Professor Clare Colquitt
Fall 2014: Engl 524 Literature of the United States, 1920-1960 (sec. 1 #21208)
Class time and location: TTh 11-12:15 in Hardy Tower 183
Office location, AL 415, and hours: T 5:00-6:00 p.m. and W 5:30-6:30 p.m. and at
other times by appointment. If you are unable to meet me during my office hours, I
will, given ample notice, be happy to schedule an appointment with you in my office at
another time that fits both your schedule and mine.
Office phone and email: (619) 594-6219; colquitt@mail.sdsu.edu
I check my email and voice mail regularly during the work week and do my best to
respond to messages promptly. Please leave messages that are clear, brief, and courteous.
Should you be unable to reach me through my campus email address or office phone, you
may leave a message for me via the main department office (AL 226) during work hours,
M-F 8-4:30: (619) 594-5307. (This last number is the same number to use when you wish
to schedule an appointment with Professor Serrato, the department’s undergraduate
advisor.)
Course description from the 2014-2015 General Catalog: “Representative works by
United States writers from 1920 to 1960; likely to include works by Willa Cather,
T. S. Eliot, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Zora Neale
Hurston, Eugene O’Neill, Katherine Anne Porter, Ezra Pound, John Steinbeck, and
others.”
Note: please verify that you meet the prerequisites specified in the General Catalog for
this and other 500-level English and comparative literature courses: “six lower division
units in courses in literature and/or creative writing” are required (234).
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Drama, situation, is made out of the conflicts thus produced between social
order and individual appetites, and the art of rendering life in fiction can never,
in the last analysis, be anything or need to be anything, but the disengaging of
crucial moments from the welter of existence. These moments need not involve
action in the sense of external events; they seldom have, since the scene of
conflict was shifted from incident to character. But there must be something that
makes them crucial, some recognizable relation to a familiar social or moral
standard, some explicit awareness of the eternal struggle between man’s
contending impulses, if the tales embodying them are to fix the attention and
hold the memory.
Edith Wharton, The Writing of Fiction (1925)
My own course description: Crucial Moments in Modern American Literature
This course in American literature from 1920 to 1960 will showcase novels, short fiction,
and poems that represent crucial moments in both American and American literary
history. We will read dialogically, moving back and forth between fiction and poetry. Our
readings will start with novels by Cather and Wharton, and then turn to what Steven
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Gould Axelrod and others categorize as “first-generation modernist” poets, among them,
Frost, Moore, Williams, Jeffers, cummings, and Harlem Renaissance writers such as
McKay. After our study of Eudora Welty’s splendid collection, A Curtain of Green and
Other Stories (1941), and of poetry by second-generation modernists, primary among
them Langston Hughes, we will conclude the semester by turning to two extraordinary
novels: Ann Petry’s disturbing portrait of inner-city life, The Street (1946), and William
Faulkner’s genre-bending tour de force, Go Down, Moses (1942).
Texts (editions ordered for Aztec Shops):
Axelrod, Stephen Gould, Camille Roman, and Thomas Travisano, eds. The New
Anthology of American Poetry. Vol 2: Modernisms, 1900-1950 (2005)
Willa Cather, My Antonia (Joseph Urgo, ed., Broadview 2003)
William Faulkner, Go Down, Moses (Vintage-Random, 1942)
Ann Petry, The Street (Mariner-Houghton,1946)
Eudora Welty, A Curtain of Green and Other Stories (Harcourt, 1941)
Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence (Candace Waid, ed., Norton 2003)
If you do not already own the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers, add this to your library soon. I will expect you to have a copy of this book and
will assign chapters from it when we are working on your essays. For both papers, you
will need to consult the handbook frequently. It has major chapters devoted to the howto’s of literary analysis and research as well as a thoughtful and well-illustrated section
on plagiarism.
Another excellent reference book is William Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature
(Longman, 2012), now in its 12th edition. Recommended in the most recent edition of the
MLAH are a number of dictionaries, including “Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary of the English Language and, especially for the history of a word’s meanings
and usages, The Oxford English Dictionary” (13). As students enrolled at SDSU, you are
fortunate that the library subscribes to a user-friendly online version of the OED,
accessible through the library’s home page. Looking a word up in the OED can open up
possibilities of meaning in a work of literature, and I encourage you to make use of this
incomparable resource and of other fine reference sources throughout the semester.
