Ocean County College
American Literature II
Course Syllabus
Semester: Spring 2011
Course: ENG 252-01
Class Times: MTH 12:30-1:45
Classroom: R209
Email: dbordelon@ocean.edu
English Dept. Phone # 732-255-0375
Campus Mailbox: R215 Humanities Office
Instructor: D. Bordelon
Office: Russell 211 tel: 255-0400 x2408
Office Hours: 10:00-10:50 MTTHF; 2-2:50 TH; and by mutual
appointment. To arrange a meeting with your instructor in addition
to the regularly scheduled office hours, please contact your
instructor directly or contact the School of Language and the Arts
(Phone:732-255-0375).
Catalog Definition
A study of American literary works and their backgrounds from approximately 1865 to the current day. Students will
read, discuss and write about significant works.
Course Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, you will
1. Have read a cross-section of American literary texts: essays, short stories, poetry, drama, and novels;
2. Understand connections between historical, political, economic, and social events and literary interests;
3. Appreciate the uniqueness and diversity of “The American Dream”;
4. Examine recurring themes in the literature of the period;
5. Develop valid criteria for judging literary excellence through oral and written discussion; and
6. Write at least two major papers.
General Education Goals
This course addresses communication, aesthetic and intellectual goals.
Course Outline
We will read, discuss, and write about essays, short stories, novels, drama, and poetry.
Course Standards
Your understanding of the material will be evaluated in a variety of ways including short responses (body
paragraphs), quizzes, a mid-term essay and a research essay (4-5 pages). Instructions for paragraphs and essays
are on the course site. In addition, students are required to participate in class discussions. I will drop the lowest
paragraph and quiz grade. You must pass at least 60% of the quizzes to receive a passing grade. Any work handed
in late (after the class starts constitutes lateness) will be dropped a letter grade for each course meeting after the due
date. After three course meetings, an F grade is given. Using a paper from another course to fulfill a paper
requirement for this course is not allowed. You must save all work generated in this course for the entire semester.
Snow Day or Class Cancellation
If class is cancelled, check the course site and your ocean cruiser email for instructions.
Attendance Policy
I’m a firm believer in the “you don’t show, you don’t know” theory – and that people showing up only occasionally in
class can be disruptive. Once the door is closed, class has begun and you may not enter. I allow up to three (3)
excused absences. Any more and your grade may be reduced or you may be withdrawn from the course.
Additionally, to prevent class disruption, you are allowed only two late arrivals: after that, you will have to miss that
class (and any other additional classes you are late for) – and see previous sentences for absence policy. This does
not mean you should miss class: it does mean that if you miss more than that for almost any reason, you haven’t
received all of the course information. If you must leave class early, let me know before class starts and sit close to
the door.
Civility
Beepers and cell phones? Turn them off when you enter the classroom. The usual class decorum rules – remaining
quiet when others are speaking, following directions, showing respect for others, etc. – are expected to be followed.
If you do not follow them, I will withdraw you from the class. For more info see www.ocean.edu/civility.htm.
Withdrawing from the Course
If you withdraw or stop attending this class after the tenth week of classes, the college will issue an “F” for a final
grade.
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Grading Scale/Evaluation of student
Your final grade will be based on an average of the 1) quizzes, 2) mid-term, 3) research project, 4) body paragraphs,
5) class discussion (determined by the number and quality of your in-class responses), 6) final writing assignment.
You must pass at least 60% of the quizzes to receive a passing grade. I use the college's grading scale (A, B+, B,
C+, C, D, F) for final grades.
Unless otherwise noted, your written work will be grading according to the depth and range of your ideas and the
clarity of your expression. Specific instructions and sample work can be found on the course site.
Required Texts
Norton Anthology of American Literature: Vol. C, D and E
Ragged Dick (Norton Critical Edition)
Additional materials
Your brain and your interest
Note on Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as taking the words or ideas of another person without documenting them. A form of academic
theft, the college holds that any instance of plagiarism may result in a failing grade. See course site for a full
discussion of how to recognize and avoid plagiarism. Students should refer to the student handbook and review
Policy #5180.
Statement of Accommodation
If there is any student in this class who has special needs because of learning disabilities or other kinds of disabilities,
please feel free to come and discuss this with me or a staff member in the Center for Academic Excellence.
Campus Resources and Services
Tutoring is available in the Writing Center for writing assignments in all subject areas, not just English courses.
Tutoring information for all other subjects can be found on the Tutoring page on the college website. In addition,
Study Strategy Seminars are scheduled each week and are posted on the college website under “Academics.” More
information on college services can be found by using the A-Z index on the college website (for example, under “T”
for Tutoring or under “S” for Study Strategy Seminars).
General Notes
If for some reason you miss a class, remember to keep up with the readings and writing assignments by following the
syllabus and check with me by phone or email so I know you're alive. In any event, refer often to the syllabus and
website and pace your work according to it.
