S

II

ENGLISH 232 URVEY OF

MERICAN ITERATURE
Spring 2013
Dr. Matt Theado Gardner-Webb University Office: Craig 106-H phone: 704 406 3148
email: [email protected]
NOTE: All Gardner-Webb University students and faculty must use their Gardner-Webb University email
addresses for conducting academic business.
Office Hours:
M
11 1
36
Textbooks:

T
9:40 10:25
35

W
11 1

Th
9:40 10:25

The Bedford Anthology of American Literature Volume Two. ISBN-13: 978-0-312-46799-9

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (packaged with Bedford Anthology; digital text available for
free from bedfordstmartins.com/americanlit)
A Land More Kind than Home. Wiley Cash

Prerequisites: ENGL 101 and 102 are prerequisites for all of the 200-level literature surveys. Students are not
allowed to take ENGL 102 and the survey during the same semester (you must have completed 102 before taking
this course).
Direction of Course: Representative writers from 1865 to the present. We will read some of the finest works of
American literature as we seek to understand the history, the culture, the values, and the varieties of the United
States. Specifically, we will explore the distinctions between literary Romanticism and Realism, and significant
issues involving Women, African Americans, Immigration, and the development of the American literary canon. I
have carefully outlined material for each class meeting, but the approach to the material and the critical judgments
and cultural evaluations depend on the students. Students contribute greatly to the analysis and interpretation of
these works.
Course Objectives:
to develop appreciation for significant texts of American literature
to become acquainted with the ideas, concepts, and experiences of the American people
to contextualize American literature socially, culturally, and historically
to develop critical and analytical ability in reference to poetry and prose
to practice writing and speaking clearly and cogently about American literature
This is a Core Course that helps to satisfy the following General Education Competencies
1.
2.
3.
4.

Students will develop skills in formulating well-organized thoughts for the purpose of effective
communication.
Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze written, oral, or visual forms of communication and create
appropriate responses.
Students will compare and contrast intra- and intercultural realities to cultivate attributes necessary for
adapting to and functioning in a globalized world.
Students will develop skills in effective research using traditional and technology-based research methods.

Method
We will read and discuss the assigned material. I will frame each class with information concerning the historical,
artistic, and cultural backgrounds. You will participate in four projects during the semester and write eight reading
responses and two reader profiles. We will also have quizzes at the beginning of some classes. Quizzes cannot be
made up (Excused Absences, for official university functions, will excuse you from the quiz). Details of these
assignments are below.

Evaluation: Grades will be figured according to the English Department grading scale:
GPA
4.0
4.0
3.67
3.33
3.00
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.67
1.33
1.0
0.67
0

Letter Grade
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF

Numeric Grade
99-100
96-98
94-95
92-93
88-91
86-87
84-85
80-83
78-79
76-77
72-75
70-71
69>

Quizzes and Participation: 10%

We will have pop quizzes at the beginning of some classes. The questions will come from that days reading
assignment. You must come to class on time to take the quiz. If you are late or absent, you will receive a 0 for that
quiz. At the end of the semester, I will drop your lowest quiz grade. Official university absences will not count
against you. For example, if you are on a varsity sports team and you are required to be absent due to travel, you will
not receive a 0 for that quiz. Instead, you will simply have one less quiz in your total at the end of the semester. If
you have extenuating circumstances, such as an extended illness, we can discuss alternatives.
This category also includes participation; I may subtract points if you are consistently late, unprepared, or
unresponsive. Please come to class meetings prepared to discuss reading assignments and to interact with members
of the class. Learning how to speak on your feet is an important aspect of education, and I will ask you to give
opinions, respond to questions, and make assessments of what you are reading and learning. Also, see Classroom
Behaviors, below.
Reading Responses: 40%
You will write eight Reading Responses during the semester. You will write at least one but no more than two on
Huckleberry Finn, and at least one but no more than two on Land More Kind than Home. These are always due
before the beginning of the class in which we discuss that particular reading. Your Reading Response should help
you to get a grasp on the work and its meanings before we influence your thinking with class discussions. You
should write about sections of the novels that we have not yet discussed in class. Reading Responses should be
approximately two pages. Submit reading responses to Blackboard. On our Blackboard page, you will see eight
spots to submit your Reading Responses. When you submit your RR, please title it RR1 or RR2, etc and please
submit your RR to the appropriate slot. I will check Blackboard every weekend to read and rate the RRs. I may leave
some comments on your paper and will put your grade in the gradebook.

In the top left corner of your RR:

Your Name
Engl 232 (and your course section letter)
Dr.Theado
Date that you are turning in your Reading Response
RR 1, or RR2, etc. so that you and I can keep up with how many you have done.

Double space everything.

Come up with an interesting and evocative title, which you center on the next line.
Be sure to demonstrate in your response that you have read the work. Be specific.
Good writing is essential good grammar, perfect spelling, intelligent ideas. You may go to the
Writing Center for assistance.

If you dont turn in eight reading responses on time before the end of the semester, you will get a
grade of 0 for the ones that you lack.
You must submit every RR as a file submission to Blackboard submit them in the proper week
and give them the proper assignment category (as RR1, RR2, and so on).

