Students approaching this course with enthusiasm will gain
an appreciation for American literature through the essay, the short story, the
play, the poem, and the novel. We will
spend classroom time not only on lecture and discussion, but also on the
development of students’ critical writing skills. Writing assignments will include three short
outside papers, three in-class essays, a midterm and a final examination.
Required texts:
Chopin, The Awakening (Norton); Faulkner, As I Lay Dying (Norton);
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (Scribner); Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (Norton);
Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises (Scribner); Miller, The Crucible (Penguin
Classics); O’Neill, Long Day’s Journey into Night (Yale UP); Twain, The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Norton); Williams and Honig, The Mentor Book of
Major American Poets (Signet).
Course Requirements:
1) Class participation and attendance (10%);
2) Three (3) short (3-5 pages) outside papers
(30%);
3) Three (3) in-class writings in response to
the day’s reading (15%);
4) One midterm (20%) and one final (25%)
examination. Exams will be both
objective and essay.