English 217, Spring 2016

Prof. Michael Filas

American Literature Since 1865

Office: Bates 07, ph. 572-5683

Section 002 TR 11:15-12:30, Bates 111

Section 003 TR 9:45-11:00, Bates 212
web: www.wsc.ma.edu/mfilas

email: mfilas@westfield.ma.edu

Hours: TR 1:00-2:00, T 8:30-9:30,
and by appointment at other times

 

 

ÔMy nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me.

ÔSpeak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak.

   ÔWhat are you thinking of? What thinking? What?

ÔI never know what you are thinking. Think.Õ

 – T. S. Eliot

 

Course Description:

 

      This course consists of the in-depth reading and discussion of American literature, mostly of the twentieth century. We will come to understand the American experience through literature, but we will also learn more generally about attentive reading through analyses of genre and such features of literary meaning as imagery, characterization, narration, and patterning in sound and sense. The primary goal is to enhance your ability to experience literature as a source of pleasure and knowledge about the human experience. Each text will present different meanings for different people and this course will not dilute those differences, but rather enhance your ability to understand and articulate what your guts tell you about your own reading experiences. I expect each reader in this course to aggressively develop her and his own unique sense of what meanings lie in our texts. But at the same time, I want you to learn something about American culture and history, and the role that literature plays in shaping our understanding.

      This class is required for English majors but also counts as a core class for literary and philosophical analysis. Thus, it is more rigorous than its counterpart designed exclusively for core credit, English 215 Introduction to American Literature. If you are a non-English major taking this class for core credit please take note of this and remain enrolled only if you are prepared to keep pace with class discussion, writing assignments, and the required reading and research.

      The writing assignments are designed to cultivate a strong connection between you and our reading. You will hone your ability to craft a strong research paper, and be given opportunities to demonstrate individuality and creativity. At the same time, you will practice using the analytical tools and historical contexts introduced in class discussions. Remember pleasure. If you learn nothing else in this class, I hope you learn to enjoy literature more deeply and thoroughly for the pleasure of it.

     

      Required texts & equipment:

 

Course Requirements:

 

Come to class. Assignment and reading schedules are subject to changes announced in class. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate for the assignment and any schedule changes. Perfect attendance contributes to an above average course grade. Your course grade is affected by all absences after the first and affected severely once you accumulate more than four absences in the semester.

 

Arrive to class on time. Late attendance is disruptive and it prevents you from participating in the random daily writing assignment and from hearing initial discussions, assignment specifics, and other announcements. Late arrivals lower your participation grade. Three late arrivals or early departures are counted equivalent to an absence.

     

Participate. I want to hear from you, your responses to the reading, your opinions about the characters, plots, language, rhythm and rhyme, symbolism, contexts, history, politics, and your responses to my and your classmatesÕ interpretations of our material. Those receiving an above average grade in participation are those students who show up prepared and ready to contribute, those who make an impression, those who speak out in every class, those who are willing to share their ideas. Come to class prepared by bringing the Norton Anthology as well as that dayÕs text for discussion to each class. At unscheduled times throughout the semester we will dip into Norton for impromptu poetry reading and discussion.

 

Turn your phone off while in class.

 

Keep up with the reading. Our pace will be 50 pages a day (200-250 pages a week), with allowances made for more difficult material. Falling behind in the reading can easily snowball into a situation where you are reading under duress, and thus without pleasure or reflection. Random unannounced reading quizzes may occasionally measure your completion of the assigned reading and your thoroughness in using a dictionary for new vocabulary. This is an English class and you are expected to read the language carefully, even unfamiliar language, with a diligence towards understanding.

 

Assignments (No assignment may be turned in via email):

 

¤  You will have two major writing assignments due in week seven (5-7 pages, 1250-2100 words) and on the last day of class (6-8 pages, 1500-2400 words) with preliminary work handed in along the way. The midterm and final papers must be double-spaced and formatted to MLA specifications. Late midterm papers receive half-credit. No late final papers are accepted.

¤  You will be assigned to a writing group and turn in a one-page, single-spaced reading journal, written independently from the other members of your group, when it is your groupÕs turn to write. At other times, your group will be responsible for providing a thesis statement and evidence. Unless arranged and agreed to by Dr. Filas in advance, reading journals and theses are not accepted late under any circumstance, and never by email.

¤  You will write two creative responses, or forgeries, of designated authors.

¤  You will write peer reviews for two of your classmatesÕ papers before the final draft of the midterm and final papers. This adds up to four, one-page, single-spaced critiques.

¤  You will give one brief oral report using PowerPoint to inform us about a particular text or author.

¤  All assignments must be typed in 12-point font, printed (and stapled when multiple pages), and are due at the beginning of class. All assignments must include a word count. Work that is not stapled, or not typed, will not be accepted.

¤  Computer problems have plagued us all at times. Please be prepared for this by backing up your work regularly and keeping more than one source in case of technology failure.

