Texas A&M Central Texas
ENGL 301-115 American Literature to 1865
Online through Blackboard
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
Email:
Office Hours:
Allen H. Redmon, PhD
Founder’s Hall, Room 217p
254.519.5750
allen.redmon@ct.tamus.edu
The best way to contact me is via email. You may arrange face-to-face meetings
through email (either through Blackboard or at the above email address). You
can expect a response within 24 hours.
To access online components,
1) Visit http://online.tarleton.edu/Dual/DualLoginPage.htm
2) Click “Course Log-in”
3) Enter your user name and password
4) Find our course
1.0
Course Prerequisite:
ENGL 111, 112, and 6 hours of sophomore English
2.0
Course Overview:
This course examines literature written in North America from pre-United States to 1865. This
course offers a critical survey of major writers and movements with emphasis upon such
representative authors as Poe, Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, Dickinson, and Melville.
3.0
Course Objectives:
By the end of the semester, successful students will be able to:
 Discuss the most prominent works and authors in American Literature before the
Civil War
 Describe the generic characteristics represented in this literary period
 Distinguish between various modes of literary production and reception
 Explore the multiple possibilities of literary texts
 Create and sustain literary arguments in written form
 Produce a useful annotated bibliography over a clear research question
4.0
Required Textbooks:
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, seventh edition, volumes A and B, Norton, 2012,
ISBN: 9780393934762 and 9780393934779
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Norton Critical Editions), Norton, 2010. ISBN: 9780393933994
5.0
Technology Requirements
For this course, you will need reliable and frequent access to a computer and to the
Internet. You will also need a headset with a microphone or speakers and a microphone
to be able to listen to online resources and conduct other activities in the course. If you do
not have frequent and reliable access to a computer with Internet connection, please
consider dropping this course or contact me (your email and phone number) to discuss
your situation.
Blackboard supports the most common operating systems:
PC: Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2000,
Mac: Mac OS 10.6 “Snow Leopard®”, Mac OS 10.5 “Leopard®”, Mac OS 10.4 “Tiger®”
Check browser and computer compatibility by following the “Browser Check” link on the
TAMU-CTBlackboard logon page. (http://tamuct.blackboard.com) This is a CRITICAL
step as these settings are important for when you take an exam or submit an assignment.
Upon logging on to Blackboard Learn, you will see a link to Blackboard Student
Orientation under My Courses tab. Click on that link and study the materials in this
orientation course. The new Blackboard is a brand-new interface and you will have to
come up to speed with it really quickly. This orientation course will help you get there.
There is also a link to Blackboard Help from inside the course on the left-hand menubar.
The first week of the course includes activities and assignments that will help you get up
to speed with navigation, sending and receiving messages and discussion posts, and
submitting an assignment. Your ability to function within the Blackboard system will
facilitate your success in this course.
For technological or computer issues, students should contact the TAMU-CT Blackboard Support
Services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
Support Portal: http://www.ct.tamus.edu/bbsupport
Online chat (through the support portal at: http://www.ct.tamus.edu/bbsupport)
Phone: (855)-661-7965
For issues related to course content and requirements, contact your instructor.
Technology issues are not an excuse for missing a course requirement – make sure your
computer is configured correctly and address issues well in advance of deadlines.
6.0
Course Requirements:
Non-Gradable Requirements
Regular Reading
The assigned reading directly impacts one’s ability to develop the abilities to read
literature or express your ideas on literary texts. Students who do not read will struggle
to accomplish the assignments in the course. As such, students should make every effort
to read (in every sense of the word) every page of every text assigned. Some pages
should even be read twice. Failure to read the text does not excuse one from any part of
any assignment.
Regular Participation
Participation in class discussions is essential. This course works to demonstrate above
anything else the way in which good texts possess multiple meanings. We will search out
the way to recognize the densest parts of the texts we read and to search out what they
mean. We can only do this if every student remains active during all parts of class. In
this particular section, that will mean reading and commenting on your peer’s posts (even
when not for a grade).
Gradable Requirements
Daily Writing Moments (worth 4 points each for up to 68 points of the final grade)
Daily Writing Moments (DWM) provides students with a chance to practice writing
academic paragraphs. DWMs will all begin in the same way: “The most ____ moment in
our reading today is ____.” Students will fill the first blank with any adjective they want.
