American Fiction

American Fiction

1

ENGL BC 3182

American Fiction

Spring 2013

Tu/Th11:40-12:55

302 Barnard Hall

Professor Jennie Kassanoff

413 Barnard Hall

854-5649

twitter: @bcamstud (#eng3182)

Office hours: Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00, or by appointment. Visit to reserve a time slot.

Required texts

Susanna Rowson /

Charlotte Temple and Lucy Temple

/

Penguin

/

9780140390803

Nathaniel Hawthorne / The Scarlet Letter / Norton Critical / 9780393979534
Herman Melville /

Moby-Dick

/ Norton Critical / 9780393972832
Harriet Beecher Stowe / Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Or, Life Among the Lowly / Penguin / 9780140390032
Henry James /

The Bostonians

/ Oxford World’s Classics / 9780199539147
Edith Wharton /

Summer

/ Signet Classic / 9780451525666
Charles Chestnutt /

The Marrow of Tradition

/ Bedford-St. Martins / 9780312194062
William Faulkner /

As I Lay Dying

/ Vintage / 9780679732259
Ann Petry /

The Street

/ Houghton Mifflin / 9780395901496
Joseph Gibaldi (ed.) / MLA Handbook, 7th ed., rev. / Modern Language Association / 9781603290241

All texts are available at Book Culture (112th St. between Broadway and Amsterdam): please purchase the specified editions. Readings are also on reserve at the Barnard library.

Learning Objectives

This course asks you to think critically, read analytically, write persuasively and articulate your ideas openly. You will be asked to usecarefully analyzed textual evidence from American literature to support both written and verbalarguments.

Reading assignments

Unless otherwise indicated on the syllabus, reading assignments should be completed in full by the beginning of the first class on which the scheduled text is discussed.

Written assignments

Paper #1: Choose one chapter from Moby-Dick and write a well-organized, detailed essay in which you construct your own argument about an element of the chapter and its significance to the novel as a whole. (2-3 pp.)

Paper #2: Choose a broader theme or issue that unites two of the texts we have read thus far and write a closely-argued, comparative essay (5-7 pp.). Although one of your two texts can be Moby-Dick, you must write about something other than the topic you chose for Paper #1.

Deadlines

Your drafts and papersshould be uploaded to your Drop Box onCourseworks by the date and time specified on the Reading Schedule below. Assignments uploaded after the specified deadlines will be counted as late. There are no extensions: a half letter grade will be deducted for every day that a late assignment is past due. Please plan ahead.

Paperless drafts, comments and format

This semester, all class assignments will be submitted, edited and graded in electronic form. Rather than submitting a hard copy of your work, you will upload your drafts and revisions to your Drop Box on Courseworks. The Writing Fellows and I will download your work and use the Microsoft Word comments feature to mark the chapter (see We willthen upload the marked draft to your Drop Box. Graded assignments will be sent to you by email. To keep your assignment files organized, please use the following file-naming system:

  • last name_assignment_WFdraft_date.doc; or,
  • last name_assignment_revision_date.docx

For example, the file containing my Writing Fellow draft of Paper #1 would be called kassanoff_paper1_WFdraft_mar4.doc). The file containing my revision to be graded would be called kassanoff_paper1_revision_mar15.doc. Your marked essay will have either your Writing Fellow’s initials or my initials added to the file name (ex. kassanoff_paper2_revision_may6_jak.doc). Please note that this system applies only to the file name: each assignment should have its own original title.

All written assignments must be submitted electronically in their best form:

  • 12-point Times New Roman font
  • double-spaced
  • standard margins
  • original title
  • pages numbered
  • documented with parenthetical references and a Works Cited list that follows the form specified in the MLA Handbook, 7th edition
  • everythingthoroughly proofread
  • NOTE: You shouldsubmit a clean copy of each revised essay. To make sure that your essay no longer has your Writing Fellow’s “Track Changes,” either (1.) revise a duplicate of the document originally uploaded to your Dropbox, or (2.) removing the tracked changes and comments from your Writing Fellow draft. To do the latter, see

You will want to give yourself plenty of time to write, revise and rewrite. I am happy to meet with you at any time during the process. Please feel free to reserve a time during my office hours or schedule a separate appointment.

Honor Code

All members of the class are expected to adhere to the Barnard Honor Code. The Barnard Honor Code puts a premium on intellectual integrity. Plagiarism (the use of someone else’s words or ideas without attribution) is a serious violation of scholarly ethics, and will be reported to the Dean of Studies without exception. If you are at all confused about appropriate acknowledgment of sources, please see me for clarification.

