mcen211syllabus

Samford University
MPEN211, Major American Authors, Spring 2012
Dr. Ken Kirby 726-4033; rkkirby@samford.edu
Div. N. 307; office hours by appointment

Our Texts:
Baym, Nina, et al. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Shorter 7th Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2008.

Objectives and policies:
Literature courses have an obvious place in a liberal arts university and as requirements in the degrees it grants. They expose students to some of the "great ideas" that have shaped our culture—ideas about such universal topics as love and marriage, religion and morality, the individual and society, and other topics that have been central to all human history—and to some of the imaginative ways people have devised of expressing and exploring those ideas. They encourage subjective thinking as you respond to what the literature says to you while at the same time exposing you to received methods of interpretation and the most widely held interpretations of literary works. They also give you practice writing and speaking. MCEN211 primarily surveys major American authors of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, focusing on important literary movements such as the American Renaissance, realism and local color, and the Harlem Renaissance.
During this course, you will have the opportunity to

1. improve your knowledge and understanding of some of the central themes and important authors in the American literary tradition;

2. become familiar with major literary genres such as lyric poetry, drama, and the short story;

3. address the ways that the study of literature can contribute to your overall educational and life goals;

4. practice critical reading and thinking;

5. practice analytical and persuasive writing;

6. be part of a community of learners by actively participating in peer groups, class discussion and activities, electronic communication, and all other in-class and out-of-class activities.

Class time will be a mixture of lecture and discussion, but I will always assume that you have read the assigned material before you come to class, so come to class prepared to talk and write. Class participation, including in-class papers, electronic discussions and conferences, and reading notes will count for 10% of your grade. The rest will come from three exams (15% each), a longer paper (15%), a report based on your reading of a scholarly article (10%), and a final exam (20%, partially comprehensive).

Grade scale: A = 93-100; A- = 90-92; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B- = 80-82; C+ = 77-79, C = 73-76; C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62; F = 59 or below.

Attendance, late work, and plagiarism:
Each class period is designed to give you an opportunity to learn from me and your classmates and to show me, via discussion and writing assignments, that you have learned on your own; therefore, you should try to attend all sessions. Students who have more than three unexcused absences will loose most or all of their class participation points. Projects that are turned in after the announced due date will probably be accepted, but with penalty of one letter grade for each class period they are late without excuse. This course will conform to university policies about academic integrity. Any form of cheating or plagiarism will result in a grade of zero on the assignment and probably in your failing the course and being placed on probation. Students are required to use nonsexist language.

Students with Disabilities
Samford University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students with disabilities who seek accommodations must make their request through Disability Support Services (phone 726-4078) in Counseling Services on the lower level of Pittman Hall. A faculty member will only grant reasonable accommodations upon notification from the Advisor for Students with Disabilities.

Suggested schedule of assignments:

Jan 31 Course introduction; poetry in class.

Feb 7 Colonial and Early National literature. MARY ROWLANDSON (117), all selections; J. H. ST. JOHN de CREVECOEUR (309), all selections; reading notes due.

Feb 14 American Renaissance. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (589), “The Birthmark,” "Young Goodman Brown."

Fab 21 students' choice: (Hawthorne, Poe, or Thoreau).

Feb 28 RALPH WALDO EMERSON (488),"Each and All," Nature.

Mar 6 EMERSON, "Self-Reliance"; Exam I MARGARET FULLER (736), all selections.

Mar 13 students' choice: Whitman or Dickinson.

Mar 20 SPRING BREAK - no class; report on scholarly article due Wed. Mar 21

Mar 27 Realism and Local Color. HENRY JAMES (1491), “Daisy Miller.”

Apr 3 SARAH ORNE JEWETT (1590), "A White Heron"; MARY E. WILKINS FREEMAN (1619), “A New England Nun.” Exam II.

Apr 10 REBECCA HARDING DAVIS (1225), "Life in the Iron Mills"; JACK LONDON (1825), "To Build a Fire."

Apr 17 ROBERT FROST (1951), poems TBA in class.

Apr 24 Finish FROST; Exam III. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS (2334), A Streetcar Named Desire.

May 1 Harlem Renaissance and related writers. ZORA NEAL HURSTON (2157), all selections; FREDERICK DOUGLASS (920, selections TBA); RICHARD WRIGHT, "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" (film); draft of "subjective" paper due.

May 8 LANGSTON HUGHES (2263), all selections; out of class "subjective" paper due.

May 15 Final Exam.