Be sure to identify the author and the work that you are writing about. Work this in smoothly, as is this example:
Mark Twain announces at the start of his novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that he has recreated various
dialects. You can tell this right away, as soon as Huck begins to narrate his own story.
Be sure to reveal that you have read the work (or the assigned portion) thoroughly. Dont summarize the work, but
do include specific references and details that only a person who has read the work would know.
Check your grammar and spelling carefully. You may use Spell Check and Grammar Check, or you may visit the
Writing Center. You may ask a friend to read it over, but do not let him or her write the response for you. A friend
may be your fresh eyes, but not your ghostwriter. Also, you may NOT refer to RRs written by students from
previous semesters. Tell them No, thanks. Remember that all previous RRs have been submitted to turnitin.com.
Offer your gut response in your own terms. Offer some honest evaluation of the work especially in terms of the
values and questions the work presents. No BS.
Please check the Writing Center Hours
Projects: 40%
You will participate in four projects during the semester. These will be creative, interactive, educational projects that
you will come up with on your own and present to the class. Presentation of the fourth project will take place during
our scheduled final exam period and will count as our exam. Therefore, the final project will have to be cumulative
in nature, showing an awareness of the breadth of material that we have covered during the semester.
Possible projects ideas: Depict one of our texts as a graphic novel (1-2 pages); Write a comparison of two or more
texts that you find to have related themes or literary conventions; Create a visual representation of an aspect of a text
(one group created Ellis Island in our classroom); Create a poem or other text to convince a specific audience to
accept a particular idea or concept; Write and Perform a song; Make a video; Recast a story from the past in todays
scene; Publish a journal or blog that expresses some key points of our readings; Host a game show or talk show; or
some other amazing idea of your own. You can work individually, in pairs, in groups, or even as the entire class. Up
to you. These projects will be evaluated on the basis of their educational qualities, creativity, and level of class
engagement.
Reader Profiles: 10%
You will compose two reader profiles during the semester; one will be about your experience reading Huckleberry
Finn, and the second one can be about your experience reading anything else. Each is an analysis of yourself as a
reader how and why you respond to texts the way you do. Additional instructions will be provided. Submit
Reader Profiles to Blackboard. When you submit your Reader Profile to turnitin.com, please title it Reader Profile
1 or Reader Profile 2 and please submit them to the appropriate slot.
* * * Course Policies
Attendance: You are expected to attend every class meeting. University policy mandates that attending fewer than
75% of class meetings will result in automatic failure. Any three tardies or early departures (or combination of the
two) count as one absence.
Any student who sleeps in class will be counted absent that day.
The only excused absences will be for illness, funerals, and other family emergencies, or official University
business. The professor may require documentation for your excuse. It is the student's responsibility to see, call, or
e-mail the professor within 48 hours of returning to class to have an absence excused and plan to make up his/her
work. Your professor reserves the right to determine what constitutes an emergency. Remember that excused

absences still count toward the total number of absences considered excessive.
Plagiarism is the use of wording or ideas / information from an external source without proper documentation and
crediting. It is a failing offense. Plagiarism is not tolerated at Gardner-Webb University. It is expected that all work
you submit is your own, done using only such resources as the professor has given you permission to use. It is the
English Departments policy that a grade of F for the course will be assigned any time a student submits any
draft of a major assignment of which a substantial portion has been falsely represented as the students own.
Minor assignments that are plagiarized will also be prosecuted according to University Academic Dishonesty
Policy. Students should familiarize themselves with Turnitin.com. It is the English departments policy to use this
service as one tool for encouraging academic integrity. All Reading Responses and the reader Profiles must be
electronically submitted to Blackboard, which automatically runs them through Turnitin.com.
Late Papers: Reading Responses will not be accepted if they are late.
Classroom Behaviors: No feet on furniture. No food (small snacks and drinks okay). No texting. No cell phone
calls. No random surfing the web on your laptop. Dont put your head down. No yawning. Dont comb or brush
your hair in class. Dont do homework for another class. If you repeatedly do any of these things, I will lower your
grade by one letter.
Accommodations: If your learning or participation in this class might be affected in any way by a disability
recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you will need to do the following: (1) register with
the Noel Program for the Disabled at Gardner-Webb University (704) 406- 4270; and (2) educate me about your
disability so that I can work with you and the Noel Program to arrange necessary accommodations. It is important
that you take both of these steps no later than the first week of the semester.
Final Exam: The final exam schedule is set in stone and cannot be changed unless you have a truly serious (and,
generally, unexpected) emergency such as a death in the family, a serious illness requiring hospitalization, or an
obligation to be away on University business.
University Writing Center http://gardner-webb.edu/writingcenter
Gardner-Webb Universitys Writing Center staff is dedicated to helping students. Students can get help beginning,
revising, or editing a draft of any writing (research paper, resume, application, project, or response to a prompt). In
addition, consultants have resources to help students with research and documentation styles (MLA, APA, and
Turabian). Walk-Ins are welcome, however, students should make an appointment ahead of time to ensure a spot.
Students can customize their appointment by choosing a date, time, and consultant while logged into My Webb
(Student Tab, Academic Services, Student Services, Writing Center Appointment Scheduler). Please refer to our
website for semester hours and resources. GWUs Writing Center also offers Skype consultations as well as phone
consultations for distance students. Contact consultants at [email protected], come to Craig 108, or
call (704) 406-4393.