Fall 2016 American Literature 2131 Syllabus

Prerequisite: C or better in English 1101

Dr. Anna Dunlap Higgins-Harrell

This syllabus is also available on my faculty web page.

Academic 103L / Office Hours: MTWR 9:00 – 11:00 / a_higgins@gordonstate.edu

Part One: The Course

Benefits & Opportunities of Our Literature Survey Course

• Ours is a “buffet style” survey course that offers a rich variety of excerpts and full (but short) texts by sample significant authors in the early American Literary canon
• Lectures and readings encourage

Ø Active reading and listening, careful note taking, and synthesis of course content

Ø Familiarity with historical/cultural backgrounds of early American literature

Ø Knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of literary periods

Ø Understanding of key figures of the literary periods covered during the term

• Lectures and readings also provide the skills to analyze the literature, given its place in the American Literary canon
• The objective exams offer you the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the course content
• The essay exams and the author project provide great opportunities to show off your knowledge and comprehension, to apply term concepts to individual authors and their works, to analyze texts, to synthesize concepts from the term, to produce organized, coherent, and developed essays that demonstrate both a mastery of Academic Language Conventions and a deep understanding of plagiarism and collusion; the author project also offers you the opportunity to locate and evaluate academic sources

Texts & Materials

• Required textbook: The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 8^th ed., Volumes A and B.
• Miscellaneous: Materials for note taking, for keeping up with handouts, and for preparing the author project.
• Computer Access: I will email you frequently, sending you this syllabus, several important handouts, the study guides, and etc. You are responsible for checking your Gordon Email every day.

Course Assessment & Evaluation

• Participation Grade 10%
• Exam One: Objective Portion 15%
• Exam One: Subjective Portion 15%
• Exam Two: Objective Portion 20%
• Exam Two: Subjective Portion 20%
• Researched Author Project 20%

Final Exam = Turn in Exam Two: Subjective Portion to my office

Tuesday, December 6 @ 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

(Be careful not to miss the exam period b/c doing so gets you a WF.)

Part Two: The Course Grade

Policies that affect the Term Grade

• Participation Grade To encourage your attendance, I will give you ten points every day you come to class and behave like a college student and will also offer “frequent” literary quizzes, literary responses, and Lit Activities to encourage you to keep up with the reading—again, so that you will do great on my tests. (Record all your daily points.)
• Late Work and Make Up Exams If you miss a literary quiz, you can make it up in my office the very next class period, but that policy extends only two times. If we did a fun Lit Activity, I’m afraid I cannot help you with that zero. If there is some extreme situation that will affect your grade, talk to me privately in my office during our first week of class. If the Author Project is late, please do not roll over and just take a zero! You may turn it in with a five point deduction per calendar day—which is way better than a zero. Because they are tests, our exams may be made up only with documentation of an emergency situation; if you know in advance that you must be absent on the day of an exam, show me the documentation early in the semester so that we can plan for you to take an early test (created new for you). Do not be late for the Final Exam b/c that earns you a WF from the Registrar’s Office.
• Author Project and Essay Exam Quality The project and essay exams are graded with the same expectations that the English Department has for English 1101 and 1102 concerning error control and prose style. Over five major errors in a paper written for a college-level course is an F. See the Paper Evaluation Scale on my Web Page, and please make use of the Student Success Center if you struggle with grammar, punctuation, and/or MLA quote handling. More advice forthcoming.
• Conduct & Academic Misconduct If you disrupt the learning experience of others, you and I will chat (this includes being tardy, texting, or any other disruptive behavior); if chatting with me does not resolve the issue, you will be removed from my classroom. I do not tolerate distracting other students, cheating, plagiarism, or collusion (see definition below). Committing any of these acts will result in consequences that range from a failing grade on a test/project to a file in the appropriate disciplinary office, and/or a failing grade for the course. I expect you to be familiar with the portions of your academic catalog that discuss academic misconduct.

