DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE: English 311 American Literature II

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: (Credit, 3 hours). A survey of American literature from 1865 to
contemporary times, with emphasis on the major writers and literary developments. Prerequisites:
English 110-111.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: The course incorporates effective teaching practices, critical
thinking, multicultural education, and technological efficacy.
INSTRUCTORS EMPHASIS: .Instruction is designed for English majors and minors, with an aim to
enhance the students appreciation for and understanding of American literature, and to prepare the
groundwork for possible graduate study or future teaching of American literature. Critical thinking,
writing, and speaking are emphasized in written and oral assignments.
INSTRUCTOR:

Dr.Janice C. Crosby
325-D Baranco
771-3008
DrJCCrosby@aol.com
http://blackboard.subr.edu/

Conference Hours
COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
GOAL 1: To familiarize students with the major writers and literary movements in American literature
from 1865 to the present.
OBJECTIVE 1 a: Students will read a variety of prose, poetry, and drama from the major
periods in American literature from 1865 to the present.
OBJECTIVE 1 b: Students will demonstrate their ability to read and analyze these works as
evidenced by their performance on tests, class presentations/projects and discussions, and
interpretive/documented essays.
GOAL 2: To encourage students to form analytical connections between works, periods, and critical
theories in order to broaden their perspective of the relationship of American literature to the human
condition.
OBJECTIVE 2 a: Students will develop their analytical and connective abilities through class
discussion and outside readings, including internet and multimedia sources.
OBJECTIVE 2b: Students will demonstrate their analytical and connective abilities through
class discussion, exams, projects, and essays.
GOAL 3: To improve the students writing and speaking skills through class discussion and varied
writing assignments.
OBJECTIVE 3a: Students will learn to articulate clear comments during class discussion.
OBJECTIVE 3b: Students will demonstrate the ability to write well-organized papers/projects
that present logical ideas in clear concise prose.
OBJECTIVE 3c: Students will learn to develop effective, clear, well-organized answers to any
essay questions used on examinations.
COURSE CONTENT: Readings for this course consist of fiction; poetry, essays, drama, and critical
works that represent a variety of cultural and ethnic groups within the body of American literature for
the following time periods:
1865-1914; 1914-1945; 1945-Present
READINGS:
Required Text:
Baym, Nina, et al. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 5th ed. New York: Norton,

1999.
One to two additional novels may also be selected each semester.
Reading selections will be taken from among the designated authors for each time period, and
include all introductory sections and biographical notes.
1865-1914:
Cochise
Samuel Clemens
Henry James
Kate Chopin
Booker Washington
W. E. B. DuBois
Charlotte Gilman
Jack London
Theodore Dreiser
1914-1945:
Willa Cather
Robert Frost
T. S. Eliot
Ezra Pound
Wallace Stevens
William Carlos Williams
H.D.
William Faulkner
Zora Hurston

Edna Millay
E. E. Cummings
Ernest Hemingway
Langston Hughes
1945-Present:
Tennessee Williams
Saul Bellow
Flannery OConnor
Robert Hayden
Allen Ginsberg
Sylvia Plath
Rita Dove
Adrienne Rich
Audre Lorde
Maxine Kingston
COURSE SCHEDULE:

1865-1914: Two Weeks

1914-1945: Five Weeks
1945-Present: Seven Weeks
(Instructor will develop a specific course calendar, outlining the time frame for readings, written
assignments, projects and tests and distribute them at the beginning of the semester).
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE: Guided lecture, discussion, collaborative learning,web-based/Elearning opportunities, conferences, multimedia delivery.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students are required to
Attend class regularly, on time, and with a scholarly attitude.
Purchase required textbook and bring required text(s) to each class meeting.

Read and be prepared to discuss all assigned readings.

Participate in class discussions and presentations.

Submit, when due, well-organized, coherent, effectively developed, and neatly prepared
papers on assigned topics. Papers and presentations should show command of basic wordprocessing/technological competency.

Exhibit and promote a

Follow any separately issued class policy statements.

EVALUATION:
Discussion 10%
Midterm 20%
Final 20%
Lesson Plan Project (Ed majors)/ Research Presentation (Liberal arts majors) 10%
Essay/Other 20%
Research Paper 20%
GRADING: Letter grades and straight numerical grades may be used in the evaluation of each
assignment. End of the semester averages will correspond with the following final grades:
0-59 F
60-69 D
70- 79 C
80-89 B
90-100 A
Essays will be graded on relevance to assignment; paragraph organization, unity, and
development; grammatical/mechanical competency (no more than three major sentence errors);
adherence to and mastery of MLA parenthetical documentation. All research projects must show use
of appropriate/assigned technologies, including use of internet resources and word processing.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Print Media:

Cunliffe, Marcus, ed. American Literature Since 1900. 1975. London: Penguin, 1993.
Davidson, Cathy N., and Linda Wagner-Martin, eds. Oxford Companion to Womens Writing in the
United States. New York: Oxford UP, 1995.
Elliott, Emory, ed. The Columbia History of the American Novel. New York: Columbia UP, 1991.
The Columbia Literary History of the United States. New York: Columbia UP, 1988.
Holman, C. Hugh, and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature. 6th ed. New York: Macmillan,
1992.
Kuifer, Kathleen, ed. Merriam Websters Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA: Merriam
Webster, Inc., 1995.
Perkins, George, Barbara Perkins, and Philip Leininger, eds. Benets Readers Encyclopedia of
American Literature. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
Ruland, Richard, and Malcolm Bradbury. From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American
Literature. New York: Penguin, 1992.
Note: For additional bibliographic information on individual authors, see the Selected Bibliographies
in the Norton Anthology.
Literary Journals :

PMLA (MLA)
CLA Journal (CLA)
The Southern Review
Callaloo
Modern Fiction Studies
Signs
Electronic Media:
**Nortons Supplementary site!** http://www.wwnorton.com/naal/
Literary Journals Online: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/
Poets with info & sound files: http://www.poets.org/index.cfm
Internet public library (has literary criticism links): http://www.ipl.org/
Links to additional info about various authors: http://www.literarytraveler.com/
African American literature links:
http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/ethnicstudies/africanamerican/black_lit_main.html
American literature online: http://web.missouri.edu/~engmo/amlit.html
Realism: http://classiclit.about.com/arts/classiclit/msub-amlit-real.htm?
iam=dp&terms=realism+in+literature
Naturalism: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap6/6intro.html
Native American: http://exlibris.colgate.edu/Staff/EHutton/nativelit.htm
Women and literature: http://www.ibiblio.org/cheryb/women/wlit.html
Modern Language Association: http://www.mla.org/
http://blackboard.subr.edu/bin/common/course.pl?course_id=_345_1&frame=top
Includes information on Praxis: http://www.teachingandlearning.org/
Definitions of literary movements: http://www.geocities.com/kristisiegel/theory.htm
More criticism/theory: http://eserver.org/theory/