Part I: Course Information
When the student is ready, the teacher appears. (ancient proverb)
Art lives upon discussion, upon experiment, upon curiosity, upon variety of attempt, upon exchange of views and the comparison of standpoints. . . .
(Henry James, “The Art of Fiction”)
Instructor
Name: Mr. Jeff Lindemann
Office location: Room 221, West Loop Campus
Office hours: 12:00 – 2:00 Monday-Thursday
Office phone: 713-718-8853
E-mail: Jeff.Lindemann@hccs.edu
Learning Web: http://sw-plone.hccs.cc/members/jeff.lindemann
English 2328 Course Description
English 2328 is a critical study of major American writers from 1865 to the present. This course requires substantial reading and research. Students who enroll in this course are strongly advised to have passed English 1302 with a grade of “C” or better. Prerequisite is English 1302. Three credit hours (Three lecture).
Textbooks
The Norton Anthology of American Literature , eighth edition, volumes C, D, and E. (OR Use the Learning Web and buy copies of the two plays: Long Day’s Journey into Night and A Streetcar Named Desire.
You can find used copies or order through
Amazon.com.)
Other Materials
Three ring binder for syllabus and handouts that you wish to print
Grade Percentages
Five exams:
Essay #1: (20%) Realism and naturalism (1,000 word out-of-class essay)
Essay #2: (20%) Early modern literature (1,000 word out-of-class essay)
Essay #3: (20%) Modern fiction and poetry (1,000 word out-of-class essay
Exam #1: (10%)
Long Day’s Journey into Night
(in-class mid-term exam)
Exam #2: (10%) A Streetcar Named Desire (in-class final exam)
Daily grades: (20%) Average of daily numerous quiz grades
1

Grading Scale
A = Excellent (90-100): A+ = 100, A = 95, A- = 93
B = Good (80-89): B+ = 88, B = 85, B- = 83
C = Adequate (70-79): C+ = 78, C = 75, C- = 73
D = Needs work (60-69): D+ = 68, D = 65, D- = 63
F = Unacceptable (0-59): F+ = 58, F = anywhere between 0 – 57
Other Abbreviations
L = Late (minus 10 points or a letter grade)
R = Revise (for no higher than 75)
P = Plagiarized (0 for the assignment/no opportunity for revision)
? = Question about assignment (See me!)
Grading Components
1.
Content
2.
Organization
3.
Sentences
4.
Diction
5.
Punctuation, capitalization, and manuscript mechanics
Note on Major Sentence/Grammar Errors
Major grammar errors include fragment, comma splice, run-on, awkward/garbled sentence, and subject-verb agreement errors. These errors will cause you to lose valuable points on your essay. By the time you are a sophomore, you should not be making these errors. We have on-site tutors and AskOnLine, our 24/7 on-line tutoring service to help you with your out-of-class-essays before you submit them.
Attendance Policy
Regular attendance is required at Houston Community College. HCCS class policy states that a student who is absent more than 12.5% (6 hours) of class may be administratively dropped. Students who intend to withdraw from a course must do so themselves by the official last day to drop. After the official drop date I am unable to assign you a grade of
“W”; I have no other option but to assign you a grade of “F.”
Withdrawal Policy
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. Beginning in the Fall of 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a law limiting first time entering students to no more than six total course withdrawals throughout their academic career in obtaining a certificate or baccalaureate degree. There may be future penalties imposed.
If you do not withdraw before the deadline, you will receive the grade that you are making as the final grade. This grade will probably be an “F.”
2

