African American Literature—Spring 2007 ENG 183.201 (W 6:30-9:15 p.m.) Caroline Center Room 214 Instructor: Linda Fretterd Earls, Associate Professor of English Office: Caroline Center, Room 202E Office Hours: M/T/W/TH 1:00-2:00 p.m., W 5:00-6:00 p.m., or by appointment. E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (410) 822-5400, (410) 758-1537, or (410) 228-4360, Ext. 316. Fax: (410) 827-5814 Note: You may also leave a message with the Division secretary, Mrs. Carolyn Causey, ext. 322, or with the Department secretary, Mrs. Ruth Jeffries, ext. 306.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to familiarize students with several genres of African American literature (spirituals, gospels, minstrels, sermons, essays, speeches, novels, short stories, testimonials, poetry, and plays) & a variety of popular as well as marginalized writers. Students will read selections from: the 18th century through slavery, the Civil War era, the turn of the century, the Harlem Renaissance, the Jazz Age, the Civil Rights movement, to present day; and will be provided with a historical overview of the prejudices, political debates, civil rights issues, and injustices which perpetuated the writings of some of the most famous, memorable, and influential Americans of the last three centuries.
REQUIRED TEXTS: The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Eds. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Nellie Y. McKay. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004. (CD included) ISBN: 0-393-97778-1
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 1. A critical analysis of approximately 5 pages in length (typed, double-spaced, and written in the MLA format) which examines a prominent theme in a work on our syllabus by an African American writer or historical figure of your choice. This should incorporate at least two critical sources. 2. A formal power point presentation (of approximately 10-15 minutes in length) on the biography, life, and times of one African American writer included on the syllabus. You must create a timeline of his/her life and major historical events occurring in his/her life, compile a bibliography of sources (at least five sources, beyond your textbook, are required), and lead class discussion with at least five questions about his/her life, the historical context surrounding his/her work, or the assigned reading by that author for the class. You must become the class authority on the author for that day and should be prepared to answer any questions we might have on his/her life or work. Creativity is encouraged; please bring photographs of your author and any props that will involve the class. A copy of your power point presentation is due to the instructor before you present 3. A weekly journal response to the readings and class trips, or you will react to assigned questions about the readings or class discussions. Each journal can be handwritten or typed and should be at least one (8 ½” X 11”) page (front side only) in length. I encourage you to respond with your own reaction and opinion of each work, but I will provide some topics if you cannot think of anything to write about on some occasions. When responding directly to the reading assignments, please include direct quotes or passages from which you are responding. 4. Periodic quizzes on the assigned readings. 5. A comprehensive short essay and matching final exam, which covers the central periods discussed in the course & probes how the early African American writers affected the authors & leaders of our time.
GRADE DISTRIBUTION: Rough draft of critical analysis 50 points Final draft of critical analysis 200 points Formal pres. on one author 100 points Timeline for presentation 50 points Weekly journals* (15 total @20 pts. each) 300 points Periodic quizzes (10 total @10 pts. each) 100 points Final Exam 200 points 1000 points possible
*Extra Credit: For your journal, each full extra page beyond one will earn you 5 extra credit points each week. Also, if you attend a dramatic performance by an African American playwright or a play written by an African American author and you provide the “proof” that you attended during the spring semester, you will automatically receive 10 extra credit points for every performances attended.
Evaluation: A = 900-1000 points B = 800-899 points C = 700-799 points D = 600-699 points F = 599 points and below
Learning Outcomes & Goals: 1. Student essays and class discussions will evidence abstract reasoning and critical analysis. 2. Student essays will be logically organized, syntactically coherent, and grammatically correct, as outlined in Maryland’s “Standards for a ‘C’ paper.” 3. Students will use bibliographical and web sources proficiently for the sake of writing a college-level research paper (organized around an arguable thesis and of 5 pages in length in MLA format). This also means that they will know how to employ those resources without plagiarizing them. 4. Students will understand more deeply the rich complexity of African American culture and they will further appreciate the fine arts within that culture. 5. Students will exhibit peer-collaborative skills.
