American Literature 1, Spring 2010

Here is the syllabus.

American Literature 1
The University of Akron
Spring 2010 • 3300:341-401
MWF 9:55 to 10:45 • CAS 138

Jon Miller, Associate Professor of English (Ph.D., U. of Iowa, 2000). Find me at 330-972-5717 (office and voice mail), mjon at uakron dot edu (email), or 301b Olin Hall (office). I am the Undergraduate Advisor for English, so if you have questions about your progress towards your degree with a major in English, I am the person to ask.

Course Description
This is an undergraduate-level survey of American literature and literary history to 1865.

Textbooks
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, The Linwoods: or, "Sixty Years Since" in America. 1835; University Press of New England, 2002. ISBN 1584651539.

Nina Baym, general editor. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Seventh edition. Package 1: Volumes A & B. Norton, 2007. ISBN 0393929930.

Vocabulary
To read, comprehend, and write persuasively about older literature, you must better know the language of older literature. I will provide a list of words and definitions, with a few key literary terms, for you to study. This vocabulary provides a context that will help you, especially on a first reading, to better understand and anticipate the developments in plot and theme which first made these works compelling.

Dates
You need (at least) a set of dates to serve as reference points in your survey of literary history. You will be given a small list of dates to memorize.

Quizzes
We'll have at least one brief quiz for every class. These will vary in format. You may be asked questions about the day's reading. You may be asked to name words by definition, to date events, or to define words. The lowest 20% of quiz scores will be dropped. You cannot make up quizzes that you miss because of absence or tardiness.

Two papers
You will write two three-page (750 word) works of literary criticism.

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 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. Please note too, 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. An absence is an absence. (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 counts as half an absence. (5) Any early departure from class counts 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 may not be able to provide an accurate, up-to-the-minute total of time missed on demand. You should keep your own record if you want to miss just under 20%. (8) Your attendance record cannot be improved by additional writing assignments or other kinds of extra-credit work.

Attendance and participation
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. Students who text message, do email, surf the internet, or do homework for other classes will receive a zero for class participation. Do not distract other people by distracting yourself during class, and do not make yourself available to your work, friends, or family during the class period. We can all be unavailable for one hour and just concentrate on the task at hand, which is learning this material.

Two Exams
There will be a midterm and a final exam. The midterm will focus on facts and include varieties of multiple choice and matching challenges. The final will be a take-home essay exam due on the last day of class.

Final Grade
This is the formula for the final grade: Quizzes 33%, Papers 35%, Midterm 12%, Final 10%, 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
Please note: when class is cancelled (for any reason), so are the readings for that class. We stay on schedule.
Monday, January 11, 2010
(class no. 1)
Syllabus, introductory lecture

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
(class no. 2)
Thomas Harriot, biography and part of "A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia," plus John Smith, biography and passages from his General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles, pp. 48-72

Friday, January 15, 2010
(class no. 3)
Mary Rowlandson, biography and part of her Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration, pp. 235-67

Monday, January 18, 2010
(no class - Martin Luther King, Jr. observance)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010
(class no. 4)
William Byrd, biography and pages from his secret diary, pp. 378-84

Friday, January 22, 2010
(class no. 5)
Jonathan Edwards, biography and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," pp. 384-86, 425-37

Monday, January 25, 2010
(class no. 6)
Benjamin Franklin, biography, "The Way to Wealth," and "Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One," pp. 449-63

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
(class no. 7)
J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, biography and passages from Letters from An American Farmer, pp. 595-616

Friday, January 29, 2010
(class no. 8)
Jane Colman Turell, Annis Boudinot Stockton, Sarah Wentworth Morton, Mercy Otis Warren, Ann Eliza Bleecker, and Margaretta Faugères, poems, 710-24

Monday, February 1, 2010
(class no. 9)
Olaudah Equiano, biography and some of his Interesting Narrative, pp. 674-93

Wednesday, February 3, 2010
(class no. 10)
Royall Tyler, biography and The Contrast, Acts 1 and 2, pp. 764ff

