450 syllabus draft

7/27/2019 450 Syllabus DRAFT

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In this seminar, we will study the life and work of Samuel L. Clemens. We will pursue achronological course taking us from Clemens's earliest newspaper and periodical writing,through his wildly successful travel writing of the late 1860s and early 70s, through threemajor novels, and into the considerably darker territory of his turn-of-the-century writing.Along the way, we will contextualize the work of Mark Twain within Sam Clemens's life,within literary history, and within the shifting historical, social, and cultural milieu of theUnited States from the mid 19th century through the turn of the 20th.

Aside from this general plan, however, I have laid out in advance no particular vectors oragendas for our journey, aside, of course, from those to be inferred from the course goals andassignments. In this regard, I expect a kind of group navigation to take over. Where we go inparticular, in other words, will become apparent as we move along, and so long as we areprepared, up for the challenge, and ready for the responsibility, this should be a veryinteresting trip.

Goals

On successfully completing the Mark Twain senior seminar, students should be able to

discuss the evolution of Twain as a writer over his lifetime, using examples from a widerange of texts and with respect to literary technique, themes, and subject matter

contextualize major works in Twain's oeuvre within the life of Samuel L. Clemens and

within US cultural history, broadly construed situate and discuss Twain's work within American literary history

Instructor

Dr. Mike Duvall

[email protected] 843.953.4833 74 George St. #301

Contact: Email is probably the most dependable way to contact me. Be sure to provide aclear subject line, including "ENGL 450" or "Twain Seminar" so that I may sort your messagesout from the less interesting and less important ones in my inbox. Also, expect predictabledelays in response for messages that come to me late at night. Finally, if at all possible, use

your College email address, for our spam filter has been know to eat email from outsideproviders, only to disgorge it to its intended receiver long after the message was at the heightof its importance.

Office hours: TBD

ENGL 450Senior Seminar

Course website: http://blogs.cofc.edu/fall13-engl-450-01/


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Texts

Twain readings:Innocents Abroad (selections),Roughing It(selections), TheAdventures ofHuckleberry Finn,A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,Pudd'nhead Wilson, and shortpieces.

The books above are available for purchase in print in the school bookstore andelsewhere. But they are also available as PDFs on the course website.

The short pieces arenotavailable in the school bookstore: they are located on the coursewebsite, from which you can download and/or print them.

Biography: Jerome Loving,Mark Twain: The Adventures of Samuel L. Clemens (U ofCalifornia Press). This is only available in print form and must be purchased from thebookstore or elsewhere.

Assignments

Seminar Project (25% of final grade)

A substantial project of your own design on some aspect of Twain's work or life,subject to approval through a rigorous proposal process. The project will not onlyengage deeply with Twain and/or his work, but will also put itself into conversationwith the critical and scholarly field of Twain studies. Certainly, a critical paper of 15+pages would qualify for the project, but the possibilities for the project are wide open,so long as it reaches the assignment and course goals.The seminar project will be due at the end of the semester: more details areforthcoming.

State of Scholarship & Criticism Essay (20% of final grade)An essay analyzing and reporting on recent scholarship and criticism on a major Twain

text. This will be due soon after the semester's midpoint. Examinations (2: 10% of the final grade, each)

Examinations focusing on content knowledge, analysis, interpretation, and synthesis ofconnections between literary texts and biography covered prior to the examination.One examination will be given near the semester midpoint; the other will be at the endof the semester.

Class Notes (2: 7.5% of the final grade,each)Sets of notes on class discussionsprepared collaboratively by groups of

2-3 students. Twice in the semester, eachstudent will work in a group to producethese "official" class notes, which will beposted on the class website before thenext class meeting (for instance, notescovering a Monday class will be postedbefore Wednesday's class). The noteswill serve as an official record of our

PerceFi

tage Equivaleal Course Gr

ts forde

A= 94-100 A- = 91-93

B+ = 88-90 B = 84-87 B- = 81-83

C+ = 78-80 C= 74-77 C- = 71-73

D+ = 68-70 D= 64-67 D- = 61-63

F = 60 and b low


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ongoing conversation and as a spur toward further conversation. Shortly after thesemester begins, a sign-up sheet for groups will be made available. Assignment sheetforthcoming.

Reading and Discussion Journal (15% of the final grade)An electronic journal in which each student will record notes and observations on our

readings and class discussions, following guidelines provided in the assignment sheet(forthcoming). Journals will be turned in periodically, typically on Fridays.

Miscellaneous Writing (5% of the final grade)In-class and out-of-class reading quizzes and other assignments designed to help youthink about the readings, formulate problems and questions for class discussion,respond to the readings, and so on. Please note: grades for missed in-class assignmentscannot be made up.

Attendance

I prefer to only have attendance policies that are punitive for missed classes when

pedagogically necessary. This is one of those times.A senior seminar is a special kind of class. Banking on the skills of students in the final year oftheir English major and, thus, at the height of their observational, critical, and scholarlypowers, the senior seminar is built on discussion. Though it is based on and motivated byTwain's texts, in a real sense, the content of the class is our discussion itself. Our subject,then, is what we have to say: our explorations, our thinkings out loud, our interpretations, ourideas (good and bad), our agreements and disagreements with Twain and with each other, andso on. At a bare minimum, you can easily see, attendance is essential.

Of course, there may be emergencies, illnesses, and so forth that from time to time makeattendance impossible. Thus, you are allowed to miss up to four meetings of the class (10% of

our meetings), for whatever reason (excused or unexcused: I do not differentiate betweenthe two categories). Beginning with your fifth absence, however, your final grade will bereduced by a notch for each missed meeting. For instance, missing five class meetings wouldreduce a final grade of B+ to a B. After eight absences, I may drop you from the class rolealtogether.

Please note: you are responsible, regardless of the reason of an absence, for the materialcovered in class on the day of your absence. Please make arrangements with a fellow studentor students to get information and notes should you miss a class.

Also, please arrive to class on time. Late arrivals can be disruptive.

Class ClimateThe rules of ordinary conversation apply in the seminar. Turn-taking is essential. Questionsand open ends are helpful. Building on what others say, countering what others say, andbridging between ideas and positions are all useful strategies to keep things moving. Andlistening to each other is foundational to the whole enterprise.

Its also worth saying a few words here about the kind of class climate we need to cultivate inorder to have productive and enjoyable meetings. We will inevitably broach controversial


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450 syllabus draft

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