LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE – SPRING 2012
English 42: American Literature II
Section 32882
Instructor: Dr. Karen Rose
Class time: MW 9:30-11:20
Office: P103
Class room: P104
Phone: 562-938-4099
Office hours: Monday 1:30-3:00
E-mail: krose@lbcc.edu
Tuesday 5:00-6:00
Website:
Wednesday 1:30-3:00
www.lbcc.edu/English/faculty/KarenRose.cfm
Thursday 5:00-5:30
Course Description
English 42 is a four-unit course that provides an introduction to literature published in the
United States from the Civil War to the present. Important American writers, styles,
themes, and imaginative concerns will be our focus. We will consider how social and
political issues influence the authors’ works, and we will discuss literary movements so we
can see how American literature has changed and evolved over time.
Course Goals
Upon completion of English 42, you should be able to:
1. Develop and sustain a consistent interpretation of literary texts of diverse cultures of
American literary history from the Civil War to the present.
2. Write essays based on analysis and explication of American literary texts from the Civil
War to the present.
3. Identify historical and cultural contexts of American literary texts from the Civil War to
the present.
Textbooks

The American Tradition in Literature, 12th Edition, Eds. George Perkins & Barbara Perkins.

A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Requirements

2 out-of-class essays

Midterm

Final

Quizzes

Participation in class discussions
Grading
Your final grade for the course will be determined as follows:
Essay #1
20%
Essay #2
20%
Midterm
15%
Final
15%
Quizzes
15%
Participation
10%
Attendance
5%
Attendance
I will take attendance at the beginning of class every day. I expect you to arrive on time, bring your
English 42 / Fall 2012 / Rose
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textbook to class, and be prepared to participate in class discussions and activities. Your failure to
fulfill these expectations will adversely affect your grade. Please make note of the following:

In accordance with LBCC policy, if you are absent in excess of 20% of total class hours
or for two consecutive weeks, you will be dropped from the class.

If you arrive after attendance is taken, you are tardy. Three tardies count as one
absence.

In-class work missed during an absence cannot be made up.
Missed Quizzes
Make-up quizzes are not allowed. If you are absent on the day of a quiz, or if you arrive to class late
and miss a quiz, you will receive a grade of zero for that quiz.
Late Essays
Fifteen points will be deducted for each day your essay is late (including weekends). When an essay
is due, it must be handed in at the beginning of the class or it will be considered late.
Classroom Conduct
Treat your classmates as you would want them to treat you! When somebody is talking, pay attention
and listen to what he or she has to say, even if you disagree with what is being said. You have the
right to speak up and present your viewpoint, but personal insults are not acceptable. Treating one
another with respect will make our class more fun.
Cell Phones
The first time your phone rings or I find that you are texting/facebooking during class, you will receive
a warning. After that, I will deduct 15 points each time.
Essay Format
All essays must follow MLA format: double-spaced, one-inch margins, with a typeface equivalent to
approximately 300 words per page. To cite sources, be sure to include parenthetical citations and a
works cited page.
Plagiarism
The MLA Handbook defines plagiarism as “the act of using another person’s ideas or expressions in
your writing without acknowledging the source.” This includes buying papers and copying/pasting
content from the Internet. If you are not sure you understand what constitutes plagiarism or you
have any questions about how to acknowledge another’s work, please ask me. Be aware that LBCC
regulations require that all instances of plagiarism be reported to the Dean of Students for disciplinary
action. If I learn that you have plagiarized, you will receive a zero on the assignment, and I will
contact the Dean of Language Arts. Please be careful to cite other people’s words and ideas that you
incorporate – by way of quotation, paraphrase, and summary – into your essays.
Resources
Take advantage of the resources available to help you develop your writing skills and succeed in this
class:

Me -- I am dedicated to helping each of you achieve your academic goals. If you feel that you
need extra assistance, please come to my office hours. I will be happy to help you.

