St. Gregory’s University
Humanities Division
Survey of American Literature I (EN 3213)
Fall, 2000

Instructor: Yoon Sik Kim, Ph.D. Office: AD 119A Phone: x5165
Hours: MWF 9:00-10:00 and 11:00-12:00 e-mail: yskim@sgc.edu

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Designed to increase students’ appreciation and understanding of the writers and ideas which have shaped contemporary literature in America, this course examines the Colonial Period, The Neoclassic Age, and the Romantic Movement. Its prerequisites are English 1113 (Comp I) and English 1323 (Comp II).

RATIONALE: This course will enable students to develop a knowledge of the forms, ideas, values, traditions, major American writers and their works; and of the social and cultural environment that shaped and was shaped by the literature. The course is designed to help English Majors and other students for Teacher Certification and graduate school.

OBJECTIVES: students who successfully complete this course will do the following:

  1. engage in close reading of classic American texts,
  2. demonstrate comprehension of the rhetorical strategies and social as well as cultural influences of the major American writers in class discussions and writing assignments,
  3. and complete written analyses and interpretations (including a well-documented research paper) which demonstrate an understanding of the literary elements of selected texts.

METHODS: Lectures, discussion, and research writing assignments, audiovisual presentation, and literary explication.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  1. All students will take a Diagnostic Evaluation (not a part of the final grade) in the beginning of the semester.
  2. Students will take six (6)—four take-home and two in-class—examinations, including a mid-term and a final. Students will also write two papers: a short explication paper and a long library research paper.
  3. The short paper is an explication, a close reading of a prose paragraph or an entire poem, about a page and half, double-spaced and typed, containing literary terms and critical concepts. This first paper [Explication] is due one week prior to the mid-term.
  4. The second paper is a research paper, about fifteen pages long, including Works Cited page, double-spaced and typed.
  5. Although the research topic is open, students must first talk to me about the areas of interest for approval.
  6. The research paper must have at least ten(10) outside sources, all documented according to MLA style. Textual sources, such as The Norton Anthology, are not outside sources. The research paper is due one week prior to the final.
  7. A student who fails to complete any one of the above requirements will automatically fail in the course.

EVALUATION: Grading will be determined by the following scale:

Six Examinations 60% (10% each)
Short Paper 10%
Research Paper 20%
Attendance 10%

The explication and research papers will be graded for its content, organization, and writing as follows:

A Excellent (90-100). An "A" paper is exceptional--stylistically, structurally, and intellectually--with originality. Its content and style stand out by lucid and orderly thinking. To respond to all parts of the given assignment, discussed specifically in class, it shows superior control of language, free of errors in mechanics, grammar punctuation, organization, and documentation. Sentences are clear, full of supporting details, illustrations, and examples from specific works of an author.

B Good (80-89). What primarily distinguishes an "A" paper from a "B" paper are originality of thought and expression, and attention to detail. A "B" paper, nonetheless, addresses all parts of the assignment but completes one or more parts less completely or with less control than an "A" paper does. It may show inadequacy or a flaw in reasoning, organization, specific details, writing, and documentation--a minor deficiency requiring an occasional proofreading.

C Average (70-79). A "C" paper comes to terms with all parts of the assignment. The reasoning, organization, stance, details, writing, and documentation may be imprecise and inadequate, however. A "C" paper differs from a "B" in that it contains weak organization, few concrete supporting details, poor writing, and inadequate documentation. But it will not be flawed with logical fallacies or superficial reasoning. It will show the writer’s ability to support key ideas and will allow readers to move easily from point to point, despite few organizational flaws. Errors in mechanics, punctuation, grammar, and documentation will not be so frequent as to distract the reader from the content.

D Poor (60-69). A "D" paper ignores major portions of the assignment, especially in organization, content, and documentation. Errors in mechanics, punctuation, and grammar may be numerous, but will not be so serious as to interfere with readability. A "D" paper is a superficial, incomplete, or inadequate response to an assignment. Papers potentially worth a "C" will be lowered to a "D" by inaccurate content, ineffective organization, serious errors in writing, lapses in reasoning, absence of specific details, confusing focus, abnormal brevity, and incorrect documentation.

F Failing (Below 60). An "F" paper lacks specific focus or substance, or shows consistent, serious problems with writing, producing the impression of ineptitude. It either lacks a clear focus, fails to accomplish its intended purpose, or is not usable by the intended reader, for it blatantly ignores the specific instruction given in class discussion. A paper, deemed to be an accidental or incidental plagiarism, will also receive an "F," just as a paper whose drafts your instructor has not seen prior to the paper’s deadline.

