AMERICAN LITERATURE I Massasoit Community College Fall 2013—Online Instructor: Sean McPherson Email: Through Canvas. Allow one business day turnaround for email responses. M-F, 8-5. COURSE DESCRIPTION ENGL 213: American Literature I 3 credits An introduction to American literature, this course examines the major contributors to the development of American literature, culture, and ideals from the colonial period to the era of American Romanticism. Prerequisite: English Composition II (ENGL102) REQUIRED TEXT Perkins, Barbara & Perkins, George. The American Tradition in Literature 12th Edition (Concise). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2009. ISBN: 978-0-07-338489-5 COURSE GOALS 1. Understand the way major works reflect the cultures of America at various points in its history prior to 1860. 2. Discussion, informal writing, and formal essays, carry to a higher level the skillful analysis of language and texts that was developed in earlier composition courses. 3. Trace through selected literary and historical texts the development of American consciousness, attitudes, and ideals. 4. Recognize in literary and historical texts themes that continue to challenge America (e.g. personal freedom versus group responsibility, class, gender and race consciousness, violence, religious values). 5. Develop and express, formally and/or informally, points of view on these themes in order to stimulate critical thinking. 6. Use research to deepen understanding and to develop analytical papers that demonstrate the connections between primary and secondary sources. 7. Appreciate the personal relevance and shared values of literature and the pleasure of recognizing the universal human condition. 8. Strengthen Core Competencies** in order to increase success in this and other courses and in the workplace. *Critical thinking, technology skills, oral communication, quantitative skills, reading, and writing. ESSAYS Since this is a writing intensive class, you will be engaged in a large amount of informal and formal writing. If you are ever unsure or need help with the writing assignments, please let me know how I can help you. Essay Directions: Instructions and prompts for your essays are in the Modules area. Go to the left side of your screen when you are in Canvas and click on the word “Modules.” You can also find them by going to the Assignments area and clicking on the individual essay number. Essay Due Dates: Can be found in the weekly pacing schedule at the end of this syllabus. Essay Page Length Requirement: A minimum of 3 pages (not including the Works Cited). Essay Expectations: For detailed expectations, please see the grading rubric and the essay directions/prompts located in Canvas. Essays must follow MLA Style: If you are unsure about MLA, please visit the following: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. I am happy to answer any questions. Just ask. Be Careful! Since the focus of our essays is on the writings from actual authors in history, refrain from quoting the editors of the textbook, Perkins. The Perkins introductory and biographical sections are not our focus of study, the historical authors’ texts are: Native American tales, Bradford, Smith, Rowlandson, Bradstreet, Poe, Hawthorne, etc… Watch Out! You may not include any outside research in your essays. All of your direct quotes must come from the textbook only. No exceptions. o Essays that contain outside research will not be graded. Definitely Don’t Do This! Do not cite Wikipedia , Spark Notes, eNotes, Cliff’s Notes, Shmoop, Book Rags, or any other study aids in your essays. Those are meant to enhance your reading of texts only. Also, do not use any material from “essay mills.” Your essays will be checked for plagiarism. Submitting Essays: When submitting your essay to Canvas o Upload your essays as attachments. o Do not submit your essay and Works Cited as two separate documents. Your Works Cited page must be a part of one electronic file. o Acceptable File Formats: .doc, .docx, .wps, .rtf, .pdf, .odt . If you don’t have a regular word processing program, you may convert your files for free at www.zamzar.com. Late Assignment Policy: As a general rule, late essays are not acceptable. In extreme cases and with approval by your instructor, your essay may be accepted after the due date, but it will be penalized one full letter grade for every day after the due date, not to exceed three days. Incomplete Essay Policy: Essays that are incomplete will not receive satisfactory grades. One of the following constitutes an incomplete essay: o does not meet the minimum page length requirement o does not contain direct quotes to support the claims o Essays that do not contain a Works Cited page will not be graded. Essay Grading: Your essay will be graded electronically in Canvas. Once your essay has been graded, you will