You should visit with your instructor, an HCC counselor, or HCC Online Student
Services to learn what, if any, HCC interventions might be offered to assist you to stay in class and improve your performance. Such interventions could include tutoring, child care, financial aid, and job placement.
International Students
Receiving a “W” in a course may affect the status of your student visa. Once a “W” is given for the course, it will not be changed to an “F” because of the visa consideration.
Please contact the International Student Office at 713-718-8520 if you have any questions about your visa status and any other transfer issues.
Student Course Reinstatement Policy
Students have a responsibility to arrange payment for their classes when they register, either through cash, credit card, financial aid, or the installment plan. Students who are dropped from their courses for non-payment of tuition and fees who request reinstatement after the official date of record can be reinstated by making payment in full and paying an additional $75.00 per course reinstatement fee. The academic dean may waive the reinstatement fee upon determining that the student was dropped because of a college error.
Please note: If you are dropped for non-payment, you run the risk of not being able to renter the course you selected because it filled to seat capacity before you were ready to pay.
HCC Student Email Accounts
All students who have registered and paid for courses at HCC automatically have an
HCC email account generated for them. Please go to http://www.hccs.edu/students/email/ to review how to send email using this account. You must use your HCC email account when you want to contact the on-line tutors.
Daily Grades
Daily grades are worth twenty percent of your grade. They are usually ten multiplechoice questions on the homework readings. I give no make-ups on daily quizzes. On some days during the summer, I must give two daily quizzes. I do not give early daily quizzes before class or late quizzes after class. You may drop two quiz grades at the end of the semester. Extra credits are worth one or two points each. I add these points onto your daily quiz average at the end of the semester. So if your daily quiz average is 88, and you submit three extra credits, then your average becomes 91.
Special Conditions
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 Southwest College at the beginning of each semester.
Faculty members are authorized to provide only the accommodations requested by the
Disability Support Services Office. You may contact Dr. Becky Hauri, counselor for the
Southwest College Office of Disabilities at becky.hauri@hccs.edu
.
3

Free English Tutoring
The Southwest College offers you free tutoring at our tutoring centers where you will receive individual attention with any of your writing concerns. Check with me for location, dates, and times of tutoring. Signs will be posted once the hours have been established for the semester. Electronic tutoring is also available 24/7 at www.hccs.askonline.net
.
Open Computer Lab
You have free access to the Internet and word processing in the open computer lab.
Check on the door of the open computer lab for hours of operation.
Library
The West Loop Library homepage (for hours) is http://swc2.hccs.edu/swc/0506/library/westloop_lib.php
.
The HCC Library homepage (for research) is http://www.hccs.edu/system/library/library.html
.
Student Organizations
Two organizations of interest to students taking English classes are Southwest Writers , a group of students who write and read their works (in a public forum as well as on the
Internet) and receive peer support and constructive criticism. Students in this group create a supportive network to create poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction prose. Contact faculty advisors Helen Jackson at helen.jackson@hccs.edu
or Dr. Christopher Dunne at christopher.dunne@hccs.edu
.
Phi Theta Kappa is the honor society of two-year colleges. Students must earn a 3.5 grade point average and accumulate 12 credit hours at HCCS. HCCS has a very active chapter called the Omega Sigma Chapter. For contact information visit www.omegasigma.org
or contact the Southwest College faculty advisor Ms. Eunice
Kallarackal at eunice.kallarackal@hccs.edu
.
The Gender Studies Club meets each month and online to discuss the roles of women and men in society and to investigate how sexual differences and cultural constructions of gender may affect identity. The organization promotes awareness of gender issues on campus, encourages research and discussion of gender issues, hosts prominent speakers in the field, and serves the community. Faculty advisors are Ms. Marie Dybala at
Marie.Dybala@hccs.edu
and Ms. Amy Tan at Amy.Tan@hccs.edu
.
Inclement Weather
During inclement weather conditions, monitor major local channels for updates on school closings.
Due Dates and Make-Up Exams
All essays have due dates. Out-of-class essays turned in late are docked a letter grade (ten points).
4

