Eng 254W: Survey of U.S. (American) Literature II

Course Description

Welcome to Survey of American Literature II! This class covers selected works of American

literature written during the late 19^th through late 20^th centuries. In addition, it is my goal that this

course will help you to develop the lifelong habit of critical reading, thinking and writing.

Recommended pre-requisite: placement in WR 121, and/or college entry level reading and writing skills.

Required Texts

Ø      Baym, Nina, et. al., Eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. II (Shorter 7^th edition)  [ISBN: 978-0-393-93055-9]

Ø      Donohue’s Eng 254 Coursepacket (from the bookstore, or available on Blackboard)—See the end of this syllabus for information on accessing Blackboard

Ø      Additional novel (can be borrowed from any library or purchased at any bookstore or online)

Course Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to….

1.      understand the features of post Civil War American literary historical periods (such as literary realism, naturalism, modernism).

2.      understand the development and impact of the establishment of an American literary “canon”.

3.      analyze how American literature can reflect the American experience, psyche and identity of Americans, as well as reflect the diverse cultures and perspectives which comprise the body of literature in America since the Civil War.

4.      apply a range of reading strategies to analyze and interpret a variety of literary texts within their historical and literary contexts.

5.      use informal and formal writing to analyze and interpret literary works integrating textual evidence following MLA guidelines.

WIC Program Learning Outcomes
This course is designated a “writing intensive course” because writing will be the predominant mode through which you will encounter this literature and express your understanding (through analysis and interpretation) about it. COCC students who successfully complete a "WIC" course will demonstrate the ability to:

Outcome 1.  Use informal and formal writing to learn course content in the discipline of the WIC course.
Outcome 2.  Adapt general writing skills learned in foundational writing [i.e. WR-prefixed] courses to WIC course writing projects.
Outcome 3: Write at least one paper integrating information from at least two sources employing the appropriate documentation style for the discipline represented by the course.

Grading:

Grades are updated weekly and available via WebGrade. Instructions and update notices are e-mailed to your COCC email account.

Ø      25% In class work (informal writing, group work, quizzes)

These will be done throughout the term.  In-class work cannot be made up; however, two missing or the two lowest graded assignments will be dropped.

Ø      45%: Three literary analysis essays

These are worth 15% each. One essay (your choice) may be revised after it is graded.  Choice of topics. See coursepacket for more details.

Ø      30% Literature Portfolio  (includes work from the term and a self reflective essay)
Due at the final exam time. This will include a selection of in class work, a selection of your informal essays, your favorite formal essay, and a portfolio essay. See the course packet for details.

Please Note:

·        Assignments are due at the start of class time: any assignment received after that time is considered late.

·        Late assignments (except for missing in class work) are accepted but are penalized at least one letter grade, depending on the extent of the lateness.

The following Grading Scale will be used in this course (the final exam grading scale will be distributed in class):
A+        97-100 Outstanding performance [Note: this grade is not recognized by the college]
A          93-96    Exceptional
A-        90-92     Superior
B+        87-89    Excellent
B          83-86    Very good
B-         80-82    Good
C+        77-79    Better than satisfactory            
C         70-76    Satisfactory
D         65-69    Passing
F          0-64     Not passing

Policies:

Plagiarism Statement:

Proper citations and documentation of any sources that you quote, paraphrase, and/or summarize in your writing are required whenever you borrow the words, facts, and/or ideas of others. In general, putting others’ ideas into your own words still means you are borrowing, and to avoid plagiarism, the source must be cited and documented, both (a)at the point in your essay where there borrowing occurs (parenthetical citations for most academic documentation systems), and (b) in a list of all sources cited given at the end of your essay.  Plagiarism—intended or not—is considered a serious academic violation of intellectual property rights, and may earn your written assignment an automatic “F.”

Students Rights And Responsibilities:

Please read the Students Rights and Responsibilities handbook available at: http://studentlife.cocc.edu/Resources/Policies/default.aspx

ADA Statement:

Any student with a documented disability (physical, learning, psychological, vision, hearing) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must inform the College and Stacey as soon as possible. If you require any assistance related to a disability, contact the Disability Services Office located in Boyle Education Center: call (541) 383-7583 or email DisabilityServices@cocc.edu .

COCC Non-Discrimination Policy:

Central Oregon Community College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.

Please see me at the beginning of the quarter if you have any questions about the course requirements.  Also, if you have any questions during the course of the quarter, please see me during office hours or by appointment.

Weekly Course Schedule
Subject to Change!! Check Blackboard/Your COCC e-mail for any changes

Instructions for Accessing Blackboard

During this course, we will be using various tools in the Blackboard Course Management System. Blackboard is a secure, online environment where elements of the course content will be presented, interaction with your fellow students and instructor will take place, and assignments/exams/activities will be completed.

To access Blackboard, please go to http://blackboard.ad.cocc.edu . Click on the "Login" button. You will be taken to a screen where you will enter your User Name and Password.

User Name:  A COCC student user name is your COCC ID number (e.g., 820012345) 

Password:  A COCC Student password is made up of the first initial of first name, first initial of last name (both initials will be in upper-case format), followed by the six digits of your date of birth (e.g., BK010364) . 

Once you are logged into Blackboard, you will be taken to your own, personal location within Blackboard

Novel/Short Story Choices:  Ten weeks is clearly not enough time to “survey” American literature from 1865-today. Thus, as our final reading selection, I’d like the class to argue for their choice of our final novel OR a selection of short stories from our book.  Here are some ideas: you can stick to this list or come up with your own. You should include at least 3 reasons why you believe the class should read the chosen novel or do the short stories. (NOTE: since we have only 2 weeks to spend on the novel, I’ve listed relatively BRIEF selections below rather than longer works and I’ve limited selections to the 20^th century.) 

Novel Ideas:

Willa Cather’s My Antonia (1918)

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925)
Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (1926)
Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)

J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye (1951)

Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye (1970)

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried (1990)  (a collection of interrelated short stories)

Another option?

Short Story Option—we would do ALL of these short stories instead of a novel (all are from our book or would be an e-document):

John Cheever’s “The Swimmer”

John Updike’s “Separating”

Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People”

Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” (Chapter 1)

Toni Morrison’s “Recitaf”

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”

Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”

Raymond Carver’s “A Small, Good Thing”