LITERATURE 4232: American Renaissance   Spring 2006, UHCL

Instructor: Craig White  11:30-12:50 T & Th, Bayou 2230

Office: 2529-8 Bayou            email: whitec@uhcl.edu

Phone: (281) 283-3380                Office Hours:  & by appointment

Caveat: Data stated and contracts implied in this syllabus may change with minimal notice in fair hearings at class meetings.

Course webpage address:

http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4232

 

Course Objectives:

1. To use critical techniques of "close reading" and "New Historicism" as ways of studying classic, popular, and representative literature and cultural history of the "American Renaissance" (the generation before the Civil War).

2. To study the movement of "Romanticism," the narrative genre of "romance," and the related styles of the "gothic" and "the sublime."

3. To use literature as a basis for discussing representative problems and subjects of American culture (New Historicism), such as equality; race, gender, class; modernization and tradition; the family; the individual and the community; nature; the writer's conflicted presence in an anti-intellectual society.

 

TEXTS:

Paul Lauter, ed., The Heath Anthology of American Literature, 5th ed., 1800-1865

James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans. 1826. NY: Penguin Classics, 1986.

 

Graded Assignments (details below):

Percentages listed are only symbolic of approximate relative weight; grades are not

computed mathematically but by letter grades, which may include pluses and minuses. Pluses and minuses may appear on final grades:

·        In-class midterm (2 March; 20%)

·        Research Project (Essay or Journal; Proposal due by email 9 March; project due by email 11 April; 30%)

·        Final exam (2 May, 1000-12:50; 30%)

·        Class participation, presentation, and email submissions (20%)

 

Attendance policy: You are expected to attend every scheduled class meeting, but you are permitted two free cuts without comment or penalty.  Attendance may not be taken systematically, but, if you miss more than two meetings, you begin to jeopardize your status in the course.  If you continue to cut or miss, you should drop the course.  Even with medical or other emergency excuses, a high number of absences or partial absences will result in a lower or failing grade.

 

Email and webpage contributions

This course has a webpage featuring basic information about the course, student models of required assignments, and research links. The web address is http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4232. If convenient, install it as a “favorite” on your web browser for easy access.

 

Each student must make one or more contributions to the webpage through the instructor via email or other electronic means.

 

Required or potential email contributions:

1. Selection reading or web highlight

2. selections from midterm (optional)

3. Research proposal

4. Research project

5. selections from final exam (optional)

 

Email address:

Send all emails to whitec@uhcl.edu. Note the "c" at the end of "whitec." If you send the email to "white" only, it goes to the wrong professor.

 

Contents and attachments:

Try both of the following

·        Paste the contents of the appropriate word processing file directly into the email message.

·        “Attach” your word processing file to an email message. (My computer and most of its programs work off of Microsoft Word 2000. The only word processing program my computer appears unable to translate is Microsoft Works, though Microsoft Word is fine, as are most others.  If in doubt, save your word processing file in "Rich Text Format" or a “text only” format.)

If you have trouble reaching my by email, save your word processing file to a 3 & ½ “ floppy disk and give it to me.  If you put your name on the disk, I’ll eventually return it to you.

 

Student computer access: Every enrolled student at UHCL is assigned an email account on the university server. For information about receiving your account name and password, call the university help desk at 281 283 2828.

 

Reassurances: You are not graded on your expertise in electronic media but on your intelligence in reading literature, discussing it, and writing about it. I’ve tried similar email exercises for several semesters; a few students encounter a few problems, but, if we don’t give up, these problems always work out. Your course grade will not suffer for mistakes with email and related issues as long as I see you making a fair effort.

 

 

Descriptions of Assignments

Midterm exam--Date: 2 March. Relative weight: 20% of final grade

Course content: Key terms, concepts, and literary and social issues of the American Renaissance and Romanticism.

Format: open-book and open-notebook, but the time for the exam is so limited that you won’t have much leisure to look around for answers. Therefore you need to start the exam well-prepared.

