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    SOUTHERN POLYTECHNIC
    STATE UNIVERSITY

    Course Syllabus For

    ENGL 2130

    American Literature

    Instructor Information
    Nancy Reichert, Ph.D.
    Office: J335
    Office Hours: MWF
    Phone:  678-915-3193
    Fax:  678-915-7425
    E-mail:  nreicher@spsu.edu

    Course Description
    A survey of important works of American Literature. Includes a variety of literary forms such as poetry, drama, nonfiction,
    short stories, and novels. The course presents literature as a reflection of culture and the history of ideas.

    Prerequisites
    ENGL 1102

    Credits
    3 hours

    Purpose
    Socrates claimed a long time ago that the unexamined life is not worth living.  Literature helps us to examine our lives and our worlds so that we may better understand our own values and the values of others.  In American literature conflicting and contradictory social and individual values often play out. 

    The purpose of this course is to examine American literature in order to better understand the culturally diverse world in which we live. The course will also help us to develop language and theories that give us the means to discuss the literature of this country.
     

    Course Outcomes
    After completing English 2130, you, the students, should be able to do the following:

     
    1. discuss the various literary elements and the essential message of a variety of literary genres;
    2. use reading, writing, and discussion to understand issues and ideas pertinent to American literature;
    3. come to comprehend how historical time, and literary movements shape our understanding of the literature; 
    4. use the Internet and other library materials to research ideas for papers;
    5. address the ethical issues involved when literature confronts or violates personal and/or societal norms; 
    6. contribute ideas and suggestions to small- group and large -group discussion;
    7. gain an understanding of literature as it impacts you and appreciate the readings of others through collaboration;
    8. analyze issues of American identity(ies) in literature in order to better understand the American culture(s) that have evolved over time. 
            Required Materials
     
    • Aaron, Jane E.  The Little, Brown Compact Handbook. 5th ed.  New York:  Longman, 2003.
    • two high density 3 1/2" floppy disks
    • Baym, Nina.  The Norton  Anthology of American Literature.  6th Shorter ed.  New York: Norton, 1999.
    • a pocket folder for journal portfolio materials 

      •  

       

    Important Web Addresses

    My Homepage: http://www.spsu.edu/htc/reichert/index.htm

    Spsu's Writing Program: http://www2.spsu.edu/htc/WritingCorner/index.htm

    Library: http://www.spsu.edu/library/library.html

    Galileo: http://www.galileo.peachnet.edu/

    Regent's exam: http://www.gsu.edu/rtp

    The Information Technology Workshop:  http://theworkshop.spsu.edu/

    Disabilities

    Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Ms. Freida Castleberry working at 678-915-7244 as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. 

    Regents' Exam

    All students who attend a college within the University System of Georgia are required to pass the Regents' Test prior to earning 45 semester credits. The Regents' Test consists of two parts: a reading comprehension section and a written essay section. The times and dates of the Regents' Test will be mailed to all first semester transfer students and all enrolled students who have earned 15 or more semester hours. You are not required to sign up for a testing session--just show up. You will be seated on a first come basis so you should have an alternate session in mind.

    Students with SAT- I Verbal scores of at least 510 or ACT Reading scores of at least 23 will be considered to have fulfilled the reading comprehension requirement of the Regents' Test and do not need to take the reading portion of the Regents' Test. Scores must be from a  national administration of the SAT or ACT. (Scores from institutional SAT or residual ACT tests will not be acceptable for this purpose.) Students must be reported on SIRS (S415B) as having met the Regents' Test reading requirement through scores on the SAT or ACT (Regents’ Website).

    Students with College Board Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition scores of at least 3, International Baccalaureate (IB) higher-level English scores of at least 4, or SAT II English Writing scores of at least 650 will be considered as having fulfilled the essay requirement of the Regents' Test and do not need to take the essay portion of the Regents' Test.  Students must be reported on SIRS (S415A) as having met the Regents' Test essay requirement through AP, IB, or SAT II scores (Regents’ Website).
     

