American Literature: Major Authors Epistemology: Religion, Nature, and Democracy English 2304 Mr. Jeffrey Bilbro MWF Course Objectives and Procedures Ideally, this course will accomplish three related goals: give you a historical and cultural framework through which to understand the particular texts we will read together; teach you to read and interpret these texts; and teach you to make careful arguments about these texts. At the end of this course, you should have a historical paradigm, a set of analytical tools, and the rhetorical sophistication to read, analyze, and think about whatever literary works you encounter in the future. Along the way, you just might discover why these skills are important. In order to accomplish these objectives, you will need to carefully read the assignment before each class and turn in careful reflection writings. This should help you to come to class prepared to discuss the text. Your reflection writings and our class discussions should prepare you craft a creative, insightful final project. Grades 30% - Twenty (20) Pre-Class Reflection Writing Entries (300 wds. each) 10% - Class Participation (attendance, in-class discussion) 20% - Analysis Essay 20% - Final Exam 20% - Final Project Course Policies Honor Code All Baylor students must abide by the Baylor Honor Code; this is designed to help you practice the proper gratitude toward others in the conversations in which you engage. The complete document is online at www.baylor.edu/honorcode. This code prohibits, in part, the following forms of dishonorable conduct : (1) Offering for course credit as one's own work, in whole or in part, the work of another. (2) Plagiarism, that is, incorporating into one's work offered for course credit passages taken either word for word or in substance from a work of another, unless the student credits the original author and identifies the original author's work with quotation marks, footnotes, or another appropriate written explanation. (3) Offering for course credit one's own work, but work that one has previously offered for course credit in another course, unless one secures permission to do so prior to submission from the instructor in whose course the work is being offered.
(4) Offering for course credit work prepared in collaboration with another, unless the student secures the instructor's permission in advance of submission. A student does not prepare work in collaboration with another if he or she merely discusses with another a matter relevant to the work in question. Taking your paper to the Writing Center or participating in peer reviews do not violate the fourth prohibition. Turn-it-in Students agree that by taking this course, all required papers, exams, class projects or other assignments submitted for credit may be submitted to turnitin.com or similar third parties to review and evaluate for originality and intellectual integrity. A description of the services, terms and conditions of use, and privacy policy of turnitin.com is available on its web site: http://www.turnitin.com. Students understand all work submitted to turnitin.com will be added to its database of papers. Students further understand that if the results of such a review support an allegation of academic dishonesty, the course work in question as well as any supporting materials may be submitted to the Honor Council for investigation and further action. Attendance The College of Arts and Sciences requires students to attend 75% of class meetings. If you miss more than 25% of our classes, you automatically fail this course. For this course, 12 absences will cause you to fail. However, because this is a discussion-based course, your attendance is critical; please make every effort to come to every class. Submission of Essays Essays submitted late will be penalized one letter grade each succeeding day. Essays turned in on the due date but after the first five minutes of class will be penalized one half of a letter grade. Classroom Environment In order for all of us to make the most of our time, please act in a respectful and responsible manner during class. This includes no hats, no headphones, no text messaging, no ringing/buzzing/beeping things, and no laptops. Respect for your fellow students also means conducting our conversations with politeness and consideration for others positions. Texts: Sedgwick, Catharine Maria. Hope Leslie. ISBN: 978-0140436761 Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. ISBN: 978-0140390445 Cather, Willa. Death Comes for the Archbishop. ISBN: 978-0-679-72889 Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. ISBN: 978-0-06-083867 Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. ISBN: 0-684-80122-1 Lahiri, Jhumpa. Unaccustomed Earth. ISBN: 978-0-676-97935 Berry, Wendell. Hannah Coulter. ISBN: 978-1-59376-078 All readings marked with an * are available on blackboard.
Reading Schedule: Jan. 9: Introduction Jan. 11: Rowlandson* Jan. 13: Poems by Bradstreet and Wheatley* Jan. 18: Sedgwick, 1-83 Jan. 20: Sedgwick, 84-180 Jan. 23: Sedgwick, 181-276 Jan. 25: Sedgwick, 278-371 Jan. 27: Sedgwick, finish Jan. 30: Hawthorne, My Kinsman Major Molineux * Feb. 1: Thoreau, 43-97 Feb. 3: Thoreau, 97-173 Feb. 6: Thoreau, 174-219 Feb. 8: Thoreau, 220-284 Feb. 10: Thoreau, 284-346 Feb. 13: Thoreau, 347-382 Feb. 15: Twain, The 1,000,000 Bank Note * Feb. 17: Dickinson* Feb. 20: Whitman* Feb. 22: Cather, 1-78
Feb. 24: Cather, 79-172 Feb. 27: Cather, 173-234 Feb. 29: Cather, 235-297 Mar. 2: Frost* Mar. 5: Williams* Mar. 7: Hemingway, 1-60 Mar. 9: Hemingway, 61-127 Analysis Essay Due Mar. 19: Dunbar* Mar. 21: Hurston, 1-75 Mar. 23: Hurston, 76-138 Mar. 26: Hurston, 139-193 Mar. 28: Faulkner, The Bear, 181-243* Mar. 30: Faulkner, The Bear, 244-301* Apr. 2: Faulkner, The Bear, 301-315* Apr. 4: Snyder* Apr. 11: Lahiri, 1-34 Apr. 13: Lahiri, 35-60 Apr. 16: Berry, 1-60 Apr. 18: Berry, 61-125 Apr. 20: Berry, 126-186 Apr. 23: Final Presentations
Apr. 25: Final Presentations Apr. 27: Final Presentations
DIRECTIONS FOR PRE-CLASS REFLECTION WRITING We will have thirty-eight class meetings for which you can write a reflection; you are required to write one for twenty out of those thirty-eight meetings, which works out to more than one per week. Be sure to not fall behind! To receive credit for your reflection, you must email it to me as an attachment the night before class. Give your most careful attention to these directions, as the writing is worth 30% of the overall grade. General Guidelines 1) Identify what seems to you a particularly important, or insightful, or outrageous, or thought-provoking, or rhetorically powerful passage in the assigned reading. The passage should be important specifically for your understanding of the assigned reading. 2) Explain (that is, make a case, however briefly) why you judge that passage to be so important for understanding the text. The key here is to make a connection between the point you identify and its larger context. Excellent reflection writing (i.e., writing at an A level) should consider how something explicit in the text results in implicit effects (whether logically or imaginatively). In some cases, the connection you make could involve drawing out the logical implications of a claim or examining its assumptions. In other cases you might consider the dramatic context for a specific statement (e.g., By whom? Under what implied circumstances?) or explain the effects that arise from combining different types of imagery. The key point is that your aim in these reflections is not simply to emote but to engage logical thinking through the writing process. 3) Finally, offer one critically incisive question regarding the text which you believe raises a crucial point in the reading that we should discuss as a class. Avoid questions that are banal or vague; if your question could be asked clearly at the beginning of your reflection writing, then the question is probably too general. Your final question should develop out of the specific insights presented by your reflection writing and should require that we consider carefully the text itself, not just the general topic that it raises. The first sentence of each written reflection assignment should address point 1) above. The final sentence should be the question described in point 3). The rest of the assignment should be taken up with point 2). Each written response should be about 300 words (between 1 and 1½ pages, typed, double-spaced). Be sure to write with attention to the precision and accuracy of your language and usage. After the third week, we will meet to discuss ways to improve your reflection writing.
Late submissions will not be accepted.