ENGL 128: Major American Authors
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| Course Structure | Expectations and Requirements | Texts |
| About the Discussion Forum | Final Exam | Grading |
| Course Mechanics | Schedule | |
Course Structure
This course on major American authors is geared not only towards canonical authors, but also towards exploration of a major American theme: individual realization. Our texts explore elements of the American character and the challenges of the American's quest for self-identity. We will look at figures who offer prototypes for success and also consider the structure, goals, and outcomes of individual quests. As you may have assumed, our texts offer varied opinions on the nature of the American character. I have suggested further ways to categorize this theme:
- Getting Started; Hawthorne, the Individual, and Society (Lesson 1)
- Whitman and Song of Myself (Lesson 2)
- Douglass and Individual Freedom (Lesson 3)
- Chopin and Individual Freedom (Lesson 4)
- Hemingway and the Lost Soul (Lesson 5)
- Pynchon and the Individual Quest in Modern America (Lesson 6)
- Morrison and Beloved (Lesson 7)
You will notice that these readings span a long time frame. They have been selected because they provide both a long-term view of American literature as a whole as well as a representative cross-section of American writers.
Hawthorne and Whitman represent the American Renaissance, a period of unmatched literary creativity in the mid-nineteenth century. These northeastern writers (along with Melville) helped establish what would be the themes and archetypal characters of our national literature for at least the following century.
Douglass is a central figure in the tradition of African-American writing, as well as the author of a story of individual power and success. His story is very much the quintessential story of personal empowerment. Chopin is a key figure in the discussion of women's writing in the United States, and she provides another perspective of individual self-exploration, one that proved quite controversial in its day.
Hemingway, Pynchon, and Morrison represent the twentieth century and the aesthetics of Modernism and Postmodernism. All provide new angles on the creation of individual character.
Expectations and Requirements
You are responsible for reading the books on time, reading ALL of the lessons, contributing to the discussion forum, thinking about what you've read and what others in the class say, completing all written assignments, and taking the final exam.
The theme of the course centers on the individual and his or her quest for self-knowledge. However, along the way, I may teach—or you may discuss—other issues ranging from stylistic devices (what is a metaphor and so on) to background information. This information is all fair game for the exam.
The schedule shows the sequence of lessons. Each lesson includes
- introductory material
- study questions
- questions for the discussion forum
- a writing assignment to be submitted via Blackboard (submission instructions will be provided in each lesson).
Assignments range from short essay responses to papers. You are responsible not only for participating in the discussion forum and completing assignments, but also for exploring all links.
The assignments are explained in detail in each lesson. They include:
- a paragraph response on Web sites
- Hawthorne, a 500-word essay (roughly two pages) with your choice of one of two topics
- Whitman, a 250- to 300-word essay (roughly one page)
- Douglass, a 300- to 500-word essay with your choice of one of two topics;
- Chopin, a 250- to 300-word essay;
- Hemingway, a 300- to 500-word essay
- Pynchon, a 300- to 500-word essay
- Morrison, a 500- to 750-word essay
- Final exam: essay, based on information and topics from the discussion forum and the course's theme of the individual quest. You will receive a study guide before the final exam.
Part of the challenge with completing these assignments is in adhering to the established work limits. Most often, students run into trouble with writing too much. While a little over or under every so often is not a cause for concern, a successful essay will respond to the assignment prompt within the designated word limits.
Due dates and times
Part of the beauty of an online course is its flexibility; however, we will still have due dates that you must honor in order to receive credit for your work. Since you have all readings, notes, and assignments from the beginning of the course, you are welcome to turn in your work early if you know that you will have other commitments at the time an assignment is due.
- Reading assignments: The schedule includes the starting dates for each text. Have the book read in time to start discussion; ideally you will have finished the book by the beginning of the lesson.
- Discussion forum responses must be prepared as assigned and posted by the dates listed on the course schedule to receive any credit.
- All written assignments are due by 11:00 pm on the dates listed on the schedule, unless otherwise noted. I will not accept late submissions. If extenuating circumstances arise, it will be to your advantage in terms of leniency to contact me before the deadline for the assignment in question. Submit your assignments as Microsoft Word (.doc) files. You will send your files to me through the Blackboard Assignment feature (Go to Assignments, choose the Writing Assignment you are completing, then attach your file and click Submit). See Course Mechanics for more information on Blackboard.
