| Dr. Alex E. Blazer | Course Site | Assignments | Description |
| Materials | Assignments | Policies | Schedule |
American Literary Consciousness
English 311: American Literature I, Fall 2003
Section 01: MWF 8:00-8:50AM, Bingham Humanities Bldg 101
Section 75: TR 7:00-8:15PM, Bingham Humanities Bldg 101
| Professor: Alex E. Blazer | Office: Bingham Humanities Bldg 318B |
| Mailbox: Bingham Humanities Bldg 315 | Office Hours: MWF: 12:00-12:50PM |
| Email: alex.blazer@louisville.edu | Office Phone: 852-5920 |
| Web: http://www.louisville.edu/~a0blaz01/ | Departmental Phone: 852-6801 |
I celebrate myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. —Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself" (1855) |
English 311 is an introductory course for American literature from its origins to the Civil War. Besides fulfilling requirements for the English major and minor, it also fulfills a General Education Arts and Humanities requirement. As a survey course, we'll engage a multitude of writers and literary movements from various time periods. For practicality's sake, we'll approach the literature according to three time tendencies: the literature leading up to the American Revolution, the initial struggle to create a national literature in the nineteenth century, and the first major American literary movement, Transcendentalism. Of course, we'll only catch a glimpse of these writers and these movements; however, through encounters with recurrent themes and issues among various authors, by the end of the course we'll attempt to build a general understanding of the motion of American literature up to 1865. Among our methods for accomplishing this formidable, but nonetheless achievable, task will be extensive reading and class discussion, in class group work, three exams, and a final paper. Note that this class is graded on the plus and minus letter grade scale.
required
Baym, et al, The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 6th ed., Vols A and B
Assignments and Grade Distribution
3 exams, 20%, 25%, and 30%, sequentially
Essay exams will test your knowledge of the evolving American literary consciousness. Although later exams will focus on the time period at hand, some questions will ask you to make connections and distinctions between periods.
1 paper, 25%
In 5-7 pages or 1250-1750 words and using 3-5 works of scholarly criticism, analyze a topic or text more closely and deeply than we had time to cover in class. Use MLA format. Click here for more details.
Office Hours and Email
I encourage you to stop by my office hours to discuss any aspect of the course, literature, or life. I'm happy to answer small questions such as due dates over email, but I prefer face-to-face conversations for more substantive topics like papers and exams. I don't check my email on weekends.
Class Participation
We're going to be working with challenging works of literature; therefore, we'll all benefit from sharing our questions and ideas. To facilitate that process, I ask that you come to class prepared with tentative answers to the study questions as well as a list of issues you wish to discuss about the day's reading. A bit of an internet addict myself, I recognize that the computers can be quite tempting; however, refrain from using them for email and surfing during class lecture and discussion. Finally, if I feel that the majority of the class isn't participating because they're not keeping up with the reading or not attending, I will give pop quizzes that will force me to reweight the grade distribution.
Attendance
Regular attendance and participation in class discussion is crucial in order to adequately work through the ideas and texts of a fast-paced survey course. We're going to cover a lot of ground, so missing class will leave you with insufficient preparation for the exams and paper. If you don't come to class prepare to discuss the study quesions, you will not earn high marks in the class.
Late Assignments
There will be a one-letter grade deduction per day (not class period) for any assignment that is turned in late unless a valid excuse (university athletic competion, jury duty, illness with doctor's note, and so forth) is provided.
Plagiarism
Don't do it. Using someone else's words, ideas, or work without proper citation and representing it as your own is the most serious of academic offenses. See the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, sections 5 and 6 in the Undergraduate Catalog. Any proven plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the assignment in question and will be reported to the Committee on Student Discipline for further action, which can include notice in the permanent record, dismissal, or expulsion.
Disabilities Resource Center
If you have any specific needs or concerns, please feel free to discuss the issue with me outside of class. Contact the Disabilities Resource Center (Robbins Hall, 852-6938) for information and auxiliary aid.
Writing Center
The Writing Center (Ekstrom Library, Room 312, 852-2173) provides drop-in assistance for planning, drafting, revising, and editing papers.
This schedule is subject to change, so listen in class and check online for possible revisions.