Grade of “I”
An “I” is assigned for a missed final due to an emergency, not for unfinished coursework such as a research paper. All work must be submitted by the end of the semester, even if it is not finished. A student has 60 days to complete the missed final. After 60 days a grade of “I” incomplete becomes an “F.” I am unable to give a final after 60 days.
My Course Policies (Reasonable Behavioral Guidelines)
1. Please come to class on time. Time missed before class is subtracted from the 12.5% attendance policy. Leaving class early or arriving late also results in time subtracted from the 12.5% attendance policy.
2. Sorry! No sleeping or heads on desks permitted. If you fall asleep, I’ll wake you up by tapping on your desk.
3. Please do not ever ask, “Are we doing anything important in class today?” The answer always is “Yes! We are!”
4. If you must leave early, please tell me before class starts.
5. No food allowed in class. Beverages are fine. Please throw away trash at end of the class session.
6. I dismiss class ten-fifteen minutes early so you can take a break before another class; therefore, do not pack books before I dismiss class.
7. Please do not chat with class colleagues during discussion. Let us listen to what our class members have to contribute.
8. Do not bring small children to class.
9. An 89.4 average at the end of the semester is a B. A 79.4 average at the end of the semester is a C.
10. The time to discuss an essay grade is after it is returned, not at the end of the semester.
11. I will accept no late or rewritten essays after our last class session (check calendar).
12. The out-of-class essays must be typed. The in-class essays will be written either in blue books purchased in the bookstore or on the computer in the computer lab or library classroom.
13. If for some reason, I am more than fifteen minutes late, class is dismissed. Follow your course calendar and complete any assignments for the next session.
14. When you email me, please use correct English. Proofread your message. Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
15. Save an electronic copy of all out-of-class essays.
16. The HCC Southwest English Department believes that a turn-around time in grading a set of essays should be no more than two weeks.
17. I do not write “last minute” letters of recommendation. I need a two week notice to write you a thoughtful letter and print it on HCC stationary.
18. Good learning attitude, cooperative demeanor, and courteous behavior all go a long way with me!
5

Personal Electronics Policies (A Note to the “Thumb Generation/Generation Text”)
1.
Turn off and put away all cell phones, beepers, text-messaging devices and other electronic devices when class starts. The sounds of cell phones ringing during class are disruptive to me and other students. You can answer your calls and make calls before or after class.
2 Students should not leave the class to make a call or answer one (or worse—answer a call in class).
3. No text messaging during class.
4. No Bluetooth devices or ear buds in ears during class.
5. If you have an impending emergency and need to keep an electronics device
turned on, I would like to know as soon as class starts.
Tough Talk on Consequences for Violating Basic and Reasonable Standards of Conduct
I view the use of personal electronic devices during class to be a distraction of the normal educational process and a failure on your part to abide by basic and reasonable standards of classroom conduct. If you are text messaging to someone during class, you are obviously not engaged in the classroom experience.
If I have to ask you to put away a cell phone, text messaging device, or other electronic communications device, then you will have disrupted/disturbed the class, and I, as the instructor, will ask you to leave that day’s class session. (If you have been asked to leave class and subsequently miss a daily quiz, you may not make up that daily quiz.)
If you refuse to leave the classroom voluntarily, I will call campus security. (The consequences for violating my class policies are backed by the Student Conduct section of the 2006-2009 Student Handbook , pages 34-40.)
Use of Cameras and 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. These devices are also not allowed to be used in campus restrooms.
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.
Scholastic Dishonesty
According to the 2006-2009 Student Handbook for the Houston Community College
System:
“Students are responsible for conducting themselves with honor and integrity in fulfilling course requirements. Penalties and/or disciplinary proceedings may be initiated by
College System officials against a student accused of scholastic dishonesty. ‘Scholastic dishonesty’ includes, but is not limited to, cheating on a test, plagiarism, and collusion.”
6