They can write about the most exciting, the most tragic, the most interesting, the most
confusing, the “most-whatever-they-want” part of the assigned reading that day. They
will fill the second blank with a narrative description of the part of the text that is being
discussed (NOT a page number).
The second sentence in the DWM should explain the opening statement a bit further or
offer some concession, whichever seems most necessary. The second sentence might
need to clarify something that our formula for the first sentence didn’t give space to
clarify (explanation). Or it might need to explain why a more logical section of the
reading didn’t win the race for the most X aspect of the text (concession).
The next couple of sentences will offer a textual defense for calling the text what you
have. You want to offer evidence from the text that shows your passage does what you
claim it does. The best evidence will pay special attention to specific words and phrases.
They might even consider what isn’t in the text. The goal in this third section is two-fold:
point to the aspects of a passage that best defends your original claim and amplify that
claim so that it can be weighed by your reader. Both goals must be met in a relatively
small amount of space. You only have 3 or 4 sentences for this section at most. You will
want to spend some time deciding what you want to say before you say it so that you can
focus on the most essential parts of the text.
The DWM ends with a sentence that reminds the reader the argument being presented.
Essentially, you want to remind the reader what your evidence meant to show. Taken
together, these four sections conspire to deliver a focused academic paragraph. Not only
will these assignments help students dissect one part of the reading, but they should help
them improve their writing, too.
Each DWM is worth up to 4 points. Every section is worth one point, so DWMs that
begin with the requisite sentence, offer a second sentence that explains or concedes some
part of the argument, supports the argument through the text, and reminds the reader what
the evidence meant to show will earn four points. Every missing section will result in the
loss of one point.
DWMs will be submitted on the Discussion Board in Blackboard. Students should enter
the appropriate forum, find the reading for that particular day, click that tile, and create a
new thread. Use your name as the title for your thread.
Response Posts (worth 4 points each for up to 68 points of the final grade)
Response posts are similar to DWMs. They, too, are four-part academic essays with
every section earning up to one point. The most successful response posts also begin
with a clear argument, continue with explanation or concession, depend on evidence from
the text to support their position, and end with a reminder of what is being argued.
The difference between DWMs and response posts are that response posts are, as the
name implies, responses to a DWM. The opening statement either frames the passage
first introduced in the DWM as something other than what the original post named it
(tragic rather than humorous) OR propose some other passage as the most X in the
reading (the most disappointing or confusing). The point here is to either show a) that the
same passage can be read in more than one way or b) that some other section can
compete with some other as the most X part of the reading. This point should be clear
from the first sentence of the response post.
The second sentence will offer some point of concession that makes it clear that the
response post is being written in response to some earlier post. More than likely, this
sentence will begin with some mention of the earlier post and end with some return to the
counter argument being made in the response post.
The third section (sentence three through six or so) will delve into the literary text. The
point here is to support your argument with evidence from the text and to show how your
way of reading that text makes sense. The final section is, again, a reminder of the
argument your evidence means to support.
Response posts will also be submitted on the Discussion Board in Blackboard. Students
will simply click and respond to one of the DWMs submitted in the appropriate thread.
Close Readings (worth 10 points each; up to 30 points of the final grade)
Close Readings (CR) provide students the opportunity to demonstrate a sustained reading
of one part of one text using one of the three modes of production and reception we will
discuss. CR #1 will focus on the religious mode; CR #2 will focus on the historical
mode; and, CR #3 will focus on the literary mode.
All three CRs will begin with an introductory paragraph that provides a discussion of
how our class has defined the mode being utilized. A second section will isolate one
specific passage from one of the assigned readings and “comprehend” that passage using
the mode earlier introduced. A final section will offer an “interpretation” of that passage
using that same mode.
CRs are brief (no more than 500 words), formal (typed, double-spaced) writing
assignments. Each CR is worth ten points. The combination of all three will contribute
up to thirty points toward the final grade.
Tests (worth 10 points each; up to 30 points of the final grade)
Students will complete three tests during the semester. Each test will be an essay test that
asks students to identify specific textual evidence that supports some literary argument
negotiated during class discussion. Tests will almost certainly be completed in class and
must be completed within the allotted time span of the class. All three exams are worth
up to ten points and contribute up to thirty points of the final grade.
