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English 395 - Spring 2011 - MWF 10AM - MYBK 210

Course Description

We will examine literature of inclusion/exclusion and assimilation/alienation in the US

across the turn of the twentieth century. Our readings, primarily fiction and

autobiography, will include writing by African Americans, Eastern European Jewish

immigrants, Native Americans, and Chinese immigrants. Our primary means of comingto terms with these texts will be informed reading, writing, and discussion.

NB: This course will count toward the pre-1900 American literature requirement for the

"old" English major and the Literature in History, 1700-1900 requirement in the "new"

English major. It also counts toward the African American Studies minor.

Online Learning Management System - OAKS

In this section of 395, we will use OAKS (Online Academic Knowledge System), the new

learning management system that will replace WebCT at the College of Charleston

beginning this May. OAKS will be central to this class: you will need to login to the system

regularly to find out about upcoming reading and other assignments, to take

quizzes, submit papers, get grades and feedback on your class work, and so on.

To log in, open MyCharleston in a browser and click on the acornimage at the top of the web page on the right, just beneath the MyCharleston

banner. When you log in, you should easily find a the link to the ENGL 395 course page.

Should you have any problems, contact me. We will take class time as needed to

understand the system, but the primary responsibility for learning how to use it falls on your

shoulders.

Assignments

short miscellaneous assignments & quizzes (10% of the class grade) - short in-class

and out-of-class reading quizzes and other assignments designed to help you think

about the readings, formulate problems and questions for class discussion, respond to

the readings, and so on. Please note: grades forin-class assignments cannot be made

up.

collaborative note-taking (10% of the class grade)- for nearly each meeting of theclass, pairs of students will be responsible for taking notes and uploading their edited

notes to OAKS 24 hours before the next class meeting (this will be done twice). The notes

will be shared with the entire class. I will provide guidelines for this assignment shortly.

synthesis papers (3) (30% of the class grade) - short papers (3-5 pages) that are

designed to bring together the ideas and texts discussed in each of the class's units of study. This class has four such

units (see below): for your first two papers, you will write synthesis papers for units 1 & 2. For the third paper, you will write

on your choice of unit 3 or 4. Due dates are on the course calendar in OAKS, assignment sheets forthcoming.

critcal paper (25% of the class grade) - based on an approved proposal, you will write a 10-15 page argumentative,

researched essay focused on historically-informed analysis and interpretation of one or more literary text. A first draft will

be required. Five days at the end of the semester have been set aside for intensive peer-review and group workshopping.

final examination (25% of the class grade) - a cumulative examination emphasizing content knowledge, analysis,

interpretation, and synthesis of connections between texts across the entire semester.

Attendance, Preparation for Class, Missed and Late Assignments

There is no grade penalty in this class for failure to attend a certain number of classes. If you are serious about your

education and I am serious about offering something that goes beyond what you could just as easily do on your own, then

the attendance issue should sort itself out. Nonetheless, attendance will be taken and I will expect you to come to class on

time.

Please note: the problem with not attending class really goes beyond missing things, in the sense of missing material or

content delivered on a particular day. When you are not here, you miss out on the conversation, and thus you miss out on

ENGL 395 - Assimilation and Americanization in Late 19th Century American Literature - Syllabus 1

Texts

Course packet in two volumes

with most of the course readings

(available in the campus

bookstore)

Various handouts and PDFs

available on OAKS

Course Goals

Students successfully completing

this class will be able to:

define, with respect to the

complexities, subjectivity,

assimilation, and Americanization

and related terms/concepts and

apply these in discussions of

literary texts

discuss how literary texts work

out issues of marginality within

some of the historical conditions

of the late 19th and early 20th articulate a substantial, research-

based, textual analysis and

argument

Assimilation and Americanizationin Late 19th Century American Literature

Instructor

Dr. J. Michael Duvall

26 Glebe St. #103843.953.4833

duvalljm@cofc.edu

Office Hours: Tues. 1:30-3PM

& Wed. 1-2PM and by appt.

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the very process of the course itself. For me, the process is, in many

ways, the real content of the course.

Since the conversations we will be having in this class are so important,

I feel its also worth saying a few words here about the kind of class

climate we all need to cultivate in order to have productive (and I hope

enjoyable) meetings. We will inevitably broach controversial issues in

this class: religion, race, gender, ideology, sexuality, and more. (Literarystudies puts everything on the table.) I will do my best to foster an

atmosphere of mutual respect, openness, and fairness, balanced with

high intellectual standards for backing up the positions we may take. I

ask you to do the same.

As for late assignments, I penalize late major assignments at the rate of

10% off the final grade per calendar day late. Other late assignments I will take on a case-by-case basis, offering some

credit for late work or no credit, depending on the nature of the assignment. However, I offer no make-ups for missed in-class

writing (another reason you should come to class).

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

I treat plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty with utmost seriousness. If I suspect an assignment to beplagiarized or in some other way not the student's own work, I assign the grade of zero for the assignment and will likely

report the violation to the Honor Board for further review and action. Please consult The Honor System at the College ofCharleston, available online at , for a full statement on the colleges

honor code.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

The College makes appropriate accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students who would like these

accommodations should apply at the Center for Disability Services located on the first floor of the Lightsey Center, Suite 104.

Students approved for accommodations are responsible for notifying me as soon as possible and for contacting me one

week before accommodation is needed. Should you have questions about disability services at the College of Charleston,

please contact the Center for Disability Services at 953-1431 or visit their website at .

Course of Study and Calendar of Readings & Assignments

The readings for the semester are broken into four major units, as described below.

Unit 1 - Eastern European Jewish Immigrant WritingUnit 2 - Chinese Immigrant Writing

Unit 3 - Native American Writing

Unit 4 - African American Writing

The first three units will be completed by Spring Break, the remaining one, after the break, followed by draft workshops for

critical papers.

The dates below are the due dates for major assignments (subject to change with ample notification) and other important

dates that you may want to record in your own calendars. For the day-to-day list of readings and assignments, see the

calendar posted on OAKS. It is imperative that you check this calendar regularly in case there are any changes and so that

you can come to class having completed the reading and otherwise adequately prepared.

Mon., Jan. 17 Martin Luther King Holiday - No Class

Fri., Feb. 4 Synthesis Paper #1Fri., Feb. 25 Synthesis Paper #2

Mar. 7 - 11 Spring Break

Fri., Mar. 18 Synthesis Paper #3 (note: turn in either#3 or#4)

Mon., Apr. 11 Synthesis Paper #4 (note: turn in either#3 or#4)

Wed. Apr. 13 - Fri. Apr. 22 Critical Paper Workshops (Proposal & Draft Due Dates TBA)

Mon., Apr. 25 Critical Paper Due

Wed., May 4 Final Exam (8-11AM)

ENGL 400 - The Literature of Assimilation and Americanization, 1877-1919 - Syllabus 2

PERCENTA

FINAL COU

E EQUIVALE

SE GRADES

TS FOR

A= 94-100 A- = 91-93

B+ = 88-90 B = 84-87 B- = 81-83C+ = 78-80 C= 74-77 C- = 71-73

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

F = 60 and b low

http://spinner.cofc.edu.nuncio.cofc.edu/~cds/http://spinner.cofc.edu.nuncio.cofc.edu/~cds/http://studentaffairs.cofc.edu/general_info/honor_system/http://spinner.cofc.edu.nuncio.cofc.edu/~cds/http://spinner.cofc.edu.nuncio.cofc.edu/~cds/http://studentaffairs.cofc.edu/general_info/honor_system/http://studentaffairs.cofc.edu/general_info/honor_system/