ENGLISH 2235: AMERICAN LITERATURE 1 SUMMER 2010 Section 001: , T/R Instructor: Paul Headrick Office: A302b Office Phone:

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1 ENGLISH 2235: AMERICAN LITERATURE 1 SUMMER 2010 Section 001: , T/R Instructor: Paul Headrick Office: A302b Office Phone: pheadrick@langara.bc.ca Office Hours: M) T) , , W) , , R) , , (Make appointments to see me to discuss any aspect of the course and your work, or just drop by during office hours. I respond more quickly to than to voice mail. I do not respond to or voice mail on weekends.) Course Content This introductory course explores a selection of major writers and themes and gradually builds a view of the distinctive features of American literature. Required Texts Chopin, Kate. The Awakening Headrick, Paul. A Method for Writing Essays about Literature Lawn, Beverly. (ed) 40 Short Stories Morrison, Toni. Beloved Pockell, Leslie. (ed) 100 Essential American Poems Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire 1 Mode of Delivery Lectures, Class Discussions, Group Discussions, In-Class Exercises and Writing Assignments Special Requirement Students must receive an average of a passing grade (50%) on the in-class poetry essay and the final exam in order to pass the course.

2 Grade Schedule A % A 90-94% A % B % B 75-79% B % C % C 60-64% C % D 50-54% F 0-49% Assignments Assignment Due Date Value Ten Quizzes (2.5% each) See Schedule 25% In-Class Essay (poems and stories) June 10 15% Huckleberry Finn Essay July 6 20% Comparative Essay July 29 or August 5 20% Two Hour Final Exam on Beloved TBA 20% 2 Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Late essays will be penalized one grade increment each day past the due date (a C+ becomes a C), except when a documented medical problem prevents you from handing in the assignment on time. An essay handed in after the start of class is considered one day late. Assignments will not be accepted by . Note that the course does not officially end till after the final exam. No accommodation will be made for students wanting to vacation during the exam period.

3 Plagiarism Essays that contain one (or more) quotation or paraphrase of a secondary source without proper quotation marks or citation will receive zero. The dean of student services will be notified, and further penalties may be imposed. Essays in which the grammar, punctuation, or diction has been corrected by someone else will receive zero. The dean of student services will be notified, and further penalties may be imposed. General Instructions For All Essays Format: The essays should be typed or word-processed. Follow the MLA format. Fasten your essays with a paper-clip or staple. Do not use a cover of any kind. Do not use a title page. Marks will be deducted for all format errors. Length: The essays must be between 1,500 and 2,000 words long. Marks will be deducted for essays that are too short or too long. Reminders: Read your essay out loud, several times, before preparing the final draft. Make sure that every quotation is part of a sentence of your own. Make sure that a page reference is given for every quotation. Check to ensure that your thesis sentence is absolutely clear, and ensure that each of your paragraphs begins with a topic sentence. Do not hand your essay in without first having made a copy for yourself. 3 Quizzes For each quiz, students will have ten minutes to answer ten multiple-choice questions. Quizzes will be given at the beginning of class. No make-up assignments are available for missed quizzes.

4 Week 1 May 11 May 13 Schedule (subject to change) Lectures: Course Introduction, The Early History of American Literature, The American Renaissance and Transcendentalism, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville. Method: Introduction, Chapter One. Stories: Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown ; Melville Bartleby, The Scrivener. Lecture: Walt Whitman. Week 2 May 18 Quiz 1 Lectures: The Early History of American Literature, The American Renaissance and Transcendentalism, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman. Stories: Young Goodman Brown, Bartleby, The Scrivener. Poems: Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, A Noiseless Patient Spider. Method Introduction, Chapters One and Two. May 20 Method: Chapter Two. 4 Poems: Whitman Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, A Noiseless Patient Spider. Method: Chapter Three. Poems: Whitman Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, A Noiseless Patient Spider. Lecture: Emily Dickinson. Week 3 May 25 Quiz 2 Lectures: Emily Dickinson

5 May 27 Poems: Wild nights! wild nights, There is no frigate like a book, Hope is the thing with feathers, I taste a liquor never brewed, I m nobody! Who are you? Because I could not stop for death. Method: Chapter Four. Method: Chapter Four. Poems: Dickinson Wild nights! wild nights, There is no frigate like a book, Hope is the thing with feathers, I taste a liquor never brewed, I m nobody! Who are you? Because I could not stop for death. Poems: Dickinson Wild nights! wild nights, There is no frigate like a book, Hope is the thing with feathers, I taste a liquor never brewed, I m nobody! Who are you? Because I could not stop for death. Lectures: Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Week 4 June 1 Quiz 3 Lectures: Mark Twain and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Novel: Huckleberry Finn June 3 5 Novel: Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Novel: Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