Keep in mind the following two items from the student handbook: 1) a student is expected to spend four to six hours
per week outside of class on course work; 2) a full-time student should not work more than twenty hours per week
during an academic semester.
Student Profile
Fill out the following information in an email and send it to me.
Course name and semester/year
Name:
Address (include zip)
Email:
Phone: D)
N)
Previous English courses taken/Professor:
Previous courses taken
Courses this semester
Job/hobby – how many hours a week
Major in college/Career goal
Last books read:
Magazines/Newspapers regularly read:
How did you land in my class? (pot luck? recommended? --by
whom?)
Body Paragraph Instructions
See Course Documents page on the Course Site for specific instructions. To get quicker feedback, you’ll be emailing
your paragraphs to dbordelon@ocean.edu. Write and save in your word processor (Word, Works, etc.) to spell check
and print a copy for proofreading, but do not send attachments: just copy and paste directly into your email program
You can use your regular email, or the email on the course site. Include your name and the paragraph number
(found in the syllabus) in the body of the email. Length? About ½ to ¾ of a page. Additionally, since you will be citing
from the individual works, you must include a works cited entry.
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Disclaimer
Individual faculty members may make reasonable changes to this course outline exclusive of course requirements,
course calendar, and grading procedures.
All individuals should not assume that anything received, sent, or stored in this course or in any course is private.
Students’ written work, assignments, and test results may be used anonymously for college assessment purposes.
Course content, support materials, and communications (including chats, discussions, emails, and any other forms of
communication) may be used for quality assurance purposes by authorized college administrators.
Important Notes
Ocean Cruiser is the official email communication for students at OCC (firstname_lastname@occ.mailcruiser.com)
Failure to pay for this course may result in your being dropped for non-payment.
Class schedule
This schedule is subject to change as the need arises. Reading and homework assignments are due on the day
noted on the schedule.
M 1/24
Course Introduction: Now and Then
Tip #1: Prepare to write in your textbook. If you want to resell it at the end of the semester, be sure to buy a
mechanical pencil and erasers. You will be graded on the annotations in your text Note: highlighting with
yellow markers is not annotating.
Tip #2: If you’d like to receive credit for completing them, be sure to correctly number the body paragraphs
Tip #3: It’s understood that you’ll be reading the introductory material for each writer – and reading the
footnotes.
Th 1/27
M 1/31
Th 2/3
M 2/7
Th 2/10
M 2/14
Th 2/17
Two Americas: Realism
America 1: Rebecca Harding Davis “Life in the Iron Mills” (1861) (handout and posted online); read
deleted paragraphs on last page of handout.
Note: there will be regular quizzes on the readings
Send email with student profile information
America 2: Horatio Alger Ragged Dick (1868) (this is the Norton Critical Edition – shorter brown book.)
ix-115 is entire novel – read it all at one go and we’ll discuss it over two days.
Ragged Dick
Carnegie’s “Wealth” (Course Site>Course Documents>Contemporary Readings)
Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) Vol. C 108-187
Huck Finn cont’d 187-294
Complete and email Body Paragraph #1 before class meets. (See listing on the Course
Site>Course Documents> Writing Assignments>”Body Paragraph Topics”)
Henry James Daisy Miller (1879) Vol. C 391-429
Naturalism
Stephen Crane “The Open Boat” (1897) Vol. C 1000-1016 and newspaper account (see link online on
“Course Documents” – print and bring into class)
Want to improve your writing? Check with me to review your work before handing it in. You can also work
with an instructor in The Writing Center, Russell 124.
M 2/21
Th 2/24
M 2/28
President’s Day: class cancelled
Realism/Regionalism Local Color
Kate Chopin The Awakening (1899) Vol. C 535-609
Complete and email Body Paragraph #2 before class meets. (See listing on the Course
Site>Course Documents> Writing Assignments>”Body Paragraph Topics”)
The Awakening 609-625
Torstein Veblen “Conspicuous Consumption” from Theory of the Leisure Class (Course Site>Course
Documents>Contemporary Readings)
Complete and email Body Paragraph #3 before class meets. (See listing on the Course
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Site>Course Documents> Writing Assignments>”Body Paragraph Topics”)
The best way to work on your writing (and thus your thinking) is to get feedback on it before you submit it for
grading. The best place to get feedback is in my office or in the Writing Center, R124.
