STUDENT SYLLABUS – Spring 2016
Course Name/Section Number: Early American Literature
ONLINE/ENGL 2327
Instructor Name: Lisa DeVries
Division/Dept.: Humanities/ English
Office Hours: MWF 11:00AM-11:50AM; TTH 9:25AM-10:40AM; or by
appointment
Office Number: Language Building, 100G
Office Phone: (361) 572-6474
Instructor Email: lisa.devries@victoriacollege.edu
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Course Description:
A survey of American literature from the period of exploration and
settlement through the Civil War. Students will study works of prose,
poetry, drama, and fiction in relation to their historical and cultural
contexts. Texts will be selected from among a diverse group of authors
for what they reflect and reveal about the evolving American experience
and character.
Prerequisite:
A grade of C or higher in English 1301
Required Textbook(s), Supplies, and Materials:
Baym, Nina and Robert S. Levine. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Vol. A. and B. 8th ed. New
York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012.
Learning Outcomes (AMS): (*indicates Program Level Outcome)
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*
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the humanities.
Evaluate those works as expressions of individual and human values within an historical and social
context.
Respond critically to works in the humanities.
Identify key ideas, representative authors and works, significant historical or cultural events, and
characteristic perspectives or attitudes expressed in the literature of different periods or regions.
Analyze literary works as expressions of individual or communal values within the social, political,
cultural, or religious contexts of different literary periods.
Demonstrate knowledge of the development of characteristic forms or styles of expression during
historical periods or in different regions.
Articulate the aesthetic principles that guide the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
Write research-based critical papers about the assigned readings in clear and grammatically correct
prose, using various critical approaches to literature.
Core Course Objectives (AMS): (* indicates Program Level Outcome)
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*
*
Critical Thinking Skills: to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and
synthesis of information.
Communication Skills: to include effective written, oral, and visual communication.
Social Responsibility: to include intercultural competency, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the
ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.
*
Personal Responsibility: to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical
decision-making.
Assessments (AMS):
Final exam
IDEA objectives 1, 7 marked as "E" for Essential
Course Requirements:
1. You must have all reading material read by the assigned date(s), as listed on the syllabus calendar.
Weekly quizzes will be administered online to test reading comprehension – these will be open from
8AM Monday of every week to Sunday at 11:59PM.
2. You will be expected to provide five significant and timely contributions to the group discussion forum
throughout the semester (these may be thought experiments, questions about the readings, reader
response journaling, or brief assignments). For instance, you could decide to respond to the first five
week discussion posts, the last five of the semester, or a combination of the five readings you like best –
just be careful that they don’t sneak up on you! I also recommend reading through each week’s
discussion questions so that you have a way to delve into a text, particularly for those more difficult
readings.
Weekly discussion posts must be submitted by 11:59PM each Sunday on the week they’re assigned – no
late posts will be graded (Example: If your first discussion post is in response to “The Iroquois Creation
Story”, you need to post before 11:59PM on Jan 24th). Late submissions will not be graded.
3. You will write one 5 page Research Paper and an Annotated Bibliography. A full description of these
assignments can be found under the Content folder – please check the Calendar for due dates. You will
also need to view a library orientation webinar; this will guide you in locating credible sources/literary
criticism for your two major assignments.
All assignments should be saved in Microsoft Word and submitted via Blackboard Assignments. Late
work will be penalized 10 points/one letter grade per day that it is late. Late work will not be accepted
after one week past the due date and will be recorded as a zero. Missing assignments will also be
recorded as a zero.
4. You will take three exams, including the final. Exams consist of fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, short
answer and essay – study guides will be provided for each exam, but they are in no way meant to
substitute thorough reading of the text. All exams must be taken at one of the VC Testing Centers (or the
proctored equivalent for distance education sites) during the times listed on the course calendar. It is the
student’s responsibility to contact the Testing Center and schedule his/her exam. A Testing Center flyer,
with contact information and hours of operation, is located in the Content folder. Note: There is no make
up for the final exam.
5. Optional extra credit: there are several free cultural events on and around campus that can count as extra
credit. These opportunities are listed on the calendar (although I may include more throughout the
semester via “Announcements”), and can replace low quiz grades with a 100. If you attend one of these
events, you will need to write up a 2-3 paragraph reflection/summary of the event to “prove” to me that
you attended. Please save these as Microsoft Word and submit them via email.
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.
6. Plagiarism – briefly defined as the use of anyone’s words OR ideas without proper documentation –
will not be tolerated and will result in an automatic F/zero for any assignment which contains it. Please
note that we use detection software, and that according to VC policy, a student may be dropped from the
course and issued an automatic F for the first offense; stricter penalties, such as dismissal from the
College, may also apply. If you are concerned that you may be in danger of plagiarizing, please come
see me during my office hours, or make an appointment with me. There’s no penalty for asking questions
or getting clarification on an assignment.
