English
215: Survey of American Literature—
Sites
of Conflict
Spring Semester, 2007
Professor Lohn
This is the
only paper copy of the syllabus you will receive. Subsequent changes will be
posted on the course web site: aurora.wells.edu/~lmlohn/
This
course is governed by the provisions of the
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Contact Information |
Office Hours |
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Office: 301 Macmillan |
Tuesday, |
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Phone: (315) 364-3314 |
Thursday, |
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Home Phone: (607) 272-9198 |
E-mail me at lmlohn@wells.edu |
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A LIBERAL
ARTS EDUCATION: While
you will receive a body of knowledge in this course, I am less concerned that
you assimilate information than I am that you acquire a particular way of
viewing yourself and the material you will read and discuss. To put it
another way, I am much more interested in your “education” than your
“training.”
Both
“training” and “education” are processes, but they differ radically from each
other. “Training” you to complete a task relies upon rote behavior, the
lowest form of mental activity. In training, the processes and the
outcomes are already determined: as a student, you merely accept them, memorize
them, and engage in the proper activity. Actually, “training” is a very
comforting way to direct your life. You have absolutely no responsibility
for making a “wrong” decision or for performing poorly; the fault inevitably
lies in the process you memorized or with the person who trained you.
“Education,” in contrast, depends upon your discovering, fostering, and adopting the habits of intellectual curiosity: giving and accepting guidance and criticism with aplomb and kindness, engaging in meaningful communication with others, and participating actively in a community of learners. This way of learning is decidedly not a comforting way to direct your life. You will make wrong decisions; more disconcerting, you will have to accept the responsibility for them. You will have to challenge yourself to think independently and share your thoughts with folks who will disagree with you. “Education” is not always “fun.” Outcomes may not correspond to your expectations. But, you will learn about yourself; and as you do, learning becomes a joyful process. Remember Socrates’ adjuration, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Course
Goals:
The main goals of
this course center around broad and varied literary interpretations of
the “American Dream.” We will examine texts for their definition of
that dream, for the ways in which those texts manipulate realities to
forward particular versions of the dream, and for hegemonic efforts to include
or exclude texts and authors from an “official” American canon. On
a different level, our study of American Literature will be essentially an
effort to comprehend the literary production of the
Reading
Electronic Texts:
Anthologies of
American Literature which cover the chronological scope of this course cost
over $100.00, yet most of that material is in the public domain—that means no
one “owns” the copyright. Therefore, I have decided to use web
sources for most of your reading. It will be essential that you refer
to this syllabus and course guide as it appears on the course website.
That website contains direct links to the material you will be
reading.
You should
give electronic texts the same care and attention you devote to “hard copy”
reading. Usually, you can—for your own use—copy the on-line material into your
word processing software. Microsoft Word®, for example, has features
which allow you to highlight and annotate material on the screen. Other word
processors also have the same features. Also, you can use your word processing
program to enlarge the text, or to transform it into a more readable
font; newer versions of MS Word have a “book view” mode which allows you
to read on the screen exactly as if you had a book in front of you.
You should
give electronic texts the same care and attention you devote to “hard copy”
reading. Usually, you can—for your own use—copy the on-line material into your
word processing software. Microsoft Word®, for example, has features
which allow you to highlight and annotate material on the screen. Other word
processors also have the same features. Also, you can use your word processing
program to enlarge the text, or to transform it into a more readable
font; newer versions of MS Word have a “book view” mode which allows you
to read on the screen exactly as if you had a book in front of you.
Some people find the transition from reading hard copy to reading on a screen quite difficult. One’s first tendency is to simply print out complete works and read them on paper. DO NOT PRINT WORKS AT WILL! We don’t want to save you the money on texts simply to have you spend it on paper, or worse, spend the college’s money on paper. I have instructed the student workers in the printing room NOT to accept print jobs for an entire, lengthy work. In other words, you are not permitted to print the entire text of Benito Cereno. What I suggest you do is this: adjust the fonts and the margins in any way you wish to make reading easy on the computer, and then print only those pages which you have underlined or annotated. Highlighting and annotating on screen might even help you read more carefully than you might with a conventional text. But please, do not turn this effort to save you money into a excuse to waste paper. This approach to texts is an experiment, and it is essential that you help by following the guidelines.
