ENGL 2130-25H: American Literature-Honors (TR 11:00am – 12:15pm, Humanities 206)
Dr. Joshua Masters, TLC 2244
Phone and Email: 678-839-4862 jmasters@westga.edu and mastersjosh@yahoo.com
Office Hours: Mon 10-1, Tues 1-4, Wed 10-1, Thurs 1-2, and by appointment.
“American Literature, Backwards and Forwards”
This honors survey of American literature traces the development of such themes as nature, nationhood, law, gender, race, and identity in our national culture, from first contact to the present day. However, rather than marching across the centuries with the mission of conquering our nation’s literary history, we will “light out for the territories” in a somewhat unconventional fashion. The subtitle of the course, “American Literature, Backwards and Forwards,” is meant to suggest both the intertextual and the transhistorical nature of the class. The writers and texts we will examine speak to shared concerns that reach across American history, and we will imagine the writers engaged in a dialogue and exchanging ideas through their literary works. Section One of the course, “Inventing America,” will examine the idea of American nationhood, from its Puritanical origins to its postmodern reformulations, in the poetry and prose of William Bradford, Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, John Berryman, and Yusef Komunyakaa. Section Two, “Americans in Chains,” will consider the legacy of slavery in the American imagination, featuring an eighteenth-century autobiography by Olaudah Equiano, a nineteenth-century short story by Herman Melville, an early twentieth-century epic poem by Jean Toomer, and a late twentieth century novel by Toni Morrison. Section Three, “The First American Other,” will explore the role Native Americans have played in shaping American history and literature, beginning with short works by Christopher Columbus, Bernal Diaz, and George Catlin, and culminating in a postmodern novel by the Laguna Pueblo writer Leslie Marmon Silko. Finally, in Section Four, “The Questing American,” we will consider the Romantic tradition of the American quest narrative—rooted in the need to flee from the America we have collectively invented. Edgar Allan Poe’s 1838 novel Arthur Gordon Pym, Scott Bradfield’s 1986 novel The History of Luminous Motion, and Sean Penn’s 2007 film Into the Wild all feature an American youth in search of an alternative American self.
Required Texts (in
order of appearance):
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah
Equiano
Herman Melville, Benito Cereno
Jean Toomer, Cane
Toni Morrison, Sula
Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
Scott Bradfield, The History of Luminous Motion (not available
through bookstore)
Requirements
Students are expected to complete the day’s reading assignment in advance and come to class prepared to participate in discussion. Students must maintain a reading-quiz average of 65% or higher and miss no more than four classes in order to pass the class. Other requirements include a series of short responses and process-based writing assignments, a five-page paper, an oral presentation, and a ten-page final project. Students in this class must complete the day’s reading assignment in advance and come to class prepared to participate in discussion. If you cannot keep up with the reading, you will fail the class.
Explanation of Course Requirements
Final Grade: To pass the course, students must turn in all assigned written work, have no more than four absences, 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: Final Paper (30%); Quizzes (20%); Process-Based Writing Assignments (20%); Midterm essay (15%); Midterm Exam (15%). Note: I am always happy to discuss your progress in the class with you and explain my evaluation of your work. You can expect to receive the grade you earn in this class; please refrain from telling me what grade you “need” in the class (for Hope, for athletics, to fulfill a dying relative’s final request, etc.), or what grade you “really want” (presumably an A).
Essays: Your basic task for each paper is to produce a well-written, coherent essay whose central argument is both interesting and significant. Your essays will be thesis-driven, argumentative papers, and your grade will be determined by the complexity of your central argument, the structure of your paragraphs, the logic of your organization, and the strength of your prose (i.e. your writing). Your papers, especially your final research project, will also be evaluated in terms of their use of secondary sources and the originality of your scholarship. Emailed papers will not be accepted; you must turn in a hard copy of the paper, along with all process-based writing assignments, in a two pocket folder.
Late Essays: I will accept late essays, but always with a penalty. A paper will be considered one day late if I do not receive it at the beginning of (or before) class. For each weekday that a paper is late, 1/3 of a letter grade will be deducted from the final grade. For instance, if the paper is due on Tuesday and you turn it in before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, you will lose 1/3 of a grade (i.e. a C+ becomes a C). If you turn it in on Thursday, 2/3 of a grade is deducted (a C+ becomes a C-). Although I do not accept emailed papers, a student who needs to establish a date and time of completion can send an attachment. However, the student, not the teacher, is responsible for any computer or internet problems.
Reading Assignments: Consult the online syllabus for the schedule of reading assignments, which can be found on Dr. Masters’ website (http://www.westga.edu/~jmasters/). All reading will be due on Tuesday, and you can expect to read about 100-150 pages each week. All quizzes are open note (but not open book), so you should always assemble some reading notes once you’ve completed the assignment—names of characters, important events, central ideas, etc. (Slight changes and modifications are always a part of the semester, so plan to consult the online syllabus regularly. All changes will be announced in class.)