Getting help
I am here to help you! Please don't hesitate to send your questions about the course, the reading (what is going on in this part of the story?), the assignments—any aspect of our work that's on your mind. I will check my email at regular intervals, and, depending upon the nature of your query and what time of day you send it, you can expect a response within 24 to 48 hours. A few minutes of individual help can be worth more than several lectures, so do not hesitate to contact me.
If you want help with a particular trouble spot in writing one of your papers, please follow these guidelines:
- Always start your e-mail or instant message with at least one specific question to help me focus my response on your concerns. Avoid questions like this: “Does the paper flow?” Better questions: “Is my thesis statement clear and specific enough?” “Are my topic sentences argumentative?” “Does my interpretation of this passage make sense?”
- I do not usually read full drafts; rather, please send me a section of not more than two paragraphs at a time to look over. Usually you can then apply my comments to the rest of the paper. You are also welcome to send me your thesis statement and a list of topic sentences.
Tips for doing well
Expect to work hard! This course will be just as much work as a traditional classroom course. If you're here to save time, you will probably be disappointed. Of course, you will save time in that you won't have to get to a physical classroom. However, talking about books is an important part of understanding them, and since we can't talk in person, we'll “talk” by writing. The bad news is that writing usually takes more time than simply saying the same thing out loud, and many people find writing more difficult than talking. The good news is that writing gives you more time to think before you “speak,” and your writing will probably improve significantly during the course: You'll be writing a lot and you will be held to a high standard for the formal papers and formal discussion forum questions. I will be doing all I can to help you write very well by the end of the course.
For each lesson, you should log on at least three times and spend the equivalent of nine hours of “outside” study time in addition to reading time. This timetable is only a guideline, not a rule, designed to help you judge your involvement in class.
Work hard, but work intelligently. Here are some tips for using your time:
- Read each work, then reread it. Time will probably not allow you to reread many of the works entirely during the semester, so mark the sections that seem either difficult or particularly significant and reread them.
- Pace your reading and spread it out. I usually can't read something difficult for more than an hour at a time without glazing over, and I can't read several poems in a row and get anything out of them. Whenever possible, spread out your work rather than reading the entire assignment at once: You'll learn more and enjoy yourself more.
- Take notes on your reading:
- Why—Taking notes helps you to remember passages that interested you and that are key for understanding the works. By writing down page numbers, you'll also help yourself find important parts again. Your notes will help you to (a) discuss the works on the discussion forum, (b) write your papers, and (c) review for the final exam.
- How—Using a piece of paper, a 3x5 card, or even the inside front or back of the book, write down (a) page numbers and (b) brief phrases to remind you what was important on those pages. You are, of course, welcome to take more extensive notes if you wish. You may want to make separate lists of page numbers for different topics; for example, a separate list for each of the main characters and/or themes (such as the relationship between the past and the present) in The House of the Seven Gables.
- What—Your notes should include (a) answers to the study questions under the “Notes” for each author, (b) notes on passages needed for writing your papers, and (c) other matters that interest you too, such as what you find difficult to understand and what you find particularly interesting. You may then bring up these matters for discussion.
- Use the study questions you find in the many of the lesson notes to make sure you are grasping the material. Write out your answers and use them as a resource for your papers and the exam. These are not to be submitted for grading.
- Allow yourself plenty of time for the writing assignments. You may want to read the writing assignment, discussion forum question, and /or study questions before reading so that you can keep an eye open for parts of the text that will help you do your writing.
Texts
Texts can be purchased from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center, in person, online, or by mailing a book order form. These are the required texts to purchase:
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass (not the 1855 edition)
- Kate Chopin, The Awakening
- Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
- Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49
- Toni Morrison, Beloved
We will also read Frederick Douglass's narrative, which is available (free) at the following sites:
- Project Gutenberg: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself
- Documenting the American South: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself.
In the past, some students have found it difficult to read online for extended periods of time. If you prefer to have a hardcopy, you can order one from Amazon or purchase one at a local bookstore.
