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English 455—English Colloquium (PDF Version)
FAC 219, MWF 10–10:50 a.m.
Grant T. Smith, Ph.D.

Fall Semester, 2009

Office: MC 533
Phone: 796-3485; E-mail: gtsmith@viterbo.edu
Office hours: TR 10 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

S Y L L A B U S

Required Texts:

The Significance of the Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Shane by Jack Schaefer
“Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx
Massacre at Mountain Meadows (selected chapters) by Walker, Turley, and Leonard
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams
The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Life and Adventures of Nat Love by Nat Love
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Course Description: In this course we will explore the following themes as they appear in American Westerns: (1) the definition of "frontier" and the role the frontier plays in shaping an American identity in literature; (2) the distinction between the West as a place or landscape and the West as a symbol; (3) the mythic western hero and the roles he and/or she plays in the formation of American values including our sense of justice, independence, community; (4) the defining and re-defining of "masculinity" and "femininity" as those cultural terms are used in the movement west; (5) the different discourses (voices) in American westerns; and (6) the evolution of Western myths and the significance of those cultural myths as we near the conclusion of the first decade of the 21^st century.

Format: Class sessions will consist of lectures, discussions, group activities, and individual presentations. I expect the students to read carefully the assigned texts and be able to discuss the relationship between each selection and the various themes listed above.

Policies:

Click here for the university definitions of an excused and unexcused absence
Click here for the university policy on sexual harassment
Click here for the university policy on plagiarism
If you are a person with a disability and require any auxiliary aids, services or other accommodations for this class, please see Jane Eddy in Murphy Center Learning Center 332 (796-3194) within ten days to discuss your accommodation needs. If there other accommodations that need to be made for you to succeed in the class, please indicate those needs to the instructor. Click here for a link to the Learning Center.
In the event of an infectious disease outbreak, university officials will monitor progress and work with local, state, and national authorities to determine the best course of action regarding institutional operations. Information related to any widespread infectious diseases outbreak will be available on Viterbo’s website and Viterbo Health Services website (http://www.viterbo.edu/HealthServices.aspx). In addition, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website has extensive information on health threats (http://www.cdc.gov). If you have specific questions about your personal health, please contact your medical provider or Health Services.

Core Abilities:

Thinking—Students engage in the critical and creative thinking
Ethical Decision Making—Students respond to ethical issues
Communication—Students communicate effectively orally and in writing
Aesthetic Sensitivity—Students engage in artistic experiences and reflect critically upon them
Cultural Sensitivity—Students demonstrate a respect for the diversity of the human experience
Community Involvement—Students demonstrate responsible citizenship

English Department Student Learning Outcomes:

Read critically
Critically read and analyze a variety of texts.

Write effectively
Invent, draft, revise, and edit effectively for various audiences and purposes.

Research and document proficiently
Demonstrate proficiency in the use of bibliographic resources and other research tools to find, incorporate, and properly cite sources, according to MLA style.

Understand literary classifications
Demonstrate familiarity with classification of literature written in English, including:

Historical development
Genres
Theories

Understand development of English
Demonstrate familiarity with the basic history of the development of the English language.

Transfer skills to work
Connect academic training to potential professional experience.

Links related to English Department Student Learning Outcomes:

Thinking—The students will engage in critical thinking when they explicate or “close read” literary texts; when they identify formal elements such as point of view, literary language, symbolism, imagery; when they consider texts and authors in relation to historical, cultural, ideological, and theoretical contexts; when they compare what they are reading with what they have read previously; when they relate what they are reading to the wider world and to universal issues of human life. Click here for a Critical Thinking Web Page. Click here for a Logical Fallacies Web Page.
Communication—The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their interpretations, insights, analyses, and evaluations of the assigned literature. Click here for the English Department’s Home Page on Writing a Critical Analysis of Literature.
Aesthetic—The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their understanding of the elements of a “masterpiece” of young adult literature. The students will evaluate the lasting quality of literature from the formal and contextual elements embedded in the literature.
Ethics—The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their responses to the ethical questions and dilemmas posed in the assigned readings. Ethics is generally defined as the principles of conduct governing an individual or group; concerns for what is right or wrong, good or bad. The students will not plagiarize. Click here for the Viterbo University plagiarism statement. Click here for the English Department plagiarism statement. Click here for the Viterbo University Institute of Ethics in Leadership.
Cultural Sensitivity—The students will read various texts by diverse authors. The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their understanding of life values represented in different texts in relation to their own. Individual projects are designed to give the students an opportunity to move outside of their own culture and to study and interact with a new culture. Click here for the university’s statement on sexual harassment.

Course Requirements:

Attendance and Class Participation:

Attendance is important. Prepared attendance is even more important. If you are absent four to six times during the semester, you will not receive a grade higher than a B. If you are absent seven to eight times during the semester, you will not receive a grade higher than a C.

It is imperative that you participate appropriately in class discussions. Throughout the semester you will be asked to do independent research on an author, on an historical event, on passages in a text, or tropes in a text. You may be asked simply to list questions about the text we are reading. You will have sufficient time to do your research and preparation. You will be expected to “guide” the class discussion when asked to do so.

Assignments:

I am asking each of you to write a summary of three literary criticisms available on reserve in the library. These summaries should be only one to two pages in length. Do not critique the critic’s essay—you should summarize the thesis and major arguments. These summaries are due at appropriate times in the class; that is, you should submit a summary of a criticism of Shane shortly after we have read and discussed Shane. I will not accept any summaries after the last day of class. The summaries are worth 50 points each.

I am asking each of you to write a “close reading” of three of the works we read this semester. The close reading should not exceed five typed pages. Close readings should contain some or all of the following:

PURPOSE. What is the purpose of the passage in the work as a whole? Does it introduce the work? Provide closure? Provide the emotional climax? Serve as a bridge? What elements help it achieve this function and how?
LANGUAGE. What kind of language is used? High or low? Figurative or literal? What does the language tell us about the audience and speaker? How does the style enhance the message?
TONE. What is the tone of the passage? How is this tone conveyed?
SPEAKER. Who is speaking? How does the speaker establish his or her authority or deference? Is the narrator reliable?
AUDIENCE. Who is the ideal audience? Is anyone excluded (deliberately or not) from this audience?
CHARACTERS. Who are the characters appearing in the passage? What are their main attributes? Are we meant to sympathize with them or not? How does the writer create (or dispel) sympathy?
GENRE. What is the genre in which the work was written? How do the details of the passage relate to our expectations for genre? I am interested in knowing how you read the text: feminist, post-modern, historical fiction, history, etc.

The close readings are due at appropriate times in the class; that is, you should submit a close reading of The Whistling Season shortly after we have read and discussed the novel. I will not accept any close readings after the last day of class. The close readings are worth 100 points each.

The final paper is your own literary criticism of any work we read during the semester or an approved work that deals with the many themes found in great American westerns. The literary analysis should include elements of summary, close reading, and theory. The analysis must be argumentative; that is, you should make a persuasive claim (thesis) and then provide sufficient evidence to support your claim. The analysis should not be more than twelve pages in length. It must include a “Works Consulted” page of at least ten research sources. Each member of the class will present his or her literary analysis conclusions to the class in a 15-minute presentation the last few weeks of the semester. The final paper is worth 500 points, and the presentation is worth 50 points.