University of Central Oklahoma
English Department
English 2883: American Literature Since 1865
Fall 2015, CRN 18127
T/TH 2:00–3:15, LAR 233
Professor: Dr. Kate Huber
Email: khuber1@uco.edu
Phone: 974-5631
Office Location: 105G Liberal Arts Building
Office Hours: M/W, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
T/TH, 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
Course Description:
This course is a continuation of ENG 2773 from Walt Whitman to the present.
This semester, we will survey the history of “American Literature” after the Civil War. The term “American”
seems to be fairly straightforward, although the diversity of voices we will encounter suggests that who counts
as “American” is not quite so simple. The definition of “Literature” is more obviously contestable. Should this
course teach a traditional literary history, focusing on major literary movements and the most canonical authors,
or should it present a history of written expression that better reflects the cultural history of America itself? I
will try to do both, but throughout the semester we will revisit this key question again and again: as literary
critics and/or historians, how do we balance aesthetics against history, culture, and politics? Complicating things
further is the question of mainstream vs. counterculture. While a survey course will often seek to present texts
that are representative of the time period, America itself is founded on the idea of protest and dissent, so many
of our authors will seek to go against the norm, both aesthetically and culturally.
Course and Transformative Learning Objectives:
Transformative Learning is a holistic process that places students at the center of their own active learning
experiences. All students at the University of Central Oklahoma will have transformative learning experiences
in six core areas: discipline knowledge; leadership; research, creative, and scholarly activities; service learning
and civic engagement; global and cultural competencies; and health and wellness.
By the end of this course, students will:
 Understand and identify major works, authors, and concepts in American literature after the Civil War.
(Discipline Knowledge)
 Make connections between works in terms of major literary, cultural, and historical themes.
 Close read and analyze literature in its historical context. (Research, Creative, and Scholarly
Activities)
 Entertain views outside of their own individual perspectives and imagine themselves in the place of a
diverse group of writers. (Global and Cultural Competencies)
 Develop a personal strategy for reading challenging texts with comprehension and retention.
Required Texts and Materials:
The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 6th edition. Volumes C, D, and E. ISBN 9780547207827
Don Delillo, White Noise. Penguin. ISBN: 9780140077025
These books are available at Textbook Brokers for a reduced cost.
Bluebooks for three exams.
Post-it notes or flags to take notes and mark passages in your textbooks if you do not wish to mark up the pages.
Grading:
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Reading Journal
Class Participation
20 %
20 %
35 %
15 %
10 %
Grades will be posted on D2L as percentages: A=90–100%; B=80–89%; C=70–79%; D=60–69%; F=0–59%
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Course Requirements:
The requirements for this course will include three exams and weekly posts in an online reading journal. The
exams will test your broader understanding of the texts, historical periods, and key issues discussed in class
through short-answer identifications. The final exam will also include a longer essay question. The reading
journal will serve as a forum for you to develop your own arguments and readings of the texts.
The remaining portion of your grade will cover attendance, participation, and any in-class writing. This grade
will reflect your engagement with class discussion. To be an active participant in the class, it is essential that
you complete the assigned readings for each day and come to class ready to talk about them. Bring your
anthology to each class period as well as copies of any additional readings posted on D2L. Please also observe
common courtesies such as silencing all phones and refraining from texting, social networking, surfing the web,
and other distracting activities. Coming to class regularly and on time will earn a participation grade in the C
range. Good (B) or excellent (A) participation requires active contribution to class discussion.
Reading Journal:
A large and important component of success in this course will be keeping up with the reading and making
regular entries in your Reading Journal discussion topic on D2L, which only you and I can see. You must post at
least 200 words per week. You can meet this requirement with one longer post per week or as many separate
posts as you like. Please create one “thread” for each week. If you post more than once for a week’s readings,
post your response as a “reply” on the original thread for that week.
Each week you should:
 Raise a question or make an argument about a reading before we discuss it in class.
 Support your ideas with close reading of specific quotes from the text.
 Reflect on your reading experience.
I will sometimes post a particular question to consider in the News feed on D2L. Other general questions you
might use as a starting point include: How does this reading compare to previous texts or authors we’ve read?
How does this reading connect to literary or historical terms and movements we’ve discussed? What aesthetic or
literary value does this reading have? What cultural or political value does this reading have? What issues of
analysis or interpretation might be interesting to discuss in class?
I will give feedback on your reading journal as often as I can, particularly near the beginning of the semester,
and I will let you know in my comments if your responses are strong, adequate, or need improvement. As a
general rule, I will only respond to posts made before we discuss a reading in class. Late entries will receive
only partial credit. Your reading journal will be graded as a whole at the end of the semester. You can find the
rubric for this assignment on D2L.
