English 260 On-Line
Early American Literature and its Contexts
Required Texts and Information:
The Heath Anthology of American Litertature: Vols A & B
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Penguin Edition. ISBN 0140390847
Dr. Charles Bradshaw’s Website for Early American Lit: Research Links and Research Assignments and Presentation Questions
Office Hrs: 131M Humanities M,W,F 4-5; By appointment.
Office # 7327
cbradshaw@utm.edu
Course Objectives:
In the most general terms, this course should help you
--Understand regional, colloquial, cultural and national diversity in language and literature.
--Realize the complex connections American literature shares with other countries and cultures.
--Know a wide range of literature from many periods and genres through class reading, discussion and writing.
--Develop reading strategies to improve comprehension.
More specifically, this course should familiarize the class with a range of American literature written before the Civil War. Within this historical framework, we will work toward understanding some of the social, political, philosophical and cultural influences in early America and how they shaped and were shaped by writing. This interaction between culture and literature, text and context, is the aim of our inquiry and should guide your thoughts as you read, write, and discuss.
Requirements and Policies:
Reading Discussion Questions and Discussion Summary (3) 15%
Reading Discussion Responses (12) 10%
1 Midterm 15 %
2 Papers (750 words) 30%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
Grades:
A 90% and above
B 80%
C 70%
D 60%
F 59% and below
READING DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION SUMMARY will be an ongoing process throughout the semester. If you look at the syllabus schedule and the Research Assignments and Presentation Questions, you'll notice that the course is divided into six sections which correspond roughly with a period or movement in early American literature. You will need to be responsible for choosing one question from three (3) of the six sections, researching the answer to that question (you can use the Paul Meek Library and/or the Research Links I've provided, or other scholarly sources) and then posing that question to the class on the Blackboard Discussion site. Students will then be required to respond to that question with their own thoughts based on the readings they have done for the class. After one week, you will need to formally summarize the responses for me and write a definitive answer to the question you initially posed. I will expect your response to be backed up by at least two sources (one of which may be the text, the other which must be scholarly) and also by references to replies made to your discussion question. This response should be 500-750 words and should contain a works cited page. You'll need to submit it to the Blackboard Drop Box within two weeks of your initial posting of the question. I will let you know by email which three of the six you will be assigned.
READING DISCUSSION RESPONSES are your written responses on the discussion board to the questions (mentioned in the above paragraph) that are posed by your classmates. You will be required to write at least one response per week. You may write more, but you are only required to write one. Many weeks there will be more than one question to respond to, and I would encourage you to respond to as many as you like or provide follow-up responses to as many as you like, but I will only give you credit for your first response each week. I will not count your responses for the first or second weeks of class, or the week of Thanksgiving Vacation, so those will be voluntary. I would like your reponses to be intelligent and collegiate. If the discussion becomes too conversational or not collegiate enough, I will contact the offending student and make him/her reply again to get credit. Discussion boards are wonderful things, but I do not want the conversations that take place on the board to degenerate into email and internet lingo! Please no short-hand terminology (e.g. "R U dun w/ th reedings 4 tmrow? lol") Also, realize that what you post on the discussion board is public and will be read by others who may or may not share your views or beliefs. If you have an opinion to share, do it, but support your opinion by refering to the readings as proof of your opinion. And do it as if you are in front of a group of people, face to face, not anonymously!
1 MIDTERM should ensure that you are keeping up on the reading in the class. Since this represents a significant portion of your grade, please keep up on the reading! You will need to take the midterm with a proctor present. We will talk about arrangements as the time draws near.
PAPERS are formal essays that focus on a specific issue or theme that comes from your reading and/or class discussion. I will provide you with two or three topics to choose from for each paper. In all your papers I look specifically at the relationship between language and meaning. That is, you will need to account for the way an author uses language to convey a certain theme or meaning—more on this as deadlines approach.
The FINAL EXAM will be given between December 12-16. You must take the final to pass the class. Please don't ask for any exceptions. The final will be comprehensive and you will need a proctor present.
PLAGIARISM and other forms of cheating or dishonesty will result in failure of the assignment and may result in failure of the class and expulsion from the university. The promise of a university education assumes that all material and information is openly and honestly acquired and confidently shared. Any attempt to gain an unethical advantage over other students is dishonest and undermines the very values a liberal education desires to instill.
SPECIAL NEEDS requiring classroom accommodations or attention from me should be addressed as quickly as possible. The student should also register with the PACE office during the first two weeks of class.
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SCHEDULE
All of the readings listed (unless otherwise indicated) come from The Heath Anthology of American Literature Vols. A & B. The schedule below breaks these readings up into managable parts and is meant as a guide to keep you current with the class. Please try to have the readings completed by the day listed on the syllabus so that you may stay current with the discussion. I realize many of you have awkward schedules, but if you get behind on the readings, it is best to make sure you are current with the schedule before you try to "catch-up" on the past readings you missed.
