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English 5220 Studies in American Literature
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scroll down for html version of the syllabus, or click here for printer-friendly pdf version
Handouts:individual project/paper assignment sheet (pdf file)
group- and self-evaluation sheet for collaborative project (MS Word file)
collaborative project assignment sheet available here (pdf file)
e-journal posting guidleines available here (pdf file)
student presentation guidelines available here (pdf file)
English 5220 Syllabus -- Summer 1 2006
Course description, purpose, and objectives: In this section of English 5220, we will consider the relationships between linguistics and literature, exploring particularly the functions and effects of literary dialect and other literary-linguistic strategies as deployed in 19th- and 20th-century American literature. We will explore the ways that literature can add to our knowledge about linguistic variation and change among real speakers, as well as how a linguistic-analysis approach can open works of literature to new levels of interpretation. Students will have the opportunity to conduct their own analyses of literary works using electronic and other methods. Students who are creative writers are encouraged to experiment with the theories and methods of literary-linguistic analysis in relation to their own original texts.
Texts:
Minnick, Dialect and Dichotomy, Alabama, 2004.
Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Norton Critical Edition is required!
Online texts and electronic readings. Many of the literary texts we’ll use are available online for no charge.
Fee card ($5): Each student is required to purchase a fee card from the bookstore to cover costs of photocopied articles and other printed material that will be provided to you in class.
Assignments and grading:
Grading criteria for all assignments: Please note that this is an advanced undergraduate/graduate course and not a course in how to do college-level research and writing. I therefore expect undergraduate students to be sufficiently prepared to complete all work according to advanced-undergraduate standards, and for graduate students to meet graduate-level standards. The subject matter specific to this course may be new to you–-that is what you are here to learn, after all–-but I expect all students to have sufficient skills in reading, research, and writing to succeed at this level.
A = 4.0 points awarded for excellent, top-quality work only.
BA = 3.5 points
B = 3.0 points
CB = 2.5 points
C = 2 points
DC = 1.5 points
D = 1 point
F = 0 points for work not turned in; .5 for work that does not meet minimum standards.Assignments:
for undergraduate students
Course project/paper 30%
Electronic journal 25%
Collaborative project 20%
Presentation 10%
Attendance and participation 15%for graduate students
Course project/paper 30%
Electronic journal 20%
Collaborative project 20%
Presentation 15%
Attendance and participation 15%
Course paper/project (6-8 pp. for undergraduate students; 10-12 pp. for graduate students): This assignment is an opportunity for you to conduct your own original text-analysis study and to present the results in journal-article format, as appropriate at the advanced-undergraduate and graduate levels. The project is intended to be the product of a semester’s worth of learning, with significant investments of work and time on your part, and will be graded accordingly. You will need to research, develop, draft, revise, and edit conscientiously over the assignment period in order to complete this assignment satisfactorily. We will discuss this project in class as you generate ideas, analyze your selected text(s), and compose your paper to report on your methods, data, results, and analysis.
Electronic journal: All students will produce electronic journal entries in response to readings and other assignments. These will be submitted electronically on a weekly basis for posting to our class web page. I will provide you with assignment specifications, information about deadlines, and instructions for how to submit your work.
Collaborative project: The goal of the collaborative project is to identify issues in literary text analysis studies and propose and implement methods for analysis. Students will work together in small groups in and outside of class to generate ideas, develop methods, carry out the research, write about the process in a short paper, and present your project to the class.Presentations on researched and textual materials: This will be an opportunity to present material and lead class discussions. We'll set up a schedule for these early in the semester, and specific assignment criteria will be provided.
Attendance and participation: English 5220 is designed to be an active, experiential course for students. Your presence, attentiveness, preparedness, and active contributions are of paramount importance both to the success of the course and to your individual success. You’ll need to complete all readings and other assignments on time in order to be ready to contribute in class. Passive learning, not doing the reading, persistent failure to contribute to discussions, not participating in activities, and/or any other kind of slacking will not be suffered gladly and will affect your attendance and participation score, which counts for 15% of your course grade.
University Policies
Academic honesty: All work you turn in for this class must be your own, with all outside reference sources properly cited and acknowledged. Plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, any kind of falsification or forgery, computer misuse, multiple submission, complicity, and any other type of academic dishonesty on any exams or work assigned for this course, will not be tolerated in any form. You are required to read and comply fully with the policies and definitions outlined in the Western Michigan University statement on academic integrity, which is available in the undergraduate and graduate student catalogs available online (click here) . If there is reason to believe any student has been involved in academic dishonesty, he or she will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. The student will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s) and have the opportunity for a hearing. Please consult with me if you are in doubt about how to cite a source in your paper, whether a source is appropriate, whether a citation is needed, if you are not sure what level of help on an assignment constitutes collusion, or with any other academic integrity questions. As I am also required to uphold the standards of academic integrity, my policy is zero tolerance for any type of deception, and I do not want for any of you to find out the hard way how seriously I take this.
