Language and Literature Department
ENGL347 American Novel
Spring 2007
MWF 1-1:50
116B CB
Professor
Katherine Fischer, MFA
131 Mary Josita
(563) 588-8115 (office)
katheriine.fischer@clarke.edu
Office Hours
M/W 12-1pm; 2-3 pm
T 12:30-3 pm
H
Other times by appointment
Course Description
This course explores aesthetic express of human experience through novels written by American authors about American
topics and people.
Course Goals and Outcomes in Relation to the Mission of Clarke College
The Clarke College Mission
We are a Catholic, coeducational, liberal arts college founded in 1843 by the
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubuque, Iowa. Clarke educates
Students at the postsecondary level in the liberal arts and sciences, the fine arts,
Selected professional programs, and graduate programs.
We, the faculty, students, staff and administration are a caring, learning
Community committed to excellence in education. We provides supportive
Environment that encourages personal and intellectual growth, promotes global
awareness and social responsibility, and deepens spiritual values.
Through consistent engagement in course processes and respectful interaction with both course materials and other
participants, students will grow and develop in knowledge, values, and skills that are integral to the mission of Clarke
College and the General Education Outcome in Spirituality/Values.
Learning Outcomes and Assessments
DEPARTMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Students will
1. identify and understand literary forms,
techniques, genres, and styles;
2. discover the variety of layers and levels of
meaning in literary works;
ACTIVITIES & ASSESSMENTS
1. 2. Literary interpretation paper, reading
responses, novel presentation, quizzes, exams,
electronic discussion, class discussion, Coffee
House discussions
3. Time Line, novel presentation, exams, research
3. increase in familiarity with American Literature
SKILLS
Students will
4. Communicate in writing;
5. Communicate orally;
VALUES
Students will
6. develop further an appreciation o f the art of
literature.
ACTIVITIES & ASSESSMENTS
4. Papers, literary criticism critique, essay exam,
outlines
5. Coffee House discussions, novel presentation
ACTIVITIES & ASSESSMENTS
Novel oral presentation, visuals, class discussion,
oral reading, Coffee House discussion, papers
Course Requirements and Grading
Quizzes: 10-25 points each
Reading Response Papers 20 points
Literary Criticism Research Critique 50 points
Midterm Exam 50 points
Final Exam 50 points
In-class activities 5-25 points
Student Novel Presentation 50 points:
You will present your novel to the class providing representative passages for examination (to be assigned in
advance of your presentation day); plot summary; analysis of character, themes, literary devices, style; background
on the author; and examination of cultural milieu and its effects on the work. The presentation must engage your
audience through interactive activity, professional visuals, and the exchange of ideas. I will use your presentation to
create subsequent writing assignments and quizzes for the class so that all students have something at stake in
addition to learning for personal gratification. Your selection is due Friday, January 26, 2007. In that class, as a
group, we’ll arrange the rest of the schedule for the semester including. Your presentation will be scheduled for the
most fitting point in the semester. Please select a book you have not read before.
Possibilities include the following:
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
My Antonia by Willa Cather
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing by May Sarton
The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle
The Plot Against America by Phillip Roth
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
The Marble Faun by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Phillip K. Dick
Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck
Coffee House Discussions 10-20 points:
Honoring the traditions of people of letters to gather in pubs, meeting halls, and coffee houses to discuss reading
and writing of the day, I’ve scheduled Coffee House discussions. Come to coffee house sessions having read
thoughtfully and insightfully. Rather than teacher-imposed topics for discussion, coffee house sessions will invite
you to take whatever wild journey of discourse you like. The Coffee House discussions also recognize that while
our class features a handful of students, these students have inquisitive creative minds!
Assignments are due at the start of class on the day they are listed. I don’t accept late work, except in extreme
circumstances. You will earn a zero for any missing or unacceptable assignment. Assignments will be deemed unacceptable
if they are not done according to specified directions, or are not turned in on time.
Grading Scale:
2
Point totals will be assigned letter grades according to the following percentages:
100-94 = A; 93-91 = A-; 88-90 = B+; 87-85 = B; 84-81 = B-; 80-78 = C+; 77-74 = C; 73-70 = C-; 69-67 = D+; 66-63 = D;
62-60 = D-; 59-0 = F
Presence
There will be regular in-class quizzes, writings, group work, responses, etc. which earn daily points. No matter the reason
for absence, these cannot be made up. Do not schedule appointments, work, meetings, trips, sleep-ins, etc. during our class
time. In-class points will be double on days attached to vacation. Bottom line? Don’t miss class unless you are seriously ill
or there’s a death in the family.
Statement on Americans with Disabilities Act - Please inform Myra Benzer in the Learning Center, upper level library, of
any special learning needs you have during the first week of the course. This must be done each semester. A student must
present written confirmation of approval for alternative testing accommodations to each professor within the first two weeks
of the course. Failure to do so will result in loss of the privilege for the given course.
