English 2235 Schedule - Spring 2008

Anoka-Ramsey Community College -- Coon Rapids Campus
English 2235: American Literature Since 1865
Spring 2008 / Section 1

Tentative Schedule -- Revision #1

NOTE: All readings are due on the date listed; have the selections read before class and expect quizzes at any time.

American Literature 1865-1914

M 1/14 -- Introduction to the Course / Syllabus / Schedule / Participant Information

W 1/16 -- American Literature 1865-1914 (1-16) and Realism and Naturalism (569-570)

Take notes on these terms: Realism, Naturalism, Determinism, Regionalism, Local Color Writing

F 1/18 -- Bret Harte (307): Introduction; The Luck of Roaring Camp

How/why might this story be considered a "tall tale" of the western frontier?

M 1/21 -- NO CLASSES -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

W 1/23 -- Sarah Orne Jewett (414): Introduction; A White Heron

What leads Sylvia to make the decision she does at the end of the story?

F 1/25 -- Henry James (315): Introduction; Daisy Miller: A Study -- Parts I and II

Why doesn't Mrs. Costello like the Millers? Why does Daisy react the way she does at the end of Part II?

M 1/28 -- Henry James (315): Daisy Miller: A Study -- Parts III and IV

Is Daisy behaving in a naive way, or does she know it's wrong but she's doing it anyway?

W 1/30 -- Abraham Cahan (484): Introduction; A Sweat-Shop Romance

How does this courtship compare/contrast to the "courtship" of Winterbourne and Daisy?

F 2/1 -- Kate Chopin (426): Introduction; At the 'Cadian Ball; The Storm; Desiree's Baby

How are women portrayed in these three short stories?

M 2/4 -- Sui Sin Far (544): Introduction; In the Land of the Free

What does this story have to say about marriage and children?

W 2/6 -- Edith Wharton (519): Introduction; The Other Two

What does this story have to say about marriage and children?

F 2/8 -- Charles W. Chesnutt (462): Introduction; The Wife of His Youth

Why does Mr. Ryder ultimately reveal the information to his audience?

M 2/11 -- EXAM #1

Two Plays and One Novel

W 2/13 -- August Wilson: The Piano Lesson -- Prefaces and Act One, Scene 1 (27.5 pages)

F 2/15 -- August Wilson: The Piano Lesson -- Act One, Scene 2 (26.5 pages)

M 2/18 -- NO CLASSES -- Presidents’ Day

W 2/20 -- August Wilson: The Piano Lesson -- Act Two, Scenes 1-5 (53.5 pages)

F 2/22 -- Neil Simon: Brighton Beach Memoirs -- Act One (72 pages)

M 2/25 -- Neil Simon: Brighton Beach Memoirs -- Act Two (54 pages)

W 2/27 -- Discussion of Both Plays and ESSAY #1 ASSIGNMENT / In addition, you are required to attend at least one (1) of the sessions by the Visiting Writer (Penumbra Theatre Associate Artistic Director Dominic Taylor) at the 1:00 p.m. and/or the 2:00 p.m. presentation in the Performing Arts Center (more details later).

F 2/29 -- NO CLASSES -- Faculty Development Conference

M 3/3 -- Kate Chopin: The Awakening -- Chapters I-XIV (3-39)

W 3/5 -- Kate Chopin: The Awakening -- Chapters XV-XXV (39-74)

F 3/7 -- Kate Chopin: The Awakening -- Chapters XXVI-XXXIX (74-109)

Monday, March 10:

We will NOT meet as a class. Use this day/time for completing Essay #1 (Wilson/Simon) or for doing the reading for Wednesday. Essay #1 is due on Wednesday by 2:00 p.m. I will be in my office (H131) from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon if you have any specific questions about the essay; however, I won’t be able to “just read through it and tell you what I think.”

