ENGL 204
AMERICAN LITERATURE
FALL 2004
Professor Joan DelFattore
Class hours: T 6-9, Room 122 Memorial
Office: 062 Memorial Hall
Office hours: M 10-11:45 a.m., T 2-4 p.m., R 6-8 p.m.
Phone: 831-2987 (office), 737-7124 (home)
E-mail: jdel@udel.edu
Homepage: www.english.udel.edu/jdel
DESCRIPTION
Participants in this course will
* read fiction, poetry, drama, essays, letters, speeches, and legal
documents
written in or about America from the colonial period to the present
* analyze the varying ways in which works written in different periods
address the themes of freedom, justice, and opportunity
* compare and contrast the treatment of these themes in literature
written by people of varying ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds
* participate in oral presentations to the class
* write an in-depth response to the class readings and films in a
final essay at the end of the course
TEXTS
All students will read:
Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Peter Irons, The Courage of Their Convictions
Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn
Norman Mailer, The Executioner’s Song
Arthur Miller, The Crucible
Half the class will read F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; the
other half will read
Chaim Potok, The Chosen
Half the class will read John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath; the
other half will read
Robert Penn Warren, All the King’s Men
Several class assignments indicate that students will sign up for different
readings or online research topics. Sign-up sheets will be passed around
in class the week before each assignment is due, and students will be equally
divided among the alternatives. If you have a particular preference
about any assignment, you’re welcome to e-mail me, and I’ll sign you up for
your preferred assignment before the list circulates in class.
TECHNOLOGY
From time to time, I will send messages to the class list (engl204-010-04F@udel.edu),
which sends mail to your UD account number. As an example, if a student
discovers that one of the online readings is no longer at the url I’ve provided
in this syllabus, I’ll e-mail the class list to let all of you know what to
do about that reading. Because the class meets only once a week, it’s
particularly important for me to be able to get in touch with all of you
with clarifications, suggestions for assignments you’re working on, and so
forth. It is your responsibility to check your UD account regularly.
If you would like to change your UD e-mail address, you may do so by going
to www.udel.edu/network and typing in your current username and password;
but you cannot use your aol, comcast, or other e-mail account for this purpose.
Several of the short readings are online, and unless otherwise instructed,
you are expected to print out that material and bring it to class along
with the rest of that week’s readings. Even if there is a cost for the
printing, it is much less than students used to have to spend for the anthology
we used before this material became available online. Instead of typing
out long url strings, you may prefer to go to my homepage (see above) and
scroll down to ENGL 204, where you’ll find an online version of this syllabus
with links to all the readings.
This class requires independent Internet research. In the unlikely
event that any student does not know how to do Internet research, help is
available from the staff at the computing centers.
Students who do not have their own computers, printers, and Internet access
are welcome to use any of the computing sites on campus. Questions about
activating e-mail accounts or getting access to the UD library databases from
off-campus should be addressed to the staff at the computing centers or to
the computer hotline at 831-6000. You can also find answers to many
questions at the IT help center: www.udel.edu/help.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Short Version: If I’m here, you’re here.
Long Version: The schedule for this class involves a tradeoff.
On one hand, students receive three credits for a class that meets only once
a week. On the other hand, each class meeting is three hours long, which
means that missing even one of them is comparable to missing three traditional
MWF classes or two traditional TR classes. Moreover, lectures and class
discussions will include information that is not in the readings, and students
are responsible for that material on response papers. Absences will
therefore be excused only in cases of serious illness or family emergencies.
Car trouble, arguments with significant others, hangovers, social events,
ennui, the need to catch up on work or sleep, appearances on the Jerry Springer
Show, or abduction by creatures from another planet are not justifications
for excused absences. (Students may argue that the last two are redundant.)
Moaning about the three-hour periods is optional but immature, since they
are part of an arrangement whose benefits you are also enjoying. Arriving
late and leaving early are not options except under unusual circumstances.