Materials: In-class students write in blue or black ink on notebook paper, in a bluebook, or in spaces provided on exam sheet. Email students should work things out according to the instructions provided.

Time: The exam should take at least an hour to complete, but you may use the entire class period (1 hour and 20 minutes). In-class students will be given the exam at 11:30am and must turn it in by 12:50. All students will be emailed the exam at approximately 11:20am, at which time the exam will also be posted on the course webpage. Email students must mail in the exam by 1:30. The time is more flexible to account for possible interruptions. However, email students should spend no more than 1 hour and 20 minutes in writing the exam, and they should keep a log indicating when they start and stop. (Pauses or interruptions are okay.)

 

Length: Given different writing styles, length is variable. Better exams generally have more writing, while less impressive ones look scanty.

 

Required references to previous midterms & student presentations:

·        Somewhere in your midterm, refer to webpage midterm samples at least once (any year)

·        Somewhere in your midterm, refer to student presentations at least once (any year, but probably this year)

 

Organization: Two sets and types of questions and answers:

 

Part 1. Choose and analyze a passage from our course readings—and make it matter! (15-20 minutes)

·        Choose a passage from our readings so far. First, try consulting your memory: Which page or moment in our texts reminds itself to you? Ask yourself why, and explain why you’ve chosen it. Some reasons may be personal, but make the passage’s appeal or significance as universal as possible. The passage does not need to be one we went over in class, but it should connect to one or more of the course objectives or themes. You might treat two passages as long as they’re intimately and directly connected to each other.

·        Analyze. Midterm samples can provide examples of this process. Describing how the language works to create meaning, to appeal to readers, and to develop themes or ideas. You analyze the textual passage on its own terms, but meaning can also develop by comparing it to other texts.

·        Make it matter. Why or how does the passage speak to literary and/or cultural issues in and beyond this course? What should your reader carry away?

Warning: Do not submit a pre-written answer. Write your answer during the allotted time. You may practice and use notes, but you are not expected to deliver a “perfected” answer as with a take-home assignment. I ask the class to regard this as an issue of honor. If you see fellow students cheating or hear them speak of cheating, please let me know in as much detail as you like.

 

Part 2. Essay section (50 minutes to 1 hour)

time: approximately one hour

topic: You will write an organized, critical essay in response to 1 of 2 questions.

·        Both questions will require the discussion of writings by at least 3 and possibly 4 writers (though you're welcome to include more). In both questions you will have some or complete choice in choosing your authors.

·        The two essay questions may involve somewhat similar subject matter, so don't be afraid of overlapping.

·        One optional essay question will be organized around a cultural or historical problem from objective 3, but remember that this is a Literature course and emphasize the language that is being used, issues of literacy or voice, or other elements that link literature and language with culture and history.

·        The other optional essay question will be organized around objective 2. Therefore it is a more formal literary issue, but this question will also involve cultural or ethnic identities and voices.

 

Warning regarding essay question: Pay close attention to the question and write your essay to answer it. A common mistake in an exam like this is that students will make up their minds what they’re going to write before they see the exam. They may write well, but if they don’t pay attention to the question as it is written, they can lose credit.

 

Advice for both parts: Keep your eye on the clock.

·        Keep the objectives in mind, and use their terminology. But don’t simply repeat objectives and don’t simply quote texts; interpret, explain, explore, connect.

·        Don't copy out long quotations. Quote briefly, and always comment on quotations, highlighting their language and meanings.

 

Email midterm contributions: Selections from midterms will be uploaded to the course webpage as examples for present and future students. If you take the midterm by email, the instructor will simply copy selections from your file. If you take the midterm in-class, the process is as follows: the instructor may highlight selections in your midterm; you will email the selections to the instructor at whitec@uhcl.edu; the instructor will upload the selections to the webpage.

 

 

Research Project

Students have a choice of two options for their research projects.

