes/ Competencies:

Students will

= 1.      Know the major authors of the American literary canon.

= 2.      Understand key American literary texts, including poems, sermons, speeches, short stor= ies, drama, and novels, from the seventeenth through mid-twentieth century.=

= 3.      Understand important movements, including modernism, in American literature.

= 4.      Understand American literary works in their social and historical context.<= /span>

= 5.      Understand how American literary classics grow out of the history of Western civilizat= ion and thought.

= 6.      Analyze plot, characters, and language of individual American literary works (stori= es and novels) for greater insight into their meanings.

= 7.      Apply the insights of American authors to their own lives and to the larger issues our nation confronts today.

8.      Evaluate the distinctive qualities of America’s national literature.

Required Texts:          Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

Paul Negr= i, editor, Great American Short Stories

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

William Faulkner, Go Down, Moses

Additional readings on the Blackboard online learning platform:

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar”

Henry David Thoreau, excerpts from Walden<= /o:p>

Margaret F= uller, excerpts from Summer on the Lakes

Emily Dick= inson, Walt Whitman, and Edgar Allen Poe poetry

Herman Mel= ville, “Bartleby the Scrivener,” excerpts from Moby Dick

Poetry of = the Harlem Renaissance

Google boo= k: Margaret Fuller, Summer on the Lakes=

Learning Strategies:

Reflection: Students will write a one-page personal statement at the beginning of the course that covers their percept= ions of American literature, what they hope to gain from the class, what appeals= to them, and what they think may be intimidating, boring, or difficult. In the last class, students will revisit their initial statement and restate what = they think about the American literature, what they gained from the class, what = they especially liked, what they disliked, and what was not effective.

Rea= ding: Students= must keep up with the weekly assigned reading and writing and contribute to the discussions based on them.

Class Participation: <= /span>Students must be on ti= me, stay for the whole class, and participate in class discussion in a way that shows they have done the reading. In each class, the instructor will first provide a context for the assigned reading for the week. Close study = of a particular text and the techniques it uses will follow. Discussion involves

·      =    Being able to identify what the text in question says.

·      =    Being able to identify the literary techniques the author uses to present his or her message.

·      =    Backing up claims with direct references to the text.

·      =    Evaluating the text: Does the author present his or her message successfully? What does the message indicate about the time period? What va= lue does the text have today?

·      =    Listening attentively and respectfully to the ideas of others and responding to them appropriately.

Blackboard Discussion Participation: Class will not meet on two regularly scheduled evenings. Students = must respond to the discussion prompts under the Discussion Board tab on Blackbo= ard by class time. Students must read their peers’ thoughts and comment o= n at least two postings. If classmates comment on their work, they must respond. Blackboard discussion therefore involves three steps: (1) respond to the initial prompt; (2) comment on at least two other students’ responses; (3) respond to any comments on their work.

Essays: Students = will write three five-page analytical papers. Paper assignments will include one close reading and one analysis of a sustained motif. The final paper will b= e a general analysis of why any major American text written before 1950 was important when it was written and why it continues to be important today. Students will be expected to discuss the argument they make in this paper in the final class. <= /span>

Exams: Midterm and final exams will assess understanding of some of the major concepts covered= in the course. Both exams will be short answer tests.

Assessment<= /span>

3 papers      &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;   75 (25 points each)

Midterm exam      &nb= sp;            =       25

Reflection papers      &= nbsp;           &nbs= p; 10 (5 points each)

Class participation     =             &nb= sp; 40

Blackboard participation     =      20

Final exam      &nb= sp;            =             3= 0

        &= nbsp;   TOTAL        &= nbsp;           =     200

Class Policy for Assignments:=
Grading Scale:

Grade

Points

A

190 – 200

A-

185 – 180

B+

179 – 175

B

174 – 170

B-

169 – 165

C+

164 – 160

C

159 – 155

C-

154 – 150

D+

149 – 145

D

144 – 140

D-

139 – 135

F

134 and below

Class Policy on Attendance:

This class follows the English department standard of nine hours of excused abse= nces for appropriate athletic, personal, or documented medical reasons. Students= who miss more than nine class hours will be administratively withdrawn from the course. See the instructor to take= an excused absence and to make up the work. Students who are not involved = in class – for example, students who sleep or text during class – = will be considered absent. Students will lose participation points for missed classes, which cannot be made up.

<= b>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 bette= r.

Statement of Plagiarism:<= span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>

If an instructor finds that a studen= t has plagiarized or been involved in another form of academic dishonesty, the instructor 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.

American Literature – Course Outline

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Week 1 – Sept. 8. Introduction to American literature: The individual in the American landscape

a.      = Introductions

b.      Overview of literary t= heory

c.      = Overview of strategies= for reading poetry, short stories, novels

d.      Overview of literary discussion

e.      = The Puritans and the 1= 8th century – sin, guilt, and American exceptionalism

Week 2 – Sept. 15. Early America to the American Renaissance

Assignments: Read Emerson: “The American Scholar” (1837); Thoreau: excerpts from Walden (= 1845) (77 pages)

Reflection paper 1 due

Classroom Discussions:=

a.      = Introduction to the Am= erican Renaissance

b.      Emerson and American exceptionalism

c.      = Emerson and American individualism

d.      Emerson and American n= ature

e.      = Thoreau

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Week 3 – Sept. 22. The American Renaissance, continued

Assignments: Read: Margaret Fuller, excerpts from Summer on the Lakes (1843) (30 pag= es)

