• Course Description:   This course will survey major trends and writers in American literature from the Puritans to the present.  Readings will include poems, novels, essays, autobiographies, short stories, social commentaries, political tracts, and philosophy, originating in different regions and social settings across the country. Some works are chosen from their historical importance, others for their thematic insight, others for their aesthetic virtues. Taken together, they form a rich collection of imaginative and critical writing, composed by former slaves and United States Presidents, by immigrants and expatriates, by Harvard professors and unknown spinsters. Our goal will be to analyze these works as diverse representations of American experience, ideas, and values. As it is created, literature in its widest sense can function as moral instruction, political polemic, personal expression, and casual entertainment. Broaching the literature carefully requires that we be attuned to its varied purposes, and skillful in detailing the ways in which it accomplishes them. This means that much classroom discussion will involve close textual commentary upon the assigned works. As we proceed to study the literature of the past,
  however, the material begins to form a tradition, and familiarity with that tradition is one of the prerequisites of liberal education. As the course progresses, then, we will develop a larger sense of the progress of American writing, and discern continuities and discontinuities from one age to the next. By the end of the course, students will have acquired a basic knowledge of American literary history, combining a trained eye for authorial styles and a flexible talent for textual interpretation with a solid understanding of historical contexts.

• Grading:
• weekly quizzes                                 20%
• 1st essay (Melville)                         20%
• 2nd take-home essay                       20%
• work ethic                                         10%
  
• final exam                                         30%

• Class Participation:  The nature of this class requires individual responsibility and maturity in participation and attendance. You are expected to prepare for class by reading and thinking about those readings before you come to class and you will be expected to actively participate in class discussions.  Please be on time for all classes.

• Attendance:  Attendance is required and more than 1 absence will lower your grade.   More than 2 will result in failure for the course.   You are also responsible for making up any work missed through absences. 
  

• Papers:  All papers must be word processed (to be turned in to Becky Palmer in Jackson Hall 307) in proper MLA format.   Late Work--UNACCEPTABLE.  All work is to be completed and turned in on time.  Late papers will receive one letter grade lower for every day late.  Late papers more than 3 days late automatically receive a failing grade.

• Schedule:   The class schedule is dynamic and therefore liable to change.  It is your responsibility to check the online syllabus every few days to see what changes or additions have occured.

• Conferences:  If you have any questions or concerns about the course and its assignments, please feel free to make an  appointment to see me when you need help.   This semester my official office hours are Monday 2:00 - 3:30; Tu and Th from 9:45 to 11:15 and by appt.  Go to contact information for this course for specific ways to reach me.

• Honor Code:  Plagiarism is a most serious offense. Penalties as severe as a zero on an assignment, failure in the course, or expulsion from the college are possible.  Learn and practice the Centenary Honor Code as stated in the Student Handbook.