ENGLISH 207 O & R: AMERICAN LIT



ENGLISH 207 O AMERICAN LIT. I

FALL, 2004

DR. CAROLE PFEFFER

OFFICE: Alumni Hall 205 SECTION O: T/TR: 9:25-10:40

PHONE: 452-8184

EMAIL: cpfeffer@bellarmine.edu

OFFICE HOURS: Wed. and Fri. 10:00 – 11:00 (and by appt.)

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This 3-hour course surveys American literature from its beginning in Native American traditions and the writings of the explorers through the creation of the American myths, values, and contradictions in texts of the Puritans and the Early Republic, in Transcendentalism, and in the fiction of the American Renaissance. Discussion of the concept of “literary canon” occurs in this course, focusing students’ awareness of how texts come to be privileged within certain literary traditions. Expect “silenced” voices to be heard in this class.

This is the first of a 2-course sequence in American Literature required of all English majors. As a survey course, the class requires MUCH reading and will not allow us to delve into texts as deeply as your future 300-400 level American literature courses. This 207-208 sequence is designed to provide students with a “broad overview” of American literature and the historical, political, and social forces influencing the writing of these texts.

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TEXTS: The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Vol. I, 4th ed. , ed. Paul Lauter.

YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BRING YOUR TEXT TO EACH CLASS.

Our classwork requires you to access the text regularly.

For any assignments for this course requiring documentation, you will need to follow MLA guidelines. Therefore, you will need to have available a writing handbook that provides MLA guidelines. I have put 5 handbooks on reserve in the library for your assistance.

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CLASS FORMAT: This course includes the following activities: reading, writing (in-class and out of class, formal and informal pieces), large and small group activities and discussion, student presentations, lecture, quizzes and tests, and some AV use.

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TECHNOLOGY: All of the materials for this course are located through Blackboard. In particular, please familiarize yourself with the Course Documents and Discussion Board.

In addition, I have created a distribution email list for your class, so you should expect email from me now and then addressing important information related to specific class meetings. In other words, you need to be “electronically plugged in” to do well in this class.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES: Students will demonstrate the ability to:

1) Read widely (this is a survey course) and critically (beyond surface details) with various texts.

2) Write critically (about the reading being done) – about individual texts and texts as a group – demonstrating the language and style of the discipline of English.

3) Write creatively in response to the material being read.

4) Conduct, summarize, utilize, and cite research (in addition to the primary texts being read) (American literature) at a basic level. Of the utmost importance is the student’s ability to truly interact with the ideas of other writers, not simply “plug in” chunks of their texts.

5) Articulate (through discussion, quizzes, writings, tests) the ways in which social, political, and religious contexts influence a writer’s work.

6) Articulate characteristics of different literary forms (journal, history, sermon, narrative, song, chant, poetry, short story, novel, etc.) and the ways they have been used by various American writers to achieve particular purposes and effects.

7) Articulate the competing definitions of “what it means to be an American” and the various cultures that make up “American culture” as a whole and articulate the ways in which “privilege” has affected our literary history.

The particular objectives of this course address two larger learning objectives adopted by the faculty when our curriculum was revised:

#5) ARTISTIC AND LITERARY COMPREHENSION

In particular, students will:

• Develop aesthetic understanding by interpreting texts.

• Develop aesthetic understanding by learning to critique their aesthetic contributions.

• Come to recognize what diverse cultures have as common values.

#7) THINKING SKILLS. In particular, students will:

• Learn to describe and employ higher-order cognitive skills.

• Learn to think creatively and critically.

#8) COMMUNICATION SKILLS: In particular, students will:

• Write clearly and thoughtfully.

• Read and listen with insight.

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STUDENT OUTCOMES:

WRITING SKILLS: Students will:

1) write a formal academic essay that fulfills the various research and writing skills described in the assignment sheet;

2) write numerous journal entries that exhibit sound concepts from American Lit. even as students express their creative responses to the literature;

3) write several essay answers on exams, requiring the demonstration of factual knowledge as well as the many writing skills associated with in-class, timed writings relating to literature; and

4) write a written summary of the research article found for the class presentation, demonstrating the ability to summarize effectively.