Writing Fellows

This course asks you to work with a Barnard Writing Fellow. The Writing Fellows are undergraduate peer tutors who have been rigorously trained in the mechanics and pedagogy of writing. They are educated readers of your work and operate on the assumption that writing is a process: it happens in stages and drafts.

Two dates are listed for each written assignment. On the first date, you shouldupload your Writing Fellow draft to your Drop Box on Courseworks. After that, click on the ENGL BC 3182 wiki link and sign up for a Writing Fellow conference. The Writing Fellow will comment on your draft, post it to your Drop Box and then meet with you to discuss your work. You will have a week to revise the assignmentbefore youpostthe final version to your Drop Box (see “Deadlines” above). You will work with the same Writing Fellow throughout the term.The Head Writing Fellow for this course is Hannah Ehrenberg (). For questions about the Writing Program generally, contact Cecelia Lie, Coordinator of the Writing and Speaking Programs(; 212-854-8941).

Keep in mind that Writing Fellows are a central part of this course. Failure to comply with Writing Fellow deadlines will adversely affect your grade (see “Course requirements” below).

Students with disabilities

If you are registered with the Office of Disability Services (105 Hewitt), please see me at the beginning of the term so that I can help arrange any accommodations that you might need.

Attendance and class participation

The real action of this course takes place in the classroom. You are asked to come to class prepared with your reading assignments thoughtfully completed. Because knowing how to articulate your ideas is a crucial part of the intellectual process, I encourage you – nay, expect you – to contribute your own unique perspectives to our discussions in class, online and in the twittersphere. Your class participation grade will be based on your contributions in both virtual and real time. Students with strong attendance who neither speak in class nor participate on Twitter (see below) can expect a grade in the C range. Those with strong attendance who participate at irregular intervals can expect a grade in the B range. Those with strong attendance who participate consistently in class and online will earn a grade in the A range. Attendance and punctuality are, of course, mandatory: as Woody Allen said, 80% of success is just showing up. Chronic lateness or absences will adversely affect your grade.

Twitter

All members of the class are invited to follow Barnard’s Program in American Studies on Twitter at @bcamstud. When you tweet about the class – and I hope you will – please use the hashtag #eng3182. Wry observations and humorous asides are always welcome. Please note your Twitter alias in your introductory blog post so that we know who you are. To register for a new Twitter account, visit

Courseworks, Drop Box, Blogs and Wikispaces

We will be using various aspects of Courseworks this semester ( – includingthe Wikispaces, Drop Box andblog functions.

ENGL BC 3182 wiki

The wiki, accessed through the Courseworks portal or independently at will be where you sign up for Writing Fellow conferences and register your Twitter name.

Drop Box

Click on “Drop Box” and you’ll find your individual folder where you’ll post your written work. Only the Writing Fellow, you and I can see the contents of your Drop Box. (For information about the Drop Box feature, see

Blogs, Comments, Blogging Groups and the “Post of the Week”

The late Ray Bradbury once said, “We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” This is why I ask you to write – regularly, committedly, sometimes beautifully. Writing enables you to process and share what’s in your cup. You will therefore be assigned a blogging group. Your group will be composed of 10-12 other students whose blogs you will read and to whose posts you will respond. Groups will be announced on the wiki at the end of the second week of class.

You are asked to write 10weekly blog posts. Of those 10 entries, fourcan (and should) be responses to a peer’s post (using the “Leave a comment” feature at the bottom of your peer’s blog entry). Please note that your introductory blog post (due January 25) will not be considered one of the 10 posts.

For a blog post or commentto “count” (see “Course requirements” below),it must be time-stamped by midnight on the Sunday after the week’s assigned reading. While your posts can certainlyengage earlier material, your central focus should be the week’s assignment. Although it is better to contribute a late post than not at all, tardy contributions will earn diminishing credit.

The content of your blog entry is up to you. To get started, you may do one of the following:

  • Select a passage from our reading, copy it into your blog, and write a close textual analysis. For guidance, see my blog post entitled “Close reading.”
  • Focusing on one or two points of connection, compare and contrast two of the readings we have examined this term.
  • Discuss the reading in relation to something else that you have read or encountered – whether in another class, on the web or in the world. Identify or link to your references so that others can consult your sources.
  • Comment on something that we discussed in class. Agree, disagree, challenge or enrich; just make sure that you use specific textual evidence to support your own claims. Don’t be afraid to take a stand.