 

Grading:

 

10%     Oral report

10%     Peer review (5 pts. midterm, 5 pts. final)

10%     Creative assignments/forgeries (5 pts. each)

15%     Reading journals (5 pts. each) and theses (2.5 pts. each)

15%     Midterm paper (includes preliminary work)

20%     Participation (includes quiz grades and small investigative assignments)

20%     Final paper (includes preliminary work)

 

Grade Conversion Table:

 

a

a-

b+

b

b-

c+

c

c-

d+

D

4.0

3.7

3.3

3.0

2.7

2.3

2.0

1.7

1.3

1.0

100.0

92.5

82.5

75.0

67.5

57.5

50.0

42.5

32.5

25.0

20.0

18.6

16.6

15.0

13.6

11.6

10.0

8.6

6.6

5.0

15.0

13.9

12.4

11.3

10.1

8.6

7.5

6.4

4.9

3.8

10.0

9.3

8.3

7.5

6.8

5.8

5.0

4.3

3.3

2.5

5.0

4.6

4.1

3.8

3.4

2.9

2.5

2.1

1.6

1.3

2.5

2.3

2.1

1.9

1.7

1.4

1.3

1.1

0.8

0.6

 

Tentative Schedule: This schedule is partial and likely to change as we go, so please do not refer to it for missed classes without checking with a classmate or Dr. Filas for specifics and modifications to the plan below.

 

 

Date

Reading hw

Writing hw

Class Plan

1

T 1/26

Dreiser ch. 1-7

None

Review syllabus, class, introduce Carrie

2

R 1/28

Dreiser ch. 8-23

G1 journal

Discuss journal & theses

3

T 2/2

Dreiser ch. 24-31

G2 thesis

Introduce oral reports, lottery; discuss Dreiser

4

R 2/4

Dreiser ch. 32-47

G3 journal

Discuss Dreiser

5

T 2/9

Dreiser critical contexts; Eliot

Critical details Dreiser & one couplet or quatrain Eliot

2 orals; discuss Dreiser; introduce Eliot

 

R 2/11

***NO CLASS***

 

PH

 

T 2/16

***NO CLASS***

 

Follow Monday schedule


 

 

 

 

Date

Reading hw

Writing hw

Class Plan

6

R 2/18

Eliot

Own Private Waste Land; G2 journal Eliot

2 orals; discuss Dreiser; discuss Eliot

 

 

7

T 2/23

Delillo p. 3-105 (Waves and Radiation).

G3 thesis

2 orals; discuss Eliot; read poems; introduce Delillo

 

8

R 2/25

Finish Delillo

G1 thesis Delillo; Pitchathon theses

2 orals; Private Waste Land poems; discuss Delillo; mini-introduce MT paper.

 

9

 

T 3/1

Yezierska

MT thesis + research

Discuss Delillo; thesis pitchathon; explain pre-writing; introduce Yezierska

 

10

R 3/3

Yezierska

Draft mt paper (2 copies)

2 orals; discuss Yezierska

 

11

T 3/8

Peer papers

Peer reviews

2 orals; draft papers due (2 each); discuss Yezierska; peer review instructions

 

12

R 3/10

None

None (revise papers)

Peer review mtgs; discuss Yezierska

 

 

T 3/15

***NO CLASS***

 

Spring break

 

 

R 3/17

***NO CLASS***

 

Spring break

 

13

T 3/22

Ginsberg

Revise papers; G1 thesis

2 orals; paper proofreading tips; introduce Beats & Ginsberg

 

14

R 3/24

Mailer, ch 1-5 p. 1-164

Chant poem; G3 thesis

2 orals; collect MT; discuss  Ginsberg; introduce Mailer

 

15

T 3/29

Mailer ch. 6-epilogue p. 165-270

G2 thesis

2 orals; chant poems; Mailer

 

16

R 3/31

Didion p. 1-150

G1 journal

2 orals; Mailer; introduce Didion

 

17

T 4/5

Didion p. 151-end

G2 journal

2 orals; Didion

 

18

R 4/7

Williams & Hughes

G3 journal; pitchathon theses/plans

3 orals; discuss Didion; introduce Williams & Hughes; final paper assignment

 

19

T 4/12

Cather (Norton ÒThe SculptorÕs FuneralÓ); Yezierska

Final paper prewriting

Pitchathon; discuss readings; discuss paper plans

 

20

R 4/14

Sandburg, Stein, and Frost (selections in Norton)

Final thesis and research—development

Discuss readings; paper topic discussion

 

21

T 4/19

Yezierska

Draft paper

Discuss readings.

 

22

R 4/21

Norton jamboree

Draft paper

Discuss Yezierska

 

 

Date

Reading hw

Writing hw

Class Plan

23

T 4/26

Peer papers

Peer reviews

Norton jamboree; draft papers due (2 each)

24

R 4/28

Norton jamboree

Revise papers

Peer review meetings; revision tips

25

T 5/3

Norton jamboree

Revise papers

Norton jamboree; proofreading tips

26

R 5/5

Last day of class

 

Collect papers; course evals; finish jamboree

 

 

Addendum added January 15, 2011: This course fulfills a requirement of the Literary and Philosophical Analysis section of the WSU General Education Core. As such, this course is periodically assessed for how well it meets the following general standards, included in this syllabus as required by the Academic Affairs directive dated January 4, 2011:

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

 

A core course in Literary and Philosophical Analysis should enable students to:

á       Learn the vocabulary and methods used in identifying and understanding literary works or philosophic problems;

á       Understand the historical context of literary or philosophical themes, problems, meanings, arguments, and world views;

á       Develop an understanding of, and appreciation for fundamental issues of existence, meaning, value, taste, truth and freedom;

á       Weigh and evaluate literary or philosophic issues critically and methodically;

á       Argue effectively, orally, and in writing.

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

 

In support of these objectives, courses in this area must require students to:

á       Read primary and secondary sources in literature or philosophy;

á       Discuss literary or philosophic issues in class;

á       Demonstrate mastery of texts and issues orally and in writing.