English 2340: American Literature from 1865 to the Present
Spring 2012
11:15-12:05 MWF/Park Hall 74/call # 97-275
Dr. Paul Quick
***updated 02/20/12***
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Contact Information:
Email: pauquick@uga.edu
Phone: 542-0534
Office: The Center for Teaching and Learning
North Instructional Plaza (courtyard between Journalism and Psych. bldgs.)
Office Hours: MWF 10-11 am and by appointment
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Prerequisites:
Any one of the following: ENGL 1030, 1102, 1050H, or 1060H
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Required texts and resources :
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Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Toni Morrison’s Sula, Don Delillo’s Falling Man
Course pack available from Bel-Jean’s CopyPrint on Broad Street (across and down from Arch)
Student Response Device/“clicker”: TurningTechnologies ResponseCard NXT.
Free download of: OpenOffice from www.openoffice.org, Mozilla Firefox from www.mozilla.org
Goals:
For those of you who don’t voluntarily read “literature,” my modest goal for this class is to persuade you
that reading literary fiction, especially after college, can help you understand the world and your place in it like
nothing else can. If you don’t need to be convinced of the value of “hard books,” I’d like to help you develop
your close-reading skills and critical apparatus, perhaps even help you read and appreciate literature in new
ways.
I have these goals for this class because I fear that going to college has become for too many of you a
matter of getting the job training or the credentialing that American society requires for certain jobs. Certainly,
college is that, but I think it should be much more because for many of you this is the last chance to be in an
environment designed to promote a swirl of wide-ranging ideas and ways of thinking that are probably new to
you and that you probably will not have at your day job afterward. Careers and professions have a way of
narrowing your world to a thin slice of humanity and prescribed ways of thinking: bankers bank, doctors
doctor, teachers teach, businesspeople business, lawyers do . . . whatever it is they do. And while every
academic discipline makes the same claim, the serious study of literature is one of the accessible, relevant, and
most wide-open apertures to contemplate human life on the planet. Literature, to paraphrase Walt Whitman, is
large and contains multitudes.
I believe that storytellers and artists are among the most important people and least appreciated figures
in American culture. Through their “fiction” or “art,” they are honest illustrators of beauty and ugliness. Oscar
Wilde is credited for saying that if you give a man a mask, he’ll tell you the truth; I think fiction works like
that—under the mask of “fiction,” there can be an unflinching candor. Literary artists also give voice to those
who are not often heard either because they have no other means to speak or they speak of things we would
rather ignore. As Elizabeth Madox Roberts says, “It is the function of art to enlarge one’s experience, to add
more tolerance, more forgiveness, to increase one’s hold on all the out-lying spaces which are little realized in
the come and go of everyday.” Sympathy, understanding, perspective.
Quite simply, reading literature (or watching films—as opposed to movies—or going to museums and
concerts) can change and enrich your life if you do it well. Making “enough money to be comfortable,” buying
stuff, getting married, having kids, building a career are all reasonable pursuits. But what does it all add up to?
Literature helps answer that question for you and for you alone. In that way, literature is a secular scripture,
which is part of the reason that the “classics” are referred to as the literary canon.
For those who would like their learning goals explained in a grid, I offer this, but realize these separate goals overlap:
Remember literary eras, theories, narratives, iconic characters, and writers
Identify literary elements (writing styles, prominent motifs, archetypes, literary structure, etc.)
Appreciate how specific uses of language enhance meaning
Explicate literary works using, theories, ideas, analysis, and critical thinking
Create and assess a personal aesthetic
Relate works to one another, to students’ individual experiences, and to the American experience
Understand and be able to articulate the interaction between eras, theories, and writers
Recognize, acknowledge, and consider the variety of human experience and perspectives
Identify and situate ourselves and others within a context of American culture and history
Leave with ideas about and an appreciation of the possible value of literary work
Be prepared and inclined to search out, explore, accept and reject new work in the future
Learn techniques and practices that will help improve close-reading and critical-writing and thinking skills
Consider a plan for discovering new literature in the future, especially post-college
Identify important sources of information about literature and criticism
Foundational
Knowledge
Application
Integration
Human
Dimension
Caring Goals
Learning to
Learn
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Class Policies
Attendance: Because I will be relying heavily on your interest in and engagement with the reading
material, you must attend class and keep up with the readings. After three absences, which are usually
adequate to accommodate family emergencies and illnesses, I reserve the right to lower your grade or withdraw
you from the course. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to ask your peers what you missed, so get some
contact information from at least a few of your classmates. If you arrive after I have taken roll, there is a very
good chance that you will be marked absent because I take roll first thing and move on. You cannot make up
missed quizzes.
