Engl 2326 American Literature

Engl 2326 – American Literature Fall 2016 Dr. Jeanna White Office: 407 SCRB Phone: 903-923-2283 Email: [email protected] Office hours: or by appointment Monday 9:00-10:00, 1:00-2:30 Tuesday 9:00-11:00 Wednesday 9:00-10:00, 1:00-2:30 Thursday 9:00-11:00 Friday 9:00-10:00

“You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” ~Mark Twain

Course Materials Great American Short Stories, Paul Negri, ed. ISBN: 9780486421193 The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien ISBN: 9780618706419 Electronic resources, accessible through Blackboard listed under the appropriate week under Contents

Course Description This course surveys American literature from the colonial period to the present. We will Before class, , Before class, read the works of major American authors and explore some of the major literary movements that have influenced and shaped American writing, both fiction and nonfiction, prose and poetry. We will look at how the works reflect, reinforce, and/or challenge cultural values. Although the course is organized chronologically, we will look at the texts from many different perspectives. Prerequisite: Engl 1301 and 1302 with a grade of C or better.

Student Learning Outcomes Students in Engl 2326 will  Recognize and recall the general history of American literature.  Read, evaluate, and write about o Literary and social themes of American literature. o The cultural impact, literary importance, and historical context of individual works.  Develop the skills to think critically about literature.

Attendance This course follows the university's attendance policy, which is outlined in the course catalog: "East Texas Baptist University is committed to the policy that regular and punctual attendance is essential to successful scholastic achievement. Attendance at all meetings of the course for which a student is registered is expected. To be eligible to earn credit in a course, the student must attend at least 75 percent of all class meetings. “

The following policies and procedures apply to this course as well: 1. There is no such thing as an excused absence; all absences, for whatever reason, count as an absence. 2. A student must stay for the entire class meeting in order to be counted present for that day. 3. Arriving late to class three times will be equivalent to one absence; more than 15 minutes late will count as an absence. 4. Students are required to keep up with their own absences. Do not email me to ask how many absences you have. College is a time to learn how to be responsible for yourself and keeping up with your own absences is one small step in that direction. 5. Absences begin with the first meeting of class, and students registering late incur absences from the first meeting. 6. Students are responsible for all materials covered in class meetings and are expected to meet all class requirements for the course. 7. Students who accumulate university-approved absences (athletic teams, musical organizations, other authorized groups) will be allowed to make up work missed as a result of that activity, provided that: a. The activity was properly scheduled. b. The absence was authorized in advance. c. Arrangements were made with their instructors prior to the absence. d. Such absences are, nonetheless, counted as classes missed. Missed work should be completed and handed in in advance of the absence. 8. Manage your absences wisely!

Attendance Policy in a nutshell: Come to class. Don’t be late. Don’t leave early.

Make up and Late Work  Daily work will not be accepted late. Make-up quizzes will not be given. What you miss because you are not in class will count as a zero. If you come in late to class and have missed the quiz, you will also receive a zero.  Late essays will be penalized one letter grade for each late day. Essays will be uploaded to backboard and must be turned in by the assigned deadline to avoid a late penalty.  Make-up exams will be given only with advanced approval and a legitimate excuse for missing class (illness that requires hospitalization, death in the family, scheduled school activity, etc).

Grades and Assignments Quizzes Because this is a literature course, there will be quite a bit of reading (don’t worry, reading has never killed anyone). In order to get your money’s worth out of the class, you must complete the reading each day.

To help you stay on top of your reading and our class discussions/lectures, we will begin most classes with a quiz over the assigned reading for that day or over the lecture material from the previous day, or both.

If you come to class late and miss the quiz, sorry. Class won’t be held up so you can take it. And absolutely no quizzes will be given after class for any reason whatsoever.

Extra Credit I do not believe in extra credit. But I will present one single opportunity for it this semester; however, it will require you to plan ahead and be very disciplined. If you manage to get the extra points, you will have definitely earned them. So here it is:

You will have the opportunity to earn up to 10 points added to your final grade at the end of the semester by completing a summary and/or analysis of everything we read. This will be like a reading journal. The summaries/analyses must be done as we are reading; they may not be done after the fact or at the end of the semester once you realize you need extra credit.

A summary is a concise restatement in your own words of what you read. An analysis is a response to the reading where you make connections or find meaning in what you read. In the analysis you must demonstrate that you have done the reading by referring back to the text. 1. Summaries/analyses must be turned in on the day for which the reading is assigned. 2. Summaries/analyses must be typed, double spaced, standard 12 pt. font, with a heading and the title of the work. 3. Summaries/analyses of a short story or prose essay must be about one page long. For poems, they must be at least half a page. 4. If we have more than one text assigned for that day, two or three poems for instance, a summary/analysis of each is required. The group of summaries/analyses for that day will count as a single work. (So if you have 3 poems assigned but only write about one, it doesn’t count, except to your learning which is worth something.) 5. Summaries/analyses are due in or before class, not after class. You may email it if you will not be in class. 6. The summaries/analyses must be your own work. They cannot be copied from someone else, from a website, or from any other source. They must be uploaded to blackboard before class each day to be considered complete. If you are found to have plagiarized all or part of your work, you will invalidate any possibility for extra credit. In other words, if you cheat, you get nothing.

Like I said, you’ll definitely earn those bonus points.

Note: Don’t bother to ask in week 14 if there is anything you can do for extra credit. The answer will be no.

