English 221: Survey of American Literature II (PDF Version)
MC 500, MWF 10:00 a.m.–10:50 a.m.
Spring 2011
Grant T. Smith, Ph.D.
Office: MC 533
Office Hours: T Th 1–3 p.m., MWF 2–3 p.m.
Phone: 3485
Email: gtsmith@viterbo.edu
S Y L L A B U S
Required Texts:
A New England Nun and Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
A River Runs through It by Norman Maclean
The Complete Poetry by Robert Frost
Sula by Toni Morrison
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner
“Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx
Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Course Description and Objectives: This course is designed to introduce students to the major writers of the United States after 1865. We shall study the literature in a chronological/historical sequence. We shall connect the authors and their literature to the appropriate ethnic, literary, geographical, and political environments within which they wrote; and the ideologies or religious beliefs that influenced their readers.
Central to our study are the questions: What is American literature? What is "American" about the literature? What aesthetic criteria define American literature? Who establishes those criteria? In answering these questions we shall explore several themes:
- self-knowledge and self-deception,
- representation of gender, class, and race,
- religion as individual and social phenomena,
- sources and uses of power,
- attitudes toward technology and the natural world, and
- history and the individual’s relationship to it.
Format: Class sessions will consist of lectures and discussions. 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.
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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: 100 points – Students are allowed three unexcused absences.
Reflection Essays: 100 points each (400 points)
Midterm Exam: 200 points
Final Exam: 300 points
Schedule:
Week One: January 17
Introduction
Read “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx
Discussion: "Brokeback Mountain"
Discussion questions for “Brokeback Mountain” and other Proulx short stories.
Brokeback Mountain criticism.
Weeks Two and Three: January 24, 31
Read A New England Nun and Other Stories by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
Possible Response Topics
Discussion Questions: Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
First reflection essay is due on “Brokeback Mountain” or Freeman
Weeks Four and Five: February 7, 14
Read A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
Discussion questions for A Lost Lady
Weeks Six and Seven: February 21, 28
Read A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
Discussion questions for A River Runs Through It
Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Discussion questions for Part-time Indian
Second reflection essay is due on A Lost Lady, A River Runs Through It, or Part-time Indian
Week Eight: Spring Break March 7-11
Weeks Nine and Ten: March 14, 21
Read The Complete Poetry by Robert Frost
Assigned poems by Frost
Notes on Frost’s poetry.
Third reflection essay is due on Frost
Weeks Eleven and Twelve, March 28, April 4
Read Sula by Toni Morrison
Discussion notes on Sula
To understand fully early 20th century Black poets, you should do some research on The Harlem Renaissance. As you read about the writers of this period in American letters, compare their style, themes, and contributions to what you saw in Proulx, Freeman, Maclean, and Frost.
The Talented Tenth Debate
“Color” Images: Halle Berry, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Toni Morrison
Was Bill Cosby Right?
Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen: April 11, 18
Read One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Discussion questions for One Crazy Summer
Read Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
Midterm Exam due
Easter Break: April 22, 25
Weeks Fifteen and Sixteen: April 27, May 2
Read Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner
Angels in America
Discussion Questions on Angels in America
Film: Angels in America
Definition of Post-modern Literature
Fourth reflection essay is due on Angels in America
Week Seventeen: Final Exam
Final Exam Questions
Final Exam due
Wednesday, May 11, 12:50–2:50 p.m., MC 500