Friday, February 5, 2010
(class no. 11)
Royall Tyler, The Contrast, Act 3


Monday, February 8, 2010
(class no. 12)
Royall Tyler, The Contrast, Act 5

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
(class no. 13)
Royall Tyler, The Contrast, Act 5

Friday, February 12, 2010
(class no. 14)
Hannah Webster Foster, The Coquette, pp. 806-831

Monday, February 15, 2010
(class no. 15)
Hannah Webster Foster, The Coquette, pp. 832-857

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
(class no. 16)
Hannah Webster Foster, The Coquette, pp. 858-883

Friday, February 19, 2010
(class no. 17)
Hannah Webster Foster, The Coquette, pp. 883-end

Monday, February 22, 2010
(class no. 18)
midterm exam

Wednesday, February 24, 2010
(class no. 19)
Washington Irving, biography and "Rip Van Winkle," pp. 951-65

Friday, February 26, 2010
(class no. 20)
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, The Linwoods, pp. 5-83

Monday, March 1, 2010
(class no. 21)
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, The Linwoods, pp. 84-144

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
(class no. 22)
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, The Linwoods, pp. 145-201

Friday, March 5, 2010
(class no. 23)
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, The Linwoods, pp. 202-58

Monday, March 8, 2010
(class no. 24)
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, The Linwoods, pp. 259-314

Wednesday, March 10, 2010
(class no. 25)
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, The Linwoods, pp. 315-60

Friday, March 12, 2010
(class no. 26)
Lydia Sigourney, biography and poems, pp. 1028-44

Monday, March 15, 2010
(no class - spring break )
 
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
(no class - spring break )

Friday, March 19, 2010
(no class - spring break )
 
Monday, March 22, 2010
(class no. 27)
Edgar Allan Poe, biography and poems, pp. 1528-43

Wednesday, March 24, 2010
(class no. 28)
selections from The New-York Mirror (handout)

Friday, March 26, 2010
(class no. 29)
paper # 1 due; more selections from The New-York Mirror (handout)

Monday, March 29, 2010
(class no. 30)
William Cullen Bryant, biography and poems, pp. 1044-51

Wednesday, March 31, 2010
(class no. 31)
William Apess, "An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man," pp. 1051-58

Friday, April 2, 2010
(class no. 32)
Caroline Stansbury Kirkland, biography and selections from "A New Home," pp. 1068-78

Monday, April 5, 2010
(class no. 33)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, biography and "Wakefield," pp. 1272-76, 1298-1304

Wednesday, April 7, 2010
(class no. 34)
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Masque of the Red Death," pp. 1585-89

Friday, April 9, 2010
(class no. 35)
Richard Henry Dana Jr., selection from Two Years Before the Mast, pp. 2179-82

Monday, April 12, 2010
(class no. 36)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, biography and "Self-Reliance," pp. 1106-10, 1163-80

Wednesday, April 14, 2010
(class no. 37)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Experience," pp. 1195-1211

Friday, April 16, 2010
(class no. 38)
Edgar Allen Poe, "The Black Cat" plus "The Philosophy of Composition" plus the selection from "The Poetic Principle," pp. 1593-99, 1617-27

Monday, April 19, 2010
(class no. 39)
Henry David Thoreau, biography and "Slavery in Massachusetts," pp. 1853-57, 2046-56

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
(class no. 40)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, biography and selected poems, pp. 1495-1506

Friday, April 23, 2010
(class no. 41)
paper #2 due; Frederick Douglass, biography and "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?," pp. 2060-64, 2140-43, plus Sojourner Truth, "Speech to the Woman's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, 1851," pp. 1695-96

Monday, April 26, 2010
(class no. 42)
Walt Whitman, biography and "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," 2190-95, 2263-67

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
(class no. 43)
Herman Melville, biography and selected chapters from Moby-Dick, pp. 2304-08, 2320-37

Friday, April 30, 2010
(class no. 44)
Emily Dickinson (poems TBA).


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