English 260--“Correspondent Colorings”:
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 (http://www.utm.edu/staff/cbradshaw/English%20260.htm)
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:
In-class writing, attendance and preparedness 10%
1 Midterm 15 %
2 Papers (750 words) 30%
Contextual Review Assignment (1000 words) and Oral Presentation 15%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
Grades:
A 90% and above
B 80%
C 70%
D 60%
F 59% and below
IN-CLASS WRITING, ATTENDANCE, and PREPAREDNESS will be an ongoing process throughout the semester. On most days there will be a very small writing assignment to be done in class that will ask you to respond to a certain theme, issue, argument, or feature of the text we are discussing. I will give these assignments at any time during the class. There are no “make-ups” for this if you are absent or late or have to leave early. I will read the responses quickly and give you a √-,√, or a √+. To get the full 10%, you must have turned in all but 3 of the responses and receive a √+ on at least 33% of your responses. If you fail to turn in 5 of the responses and/or receive a √- on more than 33% of your responses, then you will get 0 points for this portion of your grade. If you fall somewhere in between this criteria, I will give you somewhere between 0% and 5% of the final grade for your preparedness grade. If you miss more than 7 responses, I will drop you from the course.
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!
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.
CONTEXTUAL REVIEW ASSIGNMENTS are meant to help give you and the class an in-depth look at some of the issues, authors, and events that shed light on the literature we are discussing. You will be required to do some research on a particular issue, write a 1000-word response to that issue, and then present what you have found to the class in a 3-5 minute oral presentation. Here are the related questions and research links for each respective assignment: http://www.utm.edu/staff/cbradshaw/260Assignments.htm. I expect the presentation to be scholarly and professional. Your response should also be scholarly in tone and subject matter.
The FINAL EXAM will be at the time scheduled by the university. You must take the final at the scheduled time to pass the class. Please don't ask for any exceptions. The final will be comprehensive.
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.
SWINE FLU is expected to make a come back this fall. UT Martin is making preparations in case there is an outbreak on our campus. Our chancellor, Dr. Tom Rakes, has expressed concern and wants to keep the entire campus as safe as possible. Our department chair, Dr. Lynn Alexander, has urged the Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages faculty to be "flexible" if there is a crisis. Please visit the Web site I have listed below. The University does not want you to attend class if you are sick with the Swine Flu. I indeed will be flexible if there is a problem related to Swine Flu. Keep all documentation of your visit with a doctor. Here is the link for more information: http://www.utm.edu/alerts/swineflu.php
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SCHEDULE
Native Cultures, Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization
8.31-9.4
M Introductions
W Syllabus, “My Kinsman Major Molineux,” What is American Literature?
F The Tempest Acts I-II
9.7 Labor Day
9.9-11
W Selection from The Machine in the Garden, please see http://www.utm.edu/staff/cbradshaw/Marx--Tempest.pdf
F Zuni Creation Story 22-31, Seneca and Lakota stories 49-53
9.14-18
M Columbus 120-31, Cabeza de Vaca 141-52
W Thomas Harriott 239-46, Please see Stephen Greenblatt handout: http://www.utm.edu/staff/cbradshaw/Culture.pdf
F John Smith 264-69
The Puritans
9.21-25
M Bradford 326-43, Morton 296-307
W Group #1 Presentation, Bradford, Morton continued, Winthrop 309-16
F Bradstreet 402, 406, 409; Taylor 472-73, 478, 479
9.28-10.2
M Mary Rowlandson, 440-67, Group #2 Presentation
W Mather 509-14, Trial of Mary Rowlandson
The Enlightenment, Revolution, and Citizenship
F John Locke 635, Jonathan Edwards 656-76
10.5-9
M Jonathan Edwards, Franklin 828-85
W Franklin (continued)
F Jefferson 1003-07, 1009-10, 1015
10.12-16
M Wheatley 1247, 1249, 1252, Group #3 Presentation
W Crevecoeur 928-33, 934-41, Jefferson 1057-60, Federalist #10 1034-39
F Midterm
10.19-20 Fall Break
Romanticism, the Individual, Imagination, and Fiction
10.21-23
M Emerson “Nature” 1582-93, “The Poet” 1638-53
W Thoreau “Resistance to Civil Government” 1738-52
F Consultations—131M Humanities, Paper #1 Due
10.26-30
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
M Moby Dick 3-132
W Moby Dick 133-212
F Moby Dick 213-312
11.9-13
M Moby Dick, 313-458, Group #4 Presentation
W Moby Dick 459-538
F Moby Dick 539-625
Slavery and the Literature of Protest
11.16-20
M Frederick Douglass 1882-1921
W Harriet Jacobs 2031-41, Stowe 2549-61, Group #5 Presentation
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
M Whitman 2937-82, Group #6 Presentation
W Dickinson #s 49, 67, 241, 249, 258, 324, 435, 465, 650, 712, 1078, 1129, 1624
F Dickinson
12.7-11
M Poetry Recitation
W Poetry Recitation
F Last Day of Class; Review for Final Exam
Final Exam on Day and Time Scheduled by the University
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