DISABILITY STATEMENT: Any student with a disability that will affect his/her progress in this class and registered with students services should inform the professor during or after the first class meeting.

ATTENDANCE

As the Official St. Gregory’s University Class Attendance Policy dictates, regular attendance is expected.

  1. The absent student will be held fully responsible for the missing information. Under no circumstance will your instructor be obliged to repeat it; therefore, students should get the missing information from other students or their notes.
  2. The student must present within three days of returning to class an official excuse to the instructor. In case of illness, the student must present a doctor’s statement before an official excuse may be granted.
  3. Students attending official university functions must obtain official excuses from the Office of Academic Affairs.
  4. An absence immediately preceding or following a holiday will constitute a double absence in any course meeting on those days; furthermore, absence from class, whether excused or unexcused, does not relieve the student of the responsibility for work required in the course during his/her absence.
  5. Students who accumulate more than three (3) unexcused absences may be dropped from that course and may be assigned the grade of F for the semester by the instructor.

Specific Instructions For Written Assignments

  1. Students are not allowed to take a make-up examination or turn in a make-up paper. Your instructor uses easier questions in the first examination or a simpler assignment in the original paper; therefore, the make-ups tend to be much more difficult than the original task, a serious reason why you are discouraged to take any make-up.
  2. The midterm and final examinations will be given on time, never early nor late: do not purchase airline tickets before the final examination is officially over. If you must travel out of town on official school functions, turn in your assignment in advance. Works slid under my door will not be accepted: you must, in person, hand them in during the class they are due. Always keep a copy of your work, but you must turn in the original.
  3. A letter grade will be dropped for each day your work is late, counting weekends and holidays. No research paper will be accepted whose first and second drafts your instructor has not seen in advance. All research papers are due at the beginning of the class period.
  4. To receive the assigned grade, all research papers must be revised correctly: unrevised or incorrectly revised essays will receive an "F" regardless of the initial grade. A correct revision will not be upgraded higher than a letter grade. Once revised, all the essays must be turned in immediately: they are properties of the English Department.
  5. For all parties involved, a single incident of plagiarism will be grounds for failure in the course. Also, to maintain a student’s file, each student must turn in a regular manila folder as soon as possible.

REQUIRED TEXT

McMichael, George, et al. Anthology of American Literature. 7th ed. New York: New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 2000. Vol. 1

TWO OPTIONAL SUPPLEMENTARY REFERENCE BOOKS

Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981.

SCHEDULE READING ASSIGNMENTS

Week 1 1. Christopher Columbus 2. John Smith

(8/21-25) 3. Native American Voices

Week 2 4. William Bradford 5. Roger Williams

(8/28-9/1) 6. John Winthrop*

Diagnostic Evaluation (Bring a Scantron and #2 Pencil)

Week 3 7. Anne Bradstreet 8. Edward Taylor

(9/4-8) (Samuel Sewall)* First Examination

Week 4 9. Cotton Mather 10. Mary Rowlandson

(9/11-15) 11. John Woolman

Week 5 12. Jonathan Edwards 13. Benjamin Franklin

(9/18-22) (Elizabeth Ashbridge)*

Week 6 14. Jean De Crevecoeur 15. John Adams

(9/25-29) 16. Thomas Paine Second Examination

Week 7 17. Thomas Jefferson 18. Washington Irving

(10/2-6) (Olaudah Equiano)* Explication Paper Due

Week 8 18. James F. Cooper 19. William Bryant*

(10/9-13) Mid-term (Third) Examination

Week 9 20. Edgar Allan Poe 21. Ralph W. Emerson

(10/16-20)

Week 10 22. Nathaniel Hawthorne 23. Herman Melville

(10/23-27) Research Paper Topic Conference

Week 11 24. John Whittier 25. Henry Longfellow

(10/30-11/3) Rough Drafts/Peer Critiquing Fourth Examination

Week 12 26. Harriet Beecher Stowe 27. Frederick Douglass

(11/6-10) 28. Incidents of a Slave Girl Research Paper First Draft Due (typed with Works Cited)

Week 13 29. Abraham Lincoln* (Research Paper Revision)

(11/13-17) Bibliography and Sources Second Draft Due

Conference

Week 14 30. Walt Whitman

(11/20-24) Second Drafts and Revisions Conference on Draft # 2

Fifth Examination

Week 15 31. Emily Dickinson Course Review

(11/27-12/1) Research Paper Due Paper Presentation

Week 16 Paper Presentation

(12/6-10) Paper Presentation

* Authors we may read, time allowing.