Room: GTM 203
Time: 12:30-1:45 MWF


GTM 222
257-5494
11:30-12:30 MWF
11:00-12:00 TR
4:00-5:00 MTWR
1:45-2:45 F

or by appointment


School of Literature and Language

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Course Description


ENGL 212:  Introduction to American Literature.

0-3-3.  Preq., ENGL 102. Satisfies Humanities GER Literature requirement and is a prerequisite for advanced courses in American literature.  Statewide Transfer Agreement Course.

This course is designed to introduce the most important American writers from the Colonial Period to the present. Given this scope, the course can provide only a limited study of any writer. Daily assignments are given on the syllabus so that you will know what is expected for each class. Follow the syllabus closely; read each assignment before coming to class.

Textbook

  • Baym, Nina, ed.  The Norton Anthology of American Literature.  Shorter 7th ed.  New York: Norton, 2008. ISBN 0-393-97969-5.

Objectives:

  • To acquaint students with a selection of the major works American literature.
  • To learn how they affect contemporary life
  • To develop critical thinking skills in the discussion of these works.

Attendance Requirements

  • Class attendance is regarded as an obligation as well as a privilege, and all students are expected to attend regularly and punctually all classes in which they are enrolled. Attendance is worth 10% of your total grade.
  • I shall keep a permanent attendance record for this class. This record is subject to inspection by appropriate college or university officials.
  • Regular attendance will help you understand your assignments and complete them on schedule. I encourage you to attend unless you absolutely cannot avoid being absent.
  • For the Internet sections, I will take your attendance from the number of times you logged in to my Moodle account.  Log in once during Registration Week and twice per week thereafter for full credit.

Conferences

  • Conferences are encouraged during the quarter. They will be used to discuss specific writing strengths and/or weaknesses.



Grades
Daily Quizzes

65% 
Research Paper

15%
Group Project   10%
Attendance
  10%
Total 100%
The grading scale is
A: 90-100%, B: 80-89%, C: 70-79%, D: 60-69%, F:0-59%.



Turning in Your Work
In face-to-face classes, I want a paper copy of your assignments AND an electronic copy submitted to the TurnItIn link on Moodle.  In online classes, submit your paper through Moodle to TurnItIn.  If you have trouble uploading it Moodle, you may email it to me at bmagee@latech.edu.  You may also bring a paper copy by my office.  You are still responsible for turning in the assignment by the due date, so plan ahead.

Late Work
Your paper is due ON or BEFORE the due date. You can turn it in any time until the due date.  After that, the grade drops 5 points per period.

Attendance
In a face-to-face class, I'll take role every period.  Your attendance grade is a straight percentage of how much you attended class.  For example, if you attend 17 times out of 20 periods, your grade will be 17÷20=85%.  An absence may be excused with proper documentation.

Graded Material
In the event of a question regarding an exam grade or final grade, it will be the responsibility of the student to retain and present graded materials which have been returned for student possession during the quarter. 

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students needing testing or classroom accommodations based on a disability are encouraged to discuss those needs with me as soon as possible. 

Honor Code
"In accordance with the Academic Honor Code, students pledge the following: Being a student of a higher standard, I pledge to embody the principles of academic integrity."  If I determine that you have violated the Honor Code or the English Department plagiarism policy, you'll receive a '0' on the assignment, and I may refer you to the Honor Council if I think it appropriate.

The Emergency Notification System
All Louisiana Tech students are strongly encouraged to enroll and update their contact information in the Emergency Notification System. It takes just a few seconds to ensure you're able to receive important text and voice alerts in the event of a campus emergency.  For more information on the Emergency Notification System, please visit: http://www.latech.edu/ administration/ ens.shtml.

Graduate Requirements
In addition to meeting the above requirements, graduate students enrolled in the course for graduate credit:
  • must write a substantially longer research paper than undergraduates. (12-15 pages for graduate students, 8-9 pages for undergraduates.)
  • may be asked to give presentations to the class.
  • should show leadership in class discussion.




English 212 over the Internet: Requirements and Information

This course is sometimes offered as an internet course The readings are mostly the same as in my regular 212 classes.  I'm setting up the assignments as though the class is a T-Th class so people will be able to pace themselves. We'll have a quiz every week on Moodle.  This will help everybody keep up with your reading. 