Attendance:
You are responsible for all material covered at every class session, even if you do not attend that session, and
any missed class may put you at a disadvantage. Missing more than three class meetings or coming late to class
more than three times will negatively affect your participation grade. Missing more than six class meetings will
result in a zero for the participation portion of your grade. You must contact me in advance if you are unable to
make it to one of the three exams. I will only give make-up exams in the case of a genuine emergency. Contact
me immediately to make alternate arrangements.
Use of Technology:
This course requires regular use of D2L. Access the course website at learn.uco.edu, or through the “My
Courses” tab on UCONNECT. If you are not familiar with using D2L, you should take one of the training
sessions offered by the Technology Resource Center (see www.uco.edu/technology/student). Most course
materials including additional readings, the syllabus, and information about the exams can be found on D2L. I
will use the “News” widget on the course’s homepage to post important course announcements as well as
questions to consider as you write in your reading journal. Set your notification settings so that you receive an
email whenever a new item is posted. You can also use D2L to keep track of your grades and attendance.
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This semester, I will be piloting the use of the free online service Socrative for class discussion. If you have a
mobile device, you should bring that device to class in order to respond to questions about the reading. You can
access Socrative either through the Socrative Student app or through their website, www.socrative.com.
Plagiarism:
All work that you hand in for this course must be your own. Any language that is not your own must be put in
quotation marks and cited using MLA format. Re-worded ideas, opinions, or facts must also be cited. If you do
not document the source of any words or ideas that are not your own, I will file a notice of academic dishonesty
with the Office of Academic Affairs and you will fail this course. Don’t jeopardize your academic career by
plagiarizing. If you are in any way uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, consult with me. When in doubt,
cite.
The University of Central Oklahoma subscribes to the turnitin.com plagiarism prevention service. Students
agree by taking this course that all required assignments may be subject to submission to turnitin.com for textual
similarity review. All submitted assignments will be included as source documents in turnitin.com’s restrictedaccess database for the purposes of detecting plagiarism. Use of the turnitin.com service is subject to the terms
and conditions of use posted on the turnitin.com website. Turnitin.com is one of several plagiarism prevention
tools and methods that may be used by the instructor.
Expectation of Work:
Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education policy states that each college or university student should devote
two to three hours to homework, study, and other academic preparation for each hour that he or she spends in
class.
Special Accommodations:
The University of Central Oklahoma complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need special accommodations must
make their requests by contacting the Office of Disability Support Services at 974-2516. The Office of
Disability Support Services is located in room 309 of the Nigh University Center. Students should also notify
the instructor of special accommodation needs by the end of the first week of class.
Non-Discrimination Policy:
The University is committed to an inclusive educational and employment environment that provides equal
opportunity and access to all qualified persons. The University will continue its policy of fair and equal
employment and educational practices without discrimination or harassment because of actual or perceived race,
creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, genetic information, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability
or handicap, gender, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic
protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Discrimination or harassment in violation of this policy
should be reported to the Affirmative Action Officer (Office of Legal Counsel), Lillard Administration Building,
Room 114D, voice (405) 974-3377 or fax (405) 974-3807.
After office hours or on holidays and weekends, the report may be made by contacting University Police
Services at (405) 974-2345.
Additional Policies and Procedures:
Please consult the attached “Student Information Sheet and Syllabus Attachment” for information about
additional policies and procedures applicable to this class. http://www.uco.edu/academic-affairs/files/aaforms/StudentInfoSheet.pdf
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COURSE OUTLINE
Unless otherwise noted, all readings are from the Heath Anthology. Whenever possible, I will make copies of
supplemental readings labeled “D2L” and distribute them to the class in advance. If you do not receive a copy
from me, you must print the reading yourself and bring a copy to class. All assignments are due on the day they
appear. This schedule may be revised as necessary throughout the semester.
Unit I – Late Nineteenth Century (1865-1910)
Week 1:
T 8/18: Walt Whitman, “from Drum-Taps,” D2L.
Th 8/20: Louisa May Alcott, “My Contraband,” 759-772.
Charles Waddell Chesnutt, “The Goophered Grapevine,” 124-132.
Joel Chandler Harris, “from Uncle Remus: His Songs and Sayings,” 106-108.
Week 2:
T 8/25: Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” D2L.
Sarah Winnemucca, “from Life among the Piutes,” 628-638.
Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa), “from The School Days of an Indian Girl,” 1058-1066.
