209 SYL

American Literature I ~ LIT 209—(Revised for summer 2013)
Dr. Jonathan Alexander
Office, Academic Center, 317
609-894-9311 or 856-222-9311 (x1123)
E-mail: jalexand@bcc.edu
Online syllabus: http://staff.bcc.edu/faculty_websites/jalexand/209syl-s.htm

_____________________________________________________________________

A. TEXT: Custom Text (LIT 209-210)

B. COURSE OVERVIEW: American Literature I is a survey course which reviews the development of American thought and ideals as seen in American literature from the colonial/Puritan period through the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The course will assign primary emphasis to the major literary trends found in early America and the major literary figures who represent those trends.

C. LEARNING OBJECTIVES ~ At the end of LIT 209, you should be able to:

Trace the development of the American perspective through the content, style, and genres of American writings.
Define the major elements of Puritanism, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Unitarianism, and transcendentalism and explain how these philosophies affected early American literature.
Analyze the social, political, and religious ideas influencing these writings.
Explain the evolution of American literature as it is revealed from the various perspectives of major literary figures.
List the major political, social, and religious concerns of Puritan America, Colonial America, and pre-Civil War America.
Respond critically and personally to the topics found in early American literature, especially those concerning American identity, freedom, and voice.
Competently compose analytical essays which discuss the literary trends of American literature, each of which will possess a clear thesis statement, a coherent pattern of supporting paragraphs, adequate support/examples from the text to support the thesis, and a concluding paragraph. A minimum of errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage should appear in the essays.

D. COURSE EXPECTATIONS

Attendance: If the student is to profit from any course, he or she must attend class on a consistent basis.

Students must attend all classes for the full duration of each session. Should you need to miss a class for observance of religious holidays, jury duty, military duty, bereavement, or illness, you must notify the instructor by telephone or e-mail prior to or within 24 hours after the class. Without such communication, students forfeit the right to make up missed work. If such communication is made, students will be permitted to make up missed work at the beginning of the following class meeting. It is, therefore, the student’s responsibility to read the syllabus and be prepared for current as well as missed assignments.

Entering class late or leaving class early (without prior authorization) is considered disrespectful and will not be tolerated.

Academic Etiquette: Students will respect themselves, their peers and their instructors by considering the following:

Cell phones must be kept on silent. No calls are to be made or received during class. If you are expecting an important call during the class meeting time, notify me prior to class and quietly excuse yourself if the call is received. No text-messaging or game-playing will be tolerated.

Students who wish to use the restrooms may do so by quietly leaving and re-entering the room. If a student believes he or she will require an absence of more than a few minutes, it is his responsibility to notify me accordingly.

Communication: Many means of communication are available to the student including telephone, e-mail and mailbox.

If you leave a message on my office voice-mail (x1123), please remember to speak clearly and provide your name, course information, and phone number if you request a return call.

If you contact me via e-mail, it is expected that you use the BCC “Mymail” account provided to you by the College. Messages sent through any other email account may not be received or responded to. Students who send me e-mail and do not receive a reply of any kind within 48 hours should assume it was never received. Such e-mails should be resent. If your message doesn’t present itself as urgent, I may reply quickly and briefly and ask to get back to you before long. It is also suggested that you either copy yourself on messages or ensure that your sent messages are saved.

Students who send e-mails containing attachments must save these documents as one of the following types: DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF, or PDF. Please do not send any MAC “Pages” files or WPS files. You may also choose to copy and paste the text of your assignment into the e-mail message itself, and always send a copy back to yourself (or another email account) as a receipt to verify if the transmission fails to reach me.

Class Assignments:

All work written and submitted should utilize standard rules of grammar, sentence organization, paragraph organization, and diction.

All formal papers are to be typed, titled, double spaced, and carefully proofread. They must contain a cover page that lists the title, your name, the date, and the word count. Documents are not to be held together by paperclips, alligator clips, or other creative measures. Papers will not be accepted unless they are stapled prior to arriving to class. I would discourage you from asking me to borrow a stapler.

All assignments are due on the date specified on the syllabus. Assignments which are not submitted during the class session they are due will be penalized. If you happen to be absent for a particular class session and you wait to submit a paper until the next class meeting, it will lose 15% for each day it is late. NOTE: A “day” is a calendar day, not a class meeting. A paper which is received by email by the completion of the assigned class session will be considered submitted on time (without a penalty for lateness). A paper which is received within the first four hours after class will incur a late penalty of 5%. All papers received thereafter will be considered a “day” late and will incur a 15% penalty per day.

