ENGL 2130:  Survey of American Literature

American Literature, Backwards and Forwards

Instructor: Dr. Josh Masters

Office: TLC 2243

Phone: 770-839-4862

Email: jmasters@westga.edu

Office Hours: MTWR, 4:30-6

Time/Place: MTWR 6:00PM-8:55PM, Humanities 206

Course Description: This survey of American literature, from first contact to the present day, explores the themes of nature, nationhood, law, language, and race in American culture. As we examine the controversies, concerns, and conflicts surrounding these themes, we will confront a recurring pair of questions: What is “America,” and what does it mean to be an “American?” In their manifold efforts to answer these questions, American writers occasionally affirm the idea of America and occasionally critique it (and often do both), but always in their own peculiar ways.  The course therefore focuses on a set of prevailing ideas and the development of important literary trends, but it also emphasizes the unique nature of individual writers and texts.

The subtitle of the course is American Literature, Backwards and Forwards, and each week we will read two texts from different centuries that speak to each other, both historically and thematically. Week 1, “Puritanism and its Other(s),” will pair the writings of William Bradford and Anne Bradstreet with Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Week 2, “The Making of the American Self,” pairs Ben Franklin’s Autobiography with Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Week 3, “Radical Empathy,” pairs Twain’s Huck Finn with Russell Banks’s recent novel Rule of the Bone, and Week 4, “Race and Coming of Age in America,” pairs Harriet Jacobs’s slave narrative with Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye.

Required Texts (in order of appearance):

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

Ben Franklin, The Autobiography of Ben Franklin

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Russell Banks, Rule of the Bone

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Toni Morrison, TheBluest Eye.

Requirements: Students must attend every three-hour class, achieve a passing reading quiz average (65% or higher), write a 2000 word essay, and take a final exam. There will also be two short written assignments and multiple in-class writing exercises. In addition, students are expected to complete the day’s reading assignment in advance and come to class prepared to participate in discussion. The reading load is heavy, and the texts are complex and challenging. If you cannot keep up with the reading, you will be strongly encouraged to drop the class. In addition to your attendance, preparation, and intellectual curiosity, you are also encouraged to discuss your writing and thinking with me in my office.

Explanation of Course Requirements

Final Grade: To pass the course, students must turn in all written work, attend at least 10 classes, and earn a passing quiz grade. If you average less than 65% on quizzes, you will not pass the course. Your final grade is comprised of the following: Term Paper (35%); Quizzes (35%); Two Short Papers (5%), Participation—contributions to discussion, attendance, and group work (10%); Final Exam (15%).

Term Paper: Your basic task for the term paper is to produce a well-written, coherent essay whose central argument is both interesting and significant. You will be responsible for devising your own topic, though I will provide you with some prompts. I ask that each student meet with me at least once during the rough-draft stage of the papers. Due to time constraints, no late papers will be accepted.

Discussion and Attendance: Students are expected to attend every class and arrive on time, prepared, and eager to discuss the day’s reading. Your participation grade is partly based upon your performance in discussions. I expect you to demonstrate genuine engagement with the material, actively contribute to discussion topics, show adequate preparation for each class, and respect the arguments and ideas of your classmates.  Be sure to bring the text under discussion to every class.

Quizzes: Over the course of the semester, twelve quizzes will be given at the beginning of each class, all of which are open note. If you arrive late (after 6:04), you will not be allowed to take the quiz. If you are absent for whatever reason, you will not be allowed to retake a quiz.  Under no circumstances will I give make-up quizzes. If at anytime during the semester it becomes mathematically impossible for a student to earn a passing quiz score (at least a 65%), he or she will be automatically withdrawn from the class. This policy is absolutely and utterly inflexible. Each quiz is worth 10 points, which means that you must earn at least 78 points to pass the class. At the end of the semester, assuming that you've got at least 78 points, I will then drop your lowest quiz score when determining your quiz average and quiz grade.

Absences: I understand that illnesses and emergencies are a part of life, and therefore you are allowed to miss one class without penalty. However, because we meet only thirteen times, if you miss three or more classes, you will automatically fail the class, no exceptions. You have until July 14^th to withdraw.

Cellphones and Sleeping: These aren’t just “pet” peeves that get under my skin; they are flesh-eating monsters that haunt my waking dreams. I don’t ever want to see or hear a cellphone inside my class; enough said. If you fall asleep, I will wake you up the first time with gentle words and a mild frown. If you fall asleep a second time, I will deduct five points from your quiz score; a third time, ten more points will be deducted; a fourth time, ten more points, etc.

Reading Assignments: The reading assignments for each class can be found in this document and are also available through my website, http://www.westga.edu/~jmasters/. Each class meeting represents more than a full week of class on a traditional fall/spring calendar, and you will be expected to complete a full week’s worth of reading for each meeting. Expect to read approximately 100 pages (about 4 hours) in preparation for each class. This will be your main work in the class. If you are taking another class during this session or have a nine to five job, you will find it exceedingly difficult to keep up with the reading.

Departmental Plagiarism Policy: The Department of English and Philosophy defines plagiarism as taking personal credit for the words and ideas of others as they are presented in electronic, print, and verbal sources. The Department expects that students will accurately credit sources in all assignments. An equally dishonest practice is fabricating sources or facts; it is another form of misrepresenting the truth. Plagiarism is grounds for failing the course.

