English 121-001: American Literature I
Gustavus Adolphus College, Fall 2007
Dr. Jaime Cleland
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 1:30-2:20 p.m., Vickner 301
Office #: Vickner 314
Office hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. and by appointment
Phone: x6085
E-mail: jcleland@gac.edu
Web site: http://www.gustavus.edu/~jcleland

COURSE DESCRIPTION & GOALS:
Not only an opportunity to get a taste of canonical American literature through the Civil War, this course will give you a chance to explore multiple, evolving attitudes of Americans toward themselves and their nation, and to rethink what constitutes American literature. This will also be an opportunity to hone your skills in writing, reading, speaking, and critical thinking.

TEXTS:
Required:
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 7th edition, package 1 (volumes A & B)
Occasional supplements available through Moodle; please download and bring to class

Suggested:
As in any English course, you will want to have access to a good dictionary; a writing manual (such as Diana Hacker’s A Writer’s Reference) that addresses issues of essay structure, grammar, and style; and the MLA style manual.

OTHER RESOURCES:
You are encouraged to visit the writing center, located in Confer 232. This is a good place to get feedback at any stage of your writing, whether you’re brainstorming ideas, cleaning up surface errors, or anywhere in between. When you write, you should imagine an intelligent peer who may or may not know something about your topic already, and the writing center is a great place to find people like this in person. For more information about the writing center, visit http://gustavus.edu/writingcenter/ To make an appointment, call x6027. I’m also available outside class during office hours (see below). Whether you are meeting with me or the writing center, you will be best served by scheduling an appointment as far in advance of the deadline as possible. You won’t want to hear that major changes should be made to your essay 24 hours before it’s due.

CONTACTING ME:
Feel free to stop by my office during office hours (MWF 2:30-3:30) to talk about your writing, the readings, how the class is going for you, or any related issues. If you need to talk to me and your class or work schedule prevents you from coming in at this time, check in with me to make an appointment. Please note that if I’m in the office but the door is closed, I’m not available for a meeting. My office phone extension is 6085, but e-mail is a better bet because I check it more reliably. I make an effort to respond to e-mails within 24 hours, except on weekends (messages sent on Friday may not receive responses until Monday) and while traveling.

REQUIREMENTS:
Discussion Leading & Short Essay (15%)
Each of you will be responsible for leading approximately 15 minutes of class discussion on the assigned text(s) for the day. Early in the semester, we will consider what makes an effective class discussion and prepare some guidelines together. I’ll ask everyone to run their plans by me at least two days in advance, whether during office hours (best) or over e-mail (okay). After the discussion, you will write a 2-3 page essay that expands on some aspect of the discussion. This essay will be due one week after your presentation. Partly due to the logistics involved in making time for everyone to have the opportunity to lead discussion, I will be inflexible about the schedule once it is set. Do not miss your day!
Term Paper (25%)
In your term paper, you will address a book-length work of American literature from the period our course covers. The essay, which should be 8-10 pages long, will contextualize the work in our semester and argue for its significance in understanding American literature of this period. More detailed information will soon follow. Expect this to be a semesterlong project; you will be responsible for reading and studying the book on your own, and I will not issue reminders. I will, however, include a brief section on the midterm exam in which you will be expected to discuss your progress on this project.
Further information on class essays
All work should be documented in accordance with MLA style. The system is fairly straightforward, but if you have questions, be sure to ask. Be aware that I DO NOT ACCEPT LATE PAPERS. Please plan ahead for last-minute contingencies, whether illness, emergencies, writer’s block, deadlines for several classes, and computer crises. If you know in advance that you will miss class on a due date, talk to me to make arrangements for submitting work in advance. If you come to me on the due date without an essay, I will certainly express sympathy but will not grant an extension.
Exams (40%)
A midterm and a final, worth 20% each, will be given. Both will include objective and essay sections. The final will be cumulative, but will focus more on material discussed in the second half of the class.
Informal Writing & Participation (20%)
There will be some lecturing this semester, but much more discussion and group activity. This means that you need to be ready and willing to ask questions, speculate, ponder, give your own readings of the text and evaluate those of others. Taking good notes as you read will help you to do this. The success of our course depends on your preparedness and participation! At least once a week, I will ask you to do some informal writing in or out of class to help focus your thinking and improve class discussion. These assignments will be graded on a check, check plus, check minus basis, and while I will drop one or two of your lowest scores at the end of the semester, this writing cannot be made up. Keep in mind that you cannot participate if you are not in class (whether absent or tardy), and any absences beyond three will affect your grade directly. I don’t distinguish between “excused” and “unexcused” absences, so please plan ahead and save your three absences for major illnesses or real emergencies. You are responsible for any work that you miss; make advance arrangements for handing in any assignments and contact a classmate for notes. During class, it is okay with me if you eat or drink, as long as you can do so without distracting yourself or others, but electronic devices (cell phones, ipods, etc.) are strictly prohibited.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
As a member of the Gustavus Adolphus College community, you have signed and are responsible for the Honor Code. In submitting any work for this class, whether an examination, formal essay, or informal writing, you are implicitly agreeing to this pledge: “On my honor, I pledge that I have not given, received, or tolerated others’ use of unauthorized aid in completing this work.” In this class, you are responsible for documenting your writing according to MLA style. Most of our work this semester will consist of close reading, which means that any additional research is irrelevant; what I care about is what you have to say about a text, not what famous scholars, Wikipedia, or anyone else has to say about it. Please avoid the temptation of Googling “just to get ideas.” The minimum result of academic dishonesty in this course will be a zero for the assignment, 10 additional points off your final grade, and a report to the dean’s office. If you have any questions about this policy or the workings of MLA style, please ask!