·        Option 1 is a traditional 7-10 page analytic / research essay relevant to the course. 

·        Option 2 is a 10-15 page journal of research and reflections concerning a variety of materials relevant to the course.

Weight: approximately 30% of final grade

 

Due dates:

·     proposal due 9 March (or earlier)

·     project due 11 April

 

Lengths:

·     option 1 (analytic / research essay): 7-10 pages + "Works Cited"

·     option 2 (journal) 10-15 pages. (“Works Cited” often incorporated as parts of pages)

 

Research proposal: Due via email by 9 March (or before).

Write at least two paragraphs containing the following information:

·        Indicate which option—Option 1 (essay) or Option 2 (journal)—your research project will take. (If you are trying to choose between the two options, start your email by explaining the situation. If you are trying to choose between different subjects, do the same--explain and explore the situation.

·        If Option 1, list the primary text(s) you intend to work with. Explain the source of your interest, why the topic is significant, and what you hope to find out through your research. Describe any reading or research you have already done and how useful it has been.

·        If Option 2, mention your possible choices of topics for categories listed in Option 2 (journal) requirements.

·        For either option, conclude by asking the instructor at least one question about your topic, possible sources for research, or the writing of your research project.

·        Email or otherwise transmit an electronic version of your proposal to me at whitec@uhcl.edu.

·        Research report proposals will be posted on the course webpage.

·        If you want to confer about your possible topic before submitting a proposal, feel free to confer with me in person, by phone, or by email.

 

Response to Research Proposal

·        The instructor will email you a reaction okaying the proposal and / or making any necessary suggestions.

·        You are welcome to continue going back and forth with the instructor on email until you are satisfied with your direction.

·        Student does not receive a letter grade for the proposal, only a “yes” or instructions for receiving a yes. Students will not lose credit for problems in reaching a topic as long as they are working to resolve these problems.

·        The only way you can start getting into trouble over the proposal is if you simply don’t offer very much to work with, especially after prompts from instructor. An example of a really bad proposal is one sentence starting with “I’m thinking about” and ending with “doing something about Poe,” then asking, “What do you think?” In these cases, a bad grade won’t be recorded, but the hole the student has dug will be remembered. Notes regarding the paper proposal may appear on the Final Grade Report.

 

Description of Research Options:

Option 1 (analytic / research essay) requirements

  • This option involves a more or less "standard College English paper" in which the student analyzes a literary text or texts.
  • The topic is open to any type of literary analysis, but it must have some relevance to the course. That is, a member of the class reading your essay would be able to recognize the relevance of the text or its major themes.
  • Possible topics: tracing in one text, or comparing and contrasting in more than one text the development of a theme, image, symbol, usage of language, character type, plot pattern, or conflict.
  • In terms of primary texts, you may choose a text from beyond this course, but if you use more than one primary text, at least one should be from the course readings.

·     In terms of research, you must incorporate references to at least three secondary and background sources--that is, your research sources must include both secondary and background types of research; the distinction will be explained.

  • Follow MLA style for documentation and mechanics.
  • Length: 7-10 pages + Works Cited
  • Research Requirements: One or two primary sources; at least 3 secondary and background sources (distinction explained below). At least one source should be "print"--i. e., not from the internet. (see note below)

 

 

 

 

 

Option 2 (journal) requirements begin on next page

 

 

 

Option 2 (journal) requirements

If you choose the journal option, you are not choosing an option that involves less work than the traditional research paper option. You are expected to do just as much work and your writing will be judged by similar standards. However, the writing may be less centrally or consistently focused on one subject. Thus you may pursue several subjects, which may not perfectly cohere, but the journal must be “readable.” That is, your writing should lead the reader and connect from page to page. In brief, the journal I read should not be your first drafts, and it has to be going somewhere.