If a student presents reasonable justification for an absence, this absence will not be counted against the student’s course grade; however, such an absence does not allow for more time to complete assignments. Since students are provided with all assignments and deadlines on the first day of the semester, excuses such as “crashed computers,” “misplaced data,” “misplaced flash drives,” or “empty printer ink cartridges” will not be accepted. There is no excuse for not saving all documents twice (hard drive and floppy/flash).

Plagiarism will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Be aware that plagiarism includes (but is not limited to) copying someone else’s words without crediting the source; paraphrasing someone else’s words without crediting the source; using someone else’s ideas without crediting the source (even if rephrased in your own words); using facts not universally known which are obtained from a source without crediting the source; asking someone else to write your paper, either in whole or in part; or obtaining a paper or portion thereof by any means and submitting it as an original document. The penalty for plagiarism is failure of the assignment and potentially failure of the course (at the instructor’s discretion), and it may result in suspension or expulsion from the College (at the discretion of the Student Affairs Committee). Please refer to the BCC Student Handbook for additional information regarding College regulations and the handling of plagiarism.

E. ASSIGNMENTS: Visit the grading rubric (http://staff.bcc.edu/faculty_websites/jalexand/rubric.htm) to see how writing is evaluated.

Literary Response Journal: Students will be expected to respond in writing to all scheduled assignments. Listed below each assigned reading on the syllabus are questions to be answered prior to the assigned class meeting. After reading each assignment, students will write a complete response for each question (minimum 100 words for each literary title). Students can expect to share their responses randomly in class (according to an assigned code) and have them checked periodically. If you are absent and you do not email your journal response within four hours after the end of the class, you will receive a zero.
Midterm Exam: This exam will be comprised mostly of True/False and multiple choice questions. Students are encouraged to read all marginal notes in the text explaining allusions, definitions or interpretations as these may appear on the exam. As well, it is recommended that students define any unfamiliar words found within the readings and be familiar with other historical, social, political or biographical information as presented.
Four-minute Secular Sermon: Using a template provided in class, students will construct and deliver a secular (non-religious-based) sermon based on different quotes from Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack. [Assignment due date to be determined.]
1500-word Research Essay: Selecting a work from the list below, students will read one novel or non-fiction book and construct a scholarly research essay using at least two critical secondary sources (found through the library’s online database using such resources as EBSCOHOST or JSTOR). Appropriate MLA style of documentation is required, including in-text citations and a works cited page. This analysis will be typed, titled, and double-spaced. It must have a cover page with your name, title, date and word count. (OPTIONS: James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans; Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables; Lydia Marie Child, Hobomok; Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederic Douglass, An American Slave; Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; Herman Melville, Moby Dick)
Group Presentation: At the end of the semester, students will present a Powerpoint biography of a key American literary figure. These presentations must incorporate adequate research and visual materials (including handouts and PPT presentations).
Final Exam: Similar to the midterm, this exam will be comprised mostly of True/False and multiple choice questions. Some brief short-answer questions may appear. This exam will cover only material discussed after the midterm (including biographical and feature films).
Participation: I have great respect for students who do what they can to succeed and take their education seriously. If you make an effort to communicate and be respectful with me, I can be reasonably flexible about most situations; however, I cannot breech the integrity of the class by allowing some students leeway with course expectations, and I have little compassion for students who don’t have respect for themselves. Please take responsibility for your work and the commitment you have made to your education. I expect fulfillment of the requirements of all assignments, consistent attendance, appropriate conduct toward classmates, and an overall positive contribution to the class.

F. MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY: Because all assignment deadlines and scheduled exam dates are provided at the beginning of the semester, little latitude is given to those students who are not considerate of themselves or respectful of course expectations. The schedule of assignments and activities is a contract and, therefore, not open to negotiation. In the event that you must be absent the day an assignment is due (though it is strongly discouraged if preventable), utilize a form of electronic submission to turn in journal entries or other assignments the day they are due.

G. GRADING POLICY: All assignments have a specific point value. There are 200 total points worth of assignments and examinations.

