American Masterpieces 321 (RRN) -- The American Frontier
Grant T. Smith, Ph. D.
Fall Semester 2003, NC 204, Tuesday
Course Syllabus
Description: In this course we will explore the
following themes as they appear in American Westerns and Vietnam literature: (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 Vietnam literature; and (6) the evolution of Western myths and the
significance of those cultural myths as we conclude the year 2003.
Required Texts:
· Shane by Jack Schaefer
·
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
·
The Oxbow Incident by Walter Van-
· The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss
· Fools Crow by James Welch
· Gabriel’s Story by David Anthony Durham
· When I Was a Young Man by Bob Kerrey
· Shrapnel in the Heart by Laura Palmer
· Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams
·
Stories
from
We will read Chapter Twelve from Ian Frazier’s On
the Rez and three short stories from Close
Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx:
"The Mud Below," "A Lonely Coast," and "Brokeback Mountain." Copies of the chapter and
these stories will be placed on reserve in the
Learner Outcomes: The students will become familiar with the history of the American western and “frontier” literature and the literary conventions and themes of both genres. The students will demonstrate in writing and discussion a connection between the themes identified in American westerns and frontier literature with the history of the movement west, their personal experiences, and the experiences of others within and without their culture. The students will demonstrate in writing and discussion fulfillment of Core Abilities 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Requirements and Assessment:
For an "A" the student must satisfy the following criteria:
· Have one or no absences.
· Read all of the required texts and participate in class discussions.
· Write four three-to-five page response essays on any of the assigned texts.
·
Complete a superior project and present the
conclusions to the project to the class at the final exam session. Click here
for some sample project assignments.
For a "B" the student must complete the
following criteria:
· Have no more than two absences.
· Read all of the assigned texts.
· Write three two-to-three-page essay responses to any of the required texts.
·
Complete an excellent term project.
For a "C" the student must complete the
following criteria:
· Have no more than three absences.
· Read all of the assigned texts.
·
Complete a term project.
Schedule of Class Meetings
Week One: August 26
Introduction to the American Western and Vietnam War Literature
Movie clip from "City Slickers"
- Begin reading Shane
by Jack Schaefer
- Selection from Journals
of Lewis and Clark "
- "Reading the West:
Cultural and Historical Background" pp. 1-51 in Reading the West:
An Anthology of Dime Westerns on reserve in the library
- "Introduction"
from The Literary West on reserve in the library
- "American
Frontier" from Oxford History of the American West on reserve
in the library
- Click here
for the hypertext of the Journals of Lewis and Clark
- Click here
for a web site on the history of the Vietnam War
Week Two: September 1 (Labor Day)
- Continue Introduction to Western Literature
- Shane by Jack
Schaefer
- Click
here
for discussion questions on Shane
- Begin reading The
Quiet American by Graham Greene
- Click
here
for a web site for Frederic Remington
- Click
here
for an excellent web site on Remington and Charles Russell
- "A Good Man with a Gun:
Shane" (1953) from Gunfighter Nation on reserve in the
library
- "Women and the Language
of Men" from West of Everything on reserve in the library
- Film "Shane" on
reserve in the library
- "My Neighbor’s
Field" from Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin on reserve in
the library
- Click here
for John Gast's painting, American Progress
- Click here
for a good web site of Western Art with many links to various artists
- "Reading the West:
Cultural and Historical Background" from
- "The Virginian (1902)
and the Myth of the Vigilante" from Gunfighter Nation on
reserve in the library
- "The Virginian:
Wister’s Mother" from West of Everything on reserve in
the library
- "Violence" from Oxford
History of the American West on reserve in the library
Week Three: September 8
- Read and discuss "The Mud Below" and "Brokeback Mountain" from Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx. Click here for discussion questions for these short stories.
Week Four: September 15
- The Quiet American by Graham Greene
- Click here for a Graham Greene home page (with short biography)
- Click here for discussion questions for The Quiet American
- Click here for notes on The Quiet American
- Begin reading The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss
- First essay due. Click here for some tips on writing a successful essay.
- "Neighbour
Rosicky" by Willa Cather
on reserve in the library
- "The Female Frontier:
Definitions, Interpretations, and Images" from The Female Frontier
on reserve in the library.