 

Possible topics: Transcendentalism; slave narratives; journalism and Manifest Destiny; the Utopian movement of the American Renaissance (Brook Farm, Fourierism, Fruitlands, the Shakers); the rise of popular women's writing; the Abolitionist writers; Southern pro-slavery writers (Simms, Fitzhugh, and others); Whitman and the New York demi-monde (bohemian underworld); the "Concord circle" of writers who gathered around Emerson. Many other topics are also possible, and you are encouraged to develop your own. Look at previous examples of journals for this and other courses online through my faculty website, or leaf through the table of contents and introductions of our anthology for inspiration.

 

Research journal—required & possible contents: (page suggestions are for double-spaced print)

(Except for the introduction and conclusion, all items and page numbers below are optional or variable according to your interests and findings. In no case should your journal be over 20 pages. Other options are always possible.)

·        Introduction (required): rationale: what you wanted to learn and how; preview contents, general themes, choices (1-1 & 1/2 pages)

(All the following “body” components are optional for inclusion or variable in length according to your topics and findings)

  • Essential general information about subject: 4-6 pages explaining general subject, drawn from background and secondary sources.
  • Review of 2 or 3 secondary sources (articles or books) about your subject. Summarize the content and usefulness of these sources. (1-2 pages each)
  • Literary biographies of one or more authors relevant to your subject. Review the lives and writings, summarize importance and contributions. (2-3 pages each)
  • Review of one or more websites relevant to your subject. Review contents, accuracy, usefulness. (1-2 pages each)
  • Many other possibilities that you will discover as you research. The journal is necessarily a "loose" form, so let your findings dictate your organization.
  • Conclusion (required): 1-2 pages summarizing what you have learned, what you would do next if you continued your research, how it might be applied.

Where to list or how to document your “works cited” or “bibliography’ for a journal: You may either fully document your research as you review it, or you may save full documentation for a “Works Cited” at the end of the journal. However, you need not do both; that is, there is no need to duplicate information at the end that you’ve already provided on the way through.

 

More on Research Requirements

Primary texts. In research writing for literature, primary texts are works of fiction, poetry, or drama. You may refer briefly to three or four primary texts total, but the danger of involving many texts is that the analysis is spread thin.

Background sources refer to handbooks, encyclopedias, and companions to literature that provide basic generic, biographical, or historical information.  For purposes of Literature, these books are generally shelved in the PR and PS sections of the Reference section of the library.

Secondary sources refer to critical articles about particular authors or texts.  (When you write your analytic / research paper, you are creating a secondary source.)  These may take the form of articles or books.  Articles may be found in journals or in bound collections of essays.  Secondary books may be found on the regular shelves of the library.  To find secondary sources, perform a database search on the MLA directory in the Reference section of the library--the reference librarians will help you.

Documentation style: MLA style (parenthetical documentation + Works Cited page, as described in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 4th or 5th edition.

Note on use of online or print sources: Most of the best projects use mostly print sources, while "slacker" projects tend to use the internet almost exclusively. I don't use this as a standard, but this is the way things tend to turn out. (Internet information tends to be a lot looser, more careless, sweeping, and second-hand in its assertions, and overall less deeply researched and edited; when you use print sources, you're generally using a superior text, and that tends to carry over. I grade your project on its merits, but the merits of your project may depend on the merits of your sources. Go to the library!

 

Final Exam--Date: 2 May, 1000-1250

Relative weight: 30% of final grade

Format: In-class or email (as with midterm).

Content: Student will answer two essay questions from a choice of 4 or 5.

Time: The exam should take at least two hours to complete, but you may use the entire class period (2 hours and 50 minutes), and most of the better students do use nearly the entire period. In-class students will be given the exam at 10am and must turn it in by 12:50pm. All students are emailed the exam at approximately 9:45am, at which time the exam will also be posted on the course webpage. Email students must mail in the exam by 2pm. The time is flexible to account for possible interruptions. However, email students should spend no more than 2 hours and 50 minutes in writing the exam, and they should keep a log indicating when they start and stop. (Pauses or interruptions are okay.) If email students run into difficulties or need another time arrangement, they should consult the instructor.