About the Discussion Forum
Since we will not be meeting for traditional classroom announcements, lectures, and discussions, the discussion forum will be an essential part of the course. Our discussion forums are on the UNC Blackboard site. See Course Mechanics for details on using Blackboard.
When you open the discussion forum page in Blackboard, you will see one forum called Our Class, and a forum for each of our authors.
Our Class: Please post your initial self-introduction to this section. Feel free to talk here about other matters as well, whether related to the class or not (think of this as the informal talk that goes on before or after a regular class). As long as it's courteous, you're welcome to post it. After the first post introducing yourself, this section of the forum will be optional.
Individual Authors: For each author, you will post TWO different assignments to this section of the forum, both due on the same day (listed on the schedule).
- Brief reactions: These may be only two sentences long. In each “reaction,” tell us two things: something that you like or find interesting in the reading and why, and something you dislike or find confusing about the reading and why. These reactions may be informal, but do answer intelligently. For example, NOT “I hate this book! It's stupid!” Rather, “I'm not enjoying this book much so far because I find it hard to follow the way this author writes: the sentences are long and the language is different from the way we talk today. I was especially confused on page 17: What's going on here?” Similarly, NOT just “This book is great!” Instead, explain why you like it: “I like character x and I find character y really interesting; I wonder where he'll be at the end of the book.”
- Responses to discussion forum questions: You will respond to questions posed in the lessons.
Feel free to post more comments than required here; these assignments are designed to get conversation going.
The answers to discussion forum questions will be graded on much the same criteria as your papers (see Grading), but with the added expectation that you will interact with your classmates' comments. You will need:
- awareness of and interaction with others' arguments—at least some mention, in each entry, of another person's ideas, carefully attributed (give the person's full name). Do you strongly disagree with someone else? Your topic sentence might say so, and why. Do you agree with someone else and want to add another example or reason for what they said? If you are the first person to write about an author, then mention some comment made in the “Notes” on each author, one of the Web sites you've read for class, or a comment from a forum discussion on a previous author. The idea is that we're having a conversation here, not just a series of soapbox monologues. You will need to read at least two others' entries before posting your own (unless you're one of the first two to post). If you go to post yours and find that someone else has just said something similar, that's OK. Your thoughts will always be at least a little different: Point out where you differ from the other person and acknowledge how much you agree.
- accurate understanding of the work(s) you discuss
- a topic sentence: a clear sentence explaining what you will argue
- evidence from the text(s): quotations or examples from the reading. They need to be clearly paraphrased or correctly quoted, and correctly attributed and cited (giving page numbers for prose; poem titles and line numbers for poetry).
- interpretation: For every piece of evidence, whether a quotation or an example, provide a statement in your own words pointing out what we should get from the quotation or example and how it supports your argument.
- correct grammar, word choice, and punctuation.
Final Exam
Your exam will consist of several essay questions that touch on major themes covered throughout the course. These questions are designed to test your ability to think critically about the authors, works, and issues we encounter in the course, not just test your memory. I will send out the test questions via e-mail and you will send in your answers within a specified time. As the day for the final exam draws closer, I will pass along more information.
Remember that as a student of UNC-Chapel Hill, you are bound by the University's Honor Code: “It shall be the responsibility of every student at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to obey and support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University students or academic personnel acting in an official capacity.” This code applies to all lesson assignments and to the final exam.
Grading
Papers
Your papers will be graded according to the following criteria:
- accurate (supportable by evidence from the text) understanding of the work(s) you discuss
- thesis statement: a clear sentence explaining what you will argue, giving your reader a map of your argument
- clearly stated reasons for your argument
- evidence from the text(s): quotations or examples from the reading. These need to be clearly paraphrased or correctly quoted, and correctly attributed and cited (giving page numbers for prose; poem titles and line numbers for poetry)
- interpretation: For every piece of evidence, whether a quotation or an example, provide a statement in your own words pointing out what we should get from the quotation or example and how it supports your argument
- connection of your argument to the larger theme(s) or broader significance of the text
- correct grammar, word choice, and punctuation.