Total Course Points Earned	Final Percentages	Letter Grade
177-200	88.5 - 100	A
175-176	87.5 - 88	B+
159-174	79.5 - 87	B
155-158	77.5 - 79	C+
149-154	74.5 - 77	C
139-148	69.5 - 74	D
0-138	0 - 69	F

H. LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS:

ASSIGNMENT / ACTIVITY	DUE DATE	VALUE	GRADE
Literary Response Journal	Daily	22 pts
Midterm Exam	Session 6	40 pts
Four-minute Secular Sermon	Sessions 5-7	20 pts
Group Presentation (Literary History)	Sessions 9-10	20 pts
1500-word Research Essay (Options provided)	Session 10	40 pts
Final Exam	Session 10	40 pts
Participation and Attendance	N/A	18 pts
TOTAL		200 pts

I. PROJECTED SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS:
All readings and journal responses must be completed before the date scheduled.
The inserted bullet (►) signifies assignments either due on a particular day or to be completed during a class session.)

SESSION 1: Tues, May 21
Discussion of syllabus and general course expectations

Anne Bradstreet, “The Author to Her Book” (4)

►Journal Assignment: “The Author to Her Book” What seems to bother the speaker more: that her work was taken without her approval, or that she thinks it’s raw, unrevised, and flawed? How do you explain her claims that the work’s “visage was so irksome”? How are physical features used as metaphors to suggest things like unevenness, “blemish,” and unseemliness? How does her humble style prove a disadvantage? How do you interpret her claim of being “poor”?

Anne Bradstreet, “A Letter to her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment” (5)

►Journal Assignment: How does the speaker illustrate the fact that, despite their physical separation, she feels connected to him in spirit? How does the speaker utilize various metaphoric elements to create images of her feelings of loss and separation (consider body, earth, weather, time, seasons)? What reference is made to the speaker’s children, and how does this influence their parents’ separation?

Edward Taylor, “A Fig for Thee Oh! Death”

(10)

►Journal Assignment: Read John Donne’s “Death, be not Proud” (IN SYLLABUS) and identify three passages from Taylor’s poem which echo Donne’s sonnet. What are the most striking differences between Donne and Taylor? Where does Taylor express boldness, even cockiness? From where does Taylor’s brashness seem to originate?

SESSION 2: Thurs, May 23
Thomas Morton, from The First Book Containing the Original of the Natives, Their Manners, and Customs…. (1)
►Journal Assignment: Describe the author’s attitudes toward the natives. What details of his narrative illustrate how he seems to feel about their ways of life? Explain what he means by “such is their humanity.” Explain what he means by claiming that the natives “are no niggards of their victuals.” How does this phrase fit into the description of their relationship with others in their company?

Anne Bradstreet, from “Meditations, Divine and Moral” (6)

►Journal Assignment: Select three of the meditations and explain how each fits into some aspect of your life (academically, spiritually, or socially).

SESSION 3: Tues, May 28
Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World (12)

►Journal Assignment: Identify three claims brought against Bridget Bishop which might have been explained through other (more rational) means. In what moments of Mather’s own proposal does he suggest that circumstances or suspicion alone might not be enough to prove fault? VIDEO: SALEM WITCH TRIALS

St. Jean de Crevecoeur, from Letters from an American Farmer (19)

►Journal Assignment: What is the speaker’s attitude toward the natives and people of color? How does he illustrate his opinion of the difference between where the colonists came from and the new land they have inhabited?

Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (35)

►Journal Assignment: How does Edwards argue the fact that, even though the Israelites were indeed condemned, they were not yet fallen to destruction? How does he use this allusion to appeal to the people hearing this sermon?

SESSION 4: Thurs, May 30
Thomas Paine, from The Age of Reason (47)

►Journal Assignment: What three details do you believe are Paine’s greatest arguments for why the current state of religion is in need of serious re-consideration.

Oloudah Equiano, from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oloudah Equiano (55)

►Journal Assignment: What three details from Equiano’s narrative give you the most vivid sense of life as a West African slave?

Phillis Wheatley, “To the University of Cambridge, in New England” (64)

►Journal Assignment: How does the poet use her difficult past as an emblem for survival and triumph, and how does this become a warning of sorts to the young students of the new land?

SESSION 5: Tues, June 4
►Delivery of Sermons—Group 1

Philip Freneau, “The Indian Burying Ground” (65)

►Journal Assignment: What elements of description would you say are the most complementary or reverent of the Indians?

Tecumseh, The White Men Are Not Friends to the Indians (67)

►Journal Assignment: How does the author relate the philosophy that if “you” don’t help “me” fight our enemy, when “I” am destroyed, that same enemy will then direct its attention to destroying “you”?

William Cullen Bryant, “Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood” (69)

►Journal Assignment: How does the poet describe the national landscape as a symbiotic (shared) relationship among all its inhabitants?