Students with disabilities should contact Ms. Beth Denhartigh at the beginning of the semester at 387-2116 or by email at beth.denhartigh@wmich.edu so that any physical, learning, vision, hearing, psychiatric or other disability can be documented and accommodations arranged. Please note that a disability determination must be made by Ms. Denhartigh's office before accommodations can be made.Instructor Policies
Attendance and preparedness: I think that English 5220 has the potential to be a fun and stimulating course, but your active contribution to this goal is a must. This means you need to be present and fully prepared every day to the extent that it is humanly possible. Readings, discussions, and activities complement each other. Because this class meets only once a week, and because participation is a major part of your course experience and the grading criteria, missing more than a single class meeting may be detrimental to your grade. Leaving at the break will be recorded as an absence. Habitual lateness will also affect your attendance record.
Late work is generally frowned upon in college and elsewhere, and this class is no exception. Arrangements need to be made in advance (and you’ll need a documentable explanation). Unexplained late work (or excuses after the fact) will not be accepted and a grade of zero will be assessed for the assignment.
Being late to class and leaving early should be avoided. Please make it a habit to be in class on time. Otherwise, you risk missing important course content as well as distracting other students when you walk in late. The same goes for leaving early. It is your responsibility to stay on top of what goes on in class whether you are there or not. If you are late, it is your responsibility to stay after class to make sure you have been marked present. Absences resulting from uncorrected lates count as absences. Habitual lateness will result in a reduction of your attendance and participation score and hence your course grade. Leaving at the break will also be recorded as an absence.
Makeups: Discussions, presentations, and any other in-class activities cannot be made up if missed because of lateness or absence. Makeups on major assignments, such as papers, must be arranged with me in advance of due dates in order to avoid penalties, and you will have to make a pretty strong case in order to be granted an extension.
Classroom etiquette: You are encouraged to read and think critically and thus you are not required to agree with everything you read or everything that is said during discussions in this class. In my experience, learning works best when an open dialogue is encouraged. All thoughtful contributions are welcome; I ask only that everyone be respectful during class discussions. The goal is for our classroom to be a safe place to flex your intellectual muscles, where everyone feels comfortable generating, expressing, and challenging ideas. Your help in reaching this goal is essential. Also, please familiarize yourself with and adhere to Western Michigan’s code of student conduct, available here. Students who are not willing or able to abide by the code and respect the rights of everyone to a comfortable teaching and learning environment will be asked to leave.
Other etiquette issues: Sleeping, eating, grooming, reading non-course materials, doing homework, having conversations, using any kind of electronic communications device, and other such activities are discouraged because of their disruptive and impolite nature, and also because they keep you from fully participating. Your active participation is part of your course grade, of course, and also, nothing interesting will happen in class without your input. That is, the class will be as interesting as you make it. Showing up on time and prepared (that means completing all reading assignments and other homework and being ready to work when you get here) will help your grade as well as enhance your learning experience.
Formatting for all written assignments: All written assignments must be word-processed (typed) and double-spaced, following MLA or Chicago style for page headings, page numbering, formatting, and documentation. Electronic copies of assignments will not be accepted in lieu of required hard copies. Graded assignments and exams will be returned within one to two weeks.
For extra help: There is no need for an appointment if you would like to drop by during my office hours (MW after class), but please make arrangements with me if you are not free during office hours so that we can set up a time to meet. Also, please email me any time if you have questions or concerns.
Workload: As an advanced-level course, the English 5220 workload is substantial, with challenging (and plentiful) reading assignments and frequent written assignments. Many of the readings will be advanced and theory-oriented, which means you will need to allow yourself sufficient time to work through them, possibly more than once for some of the more difficult articles. Skimming readings a few minutes before class starts won’t provide you with enough preparation to participate adequately in the class session. It should go without saying that you will need to keep up with all readings and other deadlines as assigned because if you aren’t prepared, you won’t be able to participate in class discussions, which will be (1) boring for you (and all of us) and (2) detrimental to your progress in the course.
Schedule of Reading and Writing Assignments
See our class updates page for news, schedule changes, and announcements. These things happen. Links to all online readings assigned will be provided on our class web pages.
Week 1:
Monday, May 08: Introduction to course: Linguistic applications to literature
▪Approaches to the study of literary linguistics.
▪Literary dialect.
▪Stylistics, discourse and pragmatics.
▪Computational and corpus linguistics.
Wednesday, May 10: Dialect writing and American literature
For class, read:
1. Introduction and Chapter 1 in Dialect and Dichotomy and the following online texts:
2. A.B. Longstreet, Preface, Note by the Publishers, and "The Horse Swap," from Georgia Scenes (1835), available online at Documenting the American South (linked from our updates page).
3. T.B. Thorpe, Preface and "The Big Bear of Arkansas," from The Hive of the Bee Hunter (1854), available online at Documenting the American South.
Discussion topics:
▪Linguistic terminology and areas of inquiry.
▪Literary dialect and features-level analysis.