Course requirements
In-class work (midterm, final exam, and class participation) = 50% of your grade
20% = Midterm (short answer and/or essay): Thurs., Oct. 9
20% = Final examination (short answer and/or essay): Tues., Dec. 16, 10:30-12:30
Important note regarding the final exam: The General Catalog stipulates, “No final
examination shall be given to individual students before the regular time. If you find it
impossible to take a final examination on the date scheduled you must make
arrangements with the instructor to have an incomplete grade reported and must take the
deferred final examination within the time allowed for making up incomplete grades”
(470). Please record the dates of our midterm and final exam in your calendar.
10% = Class participation. This portion of your grade will be based on the following:
the quality and consistency of your participation in both class discussion and in any in-
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class group work, and on your performance on unannounced quizzes and reading
responses. Note: Quizzes and responses may take place at any point during class:
beginning, middle, or end. Arriving on time only to take a quiz or complete a response is
unacceptable and will result in a grade of zero for that day. Crucial to your participation
grade--and to your success in this course--is regular attendance in class (See
attendance policy below). In a very real way, you cannot participate if you are not in
class.
Out-of-class work = 50% of your grade
20% = First research essay: due on Thurs., Oct. 16. Length: 3-4 typed pages,
excluding works-cited list.
30% = Second research paper: due on Tues., Dec. 2. Length: 8-10 typed pages,
excluding works-cited list.
For graduate students wishing to earn credit toward the MA or MFA, the above
requirements also apply with one exception: your second research paper will be 15-20
pages in length, excluding endnotes, if any, and the works-cited list.
For students with disabilities: For those of you who need accommodations to
successfully complete my class, please read carefully the following statement which,
beginning this semester, SDSU faculty are to include in all syllabi. If this statement
applies to you, let me know early in the semester, preferably in the first week of class,
how I am to accommodate your needs:
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this
class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473.
To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student
Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not
retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until you
have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability
Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Attendance: I expect you to be present, on time, and prepared for each class meeting. If
circumstances require you to miss a class, remember that you are still responsible for
material covered and for any study questions announced or distributed in class. Contact
me, a classmate, or consult emails sent to our class via Blackboard to find out what you
have missed.
A caution: Repeatedly coming late to class or frequent absences will not only lower your
participation grade but damage your standing in the course. If early in the semester you
find that you are unable to meet the requirements of this class, the most basic of which is
to attend, you should drop. This semester’s add/drop (schedule adjustment) deadline
is Sep. 8. As the General Catalog notes, this is also the last day you can “change
[your] grading basis” (3).
Classroom guidelines:
1) Arrive on time and sign roll.
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2) Come prepared with book (or Nook or Kindle), paper and pen, and questions about our
reading. If you use a laptop or tablet for taking notes, I ask that you sit at or near the front
of the classroom. No surfing or work done for other courses allowed during our class.
3) Turn off and put away unnecessary electronic devices, especially smart phones. Above
all, no texting during class!
4) Be alert and engaged from the first minute of the class to the last.
5) Last but not least, have fun!
All of the guidelines above may be summarized as follows: treat your peers and me with
respect. If you are unaware of the consequences of what the General Catalog terms
“inappropriate conduct by students,” consult the section titled “Student Conduct” in the
current catalog (477-78). First on the list of “grounds upon which student discipline can
be based” is “cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty that are
intended to gain unfair academic advantage” (477).
Scholastic honesty: Your work should be your own. The General Catalog includes a
detailed section titled “Cheating and Plagiarism” (479) you are responsible for reading.
There the university defines cheating “as the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain
credit for academic work by the use of dishonest, deceptive, or fraudulent means.”
Among the examples of cheating cited in this catalog section are the following: “using
notes, cheat sheets, or other devices considered inappropriate under the prescribed testing
condition.”
A major form of cheating is plagiarism, defined “as the act of incorporating ideas,
words, or specific substances of another, whether purchased, borrowed, or otherwise
obtained, and submitting same to the university as one’s own work to fulfill academic
requirements without giving credit to the appropriate source.”
The university takes acts of plagiarism seriously, as do I. Whenever you are in
doubt regarding how to cite a source, consult me and also the MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers (especially chapter 2 on “Plagiarism and Academic Integrity”). That
reference source sets forth the best practices of literary scholarship.
Also, please understand that SDSU faculty are required to report students who
cheat or commit plagiarism to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities for
appropriate disciplinary action. Acts of cheating or plagiarism will have severe
consequences in my class—from failure on an individual assignment to an “F” in the
course. Students who commit plagiarism or cheat in multiple courses endanger their
standing in this university. Again, refer to the section on “Cheating and Plagiarism” from
the General Catalog, which stipulates that students found guilty of academic honesty
may be expelled, suspended, or placed on academic probation (479).
Grading: In evaluating the quality of your out-of-class essays and your in-class writing,
quizzes, and exams, I follow the “Definition of Grades for Undergraduate Students”
detailed in the General Catalog: “Grade of A, (outstanding achievement; available only
for the highest accomplishment), 4 points; B (praiseworthy performance; definitely above
average), 3 points; C (average: awarded for satisfactory performance; the most common
undergraduate grade) 2 points; D (minimally passing; less than the typical undergraduate
achievement), 1 point; F (failing), 0 points.” Other grades such as Cr (credit) and NC (no
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credit) are defined in this same section, as are the decimal values for plus and minus
grades. This section further explains, “Faculty members use all grades from A through F
to distinguish among levels of academic accomplishment. The grade for average
undergraduate achievement is C” (468 emphasis mine). For those of you who are
graduate students, the section in the General Catalog defining graduate-student grades
applies (see 468). Make certain that you understand what it means to receive a “WU” for
an unauthorized withdrawal, a grade that is “equivalent to an ‘F’” (469).
Late papers: unacceptable.
Conferences: Feel free to see me whenever you have a question about an assignment or
wish to discuss our reading. Time permitting, I am also always willing to hold
appointments to discuss your ideas for your out-of-class papers and to criticize rough
drafts of your essays. Notes: Questions regarding your standing in my course are best
addressed earlier rather than later in the semester
Course calendar
Week 1
26 Aug: Introduction to the course. In-class writing: in a couple of paragraphs introduce
yourself to me as a student interested in this course. What is your hometown, your major
or minor, your intended graduation date, your post-graduate academic or career plan?
Who are some of your favorite American writers? Your favorite authors outside the US?
What was the last work(s) of literature you read that you especially enjoyed and would
recommend to our class? The last movie or play or exhibition you saw that you would
recommend to our class? Regarding your recommended reading, film, exhibition, etc.,
what were the qualities of this work that especially appealed to you? At the end of the
semester, what do you hope to carry away with you from this course? If you are a
graduate student, please indicate what your specialization is and whether you have an
idea for a portfolio or thesis project.
Introductory discussion on Willa Cather and on the narrative frame of My Antonia.
Comparative study of the original 1918 Introduction and Cather’s 1926 Revised
Introduction.
28 Aug: My Antonia: Book 1, through chapter 13. In addition, read Joseph Urgo’s
introduction (9-32) and H. L. Mencken’s review of the novel (297-98). First essay
assigned. Note: consult the handout on topics to consider while reading Cather’s novel.
Week 2
1 Sep: Labor Day
2 Sep: My Antonia (through Book 3) and from Appendix D in the Urgo edition:
“Cather’s ‘Peter’” (263-65).
4 Sep.: My Antonia (through Book 5) Bring your MLA Handbook to class. Come
prepared to discuss chapter 2 “Plagiarism and Academic Integrity.”
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Week 3
9 Sep: Guest presentation by SDSU reference librarian Markel Tumlin (in Love
Library 76.
11 Sep: Final discussion of Cather and begin discussion of Edith Wharton, The Age of
Innocence (through chapter 6).
Week 4
16 Sep: Age (through chapter 18): concentrate on chapters 12, 16, and 18. On or before
this date, give me a hard (typed) copy of two possibilities you are considering for the
research focus for your first essay. Write a short paragraph regarding each
proposed topic, indicating which is your preferred topic.
18 Sep: Discussion of Wharton cont. (all: read through chapter 34). Also read chapter 5
“Documentation: Preparing the List of Works Cited” from the MLAH. Bring your
MLAH handbook to today’s class. Sample model student essays (both accepted for
publication in The Explicator), by Andrea J. Sand and Samantha de Vera,
distributed in class.
19 Sep: First essay topics approved on or before this date. No changes in your topic
after this date.
Week 5
23 Sep: Read from the Norton edition of The Age of Innocence the essays by Julia
Ehrhardt (“‘To Read These Pages Is To Live Again’: The Historical Accuracy of The Age
of Innocence”) and by Jennifer Rae Greeson (“Wharton’s Manuscript Outlines for The
Age of Innocence”). Begin discussion of Robert Frost: read the following poems from our
poetry anthology, “Home Burial,” “After Apple-Picking,” “The Oven Bird,” “Desert
Places,” and “Design,” as well as Frost’s essay “The Figure a Poem Makes.”
25 Sep: Working works-cited list due (4 copies). Final discussion of Frost. Also read the
poems by Carl Sandburg in our anthology. Of the Sandburg poems, focus on “Chicago,”
“Grass,” and “Jazz Fantasia.”
Week 6
30 Sep: Rough drafts due (4 copies). In-class writing workshop for first essays. Two
volunteers? Before writing your draft, read chapter 6 “Documentation: Citing
Sources in the Text” from the MLAH. Bring handbook to class to consult during the
writing workshop. Begin discussion of Claude McKay: of the McKay poems in our text,
concentrate on “The Harlem Dancer,” “If We Must Die,” and “Harlem Shadows.”
2 Oct: Discussion of McKay cont. and Robinson Jeffers: read all the Jeffers poems but
“Roan Stallion” included in our anthology; focus on “Salmon Fishing,” “Birds,” “Hurt
Hawks,” and “The Beaks of Eagles.” Review for midterm examination.
Week 7
7 Oct: William Carlos Williams: “The Young Housewife,” “Portrait of a Lady,” “Spring
and All,” “To Elsie,” “The Red Wheelbarrow,” “The Dance,” “Tribute to Neruda, the
Poet Collector of Seashells,” and “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.”
9 Oct: Midterm exam.
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Week 8
14 Oct: Marianne Moore: read the following selections from our anthology: “A JellyFish,” “To Military Progress,” “Poetry,” “A Grave,” “The Paper Nautilus,” and “The
Mind Is an Enchanting Thing.
16 Oct: First essays due. Marianne Moore cont. and e. e. cummings, all. Focus on “in
Just-”; “O sweet spontaneous”; “Buffalo Bill’s”; and “Poem,or Beauty Hurts Mr. Vinal.”
Week 9
21 Oct: Continue discussion of cummings and begin Eudora Welty’s A Curtain of Green
and Other Stories (“Lily Daw and the Three Ladies” and “A Piece of News”).
23 Oct: Curtain, through “Why I Live at the P.O.” Concentrate on that story and on “The
Key.”
Week 10
28 Oct: Curtain, through “A Curtain of Green.” Focus on the title story as well as “A
Memory” and “Clytie.” Second paper assigned.
30 Oct: Curtain, through the final story, “A Worn Path.” Focus on that story as well as
“Powerhouse.”
Week 11
4 Nov: Final discussion of Welty and opening discussion of Langston Hughes. First read
Hughes’s essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (712-16) and then all the
Hughes poems in our anthology. Focus on “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” “Danse
Africaine,” “Jazzonia,” “The Weary Blues,” “Song to a Negro Wash-Woman,” “Desire,”
and “Poem.” Second paper topics due.
6 Nov: Ann Petry, The Street (through chapter 4).
7 Nov: Second paper topics approved on or before this date. No changes in your topic
after this week.
Week 12
11 Nov: Street (through chapter 8)
13 Nov: Street (through chapter 13) Working bibliographies due.
Week 13
18 Nov: Street (through conclusion)
20 Nov: William Faulkner, Go Down, Moses: read “was” and “The Fire and the Hearth”
(through part 3). Rough drafts due (1 copy only for the instructor to keep).
Week 14
25 Nov: Go Down: complete “The Fire and the Hearth” and also read “Pantaloon in
Black.”
27 Nov: Thanksgiving holiday
Week 15
2 Dec: Final papers due. Go Down: “The Old People” and “The Bear” (through part 3).
4 Dec: Go Down : complete “The Bear.”
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Week 16
9 Dec: Review for final exam. Go Down: “Delta Autumn” and “Go Down, Moses”
10 Dec: Last day of classes before final examination period begins.
Week 17
Tues., 16 Dec., 10:30-12:30: Final exam
Note: Instructors must turn in their students’ grades by 11 p.m. on December 31.
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The higher processes of art are all processes of simplification. The novelist
must learn to write, and then he must unlearn it. . . . (836)
Whatever is felt upon the page without being specifically named there—that, one
might say, is created. It is the inexplicable presence of the thing not named, of the
overtone divined by the ear but not heard by it, the verbal mood, the emotional
aura of the fact or the thing or the deed, that gives high quality to the novel or the
drama, as well as to poetry itself. (837)
Willa Cather, “The Novel Démeublé” (1922)*
*Citations to this essay or other works by Cather are, unless otherwise indicates, taken from the 1992 Library of America collection of
Cather’s work compiled by Sharon O’Brien: Willa Cather: Stories, Poems, and Other Writings.