SESSION 6: Thurs, June 6
►Delivery of Sermons—Group 2

►Midterm Exam

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Apology” (IN SYLLABUS)

►Journal Assignment: What makes the title of this poem ironic? Why does the speaker focus on his solitude rather than any connection to other humans? How does the speaker see himself as a messenger? How do you interpret the speaker’s “[folded] arms”? Where does the speaker seem to make his most compelling connection with his natural surroundings?

Margaret Fuller, from Woman in the 19th Century (71)

►Journal Assignment: If you were to sum up Fuller’s attitude about marriage using three passages from this excerpt, what would they be and how do they exemplify her opinions? How does Fuller claim that women of luxury are responsible for the fate of women of less fortunate means?

Henry David Thoreau, from A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (84)

►Journal Assignment: What theory of art and poetry does this passage portray? How does nature influence one’s appreciation of art? What does it mean to be “transcendental”?

SESSION 7: Tues, June 11
►Delivery of Sermons—Group 3

Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven (87)

►Journal Assignment: What are your impressions of the narrator? What changes occur in the narrator’s attitude towards the bird? What brings about this change? What does the raven come to represent for the narrator? How does the narrator’s emotional state change during the poem? How are these changes related to the changes in his attitude toward the raven?

Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Birthmark (90)

►Journal Assignment: Explain how the relationship between Nature and a scientist is portrayed in the first paragraph. What is Georgiana’s perception of her birthmark at the beginning of the story, does this perception change, and why? How does the birthmark function as a metaphor in this story? What does its removal signify?

Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener (101)

►Journal Assignment: Analyze Bartleby’s behaviors and explain how they may allow us to understand better the lawyer’s true self. How do you explain the narrator’s difficulty in terminating Bartleby? Why does he hire (and tolerate) the type of people in the office?

SESSION 8: Thurs, June 13
►Delivery of Sermons—Group 4

Walt Whitman, from “Song of Myself” Stanzas 1-14, 16, 17 (127)

►Journal Assignment: For the numbered stanza you are assigned, explicate the poem and prepare a brief summary (interpreting any metaphors, identifying themes, and proposing the passage’s morals or lessons).

Emily Dickinson, Poems #67, 258, 280, 328, 435, 478, 569, 636, 701, 712, 823, 1129, 1263, 1540, 1732
(IN SYLLABUS)

►Journal Assignment: For the poem you are assigned, explicate, summarize and identify themes, morals or lessons.

SESSION 9: Tues, June 18
►Group Presentations (2/3rds of students)

SESSION 10: Thurs, June 20
►Group Presentations (remaining 1/3 of students)

►1500-word Research Essay

►Final Exam

Directions for PPT Presentations

Spoken presentation:

· 6-10 minutes

· Notes permitted

· Consistent with PPT slides

· Coherent, unified, smooth

Powerpoint:

· 6-10 slides

· Minimum 24pt font

· Bulleted outline of information with key details (approx. 1/3 of speech)

· Incorporate images as appropriate

· Emphasize contrast between text and background

· Minimize graphic creativity (i.e. animation)

· Bibliography slide at end

Handout:

· Bulleted outline of PPT info (approx. 1/3 of PPT info)

· Half-sheet acceptable

· Copies for instructor and all members of the class

20-point grade (delivery + PPT design + PPT information + handout)

TOPIC OPTIONS

	Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
	Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
	For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
4	Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
	From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
	Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
	And soonest our best men with thee do go,
8	Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
	Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
	And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
	And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
12	And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
	One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
	And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

____1. Jonathan Edwards	A. The Declaration of Independence
____2. Louisa May Alcott	B. Moby Dick
____3. Henry David Thoreau	C. “The Author to Her Book”
____4. Benjamin Franklin	D. “Self-Reliance”
____5. Francis Scott Key	E. “The Pit and the Pendulum”
____6. Abraham Lincoln	F. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
____7. Cotton Mather	G. “The Star-Spangled Banner”
____8. Thomas Paine	H. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
____9. Anne Bradstreet	I. The Deerslayer
____10. Herman Melville	J. Walden
____11. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	K. “The Gettysburg Address”
____12. James Fenimore Cooper	L. “Wonders of the Invisible World”
____13. Thomas Jefferson	M. Little Women
____14. Harriet Beecher Stowe	N. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
____15. Washington Irving	O. Poor Richard’s Almanack
____16. Alexander Hamilton	P. The Scarlet Letter
____17. Ralph Waldo Emerson	Q. “Common Sense”
____18. Samuel Clemens	R. “The Federalist Papers”
____19. Edgar Allen Poe	S. “Rip Van Winkle”
____20. Nathaniel Hawthorne	T. “The Song of Hiawatha”