North Arkansas College
American Literature II
English 2023
Summer 2012
______________________________________________________________________________
Instructor: Dr. Phillip Howerton
Office: M154G
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 12:00-2:00.
Office Phone: 870-391-3107
E-mail Address: phowerton@northark.edu
Course Description, Intended Audience, and Prerequisites
This course will survey American literature from 1914 up to the present. Although canonical
authors will demand attention, we will study many other voices that have traditionally been
excluded from America’s literary history. Students will be encouraged to consider how these
writers reacted to the world of ideas and events in which they lived and how their reactions are
still relevant today.
Course Rationale and General Education Outcomes
English 2023 is designed to reflect the belief that we need literature to expand our experience of
human possibility and to make sense of the past, the present, and the future. Because ENGL 2023
addresses a wide range of ideas, values, and issues as presented by a range of writers between the
nineteenth and twenty-first centuries; because it requires critical thinking and reading, discussion,
and collaboration; and because it offers a model for lifelong reading and writing about ideas, it
specifically addresses seven of the nine General Education Learning Outcomes listed in the North
Arkansas College Catalog.
Prerequisites
Completion of ENGL 1023 with a “C” or higher or with the permission of the instructor.
Textbooks
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, shorter seventh edition.
Objectives and Goals
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to
1. identify the author and approximate time of composition of selected works of American
literature.
2. list the literary elements that define the genres of selected works of American literature
and provide examples from the reading.
3. describe the cultural environment that shaped selected works of American literature with
specific reference to the readings.
4. identify common elements of theme, form, and/or content shared by selected works of
American literature.
5. summarize these selected works of American literature.
6. analyze these selected works of American literature to provide a discussion of their
central arguments and ideas and how those arguments and ideas connect to those
preceding and following them.
You will demonstrate your mastery of these objectives through written responses, discussion, and
examination.
Methods
Students will read selections from the required anthology and will respond to them in writing and
in classroom discussion. Written responses will include personal responses, summary and
analysis, and research essays. Discussions will include lecture, classroom discussion, student
presentations, group work, You Tube clips, audio recordings, movie clips, and homemade
cookies.
Grades
Twenty first-exposure responses (10 points each) ....... 200 points.
Two exams (150 points each) ....................................... 300 points.
Two essays (100 points each) ....................................... 200 points.
Four quizzes (25 points each) ....................................... 100 points.
In-class projects and homework ................................... 200 points.
Letter Grades
90%-100% A
80%-89% B
70%-79% C
60%-69% D
First Exposure Responses
You will write a first exposure response to most texts assigned. These responses will be guided
by a prompt and must be at least 100 words in length, be word processed, and be submitted at the
beginning of the class period.
Exams
Each of the exams will be a take-home essay exam. These exams will be distributed
approximately two weeks before they are due; thoughtful, well-crafted responses are expected. If
you do not invest significant time and thought, do not expect to receive a college-level grade.
Essays
Each of the essays will be the standard five-paragraph argument essay of at least 1000 words.
These essays must be double spaced, in 12-point font, and formatted according to MLA
guidelines. All aspects of your writing will contribute to the grade given on these papers; in other
words, this writing should be correct, clear, and analytical. You should apply the elements of
effective writing that were practiced in English 1013 and in English 1023. Each sentence-level
error will cost one point; the more significant errors, such as faulty argument, insufficient
evidence, or superficial analysis, will be much more costly.
Quizzes
The quizzes will be a variety of multiple choice, short answer, matching, and identification.
Attendance
There are several educational opportunities that do not require attendance, but this is not
one of them. If you do not have time to attend this class, you should not enroll in this
course.
When you have achieved your fifth absence, regardless of the reasons, you will be
assigned a grade of “F” for this course.
Arriving twenty minutes or more late equals an absence. Three late arrivals of less than
twenty minutes each equal an absence.
Leaving class twenty minutes before the end of class equals an absence. Three early
departures of less than twenty minutes each equals an absence.
If there are factors in your life—such as family concerns, a demanding work schedule,
lack of transportation, medical complications—that will interfere with your regular
attendance, do not enroll in this course and expect to be exempt from the rules.