When you read a particularly good post from a blogger your group, click on the Discussion Board link on Courseworks and nominate it for “Post of the Week.”Identify yourself, the writer, and the reason you’ve nominated the blog post. Cut and paste the post into your nomination. I read all nominations and highlight the Post of the Week in class, on Twitter and on Courseworks. You will be responsible for nominating your group’s Post of the Week twice during the term. The nominating schedule will be posted on the wiki near the end of the second week of class.

Cell phones, laptops, tablet computers and food

During class, please turn your cell phoneall the way off. Wireless connectivity on laptops or tabletsshould beswitchedto “airplane mode,” even when we have reached our cruising altitude. My job is to make these shocking acts worth your while; your job is to be fully present– intellectually, physically, metaphysically.Surfing, status updating,and texting are all pleasures to pursue outside of class.As a rule, there should be no food in the classroom, unless you bring enough for everyone. Drinks are fine: hydrate away.

Office hours and consultations

You may sign up for an office-hour time slot or schedule an appointment with me at any time during the semester and for whatever reason. To sign up for an appointment, visit my office hours wiki at where you can reserve any one of the eight 15-minute time slots available each week on Wednesdays, 2:00-4:00. To make an appointment with me outside of office hours, email a list oftimes that work for you, including thosebefore 10:30 a.m. I will arrange an appointment time.As a policy, I do not discuss substantive matters via email. If you wish to talk about your work, or anything else, there is only one way: in person. If you find that you cannot keep a pre-arranged office-hours time slot, please be considerate of others and cancel on my wiki as soon as possible.

Final Examination

There will be a cumulative three-hour final exam given during the University examination period. For the precise time and place, please consult the University exam schedule at

Course requirements

Lively, informed class participation10%

Blogging group10%

Paper #1 (2-3 pp.)20%

Paper #2 (5-7 pp.)30%

Writing Fellow draft/conference: Paper #12.5%

Writing Fellow draft/conference: Paper #22.5%

Final exam25%

Reading schedule

1/22 / TU / Introduction: The American Novel
1/24 / TH / Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple (1791)
1/25 / FR / INTRODUCTORY BLOG POST DUE. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
1/29 / TU / Charlotte Temple
1/31 / TH / Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850), Preface and “The Custom House” – Ch. V
2/5 /

TU

/

The Scarlet Letter, Ch. VI – Ch. XV

2/7 / TH / The Scarlet Letter, Ch. XVI – Ch. XXIV
2/12 / TU / Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (1851), “Etymology” – Ch. 15
2/14 / TH / Moby-Dick, Ch. 16 – Ch. 35
2/19 / TU / Moby-Dick, Ch. 36 – Ch. 54
2/21 / TH / Moby-Dick, Ch. 55 – Ch 81
2/26 / TU / Moby-Dick Ch. 82 – Ch. 105
2/28 / TH / Moby-Dick, Ch. 106 – Epilogue
3/5 / TU / Post-Moby breather: no class
DRAFT OF PAPER #1 DUE (2-3 pp.). Post to Drop Box by 4:00 PM. Sign up for a Writing Fellow conference on the wiki.
3/7 / TH / Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), Ch. I – Ch. XXIII
3/7-3/11 / TH-MO / WRITING FELLOW CONFERENCES: Paper #1
3/12 / TU / Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Ch. XIV– Ch. XXIII
3/14 / TH / Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Ch. XXIV – Concluding Remarks
3/15 / FR / PAPER #1 DUE (2-3 pp.). Post to Drop Box by 12:00 noon.
3/19 / TU / SPRING BREAK
3/21 / TH / SPRING BREAK
3/26 / TU / Henry James, The Bostonians (1880)
3/28 /

TH

/ The Bostonians
4/2 / TU / The Bostonians
4/4 / TH / Charles Chestnutt, The Marrow of Tradition (1901)
4/9 / TU / The Marrow of Tradition
4/11 / TH / Edith Wharton, Summer (1917)
4/16 / TU / Summer
4/18 / TH / William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying (1930)
4/22 /

MO

/

DRAFT OF PAPER #2 DUE (5-7 pp.). Post to Drop Box by 12:00 noon. Sign up for Writing Fellow conference on the wiki.

4/23 / TU / As I Lay Dying
4/24-4/28 / TU-SU /

WRITING FELLOW CONFERENCES: Paper #2

4/25 / TH /

As I Lay Dying

4/30 / TU /

Ann Petry, The Street (1946)

5/2 /
TH
/
The Street
5/6 / MO /

PAPER #2 DUE (5-7 pp.).Post to Drop Box by 12:00 noon.

5/7-5/9 /
TU-TH
/
READING PERIOD
5/16 / TH / FINAL EXAM: 4:10-7:00 PM. Please consult the University Exam Schedule confirm time and place.