Th 8/27: Mark Twain, “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog,” “Buck Fanshaw’s Funeral,” and “A True Story,”
56-68.
Henry James, “The Art of Fiction,” 298-313.
Week 3:
T 9/1: Henry James, “Daisy Miller: A Study,” 259-298.
Th 9/3: Stephen Crane, “The Open Boat,” 517-533.
Week 4:
T 9/8: Jack London, “South of the Slot,” 546-556.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” and “Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,”
673-685, 692.
Th 9/10: Kate Chopin, “Désirée’s Baby,” 415-419.
Sarah Orne Jewett, “A White Heron,” 811-817.
Week 5:
T 9/15: Exam 1.
Unit II – Modern Period (1910-1945)
Th 9/17: T.S. Eliot, “Tradition and the Individual Talent” and “The Waste Land,” 1588-1609.
Week 6:
T 9/22: Ezra Pound, “A Pact,” “In a Station of the Metro,” “L’art, 1910,” “A Retrospect,” 1401-1403.
William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “To Elsie,” 1471, 1474-1475.
E. E. Cummings, “[I sing of Olaf glad and big],” “[Picasso],” and “[anyone lived in a pretty how
town],” 1575-1578.
Wallace Stevens, “Sunday Morning” and “Of Modern Poetry,” 1678-1681, 1686.
Th 9/24: Gertrude Stein, “The Gentle Lena,” “from The Making of Americans,” “Susie Asado,” “Preciosilla,”
1437-1460.
Week 7:
T 9/29: William Faulkner, “Barn Burning,” 1704-1716.
Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants,” 1673-1676.
Th 10/1: Booker T. Washington, “The Atlanta Exposition Address,” 1149-1156.
W.E.B Du Bois, “from The Souls of Black Folk,” 1159-1179.
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Week 8:
T 10/6: Langston Hughes, all poetry selections, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” and “When the
Negro Was in Vogue,” 1774-1781, 1790-1798.
George Samuel Schuyler, “The Negro-Art Hokum,” 1927-1929.
“Sheaf: Blues Lyrics,” 1930-1937.
Th 10/8: Jean Toomer, “Blood Burning Moon,” 1758-1763.
Zora Neale Hurston, “The Gilded Six-Bits,” 1839-1847.
Week 9:
T 10/13: Randolph Bourne, “Trans-National America,” 1957-1968.
Anzia Yezierska, “America and I,” 1970-1976.
Th 10/15: Fall Break – No Classes
Week 10
T 10/20: Clifford Odets, Waiting for Lefty, 2029-2046.
John Dos Passos, “from U.S.A.,” 1996-2007.
Th 10/22: Exam 2.
Unit III – Contemporary Period (1945 to the Present)
Week 11:
T 10/27: James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues,” 2545-2566.
John Updike, “A&P,” D2L.
Th 10/29: Allen Ginsberg, “A Supermarket in California,” “Howl,” and “America,” 2581-2593.
Jack Kerouac, “The Vanishing American Hobo,” 2595-2601.
Week 12
T 11/3: Robert Lowell, “Skunk Hour” and “For the Union Dead,” 2507-2511.
Anne Sexton, “Her Kind” and “Housewife,” 2833-2834.
Sylvia Plath, “Daddy” and “Lady Lazarus,” 2838-2842.
Th 11/5: Tim O’Brien, “In the Field,” 2735-2742.
Norman Mailer, “from The Armies of the Night,” 2744-2754.
Week 13
T 11/10: Don DeLillo, White Noise, 3-105.
Th 11/12: Don DeLillo, White Noise, 106-163.
Week 14
T 11/17: Don DeLillo, White Noise, 164-326.
Th 11/19: Frank O’Hara, all selections, 2641-2644.
John Ashbery, “Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape,” 2648-2649.
Week 15
T 11/24: Toni Morrison, “Recitatif,” 2819-2832.
Ishmael Reed, “I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra,” 3056-3058.
Sonia Sanchez, “to blk/record/buyers,” “Masks,” 2954-2955.
Th 11/26: Thanksgiving – No Classes
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Week 16
T 12/1: Sherman Alexie, “Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix
Play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock,” 3539-3545.
Jessica Hagedorn, “Filipino Boogie,” 3310-3312.
Aurora Levins Morales, “Child of the Americas,” 3469-3470.
Th 12/3: Wai Chee Dimock, “Planet and America, Set and Subset,” 3578-3582.
John Updike, “Varieties of Religious Experience,” D2L.
Finals Week
Th 12/10: Exam 3 (1:00-2:50 PM).