EN127 American Literature: American Identity

Section A1, Fall Semester 1998

Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:00-10:00 a.m., CAS B6

Instructor:             Jennifer Ho

Office:             236 Bay State Road, Room 133              

Mail Box:        4^th Floor English Dept.

Phone:             353-2506 (English Dept.)                                          

E-mail:             obongo@bu.edu

Office Hours:  Monday & Wednesday 10-11:30 a.m. and by appointment

NATURE OF THE COURSE

The main purpose of this course is to provide both a broad overview of American literature, from the Colonial period to our present day, in order to give you an in-depth perspective on a few important American literary texts. This course is open to readers of all types—those who avidly devour books and those who are enrolled in this class to fulfill a graduation requirement. All that I ask is that you come prepared to class (which means you must keep up with the reading) and that you challenge yourself to be open to different interpretations. The theme of this course is “American Identity” and the books in this class reflect an engagement with the following questions: What does it mean to be an American? Who qualifies to identify himself/herself as an American? We will be discussing each text according to these themes, as well as other larger issues pertaining to American literature.

Required Texts

Primis Reader for En127: American Literature (includes essays by Crevecoeur, Franklin, Jefferson, the novellas Benito Cereno and Daisy Miller, and contemporary short stories by Carver, O’Brien, and Erdrich)

The Last of the Mohicans—Cooper

The Great Gatsby—Fitzgerald

Tell Me a Riddle—Olsen

The Bluest Eye—Morrison

Mona in the Promised Land—Jen

These texts are available at the Boston University Bookstore

Course Requirements

You will be responsible for reading all the novels and short stories listed on the syllabus. Additionally, you will need to complete two papers during the course of the semester (details about each paper will be distributed later in class) and a final examination (date TBA). There is no midterm examination HOWEVER three pop quizzes will be administered during the semester. There are no make-up quizzes—NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE. Attendance is not mandatory, but if you miss a pop quiz you cannot make it up. Participation in class will also factor into your final grade. I prefer the Socratic method of class discussion, which means that I will randomly call on students from time to time. If you are not in attendance for that day, your participation grade may be affected.

Final Grades will be determined as follows:    

Participation:	10%
3 Quizzes (5% each):	15%
Paper #1	15%
Paper #2	30%
Final Exam	30%

 

Fri. 9/4            Introduction to EN127

Wed. 9/9          Crevecoeur

Fri. 9/11          Franklin & Jefferson

Mon. 9/14       The Last of the Mohicans, Ch. 1-11

Wed. 9/16        The Last of the Mohicans, Ch. 12-17

Fri. 9/18          The Last of the Mohicans, Ch. 18-21

Mon. 9/21       The Last of the Mohicans, Ch. 22-29

Wed. 9/23        The Last of the Mohicans, Ch. 29-end

Fri. 9/25          The Last of the Mohicans—discussion of the entire novel

Mon. 9/28       Benito Cereno—finish the entire text—PAPER #1 DUE

Wed. 9/30        Benito Cereno

Fri. 10/2          Benito Cereno

Mon. 10/5       Daisy Miller—finish the entire text

Wed. 10/7        Daisy Miller

Fri. 10/9          Daisy Miller

Mon. 10/12     NO CLASSES—COLUMBUS DAY

Wed. 10/14      The Great Gatsby, Ch. 1-3

Fri. 10/16        The Great Gatsby, Ch. 4-5

Mon. 10/19     The Great Gatsby, Ch. 6-7

Wed. 10/21      The Great Gatsby, Ch. 8-9

Fri. 10/23        The Great Gatsby—discussion of the entire novel

Mon. 10/26     Tell Me a Riddle, “I Stand Here Ironing”

Wed. 10/28      Tell Me a Riddle, “Hey Sailor, What Ship?” and “O Yes”

Fri. 10/30        Tell Me a Riddle, “Tell Me a Riddle”

Mon. 11/2       The Bluest Eye, “Autumn,” pp. 1-58

Wed. 11/4        The Bluest Eye, “Winter,” pp. 61-80

Fri. 11/6          The Bluest Eye, “Winter” and “Spring,” pp. 81-109

Mon. 11/9       The Bluest Eye, “Spring,” pp. 110-183

Wed. 11/11      The Bluest Eye, “Summer,” pp. 182-206

Fri. 11/13        The Bluest Eye—discussion of the entire novel

Mon. 11/16     Mona in the Promised Land, Ch. 1-3

Wed. 11/18      Mona in the Promised Land, Ch. 4

Fri. 11/20        Mona in the Promised Land, Ch. 5—finish Part I—PAPER #2 DUE

Mon. 11/23     Mona in the Promised Land, Ch. 6-8—begin Part II

Wed. 11/25 & Fri. 11/27:  THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY—NO CLASSES

Mon. 11/30     Mona in the Promised Land, Ch. 9-12

Wed. 12/2        Mona in the Promised Land, Ch. 13-end

Fri. 12/4          Mona in the Promised Land—discussion of the entire novel

Mon. 12/7       “Cathedral”—Carver

Wed. 12/9        “The Things They Carried”—O’Brien

Fri. 12/11        “Saint Marie”—Erdrich

Mon. 12/14     Last day of class—preparation for the final exam