    Attendance Expectations

    • As this course emphasizes the development of discussion skills, the ability to work responsibly in a group, and the honing of critical thinking skills, participation in the class discussions and activities is crucial. 
    • Excellent or perfect attendance will be rewarded. For more information see the Portfolio Evaluation section of this syllabus.
    • Since attendance and preparedness are crucial for your success, you will be allowed no more than five absences.  I reserve the right to fail you on your sixth absence.


    Late Work
    Late work will be penalized in this class.  I expect you to come prepared with journal entries and other work when they are due. There are at least two good reasons for this policy.  1)  This class operates under the assumption that knowledge making is a social, communal act.  Therefore, we will share our written work and we will build knowledge as a community of learners.  2)  It’s unfair to students who consistently turn work in on time to consistently extend deadlines for other students.  In many ways we could all benefit from extended time to complete papers; however, courses are inherently limited by time since we only have a semester in which to work.  Therefore, it’s necessary to hold students to the established deadlines.

    Exceptional problems will be considered when I take up journal portfolios. Address your problems in your letters of reflection/self-evaluation.

    Computer problems will rarely work as an excuse for late work. Therefore, save frequently when you are working on your writing. Use the "save as" command and make sure you are saving to your disk when using the computers at school. Don’t wait to print before class.  Computers and printers do not always work.  I understand that problems do occur, but my understanding gets tested when papers are continually late.

    THE ATTIC
    The ATTIC provides opportunities for individualized assistance to all Southern Polytechnic students. Academic assistants help students through the processes of invention, organization, writing, revising, and editing of essays and research papers. The ATTIC also offers Regents’ Test preparation instruction. Those of you who may be interested in getting another reader for your papers may want to consider dropping by the ATTIC. Those of you who really enjoy getting audience feedback on your work will find the ATTIC to be a unique opportunity for such feedback.

    The ATTIC is located on the second floor of building J in room 253.  You can phone 678-915-7361 for additional information.

    IT User Services Lab (The Workshop)
    The IT User Services Lab in H242 is available for students who need access to computers.  Call 678-915-7493 for more information. 

    Plagiarism
    All work you do in this class needs to be your work although you are encouraged to share ideas with your fellow classmates. Save all your drafts to show your writing progress and to avoid worries about plagiarism. If you are concerned about what constitutes plagiarism, please consult me. Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional representation of someone else’s ideas or materials (a book, an article, an essay, your classmate’s paper, a paper written for you by a good friend, material from the Internet) or the use of work you have already written for another class without citing the source or the use of that work. Students should consult the Undergraduate Catalog under "Academic Regulations" for a fuller explanation of this violation of Academic Honesty.  The penalty for plagiarism may be failure of the course or dismissal from the university.

    Evaluation
    3 Quizzes  (30%)
    Quiz One:  From the Beginning to 1820 (10%)
    Quiz Two:  1820 - 1914 (10%)
    Quiz Three:  1914 - the present  (10%)

    Writings
    Reader-Response Journals (40%)
    Your journal portfolio will consist of several different parts.  In the portfolio you will turn in the following items:
    1. Individual journal entries
    2. A letter of reflection/evaluation

    The journal portfolio will be graded based on the criteria I will hand out in a separate contract.

    1.  Individual Entries
    Every Monday a one-page, double-spaced, typed response to the literature for the week will be due.  I would like students to respond to all of the readings for the week. 

    Example:  You are supposed to read an introduction, and a short story for Monday.  You are supposed to read two poems for Wednesday.

    Your entry would have a section for the introduction—three items of importance written down along with your reasons for selecting them.  Your entry would also have a section for the short story—three quotes and responses to each quote.  Finally your entry would have two lines of importance for each poem with response and a short summary for each poem.

    A reader-response journal is a personal response to the literature we read.  Your aim is to attempt to understand the readings for yourself; do not worry whether you are in agreement with your peers, myself, or literary critics.
    The following format may get a bit redundant over the course of the semester, but it should help you to come to a personal understanding of the text.