receive the following feedback: o Grade Sheet (This is a grading rubric with a point by point breakdown of how you were graded on each aspect of your essay). o Feedback (This document will specifically indicate what needs improvement in your essay accompanied by my explanations, examples, and external links to further assistance when available). WEEKLY FOLDERS Weekly “Modules” will open Sunday nights at 11:59pm. The weekly modules will contain all of the information, instructions, lectures, assignments, discussion boards, and assignment drop boxes—basically, everything you will need for the week. It is important to read the contents of the weekly folder in its entirety. GRADE WEIGHTS 10% = Essay 1 10% = Essay 2 10% = Essay 3 10% = Essay 4 10% = Final Exam 30% = Discussion Boards 20% = Journals Basic Grading Percentages: A 93-100, A- 90-92, B+ 88-89, B 83-87, B- 80-82, C+ 78-79, C 73-77, C- 70-72, D+ 68-69, D 63-67, D- 60-62, F 0-59 STANDARDS FOR WRITING Essays must follow MLA Style. The following MLA Style guidelines were taken from the most current version of the writing handbook Rules for Writers: 1. Typed 2. Double Spaced 3. One-Inch Margins 4. Complete Heading in the Upper Left Corner: (Your Name, Class Name and Section #, My Name, Date—in that order) 5. Your Last Name and Page Number (without a comma) in the upper right hand corner of all pages. Use header/footer for this. Do not simply type it in. 6. Original Title Top, Center (should be related to the thesis)—No cover pages. That is not MLA. 7. Works Cited Page NOTE: Your paper should be free from errors: grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, syntax, etc. If you know that you might have trouble with this, please seek help from the tutoring center. COMMUNICATION Email: We will use the internal email system through Canvas. You are expected to check your email account at least three times a week (preferably Mon, Wed, & Fri). I will respond to emails within one business day (M-F, 8-5)—no weekends or holidays. PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY In today's digital age, it is easier to plagiarize than ever. It is also easier to detect plagiarism than ever. Unfortunately, I find plagiarism in student essays all of the time. College is voluntary. No one is forcing you to be here. In fact, you pay for it! I would hope you are here to learn not to pass other people's work off as your own. Please follow the following link to read the Statement of Academic Honesty policy at the college: http://www.massasoit.mass.edu/misc/policies.cfm (When you get to the page, scroll down to find the policy). PLAGIARISM SANCTIONS If caught plagiarizing or cheating, you will receive the following sanctions: 1. Zero on the assignment. Notification of your name and the infraction to the English department chairperson and the Dean of Humanities. OR 2. Failure of the course. Notification to department chair and division dean. Note on transcript. Your essays and assignments in the course will be automatically submitted to a plagiarism detection website called Turnitin.com that is integrated into Canvas. Please be aware that ALL of your assignments in the course will be monitored for plagiarism. CLASS METHODOLOGY Essays Four essays and a final exam centered on the literature. See the weekly pacing at the end of this syllabus for the due dates. The directions and guidelines for the essays are in the Modules area. Discussion Forums Each week you will participate in graded discussion forums. The explanation and guidelines can be found the Start Here module. Journals Each week you will write one journal entry in response to the literature or video from the syllabus. The explanation and guidelines can be found in the Start Here module. Final Exam At the end of the semester, you will be given a final exam essay to complete regarding our studies for the term. The prompt for the final exam will not be given until the last week of class. You will always access this course through the Internet. This is an online course, so everything we do will be done electronically. PARTICIPATION You are responsible for logging on and completing your responsibilities for the course. I recommend that you access the course at least three times a week: Mon, Wed, & Fri. Your completion of tasks on the assigned due dates will account for your attendance in the class. CONDUCT Students are expected to exhibit professional and respectful behavior that is conducive to a mutually beneficial learning environment in the classroom. Students in violation of these standards may be referred to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action. ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT Students with disabilities who believe that they need accommodations in the classroom are encouraged to contact a disability counselor on campus as soon as possible.