Quizzes: At the beginning of each Tuesday class, you will take a comprehensive, fact-based quiz on the week’s reading assignment. If you arrive late, you will not be allowed to take the quiz, and you must wait outside until the quiz is completed. 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. However, each student can arrange to take one quiz in advance. 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 told to stop coming to class. This policy is absolutely and utterly inflexible. Each quiz is worth 10 points, and at the end of the semester, assuming that you've earned the required 65%, I will then drop your lowest quiz score when determining your quiz average and quiz grade. All quizzes are open note (but not open book), and you are encouraged to bring notes based on the reading to class.
Process-Based Writing Assignments: At the beginning of each week, I will post Thursday’s’s writing assignment at the bottom of the online syllabus. All writing in this class submitted for credit must be typed. Your papers for this class will be written over a period of weeks rather than in one, long sleepless night. Expect Thursday assignments to be fairly involved affairs that take you through the process of writing a thesis-driven, critical essay. These assignments will be graded on a ten, twenty, or thirty-point scale (depending on how involved they are), and the grade will be based on their level of completeness and the degree to which they follow my directions. Late assignments will penalized three points for each weekday that they are late.
Discussion and Preparation: Students are expected to attend every class and arrive on time, prepared, and eager to discuss the day’s reading. Your participation grade is based upon your performance in the class in terms of group work, discussion, and attendance habits. You are expected to demonstrate genuine engagement with the material, actively contribute to discussion topics, show adequate preparation for each class, and respect the ideas of your classmates. You must bring the text under discussion to every class, including a print-out of any reserve reading.
Cellphones and Sleeping: Don’t ever, ever fall asleep in this class, and I never want to see a cellphone. As soon as you see me, get the thing out of sight. If you fall asleep or use your cellphone in class (such as text-messaging and/or message checking), you will be asked to leave class and considered absent for that day.
Email: All official email correspondence must take place through UWG accounts; however, I will also be establishing a class list using your preferred email address for other forms of communication. Your emails should be proofread and written in full sentences.
Tardiness and Leaving Early: If you arrive at class late or have to leave early, it counts as ½ of an absence. On Tuesdays, after quizzes are collected, the doors will be opened and late arrivals will be allowed to find a seat. If you are more than three minutes late, you will be marked as tardy.
Absences: I understand that illnesses and emergencies are a part of life, and therefore you are allowed to miss four classes. However, there are consequences for missing more than one class, such as missing quizzes or having assignments counted as late. (Note: Wednesday writing assignments can be sent to me in advance to avoid a late penalty, and I will allow each student to take one quiz early, but remember, no make-ups.) I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences unless the absence is due to participation in an official University activity (such as band, sports, debate, etc.). Students will be administratively withdrawn from class based on the following attendance policy. Once a student exceeds four absences—even if that occurs at the end of the semester—the student will be withdrawn. If the withdrawal occurs prior to the withdrawal date (Oct. 6), the student will receive a grade of W. If the withdrawal occurs after the withdrawal date, the student will receive a grade of WF.
* If you add the class after the first day of class, you will not be counted as absent. However, you are responsible for contacting me and being prepared for the second class.
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.
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.
Reporting Procedures for Plagiarism:
Each incidence of plagiarism is subject to review and consideration by the
instructor, and is subject to a range of penalties including but not limited to
failing the assignment, failing the course, and referral to the
disciplinary review board
(which may ultimately result in the expulsion, suspension, or disciplinary
removal of the student from the university). In order to facilitate the
prevention and detection of plagiarism the Department of English and the
University of West Georgia will maintain records of plagiarized assignments and
those who prepare and/or submit them.
Course Goals
Students will develop the ability to recognize and identify significant achievements in American literature.
Students will understand the relevant social, historical, and aesthetic contexts of these literary works.
Students will appreciate the implications of theoretical and critical approaches to such literature.
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.
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.
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.
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 fulfills an Area F requirement for English majors (all tracks) in the core.
This course fulfills one of the core-level language arts requirements for Middle Grades Education majors.
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.
Students with disabilities should meet with me at the beginning of the semester, and we will make any necessary arrangements.
Schedule (Subject to Revision)
8/13: Introductions and the Syllabus
8/18: “The American”: Excerpts from William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, Ben Franklin, Langston Hughes, John Berryman, and Yusef Komunyakaa (Note: Please buy a large exam Blue Book and bring it to this class.)
8/20: See online syllabus for writing assignment. (10 points)
8/25: Chapters 1-5 (1-112) in Olaudah Equiano.
8/27: See online syllabus for writing assignment. (10 points)
9/1: Finish Equiano (113-236).
9/3: See online syllabus for writing assignment. (10 points)
9/8: Read all of “Benito Cereno” (37-104).
9/10: Paper Proposal for first essay due on Friday 9/12, submitted by email. (10 points)
9/15: Mountain of Notes due. (20 points)
9/17: Outlines due. (20 points)
9/22: Cane (1-35).
