English 2322 Survey of American Literature
MW 1:00-2:30
Fall 2001
Instructor: Dr. Elaine Murmann Ferguson
Web Page: http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~ferguson
Office and Phone: (915) 698-1564; eamf322@aol.com
Course Description and Objectives: This course aims to introduce you to significant American
Literature written from approximately 1865 to the present day. It will acquaint you with major
literary periods or eras and major authors associated with each period.
By the end of the course you should be able to:
-Explain literary terms, such as "The Gilded Age," "Modernism," and "Post Modernism."
-Identify authors belonging to each period.
-Discuss each author's contribution to American Literature.
-Demonstrate familiarity with at least one significant work of each author we study.
-Read and think critically about literature.
-Research critical writing about American Literature.
Most literary interpretation is personal. You will like some of the works very much and
others not at all. To some you will be indifferent.
Regardless of your feelings, to excel in this course you must respond. Your response will
consist of explaining why you like, dislike, or are indifferent toward the assigned reading. If a
story/poem appeals to you, ask yourself why. Are you sympathetic to its theme? Can you
identify with a character in it? If you dislike a work, is it because the language is dated or
difficult? Is the subject matter unrelated to anything in your experience? Do you disagree with
the author's view of the world? And if a work leaves you feeling ambivalent, ask again why?
What could the author have done differently to make his/her writing more appealing?
A true understanding of literature requires a personal reaction to it. As this course
progresses, you will practice using your personal responses to develop critical analyses of
literary works. You will, in effect, become a literary critic.
Text: The Norton Anthology of American Literature 5th ed. Vol.2 Ed. Nina Baym, New York:
Norton, 1998.
One 3.5 inch high-density computer disk
Grading: Eight elements, each weighted equally.
1. Quiz Average
2. Three Essays
3. Three Examinations
4. Computer Tutorials
By the end of the semester, you must have the required writing assignments stored on a 3 ½-inch
disk and printed copies of those assignments collected in a folder.
Quizzes: Your number one job in this class is to read. To motivate your doing so and to reward
your diligence, there will be an objective quiz virtually every class period.
Essays: Paper 1 & 3 (3-5 pages): Critical analysis of one class reading or comparison of several
class readings. Such papers may discuss a theme, a character or elements common to each work.
Paper 2 (6-8 pages): Research essay on a significant American author, assigned in class. Note
bibliography deadlines, rough draft deadlines, etc.
All papers must:
1. be typed,
2. incorporate MLA documentation, and
3. include a "Works Cited" page
Computer Tutorials: The AEC and the English Computer Lab both provide SEEN, a critical
reading/thinking/writing program. You must complete three tutorials, one on a work of fiction
from each of the three major periods (Gilded Age, Modern, Post Modern). These tutorials will
help you understand the work more thoroughly and give you a "start" to begin a paper on that
work for your essay requirement.
Attendance: Your presence in class benefits not only you but also your classmates. Unexcused
absences will affect your final grade—the greater the number of absences, the greater the effect.
If you enter the classroom after your name has been called on the roll, you will be considered
tardy. Two tardies equal an unexcused absence. More than six absences (excused or unexcused)
drop you from the course. Please let me know of any circumstances that may affect your class
attendance.
Late Papers: Papers turned in late without a truly extenuating excuse will be penalized—the
later the paper, the greater the penalty. To avoid unpleasant consequences: hand in your work on
time!
Plagiarism: “Plagiarism” means presenting another’s work as your own without proper
acknowledgment. This course will teach or remind you of how to properly acknowledge sources
of information, so you don’t commit “unintentional” plagiarism; your own sense of right and
wrong should deter you from the more heinous offense of “intentional” plagiarism. Don’t
compromise your integrity in this or any other course . . . you can’t afford the academic
consequence (a zero for the course).
Dr. Ferguson’s English MWF Reading & Assignment Schedule
W 8/29
The Gilded Age
Introduction, 1-17; "The Notorious Jumping Frog," 21-24; Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn, 28-62
M 9/3
H.Finn, cont'd, pp.62-126
W 9/5
Howells, "Editha," 258-267; James, "The Jolly Corner," 402-424 Tutorial
1 due.
M 9/10
Jewett, "A White Heron," 431-438
W 9/12
Chopin, "At the 'Cadian Ball," 457-463; "The Storm," 464-467.
M 9/17
Washington, 581-595
W 9/19
Crane, "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky," 760-768; "The Blue Hotel,"
768-787.
M 9/24
London, "Law of Life," 812-817; Essay 1 due.
W 9/26
Exam 1.
M 10/01
Modernism: American Literature Between the Wars, 1914-1945;
Introduction 911-922.
W 10/03
Masters, 937-40; Robinson, "Richard Cory," 943, "Miniver Cheevy," 944
"Mr. Flood's Party" 946.
M 10/08
Cather, My Antonia, 947-97
W 10/10
Frost, "Mending Wall," 1119; "The Death of the Hired Man," 1120-1124
Frost, "The Road Not Taken," 1128, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening," 1133.
M 10/15
Anderson, from Winesburg, Ohio, 1144-1160; Sandburg, 1161-64;
Bibliography for Essay #2 Due.
W 10/17
Stevens, "High-Toned Old Christian Woman," 1166, "Emperor of IceCream," 1167, "Sunday Morning," 1168-71.
M 10/22
Williams, "The Young Housewife," 1216, "Spring and All," 1219-1221,
"The Red Wheelbarrow," 1221-22.
W 10/24
Eliot, "The Wasteland," 1380-82, 1385-1389
M 10/29
Rough Draft of Essay #2 Due; Hurston, "The Gilded Six-Bits," 14391447
W 10/31
Fitzgerald, "Babylon Revisited," 1496-1511
M 11/05
Faulkner, "Barn Burning," 1630-1642; Hemingway, "The Snows of
Kilimanjaro," 1687-1704
W 11/07
Wolfe, "The Lost Boy," 1705-24; Essay #2 Due.
M 11/12
Steinbeck, "The Leader of the People," 1741-1751; Wright, "The Man Who
Was Almost a Man," 1758-1766.
W 11/14
Tutorial #2 due
M 11/19
Exam 2
W 11/21
THANKSGIVING BREAK
M 11/26
Introduction to Post Modern, American Prose since 1945;Welty, "Petrified
Man," 1785-1794
W 11/28
Malamud, "The Magic Barrel," 1871-1883; Tutorial #3 Due.
M 12/03
O'Connor, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," 2012-2020.
W 12/05
Silko, "Lullaby," 2349-2355; Essay #3 due.
Final
Examinations