6 Week 5 June 8 June 10 Stories: Bierce An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ; Gillman The Yellow Wallpaper ; Cather Paul s Case. Lecture: Kate Chopin and The Awakening. In Class Essay on Poems and Stories Week 6 June 15 Quiz 4 Stories: An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, The Yellow Wallpaper, Paul s Case. Novella: The Awakening. Lecture: Kate Chopin and The Awakening. June 17 Novella: Chopin The Awakening. Lecture: American Modernism. Stories: Fitzgerald Winter Dreams ; Faulkner Barn Burning ; Hemingway Hills Like White Elephants. 6

7 Week 7 June 22 Quiz 5 Stories: Winter Dreams, Barn Burning, Hills Like White Elephants. Poems: A Decade, Mending Wall, The Road Not Taken, The Emperor of Ice Cream, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, The Red Wheelbarrow, This is Just to Say, Spring, Recuerdo, Buffalo Bill s. Lecture: American Modernism. June 24 Poems: Lowell A Decade. Frost Mending Wall, The Road Not Taken. Stevens The Emperor of Ice Cream, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. Williams The Red Wheelbarrow, This is Just to Say. Millay Spring, Recuerdo. Cummings Buffalo Bill s. Poems: Lowell A Decade ; Frost Mending Wall, The Road Not Taken ; Stevens The Emperor of Ice Cream, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird ; Williams The Red Wheelbarrow, This is Just to Say ; Millay Spring, Recuerdo ; Cummings Buffalo Bill s. Lecture: American Drama, Tennessee Williams, and A Streetcar Named Desire. Week 8 June 29 Quiz 6 Lecture: American Drama, Tennessee Williams and A Streetcar Named Desire. Play: A Streetcar Named Desire. 7 Play: A Streetcar Named Desire Important Note: Friday, July 2, is the last day to withdraw from the course.

8 Week 9 July 6 Play: A Streetcar Named Desire. Lecture: American Literature after World War Two. Huckleberry Finn Essay Due July 8 Quiz 7 Lecture: American Literature after World War Two. Stories: Baldwin Sonny s Blues ; O Connor A Good Man is Hard to Find ; Updike A & P ; Carver Cathedral ; Oates Where are You Going, Where Have You Been? Week 10 July13 July 15 Stories: Baldwin Sonny s Blues, O Connor A Good Man is Hard to Find, Updike A & P, Carver Cathedral, Oates Where are You Going, Where Have You Been? Stories: Baldwin Sonny s Blues ; O Connor A Good Man is Hard to Find ; Updike A & P ; Carver Cathedral ; Oates Where are You Going, Where Have You Been? 8 Poems: Hughes Dream Deferred ; Lowell For the Union Dead ; Brooks We Real Cool ; O Hara The Day Lady Died. Lectures: Alan Ginsburg and the Beats. Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry.

9 Week 11 July 20 Quiz 8 Lectures: Alan Ginsburg and the Beats. Sylvia Plath and Confessional Poetry. Poems: Hughes Dream Deferred ; Lowell For the Union Dead ; Brooks We Real Cool ; O Hara The Day Lady Died ; Ginsberg A Supermarket in California ; Plath Daddy. July 22 Poems: Ginsberg A Supermarket in California ; Plath Daddy. Lectures The Black Arts Movement. The Vietnam War and American Literature. Stories: Walker Everyday Use ; O Brien The Things They Carried. Week 12 July 27 Quiz 9 Lectures: The Black Arts Movement. The Vietnam War and American Literature. Stories: Walker Everyday Use, O Brien The Things They Carried. Poem: Collins Taking Off Emily Dickinson s Clothes. July 29 Poem: Collins Taking Off Emily Dickinson s Clothes. 9 Lecture: Toni Morrison and Beloved. Novel: Morrison Beloved. Comparative Essay Due (Essays handed in on this day will be returned, with grades and comments, on August 5. Essays may also be handed in, without penalty, on the last day of class. They will be returned, with grades but no comments, at the final exam.)

10 Week 13 August 3 Quiz 10 Lecture: Toni Morrison and Beloved. Novel: Beloved. August 5 Novel: Morrison Beloved. Novel: Morrison Beloved. Exam Preparation. Student Response to Instruction. 2 nd Due Date for Final Essay (Essays handed in on this day will be returned on the exam date, with grades but no comments.) 10