If you have a laptop computer, it is fine if you bring it to class, but be aware that our classroom is not particularly well-equipped with electrical outlets. Plan on running on battery or bring an extension cord that won’t trip unsuspecting classmates or professors.
Texts: In addition to the texts you will be
reading on-line, I have also ordered the following texts for you. They
are available in the bookshop. For the purposes of class discussion, it
is helpful if you purchase the editions I have ordered. You MUST purchase the
Crane, Stephen, Maggie, A Girl of the Streets,
Hellman, Lillian, Six Plays by Lillian Hellman, Vintage
Silko, Leslie Marmon, Ceremony, Penguin
Showalter,
Elaine, Scribbling Women:
Short Stories by 19th Century American Women,
Examinations and
Grading: You
will write four “take-home” examinations in the class, write five sets of
discussion questions, and complete a final examination in English 215. In addition, class participation and
attendance will also figure into your grade.
Details follow:
Grade Distribution:
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Take-Home Exam #1: |
10% |
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Take-Home Exam #2: |
10% |
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Take-Home Exam #3: |
10% |
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Take-Home Exam #4 |
10% |
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Five sets of five Discussion Questions |
15% |
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Participation and Attendance |
15% |
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Final Examination |
30% |
Take
Home Exams: As you read the
schedule for assignments, you will note that on five Thursdays, I will assign
a take-home examination. You must
complete four of these examinations.
The examination questions will be published on the course website after
class on those Thursdays. You must
submit your responses electronically to my e-mail address by the beginning of
class on the following Tuesday. It is
your responsibility to make certain that you know how to attach a document and
e-mail it. The take-home examinations
will be based on reading assignments and class discussion; they are not
cumulative. Do not necessarily anticipate a “traditional” examination; you will
be asked to apply your knowledge of the literature: for example, I might
ask you to interpret a modern print advertisement as if you were Anne
Bradstreet or Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Discussion
Questions: Your
questions will receive a letter grade. You may NOT turn in discussion
questions for class meetings when you are absent nor may you “backtrack” to
complete questions for a text we have read in previous weeks. You may
submit only one set of questions per week. While you may determine
when you will submit your questions, no questions can be submitted after the last
class meeting. Follow the link on the course website to a “Guide for
Writing Discussion Questions”.
Deadlines and late work: Each professor has her own policies about late
work. There is no “official” college policy. In this course, late
work is unacceptable. Because I am assigning one more take-home
examination than you are required to complete, you can skip one if illness or
other factors make it impossible for you to complete it. Likewise,
because you may choose when to complete your five sets of discussion questions,
the idea of "late" work is moot, as long as you complete your five
sets of questions by the last day of the course. However, you may not submit more than one set
of discussion questions each class meeting, and you may not “backtrack” to
complete discussion questions on works we discussed weeks ago. In other words, you must submit your
discussion questions ON THE DAY WE ARE
SCHEDULED TO DISCUSS THE MATERIAL.
Class Contribution: It is essential that you attend class, not only because “showing up” is important practice for your future as a career-pursuing adult, but also because discussing and exchanging ideas is at the foundation of a liberal arts education and the founding principle of my philosophy of teaching. Certainly, you may question my philosophy and I will be happy to discuss this policy with you; nevertheless, I will adhere to the following template for grading participation and attendance:
A Grading Template for
“Class Contribution”:
· "A"—(no
more than one or two absences) Takes the initiative in class on a regular
basis, provides original and valuable insights, information or service to the
class.
· "B"—(no
more than three absences) Demonstrates good levels of volunteer leadership and
participation, but on a lower level than expected for an "A", or on
an inconsistent basis.