Length: Given different writing styles, length is variable. Better exams generally have more writing, while less impressive ones look scanty.

 

Final Grade Report

I will turn in final grades to the registrar during the week following exams according to the usual procedures. However, I will email each student a tally of their grades. Though this message should be accurate, it will be “unofficial” in that none of its information aside from the final grade will be recorded or supported by the university registrar. The message will appear thus:

 

LITR 4232: American Renaissance, fall 2004

STUDENT NAME & contact information

Absences:

Midterm grade:

Paper Proposal:

Research project grade:

Presentation / participation grade:

Final exam grade:

Course grade:

Class Presentations & Discussions

Each student will present either a reading selection or a web highlight.

·        Some students will present a “Reading” from a day’s assignment followed by a discussion. This reading presentation requires a summary for the webpage, which may be provided before or after the presentation.

·        Several students will present a “web highlight” in which they will showcase previous student contributions on the course webpage such as selections from posted midterm or project samples. The student writes a brief introduction before the selections and a conclusion following them.

 

“Readings”: The assigned student presents an in-class "reading" and summarizes the presentation for submission to the webpage.

Samples: Summaries of readings from previous semesters of LITR 4332 may be seen on the course webpage’s “Model Assignments” sub-page.

Purpose: The purpose of these presentations is directly to involve students' voices in leadership as a complement to traditional lecture and discussion methods.

When you will present: On the first day of class, each student will fill out an ID card indicating any preferences for dates or authors. You may not receive your first preference, depending on the order in which your card comes up relative to other similar requests. On the second day of class students will receive a fresh schedule including presentation assignments. At the first class meeting volunteers will be solicited for the next two meetings.

Assignment: The day’s reader selects a passage (or two or three brief, related passages) from the assigned reading for that day’s class meeting and relates it to one of the course objectives (or another significant idea relevant the course). If possible or desirable, the reader should relate the presentation to assignments the instructor has previously made regarding themes or ideas to look for in the assigned readings.

Format:.

1.      Reader calls or emails instructor before the class meeting to tell what pages or parts of the text s/he will be reading and what objective is under consideration.  Messages can be left on my voice-mail, (281) 283-3380, or on my email: whitec@uhcl.edu. Student may send webpage summary for posting before class meets and use it during presentation.

2.      To begin the presentation, briefly identify the course objective that is under consideration and why.

3.      Locate the passage (page numbers, parts of page) for the class and allow time to find the passage.

4.      Read aloud the passage, then comment on its significance, especially in relation to the chosen course objective.

5.      Summarize the overall point in relation to the objective and the reading.

6.      Begin discussion by asking a question for the class to consider.

7.      Reader leads discussion, calling on students and responding.

8.      Reader wraps up by summarizing original point and general trend or highlights of discussion.

9.      At some point during the presentation or discussion, the reader makes some direct reference to an idea developed in an earlier presentation on the reading assignment. (See note below.)

10.  Conclude discussion by identifying major points raised by discussion and relating them to the course objective you started with.

11. Instructor takes over, either following up discussion or shifting to other points.

 

Time: The presentation should run approximately five to ten minutes. If you go beyond 10 minutes, you will be asked to "wrap up" and get discussion started. In general, students are ready to discuss fairly quickly after the reading, so don't lose that opportunity.

 

Reader makes direct reference to earlier presentation on course webpage reference:

·         During the presentation or discussion the reader must demonstrate that s/he has reviewed the presentation postings from previous semesters. (This reference should later be incorporated into the write-up of the presentation summary.)

·         This reference may be in the form of a similar or different idea, theme, or analysis that a previous presenter has made.

·         If there is no previous presentation on your reading assignment, this requirement is suspended.

·         The student may make a spoken reference, or s/he may display the reference through the multimedia projector. The instructor will help as much as desirable.

 

 

Email / webpage summary:

·        Examples of presentation summaries may be found on the course webpage under “Model Assignments.” Please provide all the information you see there in the headings so the instructor doesn’t have to add it.

