Dr. Cathy W. Barks  Office: Susquehanna 4125  Office Hours: T/Th 3:15-4:15 and by appointment  Class Meets: Tu/Th  2:00-3:15 Room:( SQH 1121)

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Catalogue Description: Prerequisite: two English courses in literature or permission of department. Survey of the American novel since World War I. Cultural and philosophical contexts, technical developments in the genre. Authors such as Hemingway, Cather, Faulkner, Anne Tyler, Morrison.

Description for this Section: This class will read ten novels in the context of recurring themes such as: American ideas/ideals vs. realities that challenge those ideas, including racism and economic inequalities; images of American institutions such as family, education, justice, and work; images of masculinity, femininity, love and sexuality; America’s fascination with violence and with those who act out; contemporary trends such as multiculturalism, the globalization of American literature, and the influence of the new technologies on the form. The materials for this course on the course web pages will focus primarily on historical and cultural backgrounds so that class time can be focused on the text itself—close readings of passages and discussions of literary and aesthetic techniques and characteristics. We will also discuss where we see the American novel going in the 21st century—what traditions might continue and what new subjects and techniques might develop.  The texts are listed below, and you will also have one open-choice novel to be selected and read individually with consideration to course themes and your individual interests.

Requirements include: class attendance and discussions; quizzes; an in-class essay-type mid-term and final exam; several 1-page discussions/analyses as preliminary steps in a term project; and a term project, which could take the form of the traditional 10-15 page literary analysis and research paper or could be shaped as a digital project, and/or multimedia, and/or interdisciplinary, and/or collaborative project. Instructor and student will work together to create a project plan that matches each student’s educational goals with those of the course.  All projects will require a substantial writing component, demonstrating skillful writing and critical thinking. Students with especially relevant, engaging projects will be invited to share their work with the class informally during various stages of the project. No class presentations, however, are required.

Course Texts
You may buy texts at the Student Union or BookXchange or from Amazon.com.  The text links below go directly to Amazon and  the editions our class will be using.  The author links are not required but are there for you to explore when you want additional  reliable, substantial, and relevant information and critical view points.  The cultural history links are also there for you to explore according to your interests and goals.  When I assign specific material from these sites, I will say so in class.  For the most part, however, these links are  resources to assist each student with gathering ideas for his or her  term paper/projects, and to be used according to each student's interests, goals, and curiosity. Remember that your time is limited and that we are reading ten lengthy novels this semester.  Therefore, the majority of you time must be spend with the text themselves.  When sites seen highly interesting to you, bookmark them for future reference beyond this class.
 

American Author	Text	Cultural History
1.  Willa Cather's	My Antonia   (1918)	1900-1909     1 910-1919
2.  Ernest Hemingway's	A Farewell to Arms   (1929)	1910-1919  1920-1929
3. Theodore Dreiser’s	An American Tragedy   (1925)	1910-1919  1920-1929
4.  F. Scott Fitzgerald's	The Great Gatsby   (1925)	1920-1929
5.  Horace McCoy’s	They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?   (1935)	1930-1939
6.  Ralph Ellison's	The Invisible Man    (1952)	1940-1949
7.  Truman Capote's	In Cold Blood    (1966)	1950-1959 1960-1969
8.  Ann Beattie’s	Falling in Place    (1980)	1970-1979
9.  Chuck Palahniuk’s	Fight Club   (1999)	1980-1989   1990-1999
10. Sandra Cisneros’s	Caramelo   (2002)
11. Your Choice	List of Suggestions 1914-present

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Course Policies

Open class. Anyone is welcome in my class at any time.  No need to check with me in advance.

Attend classes.  Exchange phone numbers with other students in case you have to be absent and find out from them what you missed.  Asking the instructor what you missed when absent is the same thing as asking her to reteach the class at your convenience.

Work must be handed in on time.  No work should be e-mailed; a paper copy must be submitted in class.

