Here is the syllabus for American Women Poets.
American Women Poets
Fall 2007 • 3300:453-001
MWF 9:55-10:45 • JAR 40
Jon Miller, University of Akron
Jon Miller (Ph.D., U. of Iowa, 2000)
Find me at 330-972-5717 (office and voice mail), mjon at uakron dot edu (email), or 363 Olin Hall (office). My office hours are Monday and Wednesday, 12:00 to 1:30. Find this syllabus and other course-related materials on my website, jonmiller.org.
Course Description
This is a graduate- and senior-level seminar studying American poetry and literary criticism.
Textbooks
Dickinson, Emily. The Poems. Ed. R.W. Franklin. Reading edition. Cambridge: Belknap, 1999. ISBN 0674676246. $31.50.
Harper, Frances Ellen Watkins. A Brighter Coming Day: A Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Reader. Ed. Frances S. Foster. New York: Feminist Press, 1990. ISBN 1558610200. $19.95.
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler. Poems of Pleasure (1897). Kila, MT: Kessinger Publishing Company, 1998. ISBN 0766107523. $17.12.
Stein, Gertrude. Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms. New York: Dover, 1997. ISBN 0486298973. $4.95.
Levertov, Denise. Collected Earlier Poems, 1940-1960. New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1979. ISBN 0811207188. $10.95.
Franco, Gina L. The Keepsake Storm: Poems. University of Arizona Press, 2004. ISBN 0816523290. $15.95.
Question papers
(1) In each of the first twelve weeks of the class, you will write and submit at least one 250-500 word question-and-answer paper. (2) These papers should mainly consist of scholarly literary criticism conducted with a fair, objective impartiality. They must produce debatable conclusions. They are not a good forum for informal, passionate, or private, personal meditations. We cannot debate what you love and hate. (3) Other students will read all of our papers. Write with this in mind. (4) You are expected to submit fifteen to twenty of these papers. (5) These papers are due on Wednesdays. During the first half of the semester, you may also submit a question paper on Fridays. (6) You may submit them early only in hard copy. Deliver the paper to me or my Olin Hall mailbox before the desired due date. (7) You may not submit them late. (8) All question papers must be dated with the appropriate due date. (9) They will be graded on a four-point scale. They may be graded before or after other students have the opportunity to read them. (10) Only the grades of your twelve best “question papers” will determine your grade for this portion of the coursework.
Long paper
You will write a long paper. You have a choice: you can write a traditional twelve-page work of literary criticism on the poetry of any one of our poets, or you can prepare a short edition of a nineteenth-century poet. This edition will consist of a text (you will copy this from a photocopy I provide) and perhaps a more heavily-factual paper that summarizes and contextualizes the text. An edition does require the sustained interpretive thesis that is so necessary for the traditional twelve-page paper. There are examples of these “editions” on my website, jonmiller.org.
On plagiarism
Plagiarism is a moral and ethical offense and, more narrowly, a violation of the scholarly and professional ethics to which you, the student, are bound. Students who falsely represent scholarly work as their own, at any stage of an assignment’s possible course of submission and re-submission, will receive, as the minimum punishment, a grade of zero for that assignment. Students can also expect to have the case reported to University authorities. This may result in further and more severe consequences. Also note that ignorance of this academic law is no excuse for its violation. All students have a responsibility to study and clearly understand the full range of scurrilous behaviors which constitute plagiarism.
Attendance policy
(1) Missing 20% of class warrants failure. (2) All reasons to miss class – personal or academic – are equally good. There are no “excused” absences. (3) I do not require an explanation for an absence. If you miss class, I will assume that you missed class for a good reason. I respect your privacy and do not need to know why. On the other hand, I will be concerned and curious. If you care to explain, I will listen. (4) Any lateness to class will be marked as half an absence. (5) Any early departure from class will be marked as half an absence. (6) Habitual tardiness or early departure warrants a failing participation grade. (7) I will keep a careful record of the number of times you are absent, late, or leaving early, but I will not bring this to class. And I will not be able to provide an accurate, up-to-the-minute total of time missed on demand. You are responsible for keeping your own record. (8) Your attendance record cannot be improved by additional writing assignments or other kinds of “extra credit.”
