EH 336: Survey of American Literature (3 hrs.) Section 01 CRN #90978 M/W 11:20 12:40 p.m. MOR 316 Prerequisites: EH 207, 208, 209, or 210 Instructor: Dr. Holly Jones Office Hours: M/T/R/F 1:00-2:30 p.m. Office: 206C Morton Hall Email: holly.jones@uah.edu Wikisite: www.eh336fall2017.pbworks.com Course Description Survey of American Literature will introduce you to traditionally canonical and newly canonical American literary voices from the first encounters through the 20th century. As we survey the writings of this vast time frame, which will include short stories, poetry, non-fiction essays, and autobiographical works, we will consider the historical, cultural, and political movements that contextualize these writings as well as the literary history that informs them. At heart an introduction to and overview of American literature, this course makes use of The Norton Anthology of American Literature, volumes A, B, C, D, and E. Course Goals and Expected Learning Outcomes In the process of completing the course assignments listed and described below, students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the subject and structure of the discipline of American Literature and link that knowledge with other disciplines. Students will also be expected in both class discussions and course assignments to utilize effective critical thinking patterns, problem solving approaches, and methods for developing abstract knowledge structures. In addition, students will need to employ aesthetic awareness and creativity when developing their own readings of literary works and will be expected to evidence effective communication skills in both the formal and informal written assignments Required Textbooks and Materials (The following texts can be purchased from the University Bookstore.) The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Volumes A & B. Nina Baym, ed. (2011). 978-0393913095 The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Volumes C, D, & E. Nina Baym, ed. (2011). 978-0393913101 Course Assignments and Grades Grades for this class can range from A to F. Grades are calculated based on the following percentages: 30% - On-Line Reading Response Journal (10 entries/ 250 words each estimated 2,500 words total) Over the course of the semester, you are required to complete 10 reading response entries using the course wikisite. These entries will comprise your on-line reading response journal. These posts will be graded holistically, and although they are not mini-papers, polished and thoughtful prose will be rewarded. Failure to complete all 10 postings will result in a significant grade reduction for this assignment (i.e., you cannot earn a grade higher than the percentage of the assignment complete for example, 8 total responses can at most earn an 80%, which would be a C+). Each post should be about 250 words in length (1-1½ pages) and should closely analyze a passage you select from an assigned reading for an upcoming class discussion. When writing your analysis, I highly recommend that you first describe the ideas/thoughts you believe the passage communicates to you (or another reader you might imagine reading the text) and then reflect on how these ideas/thoughts connect to what you would argue (or some other reader might argue) are the overarching ideas/thoughts communicated by the text as a whole. Just remember, your journal should include neither plot summaries nor over-simplified thumbs-up/thumbs-down evaluations. Rather, you should assume that all members of the class have read the material and are familiar with its basic content and that a good reading response engages those moments in a reading when the ideas/thoughts presented within the text are up for debate. There are only two main restrictions on your reading journal. First, you can only post a reading response once a week prior to fall break (October 5th). After that you're welcome to post twice a week, if there are two days in a week when readings are assigned. Second, each post you complete in response to an assigned reading must be completed by 10:00 a.m. on the day the class discusses the specific assigned reading.
2 10% - In-Class Presentation (sample, grading rubric, and research guidelines distributed in class) Each of you is required (with a peer, if desired) to prepare a formal handout relating to one author and the assigned work(s) we will read in this course. Presentations should take only 5-10 minutes and will need to include the following: a brief biography of the author (which may be summarized from the anthology), a bibliography of the author s major works, a critical bibliography covering the last 10 years (use the MLA database for this information), and a 1-page summary and evaluation of an article recently published that pertains to one of the author s works we will read as a class. Typically, the presenter(s) then overview(s) the information provided on the prepared handout (which should not exceed 1 page, front and back). These handouts will then be useful study tools for this and future classes. Presentations will be graded by rubric, which I will make available on the course wikisite. Any student who completes the assignment with a peer will receive the same grade as her/his peer. 30% - Intertextual Analysis Paper (4 pages/1000 words) This paper takes its inspiration from a statement made by T. S. Eliot in his essay Tradition and the Individual Talent (1919). In it, Eliot writes, No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists. You cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and comparison, among the dead. I mean this as a principle of æsthetic, not merely historical criticism. The necessity that he shall conform, that he shall cohere, is not one-sided; what happens when a new work of art is created is something that happens simultaneously to all the works of art which preceded it. The existing monuments form an ideal order among themselves, which is modified by the introduction of the new (the really new) work of art among them. The existing order is complete before the new work arrives; for order to persist after the supervention of novelty, the whole existing order must be, if ever so slightly, altered; and so the relations, proportions, values of each work of art toward the whole are readjusted; and this is conformity between the old and the new. Whoever has approved this idea of order, of the form of European, of English literature, will not find it preposterous that the past should be altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past. And the poet who is aware of this will be aware of great difficulties and responsibilities. I would like you to consider how your understanding of an old work of art something we ve read from volume A (beginnings to 1820) is altered by the arrival of a new work of art in this case, your experience as a reader of something written and published between 1820 and 1865 (something from volume B). For example, I would like you to explain how your understanding (or, perhaps one would say interpretation ) of Mary Rowlandson