Cheating on a test includes:
Copying from another student’s test paper;
Using materials during a test that are not authorized by the person giving the test;
Collaborating with another student during a test without authority;
Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, or soliciting in whole or part the contents of an un-administered test; and/or
Bribing another person to obtain a test that is to be administered.
Plagiarism means the appropriation of another’s work and the unacknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work offered for credit.
Collusion means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work offered for credit” (34-35).
Please note the possible consequences of such dishonesty, as stated in the 2006-2009
Student Handbook: Possible punishments for academic dishonesty may include a grade of “0” or “F” for the particular assignment, failure in the course, and/or recommendation for probation or dismissal from the College System (35).
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will, by the end of the semester:
1.
Explain and illustrate stylistic characteristics of representative works of major American writers from 1865 to the present (since the Civil War).
2.
Connect representative works of major American writers from 1865 to the present to human and individual values in historical and social contexts.
3.
Demonstrate knowledge of various works of major American writers from 1865 to the present.
4.
Analyze critical texts relating to the works of major American writers from 1865 to the present.
5.
Critique and interpret representative literary works of major American writers from 1865 to the present.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1.
Enjoy the experience of the course!
2.
Explain the characteristics and distinguishing features of literary genres: a.
non-fiction prose, b.
fiction (short story and novel), c.
poetry, and d.
drama.
3.
Use critical contexts within which literature is created and evaluated: a.
formal (elements of literature), b.
biographical, c.
historical,
7

d.
feminist/gender studies e.
psychological, and f.
reader response.
4.
Make and defend critical judgments about literature.
5.
Stretch the imagination.
6.
Practice and refine research skills.
7.
Write researched papers
8.
Practice and improve study skills.
9.
Learn on your own. (“Learn how to learn.”)
10.
Work cooperatively with others.
11.
Organize time efficiently.
EDUCATIONAL COMPETENCIES IN HCCS CORE CURRICULUM
Reading : Reading material at the college level means having the ability to analyze and interpret a variety of printed materials--books, articles, and documents.
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. These abilities are acquired through practice and reflection.
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 both qualitative and quantitative skills analytically and creatively to subject matter in order to construct alternative strategies. Problem solving is one of the applications of critical thinking used to address an identified task.
Critical thinking as applied to the study of literature involves
1.
connecting patterns and motifs in works of literature,
2.
looking for relevant information that supports your assertions,
3. interpreting literature,
4. solving literary problems,
5. drawing conclusions, and
6. tolerating ambiguity and complexity in literature.
Computer Literacy: Computer literacy at the college level means having the ability to use computer-based technology in communicating, solving problems, and acquiring information.
Core-educated students should have an understanding of the limits, problems, and possibilities associated with the use of technology and should have the tools necessary to evaluate and learn new technologies as they become available.
8

EXEMPLARY EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR HUMANITIES

Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.

Understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within an historical context.

Respond critically to works in the arts and humanities.

Engage in the creative process or interpretive performance and comprehend the physical and intellectual demands required of the author or visual or performing artist.

Articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.

Develop an appreciation for aesthetic principles that guide and govern the humanities and arts.

Demonstrate knowledge of the influence of literature, philosophy, and/or the arts on intercultural experiences.
EXEMPLARY EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR CROSS/MULTI-CULTURAL
STUDIES

Establish broad and multiple perspectives in the individual in relationship to the larger society and world in which we live and understand the responsibilities of living in a culturally and ethnically diversified world.

Demonstrate knowledge of those elements and processes that create and define culture

Understand and analyze the origin and function of values, beliefs, and practices found in human societies.

Develop basic cross/multi-cultural understanding, empathy, and communication.

Identify and understand underlying commonalities of diverse cultural practices.

