ENGL 2131
Fall 2012
Dr. David Janssen
12:00-12:50, MWF
Office: Honors House, Office 2
Telephone: 678-359-5093
Office Hours: MWF: 1-2, TR: 1:30-4
or by appointment
e-mail: djanssen@gdn.edu
Required Texts:
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Volumes A and B, 7th edition
Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Norton Critical Edition, 2nd edition
*Note: Reading assignments from the above texts will be assigned every Wednesday for
the upcoming week, in accordance with the schedule listed on the calendar below.
Objectives
This course is designed to provide you with an overview of major works, currents, and
trends of English Literature from the early nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The
first major goal of the course is to develop your critical acumen so that you may better
understand and interpret complex and challenging works of literature; the second is to
help you communicate your insights through dialog and writing. Needless to say, we will
be doing a lot of reading and writing in order to accomplish those goals. Yet, as the
Roman poet Horace argued, the purpose of literature is to delight and instruct. Therefore,
you are required to enjoy this experience because above all you do not want to upset
Horace. Aside from appeasing Horace, however, the loving work of reading does not
merely consist of a digestion of information, for that is the lowest mark. No, when
confronted by active eyes, these words that make up our course of study form worlds of
their own, and my hope for you this semester is that you will begin to see how these
living works contribute to the continuous reformation of our world. And perhaps most
importantly, may you discover that your participation in our literary heritage also
contributes to its continuous reformation.
Policies
Absences: In order to succeed, you need to be here. Accordingly, if you miss more than
four days, your final grade will be dropped by one letter. If you miss more than eight, it
drops two, and so on. If you do miss class, it is also your responsibility to contact me in
order to help you catch up, not the other way around.
Late Work: Late work will be deducted 5 points for each calendar day that it is late. This
includes exams and oral presentations.
Plagiarism: If you are caught plagiarizing, you automatically fail the course.
Collusion: Collusion is defined as receiving excessive help to the point that a work can
no longer be considered the product of a single author and therefore cannot be accurately
assessed an individual grade. If I suspect a submitted work to be the result of collusion, I
reserve the right to refuse credit for that work if the claimed author is unable to
demonstrate sole authorship. It is of course important and necessary to get feedback on
your work. That is why peer review is essential to the writing process, and I will always
encourage you to work with the tutors at the Success Center for feedback and assistance
in all stages of the writing process. However, if asked to do so, you should be able to
demonstrate authorship of the words on your pages.
Cell Phones: Please turn off your cell phones before entering class.
Classroom Deportment: As a professor, I have dedicated my life to the academic pursuit.
The classroom is my workspace, and I regard that space with reverence and sanctity. As
a student in my class, I expect you to help me maintain the dignity of the classroom by
respecting its collegial environment. If environmental problems do occur, I will address
them accordingly. If such problems do persist, offenders may be asked not to return to
class. Also, please keep in mind that this is your classroom as well, your environment,
your college experience. And, while I intend to instill in you that same sense of
reverence I feel for the classroom, I also hope to demonstrate and help you to discover
that working in a healthy academic environment can be a blast.
ADA Services: To qualify for ADA Services, you must get approval and documentation
from Student Affairs-Counseling. The office is located in the Student Center, second
floor, and the phone number is 678-359-5585.
Assignments
You will have one major research-based, analytical essay to write that will be due at the
end of the semester as well as an annotated bibliography based upon the secondary
sources in Moby Dick. There will be a midterm and a final exam. You will also need to
keep a Reading Response Journal, and you will need to bring your journal to class
because I may ask you to share your responses in class. Failure to do so will result in a
deduction of points on the journal. Finally, you will need to give a 15-minute
presentation on a major American writer from one of the eras we will be studying this
semester; the material contained in each presentation will form a major portion of the
content for both midterm and final exams. You will also write an essay focused on one
of the works written by the subject of your presentation.
Assignment Percentages
Final Essay: 30%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 15%
Annotated Bibliography: 10%
Oral Presentation: 10%
Explication Essay: 10%
Reading Response Journal: 10%
Schedule
Week of 8/13-8/17:
Introduction
Week of 8/20-8/24:
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography
Week 8/27-8/31:
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography,
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature,” “Self-Reliance,”
Week of 9/4-9/7:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Experience,” “Each and All”
Week of 9/10-9/14:
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “My Kinsman, Major Molineux,” “Young
Goodman Brown,” “The Minister’s Black Veil, “The Birth-Mark,”
“Rappaccini’s Daughter”
Week of 9/17-9/21:
Edgar Allan Poe, “The City in the Sea,” “The Raven,” “Annabel
Lee,” “William Wilson. A Tale,” “The Fall of the House of
Usher,” “The Purloined Letter,” “The Philosophy of Composition”
Week of 9/24-9/28:
Midterm Exam
Week of 10/1-10/5:
Henry David Thoreau, Walden, or Life in the Woods
Week of 10/10-10/12: Henry David Thoreau, Walden, or Life in the Woods
Week of 10/15-10/19: Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Week of 10/22-10/26: Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Week of 10/29-11/2: Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Week of 11/5-11/9:
Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Week of 11/12-11/16: Herman Melville, Moby Dick
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
Week of 11/19:
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
Emily Dickinson, Reading Assignment TBA
Week 11/26-11/30:
Emily Dickinson, Reading Assignment TBA
Conferences
Week of 12/3:
Conferences
Dec. 7, 10:15-12:15: Final Exam