READING SKILLS: Students will:

1) read the assigned work for each class and demonstrate comprehension through quizzes, journal entries, and class discussions;

2) read an article for the student presentation and demonstrate comprehension of its main ideas through the written summary; and

3) read secondary articles (research) for their formal papers and bibliography, demonstrating an ability (expressed through the annotated bibliography and through citations in the research paper) to read critical texts.

RESEARCH SKILLS: Students will:

1) locate research/secondary resources for inclusion in their critical essay. Students’ papers will reflect the degree to which they have successfully found texts appropriate for this papers;

2) locate and summarize resources for the annotated MLA bibliography. This assignment (as will the first one) will indicate students’ ability to correctly employ MLA style in their own writing.

SOCIAL/HISTORICAL SKILLS: Students will:

1) summarize these influences on various American writers through journals, quizzes, exams, and class discussion.

TECHNOLOGY: Students will:

1) access the public folders to gain access to course materials;

2) use email to converse with the professor as necessary (and check email for class messages from the professor);

3) send an occasional assignment electronically to the professor.

STUDENTS’ GRADES WILL INDICATE THE DEGREE TO WHICH STUDENTS HAVE EXCELLED IN THESE ACTIVITIES/OUTCOMES.

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TEACHING/LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR MEETING COURSE GOALS:

To assist students with strengthening reading skills:

1) Targeted reading will be assigned regularly, and students will read a large amount of American Literature.

2) Reading guides and prompts will be given to help focus reading. (These will be posted in the public folder in addition to time spent on them in class.)

3) Small and large group discussions will revolve around the readings.

4) All of the writing required in the course will revolve around the reading, reinforcing students’ understanding of and response to the texts.

5) All of the evaluative strategies (such as quizzes and exams) will revolve around the reading.

6) Lectures will be given at times (or notes posted in the folder) to facilitate an understanding of a certain genre or literary period, thereby facilitating reading comprehension.

7) The research activities will also require students to hone their reading skills (reading, digesting, and summarizing information).

To assist students in strengthening their writing skills:

1) Students will write a formal paper, focusing them on critical/analytical writing.

2) Students will compile a short and partially annotated bibliography, focusing on abbreviated writing that captures the gist of longer articles.

3) Students will write a summary of a research/critical article, focusing them to summarize difficult material for an audience unfamiliar with the material.

4) Students will write journal entries, allowing them to write creatively in response to the reading.

5) Students will answer essay questions on the two exams, focusing them to work on focusing, organizing, and presenting material in a clear (and well written grammatically) fashion.

6) Students will participate in peer revision sessions for their paper and receive comments from the professor about their first draft.

7) Students will read the words of others (their peers and the American authors) to help students broaden their experience of good writing.

To assist students in strengthening their research skills:

1) Students will be required to use the MLA Online Bibliography to complete their bibliography assignment.

2) Students will be required to use the MLA Online Bibliography to complete their formal paper.

3) The bibliography, article summary, and essay assignments will require students to utilize MLA format when presenting material from secondary sources.

4) Students will see the MLA format modeled in the materials they locate electronically.

To assist students in strengthening their understanding of American literature (and general literature) concepts:

1) Reading will focus on these topics.

2) Writing will focus on these topics.

3) Lectures will occasionally be given, focusing on these topics.

4) Handouts will be distributed (and notes posted in the public folders) focusing on these topics.

5) Large and small group discussions will focus on these topics.

6) Research activities will focus on these topics.

7) Tests/quizzes will focus on these topics.

ALL of the course’s activities strengthen students’ critical thinking skills.

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ASSESSMENT/COURSE REQUIREMENTS: (These – except the exams! ( -- are described in more detail in the Course Documents in Blackboard.)