s captivity narrative is altered after reading Fredrick Douglass s slave narrative. In this paper, I m mostly looking how particular readings speak to one another, as they say, for each of you. Keep in mind that the assignment is due after Fall Break, and that we'll complete our readings from Volume B on September 27th. 30% - Critical Edition Project (Introduction (4 pages/1000 words) plus 4 secondary sources) This project will need to relate to a primary work or text from the second half of the semester. For this project, I ask that you compile 4 legitimate secondary sources that you believe are useful to be read alongside a specific primary text (i.e., they would enhance an individual s engagement with said text). Your introduction to the project will need to explain how and why these 4 sources have been selected, how they create a conversation around the primary text, and how you believe this conversation enhances your (and, perhaps other readers ) engagement with the primary text. Statement Regarding UAH Canvas Students can access the course syllabus using as the UAH canvas system by typing canvas.uah.edu into any web browser, logging into the system using their UAH identification and password, and selecting our course from Canvas s main menu. (The syllabus is also available via the course wikisite.) Grades and feedback on written assignments will be provided directly to students in class in the form of comments and grades provided on written submitted work (including presentations, exams, and journals). As I complete and record grades into my personal gradebook, I will also submit individual grades to the Canvas system, so that you will be able to monitor/calculate your class grade via Canvas as the semester progresses. Please note: I do not check the email/messaging inbox on Canvas. If you wish to contact me outside of class via email, use my university email address (provided at the top of this syllabus): holly.jones@uah.edu. You are of course always welcome to stop by my office during office hours
3 (also provided at the top of this syllabus). If you d like to schedule an extended meeting during these hours, do let me know in class or via email so that I can reserve time in advance. Attendance Policy If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get the assignments and complete the work. That said, you are permitted a total of 2 unquestioned absences (the equivalent to 1 week). After that I reserve the right to reduce your grade as I consider appropriate; excessive absences that are neither explained nor approved can lower your grade down to and including an F. If you have questions about the number of absences you have accumulated over the course of the semester, please feel free to contact me directly. The bottom line: your success in this class depends upon your participation and preparation for each class meeting. Withdrawal Policy Students who drop this course are responsible for properly withdrawing. In addition, it is your responsibility to be aware of and act in accordance to UAH deadlines for adding a class (August 22 nd ), dropping in time to receive a tuition refund (August 29 th ), applying for pass/fail status (September 6 th ), and changing from credit to audit status (September 13 th ), and withdrawing from the course to receive grade of W (October 27 th ). Academic Honesty Your performance on exams as well as the writing in your reading journal, class presentation, and final paper must reflect your own work. Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. To insure you are aware of what is considered academic misconduct, you should review carefully the definition and examples provided in Article II, Code of Student Conduct, Student Handbook, p. 93. If you have any questions in this regard, please contact me without delay. Use of Prior Work You may not submit in fulfillment of requirements in this course any work submitted, presented, or used by you in any other course. Consent to Use of Turnitin.com UAH is committed to the fundamental values of preserving academic honesty as defined by the Student Handbook (7.III.A, Code of Student Conduct). As such, I reserve the right to utilize electronic means to help prevent plagiarism. Students agree that by taking this course all assignments are subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com. Assignments submitted to Turnitin.com will be included as source documents in Turnitin s restricted access database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in such documents. The terms that apply to the University s use of the Turnitin.com service, as well as additional information about the company, are described at www.uah.edu/library/turnitin. Classroom Conduct All students in the class must treat others with civility and respect and conduct themselves during class sessions in a way that does not unreasonably interfere with the opportunity of other students to learn. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in a reduction of your final grade and/or a formal complaint regarding your misconduct. Disability Support Services Any student who feels that accommodations based on the impact of a disability are required should contact me to discuss specific needs. Please also contact the Disability Support Services at 317 Wilson Hall (256.824.1997); they coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Counseling Services Any student who feels that their life is overwhelming or unmanageable is encouraged to contact the Counseling Center at 329 Wilson Hall(256.824.6203) for free and confidential appointments. It is normal to use counseling services: no problems are too big or too small.
4 Copyright Notice: H. Jones (2017) All federal and state copyrights in my lectures and course materials are reserved by me. You are authorized to take notes in class for your own personal use and for no other purpose. You are not authorized to record my lectures or to make any commercial use of them or to provide them to anyone else other than students currently enrolled in this course without my prior written permission. In addition to legal sanctions for violations of copyright law, students found in violation of these prohibitions may be subject to University disciplinary action under the Code of Student Conduct.
Tentative Course Schedule 5 Week 1 W 8/16 Introduce Course, Syllabus, and Wikisite. Volume A: Beginnings to 1820 Week 2 M 8/21 W 8/23 Dr. Jones Week 3 M 8/28 W 8/30 Week 4 M 9/4 No Class - Labor Day W 9/6 Volume B: 1820-1865 Week 5 M 9/11 W 9/13 Week 5 M 9/18 W 9/20 Week 6 M 9/25 W 9/27 Remember: Priority Registration Begins for Currently Registered Students Volume C: 1865-1914 Week 7 M 10/2 W 10/4 Fall Break No Classes October 5th 6th
Week 8 M 10/9 6 W 10/11 Intertextual Analysis Paper Due. Week 9 M 10/16 W 10/18 Volume D: 1914-1945 Week 10 M 10/23 W 10/25 Week 11 M 10/30 W 11/1 Week 12 M 11/6 W 11/8 Volume E: Literature Since 1945 Week 13 M 11/13 W 11/15 Week 14 M 11/20 W 11/22 No Class - Thanksgiving Break Week 15 M 11/27 Monday, December 4th Critical Edition Project due by 10:30 a.m.