7. When in doubt, contact me immediately.
Criteria for Grading:
Quizzes/ 5 Discussion Posts:
Annotated Bibliography:
Research Paper:
Exam 1:
Exam 2:
Final Exam:
15%
10%
20%
15%
15%
25%
Attendance:
For online classes, attendance is defined as activity in the class at the minimum of 3 times per week. Blackboard
will automatically log your activity in the course, which constitutes your attendance. Regular and prompt class
attendance is expected of every student. A student’s absence means that the student is not able to participate in
the class. A student is considered as having attended an online class prior to the Official Reporting Date (ORD)
if that student has logged into the class at least one time prior to the ORD.
Instructor-Initiated Withdrawal (Drops):
While it is the final responsibility of the student to drop a class that she/he is no longer attending, instructors
MUST drop a student who has not logged into an online class or physically attended a face-to-face or hybrid
class prior to the ORD. Instructors must initiate ORD drops by the published deadlines; CANNOT drop a
student with an average of D/UD or better; after following established division retention practices, MAY at
their discretion drop a student who is not passing without consultation with the student when absences exceed
20% of the scheduled class meetings. For classes that include a separate laboratory, a student may be dropped
when absences exceed 20% of the laboratory meetings or 20% of the lecture meetings; MUST drop a student
who is not passing when absences exceed 40% of the scheduled class meetings unless said excessive absences
accrue after the 65% drop date; CANNOT drop a student after 65% of class instruction has been completed.
This practice applies to all modes of instruction. The Vice President of Instruction can make exceptions to the
above rules.
Tentative Class Calendar
A “week” in this online course will be considered 8:00am Monday to Sunday at 11:59pm. For some readings,
only the first page of the selection is given; students are expected to read the entire selection. (It’s easy to fall
behind when you’re self-policing your reading – don’t let this happen to you!). Unless otherwise indicated, all
readings are located in your Norton textbook. Author names are bolded, extra credits are italicized (as well as
some titles of works), discussion and quiz due dates are underlined, and major assignments (exams and papers)
are underlined and highlighted.
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.
Week 1, Jan 19-24:
Read Course Syllabus/Note due dates in Course Calendar
Review/Listen to PowerPoint Lecture: Introduction to British Colonialism in the Americas
Read Poem: “On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City” by Sherman Alexie (Under Content)
Read Essay: “Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress” by Howard Zinn (Under Content)
Review Early Americas Timeline (Under Content)
Review Notes on Native American Creation Myths (Under Content)
Read Short Story: “The Iroquois Creation Story” pg. 21 (Textbook)
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 2, Jan 25-31:
Extra Credit: View the film The Mission at the VC/UHV Library before the first exam; write a one page
review of the film and discuss how it relates to early colonial narratives.
Read Christopher Columbus’ Letters pg. 34; Bartolome de las Casas’ The Very Brief Relation of the
Devastation of the Indies pg. 39l
Review Notes on Columbus and de las Casas
Review Research Paper and Annotated Bibliography requirements – email me with questions, concerns,
and/or if you want to set up an appointment with me!
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 3, Feb 1-7:
Read John Smith’s General History of Virginia pg. 81 & “A Description of New England” pg. 93;
“Native American Trickster Tales” pg. 100
Review Notes on John Smith & Trickster
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 4, Feb 8-14:
Extra Credit: The Vagina Monologues, Feb 12 & 13 @ 7:30pm, Johnson Symposium
William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation pg. 131-147; Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan
pg.157
Review Notes on Bradford and Morton
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 5, Feb 15-21:
Extra Credit: Songs for a New World, Feb 18-20 @ 7:30pm, Welder Center/Theatre Victoria
Read Mary Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration…” pg. 256-268; Cotton
Mather’s Wonders of the Invisible World pg. 328 & “A Notable Exploit” pg. 354
Review Notes on Bradstreet and Mather
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 6, Feb 22-28:
Extra Credit: Lyceum Speaker Kevin Booth, Feb 23 @ noon, VC Student Center
Exam 1 Study Guide posted
Read Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” pg. 430
Review Notes on Edwards
Research Paper Topic due on Feb 22
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.
Week 7, Feb 29-March 6:
Exam 1 open Feb 29-Mar 2
Review/Listen to PowerPoint Lecture: The Revolutionary Age
Read “Introduction” pg. 365
Read “The New Colossus” (under Content)
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 8, March 7-13:
Read Ben Franklin’s “The Speech of Polly Baker” pg. 463; “Information to Those Who Would
Remove to America” pg. 471; J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer
pg. 605-618
Review Notes on Franklin and Crevecoeur
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 9, March 14-20: College Closed – Spring Break!