All written work must be professionally presented in MLA format--first page (no cover pages), in-text citations, and Works Cited pages. Be meticulous: work that is improperly or carelessly formatted will be returned to you ungraded. Written work that is full of grammar and/or punctuation errors will be returned to you ungraded.

Do not ask to redo a paper after it is graded and returned to you.

Exams and quizzes must be taken as scheduled.

Do not ask me to give you a higher grade in this course than you earned. In keeping with open inquiry, please be respectful of the ideas and opinions expressed.

Students with disabilities or special concerns should notify me immediately.

Academic integrity and honesty must be scrupulously maintained. Please write the honor pledge on each assignment. Students must not allow others to conduct research or prepare any work for them. This comment includes, but is not limited to, the services of commercial term paper companies. The same academic work may not be submitted for different classes.

Ask me for help outside of class anytime you need or want it. I am here to assist you with your educational skills and goals, and I enjoy passing on what I know and the skills I have learned to YOU.  I am approachable and eager to work with one-on-one if that is one of the ways you learn best.

Learning Assistance Service: If you are having difficulties in keeping up with the academic demands of this course, contact the Learning Assistance Service , 2201 Shoemaker Building, 301-314-7693. Their educational counselors can help with time management, reading, note-taking and exam preparation skills.

Special Needs: If you have a registered disability that will require accommodation, please see me immediately.  If you have a disability and have not yet registered it with Disability Support Services (301-314-7682) in the Shoemaker Building, you should do so immediately.  In addition to long term disabilities, many students suffer from acute depression and/or anxiety that can seriously impede their ability to do their best in classes. As the Counseling Center website states: “You don't have to deal with your problems alone. In a warm and supportive environment, you can meet with a staff counselor to discuss any concern you may have related to your personal and social well-being. Among the topics many students discuss in counseling are self-esteem, stress, relationship issues, sex, family problems, and loneliness. You may see a counselor for individual counseling or join one of the many counselor-led support groups. The Counseling Center offers the kind of understanding, support, and guidance that helps such students cope with depression and anxiety and a variety of other problems as they continue to pursue their educational goals. Please call 301-314-7651 for an appointment.
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Grading and Grading Standards
 

1.  Quizzes  (total of 10; may drop 1 and only 1)	10%
2.  Mid-term	20%
3.  1-page discussions/analyses  (several, including 1 page on open-choice novel)	15%
4.  10-15 page research term project and paper	30%
5.  Final exam	25%

• The A paper/exam represents excellence. The content is critically mature; the analysis is skillful; the supporting evidence from the text (and from secondary sources when required)  is the best; the conclusion is thought provoking; the writing style is refreshing; and the paper is virtually free of errors.

•  The B paper/exam goes beyond satisfactory and represents very good college work.  The content is more original and engaging than average; clear analysis is provided; the evidence better selected and more persuasive than average; there is a conclusion that suggests the significance of the ideas; and the grammar, punctuation, and mechanical errors, if any, are minor and few.

• The C paper/exam represents average work for an upper level, university literature class.  The content presents a sound central idea, though it could be more original, and supports it with relevant examples from the text.  The paper is organized with an introduction, body paragraphs that follow a consistent train of thought, and a conclusion. It is written in grammatical English with correct punctuation and mechanics.  The C paper/exam fulfills all aspects of the assignment, but may exhibit one of the following weaknesses: several grammar or punctuation errors, wordiness or words used imprecisely, uses too much or too little quotation from the text as supporting evidence, relies too much on summary and too little on analysis, needs better organization either overall or within certain paragraphs.  Note that a paper that exhibits two or more of these weaknesses may drop to a D.

• The D paper/exam carries out the assignment but strays from the purpose, or fails to support ideas with examples from the text, or relies too far much on summary rather than analysis, or has many mechanical and grammar errors..  Lack of proofreading can cause a C paper/exam to fall into the D category.

• A paper/exam receives an F if it exhibits more than one of the problems of the D paper/exam, or it falls more than oneself of a page below the required length, indicating a shallow analysis.  A paper will also receive an F if the grammar, punctuation, and mechanics fall below acceptable, college standards.