My Plagiarism Policy: If a student is caught plagiarizing (and this includes short writing assignments) or cheating on a quiz, he or she will automatically fail the course. No exceptions. Also, I consider Cliffnotes, Sparknotes, and other similar “resources” out of bounds. You must complete the reading on your own and do your own thinking in the class. Quizzes will be designed in such a way that these “sources” will be of no use to you.

Reporting procedures for plagiarism:
1. Instructor should meet with the student whose work is suspected of having been plagiarized to discuss the correlation(s) between the student’s paper and the source(s) from which that paper has been constructed. 
2. During this meeting, the instructor should inform the student of the penalty s/he intends to institute (failing the individual assignment, failing the class, sending the case forward for further sanctions from the University).
3. After meeting with the student, the instructor should send a brief report of the case, including the plagiarized student work and supporting documentation, forward to Dr. John Clower, Director of Residence Life, requesting that this case become a permanent part of the student’s record at West Georgia. THIS REPORT SHOULD BE FORWARDED EVEN IF THE INSTRUCTOR DOES NOT WANT THE UNIVERSITY TO SANCTION THE STUDENT.  It is important to create a record of students’ infringement of academic honesty policies so that should a student develop a pattern of dishonesty the University can take appropriate actions to suspend or expel the student.

Course Goals

• Students will develop the ability to recognize, identify, and contextualize significant achievements in African-American literature.

• Students will develop the ability to apply, understand, and appreciate the application of aesthetic criteria to "real-world" circumstances.

• Students will develop enhanced cultural awareness and analytical skills.

• Students will demonstrate their command of academic English and of the tenets of sound composition by means of thesis-driven analytical prose.

Program Goals

• Oral and written communication will be characterized by clarity, critical analysis, logic, coherence, persuasion, precision, and rhetorical awareness (Core Curriculum learning outcomes I)

• Cultural and Social Perspectives: Cultural and social perspective will be characterized by cultural awareness and an understanding of the complexity and dynamic nature of social/political/economic systems; human and institutional behavior, values, and belief systems; historical and spatial relationship; and, flexibility, open-mindedness, and tolerance. (Core Curriculum learning outcomes III)

• Aesthetic Perspective: Aesthetic perspective will be characterized by critical appreciation of and ability to make informed aesthetic judgments about the arts of various cultures as media for human expression (Core Curriculum learning outcomes V)

• This course fulfills the Area C.2 requirement in the core for all students.

• Area C (Humanities/Arts) Learning Outcomes:

1. To develop the ability to recognize and identify achievements in literary, fine and performing arts;
2. To have an appreciation of the nature and achievements of the arts and humanities; and
3. To develop the ability to apply, understand, and appreciate the application of aesthetics criteria to “real world circumstances.

• This course contributes to the program goal of equipping students with a foundation in literary history and the issues surrounding literary study in contemporary culture.

• This course broadens students' desire and ability to take pleasure in their encounter with literature.

Schedule

Tuesday, July 5: Introduction to course, fun with names, course policies and requirements, a brief history of Puritanism in America. Read excerpts from Bradford and Bradstreet.

Wednesday, July 6: Begin Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Excerpt from “The Custom-House,” middle of p. 21 (The paragraph begins: “But the object…”) to the top of p. 24 (The paragraph ends, “…and not without fair occasion.”). Then, read Chapters 1-12 (33-109 in Dover edition).

Thursday, July 7: Complete Scarlet Letter. Chapters 13-24 (109-180).

Monday, July 11: Ben Franklin Day! Read Parts 1 and 2 of The Autobiography of Ben Franklin.

Tuesday, July 12: Begin Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Chapters 1-3 (pgs. 1-59). Textual-evidence and analysis paragraph due (15-200 words, typed).

Wednesday, July 13: Read Gatsby, chapters 4-7 (pgs. 61-145). Short papers returned.

Thursday, July 14: Complete Gatsby, chapters 8-9 (pgs. 147-180). Two paragraph essay due (approximately 300 words). This is the final day to withdraw with a “w.”

Friday, July 15: Take a look at next week’s reading and get started!

Monday, July 18: Begin Twain’s Huck Finn and Banks’s Rule of the Bone. In Huck Finn, read chapters 1 and 2 (pgs. 1-8) and chapters 4-7 (pgs. 11-27). In Rule of the Bone, read chapters 1-6 (pgs. 1-108).

Tuesday, July 19: In Huck Finn, read the second half of chapter 8, pgs. 30-36 (starting with the paragraph that begins, “Well, I went fooling…”), chapters 9-10 (36-41), chapters 12-13 (47-57), and chapter 15 (pgas. 60-65). In Rule of the Bone, read chapters 7-9 (pgs. 109-183).

Wednesday, July 20: In Huck Finn, read chapters 16-18 (pgs. 65-88). In Rule of the Bone, read chapters 10-15 (pgs. 184-272).

Thursday, July 21: In Huck Finn, read chapters 31-32 (pgs. 158-169), and “Chapter the Last” (219-220). Finish Rule of the Bone (273-390). Discuss final paper.

Monday, July 25: Begin Jacobs and Morrison. Chapters in Jacobs to be announced. Read The Bluest Eye to page 93 (up to the section titled, “Spring”).

Tuesday, July 26: Two or three chapters from Jacobs, and complete The Bluest Eye. Discuss final exam and final paper.

Wednesday, July 27: Reading day.

Thursday, July 28: Final papers due at the exam, which is from 6-7:30.