    Format
    For responses to pieces of fiction, nonfiction, and drama, I would like you to select at least three quotes from the text that you see as important to understanding the text itself.  One of these quotes should be at the beginning of the text, another from the middle, and the last one from the end of the text.

    Write each quote down in your journal.  Place quotation marks around the quote and place the page number in parentheses after the quote.
    Respond to the quote.  Why did you pick it?  What information does it bring to the text?  How does it impact your understanding of the text?  You will want to write at least one paragraph in response to each quote.

    For responses to introductions select three things of importance during the time period being studied and discuss why you believe each thing was important.

    For responses to poems select two lines of the poetry and respond in a similar manner.  You may want to consider if the lines of poetry are acting in a symbolic manner or what type of image they create.  For poems I also want you to say what the poem means to you—what do you think the entire poem is trying to say?

    I will select at random excerpts from four or five journals to be shared with the rest of the class on Wednesday. Be prepared to have your writings shared with the rest of the class.

    When I return your journal entries to you, you will want to place them in a pocket folder to be turned in at the end of the semester for a Journal Portfolio grade. 

    2.  Letter of Reflection/Evaluation
    You will then want to write a short letter of reflection/evaluation concerning your journal entries as a whole using the following questions:

    1)  What general strengths and weaknesses can I observe in my journal entries?  What did I do well?  What could I have pushed more? (All good writers are aware of their weaknesses as well as their strengths.)

    2) When I reread my journal entries, what do I learn about myself from reading them?  What do I learn about the literature we studied?

    3)  What connections can I make between pieces of literature?  What writers seem to have similar ideas?  What writers see things very differently?
    This is an important question for the letter—take some time and answer it well.

    4)  Which journal entry is my best?  Why?

    5)  Using the criteria set up in the contract, what grade should I get for my journal portfolio?

    Participation
    You can address participation, but it is not a part of the portfolio grade. Participation is a bonus in this class.  If you meet the following conditions, you may argue that your journal portfolio grade be raised a half letter grade.

    • You have no more than three absence for the semester;
    • You have been late no more than four times for the semester;
    • You have been prepared for class.  You have journal entries and papers completed before class and you have read your materials ahead of time for class;
    • You participate well in classroom activities such as small-group and full-class discussions.  Participating well means entering the dialogue among students and professor.  Good participants listen well and add their ideas to the dialogue.


    Research Paper (30%)
    If the purpose of reading literature is to help us examine our lives and our worlds so that we may better understand our own values and the values of others, then it is important to make connections with a piece of literature and to understand what it tells us about ourselves and about the world in which we live.

    Pick an American piece of fiction, nonfiction, or drama  that speaks to you in some way.  Analyze the reasons why it speaks to you.  What does it seem to be saying that you relate to?  Why are the issues it addresses still important to people today?

    Also analyze the text by what it says about American culture(s).  What kind of individuals or communities are important to the text?  Is the main character an insider or outsider to these communities?

    Economic class, religion and race often play a role in whether characters are insiders or outsiders.  What kinds of economic background, religion, and race play a role in the work?  Does the region of the country play a role?

    After you analyze the cultural issues, in what ways do you see your own background as different or similar to the background of the main characters?  How might this have impacted how you responded to the text?

    You do not have to organize the paper in the order that the questions above appear.  Do ensure that you cover the main issues listed above in your paper.  Do make sure you follow the guidelines listed below:

    • A five-page, double-space minimum for the paper.  The works cited page is a sixth page.
    • MLA style should be used.
    • You will want to find important quotes from the fictional text you are analyzing and incorporate them in your paper.  List the fictional text on your Works Cited page.
    • You will want to cite from at least three secondary sources for the paper and ensure that all three sources are listed on your Works Cited page.
    • Sources such as Twentieth Century Criticism may be used.  Carefully evaluate web resources before using them.
    PROPOSED CALENDAR
    Week One, August 18 - 22
    Monday: Survey students concerning their views on American literature, do brief introductions, and hand out the syllabus.