Analyze the effects of cultural forces on the area of study.
9

MY GRADE ROSTER
You can keep a running record of your grades in this course. At any given moment during the semester, you should have a very good idea what your grade is in this course.
Your Exam Grades:
_____ Essay #1 (20%) Realism and naturalism (1,000 word out-of-class essay)
_____ Essay #2 (20%) Early modern literature (1,000 word out-of-class essay)
_____ Essay #4 (20%) Modern fiction and Poetry (1,000 word researched, out-of-class essay)
_____ Exam #1 (10%)
Long Day’s Journey into Night
(in class mid-term)
_____ Exam #2 (10%) A Streetcar Named Desire (final exam)
_____ Daily Grade Average (20%)
Daily Quiz Grades:
_____ Quiz #1
_____ Quiz #2
_____ Quiz #11
_____ Quiz #12
_____ Quiz 21
_____ Quiz 22
_____ Quiz #3
_____ Quiz #4
_____ Quiz #5
_____ Quiz #6
_____ Quiz #7
_____ Quiz #13
_____ Quiz #14
_____ Quiz #15
_____ Quiz #16
_____ Quiz 23
_____ Quiz 24
_____ Quiz 25
_____ Quiz #17
_____ Quiz #8 _____ Quiz #18
_____ Quiz #9
_____ Quiz #10
_____ Quiz #19
_____ Quiz #20
Reminder: No make-ups on daily quizzes. I will drop the two lowest daily grades at the end of the semester.
10

SESSION #1 (Monday, July 9)

Introduction to English 2328

Course objectives, grades, class policies

Overview of English 2328
Assignment for Session #2: Read brief biography (in text or on Learning Web) on Mark Twain,
“How to Tell a Story,” and “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”
SESSION #2 (Tuesday, July 10)

American literary realism

Frontier humor

Mark Twain: “How to Tell a Story” (on my website) and “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
Assignment for Session #3: Read brief biography of Henry James and Daisy Miller: A Study .
SESSION #3 (Wednesday, July 11)

Psychological realism

Henry James

Daisy Miller: A Study
Assignment for Session #4:
Read brief biography of Mary Wilkins Freeman and “The Revolt of
Mother.” Read brief biography of Sarah Orne Jewett and “A White Heron.”
SESSION #4 (Thursday, July 12)

Regionalism

Mary Wilkins Freeman: “The Revolt of Mother”
 Sarah Orne Jewett: “A White Heron”
Assignment for Session #5: Read brief biography of Kate Chopin and “The Storm.” Read brief biography of Stephen Crane and “The Open Boat.”
SESSION #5 (Friday, July 13)

Natrualism

Kate Chopin: “The Storm”
 Stephen Crane: “The Open Boat”
 Charlotte Perkins Gilman: “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Topics for Essay Exam #1

Review: Writing an essay about literature
Assignment for Session #6: Finish Essay #1 and have it ready to submit at the beginning of
Session #6.
11

SESSION #6 (Monday, July 16)

Essay #1 due

Introduction to poetry

Poems by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Poems by Edgar Lee Masters
Assignment for Session #7: Read brief biography of Robert Frost and Frost’s poems on
Learning Web.
SESSION #7 (Tuesday, July 17)

Poems by Robert Frost
Assignment for Session #8: Read brief biography of Langston Hughes and Hughes’ poems on
Learning Web.
SESSION #8 (Wednesday, July 18)

Poems by Langston Hughes

Assignment for Session #9: Read brief biography of Willa Cather and read “Neighbor
Rosicky.” Read brief biography of Arna Bontemps and “A Summer Tragedy” (handout).
SESSION #9 (Thursday, July 19)
 Willa Cather: “Neighbor Rossicky”
 Arna Bontemps: “A Summer Tragedy” (handout)
Assignment for Session #10: Read brief biography of Zora Neal Hurston and “The Gilded Six
Bits.” Read brief biography of Charles W. Chestnutt and “The Wife of His Youth.”
SESSION #10 (Friday, July 20)
 Zora Neal Hurston: “The Gilded Six Bits”
 Charles W. Chestnutt: “The Wife of His Youth”

Topics for Essay Exam #2
Assignment for Session #11: Write essay #2.
SESSION #11 (Monday, 23)