Course Materials
Novels (available in the Clarke bookstore and elsewhere):
Light in August (1932) by William Faulkner
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1940) by Carson McCullers
On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac
Slaughterhouse Five (1969) by Kurt Vonnegut
Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood
Snow Falling on Cedars (1995) by David Gunderson
Assigned library and website readings
You will also select your own American novel for approval by me.
Clarke College Academic Integrity Policy
Principles of academic honesty are universally recognized as fundamental to scholarship. Consistent with the traditions and
policies of Clarke College, students are expected to be aware of and abide by these principles. Academic work submitted to
fulfill course requirements should be produced by the student with credit for help from other sources given in the manner
traditionally prescribed. Academic integrity specifically prohibits cheating, plagiarizing or otherwise falsifying results of any
work. These requirements apply to written work as well as to examinations, papers, and reports. Any violation of this policy
will be treated as a serious matter. Penalties ranging from failure of the assignment/exam to failure for the course will be
enforced. “Cheating” includes not only passing off the work of others as your own, but also willingly allowing others to use
your work and pass it off as their own.
Calendar of Assignments
N.B. This may be revised during the semester
January
15 M Martin Luther King Day (no day-time classes)
17 W Course intro. Timeline for American Novel. Definitions of “American”
http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/bn/board/message?board.id=AmericanClassics
&message.id=126&jump=true (Barnes and Nobles Great American Novel board)
HW: Faulkner research. Be prepared to share in class Friday.
Read Ch. 1-2 Light In August
19 F Quiz. Research share. Read-around: Light in August
3
HW: Read Ch. 3-6 LIA
Research individual novel choice. Decide by Friday, January 26.
22 M
LIA
HW: Read Ch. 7-9 LIA
Research individual novel choice. Decide by Friday, January 26.
24 W
LIA
HW: Read Ch. 10-12 LIA
Research individual novel choice. Decide by Friday, January 26.
26 F
LIA
Submit Individual Novel request
Collaborate on developing rest of course syllabus
HW: Read Ch. 13-17 LIA
29 M
LIA
HW: Read Ch. 18-21 LIA
31 W
LIA. Discuss upcoming Coffee House. Reading Response.
HW: Write Reading Response
2F
Submit Reading Response. Coffee House
HW: Read handout essay by Cleanth Brooks
Read Ch. 1-8 Their Eyes Were Watching God
February
5M
TEWWG
HW: Read Ch. 9-15 TEWWG
7 W TEWWG
HW: Read Ch. 16-end TEWWG
WRITING CONTEST WRITING CONTEST WRITING CONTEST DEADLINE, Feb. 8, noon
9F
TEWWG Synthesis Paper
HW: Draft Synthesis Paper
12 M TEWWG Peer Response to Synthesis Paper draft
HW: Revise paper
14 W Heart Is A Longely Hunter intro. Read around
HW: Read Part One, Ch. 1-6 HIALH
16 F Coffee House HIALH
HW: Read Part Two Ch. 1-7 HIALH
19 M HIALH
4
HW: read Part Two Ch. 8-15
21 W HIALH
HW: Read Part Three. HIALH
23 F HIALH Literary Criticism Research
HW: Lit. Crit. Research
26 M Lit. Crit reports
HW: Reading Response to HIALH
28 W Lit. Crit reports
HW: Reading Response to HIALH
2 F E-discussion on HIALH, TEWWG, LIA
HW: Read, research, prepare individual novels and presentation
On The Road, part one
Spring Break
March
12 M OTR
HW: Read OTR, part two
14 W OTR
HW: TBA in preparation for novel presentations
16 F two novel presentations (#1)
Read OTR part three, four, and five
19 M OTR
HW: TBA in preparation for novel presentations
21 W two novel presentations (#2)
HW: read Slaughterhouse Five, CH. 1-4
23 F Assessment Day (no classes)
HW: Reading response to first four chapters
26 M Submit reading response. Slaughterhouse Five
HW: read Slaughterhouse Five, CH. 5-7
28 W Slaughterhouse Five
HW: TBA in preparation for novel presentations
30 F two novel presentations (#3)
HW. read Slaughterhouse Five, CH. 8-end
April
M 2 Slaughterhouse Five
HW: Read Handmaid’s Tale
5
Tuesday, April 3, Language and Literature Senior Oral Presentations 6:00 pm 131CBH (Language Learning
Lab--Required attendance for majors)
W 4 Handmaid’s Tale
HW: Finish Handmaid’s Tale
Easter Break
16 M Handmaid’s Tale
HW: Read Snow Falling on Cedars
18 W Snow Falling on Cedars
HW: TBA in preparation for novel presentations
Read SFOC
20 F two novel presentations (#4)
HW: Read SFOC
23 M Snow Falling on Cedars
HW: Read SFOC
25 W SFOC
HW: TBA in preparation for novel presentations
27 F two novel presentations (#5)
30 M SFOC
HW: TBA in preparation for novel presentations
Write Reading Response to SFOC
May
2 W two novel presentations (#6)
4 F novel presentation (#7)
Tuesday, May 8, 1 pm Final Exam
6