Quizzes: I reserve the right to quiz the class on any of the assigned material at any time in the class
period on any day in the semester. Quizzes will consist of five multiple-choice questions (usually clickers) or a
comprehensive question asking for simple application of the assigned reading for that day. I will drop the
lowest two quiz scores—this includes zeroes accrued because of absences. You can’t make-up missed quizzes.
Papers: You will write three formal out-of-class papers. You will post drafts and final papers on
<emma> using OpenOffice Writer available as a free download. Essays must conform to MLA documentation
guidelines (see http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/mlastyle.html for details). Content, use of primary and secondary
sources (if applicable), organization, grammar, syntax, style, diction, mechanics, and spelling are all important
considerations in determining a paper grade. The grading rubric I will be using to evaluate papers is available
on the class website. Other writing is also required for the course as indicated on the schedule.
<emma>: We will be using <emma> as our learning management system—our eLC. All course
content and many of the assignments will be posted to <emma>; it is also provided so that you can contact and
communicate with others in the class. Participation in discussion board exchanges, especially insightful
postings and coming to the aid of a fellow student , count as part an important part of your class participation
grade.
Deadlines: Assignments, especially papers, are due at the time indicated. I do not accept technological
excuses besides <emma> system failures; if you are unable to post your work on <emma>, email me the
document before the deadline. Late papers lose ten points (or 10% of their value) the moment they are late, and
lose an additional 10 points every day thereafter.
Etiquette: Literature is about life, and life is—along with many wonderful things—messy,
unconventional, unpredictable, rude, crude, shocking, tragic, and inherently personal. Provocative and personal
issues involving sexuality, gender, race, religion, culture, politics, etc. will and should be raised throughout the
course, and I encourage each of you to speak freely. If a discussion gets heated, either in class or online, I
expect students to speak and to be heard respectfully and thoughtfully. If you are uncomfortable with any of the
topics discussed in class, please let me know.
If you want to use a laptop to take notes in class, then don’t use it to check Facebook, email, espn.com
etc. Silence your cell phones in class and don’t use them during class. If you need to take a call for something
important, please leave the classroom.
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Quick/ENGL 2340/Fall 10/pg. 2
Grade Distribution:
Quiz 1
Paper 1(3-4 pages)
Paper 2 (3-4 pages)
Quiz 2
Paper 3 (5-7 pages)
Portfolio Due
Final Exam
Daily Grade*
Article Report
Feb. 1
Feb. 10
Mar. 9
Apr. 9
Apr. 18
May 4
May 4 (12 pm-3pm)
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Grading Scale:
5%
10%
15%
5%
25%
10%
5%
20%
5%
A = 94-100, A- = 90-93
B+ = 87-89, B = 84-86, B- = 80-83
C+ = 77-79, C = 74-76, C- = 70-73
D = 60-69, F = < 60
http://bulletin.uga.edu/PlusMinusGradingFAQ.html
*The Daily Grade includes attendance, quiz scores, all short writing assignments in or out of class, and
participation in classroom activities (both discussions and group work) and on <emma>.