Essay #2 due

Imagist poetry: Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell

Modern poetry between World Wars: Carl Sandburg, e. e. cummings, Marianne Moore,
Archibald McLeish, Wallace Stevens
Assignment for Session #12: Read modern poetry. Theodore Rothke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,”
Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish,” Randall Jarrell’s “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner,” Robert
Lowell’s “Skunk Hour,” Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” Anne Sexton’s “The Starry Night” and
“Sylvia’s Death,” and Adrianne Rich’s “Diving into the Wreck,” (and maybe more poets TBA).
12

SESSION #12 (Tuesday, 24)

Modern poetry after World War II: Theodore Rothke, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell,
Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Adrianne Rich, and maybe others TBA
Assignment for Session #13: Read Acts 1 and II of Long Day’s Journey into Night .
SESSION #13 (Wednesday, July 25)

Introduction to drama

Pre-World War II American drama

Eugene O’Neill:
Long Day’s Journey into Night
(Acts I and II)
Assignment for Session #14: Read Acts III and IV of Long Day’s Journey into Night .
SESSION #14 (Thursday, July 26)
 Long Day’s Journey into Night
(Acts III and IV)
Assignment for Session #15: Study for exam on
Long Day’s Journey into Night
.
SESSION #15 (Friday, July 27)

In-Class Mid-Term on
Long Day’s Journey into Night
and modern poetry
Assignment for Session #16:
Read brief biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Winter Dreams” and “Babylon Revisited.”
SESSION #16 (Monday, July 30)

Using literary data bases for research

F. Scott Fitzgerald (film/biography)
 “Winter Dreams”
 “Babylon Revisited”
Assignment for Session #17:
Read brief biography of Ernest Hemingway and “A Clean Well-
Lighted Place” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.”
SESSION #17 (Tuesday, July 31)

Ernest Hemingway (film/biography)
 “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”
 “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”
Assignment for Session #18: Read brief biography of William Faulkner and “A Rose for
Emily.” Read brief biography of Flannery O’Connor and “Good Country People.”
SESSION #18 (Wednesday, August 1)

Incorporating secondary/critical sources into your essay
 Williams Faulkner: “A Rose for Emily”
 Flannery O’Connor: “Good Country People”
Assignment for Session #19:
Read brief biography of Alice Walker and “Everyday Use.” Read brief biography of Sandra Cisneros and “Woman Hollering Creek.”
13

SESSION #19 (Thursday, August 2)

Writing works cited entries for secondary/critical sources
 Alice Walker: “Everyday Use”

Tales of La Llorona
 Sandra Cisneros: “Woman Hollering Creek”
Assignment for Session #20: Read brief biography of Raymond Carver and “Cathedral.” Read brief biography of Amy Hempl and “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried.”
SESSION #20 (Friday, August 3)
 Raymond Carver: “Cathedral”
 Amy Hempl: “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried”
Assignment for Session #21: Read brief biography of Tennessee Williams and Scenes 1-5 of A
Streetcar Named Desire .
SESSION #21 (Monday, August 6)

Essay #3 on modern fiction due

Post World War II Modern drama

Tennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire (Scenes 1-5)
Assignment for Session #22: Read Scenes 6-11 of A Streetcar Named Desire .
SESSION #22 (Tuesday, August 7)

A Streetcar Named Desire (Scenes 6-11)
Assignment for Final Exam Session: Study Scenes 1-11 of A Streetcar Named Desire .
NOTE: No class on Wednesday, August 8
FINAL EXAM SESSION: (Thursday, August 9)

Final Exam #2: A Streetcar Named Desire
REMINDER: Here is how you earn your grade:
THREE ESSAYS
Essay #1: 20%
Essay #2: 20%
Essay #3: 20%
TWO EXAMS
Exam #1: 10% (mid-term exam)
Exam #2: 10% (final exam)
DAILY QUIZZES
Daily Quiz Average: 20%
100% TOTAL
14