Annotated Bibliography (worth up to 20 points of the final grade)
The Annotated Bibliography assignment asks students to produce a critically annotated
list of ten current sources (book chapters, peer-reviewed articles, or other approved
scholarly material) addressing some research question related to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s
Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The most successful annotations will articulate an interesting
literary argument, provide full bibliographic material in the proper format (in terms of the
assignment and MLA style), and a descriptive and critical summation that captures the
content and utility of the source. The Annotated Bibliography contributes up to twenty
points of the final grade.
7.0
Grading Criteria Rubric
I will use the following rubric to calculate final grades:
DWMs
Response Posts
Close Reading #1
Close Reading #2
Close Reading #3
Test #1
Test #2
Test #3
Annotated Bibliography
TOTAL
68 points (up to 4 points per each DWM)
68 points (up to 4 points per each post)
10 points
10 points
10 points
10 points
10 points
10 points
20 points
216 points
The distribution of final grades is as follows:
195-216 cumulative points earns an A
173-194 cumulative points earns a B
152-172 cumulative points earns a C
130-151 cumulative points earns a D
0-129 cumulative points equals an F
A point system of this sort does not yield “borderline” grades. By taking every reading and
assignment seriously, students assure themselves of getting the highest grade possible and
avoiding the frustration of “just missing” a desired grade.
8.0
Grading Criteria
Simply completing an assignment will not guarantee the highest grades. Even hard work can
result in less than satisfactory grades when that work is misguided or completed without
attention to the particulars of the assignment. Every assignment has particular points of
emphasis that will need to be addressed to ensure full success. They will also need to meet more
general expectations common to all academic writing. A discussion of these more general
expectations follows:
Writing Projects earning a “C” (7 points)
Meet the objectives of the assignments and the minimal expectations of academic
writing. The argument/purpose of the document is clear. Support statements accomplish
their purpose. Some organizing principle for both the document and individual sections
guides the reader. The style is clear and free of major errors.
Writing Projects earning a “B” (8 points)
Meet the objectives of the assignment with some critical, rhetorical, or logical
sophistication. The argument/purpose of the document is clear and effective. Supporting
statements are convincing. A strong organizing principle motivates arrangement of the
document and the sections in it. The style creates an easily accessible document.
Writing Projects earning an “A” (9-10 points)
Meet the objectives of the assignment with critical, rhetorical, and logical sophistication.
The argument/purpose of the document is clear and effective. Supporting statements are
compelling. A strong organizing principle motivates arrangement of the document and
the sections in it. The style creates an easily accessible document.
Writing Projects earning a “D” (6 points)
Approximate the objectives of the assignment by making a clear attempt to meet the
objectives of the assignment. The document has an argument or objective, but not one
that falls within the scope of the assignment or situation motivating the assignment.
Support statements are present but generally disconnected from the arguments they mean
to aid. A relatively ineffectual organizing principle is employed. The style is
cumbersome.
Writing Projects earning an “F” (5 points or fewer)
Writing projects earning an F fail in one or more of the following ways: fail to
accomplish the assigned task; fail to apply principles introduced and negotiated in class
or reading; fail to write coherent sentences with the expected consistency; offer
inaccurate information.
In the occasion where a paper fits into two different categories, the paper will earn the lower of
the two grades. This is not simply an idiosyncrasy of this course, but in keeping with the ways
in which communication is evaluated.
9.0
Complete Course Calendar
Our course will keep as much as possible to the following schedule:
6.4
Post your “Acknowledgment of Responsibility” and “Introduction”; Post your
“Reaction to Religious Mode”
6.6
“Native American Creation Stories and Trickster Tales”
6.8
“Of Plymouth Plantation”
6.10
“…Captivity and Restoration…”
6.12
Poems of Anne Bradstreet
6.14
FIRST CLOSE READING DUE
6.16
FIRST TEST DUE; post your Reaction to the Historical Mode
6.18
Crevecoeur
6.20
Poems of Phillis Wheatley
6.22
UTC
(Chapters 1-9)
6.24
UTC
(Chapters 10-18)
6.26
UTC
(Chapters 19-27)
6.28
SECOND CLOSE READING DUE
6.30
SECOND TEST DUE; post your Reaction to Literary Mode
7.2
UTC
(Chapters 28-35)
7.5
UTC
(Chapters 36-44)
7.7
Reception to UTC
(Stowe 495-528; 532-561)
7.9
Poe’ Poetry
7.11
Poe’s Detective Fiction
7.13
Poe’s Gothicism
7.15
Rappaccini’s Daughter
7.17
Whitman’s “Drum Taps”
7.19
Emily Dickinson
7.21
THIRD CLOSE READING DUE
7.23
THIRD TEST DUE
7.25
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
This schedule and the turn-in dates may change at the discretion of the instructor. Please see the
“Course Due Dates” of the “Start Here” page on Blackboard to know what is due and when.
