College American Literature II
Spring 2013
Instructor:
Andrew Warner
Contact:
[email protected]
Course Description: In this American literature survey course, students will study a variety of works and
authors from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present day. Furthermore, critical
theories and lenses will be studied and used to examine the various methods used for literary analysis.
An emphasis will be placed on writing and discussion as necessary modes for greater insight and
reflection.
Course Texts:
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street.
Eugenides, Jeffrey. The Virgin Suicides.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown
Wharton, Edith. Ethan Frome
Breakdown of Final Grade:
Papers and Projects:
Reading Responses:
Tests (3) and quizzes
Total:
Description of Major Assignments:
40%
30%
30%
100%
Unless otherwise noted, every assignment apart from tests and weekly responses, should be turned in
through My Big Campus.
Film Analysis Paper: Select an American film from the lists you’ll be given. Write a brief analysis (700800 words) where you carefully examine the film using the literary skills we’ve developed. Pay close
attention to issues concerning theme, historical and literary context, and other larger issues we discuss
in the course. Keep in mind that many of your classmates may not have seen so you may need to
summarize the text. Your analysis should not simply be summary, and should use the plot details you
mention to help support your argument. Value: 100 points.
American Authors Project: In this ongoing project, students will study an American author from the
twentieth or twenty-first century and analyze their body of work through multiple critical lenses. To
better understand their author, students should read at least two novels, or seven short stories, or 15
poems by that author. If you choose an author you’ve read in class, you may not use a text you’ve
studied for school. For example, if you choose Steinbeck, you couldn’t use Of Mice and Men. You may
pick a combination of types of works written by the author. The project will be comprised of several key
features:
Prospectus: On January 18, students are to complete a brief prospectus about their project.
Students should identify the author they plan to study, the texts they plan to read, and offer a
brief statement about this author’s significance. Value: 25 points.
Annotated Bibliography: On March 1, students will turn in their annotated bibliography. This
bibliography will outline the research you have done for the project. It must include the novels,
short stories, or poems you are studying. It should also include2-3 analytical sources about the
author or texts. It should also include an interview with the author or a contemporary review of
one of the texts being studied. An additional source should comment on the historicity of the
texts being studied. For each annotation, the students need to include the citation of the text in
proper MLA format. It should also include a one hundred word summary of the source, and an
additional one hundred word statement where the student explains its relevance to the final
paper. Value: 75 points.
Final Paper: On May 10, students will turn in a summative paper. This 2500-3000 word paper
will be focused analysis of the author. It could focus on a key theme the author develops, or on
the historical context of the author, or the influence of other texts on that author, or any other
relevant topic dealing with your topic. This should not simply be a summary of the author’s life
or the texts you’ve read. Rather, it should be a critical analysis support and enhanced by your
research. Value: 200 points
Presentation: Each student will be expected to give a 5-7 minute presentation of their research
in the week of May 13. These presentations should engage your classmates with information
about your author, and show the bigger picture of your research. Some visual aid should
accompany the presentation. If a student misses their assigned date, they will receive a zero on
the presentation. You will receive a rubric sometime in late April. Value: 100 points.
Weekly Responses: Most weeks, you will be expected to complete a response to the works we are
currently studying. These works have two parts. In the first part, students must ask 3-5 relevant
questions about the text. These should not be fact-based questions or meaningless predictions, but
questions designed to delve more deeply into the text. In the second part, students are expected to
write a 600-word response to the texts being studied. These should not be summaries of the texts, but
thoughtful responses developed around key ideas within the text. These responses should be typed,
and handed in at the beginning of class on the day they are due.
Discussion Board Posts: Occasionally, you will be expected to contribute an original post to the class
discussion boards on my big campus. Your original post should be 300 words long and use textual
evidence to point out something interesting you noticed about the text, or pose some question it leads
you to ask. Your posts should not summarize the text, or describe your reaction to the text. Remember,
your goal is to contribute to a critical conversation that helps to establish a better understanding of the
work among all participants.
By Sunday of the following week after their initial discussion board post, students are expected to
respond at least two times to their classmates’ posts. These responses should be 150-200 words long,
and address issues they see in the posts, weigh in on a question posed, or support someone’s response.
Responses simply saying “I Agree” will not be graded.
Keep in mind when writing on the discussion board, that the utmost civility should be maintained at all
times. You are encouraged to question your classmates and even to disagree with them. However, this
course is not competitive. The goal of the discussion board is to learn through collaboration. If a
student cannot behave appropriately on the discussion board, they will be given an alternate
assignment.
Weekly Responses and Discussion Boards each cover all of the texts studied since the previous one
was due. For example, if you turned in a Weekly Response on January 3, and had a discussion board
on January 7, the discussion board will cover all of the texts in-between them.
