1
E 379-3BostonNew York#13353 FALL/2006
Tues.-Thurs. 1:00 Shaun O’Connell
Office hours (W-6-027): Mon. 1:30-3:30; Tues. 12:00-1:00 & by appointment
E 419 website:
SEPT 5 - 7IntroductionBoston poets: Wheatley, Longfellow, Lowell, Emerson
12-14HawthorneThe Scarlet Letter
19-21WhitmanLeaves of Grass: The First (1855) Edition
26-28Melville“Bartleby, the Scrivener”1 pp. (9/26)
OCT 3 - 5JamesThe BostoniansPAPER #1 DUE (10/3)
10-12JamesThe Bostonians1 pp. (10/10)
17-19HowellsA Hazard of New Fortunes (Chapters 1-12)
24CraneMaggie, A Girl of the Streets1 pp. (10/24)
26Crane“An Experiment in Misery,” “An Experiment in Luxury,”
“The Men in the Storm,” “An Eloquence of Grief,”
“Adventures of A Novelist”
31Model Exam discussed
NOV 2EXAM
7 - 9WhartonThe Age of Innocence1 pp. (11/7)
14-16MarquandThe Late George Apley1 pp. (11/14)
21BaldwinNotes of A Native Son
23THANKSGIVING
28-30BellowSeize the DayPAPER #2 DUE (11/28)
DEC 5 - 7WestThe Living Is Easy1 pp. (12/5)
12LowellLife Studies & For the Union Dead
19FINAL EXAM (take-home) DUE
REQUIREMENTS
1) Attendance: no more than three cuts allowed.
2) Participation in class discussion.
3) Mid-term exam.
4)Six one-page critical responses: Sept. 26; Oct. 10, 24; Nov. 2, 14; Dec. 5). Each paper
should focusupon a keypassage, offer a line of inquiry, pose a question or otherwise
facilitate discussion (analysis orevaluation) of the work at hand. All papers should be
double-spaced, 1” margins, 11 point font and contain your name & active email address.
5) Two critical papers (three-five pages, 900-1,200 words): papers must be passed in
at due-dates.
7) Take-home final exam.
Grading: six one-page critical responses (20%). Mid-term exam (20%). Two critical papers
(40%). Final exam (20%). Grade reduced by absences and lack of classroom preparation.
Note: the minimum penalty for academic dishonest in this course is a grade of F.
BostonNew York:Tales of two cities: Boston, the Hub of the Solar System, and New York City, Gotham. Long-time rivals (The Red Sox vs. the Yankees), yet parallel universes of culture, immigration and education. Both actual and symbolic cities have long been damned and celebrated by American writers. Whitman, Wharton, Crane, Fitzgerald and Baldwin memorialize New York, while Hawthorne, James, Lowell and others articulate Boston.
HawthorneThe Scarlet LetterPenguin0142437263
WhitmanLeaves of Grass: The First (1855) Edition
Penguin0140421998
JamesThe BostoniansPenguin0140432256
HowellsA Hazard of New FortunesPenguin014043
CraneMaggie, A Girl of the Streets and Other Tales of New York Penguin 0140437328
McKayHome to HarlemNortheastern Univ. Press.1555530249
WhartonThe Age of InnocencePenguin014018970x
MarquandThe Late George ApleyBack Bay0316735671
BaldwinNotes of A Native SonBeacon Press0807064319
HentoffBoston Boy 2nd ed.Dry, Paul Books096796752x
LowellLife Studies & For the Union DeadFSG0374506280
BellowSeize the DayPenguin0142437611
WestThe Living Is EasyFeminist Pr.1558611479