ENG 201: Southern Literature |
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Lesson
1: Foundations
(Aug. 25 & 29) Lesson
2: Enlightenment
(Sept. 5) Lesson
3: Romanticism
(Sept. 8 & 12) Lesson
4: Old
Southwestern Humor (Sept. 15 & 19) Lesson
5: Slave
Narrative (Sept. 22 & 26) Lesson
6: Poetry
Explication (Sept. 29 & Oct. 3) Lesson
7: Realistic
Narrative (Oct. 6 & 10) Lesson
8: Regional
Fiction (Oct. 13) Lesson
9: Film
(Oct. 20-Nov. 3) Lesson
10:
Modern Poetry (Nov. 7-24) Lesson
11:
Modernist Novel (Nov. 24) |
IntroductionImagine a road
trip that could take you all over the American South, showing you exotic
locales, introducing you to strange and interesting characters, and dropping
you in the middle of wild adventures.
You will stalk through the wilds of Virginia, pilot a steamboat down
the Mississippi River, and attend a camp meeting on the frontier. You will meet witty raconteurs,
devoted mothers, and raving lunatics.
You will fall in love, and you will run for your life. Best of all, you will manage to
return home not exhausted and defeated, but refreshed and enlightened. Welcome to ENG
201: Southern Literature—or, if you will, a road trip through the literature
of the American South. In this
course, we will explore the rich and fascinating terrain of the poetry, fiction,
nonfiction, and drama written in and about the Southern United States over
the last three centuries. As I
have suggested with my analogy to a road trip, this study of Southern
literature makes for an interesting ride. More important, as I explain in the course objectives
below, it can improve your appreciation of language and literature, immerse
you in the world of ideas, and sharpen your skills in communication and
research. By the end of our
trip, you not only will have experienced some wonderful literature and
thought some glorious new thoughts, but also will have some new tools to help
you appreciate the stories, poems, movies, and songs you encounter in your
own world. You may even have a
new list of books you wish to explore on your own. In general, a successful trip requires some
preparation. First, we need a
map. This syllabus will do just
fine. Please read it
carefully. We don’t want to lose
you somewhere in the House of Usher.
Second, plan to take advantage of the tour guides I have
designed. These resources, which
we will call “lessons,” feature information designed to enhance your travels:
reading and writing assignments, objectives, activities, names and terms,
resources, and more. Finally,
make sure that you pack everything you need: The Literature of the
American South; a pen or pencil, paper, and diskettes for notes and
assignments; and an active and open mind. Now, let’s hit the road! ObjectivesWhile we are heading toward our first
destination, let’s think about what exactly we want to get out of our
journey. Here are our objectives
for this course: A successful ENG 201 student can: · use aspects of content and form to interpret the meaning of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction; ·
explain literary concepts, define relevant terms, and
identify important people, places, and dates related to Southern literature; ·
locate and interpret
primary sources, such as letters, as well as secondary sources, including
monographs, periodicals, and Internet sites; ·
communicate
effectively by maintaining high standards in content, clarity, style, and
integrity. Content: Essays and presentations should contain all
of the components described on the syllabus and should thoroughly and
insightfully address their subjects with accurate, credible, timely, and
relevant information. Except for properly cited
quotations, every sentence and phrase must be in the writer’s or speaker’s
own words. All interpretations, except for those properly cited, also
must be the writer’s or speaker’s own. Furthermore, essays and
presentations should effectively incorporate source material with proper use
of attribution, paraphrases, summaries, quotations, and documentation. Parenthetical citations and lists of works
cited should conform to MLA style. Clarity: Essays and presentations should present information in a clear, logical fashion. Claims should be clear, argumentative, specific, and obvious. Supporting paragraphs generally should begin with precise topic sentences, followed by clear, well-organized sentences that support the topic sentences. Transitional words and phrases should effectively guide the audience through the information. Style: Essays and presentations should engage audiences with lively, direct, and concise language that is free from lapses in spelling, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, diction, and pronunciation. They should begin with engaging introductions, end with satisfying conclusions, and generally be functional and attractive, conforming to all appropriate professional standards. As you strive to succeed in this course,
please keep these objectives in mind. AssignmentsLike anything else in life, a journey is a
lot more fun and rewarding when you take an active role in it. On this journey, we won’t be hanging out
in the hotel watching reruns.
Instead, we will be out doing things. You can think of these things as assignments, if you wish,
but I prefer to think of them as postcards, slide shows, and the like. Think Fast: Without some quick thinking, Captain John Smith
and Harriet Jacobs might have wound up dead before they had a chance to
record their travels. You, too,
will need to think fast on our journey through Southern literature. At the beginning of each lesson, you
will complete an exercise designed to test your knowledge of the material we
are covering. (Due:
beginning of each lesson. Value:
15 exercises x 10 points each = 150 points.) Think Again: At the end of each lesson, you will reflect on
what you have learned in brief essay (200 words). Think of this essay as a postcard in which you record your
experience and share it with someone else. Instructions for these essays will appear on the
individual lessons. (Due:
end of each lesson. Value:
15 essays x 10 points each = 150 points.) Explication: Once during the course, each of you will take my
place and act as tour guide.
That is, you will lead our discussion of one of the poems we are
reading. Specifically, you will
create a Web page featuring the following: date and place of publication, verse
form, rhythm, rhyme scheme, paragraph on poem’s composition (100 words), and
explanation of how form and content work together to create the poem’s
meaning (500 words). You also
will guide our discussion of the poem in class. (Due: October 24, 2003. Value: 200 points.) Presentation: Like many travelers who preceded us, we will cap
off our travels with a kind of slide show. At the end of the course, you will give a 10-minute
presentation in which you reflect on your travels in Southern literature. The culmination of your work in this
course, this presentation should demonstrate your competence in the
objectives described on this syllabus.