· "C"—( three
absences) Average attendance and/or doesn’t volunteer in class
discussion, or only volunteers under crisis (if called upon by name, for
example).
· "D"—(automatic
with four absences) Merely bodily presence.
· "F"—Progressively
more unsatisfactory levels of absence, obvious lack of preparation and
engagement with the class.
A Note about Work Submitted Electronically: You will submit your take-home
examinations to me as e-mail attachments in either MS Word® or RTF (Rich text
format). NO OTHER FORMATS ARE ACCEPTABLE. Why? Because I cannot
open them on my campus computer. Documents generated by the Microsoft Works® word processor are also unacceptable
because they are unreadable with the equipment available to me at Wells.
If you do not own MS Word, DO NOT go out and buy it. Virtually all
word processors allow you to save a document in RTF. Your documents must
also have a file name that indicates who you are and what paper you are
writing. For example, I would save my first exam as “lohn two” because I
skipped the first exam assigned: there was a math quiz I needed to study
for. An acceptable file name is simply your last name and the number of
the assignment. I will keep a copy
of your work stored on my computer throughout the semester. When
you are ready to turn your exam in, simply address an e-mail to me (lmlohn@wells.edu), attach your exam (with
its simple file name), and push the send button. If you are enrolled in more than one course
with me, please add the number of the course to your file name (“lohn 2 215”,
for example)
Since I have
permitted student work to be submitted by e-mail, students have in many cases
simply ignored the requirements listed above.
I will allow you to mess up the formatting of your assignments
once. After that, I have to resort to
more Draconian tactics like reducing your grade on as assignment? Why?—following a specific format is a
courtesy to your reader who may be faced with larger enrollments than in the
past. In addition, following directions
never really hurt anyone. . . .
Conferences and Office Hours: I would encourage you to visit my office whenever you have questions about reading or writing assignments, comments or questions about class discussion, a desire to continue pursuing issues or topics which arose in class, a wish to try out an idea you aren’t quite ready to share with your classmates, or simply a longing to sit down in an old, beaten-up but comfortable chair. I will endeavor to keep my office hours faithfully; however, I occasionally may be called away by a campus meeting or other unexpected, pressing commitment. In that case, I will provide you advance notice. You do not need to make an appointment to come to office hours; however, if you do make an appointment, make certain that you show up!
Schedule
Settlement
WEEK
ONE
Tuesday, January 30
Thursday, February 1
Read on
line: William
Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation,
chapters 4,9
Read on
line: “John Pory’s
letters”
Read on
line: Ann Bradstreet, “The Prologue,”
“The Author to her Book,” “Verses Upon the Burning of Our House”
Making “History”
WEEK TWO
Tuesday, February 6
Read on
line: Hector St. John
de Crevecoeur, from Letters from an American
Farmer (48-91)
Read on line: Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Roger
Malvin’s Burial”
Thursday, February 8
Read on line:
University of
Read on line:
Ann Stephens, Malaska, The Indian
Wife of the White Hunter (Don’t forget to view the “images” associated with
the text)
WEEK
THREE
Tuesday, February13
Complete Discussion:
Ann Stephens, Malaska, The Indian
Wife of the White Hunter
The Peculiar Institution
Thursday, February 15
View Film: Amistad
Read on Line: Douglas Linder Famous Trials: the
Amistad Trial
Take Home Exam #1
Assigned
WEEK
FOUR
Tuesday, February 20
Read on
line: Herman
Melville, Benito Cereno
DUE:
Take Home Exam #1
Thursday, February 22