Reading: You are expected to complete all of the courses readings before their date listed on the
syllabus. Due to the emphasis on discussion and analytical writing in the course, it is imperative that
complete the reading in a careful and timely manner. If I get the sense that the readings are not being
completed, reading quizzes will be given.
Tests: There will be three tests given over the course of the semester. Each test will cover everything
that has been covered in the course up to that point, including: all the primary and supplemental
readings, discussions, films, and student presentations. The format of the tests will typically be a
combination of passage identification—brief analysis of passages selected from the course texts—and
essay questions. Occasionally, multiple choice and matching questions may be used. Several quizzes
will be given randomly throughout the semester. Students receiving an A on May 17th may choose to
be exempt from the final.
Book check out: The novels read in class will be checked out to students shortly before their assigned
dates. Due to the number of sections and books available, students will have a limited amount of time
to read the text before and after the assigned dates. The student will be held entirely responsible for
the upkeep of their courses texts, and will not be issued new course texts until all previous ones are
returned.
Late work: Typically, I will not accept late work. I provide the syllabus in advance to give you the
chance to get your work done according to your own schedule. If you have questions, or an emergency
arises, please let me know. Snow days will not affect due dates.
Academic Honesty: You are expected to produce your own work in the course, and this includes
journals, papers, and tests. Failure to cite sources and other forms of plagiarism can result in failing the
assignment, and potential loss of credit. Other disciplinary procedures may be used.
Tentative Schedule
1/3
Course Introduction
1/4
Oates: “Where are you going, where have you been?”
1/7
Gilman: “The Yellow Wallpaper”
1/9
O’Connor: “Good Country People”
1/11
O’Connor: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (Weekly Response Due)
1/14
Welty: “The Petrified Man”
1/17
Wharton: Ethan Frome Ch. 1-4
1/18
Wharton: Ethan Frome Finish Novel; Project Prospectus Due (Discussion Board Due)
1/21
No School
1/22
Hughes: selected poems
1/24
Wilson: Piano Lesson Act 1
1/25
East Central College Registration
1/28
Wilson: Piano Lesson Act 2 (Discussion Board Due)
1/30
Field Trip
2/1
Cisneros: House on Mango Street
2/4
Cisneros: House on Mango Street (Weekly Response Due)
2/5
Miller: Death of a Salesman (Film)
2/6
Miller: Death of a Salesman (Film)
2/7
Miller: Death of a Salesman (Film)
2/8
Film/Song Analysis Due; Miller: Death of a Salesman (Film) (Discussion Board Due)
2/11
TBA
2/12
TBA
2/13
Test 1, part 1
2/14
Test 1, part 2
2/15
No School
2/18
No School
2/19
Hemingway: “Hills like White Elephants”; “The Killers”
2/21
Fitzgerald: “A Diamond as Big as the Ritz”
2/22
Fitzgerald: “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” (Weekly Response Due)
2/25
Hemingway: Excerpts from A Moveable Feast
2/26
Hellman: Children’s Hour (Film)
2/27
Hellman: Children’s Hour (Film)
2/28
Hellman: Children’s Hour (Film)
3/1
Annotated Bibliography Due; Hellman: Children’s Hour (Film)
3/4
Parker: Selected stories and poems
3/6
Thurber: “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
3/7
Stevens: selected poems
3/8
Moore: selected poems; Williams: selected poems (Weekly Response Due)
3/11
TBA
3/12
Eliot: The Wasteland
3/13
Eliot: The Wasteland
3/14
Eliot: The Wasteland
3/15
Eliot: The Wasteland
3/18
Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Ch. 1-3
3/20
Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Ch. 4-6 (Weekly Response Due)
3/21
Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby Ch. 7.9
3/22
No School
3/25-3/29
No School
4/1
TBA
4/2
TBA
4/3
TBA
4/4
Test 2, Part 1
4/5
Test 2, part 2
4/8
Eugenides: The Virgin Suicides
4/10
Eugenides: The Virgin Suicides
4/12
Eugenides: The Virgin Suicides (Weekly Response Due)
4/15
Eugenides: The Virgin Suicides (Discussion Board Due)
4/17
Steinbeck: To a God Unknown
4/19
Steinbeck: To a God Unknown
4/22
Steinbeck: To a God Unknown (Weekly Response Due)
4/24
Lux: Selected Poems
4/26
Nye: Selected Poems
4/29
Frost: Selected Poems (Weekly Response Due)
4/30
Plath: Selected Poems
5/1
Lowell: Selected Poems
5/3
Sedaris: Selected stories (Weekly Response Due)
5/6
TBA
5/8
TBA
5/10
Final Papers Due
5/13
Student Presentation
5/14
Student Presentations
5/15
Student Presentations
5/16
TBA
5/17
TBA
5/20
Finals Schedule
5/21
Finals Schedule
5/22
Finals Schedule