English 3563 Syllabus |
Course OverviewThis class will give students a solid grounding in American Literature from the landing of the first settlers up to the beginning of the Civil War. Covering 350 years of literature in a single semester requires that we study small portions of many different works, and this selection of works will necessarily fail to include some of the most important works of the time period. Nonetheless, the reading list will give you a sense of the variety of viewpoints and modes of expression that came into conflict over this time period and brought American literature into its present incarnation. To gain a clearer grasp of these conflicts, we will also discuss a great deal of history. Some of the works on this list simply will not make any sense at all without a consideration of their historical contexts. We will begin with the writings of the very first European settlers in the New World, who regarded their arrival here as an event devoid of historical precedent. The works of BartolomŽ de las Casas and Alvar Nu–ez Cabeza de Vaca introduce us to conflicts in American identity that continue through the subsequent works by Puritan settlers, eighteenth-century philosophers, slaves, profiteers, idealists, romantics and popular writers. At the end of the semester, we arrive at our destination in the middle of the nineteenth century in a country poised on the brink of a devastating war. As we shall see, that war is the culmination of a series of conflicts that shaped U. S. history from the very beginning. ObjectivesOver the semester, I expect students to achieve the following goals:
To reach these goals, students will need to do the following:
Grade Breakdown
Your grade will depend primarily on your written work and the understanding of the material that you convey through that work. A command of standard written English and the ability to present an argument will also contribute to the determination of your grade. Any infractions against UMD's Scholastic Dishonesty provisions in the Student Conduct Code as stated in the UMD catalogue will receive serious attention and appropriate penalties. Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might influence their capacity to perform in this class, are encouraged to inform me at the start of the semester. I can make special adaptations of teaching methods, assignments, materials, or testing as required to provide for equitable participation in the course. The Access Center is also available to assist students with disabilities. It is located in 256 Kirby Student Center and on the web at <http://www.d.umn.edu/access>. Required TextsLauter, Paul, et. al. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Vols. A, B. Fifth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin. New York: Random House, 2001. |
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John D. Schwetman 26 September 2005 |