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Academic Honesty:
“Academic Honesty” means performing all academic work without plagiarism, cheating, lying,
tampering, stealing, receiving unauthorized or illegitimate assistance from any other person, or using any source
of information that is not common knowledge without providing proper documentation. Turning in academic
work that is not your own is the highest academic crime. All academic work must meet the standards contained
within “A Culture of Honesty,” which can be found at:
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/academic_honesty/academic_honesty.htm
All students are responsible for informing themselves about the standards before performing any academic
work. As the policy indicates, lack of knowledge of the provisions of the academic honesty policy is not an
acceptable response to an accusation of violating this policy. When you signed your UGA Admissions
Application, you agreed to abide to the Honor Code established by the Student Government Association and
approved by the University Council on May 1, 1997, which states, “I will be academically honest in all of my
academic work and will not tolerate academic dishonesty of others.”
If there is a suspicion of you engaging in any form of academic dishonesty, I will utilize the judicial
process at the UGA, which starts with a mediated hearing (http://honesty.uga.edu/reporting.html). If it is
determined that you somehow violated University policy with regard to academic honesty, you will receive a
zero on the work in question, and could also receive any of the following:
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Final course grade of “F.”
Placement of a dishonesty transcript notation which states: “Academic Honesty Violation as Determined
by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction,” which must remain until the student is not enrolled
as a student at the University and two years after the date upon which the Academic Honesty Panel
entered its final decision.
Suspension for a period of one semester other than summer.
Expulsion.
Bottom line: don’t cheat. It’s not worth it.
Quick/ENGL 2340/Fall 10/pg. 3
Schedule of Assignments for ENGL 2340 (Quick, Spring 2012) (updated 01/09/12):
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The schedule indicates the date on which a text will be discussed, so students must complete the reading
before the class period on which the assignment is listed. It also indicates when assignments are due.
“CP” on reading assignments refers to the course pack.
This syllabus provides a general outline for the course. Changes are almost inevitable.
Jan. 9 (M):
Introduction to the course. Drop period for classes is Jan. 9-12. Add period is Jan. 9-13.
Jan. 11 (W):
The Pre/Proto-Moderns
William Cullen Bryant, “To a Waterfowl,” (CP 1-2)
Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself” stanzas 1-11, 24, 51, 52(CP 3-10, 19-21, 45-46)
Emily Dickinson, “764 [754]” (CP 62)
Jan. 13 (F):
Jan. 16 (M):
Walt Whitman, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” (CP 46-51), “The Wound-Dresser” (CP 51-52);
Ezra Pound “A Pact” (CP 156)
Allen Ginsberg, “A Supermarket in California” (CP 294)
MLK Day—No class
Jan. 18 (W): Emily Dickinson, selected poems (CP 53-64)
Billy Collins’s “Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes” (posted on <emma>)
Listen to Billy Collins online: “A Poet’s Affection for Emily Dickinson” Fresh Air 07/06/10
Jan. 20 (F): Local Color Movement/Proto-Realism
George Washington Cable, “Belles Demoiselles Plantation” (CP 65-76)
Sarah Orne Jewett “A White Heron” (CP 77-84)
Jan. 23 (M):
Realism
Willa Cather, “The Sculptor’s Funeral” (CP 85-94)
Henry James, “The Real Thing” (CP 95-113)
Jan. 25 (W):
Edith Wharton, “Roman Fever” (CP 115-24)
Jan. 27 (F):
Naturalism
Jack London, “To Build a Fire” (CP 135-45)
< emma> orientation
Jan. 30 (M):
Hamlin Garland, “Under the Lion’s Paw” (CP 125-34)
Working thesis of Paper 1 due on <emma> by class time.
Feb. 1 (W):
Quiz 1
Response to team members’ working thesis statements by class time.
Feb. 3 (F):
Draft 1 of paper one due on <emma> by class time. Writing workshop.
Feb. 6 (M):
Modernism
Draft 2 of paper one due on <emma> by class time. Introduction to Modernism, part 1
Feb. 8 (W):
Peer edit of draft 2 of paper one due on <emma> by class time. Intro. to Modernism, part 2
Feb. 10 (F):
Paper 1 Due on <emma> by class time. Ezra Pound “In a Station of the Metro” (CP 156)
Quick/ENGL 2340/Fall 10/pg. 4
Feb. 13 (M): Robert Frost “Mending Wall” (CP 147-48) and “The Road Not Taken” (CP 154)
Feb. 15 (W): T.S. Eliot “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”(CP 171-75)
and “Journey of the Magi” (CP 178-79)
Feb. 17 (F):
Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises (11-70)
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Feb. 20 (M): Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises (75-130)
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Feb. 22 (W): Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises (131-91)
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Feb. 24 (F):
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Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises (192-251)
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Feb. 27 (M): Paper 2 working thesis due on <emma> by classtime. Choice Project for portfolio described.