• Plagiarism (large-scale and small-scale) results in an automatic F and will be reported. Academic integrety is essential to your character and to our educational process.  

Tentative Course Schedule
 

Jan 28 Th	Introductions/Syllabus/Course Policies	Assignments Read Novel Module 1 Read MA: Intro and I
Jan 30 Th	Willa Cather's My Antonia  (1918)	Finish MA / 1-2 p .writing assign.
Feb 04 Tu	My Antonia /	Quiz 1 / Writing assignment 1 Due
Feb 06 Th	My Antonia/Introduce A Farewell To Arms	FTA Chapters 1-24
Feb 11 Tu	Ernest Hemingway's  A Farewell to Arms   (1929)	FTA finish Read Novel Module 2
Feb 13 Th	A Farewell To Arms   Introduce An American Tragedy	Read Book I in AT; read it for pleasure without thinking about how you might be tested on it. Live in Clyde's world.  I will post a few quotes from the critics over the weekend. Quiz 2
Feb 18 Tu	Theodore Dreiser’s  An American Tragedy   (1925)	class canceled due to snow
Feb 20 Th	An American Tragedy
Feb 25 Tu	An American Tragedy	read: George W. Bush, Inaugural Address, 2001
Feb 27 Th Feb 28 F	An American Tragedy/Introduce The Great Gatsby  Extra Credit: American Novel in the Global Century Folger 8 pm $15	adds one extra point to your final grade Meghan and Kelli attended
Mar 04 Tu	F. Scott Fitzgerald's  The Great Gatsby  (1925)	Writing Assignment 2 Due
Mar 06 Th	The Great Gatsby	Deadline:  Writing Assignment 3 Due :  Quiz 3
Mar 11 Tu	Horace McCoy’s  They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1935)	Read entire novel.  Open Class Discussion / Come prepared to talk about the form and content and vision of the novel / your reactions to the novel / and relevant connections you see to the contemporary American scene  Quiz 4
Mar 13 Th	They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  Introduce Invisible Man	Writing Assignment 3 Due either today or Tues. at your convenience. 2 page essay on Form and Vision of Either GG or TSHDT.  (choose one aspect of form that especially engages you)
Mar 18 Tu	Review for mid-term	Deadline:  Writing Assignment 3 Due:   2 page essay on Form and Vision of Either GG or TSHDT.
Mar 20 Th Mar 21 Fr	Mid-term
Mar 25 Tu	Spring Break	Plan to identify your project topic over break There will be three 1-2 page writing assignments after break that will be related to your project.
Mar 27 Th	Spring Break	research your project topic
Apr 01 Tu	Introduce next novels	Rafferty on identity
Apr 03 Th Apr 04 F	Mid-term evaluation Ralph Ellison's  The Invisible Man (1952)	Project assignment 1 Due: Topic Discuss Chap 1-6 Invisible Man
Apr 08 Tu	The Invisible Man	Project assignment 2 Due: Secondary Source, Critical Literary Analysis Essay
Apr 10 Th	The Invisible Man/Introduce In Cold Blood	Reading Quiz
Apr 15 Tu	Truman Capote's   In Cold Blood  (1966)
Apr 17 Th	In Cold Blood
Apr 22  Tu	Discuss open choice novels and Projects	Reading Quiz
Apr 24 Th	Chuck Palahniuk’s  Fight Club  (1999)
Apr 29  Tu	Fight Club	Project Assignment 3 Due: Delineation of Main Ideas Reading Quiz
May 01  Th	Discuss open choice novels and projects
May 06 Tu	Sandra Cisneros’s  Caramelo (2002)
May 08 Th	Caramelo	Projects Due / Reading Quiz
May 13  Tu	Last Class: Review for final	The absolute last day I will accept projects
May  20  Tu	Final Exam 10:30 am-12:30 pm	Projects will be returned at the final exam

Credits: * indicates material from PBS American Masters Literature series.

End of Syllabus
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