Download ENG 451A syllabus - Great Basin College

GREAT BASIN COLLEGE
COURSE SYLLABUS
ENGLISH 451A.I01: American Literature I
(Online only)
Fall 2009
Instructor:
Office:
Dr. Linda Uhlenkott
McMullen Hall #121
Phone: 753-2346; Fax 753-2131; 934-9515 (cell)
[email protected]
By appointment.
Office Hours:
Texts and Materials
American Literature, Vol. 1. Cain, William E. Penguin Academics, ISBN:.-32111623-2
Catalog Description:
Designed for students who are familiar with basic elements of literature. Students will examine major figures and
movements from the beginnings to the Civil War. Students will read and analyze works of fiction, poetry, and
drama; they will also write several essays. This course fulfills the American literature requirement for secondary
certification in English. (3 credits)
Prerequisites: ENG 101, ENG 102 and a 200-level literature course or instructor’s approval.
Course Description:
English 451A is a survey course which examines major figures and movements of American literature from the
beginnings to 1865. Students will read and discuss texts by a variety of authors from this period. They will
demonstrate their understanding by writing several short papers.
Student Outcomes
Measurement
Use formal standard English and MLA style in the
composition of critical essays
Written essays; short essay questions on exam
Synthesize affective and aesthetic interpretation
Final essay
Read affectively and interpretively
Blog entries
Describe the meaning in the text
Blog entries; written essays
Discuss alternate meanings, including those supported
by critical approaches
All written essays
Identify authors, works, periods
Midterm exam
List characteristics of authors and/or periods
Midterm exam; written essays
Analyze how the authors from this period of American
literature incorporate philosophical, social and cultural
thought into their works
Written essays
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Compare several different authors and to synthesize their
understanding of these works in writing
Written essays
Method of Instruction: Discussion, Short lecture via voice recorder
Assignments and Expectations:
In English 451A, you will be expected to read a variety of texts by American authors. You will be expected to place
the works in a specific period or movement and to discuss those works in that context. At the same time, you will be
expected to discuss and support your own responses to the texts.
Writing
You will be expected to write several short pieces in response to the readings as well as three essays.
Exams
There will be one mid-term open-book exam consisting of essay questions and
Final Project
A final project consisting of the creation of a reading list for high school students or a book club (depending on why
you are taking this course) will also be required.
Format
Please use MLA format and style in your writing. The MLA Handbook or any recent college writing handbook will
give you the necessary information.
Grades
Grades will be calculated on total points earned. Following are the points available.
WebCampus postings (short responses to readings) 300 points
Three essays – 100 points each
Mid-term exam – 100 points
Final project – 200 points
The instructor uses a grade system which awards +’s and -’s and gives a W until the 13th week of class, after which
an F will be given. A student must formally withdraw before Friday of the 13th week to avoid earning an F for the
course. According to the policy established by Great Basin College, to receive an Incomplete, a student must have
completed at least 3/4 of the course with a grade of C or better, but be unable to complete the class for good cause.
Policy of Academic Integrity:
If ideas are borrowed and used in written essays, the source must be given credit. Internet sources are subject to
documentation as well as careful evaluation. Such practices will help you avoid plagiarism, a violation of the
standards of intellectual honesty. Students who violate such standards are subject to punishment, ranging from
failing a class to dismissal from the institution.
If you have any concerns or academic problems, or if you feel you need special assistance, please discuss such
matters with your instructor first  and as soon as you can. See the General Catalogue 2009 – 2010 on the procedure
which deals with such issues.
Disability Access:
Great Basin College supports providing equal access for students with disabilities. An advisor is available to discuss
appropriate accommodations with students. Please contact the ADA Officer (Julie Byrnes) in Elko at (775) 7532271 at your earliest convenience to request timely and appropriate accommodations.
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Unit I: From Exploration to a New Nation
August 31 – October 2
Author/Title
“Letter to the Reader”
Page 3 of 5
Page
3 – 33
Anne Bradstreet
84
“The Prologue”
85
“The Author to Her Book”
87
“Before the Birth of One of Her
Children”
88
“To My Dear and Loving
Husband”
89
“In Memory of My Dear
Grandchild Elizabeth . . .”
90
“In Memory of My Dear
Grandchild Anne . . .”
91
Cotton Mather
143
The Trial of Martha Carrier
147
Jonathan Edwards
160
“Personal Narrative”
162
J. Hector St. John De
Crevecoeur
304
“Letter III: What Is an American?
305
Thomas Paine”
316
From The Age of Reason
340
Unit II: The Making of American Literature
October 5 – November 6
Author/Title
“Letter to the Reader”
Page 4 of 5
Page
393
James Fenimore Cooper
443
“On American Equality”
445
William Cullen Bryant
459
“Thanatopsis”
460
Ralph Waldo Emerson
475
“The American Scholar”
515
“Self-Reliance”
532
Nathaniel Hawthorne
557
The Minister’s Black Veil
581
Edgar Allen Poe
786
“The Raven”
789
“Annabel Lee”
792
“The Fall of the House of Usher”
793
Unit III: American Literature in a Divided Nation
November 9 – December 11
Author/Title
Page
“Letter to the Reader”
845
Margaret Fuller
863
“The Great Lawsuit’
865
Henry David Thoreau
953
"Resistance to Civil Government"
957
Frederick Douglass
1009
“Letter to His Former Master”
1095
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Herman Melville
1103
"Bartleby, the Scrivener"
1114
Walt Whitman
1221
"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"
1287
Emily Dickinson
1304
#214
1307
#249
1308
#303
1310
#341
1311
#465
1314
#712
1317
#754
1318