Presentations
In this seminar, you are expected to contribute senior-level scholarship. It is not enough to study and learn the poetry. It is not enough to write at length about the poetry. You must also contribute. To contribute, you must teach. You must share. Attendance and participation are essential. All students will also make at least two presentations to the class. The first will be short and informal. The second will be more formal and longer, but it will not be more than twelve minutes. In the first presentation, for example, you might speak from notes or right off the top of your head. In the second, you might read some prepared remarks that you have rehearsed outside of class.
Attendance and participation grade
All students are expected to respect the worth and contribution of everyone in the classroom. Your attendance grade is the percentage of classes that you attend. Your participation grade reflects your day-to-day contribution to the class. Your attendance and participation grade is the product of these grades.
Final Grade
Grades are computed as follows: Question papers 25%, Paper or edition 50%, Presentations 15%, Attendance & Participation, 10%. All assignments receive a numeric grade. Grades will be awarded as follows: 92.5, A; 90, A-; 87.5, B+; 82.5, B; 80, B-; 77.5, C+; 72.5, C; 70.0, C-; 67.5, D+; 62.5, D; 60, D-; below 60, F.
Reading Schedule
Assigned readings will be general and specific: you will be asked to read all or most of each poet’s book, and you will be asked to read specific poems with special care. The reading list will be determined by the questions and interests of the students, so it will evolve and become more detailed over time. All updates to the reading list will be published in hard copy and distributed in class. They will also be available on my website.
Also note that students are not expected to submit a question paper on every due date. There are twenty-one due dates. You are expected to write fifteen to twenty of these papers, and your only best twelve grades will count for the question paper portion of the final grade.
Monday, August 27, 2007 (1)
Syllabus, introductory lecture about Dickinson
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 (2)
Dickinson
Friday, August 31, 2007 (3)
Question paper due
Dickinson
Monday, September 3, 2007 (4)
Dickinson
Wednesday, September 5, 2007 (5)
Question paper due
Dickinson
Friday, September 7, 2007 (6)
Question paper due
Dickinson
Monday, September 10, 2007 (7)
Dickinson
Wednesday, September 12, 2007 (8)
Question paper due
Dickinson
Friday, September 14, 2007 (9)
Question paper due
Dickinson
Monday, September 17, 2007 (10)
Harper
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 (11)
Question paper due
Harper
Friday, September 21, 2007 (12)
Question paper due
Harper
Monday, September 24, 2007 (13)
Harper
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 (14)
Question paper due
Harper
Friday, September 28, 2007 (15)
Question paper due
Harper
Monday, October 1, 2007 (16)
Wilcox
Wednesday, October 3, 2007 (17)
Question paper due
Wilcox
Friday, October 5, 2007 (18)
Question paper due
Wilcox
Monday, October 8, 2007 (19)
Wilcox
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 (20)
Question paper due
Wilcox
Friday, October 12, 2007 (21)
Question paper due
Wilcox
Monday, October 15, 2007 (22)
Stein
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 (23)
Question paper due
Stein
Friday, October 19, 2007 (24)
Stein
Monday, October 22, 2007 (25)
Stein
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 (26)
Question paper due
Stein
Friday, October 26, 2007 (27)
Stein
Monday, October 29, 2007 (28)
Stein
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 (29)
Question paper due
Stein
Friday, November 2, 2007 (30)
Levertov
Monday, November 5, 2007 (31)
Levertov
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 (32)
Question paper due
Levertov
Friday, November 9, 2007 (33)
Levertov
Monday, November 12, 2007 (34)
Levertov
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 (35)
Question paper due
Levertov
Friday, November 16, 2007 (36)
Levertov
Monday, November 19, 2007 (37)
Levertov
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 (38)
Question paper due
Franco
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thanksgiving break. No class.
Monday, November 26, 2007 (39)
Franco
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 (40)
Question paper due
Franco
Friday, November 30, 2007 (41)
Franco
Monday, December 3, 2007 (42)
Franco
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 (43)
Question paper due
Franco
Friday, December 7, 2007 (44)
Last day of class.
Franco
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This document was originally posted to jonmiller.org. Copyright 2007 by Jon Miller. Some rights reserved. See jonmiller.org for more information.
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