Academic Support Services: Academic Support Center (new building, L 105) Ext. 251 Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Learning Resources Center/Library (new building), ext. 450 Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Academic Computing Lab (new building, L 105), (410) 827-5844 Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Testing Center (new building, L 133), ext. 344 (Note: Students must bring a photo i.d. & show up at least one hour before the testing center closes in order to make up an exam). Monday and Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Cambridge Multi-Service Center/Academic Computing Lab Ext. 601, or (410) 228-5754 Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. STANDARDS FOR A "C" PAPER Developed by the Statewide English Composition Committee For the Maryland Chief Academic Officers CONTENT The "C" paper fulfills the assignment, meeting all specified requirements, such as subject, organization, and length, and reflects the author's awareness of audience and purpose. The paper presents a central idea supported by relevant material (facts, figures, examples, quotations, or other details). The reasoning is sound; arguments are supported with adequate evidence; and the paper makes appropriate use of specific, concrete, and relevant information. Other points of view are acknowledged and responded to as appropriate. Sources of information are accurately and fully attributed.
ORGANIZATION The "C" paper has a discernible and logical plan. It has a focus, and the writer maintains the focus throughout the essay. The writer has unified the entire essay in support of the central idea, or thesis, and individual paragraphs in support of subordinate points. Some individual paragraphs, however, may be weak. The writer promotes coherence through the logical order of paragraphs and the use of some or all of the following devices: thesis sentence, topic sentences, opening and closing paragraphs, and transitions. The use of these devices may lack smoothness, but the writer has achieved an acceptable level of organization.
STYLE/EXPRESSION The "C" paper uses reasonable stylistic options (tone, word choice, sentence patterns) for its audience and purpose. The writing is clear. As a rule, the paper has smooth transitions between paragraphs, although some sentences may be ineffective. The meaning of sentences is clear, although some sentences may be awkward or there may be a lack of variety in sentence patterns. Nonetheless, sentence structure is generally correct, although it may show limited mastery of such elements as subordination, emphasis, sentence variety and length, and modifiers. The paper reflects current academic practices of language use established by professional associations such as the Modern Language Association and the American Psychological Association.
GRAMMAR/MECHANICS The "C" paper follows the conventions of standard written U. S. English; thus, it is substantially free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. What errors are present must not impede meaning nor overly distract the reader. SCHEDULE FOR READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS* (*Stay tuned because changes may be made to the syllabus during the semester!)
W January 24 Introduction to course Discussion of research topics, class trips, and presentations First Reaction Journal (in-class)
W January 31 Reaction Journal #2 “Preface” (xxix-xlvii) SPIRITUALS: “No More Auction Block” (28) “Swing Long, Sweet Chariot” (14) “Been in the Storm So Long” (13) “Venture Smith” (168-169) “A Narrative of the Life” (170-185) “Olaudah Equiano” (187-189) from “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African” (189-213) “Phillis Wheatley” (213-215) Letters (216-217) “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (219-220) “To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth, His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for North-America, Etc.” (221-222) “To His Excellency General Washington” (225-226) “Sojourner Truth” (245-246) “Ar’n’t I a Woman” (246-249) Presenter : ______
W February 7 Reaction Journal #3 “Harriet Jacobs” (279-280) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (280-315) Clotel; or, The President’s Daughter (325-345)
Presenter: ______