9/24: First Essay Due.
9/29: Cane (81-116). View Part One of Into the Wild.
10/1: View Part Two of Into the Wild. (Be sure to have begun reading Sula!)
10/6: Last day to Withdraw with “W.” Part One of Sula (1-85).
10/8: Discuss Revision of First Essay. Part Two of Sula (87-174).
10/13: Begin Ceremony, to page 71 (or 77 in old edition). Midterm Exam.
10/15: Fall Break
10/20: Ceremony to 188 (or 202 in old edition).
10/22: Finish Ceremony
10/23: Revision of First Essay Due. (Revision is voluntary rather than required.)
10/27: Arthur Gordon Pym, Chapters 1-11 (to page 112).
10/29: See online syllabus for writing assignment. (10 points)
11/3: Arthur Gordon Pym, Chapters 11-24, and final “Note” (113-221).
11/5: Cultural artifact on either Ceremony or Pym due. (20 points)
11/10: The History of Luminous Motion, Chapters 1-16 (1-136 in most editions).
11/12: Proposals for final research paper due. (10 pts)
11/17: The History of Luminous Motion, Chapters 17-28 (137-274).
11/19: Prospectus for final research papers due. Begin Mountain of Notes. (20 points)
11/24: Complete Mountain of Notes and Rough Outline due. (30 points)
11/26: Thanksgiving, No Class.
12/1: Rough Drafts are due. (30 points)
12/3: Evaluations and Workshop.
Whitman pdf.
Works Cited, Bradford to Berryman
Writing Assignment for Thursday, August 20th
For Thursday, write a carefully structured paragraph that focuses on a single poem from the reading (i.e. choose a poem by Bradstreet, Berryman, Hughes, or Komunyakaa). I am not expecting a complete analysis of the poem or even a thesis about its larger meaning. Rather, imagine you are writing a body paragraph that offers a clear take on a specific image, thematic, motif, or idea in the poem. The only requirement is that you open the paragraph with an interesting, original claim or argument that you then need to prove through your analysis of the poem. Plan to include at least one quotation from the poem, but don't worry about your citation method--we'll cover MLA citation stuff next week. The paragraph should be no more than three-quarters of a page, double-spaced (and typed, of course). You must bring it to class with you. See you there!
Writing Assignment for Thursday, August 27th
Keeping in mind today's discussion of "thematic elements," citing textual evidence, and analyzing evidence (Mountain of Notes style), for Thursday write a single paragraph on a thematic element (or sign) in Equiano's narrative that interests you.Your goal should be to develop an interesting claim or argument about your chosen thematic element/sign, which you then establish at the outset of your paragraph.
In order to generate the ideas behind the claim, begin by typing out the quotation you plan to use as your textual evidence. Beneath the quotation, type out at least three or four interpretive statements (and random thoughts) about the passage and what it reveals about your thematic element or sign. I'm not concerned with the format of this pre-writing exercise, but it must be typed and printed out (you'll be attaching it to the actual paragraph you turn in).
Your actual paragraph must be typed and double-spaced and meet the following guidelines: 1) Make sure you keep it to one paragraph, and that you put some thought into its structure and organization. 2) Open the paragraph with an idea, argument, or interpretive position of your own design that explains the significance of your thematic element within OE's narrative. 3) Cite a specific passage using MLA citation and punctuation rules (see "MLA Template" on my website, and go over pages two and three). 4) Analyze the passage in a way that backs up the paragraph's central claim.
Paper Proposal Due September 11th
The first step in this arduous journey towards a final draft is finding something you want to write about and convincing yourself that it actually matters. With that in mind, write a one page (double-spaced) narrative about the paper that you envision yourself eventually writing. This is a purely speculative endeavor, of course. What's your unique angle into the text you've chosen to write about? What do you want to investigate and explore in it? And for goodness sake, why? The writing can be fairly informal (although it should be proofread and edited); consider it a letter or memo to yourself that describes the project you're envisioning. This is also a good opportunity to define and shape some of the central questions you eventually hope to answer, so a series of questions might also be helpful. Please attach the document to an email you send by the end of the day on Friday.
For next Tuesday, you will then be compiling at least three single spaced pages of notes, quotes, and ideas--your "Mountain of Notes." Below you'll find two sample entries as well as a link to a word document.
Sample Mountain of Notes Entries (Two entries from a student's "Mountain" written for a paper on The Great Gatsby)
1. But she didn’t say another word. We gave her spirits of ammonia an put ice on her forehead and hooked her back into her dress, and half an hour later, when we walked out of the room, the pearls were around her neck and the incident was over. Next day at five o'clock she married Tom Buchanan without so much as a shiver, and started off on a three months’ trip to the South Seas. (76)
2. An idea to play around with. How are Jordan and Nick parallel figures? Sexual ambiguity (both are masculine and feminine). Detachment. Witnesses to the lives of others. In between classes. This is something to keep thinking about.