To avoid a lot of grief, please do not remain in this course if your work
schedule, ride home, or social life will not allow you to meet these standards.
Students will lose three points toward the final grade for each unexcused
absence, and anyone who repeatedly arrives late or leaves early will lose
points for the cumulative loss of class time. If students who are absent
without an acceptable reason when oral presentations are due hand in the written
notes later, they will receive only half credit for the assignment.
GRADING
Four independent research assignments @ 12 points each = 48
Four response papers to readings @ 7 points each =
28
Reflective essay =
24
Final grade: 95-100 = A, 90-94 = A-, 87-89 = B+, 83-86 = B, 80-82
= B-,
77-79 = C+, 73-76 = C, 70-72 = C-, 67-69 = D+, 63-66 = D, 60-62 = D-, 0-59
= F
Note: Students who hand in a written research assignment or response
paper following an unexcused absence when that assignment was discussed in
class will receive a maximum of half credit for the assignment. Conversely,
students who are present for class but do not hand in the assignment in writing
at that time will lose up to half the points for the assignment unless other
arrangements are made with the instructor.
SCHEDULE
Notes: Please bring the readings for each week to the class meeting.
All written work for this class must be typed.
Aug. 31: Introduction to the course (hello, course)
Preliminary discussion of the theme of freedom
Assignment due next week:
Read the Declaration of Independence http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/declaration.html;
Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” http://www.cs.indiana.edu/statecraft/civ.dis.html;
e. e. cummings, “i sing of olaf glad and big” http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/eecummings/11930;
Chapter 7 of The Courage of Their Convictions (Daniel Seeger v. U.S., pp.
153-78). Read the summary of Texas v. Johnson at http://www.phschool.com/atschool/supreme_court_cases/johnson.html
and be prepared to debate Questions 2 and 3.
Sept. 7: Discussion of the Declaration, “Civil Disobedience,” “i sing
of olaf,” and Seeger
Tape of Supreme Court oral argument in Texas v. Johnson
Discussion of Texas v. Johnson
Mini-lecture on Hustler v. Falwell
Clip from The People vs. Larry Flynt
Discussion of the meaning of dissent in America
Introduction to the concept of (and controversies surrounding) academic freedom
Assignment due next week:
Read “Textbook Controversies
Based on Content, Values, and Viewpoint”
http://www.english.udel.edu/jdel/textbooks.html
Select
one of the controversies discussed in the essay and find three online
sources giving further information about it. Print out the first page
of each online source and any other pages you consider especially important
(there is no need to print out the whole thing, especially if it’s lengthy).
Type a brief summary (one to two double-spaced pages) of what you found and
bring it to class prepared to discuss it first in a small group and then with
the class. Please note that all written work must be typed.
Suggestions for online research (feel free to use one, all, or none of these):
Type the title of a challenged book or keywords for a dispute into the Search
box of Google, Yahoo!, etc. and see what comes up.
Go to Lexis/Nexis and click on News or Guided News Search. (The Quick
News Search is less likely to work.) Search under General News in major
newspapers, full text. Be sure to adjust the time frame or Lexis/Nexis
will go back only six months. When you choose keywords, try to think
of
words that would appear in a news article; for instance, news stories
rarely give the name of a lawsuit, but they do tend to mention the names
of the key players and the title of the challenged material.
Go to www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com,
or a similar bookseller
website. Type the title of a challenged book in the Search box, then
click
on the book when it appears. Click on the link for additional product
details and scroll down to find editorial reviews (i.e., professional
reviews) and comments by ordinary readers.
Three hits on Google, Yahoo! or whatever, three news articles,
three reviews, three online items you find by some other means, or any
combination thereof will satisfy the assignment. 12 points
Sept. 14: Discussion of “Textbook Controversies”
Small-group work to prepare panel presentations on the various controversies
Panel presentations
Hand in notes of research and Internet pages
In-class reading of Heather Has Two Mommies, Daddy’s Roommate,
Nappy Hair, and
Dick and Jane readers
Preliminary discussion of intellectual freedom in a broader context
Mini-lecture on Huckleberry Finn as a challenged book and as a treatise
on physical,
intellectual, and moral freedom
Assignment due next week:
Read Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn.
