Professor
Karen Weyler
English
251W-05: American Literature Survey
Tuesday/Thursday
11:00
Spring
2002
Office:
McIver 109
Office
hours: Tuesdays
10:30
Thursdays
12:15
Telephone: 334-4689 Email: KAWeyler@uncg.edu Web site: http://www.uncg.edu/~kaweyler
Required
Text
Heath Anthology of
American Literature, 4th ed., Vol. 1
Course
Description
Our objective in
English 251 is to introduce you to representative writings from the
geographical area that would become known as the United States, from the time
of European exploration through 1865.
By reading these texts, we will acquaint ourselves with the difficulties
and consequences of European exploration, both intended and unintended, for the
native and European populations. The
period of English settlement was likewise fraught with difficulties, and the
dominant status of English language, culture, and laws emerged slowly over the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; this English culture was always a
creolized culture, however, inflected by the diverse cultures that populated
the New World. Even after the
Revolution, the status of the United States remained contingent, fraught by
divisive questions about religion, race, slavery, and citizenship. The literature of the Americas explores
these issues in a rich and varied fashion, in both prose and poetry.
This is a
discussion-oriented class, which means that students will be expected to
participate on a daily basis, by participating in small group and whole class
discussions, being attentive to discussions, asking questions, recording
responses on the board, and reading aloud passages from our texts.
Student
Learning Goals
In this
writing-intensive course, students will write frequently, both formally and
informally. We will use writing as a
means of exploring important questions about the development of American
literature. Students will write multiple drafts of assignments; through conferences
with the professor and peer editing sessions, students will receive and
incorporate constructive criticism to improve their written work. By the end of the semester, students will understand
the historical and cultural contexts in which pre-1865 American literature has
been produced by diverse groups of people, as well as the various genres in
which Americans have expressed themselves.
By the end of the semester, students
will be able to write clearly, coherently, and insightfully about pre-1865
American literature.
Course
Requirements and Evaluation
You must complete and
turn in all assignments on the dates that they are due in order to pass this
course. The final grade for this course
will be based on the following:
In-class
and on-line writing 10%
Class
discussion 10%
Oral
presentation/Written report 10%
Mid-term examination 15%
Final
examination 20%
Two
short essays (2-3 pages), each worth 10% 20%
5-6
page essay (an expansion of a short essay) 15%
Writing Center
You may choose to
visit the University Writing Center (located in 101 McIver Building) for
additional assistance with your writing.
For more information, call 334-3125.
Office
Hours and Conferences
At the beginning of
the semester, I will schedule brief (10 minute) introductory conferences in my
office so that we will have a chance to meet and speak individually. You are also welcome to visit my office at
any point during the semester or to schedule an appointment outside of my usual
office hours in order to discuss reading assignments, papers, etc.
Departmental
List-serv
English majors should
subscribe to the departmental email list to receive information about the
major. From the computer account
through which you receive email, send the following message to listproc@uncg.edu:
Subscribe English-l yourfirstname yourlastname (note that is a lower
case L, not the numeral 1, following English).
Academic
Integrity Policy
I expect every student
to abide by the principles of the Academic Integrity Policy, which appears in
the Student Handbook. Students will
need to sign the Academic Integrity Pledge on all major work. In addition, you must properly document any
use of another's words, ideas, or research; unacknowledged use of someone
else's thoughts is plagiarism. Please
use MLA style documentation to document any sources used in written work. Work that is not properly documented will receive
a zero; further penalties may be assessed according to the criteria established
under the Academic Integrity Policy. If
you have questions concerning documentation, please consult me.
Attendance
Policy
I expect students to
attend class and arrive on time. Since
we will frequently use class time for discussion, your presence is important to
the success of the class as a whole.
Students will be allowed to make up missed work from excused absences
only. Grounds for excused absence
include such events as illness or death in the family. More than two unexcused absences will lower
your final grade; each unexcused absence after two will lower your final grade
by one-half of a letter grade. Seven or
more absences, regardless of excuse, will result in a failing grade. It is your responsibility to determine what
you have missed.
What
Can You Expect from Your Professor?
You can expect that I
will treat you as an adult, encourage your participation in this class, listen
carefully to what you have to say, and challenge your thinking. You can also expect me to evaluate your work
fairly, offer constructive criticism and praise of your written work, and
return your work in a timely fashion.
Course
Calendar
Please note that this
syllabus is subject to change. In the
event of inclement weather, you should be guided by the UNCG adverse weather
policy.
T Jan. 15 Course
Introduction
Th Jan. 17 Exploration and Settlement of the New World: "Colonial Period to 1700," 1-17;
Columbus, 107-08; Journal 108-16; Handsome Lake 780-81; Whitman,
"Prayer of Columbus" 2949-51
T Jan. 22 de Vaca,
119-20; Relation 120-31; Smith, 242-44; Generall Historie 245-50;
Description 251-53
Th Jan. 24 Bradford, 311-21; from Of Plymouth Plantation 313-34; Report: The New England Primer
T Jan. 29 Winthrop,
294-96; from "A Model of Christian Charity" 296-304; Williams,
335-36; skim Key 337-53; read "To the Town of Providence"
353-54; Report: Winthrop on different kinds of liberty
Th Jan 31 Bradstreet,
282-83; "The Prologue" 384-85; "The Author to Her Book"
390; "The Flesh and the Spirit" 391-93; "Before the Birth of One
of her Children" 394; "To My
Dear and Loving Husband" 394-95; "Upon the Burning of Our House"
397-98
T Feb. 5 Rowlandson,
425-27; Narrative 428-56; Report:
captivity narratives
Th
Feb. 7 Mather, 495-97; from Wonders
497-502: Reports: Karlsen, The Devil in the Shape of a
Woman 1-45; Reis, "Gender and the Meaning of Confession," in Spellbound
53-71; and Reis, Damned Women, "Popular and Ministerial Visions of
Satan" 55-92
T Feb. 12 "Eighteenth
Century," 553-71; The
Great Awakening: Edwards, 620-22;
"Personal Narrative" 631-41; Sinners 641-52; Report: The Great Awakening: when, where,
and what was it?
