In Transition to College Writing (2001), Keith Hjortshoj Explains Plagiarism This Way

English 441:

Survey of American Literature I:

From the Beginnings to 1865

Fall 2010

Sean George

Office: Rm. 115, HOL

Email:

Office Hours: MWF 9:00 – 10:00 a.m., TR 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. and by appointment

http://drseanmgeorge-english441.wikispaces.com/

Required Texts

1. The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 7th ed., Vols. A & B. New York: Norton, 2007.

ISBN #: 0393929930

2. Silverman, Jay, Elain Hughes, and Diane Roberts Wienbroer. Rules of Thumb: A Guide for Writers. 8th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Course Description

This course surveys American literature from its early beginnings through the Civil War years and covers the development of genres including the captivity narrative, the slave narrative, the Gothic, the Romance, the Sentimental novel, autobiography, and poetry. We'll investigate the ways early American writers and their work were influenced by important modes of thought (Calvinism, Enlightenment rationalism, Romanticism, Sentimentality, Transcendentalism), and we'll study the relation between literature and key social and cultural issues. Writers likely will include the following: John Winthrop, Mary Rowlandson, Anne Bradstreet, Benjamin Franklin, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman.

This is a seminar class. I anticipate, encourage, and expect lively discussions of the readings. Grades will be assessed through class discussion/participation (come to class prepared and ready to talk about the readings), informal writing, weekly online posting of discussion questions, one short paper (5-7 pages), one long paper (10-12 pages), and a cumulative take-home final exam.

Prerequisite: English 102

Course Objectives

After completing this course you should be able to: 1. Read literary works with more pleasure and understanding. 2. Identify some of the major differences among short stories, poetry, and plays and the qualities intrinsic to each. 3. Identify significant questions and ideas dealt with by authors and describe how literature goes about trying to answer them. 4. Define key literary terms. 5. Evaluate some of the ways that readers read literary texts. 6. Relate literature to your own experiences and to the world around you. 7. Expand vocabulary and extract meaning from sophisticated syntax. 8. Infer information about audience and purpose. 9. Polish several general research skills (paraphrasing, quoting, documenting).

Important Notes about the Reading Assignments

1. This course is highly selective in terms of which American literatures are included in the readings and which are not (I’m fully aware of the lack of Native American Indian voices). To study the literature of early America properly, we would need to look at all forms of colonial expression – including written texts by colonists other than the British and the narratives of the native people who developed a rich oral tradition long before contact with Europeans. Unfortunately, we can’t cover it all. Our challenge is to remember that we are reading a select number of American textual artifacts – but texts that nevertheless attempt to define “America” for all.

2. If you equate literature with fiction and poetry, you will need to expand your definition of what “literary” means. For English colonists/early Americans, “literature” meant travel writing, scientific texts, sermons, personal narratives, histories, essays, speeches, tracts, pamphlets, and more. It also meant, somewhat, poetry – but it didn’t mean “fiction” as we would recognize it, for reasons we’ll explore later. As a result, we will be looking at a wide variety of genres, some of which will feel inherently “literary” to the modern reader, others of which may not be as familiar within the contexts of an English course. Always ask how a particular work might be literary, especially in terms of audience (both contemporary and modern), purpose, and historical/political/cultural context.

3. Most of our readings – especially those toward the beginning of the course – grew out of atmospheres of spiritual and political upheaval and are therefore deeply expressive of religious ideas. Some of the literature may conflict with your personal belief system. Or perhaps you will find the readings totally in keeping with your personal views. Some readings may make you uncomfortable or even angry. Your task it to understand and discuss these readings as literature – to focus on the ideas, language, and images of the readings, as well as the context in which they were written and their effect on contemporary (to the authors’ times) and modern audiences. This is neither a religion class nor a history class. It is, however, a course in which we’ll need to look carefully at how different arenas of culture – including religion and history – affect and are affected by literature.

Absence Policy

More than six (6) absences total (excused or unexcused) throughout the semester will cause your final grade to drop by a letter grade. For instance, if a student at the end of the semester has a B in the course, but has seven (7) absences total (one past the 6 allowed) his/her grade will drop to a C. Three (3) tardies will count as 1 absence. Please be proactive about keeping track of your absences, or check with me if you have questions.

Grades

1. 3 Response Papers (30%): 3-5 pages of text + Works Cited page = 4-6 pages total!

Response papers help sum up or conclude our class discussion for the week by providing you with the occasion to reflect upon a major question or issue under review. These essays can be over any topic related to the text, whether we’ve discussed it in class or not. You can select a phrase, an image, or even a word from the readings, then write a commentary in which you strive to articulate why the selection(s) strikes you as important or significant; in this case, use the selected lines or words to explore the work's theme(s) and/or form. You might also explore connections between two or more works. Your response paper may also include your personal response, but it should NOT be solely a personal response to the work(s). In your response, do not paraphrase or summarize the text (you can safely assume I’ve read the text so you don’t need to tell me what happens); instead, develop a reading of the work. You can address any of the texts we have discussed in class through the weeks prior to the due date of each response paper. Whatever topic you choose to address, your writing must be clear, logical, and grammatically correct.

2. Short Research Paper (20%): 5-7 pages of text + Works Cited page = 6-8 pages total!

This research paper can be on any topic of your choosing. You will need to develop a research question based on any aspect of any of the readings or on a combination of the readings, conduct appropriate research with primary and secondary source materials, and compose a 5-7 page paper based on that research. Topics may include a close reading of one or two or three works, an explication of the text that incorporates what other scholars have said about the work(s) you are studying. You should incorporate at least 4 outside sources (journal articles, books, book chapters, and/or legitimate internet resources [Wikipedia is NOT a legitimate source]). Whatever topic you choose to address, your writing must be clear, logical, and grammatically correct.