Because the components of our course all carry different percentages, here is a little chart that will help you determine where you stand in the class at any time during the semester. Most of our points come after the midterm point—so you can get serious, if need be. J

Participation ______ x .10 = ________

Exam One: Objective ______ x .15 = ________

Exam One: Subjective ______ x .15 = ________

Exam Two: Objective ______ x .20 = ________

Exam Two: Subjective ______ x .20 = ________

Author Project ______ x .20 = ________

Add up all totals to figure out your semester grade: Final Grade = ________

Miscellaneous: 1. Withdraws after Midterm receive a WF, so make any decisions before that date. 2. Because I take writing recommendations very seriously, I prepare them only for students I have taught for two full (regular) semesters so that I can assure a prospective employer, the college, or another division that I know you well. 3. According to the Division of Humanities, collusion is unauthorized collaboration wherein one receives assistance beyond the norm. While it is appropriate to seek another’s help in developing one’s skills, for instance from the Student Success Center, it is not appropriate to have another person apply those skills on one’s behalf. An example of collusion would be a student handing an essay draft to another person (a fellow student, a parent, a former teacher) who then simply corrects errors. If authorship of a work or a demonstrated mastery of an applied skill can be attributed to others beyond the individual student, then collusion has occurred. If I suspect collusion, I will assign a zero to the assignment. 4. Please see our Title IX and ADA Addendum below our schedule.

Part Three: The Schedule

A word about our schedule & reading at home

§ Below is a tentative schedule, designed to help you keep up. Discussion will at times lag behind the scheduled date for an author; you should keep up with the reading schedule regardless because of the quizzes. J

§ Also, because the objective portions of our exams include quote identification, it will benefit you immeasurably to keep up with the readings so that you recognize my references to significant passages. Using a pencil or post-it-note, make annotations as you read at home to help your memory; then flag important passages or make a note in your notebook as they are mentioned in lecture.

§ See the Literary Periods & Reading List below for volume and page numbers; please always bring the correct volume and all handouts with you, and be prepared to take notes every day.

Literary Periods & Tentative Reading List

This chart matches the schedule below.

Beginnings to 1700 (Volume A)

Casas (39-42); Smith (83-84 + 2 lines on 85 [end with “But to proceed”] and 87 [“The manner how they used him…”] – 92); Bradford (131-134 [Chapter ix], 144 [Chapter xii], and 154-155 [Chapter xxxii]); Winthrop (portions read in class); Bradstreet (Before Birth 225-226 and Here Follows 232-233); Bay Psalm Book (190 [Psalm 23]); New England Primer (363 [visual only]); Rowlandson (257-264 [intro through 4^th remove] and other portions, as read in class during lecture)

1700 to 1820 (Volume A)

Byrd (391-396); Franklin (457-463); Paine (portions to be read during lecture); Occom (446-448); Red Jacket (451-453); Equiano (688-699); Turell (724-725 Lines); Wheatley (764, On Being and 774 Letter to Occom)

1820 – 1865 (Volume B)

Irving (Sleepy… 41-62); Cooper (72-79 Pioneers, 80-86 Mohicans); Longfellow (599-600 Slave and 600-601 Day is Done); Sigourney (112-113 Indian Names, 113-114 Slavery, 116-117 Our Aborigines); Emerson (Nature intro & Chapter One 214-217); Thoreau (Walden Chapter Two 1023-1033); Poe (Tell-Tale 691-695 plus Annabell Lee 643); Grimke (798-801); Stowe (Uncle Tom Chapter 3 815-818); Truth (801-802); Jacobs (921-924 Childhood and 928-932 Perilous Passage); Douglass (1240-44 Childhood, plus other portions read in class); Whitman (portions read in class); Dickinson (1664 #122, 1667 #207, 1668 #236, 1669 #260, 1670 #269, 1682 #466)

Our Tentative Schedule for Fall 2016

August

W10 Welcome! (Syllabus Review and a word about exams & the Author Project)

M15 Beginnings – 1700: Exploration and Settlement Periods (Handout: Dateline)