Wednesday, March 12:

Editor’s Note: Biography and Emily Toth’s “A New Biographical Approach” -- pp. 113-119
Dorothy Dix, “Women and Suicide” -- pp. 150-151
Chopin’s “Retraction” -- p. 178
George M. Spangler, “The Ending of the Novel” -- pp. 208-211
Suzanne Wolkenfeld, “Edna’s Suicide: The Problem of the One and the Many” -- pp. 241-247

Friday, March 14:

We WILL have class this day, probably for about a half hour. I will introduce and discuss the Essay #2 assignment, show some sample papers, and answer any questions. We will also decide on the “due date” for Essay #2. Then, it’s off to SPRING BREAK!

M 3/17 -- NO CLASSES -- Spring Break

W 3/19 -- NO CLASSES -- Spring Break

F 3/21 -- NO CLASSES -- Spring Break

American Literature 1914-1945

NOTE: Sometime during this first week, skim American Literature 1914-1945 (705-720) and take notes on these terms: Modern, Modernism, Communism, Psychoanalysis, Harlem Renaissance, Expatriates -- NOTES DUE: Monday 3/31/08

M 3/24 -- Robert Frost (775): Introduction; Mending Wall; The Road Not Taken; Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

What are the "structural elements" in these three poems? How are they "organized"?

W 3/26 -- Robert Frost (775): Birches; The Death of the Hired Man

How/why is it appropriate that these "stories" are told in poetic form?

F 3/28 -- Willa Cather (725): Introduction; Neighbor Rosicky

What "patterns" do you see in this story -- recurring images, words, phrases, themes, etc.?

M 3/31 -- Langston Hughes (1087): Introduction; The Negro Speaks of Rivers; Mother to Son; I, Too; Song for a Dark Girl; Visitors to the Black Belt; Note on Commercial Theatre

What are the "musical elements" in these poems?

W 4/2 -- Zora Neale Hurston (981): Introduction; How It Feels to Be Colored Me; The Gilded Six-Bits

How is Hurston's portrayal of Black people similar to and different from Hughes' portrayals?

F 4/4-- William Carlos Williams (831): Introduction; The Young Housewife; Spring and All; The Red Wheelbarrow; This Is Just to Say; A Sort of a Song

How/why are these poems considered to be "Imagist" poems?

M 4/7 -- Wallace Stevens (814): Introduction; Of Modern Poetry -- Marianne Moore (854): Introduction; Poetry -- Langston Hughes (1087): Introduction; Theme for English B

What do these three "Modern" poets have to say about writing poetry?

W 4/9 -- Ernest Hemingway (1065): Introduction; The Snows of Kilimanjaro

How/why is writing a central theme in this story?

F 4/11-- T. S. Eliot (861): Introduction; The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Based on what he says and does (or doesn't do) in this poem, characterized J. Alfred Prufrock.

M 4/14 -- Katherine Anne Porter (971): Introduction; Flowering Judas

Why is Laura in Mexico? Why is she doing the things she does? What does the ending mean for her?

W 4/16 -- EXAM #2

F 4/18 -- NO CLASS -- English Division Retreat

American Literature since 1945

NOTE: Sometime during this first week, skim American Literature since 1945 (1129-1142) and take notes on these terms: Realism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, Confessional Poetry, Protest Poetry, Beat Generation, Deconstruction, Cultural Diversity -- NOTES DUE: Monday 4/28/08

M 4/21 -- T.B.A. ____________________

W 4/23 -- T.B.A. ____________________ / In addition, you are required to attend the 11:00 a.m. session of the visiting poet, Angela Shannon. The 12:00 p.m. session will be for extra credit (more details later).

F 4/25 -- T.B.A. ____________________

M 4/28 -- T.B.A. ____________________

W 4/30 -- T.B.A. ____________________

F 5/2 -- T.B.A. ____________________

M 5/5 -- T.B.A. ____________________

W 5/7 -- T.B.A. ____________________

F 5/9 -- T.B.A. ____________________

M 5/12 -- EXAM #3 / Final Exam Period / 11:50 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. / H 121