Section 01 MWF 8:00-8:50AM [Scroll down for Section 75 TR 7:00-8:15PM]
Introductions |
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Unit 1: Origins to the American Revolution Introduction and Timeline (3-18) Stories of the Beginning of the World (19-33) Columbus, from letters (34-7) Cabeza de Vaca, from The Relation of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (58-70) |
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| stories, Columbus, and Cabeza de Vaca, continued | ||
| No Class: Labor Day | ||
Bradstreet, poems (238-75; selections) |
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| Bradstreet, continued | ||
Introduction and Timeline (425-35) Paine, from Common Sense (706-11) "The Crisis, No. 1" (712-7) from The Age of Reason (718-25) |
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| Paine, continued | ||
| Paine, continued | ||
Stockton, poems (699-703) Wheatley, poems (808-24) |
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| Stockton and Wheatley, continued | ||
| Exam 1 | ||
Unit 2: The Creation of a National Literature Emerson, Nature (1106-34) "The American Scholar" (1135-47) "Self-Reliance" (1160-76) "The Poet" (1177-91) |
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| Emerson, continued | ||
| Emerson, continued | ||
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Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown" (1263-72) "The Minister's Black Veil" (1280-8) "The Birth-Mark" (1289-99) |
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| Hawthorne, continued | ||
| Hawthorne, continued | ||
Longfellow, poetry (1476-85) Whittier, poetry (1485-1506) |
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| Longfellow and Whittier, continued | ||
Longfellow and Whittier, continued |
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| No Class: Fall Break | ||
| exam review | ||
Exam 2 |
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Unit 3: American Transcendentalism Poe, poetry (1507-1524) |
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Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1534-46) "The Purloined Letter" (1575-87) "The Imp of the Perverse" (1588-92) |
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Poe, continued |
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Melville, "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (2330-54) "Billy Budd, Sailor" (2431-86) |
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Melville, continued Optional Play: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, presented by University Theatre on Wednesday, 10-29 through Sunday, 11-2. For reservations call the box office at 852-6814 or email dmhuds02@louisville.edu. |
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Melville, continued |
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Week 11 |
film screening: Bartleby (Jonathan Parker, 2001; 82min) |
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film screening: Bartleby, continued |
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No Class: work on papers |
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Bartleby discussion Thoreau, "Resistance to Civil Government" (1788-1806) Walden, or Life in the Woods (1807-1982; selections) "Life without Principle" (1788-2028) |
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| Thoreau, continued | ||
Thoreau, continued |
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Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (2029-97) |
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Douglass, continued Whitman, poems (2127-2274; selections) "I Sing the Body Electric" (online) |
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Whitman, continued |
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| Whitman, continued | ||
No Class: Thanksgiving Break |
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No Class: Thanksgiving Break |
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| Dickinson, poems and letters (2499-544) | ||
| Dickinson, continued | ||
| Dickinson, continued | ||
| No Class: Take-Home Final Exam Due by 7:00PM |
This schedule is subject to change, so listen in class and check online for possible revisions.
Section 75 TR 7:00-8:15PM [Scroll up for Section 01 MWF 8:00-8:50AM]
Introductions |
||
Unit 1: Origins to the American Revolution Introduction and Timeline (3-18) Stories of the Beginning of the World (19-33) Columbus, from letters (34-7) Cabeza de Vaca, from The Relation of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (58-70) |
||
| Bradstreet, poems (238-75) | ||
| Bradstreet, continued | ||
Introduction and Timeline (425-35) Paine, from Common Sense (706-11) "The Crisis, No. 1" (712-7) from The Age of Reason (718-25) |
||
| Paine, continued | ||
Stockton, poems (699-703) Wheatley, poems (808-24) |
||
Exam 1 |
||
Unit 2: The Creation of a National Literature Emerson, Nature (1106-34) "The American Scholar" (1135-47) "Self-Reliance" (1160-76) "The Poet" (1177-91) |
||
Emerson, continued |
||
|
Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown" (1263-72) "The Minister's Black Veil" (1280-8) "The Birth-Mark" (1289-99) |
|
Hawthorne, continued |
||
Longfellow, poetry (1476-85) Whittier, poetry (1485-1506) |
||
Longfellow and Whittier, continued exam review |
||
| No Class: Fall Break | ||
| Exam 2 | ||
Unit 3: American Transcendentalism Poe, poetry (1507-1524) "The Fall of the House of Usher" (1534-46) "The Purloined Letter" (1575-87) "The Imp of the Perverse" (1588-92) |
||
| Poe, continued | ||
Melville, "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (2330-54) "Billy Budd, Sailor" (2431-86) Optional Play: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, presented by University Theatre on Wednesday, 10-29 through Sunday, 11-2. For reservations call the box office at 852-6814 or email dmhuds02@louisville.edu. |
||
| Melville, continued | ||
film screening: Bartleby (Jonathan Parker, 2001; 82min) |
||
No Class: work on paper |
||
Bartleby discussion Thoreau, "Resistance to Civil Government" (1788-1806) Walden, or Life in the Woods (1807-1982; selections) "Life without Principle" (1788-2028) |
||
Thoreau, continued |
||
Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (2029-97) |
||
Douglass, continued Whitman, poems (2127-2274; selections) "I Sing the Body Electric" (online) |
||
| Whitman, continued | ||
| No Class: Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Dickinson, poems and letters (2499-544) | ||
| Dickinson, continued | ||
| Take-Home Final Exam Due by 7:00PM |