    Homework:  Skim the syllabus--read the section on journal portfolios closely.  Skim the introduction on Literature to 1700, pp. 1 - 15.  Read Columbus's Letter Describing His First Voyage, pp. 26 - 27.  Jot down some notes on what his text tells you about his culture.  What do you think his cultural values are based on what he writes?  Think back on what you have recently viewed on television or heard on the radio.  If someone new were coming into our culture, what would they assume to be our cultural values?  Think about how the two cultures may be different or similar.  Be ready to discuss on Wednesday.

    Wednesday: We will discuss the syllabus.  I will hand out the contract for the journal portfolio for discussion as well as a sample journal entry.  We will then discuss Columbus and culture.

    Homework:  Read the creation myths, pp. 17 - 24.  You may want to find a Bible to compare and contrast the Christian story with the Native American Stories.  Read also the description of tricksters, pp.  59 - 61 and the readings from The Winnebago Trickster Cycle, pp. 65 - 70.  Write Journal 1 on all of these texts.

    Week Two, August 25 - 29 
    Monday: Journal 1 is due.  We will discuss the creation myths.

    Wednesday: We will discuss the readings from The Winnebago Trickster Cycle.

    Homework: Read Ann Bradstreet's poems "Contemplations," pp. 117 ? 124,  "The Author to Her Book," p. 124, and "To My Dear and Loving Husband," p. 125.  Journal 2 is due Wednesday on these texts.

    Week Three, September 1 - 5 (no school Monday--Labor Day)
    Monday:  No school.

    Wednesday:  Journal 2 is due. We will discuss Ann Bradstreet's poems.

    Homework: Skim the Introduction from 1700- 1820, pp. 171 ? 180.  Read from Michel-Guillaume-Jean de Crevecoeur's Letters from an  American Farmer, pp. 336 - 342, and from Thomas Jefferson’s' The Declaration of Independence. pp. 324 - 329. Write Journal 3 on both of these texts.  Do consider what these writings may be saying about the American identity that is being created.

    Week Four, September 8 - 12
    Monday:  Turn in Journal 3. We will discuss the introduction and Crevecoeur's letter.

    Wednesday: We will discuss Thomas Jefferson’s' The Declaration of Independence.

    Homework: Read Phillis Wheatley's "To the University of Cambridge, in New England," p. 368 and "On Being Brought from Africa to America," p. 367.  You may want to consider who Wheatley's audience is in these poems and how the audience may influence what she says in her poems.  No journal is due.

    Week Five, September 15 - 19
    Monday: We will discuss Wheatley's poetry.

    Wednesday: Quiz on literature to 1820.

    Homework:  Skim the introduction to literature from 1820 - 1865, pp. 425 - 444 and read Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," pp. 610 - 619. Read Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," pp. 714 - 727. Journal 4 is due on these readings.

    Week Six, September 22 - 26
    Monday:   Journal 4 is due. We will discuss the introduction and Hawthorne's Goodman Brown.

    Wednesday:  We will discuss Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher."

    Homework: Read Henry David Thoreau’s "Resistance to Civil Government," pp. 837 - 853 and read from Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, chapters I, VII, X, and XLI, beginning on p. 813.  Write Journal 5 on all of these readings.  Consider the genres Thoreau and Jacob's have chosen for discussing political issues.  Which do you see as more effective?  Thoreau's essay or Jacob's autobiography?

    Week Seven, September 29 - October 3
    Monday:  Journal 5 is due. We will discuss  Thoreau's essay.

    Wednesday: We will discuss the excerpts from Jacobs's autobiography.

    Homework: Read Emily Dickinson's "The Soul selects her own Society," p. 1175 and "Much Madness is divinest Sense," p. 1178.  Read from Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself," 1, 2, 6, 8, and 11, beginning on p. 1003.  Write Journal 6 on these texts.  You may want to consider the value both poets place on individualism.

    Week Eight, October 6 - 10
    Monday:  Journal 6 is due. We will discuss Emily Dickinson's poems.

    Wednesday: We will discuss Whitman's poetry.