W February 14 Reaction Journal #4 “Frederick Douglass” (385-387) from Narrative of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (387-452) from My Bondage and My Freedom (452-461) “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (462-473) from Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (474-483) Presenter: ______W February 21 Reaction Journal #5 “Francis E. W. Harper” (491-494) “Eliza Harris” (495-496 “The Slave Mother” (496-497) “Bury Me in a Free Land” (499-500) “Learning to Read” (501-502) “Harriet Wilson” (521-522) Our Nig (523-540) “Literature of the Reconstruction to the New Negro Renaissance” (541-554) Presenter: ______
W February 28 Reaction Journal #6 “Booker T. Washington” (570-572) Up from Slavery (572-602) “Charles W. Chesnutt” (602-604) “The Goophered Grapevine” (604-612) “Pauline E. Hopkins” (650-651) “Talma Gordon” (651-662) Presenter: ______
W March 7 Reaction Journal #7 “W.E.B. DuBois” (686-689) “The Damnation of Women” (766-777) “Criteria of Negro Art” (777-784) “Paul Laurence Dunbar” (905-907) “The Colored Soldiers” (910-912) “We Wear the Mask” (918) “Douglass” (925) Presenter: ______
W March 14 Reaction Journal #8 “Claude McKay” (1003-1006) “If We Must Die” (1007) “America” (1008) “The White House” (1009) “From Home to Harlem” (1010-1016) “Harlem Renaissance” (953-962) “Alain Locke” (983-984) “The New Negro” (984-993) “Marcus Garvey” (995-996) “The Future as I See it” (1000-1003) “Sterling Brown” (1248) “Strong Men” (1252-1254) Due: Rough draft of critical analysis Presenter: ______W March 21 Spring Break—No Class
W March 28 Reaction Journal #9 “Zora Neale Hurston” (1019-1022) “Sweat” (1022-1030) “How it Feels to be Colored Me” (1030-1033) “The Gilded Six Bits” (1033-1041) “Langston Hughes” (1288-1291) “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (1291) “Mother to Son” (1292) “The Weary Blues” (1294-1295) “Mulatto” (1297-1298) “Harlem” (1308-1309) “Merry-Go-Round” (1303-1304) “Theme for English B” (1309-1310) Presenter: ______
W April 4 Reaction Journal #10 “Countee Cullen” (1339-1340) “Yet I Do Marvel” (1341) “Incident” (1342) “Heritage” (1347-1350) “Realism, Naturalism, Modernism” (1355-1366) “Richard Wright” (1399-1402) “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow” (1411-1419) “Black Boy” (1471-1487) Presenter: ______
W April 11 Reaction Journal #11 “Ann Petry” (1496-1497) “Like a Winding Sheet” (1497-1504) “Ralph Ellison” (1535-1538) Invisible Man (1548-1570) “Gwendolyn Brooks” (1623-1625) “The Mother” (1625-1626) “Sadie and Maud” (1627) “The Lovers of the Poor” (1635-1637) “We Real Cool” (1638) Presenter: ______W April 18 Reaction Journal #12 “James Baldwin” (1696-1699) “Sonny’s Blues” (1728-1749) Flip through the Blues tunes (48-63) Lorraine Hansberry (1768-1770) Raisin in the Sun (1771-1830) Due: Rough & Final draft of Critical analysis
Presenter: ______
W April 25 Reaction Journal #13 “Martin Luther King, Jr.” (1895-1896) “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1896-1908) “Malcolm X” (1859-1860) from The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1860-1876) “Nikki Giovanni” (2096) “Beautiful Black Men” (2097-2098) “Nikki-Rosa” (2098)
Presenter: ______
W May 2 Reaction Journal #14 “Literature Since 1975” (2127-2139) “Maya Angelou” (2155-2156) “Still I Rise” (2156-2157) “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (2158-2167) “Alice Walker” (2425-2427) “Women” (2427) “On Stripping Bark from Myself” (2428-2429) “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens (2430-2437) “Toni Morrison” (2210-2214) from Song of Solomon (2214-2285)
Presenter: ______
W May 9 Reaction Journal #15 Final discussion of Song of Solomon
FINAL EXAM
Have a Safe and Wonderful Summer! ENG 183--Earls Guidelines for the Critical Analysis Assignment (200 points possible)
Choose one author and one of his/her works of fiction from the syllabus, and write a 1,250-word (app. 5-7 pages typed, double-spaced, and in MLA format) critical analysis on a theme you have discovered in the text. You must find at least two critics/professional critical essays that support the theme you have identified. The focus of this assignment is for you to explore and defend what you’ve discovered as the most significant focus of the literary work. (Consider: what was the author’s message/intention in writing?) Therefore, the majority of the paper should be your argument and support (dialogue, the setting, important details, symbols, etc.) from the story. The critical comments are only secondary to the assignment. A Works Cited page is required to cite your primary and secondary sources.