Complete Discussion: Herman Melville, Benito Cereno
WEEK
FIVE
Tuesday, February 27
Read on
line: “The Slave Narrative”
Read on
line: Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the
Life of a Lave Girl
Creating an American Character
Thursday, March 1
Read on line:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar”
Read on line:
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Egotism or “The Bosom Serpent”
Take Home Examination #2 Assigned
WEEK SIX
Tuesday, March 6
Read on
line: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. “
Read on
line: Walt Whitman, “A
Noiseless, Patient Spider,” “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry
DUE:
Take Home Exam #2
The Domestic Sphere
Thursday, March 8
Read: from Scribbling Women: Cacoethes Scribendi”, 3; “The Angel over the
Right Shoulder”, 17; “The Two Offers”, 27” “Circumstance”, 37
WEEK
SEVEN
Tuesday, March 13
Read: from Scribbling Women: “Marcia”, 87;”My Contraband”, 95; “Behind a
Mask”, 115
Thursday, March 15
Read: from Scribbling Women: “A
Take Home Examination #3 Assigned
WEEK EIGHT
Spring Break
March
18-23
WEEK
NINE
Tuesday, March 27
Read: from Scribbling Women: “The Yellow Wallpaper”, 351; “Turned”, 367; “The
Storm”, 380; “Souls Belated”, 387; “A Jury of Her Peers,” 435
DUE:
Take Home Exam #3
Urbanization
Thursday, March 29
Read on
line: Theodore
Dreiser, The Financier, Chapter One
Read: from Scribbling Women: Rebecca Harding Davis, “Life in the Iron Mills”
Read on line: Horatio Alger, Ragged Dick
WEEK
TEN
Tuesday, April 3
Complete Discussion: “Life in the Iron Mills”
Read: Stephen Crane, Maggie, A Girl of
the Streets (text of the novel) AND “Introduction” to the Bedford Cultural
Edition
Thursday,
April 5
Read: Maggie, A Girl of the Streets,
Selections (TBA) from cultural material
Take Home Examination #4 Assigned
WEEK
ELEVEN
Tuesday, April 10
Read: Maggie, A Girl of the Streets,
Selections (TBA) from cultural material
DUE:
Take Home Exam #4
Thursday, April 12
Read on
Reserve: Toni
Morrison, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination.
Chapter 2, “Romancing the Shadow”
Read on line: March 1925 edition of The Survey
Graphic:
(Go to the “Contents” Section and follow the link to:
I. The
Greatest Negro Community in the World
“
“Enter The New Negro”, Alain Locke
“The Making Of
“Black Workers And The City”, Charles S. Johnson
WEEK TWELVE
Tuesday,
April 17
Read
on line: March 1925 edition of The Survey Graphic:
II. The
Negro Expresses Himself
“
“The Black Man Brings His Gifts”, W. E. B. Dubois
“Youth Speaks”, Poems. Countee Cullen, Anne Spencer, Angelina Grimke, Claude
Mckay, Jean Toomer And Langston Hughes
Thursday, April 19
Read
on line: March
1925 edition of The Survey Graphic:
III. Black
and White--Studies in Race Contacts
“Color
Lines”, Walter F. White
“Harvest Of Race Prejudice”, Kelly Miller
“Breaking Through”, Eunice Roberta Hunton
“Portraits Of Negro Women”, Winold Reiss
“The Double Task”, Elise Johnson Mcdougald
Take Home Examination #5 Assigned
Examining the American Character
WEEK THIRTEEN
Tuesday,
April 26
Read: Lillian Hellman, The Children’s Hour, The Little Foxes
View Film: The
Children’s Hour
DUE:
Take Home Exam #5
Thursday, April 28
Read: Lillian Hellman, A Watch on the
Victims of the
American Dream
WEEK
FOURTEEN
Tuesday, May 1
Read on Line: Zit-Kala Za: “The School Days of an
Indian”, “An Indian Teacher Among Indians”, “The School Days of an Indian
Girl”, “The Soft-Hearted Sioux”, “The Trial Path”, “A Warrior’s Daughter”, “Why
I am a Pagan”
Thursday, May 3
Complete Discussion: Zit-Kala Za
Read Read: Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
(at least the first half)
WEEK FIFTEEN
Tuesday, May 8
Read: Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
Thursday, May 10
Complete Discussion: Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
The final examination in this course
is scheduled for Friday, May 18th at