ACCOMODATIONS:
The Advising and Counseling Center asks, “If you have a physical, psychiatric/emotional, medical, learning or attentional disability that may have an effect on your ability to complete assigned course work, please contact Laurie Bickett, Disability Services Coordinator, in the Advising Center. She will review your concerns and decide with you what accommodations are necessary.” Laurie Bickett can be reached at x6286. Please let me know if you have documentation through the center so that we can make appropriate arrangements. The sooner you contact me, the easier it will be for both of us.

Sept. 5: Introduction to course.
Sept. 7: Beginnings to 1700 (1-16), Stories of the Beginning of the World (17-31), and please refresh your memory of Genesis 1-3 (any version is OK)

Sept. 10: Characteristics of good class discussions
Sept. 12: Columbus (31-35), Cabeza de Vaca (40-55), Smith (55-72)
Sept. 14: Native American Trickster Tales (72-103)

Sept. 17: Bradford (104-138)
Sept. 19: Bradstreet (187-217)
Sept. 21: Rowlandson (235-267)

Sept. 24: American Literature 1700-1820 (357-367), Edwards (384-396, 425-436)
Sept. 26: Native Americans: Contact and Conflict (437-449)
Sept. 28: Franklin (449-451, 472-522)

Oct. 1: Franklin (522-587)
Oct. 3: NO CLASS (Nobel conference)
Oct. 5: Franklin (451-472), Crevecoeur (595-616) Change: Skip Franklin

Oct. 8: the Adamses (616-629), Paine (629-643) Change: skip Paine
Oct. 10: Jefferson (649-665 and/or additional selections on Moodle)
Oct. 12: Wheatley (751-764)

Oct. 15: Women’s Poetry: From Manuscript to Print (710-724)
Oct. 17: Midterm: objective section
Oct. 19: Midterm: essay section

Oct. 22: NO CLASS (reading break)
Oct. 24: American Literature 1820-1865 (929-950), Irving (951-985) Change: Skip "Rip Van Winkle"
Oct. 26: Apess (1051-1058), Schoolcraft (1058-1068), Removal and Resistance (1252-1271) Change: class is cancelled; skip this reading

Oct. 29: Emerson (1106-1110, 1163-1180)
Oct. 31: Emerson (1110-1138)
Nov. 2: Hawthorne (1272-1275, 1289-1298, 1304-1311, 1311-1320)

Nov. 5: Longfellow (1495-1507), Whittier (1507-1528) Change: Skip Whittier
Nov. 7: Poe (1528-1532, 1536-1543, 1553-1565, 1589-1592, 1612-1616)Change: skip the poems
Nov. 9: Fuller (1637-1659, 1675-1681)

Nov. 12: Thoreau (1853-1872, 2046-2060) Change: Read 1853-1872, 1872-1895
Nov. 14: Thoreau (1872-1914, 2038-2046) Change: Read 1895-1914, 2038-2046
Nov. 16: Douglass (2060-2064, 2064-2094)

Nov. 19: Douglass (2094-2129)
Nov. 21: NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)
Nov. 23: NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)

Nov. 26: Lincoln (1627-1637), Slavery, Race, and the Making of American Literature (1682-1698)
Nov. 28: Whitman (2190-2210, 2263-2267, 2274, 2275-2276, 2281-2289) Change: Read 2190-2209
Nov. 30: Whitman (2210-2254) Change: Read 2209-2217, 2263-2267, 2274, 2275-2276, 2281-2289

Dec. 3: Dickinson (2554-2575)
Dec. 5: Dickinson (2575-2597)
Dec. 7: Melville (2304-2308, 2363-2389)

Dec. 10: Melville (2405-2461) Change: Read 2405-2432

Dec. 12: Melville (2308-2320) Change: Read 2432-2461
Dec. 14: Course wrap-up. Change: Read 2308-2320