A rough, typed draft of your analysis (including the Works Cited page) is due on or before W, March 14th, as indicated on the syllabus. It is worth up to 50 points. The final draft (to include all rough copies) is due on or before W, April 18th. It is worth up to 200 points. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ANY REASON!
Criteria: Title: Please don’t use the author’s title, since you aren’t rewriting his/her text. Furthermore, don’t use “Critical Analysis” as your title. Choose a creative, intriguing title that will inspire your reader.
Intro.: Introduce the author & text, and offer a brief plot summary/overview (no more than 2 sentences) of the text, for the unknowing reader. Your introduction should culminate with your thesis statement (your argument/the theme/focus you’ve discovered in the text.)
Body: You should include at least 4 or 5 detailed paragraphs of defense for your theme/thesis. Please use the best quotations that demonstrate your theme. Follow each quotation with a citation (author’s last name page) and a subsequent sentence explaining how the quote is relevant to your theme. Please don’t use the 1st or 2nd person Point of view in your paper. Since you are analyzing the text at present, adhere to the present verb tense. Also, use transitions to connect one complete thought to the next. Incorporate the thoughts of at least two critics. Introduce these critical comments, so that you reader doesn’t confuse the critic with a character from the text. (e.g.—Critic Claudia Tate depicts Bigger’s dynamic character in ‘Deprived Beyond Harlem’, where she writes, ‘…………..’” (para. 4).)
Conclusion: Summarize your theme/thesis, but also leave the reader thinking, perhaps by making a connection between the theme, the text, and modern readers. Demonstrate how the text is mimetic. ENG 183—Earls Biographical Power Point Oral Report You must complete a ten to fifteen-minute power point oral report on the life of one author from the syllabus. You must sign up for an author and no two students can report on the same author. Your presentation is due on the evening your author will be discussed in class (no exceptions!). Your oral presentation must include:
1. A timeline of the author’s life, to include the most significant events that occurred in his/her life (birth, literary contributions, significant life changes, death, etc.). DO NOT JUST COPY A TIMELINE YOU FOUND FROM A SOURCE! 2. Within the timeline, you must include historical events or the historical context of his/her writing. Please include only events you believe affected or impacted his/her life and/or work (i.e.—the Civil War, Civil Rights issues, Jim Crow laws, Civil Rights, etc.) Be prepared to discuss the significance of these events with the class. Don’t just list them on the timeline and say nothing about them. (Note: You may include these dates and events within the same chronology of the author’s life, for one concise timeline.) 3. An introduction to the assigned readings by your author, as designated on the syllabus. You must jump-start our class discussion with five intriguing, thought- provoking, critical questions about the author’s works (which we’ve read together.) You may want your questions to relate the author’s life to the works directly. (Ex.—Do you see Richard Wright’s struggles for equality in any of his works that we read for tonight?) Your questions must pertain to our readings for that day! These questions should not be just about the biographical details you discovered! Tie them directly to the literary works we’ve read! 4. A bibliography, which includes all sources you used to research the author’s life and times. You must use at least five different sources. Neither our textbook nor the CD can be one of the sources. Your bibliography should be typed in MLA format.
You must submit a copy of your power point slide presentation to the instructor before the class in which you present!
Please bring in photographs and any other props that relate to the author’s life and times with you to class to enhance our understanding of your author. In addition, be sure not to read your presentation to us. Provide information and research that you’ve discovered beyond what your written work conveys to us. Creativity is strongly encouraged.
Since you will be considered an “expert” on the author’s life for the evening of your presentation, the class may interrogate you with pertinent questions about his/her life. Be prepared to respond to any questions the class may have. You might consider role- playing and becoming this author for the class. Accordingly, you would respond to all inquiries in the 1st person POV.
Oral presentation= 100 points timeline/organization of powerpoint= 50 points