Fairleigh Dickinson University	David Buck, English Instructor
E-mail: dbuck@bcc.edu	Webpage: http://www.davidbuckenglish.com
Office: Parker 319 R	Phone: 609-894-9311 or 856-222-9311 EXT.1322

Syllabus Quick Links

Text	Grading
Course Description	Attendance Policy
Learning Objectives	Class Schedule of Readings
Learning Assessment

Text:In order to avoid high textbook prices, I have located e-texts for the scheduled readings for ENGL3369; therefore, no text will be required.  You should be able to access each of the literary texts from the direct links found on my webpage, and it is advisable that you acquire printouts of each text early in the semester.  In order to assure continuity of analysis and discussion, it is expected that you possess the appropriate text printout for the class session for which it is assigned.  If you do not own a computer, you can access the College's computer facilities to obtain the needed text copies; since you will be allotted a large amount of preparation time, no excuses of a technical nature (broken printer, crashed hardrive) will be accepted.  If you are solicited to read or discuss a particular text, you should have a hard copy of the literary text in front of you.  Please notify me immediately if any of the links malfunction during the semester. Although no text is required, you are strongly encouraged to purchase The Norton Anthology of American Literature – 5^th Edition, Volume 1 [ISBN: 0-393-95871-X]. 

Course Description:

ENGL 3369 is a survey course (emphasis on the word "survey") which reviews the development of American thought and ideals as seen in American literature from the colonial/Puritan period to the Civil War period. The course will assign primary emphasis to the major literary trends found in early America and the major literary figures who represent those trends.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Trace the development of the American perspective through the content, style, and genres of American writings.
2. Define the major elements of Puritanism, the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Unitarianism, and transcendentalism and explain how these philosophies affected early American literature.
3. Analyze the social, political, and religious ideas influencing these writings.
4. Explain the evolution of American literature as it is revealed from the various perspectives of major literary figures.
5. List the major political, social, and religious concerns of Puritan America, Colonial America, and pre-Civil War America.
6. Respond critically and personally to the topics found in early American literature, especially those concerning American identity, freedom, and voice.
7. Competently compose analytical essays which discuss the literary trends of American literature, each of which will possess a clear thesis statement, a coherent pattern of supporting paragraphs, adequate support/examples from the text to support the thesis, and a concluding paragraph. A minimum of errors in mechanics, grammar, and usage should appear in the essays.

1. Ten Weekly Reports (journal-type documents) which reflect your reactions to the readings, the class lectures, or peer discussion. They should be no shorter than 300 words. These will be submitted via e-mail (dbuck@bcc.edu) or posted to the Blackboard and will not be returned to you; therefore, it is imperative that you print a personal hard copy to bring to class. These personal responses will provide the foundation of our class discussions.  Part of your Weekly Report grade will be to formally present one report to the class on an assigned session; detailed instructions will be given early in the term.  These reports may also involve participation on the course Blackboard--details will be given. (Objectives #2, #3 and #5)
2. Midterm Exam and Final Exam dealing with the literary works assigned and discussed throughout the course. These will be comprised of fifty (50) objective  questions. (Objectives #2, #3, and #4)
3. Two take-home essay exams in response to chosen questions from a provided list. (Objectives #1-7)
4. One research essay involving an analysis of one of the following: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter or Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The essay should conform to the following requirements: 1500-2000 words in length (5-7 typed pages), MLA formatted, 12-inch Times New Roman font, no less than three outside critical sources, and a correctly formatted Works Cited page. (Objective #7)
5. Class participation: since ENGL 3369 will be considered a student-centered, participative course, it is your responsibility to read the assigned texts and come prepared for each class session to contribute to the ongoing discussion.  This means that you should be prepared to make substantive oral comments during EACH and EVERY onsite class session.  This participation may also involve a presentation component.  Active, motivated, and engaged behavior will be expected! (Objective #6)
6. Style Manual for Papers:Diana Hacker. A Pocket Style Manual. Boston: Bedford Books/ St. Martin's Press, 1993. The proper guide for making references to on-line sources is the MLA style sheet. It is not available on line. However examples of correct references may be found at the University of Georgia Libraries' MLA Style Sheet site.
7. Academic Integrity:  Please note the university's policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other violations of integrity in the Student Handbook. Click on Academic Regulations.
8. University Education:  "By a crude mathematical formula, it can be suggested that what students teach students should be one-third of an undergraduate education, what professors teach students should be another third, and what each student does alone in the library, the laboratory, and the study should be the remaining third."  From Jeroslav Pelikan, The Idea of the University: A Reexamination (New Haven: Yale UP, 1992): 61.
   