·        “Discussion summaries” appear in some earlier semesters’ postings but are no longer required.

·        The reader composes a formal summary of the presentation, introducing the objective, referring to the reading, and explaining the point in paragraph form. This part of the summary should run 1-2 paragraphs.

·        The presentation part concludes and transitions to the discussion with 1-3 discussion questions.

·        The reader adds a final, brief summary of the main points of the presentation and the discussion and what they all amount to.

·        The reader emails the summary to the instructor (whitec@uhcl.edu) for posting to the course webpage.

 

“webpage-highlighter”

The designated student selects passages from the undergraduate midterm, project, or final samples and sends them with an introduction and conclusion to the instructor for inclusion on the day’s webpage. This presentation may lead to a discussion, but a question is not required.

Introduction: Student writes 1-3 sentences describing the assignment and how s/he went about developing it.

Two or more selections from assigned models: Students will be assigned to highlight midterms, projects, or finals. Student copies sections from assigned models and sends them to the instructor for posting with introduction and conclusion. Or the student may ask for links to assigned models for wider review. (Such links may be appropriate for reviewing projects.)

Conclusion: Student writes 3-5 sentences explaining what s/he learned from the review, what about the models was either impressive or disappointing, and what kinds of “models” have been created for our own semester’s work.

 

 

“Silent Grade” for presentations, responses, etc.

You are graded for the quality of your work in presentations, responses, and general class participation, but this grade is not announced until the end of the semester, when it is recorded in your Final Grade Report.  The reason for this “silent grade” is to avoid unproductive behavior from students in relation to the presentations, such as second-guessing, comparing grades, competing to each other’s detriment, or performing to the teacher.  Altogether the presentations are a cooperative exercise on the part of the class, so it’s better to keep grading out of sight; however, since some students would work less otherwise, the leverage of a grade is necessary.

 

 

 

Course Policies

Attendance policy:

You are expected to attend every scheduled class meeting.  You may take two free cuts.  Attendance may not be taken systematically, but if you miss more than two meetings, especially early in the semester, the instructor becomes aware that you are jeopardizing your status in the course.  If you keep cutting or missing, you should drop the course.  Partial absences also count negatively. Even with medical or other emergency excuses, a high number of absences or partial absences will result in a lower or failing grade.

            If shockingly absent, return and make contact (281-283-3380) ASAP in normal office hours or leave message.  Catch up fast!  If you miss more than two classes (especially early!), consider dropping, unless prior arrangements are made. More than two absences affect final grades. You are always welcome to discuss your standing in the course.

 

Class participation: Students' participation is judged less on quantity than on its quality and appropriateness to the topic under discussion and the point being pursued. Final course grades may be affected by inappropriate student participation. Such inappropriate participation obviously includes offensive or distasteful remarks and persistent chatting while class is in progress. It may also include interruptions of lecture or discussion with irrelevant or untimely comments or questions. It may also include long-winded "life stories" of limited relevance to the course or interest to the students.

 

Academic Honesty Policy: Please refer to the catalog for the Academic Honesty Policy (2005-2006 Catalog, pp. 76-78).  Plagiarism—that is, using research without citations or copying someone else’s work as your own—will result in a grade penalty or failure of the course. Copying someone else's test leads to heavy losses of credit for the test and the course in general.  Refer to the UHCL catalogue for further details regarding expectations and potential penalties.

 

Disabilities: If you have a disability and need a special accommodation, consult first with the Health Center and then discuss the accommodation with me.

 

Incompletes: A grade of "I" is given only in cases of documented emergency late in the semester.  An Incomplete Grade Contract must be completed.

 

Make-up exam policy: Ask far in advance for times before the regular exam.  Professor has the right to refuse accommodations requested on short notice.