Native Cultures, Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization
8.31-9.4
M Dr. Bradshaw's Question; Introductions
W Syllabus--what questions do you have?
9.7 Labor Day
9.9-11 Dr. Bradshaw's Question
W Selection from The Machine in the Garden, please see "Marx" at the bottom of this page.
F Zuni Creation Story 22-31, Seneca and Lakota stories 49-53
9.14-18 Exploration/Native Cultures Questions--Lorraine Aden, Christopher Bell, Tangenika Boyle, Wisteria Vorbusch, Dagan Smith
M Columbus 120-31, Cabeza de Vaca 141-52
W Thomas Harriott 239-46, Please see "Culture" by Stephen Greenblatt at the bottom of this page.
F John Smith 264-69
The Puritans
9.21-25 Puritans Questions--Leigh Brandeberry, Lisha Fitzpatrick, Sara Glenn, Keaton Murley, Mandy Russell
M Bradford 326-43, Morton 296-307
W Bradford, Morton continued, Winthrop 309-16
F Bradstreet 402, 406, 409; Taylor 472-73, 478, 479
9.28-10.2 Puritans Questions--Angela Harris, Ben Hudson, Candace Land, Crystal Merriweather
M Mary Rowlandson, 440-67
W Mather 509-14, Trial of Mary Rowlandson
The Enlightenment, Revolution, and Citizenship
F John Locke 635, Jonathan Edwards 656-76
10.5-9 Enlightenment/Revolution Questions--Ashley Lesueur, Natasha Loftin, Britton McCann, Mandy Russell, Tangenika Boyle
M Jonathan Edwards, Franklin 828-85
W Franklin (continued)
F Jefferson 1003-07, 1009-10, 1015
10.12-16 Enlightenment/Revolution Questions--Loretta McDonald, Chester McGlockton, Jeremy McKay, Dagan Smith
M Wheatley 1247, 1249, 1252
W Crevecoeur 928-33, 934-41, Jefferson 1057-60, Federalist #10 1034-39
F Midterm must be taken by 10/20 at 5:00PM
10.19-20 Fall Break
Romanticism, the Individual, Imagination, and Fiction
10.21-23 Romanticism Questions--Christal Merriweather, Keaton Murley, Mandy Russell, Natasha Loftin, Sara Glenn
M Emerson “Nature” 1582-93, “The Poet” 1638-53
W Thoreau “Resistance to Civil Government” 1738-52
F Emerson/Thoreau Continued
10.26-30 Romanticism Questions--Dagan Smith, Wisteria Vorbusch, Lorraine Aden, Jeremy McKay, Britton McCann
M Poe “The Raven” 2539, “The Black Cat” 2495
W Poe “Tell-Tale Heart” 2492, Hawthorne “The Birthmark” 2276
F Hawthorne “Young Goodman Brown” 2258,
11.2-6 Moby Dick Questions--Christopher Bell, Leigh Brandeberry, Loretta McDonald, Angela Harris, Candace Land
M Moby Dick 3-132
W Moby Dick 133-212
F Moby Dick 213-312
11.9-13 Moby Dick Questions--Tangenika Boyle, Alisha Fitzpatrick, Sara Glenn, Keaton Murley, Wisteria Vorbusch
M Moby Dick, 313-458
W Moby Dick 459-538
F Moby Dick 539-625
Slavery and the Literature of Protest
11.16-20 Slavery/Protest Questions--Ben Hudson, Candace Land, Ashley Lesueur, Chester McGlockton, Lorraine Aden, Christopher Bell
M Frederick Douglass 1882-1921
W Harriet Jacobs 2031-41, Stowe 2549-61
F Stanton 2113-15; Truth 2096-99
Poetry and Perspective
11.23
M Lincoln 2078, Whitman 3007, 3013-21, Paper #2 Due, Whitman (cont’d.)
11.25-27 Thanksgiving Holiday
11.30-12.4 Poetry Questions--Natasha Loftin, Britton McCann, Loretta McDonald, Angela Harris, Ben Hudson, Alisha Fitzpatrick
M Whitman 2937-82,
W Dickinson #s 49, 67, 241, 249, 258, 324, 435, 465, 650, 712, 1078, 1129, 1624
F Dickinson
12.7-11 Final Exam Questions--Chester McGlockton, Jeremy McKay, Christal Merriweather, Ashley Lesueur, Leigh Brandeberry
M Final Exam Questions/Review
W Final Exam Questions/Review
F Take Final Exam by December 16th at 5:00PM.