Identify passages you consider particularly controversial, and be prepared
to explain
your reaction to them. Be prepared to discuss not only Twain’s treatment
of
physical slavery but also the themes of intellectual and moral freedom
Sept. 21: Discuss Huckleberry Finn
Clip from Birth of a Nation
Circulate sign-up sheet for next week’s assignment
Assignment due next week:
Read Chapter 5 of The Courage of Their
Convictions (Bates v. Little Rock, pp. 105-127)
Read the case you signed up for:
Dred Scott
v. Sandford http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/21.htm
Plessy v.
Ferguson http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/33.htm
Gebhart
v. Belton (Delaware Supreme Court):
http://www.english.udel.edu/jdel/gebhartvbelton.html
Brown v.
Board http://www.nps.gov/brvb/pages/decision54.htm
Type brief answers to the following
questions (total of one to two double-spaced pages):
What were the facts of the case? Who sued, and why?
What did the court say? What were the three most important reasons for
the ruling?
12 points
Sept. 28: Small-group work to prepare panel presentations on the various
decisions
Panel presentations
Hand in assignments
Tape of the Supreme Court oral argument in Cooper v. Aaron
Mini-lecture on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as a challenged book
and as a
thematic treatment of the link between freedom and equality
Assignment due next week:
Read Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Oct. 5: Discussion of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Documentary videotape, “Ten Years After Brown”
Introduction to the next thematic module in this course: Justice
Circulate sign-up sheet for film analysis, sign-up sheet for Executioner’s
Song
Assignment due on Oct. 19:
Watch the film you signed up for:
Sling Blade
The Green Mile
Dead Man Walking
Type answers to the following questions (total of two to three pages, double-spaced):
What is the main point of the film? What do you think the filmmaker
was trying to say?
The conflict in the film is based on different conceptions of justice.
Identify two major
characters in the film and explain how each of them viewed justice.
In your opinion, was justice served in the film? Why or why not?
12 points
Read the part of Executioner’s Song you signed up for:
Book One: Western Voices (For a summary of the rest of the story,
go to
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/gilmore/index_1.html?sect=8
and read Chapters 6 and 7.)
Book Two: Eastern Voices (For an introduction to the main characters
and a summary of
the events that have already occurred,
go to
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/gilmore/index_1.html?sect=8
and read Chapters 1-5. Each online “chapter” is only a few pages long.)
Type one to two double-spaced pages using specific examples
from your section of the
book to answer the following question:
Should Gary be executed? If you are
opposed to the death penalty on principle
and would answer “No” on that basis
regardless of the facts of any particular
case, you are welcome to note that in your
answer. Bear in mind, however,
that the point of this assignment is to discuss the
pros and cons of executing Gary as
they are presented in this book, so be sure to
focus on the facts of this case rather
than presenting a generic argument for or
against the death penalty. 7
points
Oct. 12: Viewing of feature film (Class will not meet; each student
should rent the film at a
videostore or watch it in the Media
section of Morris Library.)
Assignment due next week: See above.
Oct. 19: Discussion of Book One: Western Voices from Executioner’s
Song
Discussion of Book Two: Eastern Voices
Small-group work to prepare panel presentations on the films
Panel presentations
Discussion of differing concepts of the underlying nature of justice, using
the death
penalty as a case study
Hand in assignments from the film and Executioner’s Song
Circulate sign-up sheet for the online research project
Assignment
due November 9:
Choose any two of these cases from The Courage of
Their Convictions:
Chapter 2, Hirabayashi v. U.S. (Japanese-American internment during
World War II)
Chapter 4, Barenblatt v. U.S. (refusal to answer questions before
the House Un-American
Activities Committee)
Chapter 6, Bell v. Maryland (sit-in to protest racially segregated
eating facilities)
Chapter 8, Elfbrandt v. Russell (refusal to sign an anti-communist
loyalty oath)
Chapter 10, Tinker v. Des Moines (wearing black armbands to school
to protest the
Vietnam War)
Read those chapters and type answers to the following questions (total of
one to two double-spaced pages per case):
What
was the case about? Who sued whom, and why?