- "Women as Workers,
Women as Civilizers: True Womanhood in the American West" from The
Women’s West on reserve in the library pp. 145-164.
- "Homesteading in
Northeastern Colorado, 1873-1920; Sex Roles and Women’s
Experience" from The Women’s West on reserve in the
library.
Week Five: September 22
- The Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss
- Click here for discussion questions on The Jump-Off Creek
- Read and discuss "A Lonely Coast" from Close Range
- My Antonia by
Willa Cather
- Click here
for discussion questions for My Antonia
- Click here
for the Madonna of the Prairie painting
- Click here
for an image of Eastman Johnson's Old Kentucky Home, 1859
- Begin reading The
Ox-bow Incident by Walter Van
- "The Archetypal Ethic
of The Ox-Bow Incident" from The Literature of the American
West on reserve in the library
- Film "The Ox-bow
Incident" on reserve in the library
Week Six: September 29
- The Ox-bow Incident by
Walter Van
- Click here for
discussion questions on The Ox-bow Incident
- Click here for a
discussion outline on mob mentality
- Click here
for a learning guide to the movie The Ox-bow Incident
- Begin reading When I
Was a Young Man by Bob Kerrey
Week Seven: October 21
- When I Was a Young Man by Bob Kerrey
- Click here for a review of When I Was a Young Man
- Begin reading Gabriel's Story by David Anthony Durham
- Second essay due
- Born on the Fourth of
July by Ron Kovic
- Click here
for discussion questions on Born on the Fourth of July
- Click here
for a web site on Born on the Fourth of July
- Click here
for the PBS web site on the Vietnam War
- Click here
for a comprehensive web site on the Vietnam War
- Click here for a long list of web sites on the Vietnam War Period
Week Eight: October 28
Gabriel's Story by David Anthony Durham
Click here for discussion questions for Gabriel's Story
Click here for notes on naturalism
Read If I Die in a Combat Zone from The
Click here
for Tim O'Brien's home page
Read "A
Bummer" from The
Read "A Rumor of
War" from the
Click here for a
list of helpful web sites on the My Lai Massacre
Week Nine: November 4
- Shrapnel in the Heart
by Laura Palmer
- Click here
for a web site on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Film "The Wild
Bunch" on reserve in the library
- "The Demoralization of
the Western: Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch
(1969)" from Gunfighter Nation on reserve in the library
Week Ten: November 11
- Fools Crow by
James Welch
- Click here
for Fools Crow discussion questions
- Click here for a web site on the
Plains Indians (from the
- Click here for
a Lakota Sioux web site
- Click here
for a George Catlin's painting "Pigeon Egg
Head"
- Click here
for a comprehensive list of Native American web sites (courtesy of Dr.
Mike Smuksta, History)
- "Dances with
Wolves" on reserve in the library
- "Introduction: How the
West Was Lost" from Our Hearts Fell to the Ground on reserve
in the library
- "The Old Life" from
The Last Days of the Sioux Nation on reserve in the library
- Click here
for the Early Days of the Sioux
Week Eleven: November 18
- Fools Crow
- Read Chapter Twelve of On the Rez by Ian Frazier
- Third essay due
- Click here for an
outline on individual identity
- Click here
for a web site on Native American religions
- Click here
for a "real life" Fools Crow
- Click here for On
the Rez Click here for
discussion questions on SueAnne BigCrow
- Click here
for the PBS web site on George Armstrong Custer
- Click here
for another "ground zero" web site on Custer
Week Twelve: November 25
- Refuge by Terry
Tempest Williams
- Click here for
discussion questions on Refuge
- Click here
for an interview "The Politics of Place" with Terry Tempest
Williams
- Click here for
a Web Page on Terry Tempest Williams as an environmentalist
- Click here for the official
Web Page of the Mormon Church
- Click here for the official
"missionary" Web Page for the Mormon Church
- Click here
for a definition of ecofeminism by Rosemary
Radford Reuther
- Click here
for a research and reference guide to "nature, ecocriticism,
and ecofeminism
- "Religion and
Spirituality" from Oxford History of the American West on
reserve in the library
Final Exam--presentation of class projects
- Presentation of class
projects
- Click here for some suggestions for a successful presentation
- Final essay due