Additional Information

  • I will respond to your email within 24 hours during the week (Monday-Friday).
  • I will not check email on weekends (Saturday-Sunday).
  • Do not expect replies to emails sent after three p.m. until the next business day.
  • Over the weekend, I do not promise a speedy reply, but if I am working at home and receive your email, I will try to answer it. 
  • Please remember: I am not online 24 hours a day.
  • Technical support is your responsibility. If a document or lecture does not work, let me know. However, if the problem is on your end (your computer, your software, your modem), it is your responsibility to find someone to help you with the problem. 




Reading Note
When the syllabus lists only the first page of a selection, read the whole selection.




Hoc opus, hic labor est.


Registration Week (March 8-10)

Period 1


Week 1 (March 13-17)

Period 1

Period 2


Week 2 (March 20-24)

Period 1

Period 2


Week 3 (March 27-31)

Period 1

  • NorthupTwelve Years a Slave. Chapters 2, 6, 7, 8, 17, 22
  • White.  "Why 12 Years Will Always Matter"

Period 2


Week 4 (April 3-7)

Period 1

Period 2

  • Dickinson (pp. 1201ff.) 
    • poems 185, 214, 241, 249, 258,  303, 305, 435, 441, 448, 449
  • Chopin "The 'Cadian Ball" 1604 
    • "The Storm" 1611
    • "Desiree's Baby" 1615
    • "In Sabine"


Week 5 (April 10-14)

Period 1

Period 2

  • James Daisy Miller 1495
  • Washington, "Atlanta Compromise" 1630
  • Du Bois "B. T. Washington" 1735
  • King, Statement by Alabama Clergymen (www)
    • "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (www)
    • "I Have a Dream" (www)
    • "I've Seen the Promised Land" (www)
  • Naudin"La Marseillaise Noire."


Week 6 (April 17-21)

Period 1

  • Adams "Dynamo" (www)
  • Lowell "Madonna" 1936
    • "Penumbra" (www
    • "In the Stadium" (www
  • Frost "Road Not Taken" 1960 
    • "Mending Wall" 1953
    • "Stopping By Woods" 1963
  • Henry. "Renaissance at the Charleroi"

Period 2


Week 7 (April 24-28)

Period 1

  • Hemingway "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" 2243
  • Langston Hughes "Democracy" 2270
    • "A Dream Deferred" (www)
    • "I, Too" 2266
    • "Mother to Son" 2265
    • "The Negro Spreaks of Rivers" 2265
    • "Theme for English B" (www)
  • H.D. "Mid-day" 2026
    • "Helen" 2029
  • Hurston "How It Feels" 2158

Period 2

  • Pound "A Pact" 2021 
    • "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley" (www
    • Cantos 2023
  • Huey Long
    • "Share Our Wealth" (www)
    • "Speech to Senate Staffers at the Washington Press Club" (Barbeque Speech) (www)
  • cummings "in just-" 2174 
    • "next to of course god america i" 2176
    • "O sweet spontaneous" 2174
    • "my sweet old etcetera" (www)
    • "i sing of Olaf" 2176


Week 8 (May 1-5)

Period 1

  • Eliot "Hippopotamus" (www)
    • "The Waste Land" 2045
    • "Sweeny Among the Nightingales" (www)
    • "Journey of the Magi" 2060
    • "The Hollow Men" 2057
  • Millay "Recuerdo" 2170
    • "I think I should have loved you presently" (www)
    • "I shall forget you presently, my dear" (www)
    • "Apostrophe to Man" 2171
    • "Sonnet 43" (www)
    • "I too beneath your moon, almighty Sex" 2171
    • "I forgot for a moment France" 2172

Period 2


Week 9 (May 8-12)

Period 1

Period 2


Week 10 (May 15-19)

Period 1

Period 2

    • "Egrets"
    • "First Re-entry, Post-Katrina"
    • "The Iris Garden"
    • "Moonrise on the Cane River"
    • "Spider Lilies"
    • "Those Sunday Drives"
    • "Used Book"

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