ENGLISH 5108-01

Studies in the Novel: American

Spring 2011

Dr. Debra MacComb

Office: TELC 2232

Website: www.westga.edu/~dmaccomb

Office Phone: 678-839-4869; email: dmaccomb@westga.edu

Office Hours: M-W 9-noon, 2-2:30; T 9-1; and by appointment.

Course Description:

This course will focus on representative novels from the 18^th through 20^th centuries that reflect and that have significantly  influenced the development of the American novel .

Required Texts:

Faulkner, As I Lay Dying (Vintage)

James, The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin)

Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (Dover)

Pyncheon, The Crying of Lot 49 (Harper-Perennial)

Rowson, Charlotte Temple (Bedford)

Sedgwick, Hope Leslie (Penguin)

Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Dover)

Class Policies:

·         I expect you to preserve an atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and intellectual maturity in the classroom and to take your own work and that of other students seriously.

• Attendance:  Missing more than three classes for any reason will be grounds for lowering your final grade; missing five classes may be grounds for failure. Arriving late and/or leaving early is the same as an absence.
• “MYUWG” email accounts will be the official mode of communicating with you, so check this email account on a regular basis.
• I do not give “extra credit” assignments.
• Work submitted to fulfill requirements in other courses, whether this semester or in past semesters, will not be accepted.  Indeed, I consider this practice a breach of academic integrity which will result in failure for the assignment.

·         Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off and removed from your desk during class. Text messaging will not be tolerated.

• Late work will be penalized at the rate of 1/2 grade per day late.
• Disruptive Behavior: Students will be dismissed from any class meeting at which they exhibit behavior that disrupts the learning environment of others.  Such behavior includes-but is not limited to-arriving late for class, allowing cell phones to ring, speaking disrespectfully to the instructor and/or to other students, checking email or surfing the web, and using personal audio or video devices. Each dismissal of this kind will count as an absence and will be applied toward the attendance requirements policy above.
• Plagiarism will result in failure for the course; it also will be documented and sent to both the Department Chair and the Vice President for Academic Affairs as part of your record at UWG. Please see the department website for a definition of plagiarism, implications for English majors, and a discussion on means to avoid it: http://www.westga.edu/%7Eengdept/Plagiarism/index

·         Special Needs: If you have a registered disability that will require accommodation, please see me at the beginning of the semester.  If you have a disability that you have not yet registered through the Disabled Student Services Office, please contact Dr. Ann Phillips in 137 Parker Hall at 678-839-6428.

Course Assessment:

·         Active and informed participation (10%). Students should come to class, relevant texts in hand, prepared to contribute to class discussion on the assigned readings.   Brief quizzes will periodically preface discussion; they cannot be made up.  Since it is impossible to be an “active and informed” participant if you regularly miss class, irregular attendance will be grounds for lowering your final grade (see above policy).  Perfect attendance, while certainly meritorious, is not synonymous with “active and informed participation.” I will post recommended readings to the online syllabus for each novel.

• Reading questions (10%).To insure class discussion/active listening, students will prepare brief but well-constructed response of about 200 words as we begin each text designated by an asterisk on the syllabus.  Your response should direct our attention to a specific passage in the reading, explain how the passage is operating (what it is saying, both literally and thematically; what its dominant metaphors suggest; what events it alludes to; and what distinguishes the passage rhetorically or stylistically).  Finally, the response should conclude by posing a focused, specific question (or questions) about how this isolated passage relates to, or what it reveals about, the main issues/purpose of the text as a whole.    These responses should demonstrate personal interest and inquiry; they will be shared in class, collected and recorded.   These responses should be typed; they are due at 5 PM the day before the asterisk appears on the syllabus—you must, therefore, read ahead.  You may leave a hard copy of your reading questions in my English Department mailbox or you may email them.  Note: I must receive the reading question by 5PM, so don’t count on emailing your response at 4:49 and having it received on time.  It’s your responsibility to get it to me, so you need to take into account that email doesn’t always function as we would desire.  I will not accept late reading questions. Sample reading question.

• Response papers (40%--10/15/15).  Three brief, analytical essays (c. 3 pages each) based on a choice of several broad topics. These brief essays will require a synthesis of ideas arising from class discussion. Please check the English Department website for the grading rubric.

• Prospectus Documented Essay (25%).  In consultation with me, students will develop an research topic  arising from the texts and issues addressed in class discussion. Students will develop arguments on their research topics in an 15-18 page documented essay that takes into account the most pertinent  critical literature in the field.

• Final Exam (15%). Identification, essay.

Spring 2011 Schedule: (Please see online syllabus for changes to schedule as well as for learning and program outcomes)

January                5             W            Course Introduction

10          M             Rowson, Charlotte Temple

                                Recommended readings

12           W            *Charlotte Temple

17           M            MLK Birthday—No class

19           W            Charlotte Temple

24           M            Sedgwick, Hope Leslie                                       Response paper 1 due

26           W            *Hope Leslie

31           M            Hope Leslie

February           2                W            Hope Leslie

                                7             M            Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

                                9             W            *Uncle Tom’s Cabin

                                14           M            Uncle Tom’s Cabin

                                16           W            Uncle Tom’s Cabin

                                21           M            James, The Portrait of a Lady                          Response paper 2 due

                                23           W            *The Portrait of a Lady

                                28           M            The Portrait of a Lady

March                   2             W            The Portrait of a Lady

                                7 & 9                     Spring Break

                                14           M            *Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

                                16           W            Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

                                21           M            Faulkner, As I Lay Dying

                                23           W            *As I Lay Dying

                                28           M            As I Lay Dying

                                30           W            Honors Convocation—No class                      Prospectus Due

April                      4            M            Pyncheon, The Crying of Lot 49                       Response paper 3 due

                                6             W            *The Crying of Lot 49

                                11           M            The Crying of Lot 49

                                13           W            The Crying of Lot 49

                                18           M            Final Paper workshop

                                20           W            Final Paper workshop

                                25           M            Final Paper workshop

                                27           W            Documented Essay due