Date and Times TBA

Professor: Dr. Mark Silverberg
Office: CC 214
Office Phone: 563-1150
Office hours: TBA
E-mail: mark_silverberg@uccb.ca

"The health of the eye seems to demand a horizon.  

We are never tired, so long as we can see far enough."

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Images:

(Top) Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin; (Bottom) Edgar Allen Poe, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs

Course Description

A survey of major writers of the United States up to the end of the Civil War. This period includes the foundational text of the “American Dream,” Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography.; the earliest practitioners of the modern short story, Hawthorne and Poe; America's key poets, Whitman and Dickinson; the philosophical nature writing of Emerson and Thoreau; and the startling and moving "escaped-slave" narratives of Frederick Douglass and Harriot Jacobs. Beginning with a quick look at early American literature (1620-1820), this course will focus on the period 1820-1865.

Texts

Norton Anthology of American Literature, volume B
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography

Procedure, Assignments and Workload

This is a very small class, which provides you with a unique opportunity to learn.   What you get out of this class will be in direct proportion to how much you give of your time, effort, and creativity.   Your participation is valued and is essential for the kind of seminar experience I intend this to be.   Though this class will involve some lecturing, I hope that a majority of our time will be spent on fruitful discussions and analysis of the assigned texts—many of these discussions directed by your own interest.   In order to participate fully I expect you to do a number of things:

- Attend class regularly, having completed the reading and being ready to participate in discussions (i.e. coming prepared with questions to ask and ideas to share)

- Read in a thorough and active way: i.e. marking up your text and taking notes—thinking about what is important, intriguing, odd, or worthwhile for you.

- Complete homework questions and come to class prepared to present an answer in class.

- Keep a class journal. This final item is not a requirement but a useful suggestion. Recording your honest responses to texts as you’re reading them is a great method for generating questions and ideas, finding essay topics, and keeping yourself involved with the work.

You should allot 8 hours a week for work in this class.

Please feel free to see me anytime during office hours, or make an appointment for another time if these don’t work for you.

Presentations – Close Reading

Time: 5-10 minutes.

Choose a short passage from the day's reading that you find remarkable in some way—because it is particularly representative of the author's work or ideas, because it explains one of his or her thoughts or themes with particular clarity or grace; because of its unusual or noteworthy use of language, style, imagery, etc.; because it reveals something the author may not have intended; or simply because you find it odd in some way.   Read the passage out loud and then analyze its significance for us.   You'll want to begin by briefly situating the passage in its context, and then go on to talk about why you find it important—first in a general sense, and then by turning to close reading of the exact words of the passage.   It will be useful to discuss how or why this passage is significant to the work as a whole, or the author's writing in general.   As this assignment is chiefly an exercise in close reading , be sure to discuss the specific details of the passage, not just the ideas in general.   A good way to end your presentation is by leaving the class with one good question for further discussion.   (Note: a good question cannot be answered yes or no.   It should provoke debate).  

Heads up!: these presentations are great preparation for the “ Passage Identification and Analysis” questions that will appear on the final exam (and on many English exams).   The exam question will read as follows:

Choose TWO (2) of the following excerpts.   Identify the works or authors from which they come, briefly explain the context of the passage, and then comment on its significance in relation to the work and, where possible, to the course as a whole.   Include close reading of the specific details of the passage as much as possible.

Mark Breakdown

Presentations                 2 @ 10%        = 20%

Short Essays                  2 @ 10%        = 20%   

Major paper                                         = 30%

Final exam                                            = 30%

Participation/Attendance                       = +/-   0-5%

Please note:   There is a discretionary grade of up to 5% for attendance and participation .   Exceptionally good or bad performance in this area means that you can earn or lose up to 5% from your final mark.

*Click here for Grading Scale and Criteria

Essays

You will have one major assignment (plus two shorter assignments) for this course.   Topics for the major essay will be handed out later in the term. Below are some general guidelines for the presentation of essays.

•  All essays must be typed or word-processed, double spaced, with a one inch margin on both sides and at the top and bottom of the page.   All pages should be numbered.   Staple pages together.   Put your student number instead of your name , along with your essay title, date, etc. on a title page or at the top of the first page.   Use as standard size font—Times Roman 12 point is a good choice (you do not want a font much bigger or much smaller).   Please avoid fancy graphics or distracting fonts.

•   Essays are due in class on the assigned date.   If you are unable to be in class that day, make an arrangement with me at least 24 hours in advance .   Late assignments will receive a penalty of –5% for the first day late, and then –10% for up to one week late.   After a week I will not accept assignments.

•   Essays must meet university-level standards for basic grammar, mechanics, sentence structure, and formatting.   To meet this standard essays can have no more than 3 errors of any type per page.   Papers that do not live up to this standard will receive a full grade (10%) deduction.   Papers considerably below this standard may not receive a passing grade.

Short Essays

You will complete two short essays—at least one of which must be handed in before Reading Week.   You are free to choose which assignment you want to do first.

A.   Elaboration of your Presentation

One essay will be a based on one of your class presentations.   You will use the ideas you develop for your presentation, as well as, perhaps, new ideas raised by the class, to write a formal essay on a specific aspect of your author's work (or, perhaps, an analysis of a single poem—if working on poetry).   The one requirement is that you have a clearly focused thesis and that you use close reading to support that thesis.   Your essay will be due one week after your presentation.   You are also required to present me with a copy of your thesis statement before you hand in your paper.   This can be done in person (which will give you a chance to discuss the topic a little more) or over e-mail.

B.   Response to a Critical Article

If you choose to do this assignment first, the due date will be Feb. 3 (you can write on Franklin, Emerson, Thoreau, or Hawthorne)

If you choose to do this assignment second, it will be due March 15 (you can write on Melville, Poe, or Whitman)

Write a response to an article that is concerned with a text discussed in class.   The article you choose should have originally appeared in a published book or journal (i.e. it cannot be a student paper from the internet; though many internet sites provide links to published articles)—if your article comes from the internet, please check it out with me before you begin.   Briefly summarize and then evaluate the main argument of the essay. Do you agree or disagree with the argument?   On what grounds?   How does the article augment or alter your understanding of the text?   Be as specific as possible, quoting both the critic and the original source in your answer.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism means taking another person's words or ideas as your own without properly acknowledging their source. This can include anything from buying an essay, downloading one off the internet, copying sentences or phrases from an unacknowledged source (cutting and pasting lines from internet sites), or using someone else's ideas (whether in direct quotation or paraphrase) without giving them credit.   Plagiarism is a serious academic offense with serious consequences.   Cases of plagiarism will be reported to the relevant dean's office and students will face the following penalties: First offence: zero on the assignment and offence noted on the student's academic file; second offence: zero in the course, and possible discontinuation from UCCB; third offence: discontinuation from UCCB .   Avoid unintentional plagiarism by making sure you keep careful record of any ideas or text you've borrowed from other sources. When working with text on the internet, always cut and paste the URL at the top of your page so you'll be able to easily refer back and cite your source.

ENGLISH 357 CALENDAR

The following is a general syllabus which indicates daily topics and readings. While some readings may change slightly based on our progress, you should plan to read at least all of the following:

Handouts and Resources

Introduction: A Timeline of Significant Events and Publications