English 2327 Course Requirements and Readings: Prerequisites English 1301 and 1302
Professor’s Name: Dr. Cynthia McNamara
E-mail: cynthia.mcnamara@hccs.edu
Office Hours: Before and After Class and By Appointment
Texts: The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volumes A and B. Seventh Edition
Attendance Policy: HCCS policy states that a student who is absent more than 12.5% (6 hours)
of class may be administratively dropped from the course. This policy will be enforced. Coming
in late or leaving early will constitute a tardy. An excessive number of tardies (3) and/or missing
½ of the class will be counted toward your allotted absences. Your participation is required.
State of Texas Policy for Withdrawals: The State of Texas has begun to impose penalties on
students who drop courses excessively. For example, if you repeat the same course more than
twice, you have to pay extra tuition. In 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a law limiting new
students (those starting college in Fall 2007) to no more than six total course withdrawals
throughout their academic career in obtaining a baccalaureate degree. There may be future
penalties imposed.
Scholastic Dishonesty: Please note the student handbook for a more detailed definition of this
subject and for the consequences of cheating on a test, plagiarism (unacknowledged incorporation
of another’s ideas in your work), and/or collusion (unauthorized collaboration with another
person). Plagiarized Work may result in an “F” in the course.
Special Conditions: If you have any special conditions, extenuating circumstances, or needs that
may affect your progress in this course, please notify your instructor. Discuss with your instructor
any special accommodations that you have documented through the Disability Support Services
Counselors so that we may better meet your needs.
Counseling: Counseling is available at each campus. Check with the information desk at the
particular campus for room numbers and with your class schedule for telephone numbers.
Open Computer Labs: You have free access to the Internet and word processing in the open
computer lab in the Scarcella Science Center (Stafford Campus), the Alief Campus, the West
Loop Campus and the Missouri City Campus. Check the door of the open computer labs for hours
of operation. All HCCS students are welcome to utilize this resource. A fee is charged for printed
work.
Tutoring Facilities: Tutoring in English is provided by highly qualified English teachers.
Specific hours and tutoring sites are available through your English teacher and posted at each
campus.
Prohibition of Recording Devices: Use of recording devices, including camera phones and tape
recorders, is prohibited in classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and other locations where
instruction, tutoring, or testing occurs. Students with disabilities who need to use a recording
device as a reasonable accommodation should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities for
information regarding reasonable accommodations.
Grade Turnaround: The English department regards a two- week turnaround for the return of
major essays an appropriate time frame.
2
Late Paper Policy: Papers that are late will be penalized 5 points for the first class within the
week. Those late over a weekend will be penalized 10 points. Thereafter, penalty will be 10
points per class. There will be a cutoff date when no late paper will be accepted. That date is at
the discretion of the Professor. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Important Dates:
September 5 Labor Day Holiday
November 3 Last Day for Administrative/Student Withdrawals—4:30 pm
November 23 No Night Classes
November 24-27 Thanksgiving Holidays
December 11 Last Day of Instruction
December 12-18 Final Examinations
The following objectives are to ensure basic intellectual competencies in this course:
Reading: Reading material at the college level means having the ability to analyze and interpret a
variety of printed materials.
Writing: Writing at the college level means having the ability to produce clear,
correct, and coherent prose adapted to purpose, occasion, and audience. In addition to knowing
correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, students should also become familiar with the writing
process, including how to discover a topic, how to develop and organize it, and how to phrase it
effectively for their audience.
Speaking: Effective speaking is the ability to communicate orally in clear, coherent, and
persuasive language appropriate to purpose, occasion, and audience
Listening: Listening at the college level means the ability to analyze and interpret various forms
of spoken communication.
Critical Thinking: Critical thinking embraces methods for applying skills analytically and
creatively to subject matter in order to evaluate arguments and to construct alternative strategies.
Problem solving is one of the applications of critical thinking used to address an identified task.
Computer Literacy: Computer literacy at the college level means having the ability to use
computer-based technology in communicating, solving problems, and acquiring information.
Student Learning Outcomes for English 2327:
1. Explain and illustrate stylistic characteristics of representative works of major American
writers from the colonial period to 1865.
2. Connect representative works of major American writers from the colonial period to 1865 to
human and individual values in historical and social contexts.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of various works of major American writers from the colonial period
to 1865.
4. Analyze critical texts relating to the works of major American writers from the colonial period
to 1865.
5. Critique and interpret representative literary works of major American writers from the
colonial period to 1865.
Grade Percentages: Essays, Professor’s Choice (journals, daily tests, oral reports, group work),
Final Examination: all components counted equally
ALL REQUIREMENTS MUST BE FULFILLED TO PASS THIS COURSE.
3
*All drafts of the essay assignments must be word-processed or typed.
This syllabus is subject to changes.
Readings
Week 1: Aug. 29-Sept. 1
Introduction to the Course
Diagnostic Essay (Counted as your Journal One)
Week 2: Sept. 6-8 (Sept. 5 Labor Day Holiday)
Beginnings to 1700: The Marvels of Spain –and America 1-9
Introduction to Creation Stories 17-18
David Cusick’s Account of the Iroquois Creation Story 18-21
Week 3: Sept. 12-15
The “Discovery” and Conquest
Christopher Columbus 31-35
Bartolome de las Casas 35-39
Week 4: Sept. 19-22
Colonizing
Pilgrims and Puritans 9-14
William Bradford 104-5
Of Plymouth Plantation 105 Selections
John Winthrop 147
A Model of Christian Charity 147 Selections
Week 5: Sept. 26-29
Desperate Crossing Documentary
Week 6: Oct. 3-6
Anne Bradstreet 187 Selections
American Literature 1700-1820 Intro 357-365
The Enlightenment
Week 7: Oct. 10-13
Thomas Paine 629
Paine Fr Common Sense 630 Selections and The Crisis 637 Selections
Thomas Jefferson 649
The Declaration of Independence 652
Week 8: Oct. 17-20
Complete Enlightenment Unit
Volume B 1820-1865: Introduction 929-947
The Changing Landscape
Native Americans: Removal and Resistance 1252
The Hudson River School of Painters
Week 9: Oct. 24-27
James Fenimore Cooper 985-98; from The Last of the Mohicans 1002 Chapter Three 1003-1009
4
Week 10: Oct. 31-Nov. 3
The Dark Romantics and the Transcendentalists
Concord and Virginia
Margaret Fuller 1637
Henry David Thoreau 1853-57
Selections fr Walden , or Life in the Woods “Economy” 1872 and “Resistance to Civil
Government” 1857
Week 11: Nov. 7-10
Nathanial Hawthorne 1272-1275; from The Scarlet Letter 1377-1394
Week 12: Nov. 14-17
Edgar Allan Poe 1528-1532; “The Raven,” “Alone” 1536; “Annabelle Lee” 1542
Week 13: Nov. 21-23 (Thanksgiving Holiday)
Complete Poe
Week 14: Nov. 28-Dec. 1
Herman Melville 2304; “Bartleby the Scrivener” 2363
Week 15: Dec. 5-8
Louisa May Alcott
Week 16: Dec. 12-15
Final Examinations