Th 3/3
M 3/7
Th 3/10
M 3/14 &
Th 3/17
M 3/21
Th 3/24
M 3/28
Th 3/31
M 4/4
Th 4/7
M 4/11
The New Age
E. A. Robinson circa late 1890s
“Luke Havergal” (1210); “Richard Cory” (1211); “Miniver Cheevy” (1211); “Mr. Flood’s Party” (1212): All
from Vol. D; “Clerks” and “Cassandra” (see link online on “Course Documents” – print and bring into
class)
Henry Adams
“Dynamo and the Virgin” (1907/1918) Vol. C (351-359)
Modernism
Robert Frost circa 1913-30
“Mowing” (1389); “Mending Wall” (1390); “Home Burial” (1395); “After Apple Picking” (1398); “The Road
Not Taken” (1399); “Birches” (1400); “Design” (1405); “Acquainted by the Night” (see link online on
“Course Documents” – print and bring into class); “The Figure a Poem Makes” (1409) Vol. D
Complete and email Body Paragraph #4 before class meets. (See listing on the Course
Site>Course Documents>Writing Assignments>”Body Paragraph Topics”)
William Carlos Williams (circa 1920s)
“The Red Wheelbarrow” (1469); “This is Just to Say” (1472); “Spring and All” (1466); “The Young
Housewife” (1464); “Queen-Anne’s-Lace” (1465) Vol. D
Edna St. Vincent Milay circa 1920s
“I, being born a woman” (1805); “Apostrophe to Man” (1805); “I Too beneath Your Moon, Almighty Sex”
(1806); “The Snow Storm” (1806) Vol. D
Spring Break
Ernest Hemmingway “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1936, 1938) Vol. D 1983-1999
Read excerpts from In Our Time (handout)
Ezra Pound (circa 1920s)
“A Pact” (1481); “In a Station of the Metro” (1482); “Hugh Selwyn Mauberly” (1484)
H.D. “Leda” (1501); “Helen” (1502) Vol. D
T. S. Eliot (circa 1920s)
“Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock” (1577); “Hollow Men” (1599) Vol. D
Mid-Term: 1) define realism, naturalism, and modernism 2) connect one aspect of each literary
movement to a particular work.
(See listing on the Course Site>Course Documents>Writing Assignments>”Mid-Term” for more
specifics)
Eliot “The Waste Land” (1587+) Vol. D
“The Waste Land” cont’d
Research Essay draft thesis due (See listing on the Course Site>Course Documents>Writing
Assignments>”Research Essay”)
e. e. cummings (circa 1920s)
“in Just-“ (1809); “O sweet spontaneous” (1809); “Buffalo Bill’s” (1810); “the Cambridge ladies who live in
furnished souls” *1811); “next to of course god america I” (1811); “i sing of Olaf glad and big” (1811)’
“somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond” (1813); “anyone lived in a pretty how town” (1813) Vol.
D
Remember to meet with me as soon as possible to discuss revision ideas for your essay. Remember too
that it’s always a good idea to have a fresh pair of eyes to review your essay. And a great place to get that
review is The Writing Center, Russell 124. Stop in and make an appointment – you’ll be glad you did.
Th 4/14
Essay Day
Rough draft Research Essay due (See listing on the Course Site>Course Documents>Writing
Assignments>”Research Essay”)
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M 4/18
Th 4/21
M 4/25
Th 4/28
Wallace Stevens (circa 1920s)
“Idea of Order at Key West” (1451); “Sunday Morning” (1443); “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird”
(1448); “The Snow Man” (1441); “The Emperor of Ice Cream” (1442); “Anecdote of a Jar” (1446);
“Disillusionment of Ten O’clock” (1443) Vol. D
Harlem Renaissance: Being Black in America
Langston Hughes (circa 1920s)
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (2027); “I, Too” (2028); “The Weary Blues” (2029); “Democracy” (see link
online on “Course Documents” – print and bring into class); “Theme for English B” (2038) Vol. D
Countee Cullen (circa 1920s)
“Yet Do I Marvel” (2061); “Uncle Jim” (2065); “For a Lady I Know” (see “Poems for Pleasure and
Enjoyment” on Course Documents – print and bring into class)
The South
Zora Neale Hurston (circa 1930s)
“How It Feels to Be Colored Me” (1710); “The Gilded Six-Bits” (1713) Vol. D
William Faulkner (1930)
“Barn Burning” (1955+)
Have I mentioned that it’s a good idea to get feedback on written assignments before submitting them? Just
checking . . . .
M 5/2
Th 5/5
M 5/9
Th 5/12
M 5/16
The Drama of it All
Tennessee Williams (1944)
Glass Menagerie (On reserve in library)
The Beats
Allen Ginsberg (1956)
“Howl” (2576); “Footnote to Howl” (2583) Vol. E
Final draft Research Essay due (See listing on the Course Site>Course Documents>Writing
Assignments>“what to submit with final draft”)
Catch Up Day
Confessional poetry
All from Vol. E
Elizabeth Bishop “The Fish” (2167); “One Art” (2183); “In the Waiting Room” (2177);
Sylvia Plath “Lady Lazarus” (2701); “Daddy” (2704)
Final in-class readings – Bring in Vol. E
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