Device Policy
Turn off and put away all electronics before class or be counted absent.
Extracurricular Activities
Students involved in extra-curricular activities are not exempt from the policies stated
above. Absences accrued due to required attendance of college-sanctioned events will not
automatically be counted toward the total of classes missed. However, these students are
required to schedule a conference with the instructor within a maximum of one week
following the class period missed to discuss the material that was delivered on the date
they were absent. Any student who does not attend these required conferences will be
counted absent and will not be allowed to make up the work missed. Participation in
extra-curricular activities temporarily excuses the student from attending class, but such
participation never excuses the student from responsibility.
Athletics
How well a student performs on the field or on the court will have no impact upon how
grades are earned and calculated in this course.
Syllabus Change
The instructor reserves the right to change the syllabus during the semester and will
announce any changes during class.
Incomplete Grades
I will not assign a grade of Incomplete (“I”) unless the student has completed
approximately 80% of the course but has not been able, because of illness or other
reasons beyond his or her control, to finish the work assigned in the course. The student
must contact the instructor to request an Incomplete (“I”) and make arrangements for
completing the course. The instructor determines the requirements for making the “I.” An
incomplete grade not made up within one semester automatically becomes an “F” unless
the instructor notifies the Registrar’s Office in writing of a later date.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic fraud and dishonesty are defined in the North Arkansas College Student
Handbook. Any instructor who suspects that cheating or plagiarism has occurred will act
in accordance with the guidelines contained in the Student Handbook. My standard
policy is to award a zero to any paper containing plagiarism and not to allow the student
to revise the work for a grade.
ADA Statement
North Arkansas College 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 should make their requests in the following way: (1) talk to the
instructor after class or during office hours about their disability or special need related to
classroom work, and/or (2) contact Student Support Services.
Tentative Schedule
Required Text: The Norton Anthology of American Literature, shorter seventh edition.
M/6/25: Introduction to course.
Discuss Robinson.
T/6/26: Discuss “Introduction” pages 1881-1894.
Frost bio and all poems.
W/6/27: Cather bio and “Neighbor Rosicky.”
Anderson bio and all.
R/6/28: Sandburg bio and all poems.
Stevens bio and all poems.
F/6/29: Williams bio, “The Red Wheelbarrow,” “This is Just to Say,” “Landscape with Fall of Icarus.”
Pound bio and “In a Station at the Metro
Eliot bio and “The Wasteland” and “The Hollow Men.”
Quiz
M/7/2: O’Neill bio and Long Day’s Journey into Night.
T/7/3: O’Neill bio and Long Day’s Journey into Night.
W/7/4: No class; Independence Day.
R/7/5: Hurston bio and all.
Cummings bio and all poems.
Fitzgerald bio and reserve material.
F/7/6: Faulkner bio, and “A Rose for Emily.”
Hemingway bio and reserve material.
Quiz
M/7/9: Hughes bio and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”
Steinbeck bio and “The Chrysanthemums.”
T/7/10: R. Wright bio and “The Man Who was Almost a Man.”
“Introduction” pages 2305-2314
W/7/11: Roethke bio and all poems.
Welty bio and “Petrified Man.”
R/7/12: Tennessee Williams bio and A Streetcar Named Desire.
F/7/13: Cheever bio and “The Swimmer.”
Quiz
M/7/16: Miller bio and Death of a Salesman.
T/7/17: Brooks bio and all poems.
Kerouac bio.
Levertov bio and all poems.
W/7/18: Baldwin bio and “Going to Meet the Man.”
O’Connor bio and “Good Country People.”
R/7/19: Ginsberg bio and “Howl.”
J. Wright bio and all poems.
F/7/20: Sexton bio and all poems.
Plath bio and all poems.
M/7/23: Updike bio and “Separating.”
Momaday bio and all.
T/7/24: Carver bio and “Cathedral.”
Collins bio and all poems.
W/7/25: Dove bio and all poems.
Quiz
R/7/26: Final discussions and submissions.
F/7/27: No class; Grades due.