3. Long Research Paper (20%): 7-10 pages of text + Works Cited page = 8-11 pages total!

This research paper can be on any topic of your choosing. You will need to develop a research question based on any aspect of any of the readings or on a combination of the readings, conduct appropriate research with primary and secondary source materials, and compose a 7-10 page paper based on that research. Topics may include a close reading of one or two or three works, an explication of the text that incorporates what other scholars have said about the work(s) you are studying. You should incorporate at least 7 outside sources (journal articles, books, book chapters, and/or legitimate internet resources [Wikipedia is NOT a legitimate source]). Whatever topic you choose to address, your writing must be clear, logical, and grammatically correct.

Required Essay Format: All essays must be typed, double-spaced and STAPLED. Font size should only be 12 point Times New Roman font. Every response paper should include a works cited page: Not including a works cited page will drop your grade by one letter grade. Assignments WILL NOT be accepted if they do not meet the proper MLA conventions.

Essays will hopefully achieve the following “things.” An “A” paper will achieve them at a higher level than a “C” paper. 1) Meets assignment requirements and does so in an outstanding way. 2) The writing is interesting and engaging because of its informative or creative approach. 3) The essay demonstrates consistent critical and creative thinking. 4) The writer’s purpose is clear. 5) Ideas are unified, coherent, clear, and developed tightly, thoroughly, and thoughtfully. 6) Supporting details are relevant and well-chosen. 7) Artful transitions are used and a progression of thought has been consciously planned for and achieved. 8) The writing may "come alive" as a result of vivid or creative written expression. 9) There is a definite voice behind the writing in this paper. 10) The writer expresses a definite point of view that is strongly supported. 11) Mechanical skills are controlled by the writer and create a fluent, clear expression of thought. 12) MLA format for the heading, the use of quotations, and the works cited page are followed.

After I’ve assessed the paper looking at the above elements, I will deduct points for the following:

a. Spelling: For every misspelled word, I will deduct 1 point. This includes words like their/they’re/there and two/too/to. It also includes all other words.

b. Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences: By far the biggest problem I see in the majority of the papers I grade in any class is sentence construction, and besides spelling, sentence fragments and run-on sentences are the most frequent errors I see. For every sentence fragment and/or run-on sentence in your paper, I will deduct 5 points.

4. Bibliographic Presentation (10%)

For your bibliographic presentation, you will choose one of the texts/authors that we are reading for this course (In fact, you’ll sign up for one of the readings/texts/authors during the first week of class so start looking over the entire reading schedule. For obvious reasons, those brave souls who either choose or “get stuck with” Weeks 2 or 3 will be graded more leniently then those who go last. Finally, only two people may sign up for a given day). You will research the criticism surrounding that text, choose one (1) secondary source, read it (!), and then use what you have learned as a basis for a class presentation. Now, this will not be a typical presentation where you stand up in front of the class and lecture or display for us what you have found. Because this is a seminar-like class, I will expect you to use your newfound knowledge to help lead the class discussion for that day. You will use this information as a springboard for that day’s class. During your presentation, you will give an oral discussion of your source; this should be a 5-10 minute synopsis of the article and its main points. If, while reading the piece, any questions strike you, feel free to present those to the class after your synopsis as part of your discussion (this is what it means to “springboard” the discussion). You should pick a source that you find interesting, that has something interesting to offer you, and that you feel the class may find interesting as well. Remember the following:

a. You should look for journal articles, essays, books, and book chapters that are exclusively devoted to the assigned work, but you can include those critical pieces that are partially devoted to the text(s) as well. For example, if you choose Mary Rowlandson’s works and you find an essay devoted to her works plus the works of other females who wrote captivity narratives, you might present that to the class if it piques your interest.

b. You can address any aspect of the primary author’s/text’s political/historical/social/cultural context if you choose, BUT you must focus such a discussion through the text we are reading that day. While you’re not presenting a history or philosophical discussion, you can discuss such cultural moments as they relate to the text and are illustrated by/through the text. For example, if you choose Frederick Douglass, you will not present a history of slavery in the United States, but you can discuss how the topics of slavery and abolition, controversial in Douglass’s time, are presented by Douglass and how he addresses or ignores some issues. In other words, while your secondary material may not be expressly “literary” – it might be historical non-fiction – you must relate that piece to the text.

c. ON THE DAY OF YOUR PRESENTATION:

i. Before class (yes, you will have to be a couple minutes early that day), write your source on the board using proper MLA guidelines.

ii. After class, turn-in to me a written annotation/summary of your source. Limit this to less than a page. It can be a straight “book report” style summary. Do not forget to turn this in at the end of class.

d. Finally, if two people sign up for the same day, y’all can choose to work together or not. Y’all can work together to find sources, and y’all can “tag team” the presentation. BUT you will be graded individually.

5. Online Discussions (10%)

Online discussions will take place via my wikispace: http://drseanmgeorge-english441.wikispaces.com/. During the first week of class, you are required to visit and send a request to join this wikispace. Beginning with Week 2, you will submit to the entire class via this wikispace one extended discussion question/topic for discussion/observation(s) on the reading assignments for the next week. These should be posted no later than 10:00 p.m. on the Sunday evening before Monday’s class so that all members will have time to look at them. In addition, over the next week, you will need to post at least one response to two different questions/topics (this means two responses total during the week [Sunday – Saturday], for a total of 3 posts/week). Note that submission of these questions constitutes a significant portion of your grades.