The first part of this presentation will be a kind of oral travelogue
in which you reflect on the specific knowledge, skills, and insights you have
developed in this course (5 minutes).
In the second half of this presentation, you will answer questions
about material covered in the course (5 minutes). (Due: Dec. 2-5. Value: 500 points.) GradesLet’s get something straight. I want to see every one of you succeed in this course. I hope that we can work together to help you get a lot out of this course, including a good grade. This grade will depend on how well you achieve our course objectives. I will help you track your progress in achieving these objectives by giving you a detailed progress report containing specific observations and suggestions for improvement, as well as a score. Your final grade will depend the number of points you accumulate out of the 1000 points possible in the course. The scale is as follows: A (900-1000 points); B (800-899); C (700-799); D (600-699); F (below 600). Please note that I do not assign a plus or a minus to any grade. PlagiarismIf you turn in someone else's work, use a source's exact words without placing these words in quotation marks, or use an interpretation you found in a source without giving credit to the source, you are guilty of plagiarism, a serious academic offense that can result in failure of the class and a report to the dean. You must be prepared to prove that you have done all your own work by showing me your sources and discussing the details of your work with me in conference. Whenever you borrow material from a written source, you must photocopy this source, highlight the material you quoted or paraphrased, and place the photocopy or photocopies in your three-ring binder. AttendanceAlthough I will not award or subtract points for attendance, you should plan to come prepared to every class, to arrive on time, and to stay until I dismiss you. When you miss class or arrive late, you cheat yourself out of an opportunity to learn. If you must miss class for a legitimate reason, such as serious illness or a personal emergency, please notify me and use the online lesson to keep up with our class activities. InstructorIt’s a good idea to get to know a bit about your travel guide before you begin a trip. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I have been traveling through the world of American literature for a good part of my life. Back in Indiana, where I grew up, I got a heavy dose of it in high school and majored in both English and journalism at Indiana University. After working as a copy editor at a couple of newspapers in Indiana, I enrolled in graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was there that my literary travels really took off, thanks in part to a fine professor I had in a course much like this one. I became especially interested in Edgar Allan Poe and wound up writing both my master’s thesis and my doctoral dissertation about his use of the right brain in his stories and poems. In 1997, I completed my Ph.D. in English, majoring in American literature and minoring in the English language, and came to work as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. I continue to travel through American literature, not only teaching courses such as this one and ENG 343: The American Novel, but also editing an Internet encyclopedia called All American and writing articles on Poe, Benjamin Franklin, the short story, and other subjects. Not all of my travels take place in my mind, though. Along with my wife, Lisa, and our two children—5-year-old Esprit and 2-year-old Will—I love to visit the real places where literature and history have lived. Over the last three years, Lisa and I have led student trips to Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, and other places, and we regularly take family trips to such places as New York, Baltimore, and Charleston, South Carolina. You can read more than you would ever want to know about some of these travels, as well as other aspects of our lives, by visiting our World Wide Web site. I am eager to work with you throughout this semester to help you become the best reader, writer, and thinker you can be. I encourage you to get in touch with me outside of class in a way that is convenient for you. If you wish to visit or call me, the best times to catch me in my office are my office hours, which are 9-10 a.m. Monday, 10-11 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 8-10 a.m. Friday. You also can e-mail me at any time. If you e-mail me during my office hours, I generally will respond within an hour. If you e-mail me at another time on a weekday, I generally will respond within 24 hours. I am eager to see every one of you succeed, and I am willing to help. |
ENG 201: Southern Literature |
|
Updated
August 21, 2003 |
Over the course of the semester, you and I will track your progress on a form like this one. As I grade your assignments, I will record your scores in the box at the left. In this space on the right, I will evaluate your success in meeting our course objectives: A successful ENG 201 student can: ·
use aspects of content
and form to interpret the meaning of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction; ·
explain literary
concepts, define relevant terms, and identify important people, places, and
dates related to Southern literature; ·
locate and interpret
primary sources, such as letters, as well as secondary sources, including
monographs, periodicals, and Internet sites; ·
communicate effectively
by maintaining high standards in content, clarity, style, and integrity. Content: Essays and presentations should contain all of the
components described on the syllabus and should thoroughly and insightfully
address their subjects with accurate, credible, timely, and relevant
information. Except for properly
cited quotations, every sentence and phrase must be in the writer’s or
speaker’s own words. All interpretations, except for those properly
cited, also must be the writer’s or speaker’s own. Furthermore, essays
and presentations should effectively incorporate source material with proper
use of attribution, paraphrases, summaries, quotations, and
documentation. Parenthetical
citations and lists of works cited should conform to MLA style. Clarity: Essays and presentations should present information
in a clear, logical fashion. Claims should be clear, argumentative, specific,
and obvious. Supporting
paragraphs generally should begin with precise topic sentences, followed by
clear, well-organized sentences that support the topic sentences.
Transitional words and phrases should effectively guide the audience through
the information. Style: Essays and presentations should engage audiences with lively, direct, and concise language that is free from lapses in spelling, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, diction, and pronunciation. They should begin with engaging introductions, end with satisfying conclusions, and generally be functional and attractive, conforming to all appropriate professional standards. Periodically throughout the semester, I will give you a copy of this progress report and discuss it with you in conference. If you ever have any questions about your progress report, I hope you will use the information below to visit, call, or write me. I am eager to see you succeed in this course, and I am willing to help!
Mark
Canada, Ph.D. |