Writing and Reading Success Center -- The WRSC is in the lower level of the E building on the
LAC campus. You can receive FREE walk-in writing assistance from an English instructor or tutor.
If you would like more specialized individual instruction, you can enroll in a half-unit course. For
more information, please ask me, or visit the web site: http://www.lbcc.edu/WRSC/index.cfm

Computer Labs -- The English Department Computer Lab is located in P111 and is available to all
students currently enrolled in an English course. It is free to use the computers for word
processing or to access the Internet.
English 42 / Fall 2012 / Rose
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Course Schedule and Assignments
Note: This schedule is subject to change. If we need to spend more time
on any of the topics listed below, we will make adjustments.
Monday
Wednesday
Week 1
Jan. 9 & 11
Course overview
Interviews and introductions
Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, Chapter 1 (155-158), Chapter 16
(206-211), Chapter 31 (278-284)
Charles Chesnutt, “Passing of Grandison”
(640-651)
Week 2
Jan. 16 & 18
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday
No classes
Mary Wilkins Freeman, “The Revolt of
‘Mother’” (628-639)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow
Wallpaper” (686-697)
Week 3
Jan. 23 & 25
Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”
(539-540)
Theodore Dreiser, “The Second
Choice” (789-801)
Jack London, “To Build a Fire” (810820)
Robert Frost, “Mending Wall” (883-884),
“Home Burial” (888-891), “The Road Not
Taken” (893), “Birches” (894-895), “Fire
and Ice” (899-890)
Langston Hughes, “Song for a Dark Girl”
(1139), “Harlem” (1142)
Week 4
Jan. 30 &
Feb. 1
Gertrude Stein, “Tender Buttons”
(869-871)
Ezra Pound, “In a Station of the
Metro” (931)
William Carlos Williams, “The Red
Wheelbarrow” (1012), “This Is Just to
Say” (1012)
T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock” (950-954)
Sherwood Anderson, “The Book of the
Grotesque” (910-912), “Adventure” (912916)
Katherine Anne Porter, “The Jilting of
Granny Weatherall” (1221-1227)
Week 5
Feb. 6 & 8
William Faulkner, “Barn Burning”
(1187-1198)
Richard Wright, “Black Boy” (12451252)
Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
(1-78)
Week 6
Feb. 13 & 15
Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to
Arms (79-159)
Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
(160-332)
Week 7
Feb. 20 & 22
Flex Day – No classes
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Chapters I-III (1-64)
English 42 / Fall 2012 / Rose
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Monday
Wednesday
Week 8
Feb. 27 & 29
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Chapters IV-VII (65-153)
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Chapters VIII-IX (154-189)
Week 9
March 5 & 7
The Great Gatsby - film
Review for Midterm Exam
Week 10
March 12 &
14
Midterm Exam
Flex Day – No classes
Week 11
March 19 &
21
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman,
Act I (1316-1345)
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman, Act II
& Requiem (1345-1378)
Week 12
March 26 &
28
Death of a Salesman - film
Tennessee Williams, The Glass
Menagerie, Scenes I-III (1270-1281)
Week 13
April 2 & 4
Tennessee Williams, The Glass
Menagerie, Scenes IV-VII (1281-1313)
The Glass Menagerie - FILM
Essay #1 Due
April 9-13
 Spring Break 
Week 14
April 16 & 18
Jack Kerouac, From On the Road
(1406-1409)
Allen Ginsberg, “A Supermarket in
California,” (1499-1500) “Howl,” (15001507) “America” (1507-1509)
John Berryman, “76” (1455), “145”
(1455-1456) “384” (1457-1458)
Sylvia Plath, “Daddy” (1519-1521)
Anne Sexton, “Her Kind” (1820)
Adrienne Rich, “Diving Into the Wreck”
(1826-1828)
Week 15
April 23 & 25
John Cheever, “The Swimmer” (15661573)
Flannery O’Connor, “Good Country
People” (1632-1645)
Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going,
Where Have You Been” (1872-1883)
Raymond Carver, “A Small Good Thing”
(1926-1941)
English 42 / Fall 2012 / Rose
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Monday
Wednesday
Week 16
April 30 &
May 2
Alice Walker, “Everyday Use” (19851991)
Lorna Dee Cervantes, “Poem for the
Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an
Intelligent, Well-Read Person, Could Believe
in the War between Races“ (1859-1860)
Sandra Cisneros, “Woman Hollering
Creek” (2034-2042)
Louise Erdrich, “Red Convertible” (20272034)
Week 17
May 7 & 9
Tim O’Brien, from Going after Cacciato
(1992-1998)
Sherman Alexie, “What You Pawn I
Will Redeem” (2054-2069)
Essay #2 Due
Finals Week
Review for Final Exam
Final Exam
Monday, May 21
8:00 A.M. – 10:35 A.M.