Th Feb. 14 The American Revolution: "The Age of Revolution," 777-79;
Franklin, 782-84; Autobiography 805-67
T Feb. 19 Paine,
934-36; The Crisis 942-47; Report: Paine's Common Sense; Draft Workshop for Paper 1: Bring a typed draft to class
Th Feb. 21 Jefferson,
968-70; Autobiography 970-74; Notes 975-93; Abigail and John
Adams, correspondence 957-61; John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, correspondence
965-68; Report: "The Anti-Republican Implications of Coverture," from Linda
Kerber's Women of the Republic
T Feb. 26 Freneau,
1175-76; "To Sir Toby" 1181-83;
Wheatley, 1203-05; "On Being Brought" 1212; "On the Death
of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield 1770" 1210-11; "To the Right
Honorable" 1208-09; letter to Samson Occom 1220-21; Paper 1 due in class
Th Feb. 28 Crevecoeur,
898-99; Letters, 899-918
T Mar. 5 Native American Voices: Occom, 1078-79; "Narrative"
1079-84; Apess, 1397-98; An Indian's Looking Glass 1398-1403; Report:
Cherokee Memorials
Th Mar. 7 Midterm Examination
March 9
T Mar. 19 Early Romantic Writers: Irving 2071-72; "Rip Van Winkle"
2081-92; "Legend" 2093-2112; Report: Irving's The Sketchbook
Th Mar. 21 The Culture of Reform: "Race, Slavery, and the Invention of the 'South,'" 1774-75; David Walker,
1775-76; Appeal 1777-86; Douglass, 1814-16; Narrative 1817-43; Report:
Slavery laws
T Mar. 26 Douglass,
Narrative 1843-80; Report: Douglass,
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
Th Mar. 28 Stowe,
2475-78; from Uncle Tom's Cabin 2478-2490; Report: Critical reception of UTC
T Apr. 2 Stowe,
from Uncle Tom's Cabin 2490-2517; Report: Uncle Tom's Cabin and popular culture
Th Apr. 4 Emerson,
1512-15; "Self-Reliance" 1555-72;
Fuller, 1626-28; from Woman
in the Nineteenth Century 1631-53; Reports:
The self-culture movement; Emerson's Nature; Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
"The Declaration of Sentiments"
T Apr. 9 Thoreau,
1669-72; "Resistance to Civil Government" 1672-86; Report: "Economy," from
Thoreau's Walden
Th. Apr. 11 Romantic Poetry: Bryant, 2811-13; "Thanatopsis"
2813-15; "The Yellow Violet" 2815-26; "The Waterfowl"
2816-17; Longfellow, 2822-23; "Chaucer" 2828; Draft Workshop for Paper 2:
Bring a typed draft to class
T Apr. 16 Osgood,
2829-31; "The Maiden's Mistake" 2833; "Little Children"
2840-41; Sigourney, 1497-99; "The Indian's Welcome to the Pilgrim Fathers"
1507-08; "Indian Names" 1508-09; "To a Shred of Linen"
1510-12; Three Romantic poets respond to science: Poe, "SonnetTo Science" 2457; Dickinson #185
"Faith is a Fine Invention" (handout); "When I Heard the Learn'd
Astronomer" 2934; Report: Emerson's "The Poet"
Th Apr. 18 Whitman,
2846-49; "Preface" 2849-63; "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard
Bloom'd" 2941-48; "So Long!" 2953-55; Reports: free verse; Whitman's
Song of Myself ; Paper 2 due in class
T Apr. 23 Dickinson
2969-74; letters 3015-19; N.B.:
Dickinson did not title her poems; I'm giving you first lines merely for
ease of identification. "Success
is counted sweetest" 2975-76; "These are the days when Birds come
back" 2976; "I like a look of Agony" 2977; "I'm
Nobody! Who are you?" 2979; "The
Soul selects her own Society" 2981; "Some keep the Sabbath going to
Church" 2984; "A Bird came down the Walk" 2984-85; "After
great pain, a formal feeling comes" 2985; "Much Madness is divinest
Sense" 2987; "This is my letter to the World" 2987; "This was
a PoetIt is That" 2988-89; "I heard a Fly Buzzwhen I died"
2989; "The Brainis wider than the Sky" 2994; "I dwell in
Possibility" 2996; "One need not be a Chamberto be Haunted"
2997; "Publicationis the Auction" 2998; "Because I could not
stop for Death" 2998-99; "The Bustle in a House" 3003;
"Volcanoes be in Sicily" 3007; "To make a prairie it takes a
clover and one bee" 3008; Report:
Dickinson's fascicles
Th Apr. 25 Fiction of the American Renaissance: Poe, 2387-89; "The Tell-Tale
Heart" 2420-23; "The Black Cat" 2423-29; "The Fall of the
House of Usher" 2400-2413; Report: mysterious
circumstances of Poe's death and the theories it has spawned
T Apr. 30 Hawthorne,
2170-73; "Young Goodman Brown" 2186-2195; "The Minister's Black
Veil" 2195-2203; and, "Rappaccini's Daughter" 2215-2234
Th May 2 Melville,
2550-54; "Benito Cereno" 2598-2655
Final Paper due in my
office: Wednesday, May 8 by 1:00 p.m.
Final
Examination: Tuesday, May 14, 12:00