    Homework: Skim the Introduction to Literature from 1865 - 1914, pp. 1223 - 1235.  Read Kate Chopin's "Desiree’s Baby," pp. 1607 - 1611 and Samuel Clemen's  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapters X - XI, pp. 1275 - 1282 and XVII - XVIII, pp. 1310 - 1324.  Write journal 7 over these texts.

    Week Nine, October 13 - 17
    Monday: Journal 7 is due. We will discuss the introduction and Chopin's short story.

    Wednesday: Research Topics are due—have author and text title ready.  We will discuss the chapters from Clemen's novel.

    Homework:  Study for Quiz 2.

    Week Ten, October 20 - 24
    Monday:  Quiz 2 over the literature from 1820 - 1914.

    Homework: Skim the Introduction to Literature from 1914 - 1945, pp. 1807 - 1821.  Read Robert Frost's "The Road Not  Taken," p. 1887, "The Oven Bird," p. 1888, "Design," p. 1892 and "Nothing Gold Can Stay," p. 1890.

    Wednesday:  Discuss the Introduction to Literature and Frost's poems.

    Homework:  Read William Faulkner's "Barn Burning," pp. 2178 ? 2190, and Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" (handout).  Write Journal 8 over these texts.

    Week Eleven, October 27 - October 31 
    Monday:  Journal 8 is due. We will discuss Faulkner's "Barn Burning."

    Wednesday:  We will discuss Hemingway’s story.

    Homework: Read Langston's Hughes's "Mother to Son," p. 2227, "Mulatto," p.2228, and "Democracy," p. 2231.  Read Lillian Hellman’s Scoundrel Time, (handout) Write Journal 9 over these texts.

    Week Twelve, November 3 - 9 (National Collegiate Honors Council Conference:  no class Wednesday.) 
    Monday:  Journal 9 is due. We will discuss Hughes’s poems and the short excerpts form Hellman’s memoir Scoundrel Time.

    Wednesday:  No Class.

    Homework: Skim the Introduction to American Prose since 1945, pp. 2275 - 2281.  Read Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, pp.  2301 - 2363.   Read Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People," pp. 2428 - 2441.  No Journaldue.  Finish research paper.

    Week Thirteen, November 10 - 14
    Monday:  No Journal Due. We will discuss the introduction and Williams's play.

    Wednesday: We will discuss O"Connor's short story.  Turn in Research Paper, Research Notes and Research Drafts.

    Homework:  Read "Battle Royal," from Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man, pp. 2359 - 2369, and Saul Bellow’s "Looking for Mr. Green," pp. 2386 ? 2400.  Write Journal 11 over these texts.

    Week Fourteen, November 17 - 21 
    Monday:  Journal 10 is due. We will discuss the excerpt from Ellison's novel.

    Wednesday:  We will discuss the excerpt from Bellow’s novel.

    Homework: Read "The Red Candle" from Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club (handout).  Write Journal 11 over this text.

    Week Fifteen, November 24 - 28 (No class Wednesday--Thanksgiving Holiday)
    Monday:   Journal 11 is due. We will discuss the excerpt from Tan's novel.

    Wednesday: No class.

    Homework:  Finish the journal portfolio.  Read Allen Ginsberg's "A Supermarket in California," p. 2739. Read Anne Sexton's "The Starry Night," p. 2753 and "Sylvia's Death," p. 2754.  Read Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" p. 2781.  Read Sandra Cisneros's "My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn," p. 2595.

    Week Sixteen, December 1 - 4
    Monday:  The journal portfolio is due.  Discuss the poetry of Ginsberg, Sexton, and Plath.

    Wednesday:  Discuss Cisneros's excerpt and do class evaluations.

    Final Exam Date:  TBA

    We may not stick with this calendar exactly if we find that we need time to discuss or explore issues and ideas that come up in more detail.

    Final Statement
    I know that I am asking you to do a lot of writing; therefore, I want to let you know that not only do most of my students pass this course, but with a bit of effort, they actually do quite well in it. If you put the time and effort into being prepared for class, I will try to ensure that the class is interesting and worth your time. Good luck!

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