 

92-100=A	75-77=C
90-91=A-	70-74=C-
88-89=B+	65-69=D
82-87=B	64-below=F
80-81=B-
78-79=C+

 

Attendance Policy:
It is expected that you will attend every class session during the seven-and-a-half-week semester.  However, if an absence is unavoidable, it is your responsibility to notify the instructor of your absence and obtain any necessary information/materials that have been missed.  Excused absences will consist of documented illness, death in the family, or a university-sponsored event.  More than two accumulated unexcused absences and/or latenesses will result in the instructor's consideration of a grade reduction.

NOTE: ALL cell phones, pagers, and electronic devices must be turned OFF during class time.  Please be considerate of your instructor and fellow classmates!  If a problem continues to exist, a grade reduction may be considered by the instructor.
 

Tentative Class Schedule

* All readings must be read BEFORE the class for which they are assigned, and you should be prepared to discuss them in detail.

Week 1-
Introduction. New England and the Puritans. Read the following along with the texts scheduled for Session 2: "Two Histories: Context and Developments"--an excellent artice by Scott Atkins introducing the Pilgrims and the Puritans.
 

Weekly Report #1 DUE

  William Bradford: "Of Plymouth Plantation" (pp.174-198) Chapter Nine (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/bradford.html#nine), "The Mayflower Compact."  (http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/mayflow.html), and "Treaty with the Indians" (Indian Relations) (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1650bradford.html#Treaty%20with%20the%20Indians).
 

Weekly Report #2 DUE

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Week 2-
Thomas Morton: (pp.205-213) "Revels in New Canaan."    (http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/19-mor.html).

John Winthrop: (pp.214-225) "A Model of Christian Charity." (http://www.winthropsociety.org/doc_charity.php).
 

Weekly Report #3 DUE

 Anne Bradstreet: "The Prologue" (http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/216.html) (pg.247),
"To My Dear and Loving Husband" (http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/217.html) (pg.272),
"A Letter to Her Husband"  (http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/bradstr1.html) (pg.272),
"In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet" (http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/english/coke/bradstreet6.htm ),
"In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Anne Bradstreet" (http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/bradstr1.html) (pg.276),
"Before the Birth of One of Her Children" (http://www.web-books.com/Classics/Poetry/Anthology/Bradstreet/Before.htm) (pg.271),
"Upon the Burning of Our House" (http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/218.html) (pp.278-279),

Edward Taylor: "Meditation 1" (http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry/taylor7.htm),
"Huswifery" (http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry/taylor14.htm) (pg.349),
"The Joy of Church Fellowship . . . " (http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry/taylor12.htm) (pg.345),
"An Address to the Soul Occasioned by Rain" (http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry/taylor13.htm)
 

Weekly Report #4 DUE

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Week 3-
Michael Wigglesworth: "The Day of Doom" STANZAS: 1-18, 21-30, 38-41, 107-110, 113, 130-138, 156, 182-187, 195-201, 205-210, 218-224 (http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry/wiggindx.htm (pp.283-297).

"The Great Awakening" -- An excellent lecture document from Wake Forest University
Jonathan Edwards: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (http://www.jonathanedwards.com/sermons/Warnings/sinners.htm) (pp.474-484).

William Byrd: "The Secret Diary . . ." (http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ushist/workbook/tinprs3a.htm) (pp.422-428) AND http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1h283t.html

Take-home Essay #1.