 

Late submissions: Normally a generous “window” for submissions is provided and students are encouraged to work things out as well as possible. However, if submissions are unusually late, a lower grade may be noted either on the submission or on the final grade. More than a week late for research projects is not normal and may result in a seriously lowered project and/or final grade.

Meeting and reading schedule: Spring Semester 2006

(Except for The Last of the Mohicans, all page numbers refer to The Heath Anthology of American Literature: 1800-1865, 5th ed., Paul Lauter, ed.)

 

Tuesday, 17 January: Introduction; concept of "The American Renaissance"

 

Thursday, 19 January: Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (handouts)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 24 January: conclude Irving, begin James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, chapters 1-3 (pages 1-35 in Penguin Classics edition.)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 26 January: Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, through chapter thirteen (through p. 133 in Penguin Classics edition.)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 31 January: Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, through chapter twenty-four (through p. 254 in Penguin Classics edition.)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 2 February: Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans, (complete, through p. 350 in Penguin Classics edition.)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 7 February: William Apess (Pequot).  Seattle (Duwamish).  Sojourner Truth + Harriet Beecher Stowe, “Sojourner Truth, the Libyan Sibyl.”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 9 February: Ralph Waldo Emerson, introduction + opening 5 pages of Nature), opening 5 pages of “Self-Reliance,”  “Concord Hymn.”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 14 February: Sarah Margaret Fuller, introduction + from Woman in the Nineteenth Century; Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 16 February: Harriet Ann Jacobs, from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 21 February: Frederick Douglass, introduction + (Narrative of the Life . . . + opening of “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 23 February: Henry David Thoreau, introduction + “Resistance to Civil Government”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 28 February: Harriet Beecher Stowe. Read introduction + selections from Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Chapter I: In Which the Reader is Introduced to a Man of Humanity; Ch. VII: The Mother’s Struggle; Ch. XL: The Martyr)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 2 March: midterm exam

 

Tuesday, 7 March: Edgar Allan Poe.  Introduction.  “Sonnet—To Science”; “Romance”; “The City in the Sea”; “Annabel Lee.”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 9 March: Poe, “Ligeia”; “The Fall of the House of Usher.” Research Project Proposal due.

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 14 March: spring break

 

Thursday, 16 March: spring break

 

Tuesday, 21 March: Nathaniel Hawthorne, introduction +  “The Minister’s Black Veil.”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 23 March: Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown.”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 28 March: Herman Melville, introduction + begin Billy Budd (through section 17)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 30 March: Melville, Billy Budd (complete)

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 4 April: Walt Whitman, introduction +  “There Was a Child Went Forth” (handout) + selections from Song of Myself : sections 1-5, 19, 21, 24, 32-34, 46-52.

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 6 April: Whitman, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 11 April: Hawthorne, from Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address” + “Second Inaugural Address.” Research Project due.

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 13 April: Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Tuesday, 18 April: Project due. Emily Dickinson, introduction +

"I like a look of Agony"

"Wild Nights"

"There's a certain slant of light"

"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"

Reader:

Web-highlighter:

 

Thursday, 20 April: Dickinson

"I never lost as much but twice"

"These are the days when Birds come back--"

"Come Slowly--Eden!"

"I'm Nobody! Who are you?"

"I reason, Earth is short--"

"The Soul selects her own Society--"

"It sifts from Leaden Sieves--" [riddle poem]

letters to T. W. Higginson

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Tuesday, 25 April: Dickinson

"There came a Day at Summer's full"

"Some keep the Sabbath going to Church--"

"A Bird came down the Walk--"

"I know that He exists."

"After great pain, a formal feeling comes--"

"Dare you see a Soul at the white heat?"

"A Route of Evanescence" [riddle poem]

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Thursday, 27 April: Dickinson

"I heard a Fly buzz--when I died--"

"This World is not Conclusion."

"I started Early--Took my Dog--"

"I cannot live with You--"

"Because I could not stop for Death--"

"A narrow Fellow in the Grass"

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Tuesday, 2 May, 10:00am-12:50pm: final exam