American Literature
Tentative Syllabus
Spring 2000
Text: The American Tradition in Literature, Eds. George Perkins and Barbara Perkins, 9th ed.
Mon, Jan. 8—Introduction to the course and post-Civil War
American literature. American
history timeline.
Wed., Jan. 10—Puritans
and romanticists, realists and naturalists, pp.
990-92. Twain study questions.
Fri., Jan. 12—Twain, “The Man Who Corrupted
Hadleyburg,” 1016-44. Howell
study questions. Sample
response papers. Writing
a literary paper.
Mon, Jan. 15—MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.’S DAY.
NO CLASSES.
Wed., Jan. 17—Howells, “Editha,” 1046-55.
Fri., Jan. 19—James, “The
Real Thing,” 1096-1111. James
study questions.
Mon., Jan. 22—Harte, “The Outcasts of Poker Flats,”
1152-59. Harte study
questions.
Wed., Jan. 24—Davis, “Anne,” handout.
Davis study questions.
Fri., Jan. 26—Adams, “The Dynamo and the Virgin,” 1162-69. Adams
study questions.
Mon., Jan. 29—Jewett, “A White Heron,” 1170-76.
Jewett study questions.
Wed., Jan. 31—Chopin, “A Pair of Silk Stockings,” 1178-80. Chopin
story. Chopin study
questions.
Fri., Feb. 2—Freeman, “The Revolt of ‘Mother,’” 1182-91. Freeman
study questions.
Mon., Feb. 5—Chesnutt, “The Passing of Grandison,”
1192-1202. Chesnutt study
questions.
Wed., Feb. 7—Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” 1204-14. Gilman
study questions.
Fri., Feb. 9—Wharton, “Roman Fever,” 1217-25. Wharton
study questions.
Mon., Feb. 19—PRESIDENTS’ DAY. NO CLASS.
Wed., Feb. 21—Review for test.
Fri., Feb. 23—Test 1, Twain through Wharton.
Mon., Feb. 26—Naturalism.
Crane, “The Open Boat,” 1229-44. Crane
study questions.
Wed., Feb. 28—Dreiser, “The Second Choice,” 1247-58. Dreiser
study questions.
Fri., Mar. 2—London, “To Build a Fire,” 1260-69. London
study questions.
Mon., Mar. 12—“Modern American Literature,” 1271-78.
Wed., Mar. 14—Robinson, “Richard Cory,” 182; “Miniver Cheevy,”
1282-83; “Mr. Flood’s Party,” 1284-86; “New England,” 1287. Robinson
study questions.
Fri., Mar. 16—Cather, “Neighbour Rosicky,” 1290-1308. Cather
study questions. Cather story.
Mon, Mar. 19-Fri., Mar. 23—SPRING BREAK. NO CLASSES.
Mon, Mar. 26—Frost, “Mending Wall,” 1312-13; “Home
Burial,” 1313-15; “The Road Not Taken,” 1317-18; “Stopping By Woods on a
Snowy Evening,” 1329-30. Frost
study questions.
Wed., Mar. 28— Sandburg, all poems, 1335-37. Sandburg
study questions.
Fri., Mar. 30—Pound, “The Seafarer,” 1347-49; “A Virginal,” 1349-50;
“In a Station of the Metro,” 1350. Lowell,
“Patterns,” 1404-06. Pound
and Lowell study questions.
Mon., Apr. 2—Anderson, “The Book of the Grotesque,” 1339-40;
“Adventure,” 41-44. Anderson
study questions.
Wed., Apr. 4—Test 2, Robinson through Anderson.
Fri., Apr. 6—Test 2, Robinson through Anderson.
Mon., Apr. 9— Stevens, “Sunday Morning,” 1420-22;
“Anecdote of the Jar,” 1422-23; “The Snow Man,” 1423; “Not Ideas about
the Thing but the Thing Itself,” 1431. Stevens
study questions.
Wed., Apr. 11— Williams, “The Young Housewife,” 1434; “The Bull,”
1437-38; “The Red Wheelbarrow,” 1439. e. e. cummings, “When God Lets My Body Be,” 1506; “Buffalo
Bill’s,” 1507-08; “When Serpents Bargain for the Right to Squirm,” 1515.
Williams and cummings study
questions.
Fri., Apr. 13—NO CLASSES.
Mon., Apr. 16— Fitzgerald, “Babylon Revisited,”
1517-1530. Fitzgerald
study questions.
Wed., Apr. 18— Faulkner, “Barn Burning,” 1571-82. Faulkner
study questions.
Fri., Apr. 20—Hughes, “Feet Live Their Own Life,” 1608-09; Wright,
“Black Boy,” 1611-17. Hughes
and Wright study questions..
Mon., Apr. 23—Walker, “Everyday Use,” 1967-72.
Walker study question
Wed., Apr. 25—Porter, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,”
1597-1603. Porter study
questions.
Wed., Apr. 25—Paper due. Malamud, "The Mourners,"
1743-47. Malamud study
questions.
Mon., Apr. 30—Baldwin, "Sonny's Blues,"
1747-68. Baldwin study
questions.
Wed., May 2—O'Connor, "Good Country People," 1770-82. O'Connor
study questions.
Fri., May 4—Erdrich, "The Red Convertible," 1994-2000. Erdrich
study questions.
The class will consists of a discussion of the above readings; three tests, including the final; unannounced quizzes or short writes, and a 5-7 page paper on a topic that is related to post-Civil War American literature.
The paper can be an analysis of several works; a discussion of some aspect of American literature, such as realism; a historical event that is related to some work; the impact of an author’s life on her or his work; or a discussion of some work that is not covered in class. The topics are open, but you must discuss the topic with me before doing the paper. Aside from the work or works used in the paper, you must also cite any other works used in writing the paper. Check the syllabus for due dates. If you want to do a rewrite, the paper must be turned in by Mar. 30 and preferably sooner.
Grade Breakdown:
Test 1:
20%
Test 2: 20%
Test 3:
20%
Test 4:
20%
Quizzes and discussion:
20%