Who won?
What
were the two main reasons for the decision?
Do you
think that justice was served in this case? 7 points
Oct. 26: Interdisciplinary enrichment period. Instead of attending
class, students will attend a
lecture, “Civil Rights in the Suburban North,” by Thomas Sugrue
of the University of
Pennsylvania. It will be held in Room 203 Munroe Hall from 12:15-1:45
today. Write
approximately three pages summarizing the lecture and showing how it relates
to the
class work on freedom, justice, and opportunity in America.
Students who are not free to attend a lecture at that time may choose one
of these
alternatives:
1. Attend the lecture “The White Man’s Indian Woman,” by Arica Coleman
of the UD
English Department from 12:20-1:10 in Room 103 Gore Hall on
Wed., Nov. 3. Write
approximately three pages summarizing the lecture and showing
how it relates to the
class work on freedom, justice, and opportunity in America.
2. Spend at least
an hour and a half at the exhibit “A Century of African-American Art:
The Paul Jones Collection” at the University Gallery in Old Main on Main
St. It is
open from 11:00 - 4:00 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 11:00 - 8:00 Wednesday;
and
1:00 - 4:00 Saturday and Sunday. You should read any printed material
that
accompanies the exhibit, but it is not necessary to purchase a catalogue.
Write
approximately three pages describing the exhibit and showing how it relates
to the class
work on freedom, justice, and opportunity in America.
The written work is due on Nov. 9. 7 points
Nov. 2: Election Day; UD is closed
Nov. 9: Discussion of the Sugrue lecture, the Coleman lecture, and
the Paul Jones exhibit
Hand in that assignment
Small-group work to prepare panel presentations on the various legal cases
Panel presentations
Hand in that assignment
Tape of the Supreme Court oral argument in Tinker v. Des Moines
Preliminary discussion of final reflective essay
Introduction to the theme of opportunity
Circulate sign-up sheet for novel
Assignment due next week:
Read Arthur Miller, The Crucible
Complete the online research project you signed up for:
Go to http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm
and spend at
least an hour following whatever links interest you. Make notes on
the information
you find and then type a brief report (one to two double-spaced pages) summarizing
what you learned.
Spend at least an hour using a web browser (Google, Yahoo!, Dogpile, etc.)
to research
Senator Joseph McCarthy. Make notes on the information you find and
then type a
brief report (one to two double-spaced pages) summarizing what you learned.
Be sure
that you can identify Roy Cohn, David Schine, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg,
and the
Hollywood
Ten. 12 points
Nov. 16: Discussion of online research into the real-life Salem witch
trials
Discussion of online research into McCarthyism
Hand in assignments
Videotape: Edward R. Murrow, Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy
Discussion of The Crucible
Assignment due next week:
Read the book you signed up for:
F. Scott
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Chaim
Potok, The Chosen
Identify two characters in the novel who have different
views of the American dream -- the opportunities that America affords.
Type one to two double-spaced pages explaining their definition of the American
dream and their attitudes toward it. Explain why their interpretations
of the American dream are important to the novel. 7 points
Nov. 23: Discussion of The Great Gatsby
Discussion of The Chosen
Hand in assignment
Nov. 30: Film, The Graduate
Discussion of the film
Wrap-up of the course
Dec. 7: Small-group work on the final reflective essay
Comparison and contrast of various students’ perceptions and conclusions
Hand in final reflective essay