1) One formal critical essay (5-6 pages long).

2) Two exams (a midterm and final). These exams will consist of essay questions, short answers, and identifications. The final exam will be comprehensive.

3) An annotated bibliography (6 entries).

4) A summary of a research/critical essay.

5) A short presentation (either on the summarized article, an article found for the bibliography, or one assigned by the instructor).

6) A reading journal (weekly entries – about 1-2 pages in length).

7) Occasional quizzes.

8) Short homework activities.

NOTE: For freshmen and sophomores – new majors in English – you need to create an electronic portfolio (on disk) for your study of the English discipline. For the Eng. 207 course, you are asked to include:

• your annotated bibliography;

• your article summary;

• your paper; and

• several representative journals.

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COURSE EXPECTATIONS:

1) Please be prompt for class as a courtesy to your peers and your professor.

2) Please have all material read in a thorough fashion before each class.

3) Please turn off cell phones before entering class.

4) Food is banned from the class, but soft drinks/coffee are okay.

5) Please check the Course Documents through Blackboard (especially the Schedule Folder) so you will know what’s expected for each class session. This resource will be especially valuable when/if you miss a class session.

6) Please engage in class in an active fashion so the class activities and discussion will be more interesting. I welcome (even encourage) differing opinions, but I do very much expect courtesy towards others when disagreeing with their ideas.

7) Please turn in all assignments in a punctual fashion. Expect a deduction in grade for late work. The later the work, the greater the deduction.

8) Please note that absences exceeding FOUR will result in loss of credit for the course.

9) Please note that makeup exams will be given only in the MOST DIRE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. Quizzes can NOT be made up.

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PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC HONESTY:

Presenting someone else’s words and/or ideas as your own (even when not directly quoted) is a serious offense. You will receive a ZERO for any paper that contains plagiarism. A second offense will result in an F for the course. Cheating on an exam will result in a grade of 0 for that exam, with no possibility of a makeup. All plagiarism and cheating will be reported to the Provost. (Please refer to the Catalogue for a more thorough spelling out of the university’s policy.)

Please note that working in small groups during our peer review sessions to offer suggestions on another’s work is NOT plagiarism. All writers obtain comments from others about their texts in an effort to improve the texts.

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DISABILITY SERVICES:

Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Disability Services Coordinator (Room 225 Horrigan Hall/452-8150). Please do not request accommodations directly from the professor until speaking with this coordinator.

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GRADING:

Each of your exams will count as one major grade.

Your paper will count as one major grade.

Your quizzes will be averaged together for one major grade.

Your journals will be averaged together for one major grade.

Your annotated bibliography and article summary will averaged together for one major grade.

Your presentation counts as one major grade.

These seven major grades will be averaged together to obtain your final grade.

GRADING SCALE:

A+ = 99-100 A = 96-98 A- = 93-95

B+ = 91-92 B = 88-90 B- = 86-87

C+ = 82-85 C = 78-81 D = 70-77

NOTE: As stated in the new Bellarmine University Catalogue, students are required to earn at least a C in all required English courses.

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SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

Because this class has proven to be so difficult to chart out, resulting in numerous revisions that confuse and frustrate students, I have decided to post our schedule in 3-week blocks in the public folder. For each day you will find the list of readings to be done, any journal or other homework assignment due for each class, and an occasional document summarizing key ideas from class. I suggest that you consult this folder on a regular basis.

Our final exam time is posted in the fall schedule already (for your planning purposes) and we’ll be shooting for our mid-term exam about 7 weeks into the course. Let me know NOW if you have any commitments (for school) scheduled during this time frame. I rarely provide make-up exams for mid-terms and finals; circumstances must be dire for such accommodations.

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QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? SUGGESTIONS?

PLEASE don’t hesitate to contact me. I want you to do well in this course. Because it’s a survey course with so much reading/content and involves so much work, it could well be an overwhelming experience for you if you start to fall behind. Please pace yourself carefully.

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