Evangel
University
Humanities Department Vekasy
ENGLISH 272
American Literature After Civil War 3 credit hours Spring 2010
Meeting time: MW
3:00-4:15
p.m. (Trask 302)
Instructor: SC Vekasy Voice Mail: 8647 E-mail: vekasys@evangel.edu
Office Hours: Posted (AB2-312A) or at Course Syllabi --
www.wordtinker.com
CATALOG DESCRIPTION: A study of
American writing with emphasis on social and intellectual backgrounds from
Realism to the post-war years. This
course is not recommended for freshmen or anyone without college-level
introduction to literature and writing classes (See instructor).
COURSE PURPOSE: To provide a
comprehensive view of the literature of the period after the American Civil War
by surveying writers of the period with attention to historical, social, and
intellectual contexts.
SUPPLIES NEEDED: Perkins,
George. The American Tradition in
Literature. Shorter Edition in One
Volume. 12th edition.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn. [Purchased separately]
TURNITIN.COM
REGISTRATION: Add course number 3034523 – Password banana
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1.
To survey
representative pieces displaying the range and the power of American literature
as a
whole
2. To understand the stature and variety of
major American authors
3. To relate literary works to American society and its
intellectual history
4. To appreciate American literature’s regional and ethnic
influences, social forces, dominant
ideas,
historical events, and aesthetic values
5. To become aware and appreciative of social levels of
language usage and dialectic differences
within
American culture
6. To sharpen critical reading skills
7. To be acquainted with important literary critical
theory
8. To experience primary literary forms: non-fiction,
fiction, poetry, drama
9. To view literary subjects via non-print media (video of
authors and primary works)
10. To recognize and appreciate the distinctiveness of
American cultural diversity as portrayed in
its native literature
11.
To respond both individually and collectively to literary works
12.
To enjoy and appreciate written works of art
13.
To understand the antecedents of contemporary American issues
14.
To demystify the process of reading literature by offering effective strategies
for unlocking
meaning and by providing
critical tools for understanding art literature
METHODS AND
PROCEDURES:
Classes will
consist of lectures, group discussion, written or oral responses, reading
response journal notes, unit exams, audio-visual materials, and extra-credit
activities whenever appropriate.
UNITS:
1. 19th century major poets 4. Early Naturalists
2. Local colorists and regional
realists 5.
Later Naturalists
3. The "Big Three" Realists 6. Selected Moderns
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1.
Completion of
reading schedule (See attached sheet.). Daily response journals must be
submitted to TurnItIn.com before class begins each day (300-word minimum
per author assigned).
2.
Quizzes over
introductory material in text where indicated on the reading schedule.
3.
Because classes supplement reading assignments, regular attendance
in class is assumed.
4.
Novel quiz and
major essay exams during the mid-term and finals week.
5.
On the 8th absence,
a student is dropped from the course. This includes school-sponsored and sports
absences. The course is inherently
designed to favor those who attend regularly. Daily discussion cannot be
duplicated, and information given in class is not usually found elsewhere.
A
student must choose how he/she accepts academic responsibility. Frequent
tardiness reveals a lack of consideration for others and a careless attitude
toward one’s work.
6.
Plagiarism ON ANY
ASSIGNMENT will result in a failing grade for that assignment and possible
disciplinary action by the
University.
7.
As a rule, taking
an examination either early or late is not be permitted except in extreme
circumstances. No missed examination can be taken more than
a week after the test date
without special permission.
EVALUATION:
1. Response journal notes are evaluated each day and
assigned point values. Total daily points count as 25% of the course grade.
Late notes are not accepted even if
the student is absent the day they are due.
NOTE: These notes are an integral part of the course. They are NOT
optional. The 25% weight indicates their importance.
2.
Quizzes, oral presentation points, and extra credit points count toward
the daily average.
3.
The mid-term exam, novel quiz, and final exam points constitute 75% of
the final course grade.
ASSIGNMENT
SCHEDULE -- American Literature After Civil War --
Spring 2010 -- 12th Edition
Note: Assignments in
[brackets] require no reading notes. All others require reading
response journals submitted to TurnItIn.com before
each class period begins (300-word minimum per author. See TurnItIn.com categories for specific assignments).
Jan
13 Introduction to Course / Syllabus / Review
------------------------------------------------------
18
Martin Luther King
Day – no class meeting
20 Whitman [ video] Lecture
------------------------------------------------------
25
“An Age of Expansion” [907-913 Quiz]; Whitman 916-951mid
27
Whitman 951mid-972; 974bot-983top; 984; 987-994bot
-------------------------------------------------------
Feb
1
Dickinson 1002bot-1004; Letters 1025bot-1032 [Assign poems] [video]
3
Dickinson [orals] Selected [1005-1025] Begin Reading HUCKLEBERRY FINN
-------------------------------------------------------
8 Dickinson
" " " "
10
Frontier Humor / Realism / Crosscurrents (Whitman, Adams, Cable,
Washington) 1033-1045
--------------------------------------------------------
15 Harte 1177-1185mid / Jewett 1201bot-1209
17 Intro to Mark Twain – [video] -- Finish
reading Huckleberry Finn
---------------------------------------------------------
22
Twain 1054-1077; HUCKLEBERRY FINN
QUIZ [Bring #2 pencil.]
24 Howells 1077-1088 / Introduction to James
----------------------------------------------------------
Mar
1 James 1088bot-1091;
1148-1177top
3
James Daisy Miller [video] [1091-1131] Late Session
----------------------------------------------------------
8-10 SPRING BREAK
----------------------------------------------------------
15
James The Wings of the Dove [video]
17 MAJOR EXAM [Computer Lab
TBA] {Last week to withdraw with “W”}
-----------------------------------------------------------
22
“Realism and Naturalism 1880-1920” [1047-1051 Quiz] / Wharton 1368-1379
24
Crane 1324; 1349-1368
------------------------------------------------------------
29 “Literary Renaissance 1910-1930” [1407-1410
Quiz] / Dreiser
1379-1393 /
Robinson 1413-1420—ALSO
read “The Man Against the Sky” at http://www.bartleby.com/233/126.html
31
Cather 1420-1441 / Anderson 1446-1474top
-------------------------------------------------------------
Apr 5
O’Neill – The Hairy Ape
1596-1628top / Long Day’s Journey Into Night [video] Late Session
7
O’Neill – Long Day’s Journey [video] Late Session
--------------------------------------------------------------
12 “Literature of Social and Cultural Challenge 1920-1945”
[1587-1593 Quiz] /
Fitzgerald 1662-1678 [video]
14 “Second World War and Its Aftermath
1945-1975” [1749-1756 Quiz]
/ Hemingway 1719-1721 /
ALSO read “The
Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” at http://www.duke.edu/~ss57/macomber.pdf
--------------------------------------------------------------
19
Faulkner 1693-1719 / Dos Passos
1678-1693top {Last week to withdraw WP/WF}
21 “Century Ends . . .” [2053-2058 Quiz] / O’Connor 1989bot-2003 / Roth
2028-2040
--------------------------------------------------------------
26
Frost – [video]
1441bot-1461mid
28
Study Day – No
class meeting -- [Make-up time for three late sessions]
---------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL EXAM: Monday, May 3rd 3:00-5:00 p.m. (Computer Lab TBA