Google Books, pp. 33 – 47; 49 – 54; 57 – 68
Classroom Discussions:=

Reading nonfiction: Thoreau and Fuller

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Week 4 – Sept. 29. The American Renaissance, continued

Assignments: Read Poe (1809 – 1849), Whitman (1819 R= 11; 1892), and Dickinson (1830 – 1886)

Classroom Discussions:= Reading poetry: Poe, Whitman, and Dickinson &n= bsp;

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Week 5 – Oct. 6. The American Renaissance, continued

CLASS WILL NOT MEET

Assignments: Paper 1 due: A close reading of a selection from Thoreau

Read course notes about Hawthorne

Begin Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, = pp. 3 – 145 (142 pages)<= /o:p>

Read the background information in The S= carlet Letter lesson posted on Blackboard

Blackboard Discussion:= Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

1.      In a short, one-page p= aper, describe your reaction to The Scarl= et Letter. Make a point about the book and support it with reference to the text. Post your reaction on the Discussion Board on Blackboard by class tim= e on Oct. 6.

2.      Respond to at least tw= o of your classmates’ postings by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 8. =

3.      If classmates respond = to your posting, comment on their responses by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 11. <= o:p>

4.      See if we can make thi= s a real, though asynchronous, discussion!

Week 6 – Oct. 13. The American Renaissance, continued

Assignments: Read Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, 146 – 240 (1850) (92 pages)

Classroom Discussions:=

a. Hawthorne’s context: those “d---d scribbling women”: Fanny Fern, Caroline Kirkland, Maria Susanna Cummins

b. Reading novels: Hawthorne

c. The Scarlet Letter

Week 7 – Oct. 20. The American Renaissance

Assignments: Read Melville, “Bartleby the ScrivenerR= 21; (1853); excerpts from Moby Dick (1851) (53 pages)

Classroom Discussion: =

Finish discussion= of The Scarlet Letter=

Moby Dick – an American “classic”?

Reading short sto= ries

Melville’s = short story: “Bartleby the Scrivener”

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Week 8 – Oct. 27. American realism

Assignments: Read Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, “A New England Nun” (1891); Kate Chopin, “A Pair= of Silk Stockings” (1890s); Jack London, “To Build a Fire” (1908) (31 pages)

Midterm Exam

Classroom Discussion: =

a.      = Intro to realism and realists

b.   Freeman, Chopin, and London<= o:p>

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Week 9 – Nov. 3. American naturalism

Assignments: Read Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925) (180 pa= ges)

Classroom Discussion:<= o:p>

Reading modern novels: Fitzgerald

Week 10 – Nov.10. American naturalism

Assignments: Read Faulkner, “The Bear” (1942) (132 pages)

Classroom Discussion:<= o:p>

Reading modern fiction: Faulkner

Week 11 – Nov.17. American naturalism

Assignments: Read Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea (1952) (110 pages)

Classroom Discussion: =

a.      = Reading modern novels: Hemingway

b.      Cultural context: Hemi= ngway compared to Melville

Week 12 – Nov. 24.

CLASS WILL NOT MEET

Assignment: Read poetry of the Har= lem Renaissance

Read the background information in the Harlem Renaissance lesson on Blackboard

Paper 2: Discuss a recurring motif in The= Great Gatsby or The Old Man and the S= ea

Blackboard Discussion:=

In a short, one-p= age paper, describe your reaction to the poetry in this lesson. Make a point about one poem= or the poems as a group and support it with specific references to the poetry. Post your reaction on the Discussion Board on Blackboard by cl= ass time on Nov. 24.

Respond to at lea= st two of your classmates’ postings by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 26.

If classmates res= pond to your posting, comment on their responses by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, No= v. 29.

See if we can mak= e this a real, though asynchronous, discussion!

Week 13 – Dec. 1.

Assignments: Flannery O’Conno= r: “Good Country People” (1955) (21 pages)

Classroom Discussion:<= o:p>

a.      = Recap the Harlem Renai= ssance

b.      Modernism: Flannery O’Connor

Week 14 – Dec. 8.

Assignments: Paper 3 due: Analyze why any major text written before 1950 was important at the time it was written and continues to be important today.

Final reflection paper due

Classroom Discussion: =

a. Why do we read some American texts and not others? Students will discuss the book they analyze in their final paper to answer the question posed. <= /o:p>

b. Course recap

Final exam week 12/13 – 12/18

American Literature – Assignments

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September 15: REFLECTION PAPER 1 DUE

October 6:        = Blackboard discussion:

Respond to the discussion prompt under the Discussion Board tab by October 6

React to two other responses by October 9

Respond to comments on your work by October 12

PAPER 1 DUE: a close reading of a selection from Thoreau

October 27:      Midterm exam=

November 24: Blackboard discussion:

Respond to the discussion prompt under the Discussion Board tab by November 24

React to two other responses by November 27=

Respond to comments on your work by November 30<= o:p>

PAPER 2 DUE: an analysis of a recurring motif in= The Great Gatsby or The Old Man and the Sea

December 8:    PAPER 3 DUE: an analysis= of why we read some texts and not others

Be prepared to present your argument in class

Final Reflection Paper due

Final exam to be scheduled during the exam week of December 13 – 18

Grade	Points
A	190 – 200
A-	185 – 180
B+	179 – 175
B	174 – 170
B-	169 – 165
C+	164 – 160
C	159 – 155
C-	154 – 150
D+	149 – 145
D	144 – 140
D-	139 – 135
F	134 and below