Feb. 29 (W): Homegrown Modernism
William Carlos Williams selected poems (CP 157-63)
Response to team members’ working thesis statements by class time.
****March 1 (Thursday)— Midpoint in the spring semester****
Mar. 2 (F):
Wallace Stevens selected poems (CP 165-70)
Draft 1 of paper 2 due on <emma> by class time
Peer edit of draft 1of paper 2 due on <emma> by class time.
Mar. 5 (M):
African-American
Booker T. Washington from Up from Slavery (CP 181-89)
W.E.B. Du Bois from The Souls of Black Folk (CP 191-200)
Draft 2 of paper 2 due on <emma> by class time.
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Mar. 7 (W):
Claude McKay (CP 201-03)
Countee Cullen (CP 213)
Peer edit on paper 2 due on <emma> by class time
Portfolio Explained. Choice Project Explained.
Mar. 9 (F):
Paper 2 and choice project for portfolio due on <emma> by class time.
Langston Hughes poems (CP 205-11)
Zora Neale Hurston “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” (CP 281-84)
Mar. 12-Mar. 16 (M-F): Spring Break—No Classes
Mar. 19 (M): James Baldwin “Sonny’s Blues” (CP 219-39)
Mar. 21(W): Toni Morrison’s Sula (4-85)
Midpoint Withdrawal Deadline
Mar. 23 (F):
Toni Morrison’s Sula (89-137)
Mar. 26 (M): Toni Morrison’s Sula (138-74)
Quick/ENGL 2340/Fall 10/pg. 5
Mar. 28 (W): Southern
William Faulkner “Dry September” (CP 241-48)
William Faulkner “Wash” (CP 249-57)
Mar. 30 (F):
Flannery O’Connor “Good Country People” (CP 259-73)
Apr. 2 (M):
Bobbie Ann Mason “Shiloh” (CP 275-84)
Apr. 4 (W):
Post WWII
Allen Ginsberg “Howl” (CP 285-93)
Apr. 6 (F):
Cheever “The Swimmer” (CP 295-303)
Apr. 9 (M):
Quiz 2
Progress report on Choice Project for Portfolio.
Working thesis paper 3 due on <emma> by class time
Apr. 11 (W): Sandra Cisneros “Woman Hollering Creek”(CP 315-22)
Draft 1 of paper 3 due on <emma> by class time
Apr. 13 (F):
Li-Young Lee selected poems (CP 309-13)
Billy Collins selected poems (CP 305-07)
Peer edit of paper 3 due on <emma> by class time
Apr. 16 (M): Class meets at Georgia Museum of Art (Paul Manoguerra, American Art Curator)
Draft 2 of paper 3 due on <emma> by class time (still!)
Apr. 18 (W): Sherman Alexie “Do Not Go Gentle” (CP 323-26)
Paper 3 Due on <emma> by class time
Apr. 20 (F):
Don DeLillo’s Falling Man, Part One, (1-83)
Apr. 23 (M): Don DeLillo’s Falling Man, Part Two, (85-135)
Apr. 25 (W): Don DeLillo’s Falling Man, Part Two, (137-78)
Apr. 27 (F): Don DeLillo’s Falling Man, Part Three, (179-246)
Apr. 30 (M): Project Presentations/Review/Wrap-up
May 1 (T):
May 4 (F):
Reading Day—No Class—Optional Review Session TBA
Portfolios Due. Final Exam 12:00 pm-3:00 pm
May 14 (M): Grades Due, 7:00 pm
Quick/ENGL 2340/Fall 10/pg. 6