Discussion forum
Discussion forum reactions and responses to questions will be graded on a check, check-plus, check-minus system. If you do not hear otherwise within a week of posting your assignments, you may assume that you've earned a check—that is, you've received full credit for your forum entry, draft, or response to a draft. If your work fails to meet the assignment criteria, it will be assigned a check-minus and I will let you know what needs to be improved. If your work significantly exceeds expectations, I will let you know that you've earned a check-plus.
Your grade for the course will be calculated as follows:
| Work | Value |
| Discussion forum participation | 20 percent |
| Writing assignments on Web research, Douglass, Hemingway, Chopin, and Whitman | 30 percent (6 percent each) |
| Writing assignments on Hawthorne, Pynchon, and Morrison | 30 percent (10 percent each) |
| Final exam | 20 percent |
Course Mechanics
Blackboard
Some of your class components (discussion forums and the class listserv) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to log into Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password.
If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen. If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), you will find help on the Onyen Web site.
Use your Onyen to log into Blackboard, then click on the “ENGL 128 CCO” link. You will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the Discussion Forums.
If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:
- If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen.
- If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), go to the Onyen Web site.
- If you have your Onyen but can't log in to Blackboard, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
- If you can log in to Blackboard but can't find this course listed, contact Janice Durham at the Friday Center.
- If you can't locate a forum in Blackboard, contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center.
- If you have technical problems while using Blackboard, contact Blackboard Help (use the Help button in Blackboard, or call 919-962-HELP).
Library Services and E-reserves
Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves.
If you are using an off-campus computer , you will need to enter your PID to access the readings that are available through the e-reserve system. The UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources. If you encounter difficulties, please report your problem by visiting this Web page for reporting a problem.
All communication from your instructor will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum). Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail using Webmail. You can have your e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by clicking “Forward e-mail” at the Onyen Web site.
If you use a filter on your e-mail account, you are responsible for ensuring that it does not prevent you from receiving messages from me, the course listserv, or Friday Center staff. Hotmail users should be aware that Hotmail will block messages sent from within Blackboard because Blackboard uses “blind carbon copy” to protect privacy. We recommend that you use your UNC Onyen e-mail account rather than forwarding to Hotmail for this course.
It is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to your instructor via e-mail. If your instructor doesn't receive your work, you must have a copy of the e-mail with the attached file, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered.
Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to your instructor, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to your instructor and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course.
Other Questions
Contact your instructor with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. (There is an e-mail link at the top of every lesson page.) Please include “ENGL 128 CCO” in the subject line of your e-mail.
Contact the Instructional Designer at the Friday Center about problems with this Web site, including bad links.
If you have any logistical questions as you work through the course (enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on), contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669).
Schedule
Class begins January 9. Things will be fast and furious at first as we get all the introductory stuff out of the way. You are not expected to participate in class during University holidays. Our class ends April 24. The final exam is April 28. Pay close attention to the schedule. It's important to stay caught up with the readings, discussion forum, and assignments. Click on the lesson link to read the lecture and detailed assignments.
| Lesson 1 | Hawthorne, the Individual, and Society |
| E-mail the instructor regarding plagiarism | |
| Self-introductions; post to Our Class discussion forum | |
| Writing Assignment 1 due | |
| Hawthorne discussion forum entries due | |
| Writing Assignment 2 due | |
| Lesson 2 | Whitman and Song of Myself |
| Whitman discussion forum entries due | |
| Writing Assignment 3 due | |
| Lesson 3 | Douglass and Individual Freedom |
| Douglass discussion forum entries due | |
| Writing Assignment 4 due | |
| Lesson 4 | Chopin and Individual Freedom |
| Chopin discussion forum entries due | |
| Writing Assignment 5 due | |
| Spring Break | |
| Lesson 5 | Hemingway and the Lost Soul |
| Hemingway discussion forum entries due | |
| Writing Assignment 6 due | |
| Lesson 6 | Pynchon and the Individual Quest in Modern America |
| Pynchon discussion forum entries due | |
| Writing Assignment 7 due | |
| Lesson 7 | Morrison and Beloved |
| Morrison discussion forum entries due | |
| Writing Assignment 8 due | |
| Final exam | I will send the final exam to you via e-mail. |
| Course Evaluation | Please fill out a brief online evaluation form about your experience with this course. We want to know if this course met your needs and expectations. |