Syllabus: English 471

Fall 2009: MW 4:20-6:00 pm

Professor John Cleman
E&T A610
Phone: (323) 343-4298; Email: jcleman@calstatela.edu

Office Hours: MW 6:10-6:40; T 3:30-3:50; other times by appointment

Ordered Texts: Nina Baym, et al, The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vols. A & B (7th
ed.)
Catalog Description: American Literature: Beginnings to 1860: Puritanism to transcendentalism.
Emphasis on such writers as Edwards, Emerson, Hawthorne, Melville, Poe, and Thoreau.
Course Objectives:
• to read and study works by selected American authors before 1860
• to gain a deeper, more complex understanding of the works read in relation to their themes
or meanings, their literary practice or form, and their milieu or context
• to develop an overview of major intellectual, social, cultural and literary concerns of
American literature as it emerged in the first half of the nineteenth century, with special
emphasis on Puritanism, Rationalism (Enlightenment), and Transcendentalism
(Romanticism) and on the play of these perspectives in the works read
• to develop an understanding of the selected American authors' explorations of the themes of
American mission, American identity (or self), freedom, individualism, nature, and social
cohesion
• to improve skills in close reading, literary analysis, and critical thinking both about and
within texts
• to improve skills in writing literary arguments

Schedule of Reading Assignments:

I M-Sep 28 — Begin
W-Sep 30 — Winthrop, “A Model of Christian Charity” (A 147-158); Bradstreet, “Here
Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House” (A 212-213) and
“Contemplations,” verses 1-9 (A 195-197); Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of
an Angry God” (A 425-436) and Personal Narrative (A 386-404)
II M-Oct 5 — Franklin, Autobiography, Parts I & II (A 473-534)
W-Oct 7 — Franklin, Autobiography (cont.) and Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the
Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself
(A 675-709)
III M-Oct 12 — Emerson, “The American Scholar” (B 1138-1151), “Self-Reliance” (B 1163-
1180), and “The Poet” (A 1180-1195)
W-Oct 14 — Thoreau, Walden, Chapts. 1,2,6,7,9,10,11,12,17 (B 1872-1924, 1945-1959,
1963-1995, 2027-2038)
IV M-Oct 19 — Thoreau, Walden (cont.)
W-Oct 21 — Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” (B 953-965) and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
(B 965-985) MID-TERM HANDED OUT
V M-Oct 26 — Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (B 1553-1565)
W-Oct 28 — Poe, “Ligeia” (B 1543-1553) MID-TERM TURNED IN
VI M-Nov 2 — Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (B 1377-1438)
W- Nov 4 — Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (B 1438-1493)
VII M- Nov 9 — Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (cont.)
W- Nov 11 — Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,
Written by Himself (B 2064-2129)
VIII M- Nov 16 — Douglass, Narrative . . . (cont.); Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
(B 1809-1829)
W- Nov 18 — Melville, “Benito Cereno” (B 2405-2461)
IX M- Nov 23 — Melville, “Benito Cereno” (cont.)
W- Nov 25 — Furlough Day: No class
X M- Nov 30 — Whitman, “Song of Myself” (B 2210-2254)
W-Dec 2 — Whitman, “Song of Myself” (cont.)

FINAL EXAM — MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 4:30-7:00

Assignments:
15% Reading Questions: 1-2 topics per week requiring, minimally, a page of analysis each; 5
points per topic; evaluation based on evidence of authentic effort (willingness to grapple
with the question) and close reading (detail); no late assignments accepted; bonus/make-
up topics offered from time to time; total scores scaled for grade (e.g., 100%-95%=A; 94%-
85%=B; 84%-75%=C; etc.)
40% Take-home Mid-term
45% Final: Comprehensive; Open-book

Grading on midterm and final will be traditional A-F including pluses and minuses. Final grades are
computed according to the above percentages. However, these percentages apply only when all major work
is attempted. In order to pass this course the midterm and final must be legitimately attempted.
Plagiarism (see description below) does NOT constitute a legitimate attempt of the assignment.

Late papers policy: Reading question responses are due at the beginning of class on the day assigned. Any
later-that-day exceptions (e.g., left them in the car, campus printers all broken, etc.) will need to be
persuasively and sympathetically explained (weeping can help) and rare. Beyond that, no exceptions.
Midterms are due on the day indicated, and while I will accept late midterms, there will be a grade penalty
that increases as the delay is longer.

Attendance: More than 20% (two week total) unexcused absence may mean either a W, U, or reduced
grade. Please take this seriously, because I do. If you have to miss a lot of classes, talk with me about it. An
Incomplete will generally not be given unless you have been attending regularly and have turned in the
midterm or taken the final at the point when you are unable, for serious and compelling reasons, to complete
the course. I will sign drop forms at almost any point for the flimsiest of reasons, but I will not give an
Incomplete unless I think it is appropriate.

PLAGIARISM: For definition and policy see statement on Academic Honesty in the current
Schedule of Classes or on line at http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/stuaffrs/jao/doc/ah.pdf. Cite
sources of ideas (when you are conscious of specific borrowing) and especially language. If you
use someone else's phrasing, you must place quotation marks around the borrowed language
and cite the source. Use MLA format for citations. If you are not sure whether you need to cite or
not, please ask me. If still in doubt, cite. Do not become paranoid about inadvertent borrowing or
influence (we all do it), but please do not try to pass off someone else's writing as your own,
because it is dishonest, unnecessary, and grounds for failing the course, disciplinary action, and/or
expulsion. Under current policy, if I discover plagiarism has occurred, I am required to notify the
Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and I will do so. Just to be clear, as part of the
academic requirements of this course, if you are caught plagiarizing, your course grade will
be an F: no opportunity to rewrite, to do make-up work, or to perform community service—
no statute of limitations.

Reasonable accommodation will be provided to any student who is registered with the Office of
Students with Disabilities and requests needed accommodation.