Literary Response Essay The assignment is on Blackboard. Click on the Syllabus link in the left column. Then click on Course Resources to find the file with the assignment. You will use this assignment for both Literary Response Essays.

Grades Quizzes 15% Exam 1 15% Exam 2 20% Final Exam 20% Literary Response Papers (2 at 15% each) 30%

Grades in a nutshell: Do your Before class, , Before class, reading. Write your papers. Do your best. Turn things in on time.

Academic Integrity Students enrolled at East Texas Baptist University are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity avoiding all forms of cheating, illicit possession of examinations or examination materials, unwarranted access to instructor’s solutions’ manuals, plagiarism, forgery, collusion and submissions of the same assignment to multiple courses. Students are not allowed to recycle student work without permission of the faculty member teaching the course. Students must ask permission before submitting the work since it will likely be detected by plagiarism detection programs. If the student does not inform the instructor or ask permission before the assignment is due and submitted, the instructor may treat this as an academic integrity offense.

Penalties that may be applied by the faculty member to individual cases of academic dishonesty by a student include one or more of the following: • Failure of the class in question • Failure of particular assignments • Requirement to redo the work in question • Requirement to submit additional work All incidents related to violations of academic integrity are required to be reported to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and multiple violations of academic integrity will result in further disciplinary measures which could lead to dismissal from the University.

Students with Disabilities A student with a disability may request appropriate accommodations for this course by contacting the Office of Academic Success, Marshall Hall, Room 301, and providing the required documentation. If accommodations are approved by the Disability Accommodations Committee, the Office of Academic Success will notify the student and the student’s professor of the approved accommodations. The student must then discuss these accommodations with his or her professor. Students may not ask for accommodations the day of an exam or due date. Arrangements must be made prior to these important dates. For additional information, please refer to page 15-16 of the 2016-2017 Undergraduate Catalog.

Weapons in Class The on-campus possession of firearms, explosives, or fireworks is prohibited with the exception of the transportation and storage of firearms and ammunition by concealed handgun license holders in private vehicles (as described in SB1907) Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law, may not enter this property (ETBU) with a concealed handgun. The ETBU President may grant authorization to a qualified and certified full-time faculty or staff member, who is a license holder with a concealed handgun to conceal carry on the University campus, at a University-sponsored event or within or on a University vehicle.

Odds and Ends Students in this class are expected to show respect for their classmates. Please refrain from disruptive behavior such as loud gum-chewing or popping, interrupting, insulting other students, etc. Cell phones must be turned off during class. Please do not text during class.

Daily Schedule Part I—Forging an American Identity Week 1 August 23 – Introduction to the course; Review Syllabus

August 25 – What is American Literature? The creation of an American identity Before class, read “The Gift Outright” by Frost (Blackboard)

Week 2 August 30 – The city upon a hill Before class, read Winthrop (Blackboard)

September 1 – Crevecoeur; Landscape painting; Forging an American Identity Before class, read Crevecoeur (Blackboard)

Week 3 September 6 – Franklin and Jefferson; Early Political Writing Before class, read Franklin and Jefferson (Blackboard)

September 8 – Slave Narratives and Spirituals – The first American literature ; Voices of Oppression Before class, read Spirituals and Douglass Preface-Ch 1, Ch 6-7 (Blackboard)

Week 4 September 13 – Douglass’ Narrative Before class, read Douglass, Ch 10-Appendix (Blackboard)

September 15 – Watch Last of the Mohicans

Week 5 September 20 – Finish Mohicans; Emergence of the Hero

September 22 – Discuss Mohicans and the hero

Part II—Creating a Literary Identity Week 6 September 27

September 29 – Exam 1

Week 7 October 4– Transcendentalism Before class, read Emerson, from Nature

October 6 – Transcendentalism Before class, read: Thoreau, “Walking” (Blackboard)

Week 8 October 11 – The American Renaissance Before class, read: Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” p. 13-17 in GASS; Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown” p. 1-12 in GASS

October 13 - Fall Break – no class!

Week 9 October 18 - Local Color Before class, read: Jewett, “A White Heron” p. 84-92 in GASS

October 20 – The New Woman Before class, read: Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” p. 115-129 in GASS Due Today: First Literary Response Essay

Part III—Reconstructing America: New Voices and New Stories Week 10

October 25 – Realism and Naturalism Before class, read: London, “To Build a Fire” p. 157-170 in GASS

October 27– Modernism Before class: Read Fitzgerald, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” GASS

Week 11 November 1 – Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance Before class, read: Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” (Blackboard); Hughes, “Dream Deferred,” “I, Too,” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (Blackboard) Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance November 3–

Week 12 November 8– Exam 2

November 10 – Uncertainty at Mid-Century Before class, read Oates, “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” (Blackboard)

Week 13 November 15 – The Things They Carried Before class, read O’Brien "The Things They Carried," "Love," and "On the Rainy River"

November 17 – The Things They Carried Before class, read O’Brien "How to Tell a True War Story" and "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong"

Week 14 November 22 – The Things They Carried Before class, read O’Brien "Speaking of Courage" and "Notes"

November 24 – Thanksgiving! No class

Week 15 November 29– The Things They Carried Before class, read O’Brien "In the Field" and "Field Trip" Due Today: Second Literary Response Essay

December 1 – The Things They Carried Before class, read O’Brien "The Lives of the Dead"

Final Exam: