Heartland Community College
Master Course Syllabus
Division: Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
COURSE PREFIX & NUMBER: LITR 115
COURSE TITLE: American Literature and Culture
DATE PREPARED: April 2015
DATE REVIEWED:
DATE REVISED:
PCS/CIP/ID NO: 11 231402
IAI NO. (if available):
EFFECTIVE DATE OF FIRST CLASS: January 2016
CREDIT HOURS: 3
CONTACT HOURS: 3
LECTURE HOURS: 3
LABORATORY HOURS: 0
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
Prerequisite:
- Placement at college level English OR
- Concurrent enrollment in ENGL 99/101
AND
- Placement at college level reading
This course will provide a well-rounded understanding of the connection between American
Literature and American Culture and how they have grown both politically and
philosophically by reading important American literary works and correlating them with
American cultural products, such as paintings, sculpture, architecture, photography, and film.
Students will also identify relationships among the formal, thematic, historical, political, and
philosophical elements that eventually define American Literature and Culture. Furthermore,
as a literary analysis course students will read, watch, discuss, and analyze selected works in
order to develop skills necessary for understanding critical literary and applying cultural
analysis.
TEXTBOOKS:
Dover Anthology of American Literature, Volumes I-III. Ed. Bob Blaisdell*
A series of online links/websites that explore American arts and cultural theories that can
be integrated with the American Literature textbook.
A list of appropriate American films that will reflect the evolution of American culture,
such as but not limited to Last of the Mohicans, Lincoln, A Raisin in the Sun, Shane, Do
the Right Thing, and Boys Don’t Cry.
*or comparable texts and films that address at a minimum the topics listed in the Course Outline and
that provides students with the opportunity to achieve the learning outcomes for this course.
RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND
TRANSFERABILITY:
LITR 115 fulfills 3 of the semester hours of credit in Humanities/Fine Arts required
for the A.A. or A.S. degree. This course should transfer as part of the General
Education Core Curriculum described in the Illinois Articulation Initiative to other
Illinois colleges and universities participating in the IAI. However, students should
consult an academic advisor for transfer information regarding particular institutions.
Refer to www.iTransfer.org for information.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Course Outcomes
Essential
Competencies
CO3
Identify, define and utilize
literary & cultural terms
including their similarities and
differences
Explain & employ various
interpretive strategies, theories,
and problems in adapting
literature and film to cultural
studies.
Recognize and interpret
DI1
thematic differences between a
literary work and the cultural
events and theories that
contributed to its development.
Demonstrate original
DI2
interpretive analyses of
literature, both fiction and nonfiction, and film through
coherent expository writing.
Explain key characteristics of
historical periods, movements,
genres and texts.
Recognize and explain the
CT4
relationship between literature
and cultural contexts.
Program
Outcomes (POS)
PO2
Range of
Assessment Methods
Exams, Quizzes,
Papers, Homework
Exams, Quizzes,
Homework
Term Paper, Class
Presentation
PO4
PO3
PO1
PO5 & PO6
Papers
CO 3- Students listen in order to comprehend information, critique and evaluate a
message, show empathy for the feelings expressed by others, and/or appreciate a
performance
CT 4- Students actively reflect on their answer, approach, or solution and act upon those
reflections to improve the final result
DI1- Students are receptive to beliefs and values different from their own
DI 2- Students consider the views of others in light of those persons’ experiences and
particular understandings
PO1- Identify and describe course-relevant events in literary history
PO2- Analyze and evaluate course-relevant literary elements
PO3- Demonstrate receptivity to perspectives of others by questioning and responding to
those perspectives respectfully and productively
PO4- Describe and discuss how author and reader identities affect the writing & reading
of texts
PO5- Write about texts for multiple purposes including (but not limited to) interpretation,
synthesis, response, summary, critique, & analysis
PO6- Contribute, through writing, their own ideas & opinions about a topic to an ongoing
conversation in ways that are appropriate to the context
COURSE/LAB OUTLINE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction to reading and interpreting literature
Introduction to reading and interpreting film
Literary terms and conventions
Cultural terms and conventions
Critical Approaches to Literature
Critical Approaches to Cultural Theories
METHOD OF EVALUATION (Tests/Exams, Grading System):
Instructors may determine the most appropriate methods of evaluation for their course.
These methods of evaluation might include, but are not limited to, exams, homework, terms
papers, and oral reports. Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:
90- 100%
= A
80 - 89%
= B
70 - 79%
= C
60 - 69%
= D
Below 60% = F
REQUIRED WRITING AND READING:
This course requires a minimum of 3000 words (10 pages) of writing across all assignments,
some of which will include formal writing with the introduction of secondary research and
literary interpretation techniques.
There will also be approximately 20 pages of reading per week, including the textbook(s) and
appropriate supplementary reading assignments.*
*All estimates based on a 16 week course schedule. Please note if your class is not a 16 week class
your weekly reading assignment will be increased.