▪Dialect writing in English.
▪Dialect humor in 19th-century America.Week 2:
Monday, May 15: Discourse- and pragmatic-level analysis
For class, read:
1. Chapters 2 and 3 in Dialect and Dichotomy2. Lamont Antieau, “Lousy Conversations and All,” Southern Journal of Linguistics (handout; also available from the library’s online reserve).
3. Fennell and Bennett, “Sociolinguistic Concepts and Literary Analysis,” available online on JSTOR via the Western Michigan library site.
4. Stephen Crane, “The Blue Hotel” (1898), online at Documenting the American South.
Discussion topics:
▪Discourse and pragmatic analysis.
▪Methodologies and theoretical approaches.
▪Begin work on collaborative projects.Wednesday, May 17: Stylistics and literary language
For class, read:
1. Mary Louise Pratt, “Ideology and Speech Act Theory” (handout)
2. Roger Fowler, “Studying Literature as Language” (handout)
3. Margaret Freeman, “Cognitive Stylistics: The Poetry of Emily Dickinson” (handout)
4. Peter Stockwell, “Cognitive Stylistics and the Theory of Metaphor” (handout
Discussion topics:
▪Theoretical approaches to stylistics.Week 3:
Monday, May 22: Language in the African American community
For class, read:
1. Lisa Green, “African American English” (handout; also available from the library’s online reserve).2. Rosina Lippi-Green, “The Real Trouble with Black English” (handout; also available from the library’s online reserve).
Discussion topics:
▪Screening: Spike Lee’s film Bamboozled (2000).
▪Linguistic features of African American English.
▪Media and literary representations of African American speech.
▪Language attitudes and the role of media.
Wednesday, May 24: The “plantation tradition” in American literature
For class, read:
1. Thomas Nelson Page, from In Old Virginia (1887) “Marse Chan: A Tale of Old Virginia," online at Documenting the American South.2. Paul Laurence Dunbar, poems (TBA), online at Wright State University’s Paul Laurence Dunbar Digital Text Archives.
3. Michele Birnbaum, “Dark Dialects” (handout; also available from the library’s online reserve).
4. Lee Pederson, “Language in the Uncle Remus Tales” (online at JSTOR).
5. Joel Chandler Harris, from Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings (1880), online at Project Gutenberg:
Harris's Introduction
I. Uncle Remus initiates the Little Boy
II. The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story
III. Why Mr. Possum loves Peace
Discussion topics:▪The literary contexts of the plantation tradition.
▪Paul Laurence Dunbar: plantation tradition writer, or signifier?
▪Harris and Page: Difference in degree or in kind?
▪The plantation tradition and the media.Week 4:
Monday, May 29: Memorial Day observed. No school!
Wednesday, May 31: The complicated case of Charles W. Chesnutt
For class, read:
1. Chesnutt, “Dave’s Neckliss” (1899), online at Documenting the American South.2. Chesnutt, “Po’ Sandy,” online at Documenting the American South.
3. Chesnutt, “Sis’ Becky’s Pickaninny,” online at Documenting the American South.
4. Chapter 5 in Dialect and Dichotomy.
Week 5:Monday, June 5: Meet in computer lab, location tba; work on collaborative projects.
Last day to withdraw from course (not that you’d want to).
Wednesday, June 7: Collaborative projects due with informal presentations.Week 6:
Monday, June 12: Huckleberry Finn; What literature can reveal about language and about language attitudes
For class, read:
1. First half of Twain, Huckleberry Finn (1884)
2. Chapter 4 of Dialect and Dichotomy3. Michael Ellis, “Literary Dialect as Linguistic Evidence” (JSTOR)
Discussion topics:▪Using literary material as linguistic data.
▪Reconstructing earlier varieties of American English.
▪Using literature alongside other linguistic data.
Wednesday, June 14: Finish Huckleberry Finn; more on language and language attitudes
For class, read:
1. Finish Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn2. Find, read, and bring to class a scholarly article related to language in Huckleberry Finn
June 12 discussion topics:
▪The uneasy relationship between linguistics and literature.
▪Literary applications to language studies.
Week 7:
Monday, June 19: Feminist stylistics
For class, read:
1. Sara Mills, “The Gendered Sentence” (handout; also available from the library’s online reserve).
2. Deirdre Burton, “Through Glass Darkly: Through Dark Glasses” (handout; also available from the library’s online reserve).
3. Ernest Hemingway, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (UVA e-text archive)
4. Gertrude Stein, short reading (specifics TBA)Discussion topics:
▪Feminist stylistics.
▪Gendered literary language?
▪Language and gender status within and beyond the text.
Wednesday, June 21: Experimenting with electronic texts and analysis methods
▪Meet in computer lab, location TBA; we’re going to do a little experimenting.
Week 8:
Monday, June 26: Discuss progress and work on individual projects.
▪Meet in computer lab, location TBAWednesday, June 28:
▪Last meeting! Papers due at class time, with brief presentations. Final thoughts.