"Age of the Enlightenment" 
Benjamin Franklin: "The Way to Wealth" http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/alra/franklin.htm (pp.493-498),
"Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America" http://www2.latech.edu/~bmagee/202/franklin/Savages2.htm (pp.516-520),
"The Autobiography" [Part One] (pp.524-569)
Chapter One http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/chapt1/index.html
Chapter Six http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/chapt6/index.html
Chapter Seven http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/chapt7/index.html

J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur: "Letters . . .What is an American"  [Par. 49-91] (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/CREV/letter03.html (pp.640-650).
 

Weekly Report #5 DUE

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Week 4-
Thomas Paine:  "Common Sense"
"The Crisis"

Olaudah Equiano: "Narrative of the Life” http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/Equiano.html      (pp.751-786).
 

Midterm Exam
Take-home Essay #2

The evolution of Romanticism in America (http://www.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/romanticism.htm)                 
Philip Freneau: (pp.806-823)
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/philipfreneau/indian.shtml "The Indian Burying Ground"
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/philipfreneau/thewild.shtml "The Wild Honey Suckle"
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/philipfreneau/thevernal.shtml "The Vernal Age"
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/philipfreneau/onthe.shtml "On the Universality and Other Attributes of the God of Nature"
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/philipfreneau/toanew.shtml   "To a New England Poet"

Phillis Wheatley: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rbear/wheatley.html --This link is for all of the listed poems below (except to Washington)
"On Being Brought from Africa to America"
"To Maecenas"
"To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth"
"To the University of Cambridge, in New England"
"Thoughts on the Works of Providence"
"To S.M., a Young African Painter, on Seeing His Works"
"To His Excellency General Washington" (http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/main_pages/madison_archives/era/african/free/wheatley/poems/wash.htm) (pp.824-840)
 

Weekly Report #6 DUE

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Week 5-
Washington Irving: "Rip Van Winkle" (http://www.classicallibrary.org/irving/rip/)(pp.934-948).

Caroline Stansbury Kirkland: "A New Home . . ." (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-eafpublic?id=eaf240.xml&tag=public&data=/texts/eaf&part=0) Chapters 18 and 36 (pp.1051-1060).

Weekly Report #7 DUE

Transcendentalism in American Literature.  
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Self-Reliance" http://www.rwe.org/works/Essays-1st_Series_02_Self-Reliance.htm (pp.1126-1143).
Edgar Allan Poe: "The Raven" http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/works/poetry/raven.html
"The Cask of Amontillado" http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/amontillado.html(pp.1492-1495).
"The Tell-Tale Heart"  http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/tell-tale-heart.html

Weekly Report #8 DUE

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Week 6-
Henry David Thoreau:
"Resistance to Civil Government" http://www.cs.indiana.edu/statecraft/civ.dis.html  (pp.1749-1767).

Louisa May Alcott: "Transcendental Wild Oats" http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/ideas/wildoats.html (pp.2560-2573).

Harriet Jacobs: "Incidents of the Life of a Slave Girl" (pp.1719-1739)
Ch.1http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch1.htm
Ch.7: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch7.htm
Ch.10:  http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch10.htm
Ch.14: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch14.htm.
CH 21: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch21.htm
Ch.41http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/JACOBS/hjch41.htm
 

Weekly Report #9 DUE

Herman Melville: "Billy Budd" http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/bb/BillyBudd.html (pp.2432-2487)

Frederick Douglass: "The Meaning of July Fourth to the Negro" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html
 

Weekly Report #10 DUE

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Week 7-
Walt Whitman: "Song of Myself" http://www.bartleby.com/142/14.htmllines 1-861, 1131-1165, 1230-end of poem (pp.2096-2123, 2132-33, 2135-38).
Emily Dickinson: http://members.aol.com/GivenRandy/r_emily.htm poems #49, 67, 130, 241, 258, 285, 287, 328, 465, 501, 822, 1732, 185, 249, 288, 314, 326, 341, 435, 547, 664, 986, 1397, 1543, 1624. 

Research Essay DUE
Final Exam.