10.0
Late-work/Make-up Policy
Neither late work nor make up work will exist in this class. Assignments that fail to be
submitted in an approved manner by the deadline posted under the “Start Here” link will
not be accepted (even if this date is revised unexpectedly). There are absolutely no
exceptions to this policy.
Should you find yourself facing a life-altering event during this course that prohibits you
from completing assignments in a timely fashion please notify your instructor as soon as
possible. In some cases, you may need to let the implications of this unexpected and
sudden event settle before completing your course work. In these cases, you may need to
take an incomplete. Incompletes will only be awarded to those who communicate
problems as they are happening. To this end, please contact your instructor as soon as
you need to do so this semester.
11.0
Drop Policy
If you discover that you need to drop this class, you must go to the Records Office and
ask for the necessary paperwork. Professors cannot drop students; this is always the
responsibility of the student. The record’s office will give a deadline for which the form
must be returned, completely signed. Once you return the signed form to the records
office and wait 24 hours, you must go into Duck Trax and confirm that you are no longer
enrolled. If you are still enrolled, FOLLOW-UP with the records office immediately. You
are to attend class until the procedure is complete to avoid penalty for absence. Should
you miss the deadline or fail to follow the procedure, you will receive an F in the course.
12.0
Tutoring
TAMUCT offers its students tutoring, both on-campus and online. Subjects tutored
include: Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, and Writing (MLA and APA).
For hours, or if you're interested in becoming a tutor, contact Academic Support
Programs at 254-519-5496 or by emailing gnichols@ct.tamus.edu.
Tutor.com is an online tutoring platform that enables TAMU-CT students to log-in and
receive FREE online tutoring and writing support. This tool provides tutoring in
Mathematics, Writing, Career Writing, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Spanish, Calculus,
and Statistics. Chat live with a tutor 24/7 for any subject on your computer, or use the
Tutor.com To Go App on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Visit www.tutor.com/togo to
download the app for free. For access please visit www.ct.tamus.edu/AcademicSupport
and click the link for Tutor.com.
13.0
Academic Honesty
Texas A&M University - Central Texas expects all students to maintain high standards of
personal and scholarly conduct. Students guilty of academic dishonestly are subject to
disciplinary action. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an
examination or other academic work, plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource
materials. The faculty member is responsible for initiating action for each case of
academic dishonestly. More information can be found at
www.ct.tamus.edu/StudentConduct.
Depending on the severity of a student’s act of academic dishonesty, a student found to
have committed any of the above infractions will receive nothing less than a zero on the
assignment on which the infraction occurred and nothing more than expulsion from the
university. A minor infraction includes but is not limited to improper citation or allusion
to a source never cited. A major infraction includes but is not limited to the
undocumented lifting of a phrase from a source that finds its inspiration in some place
other than the student.
14.0
Disability Services
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that
provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other
things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning
environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you
believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Ryan
Thompson, Academic Support Programs Coordinator, at (254) 519-5796 or by email at
rthomp8@ct.tamus.edu.
15.0
Library Services
INFORMATION LITERACY focuses on research skills that prepare individuals to live
and work in an information-centered society. Librarians will work with students in the
development of critical reasoning, ethical use of information, and the appropriate use of
secondary research techniques as subject databases and scholarly journals, executing
effective search strategies, retrieving, recording, and citing relevant results correctly, and
interpreting search results and deciding whether to expand the search. Library Resources
are outlined and accessed through the web page.
http://www.tarleton.edu/centraltexas/depa the web page.
http://www.tarleton.edu/centraltexas/departments/library/