Extra Credit: VTXIFF, Mar 18-21 @ Welder Center
Week 10, March 21-27:
Note: March 25 (Good Friday – College Closed)
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense pg. 641; Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence” pg. 663
& Notes on the State of Virginia pg. 668
Review Notes on Paine and Jefferson
Annotated Bibliography due on 3/24
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 11, March 28-April 3:
Extra Credit: View the film Amistad at the VC/UHV Library before the second exam; write a one page
review of the film and discuss how it relates to Equiano & Wheatley’s texts.
Exam 2 Study Guide posted
Read Olaudah Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano… pg. 687-699 &
718-721; Phillis Wheatley’s poetry (read all poems) pg. 763
Review Notes on Wheatley and Equiano
Research Paper Outline due March 30
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 12, April 4-10:
Extra Credit: Lyceum Speaker Maria Konnikova, Apr 6 @ 7pm, Welder Center
Note: April 6 (Last Day to Drop)
Exam 2 open April 4-6; (Note: all remaining readings are from Volume B)
Review PowerPoint Lecture: American Romanticism
Read “Introduction” pg.3; William Cullen Bryant’s “Thanatopsis” pg. 123
Review Notes on Bryant
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 13, April 11-17:
Read Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” pg. 29; Angelina Grimke’s “Appeal to the Christian
Women of the South” pg. 798; Sojourner Truth’s “Speech to the Women’s Rights Convention” pg.
801
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.
Review Notes on authors in textbook
Quiz (and optional discussion post – only 3 left!) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 14, April 18-24:
Research Paper due April 22
Read Henry David Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” pg. 965; Ralph Waldo Emerson’s
Nature pg. 214-218 & “Self-Reliance” pg. 269-272
Review Notes on Thoreau and Emerson
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 15, April 25-May 1:
Read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Maypole of Merry Mount” pg. 401 & “The Minister’s Black Veil”
pg. 409; Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” pg. 654 & “The Raven” pg. 637
Review Notes on Hawthorne and Poe
Quiz (and optional discussion post) due by 11:59pm Sunday
Week 16, May 2-8:
Read Fanny Fern’s “Aunt Hetty on Matrimony” pg. 907 & “Hungry Husbands” pg. 908 & “A Law
More Nice than Just” pg. 914
Review Notes on Fern
Final Exam Study Guide posted
Final discussion post due by 11:59pm Sunday
Final Exam open May 9-11
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.
VC Online / VCT Exams
Testing Center Information
Office Hours are: Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM
To Schedule Your Exam Go To:
 WWW.VICTORIACOLLEGE.EDU/TESTING CENTER: Choose “Testing for Online Courses” from the left hand side >
Register Today > Enter Username and Password
 FIRST TIME USERS: Create an account. The username and password you create will be used for future appointments. Please do not create
more than one profile.
 SCHEDULING AN EXAM: Select Exam fr om the dr op down box > Select a date from the list > Enter Course and Instructor’s Name in the box
(ex. ENG 1301, Anderson) > Click Continue
 Valid/Current Photo ID is REQUIRED to test.
 Do not bring personal belongings into the center. (Only instr uc-tor approved materials allowed.)
 DO NOT br ing your childr en to testing appointments. Please refer to the VC Student Handbook, Article XVIII, Section 19.11.
 No exams are given beyond the specified date without approval from the INSTRUCTOR.
 You can make appointments for the entire semester.
 To cancel an appointment, log into your Appointment Plus account and click the cancel link next to the appointment.
VC Online Appointment Required testing times can be scheduled for :
(Our office will be closed on MLK 1/18, Spring Break 3/12-3/19, and Easter 3/25-3/27)
FINAL EXAM TIMES (Friday 5/6, Saturday 5/7, Monday 5/9, Tuesday 5/10, and Wednesday 5/11) can be scheduled:
*All test times will be offered all five testing days. Walk-In testing not available.
Monday-Thursday
Friday-Saturday
8:30 am
6 pm
9:30 am
10:30 am
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.
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Admissions Applications, Transcripts, Grade Submission
Student Services Building,
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The KEY Center is a federally funded program providing support services for eligible students. **
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Room
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Additional information on Student Support Services can found in The Victoria College Student Handbook. A link to the Handbook is in
the Publications & Dates folder in the Pirate Portal. A hardcopy of The Handbook can be obtained by contacting any Student Services
office.
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus as deemed necessary and appropriate.