Houston Community College
ENGLISH 2328 (CRN 63906), Spring 2011
MW 11:30-1 PM (FAC 315)
Wood’s office: FAC 318: 713-718-6247
6671
Wood’s office hours: MW 1-2 pm; TT 2:30-3:30 pm
Department of English, Central College
American Literature Since the Civil War
Professor: Roger Wood, Ph.D.
Dept. office: FAC 319: 713-718email: roger.wood@hccs.edu
Overview: A chronological survey of selected works of late-19th and 20th century American literature.
Student Learning Outcomes include (but are not limited to) the following: (1) Explain and illustrate
stylistic characteristics of representative works of major Americans writers from 1865 to the present
(since the Civil War); (2) Connect those works to human and individual values in historical and social
contexts; (3) Demonstrate knowledge of those works and writers; (4) Analyze critical texts relating to
those works and writers; (5) Critique and interpret those works and writers.
Textbook: Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vols. C- E, 7th ed. Ed. Nina Baym, 2007.
Grading: Unless the instructor makes changes and announces otherwise, the overall breakdown of
graded assignments and their corresponding values will be calculated as follows:
Midterm examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Final examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
In-class literary analysis papers (two) . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Research paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 20%
Attendance and participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%
Absences/Withdrawals: You will earn an attendance grade based on the following scale: 0 absences =
100 (A+); 1 absence = 90 (A-); 2 absences = 85 (B); 3 absences = 75 (C); 4 absences = 70 (C-); 5
absences = 65 (D); 6 absences = 55 (F); 7 or more absences = 50 or less (F). NOTE: If for any reason
you wish to withdraw from this course, you must formally initiate the withdrawal process yourself
(through the proper channels in the Registrar’s or Counseling Office) and/or communicate that request
directly to your professor--sufficiently in advance of the deadline for the current HCC term. (Any
student who ceases attending without formally withdrawing may receive a grade of F by default.)
Free tutoring: In FAC 321B; check for hours of operation. (Wood is there on MW 8 – 11 AM this term.)
Open Computer Labs: Computers are available for word processing in FAC 302, SJAC 204A, JDB 203204, the library, and elsewhere. Check for hours of operation.
Late Papers: The research paper should be submitted by the start of the class session on the designated
deadline date. All papers must be submitted directly to the instructor. Do not leave papers with
secretaries, in mailboxes, under office doors, etc. If a paper is not to be submitted on time, you must
formally request an extension, approval of which is subject to the instructor’s discretion.
Plagiarism: You are responsible for understanding and avoiding plagiarism in your writing. Should you
have any questions about how to handle source material, consult the MLA guidelines, your instructor, or
a tutor in FAC 321B. Evidence of plagiarism results in a grade of F.
Special Accommodations: Any student with a documented disability (e.g. physical, learning, psychiatric,
vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange reasonable accommodations must contact the Disability
Services Office at the respective college at the beginning of each semester. Faculty are authorized to
provide only the accommodations requested by the Disability Support Services Office. If you have any
questions, please contact the disability counselor at your college or Donna Price at 713-718-5165.
ENGLISH 2328 Course Calendar (CRN 63906) MW 11:30-1 pm, Spring 2011
(Prof. Wood)
Read the pages (in the designated edition of The Norton Anthology) by class time on the corresponding date.
The instructor may find it necessary to announce changes in this assignment calendar, at his discretion.
1/19: Introduction to the course.
1/24: Walt Whitman (17-21, 30-74): introduction and “Song of Myself”
1/26: Emily Dickinson (74-91): intro and selected poems
1/31: Literary analysis paper #1 written in class
2/2: Mark Twain (100-104, 108-117, 156-160, 243-249): intro, Huck Finn Chaps. I-III, XV, XXXI
2/7: Henry James (388-429): intro and “Daisy Miller”
2/9: Kate Chopin (529- 531, 535-580): intro and The Awakening Chaps. I-XIX
2/14: Kate Chopin (580-625): The Awakening Chaps. XX – the end
2/16: Charlotte Perkins Gilman (806-820): intro, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and “Why I Wrote . . .”
2/21: School holiday: no class session
2/23: Booker T. Washington (663-687): intro and Up From Slavery Chaps. I-II, XIV
2/28: Stephen Crane (954-956, 1000-1016): intro and “The Open Boat.”
3/2: Edgar Lee Masters (1206-1209) and Edwin Arlington Robinson (1209-1214): selected poems
3/7: Susan Glaspell (1411-1421): intro and Trifles
3/9: Mid-term examination
Note: The HCC Spring Break occurs March 14-20 (no class sessions).
3/21: Sherwood Anderson (1421-1436): intro, Winesburg, Ohio stories: “Hands,” “Mother,”
“Adventure”
3/23: Robert Frost (1388-1408): intro and selected poems
3/28: Wallace Stevens (1439-1450) and William Carlos Williams (1462-1469): intro and selected poems
3/30: T. S. Eliot (1574-1580): intro, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (& see “The Waste Land”)
4/4: William Faulkner (1858-1860, 1955-1967): intro and “Barn Burning”
4/6: Ernest Hemingway (1980-1999): intro and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”
4/11: Literary analysis paper #2 written in class
4/13: Sterling Brown (2020-2026) and Hughes Langston (2026-2037): intro and selected poems
4/18: Arthur Miller (2325-2357): intro and Death of a Salesman Act One
4/20: Arthur Miller (2357-2392): Death of a Salesman Act Two - end.
4/25: Ralph Ellison (2297-2314): intro and Invisible Man Prologue and Chap. I
4/27: Flannery O’Connor (2521-2543): intro, “The Life You Save May …” and “Good Country People”
5/2: Raymond Carver (2827-2838): intro and “Cathedral.” Research paper final draft due
5/4: Selected poems (specific authors/titles to be announced). Review for final examination.
5/9: Final examination