English 241/1: Spring 2004, 9:30 MWF, 48 Stansbury
Instructor: Carolyn Nelson
Office: 329 Stansbury.
Office Hours: 10:30-11:15 MWF
Email: cnelson2@wvu.edu

American Literature Survey I

Text: George McMichael, et al, eds. Anthology of American Literature. Volume 1, 8d' edition (Prentice Hall)

Readings and Assignments
Week 1
1/12 Introduction to the course
1/14 Literature of Early America. Columbus 14; 16-23
1/16 Captain John Smith 23; General History of Virginia 25-36

Week 2
1/19 Martin Luther King holiday
1/21 Native American Voices 47-62
1/23 Bradford 78; Of Plyrnouth Plantation 84-102

Week 3
1/26 Morton 102;TheNewEnglishCanaan 104-111. Winthrop 112;Journal 117-127
1/28 Williarnsl27,128-34. NewEnglandPrimerl38-41
1/30 Bradstreet 145; Poems 147-8, 155-67

Week 4
2/2 Taylor 187; Poems 188, 190, 191, 196-7, 199-200
2/4 Mather 201; The Wonders ofthe Invisible World 203-10, 217-8
2/6 Rowlandson 230; A Narrative of the Captivity 231-48, 257-8, 262-3

Week 5
2/9 Byrd 263; Secret Diary 264-8. Woolman 274; Journal 275-83
2/11 Test #1
2/13 Literature of the Eighteenth Century.Franklin 330; Autobiography 332, 335-49, 376-7, 385-89

Week 6
2/16 Equiano 463; The Life 465-91
2/18 Crevecoeur 448; Letters from an American Farmer 450-63
2/20 Paine 491; Common Sense 493-5; American Crisis 495-501; Age of Reason 501-4

Week 7
2/23 Jefferson 509; Declaration 511 -13, Notes 518-22, To John Adams 526-29
2/25 Native Voices 584: Son ofthe Forest 585-92; Story 594-5; Orations 607-10
2/27 Poems: Bryant 716-7; Longfellow 1541-4; Emerson 909; Freneau 561-2

Week 8
3/1 Test #2
3/3 Literature of the Nineteenth Century Irving 626; Rip Van Winkle 637-50; Adventure of the German Student 672-75
3/5 Irving; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 650-71

Week 9
3/8 Poe 731; Ligeia 746-57, Tell-Tale Heart 785-88
3/10 Poe; The Fall of the House of Usher 771-85
3/12 Poe; The Purloined Letter 788-801

Spring Vacation March 13 to 21

Week lO
3/22 Hawthorne 943; Young Goodman Brown 958-67; Maypole 968-76
3/24 Hawthorne; The Birth-Mark 985-96
3/26 Fuller 931; Woman in the Nineteenth Century 935-42

Week 11
3/29 Discussion of paper topics. Bring to class two copies (one to hand in) of the first paragraph of your paper with the thesis statement underlined and an outline of the rest of the paper. (Irving to Fern)
3/31 Fanny Fern 1647; Essays 1649-57
4/2 Paper #1 due.

Week 12
4/5 Slavery and the Civil War. Douglas 1658; Narrative of the Life 1659-86
4/7 Douglas; Narrative of the Life 1686-1718
4/9 Easter holiday

Week 13
4/12 Thoreau 1340; Civil Disobedience 1342-58
4/14 Jacobs 1719; Incidents in the Life 1720-39
4/16 Jacobs; Incidents in the Life 1739-47. Sojourner Truth 727; 728-31

Week 14
4/19 Stowe 1581; Uncle Tom's Cabin 1582- 1601
4/21 Stowe; Uncle Tom's Cabin 1601-13, 1633-47
4/23 Lincoln 1747; 1749-51. Poems: Melville 1328-31; Whittier 1550-54; Bryant 726

Week 15
4/26 Whitman 1787; Drum-Taps 1870-76; When Lilacs Last 1878-85; Poems 1856-7, 1869-70
4/28 Whitman 1885-6. Dickinson 1926; Poems 1928-50
4/30 Dickinson; finish poems. Letters 1950-52

Final take home exam: Bring exam to my office during exam time, 8-10 a.m. Friday, May 7, or put it in my mailbox in 231 Stansbury any time before Friday. You may hand in your paper early. No late papers will be accepted.

Policies and Requirements

This course is designed to acquaint you with the diversity of literature and ideas in 1: America from the Colonial Period until the Civil War. Some of the readings may seem to be more about religion, history, and politics than what you would expect to encounter in a literature class. However, these writings are important to our literary history and reveai the interests, concerns, and ideas of the nation from its beginning.

You are expected to read all the assigned material on the syllabus although we may not have time in class to discuss every selection in depth. The text contains far more literature than we can discuss in one semester. I suggest that you read beyond the syllabus, if not now then in later years.

Attendance: To get the greatest benefit from the course, it is important to attend all classes. Do all the assigned readings for the day before you come to class so that you can contribute to the discussions. Always bring the text to class. You are permitted 4 absences. After that, 2 points per absence will be subtracted from your final grade. If some crisis comes up in your life, you need to notify me as well as the university immediately, not at the end of the semester. The last few weeks of class are not the time to try to straighten out all your absences and to account for your missed assignments. Please do not come to class late or use cell phones during the class time.

Reading/Discussion Papers: You are required to write discussion papers for each of the readings for 8 of the 15 weeks of the semester. Hand these in on Fridays. Begin with a title of the reading under discussion. Include a brief statement of the overall purpose or thesis of the essay, story, etc., and a brief discussion of some of the ideas in it. These papers will be used as the basis for class discussion. Don't just provide a plot summary of the material or make remarks such as "I found this essay to be boring." Don't copy material from the introductions for these papers. Such papers will receive low grades. These papers should be typed, with appropriate headings, and will receive from O to 5 points. They cannot be made up or rewritten at a later date.

Presentation: Students who would like to make a presentation to the class on one of the readings for the day are encouraged to do so. This presentation should be about 10 minutes and can take a variety of forms, such as handing out questions for discussion or discussing with the class specific ideas or passages in that day's reading. Don't just read notes to the class. The main point is to get the class involved. Depending on the quality of the presentation, you will get from O to 5 points added to your final grade. This is the only extra credit it is possible to earn.

Grades: Your grade will be calculated on the basis of the points seen below. All tests must be taken on the assigned day and the paper must be handed in on time or it will be graded down 3 points for each late day. So not send responses or papers by email or through attachments. These can go astray and there is no record that they were submitted.

Reading Discussions: 8 x 5 points each 40 points
Tests: 2 x 15 points each 30
Paper: 15
Final Exam: 15