W17 Continued

M22 Exploration Literature: Casas (Handout: Exploration Period: Beginnings to 1620)

W24 Exploration Literature: Smith

M29 Settlement Literature: Bradford, Winthrop & Bradstreet (Handout: Settlement Period: 1620-1700)

W31 Settlement Literature: Bay Psalm Book & New England Primer & Rowlandson

September

M5 Labor Day Holiday! JJJ

W7 1700 – 1820 The Revolutionary Period (Handout: Revolutionary Period 1700-1820)

M12 Revolutionary Literature: Byrd (transitional author), Franklin & Paine

W14 Native American Voices: Occum and Red Jacket

M19 Voices of Slavery: Equiano

W21 Women’s Voices: Turrell & Wheatley

M26 Review for Exam One (Bring Study Guide—already filled out as best you can)

W28 Author Project Discussed; samples in the classroom for you to examine

October

***note that the GSC Midterm Date is October 3rd***

M3 Exam One: Objective Portion (Key in the room so you can determine score after test.)

W5 1820 – 1865 Romantic Period (Handout: Romantic Period: 1820-1865)

Exam One Subjective Portion Due at the beginning of class

M10 No Class: GSC Fall Break! (Why not read Irving? J )

W12 Early Romantic Literature: Irving

M17 Early Romantic Literature: Cooper

M24 Fireside Poetry: Longfellow & Sigourney

W26 Transcendental Literature: Emerson & Thoreau

M31 Dark Romantic Literature: Poe

November

W2 Voices of Abolition: Grimke & Stowe

M7 Voices of Slavery: Truth & Jacobs

W9 Voices of Slavery: Douglass

M14 Transitional Poetic Voices: Whitman (Handout: Transitional Poetic Voices)

W16 Transitional Poetic Voices: Dickinson

W21 Review for Exam Two (Bring Study Guide—already filled out as best you can); Author Project Due; Class picture! J

W23 No Class: Thanksgiving Holiday!

M28 Our own study day J (Why not meet in the Library w/ a Study Group?)

W30 Exam Two: Objective Portion (Key in the room so you can determine your score after test.)

Final Exam Information Box

Do not go to the classroom; come to my office—103L Academic Building!

Turn in Exam Two: Subjective Portion, and then pick up graded objective portion and author project.

Tuesday, December 6 @ 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

(Be careful not to miss the exam period b/c doing so gets you a WF.)

You may turn the exam in early if you prefer; just chat w/ me about details.

Addendum to Dr. Higgins-Harrell’s Syllabus

Title IX and ADA & 504

Title IX

Gordon State College is committed to providing an environment free of all forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.  If you (or someone you know) has experienced or experiences any of these incidents, know that you are not alone. All faculty members at Gordon State College are mandated reporters.  Any student reporting any type of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking must be made aware that any report made to a faculty member under the provisions of Title IX will be reported to the Title IX Coordinator or a Title IX Deputy Coordinator.  If you wish to speak with someone confidentially, you must contact the Counseling and Accessibility Services office, Room 212, Student Life Center.  The licensed counselors in the Counseling Office are able to provide confidential support.

Gordon State College does not discriminate against any student on the basis of pregnancy, parenting or related conditions.  Students seeking accommodations on the basis of pregnancy, parenting or related conditions should contact Counseling and Accessibility Services regarding the process of documenting pregnancy related issues and being approved for accommodations, including pregnancy related absences as defined under Title IX.

ADA and 504

If you have a documented disability as described by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, you may be eligible to receive accommodations to assist in programmatic and/or physical accessibility.  The Counseling and Accessibility Services office located in the Student Center, Room 212 can assist you in formulating a reasonable accommodation plan and in providing support in developing appropriate accommodations to ensure equal access to all GSC programs and facilities.  Course requirements will not be waived, but accommodations may assist you in meeting the requirements.  For documentation requirements and for additional information, contact Counseling and Accessibility Services at 678-359-5585.