- English 380: Major American Authors to the Civil War (American Renaissance, 1830-1865)
Dr. Steven Frye
Spring 2010
Office Hours: 10:00-12:20 MW,and by appt.
Office: Faculty Office 315
Office Phone: (661) 952-5095
E-mail:
Course Description
In this course we will focus on major works of American Romanticism from the era referred to by F. O. Matthiessen as the “American Renaissance.” We will explore how American authors attempted to establish what Emerson called “an original relation to the universe” by adapting European ideas and forms to new settings and situations in America. We will attempt to understand the diversity of thought operative in the period, as represented in the works of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, and Dickinson. Our goal will be to understand the period itself and to comprehend its pervasive influence on the literary and intellectual culture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Course Goals and Objectives
This course prepares students to accomplish a portion of Goals/Objectives I, II, V under the CSUB English department’s “Goals and Objectives for the B. A. in English.”
I)Upon completion of the course students should demonstrate familiarity with major genre in American literature, romanticism, and the American Renaissance.
II)Students should be able to analyze, interpret, and compare literary works in a written argument, demonstrating a high level of understanding of textual form and theme.
V)Students’ written work should demonstrate an understanding of the writing process as well as an awareness of audience. Students should also display a mastery of standard written American English.
Course Requirements
Students must complete all assigned work on time. Required work is due at the beginning of class. Late work will not be accepted without significant penalties. Grading will be as follows:
- Onetwo page essay 15%
- One five page essay 20%
- Quizzes 15%
- Final examination 25%
- Critical Reaction Journal 15%
- Attendance and participation 10%
Required Texts
- The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1820-1865. Volume B. Seventh Edition.
- Melville, Moby-Dick. Norton Critical Edition
Recommended Texts
- Pearsall, The Oxford Concise Dictionary
- Murfin and Ray, The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms
- Hacker, A Writer’s Reference
Schedule
The following schedule identifies only the primary texts to be read. In addition, students are expected to read all author headnotes AND all introductions to periods. All readings must be completed by the class period assigned.
Week One: Introduction
3/29: American Romanticism: The Polyvalence of Romanticism—Positive and Negative, Light and Dark, Apotheosis and Mystery
Week Two:Ralph Waldo Emerson
4/5: Nature (1836): “Introduction”; “Chapter I: Nature”; “Chapter II: Commodity”
4/7: Nature (1836): “Chapter III: Beauty”; “Chapter IV: Language”
WeekThree: Henry David Thoreau
4/12: Walden, “Economy,” pgs. 1807-1810”; “Sounds”
4/14:Walden,“Solitude,” “Higher Laws”; “Resistance to Civil Government”
Week Four: Walt Whitman
4/19: “Preface to the 1855 Edition of Leaves of Grass,” “Song of Myself”(1881 Edition). Not the 1855 Edition.
4/21: “Song of Myself,” continued; “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”
Week Five: Walt Whitman
4/26: “When Lilac Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”; “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
4/28: “Passage to India”; “The Wound Dresser”
Week Six: Edgar Allan Poe
5/3:“Ligeia”; “The Fall of the House of Usher”
5/5: “The Cask of Amontillado”; “The Purloined Letter”
Essay #1 Due
Week Seven: Nathaniel Hawthorne
5/10: “Preface to the House of Seven Gables”; “The Custom House Introduction to The Scarlet Letter”;The Scarlet Letter. The novel must be complete by this date.
5/12: The Scarlet Letter, cont’d
Week Eight: Emily Dickinson
5/17: “Tell all the Truth but tell it Slant”; “Much Madness is divinest Sense”; “These are the days when Birds come back”; “Some keep the Sabbath going to Church”
5/19: “My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun,” “Safe in their Alabaster Chambers,” “Of all the Souls that stand create,” “After great pain, a formal feeling comes”
“This world is not conclusion”
Week Nine: Herman Melville
5/24: “Hawthorne and hisMosses;” Moby-Dick. The book is to be read in completion by this class meeting
5/26: Class Cancelled: Dr. Frye at American Literature Association Conference
Week Ten: Herman Melville
6/2:Moby-Dick, cont’d
Week Eleven
6/7: Moby-Dick, cont’d
Final Examination During Scheduled Exam Time
Final Research Essay Due with Final
Writing Assignments
Essay #1 –Close Reading. Explore the use of nature as symbol in one work written by either Emerson, Thoreau, or Whitman. Discuss the representation and use of natural imagery in the work of any of these figures, all of whom are associated with the Transcendentalist movement. Be sure to distinguish between symbol and image and deal with the thematic import of the author’s use of nature. Two pages. Due: Wednesday, Week Six
Essay#2 –Research Essay. Explore the theme of “quest” in Melville’s Moby-Dick. Think of Ishmael, Ahab, or Bulkington (in “The Lea-Shore” chapter). Consider the possibility and limitations of “apotheosis.” You may want to re-read Melville’s “Hawthorne and His Mosses.” Consider Hawthorne’s “power of blackness” as Melville defines it. Use article length criticism, scholarly books and book chapters, biographies, and histories. Use world wide web sites only minimally Seven sources minimum. Five pages. Due with the Final Examination.
In all your essays, be sure to consider form as well as content.
Essay Recommendations and Format
In this class (and in virtually all your literature classes), you will write academic essays. Your essays should be formal. They should have tight structure: clear introductions with argumentative thesis statements, sets of paragraphs that directly support main ideas, and conclusions that effectively synthesize major points. The essays should contain detailed analyses of the texts in question. You should quote judiciously, never allowing your quotes to overwhelm your analysis. Attempt to move beyond class discussion and discover something about the work that isn’t immediately obvious, even to an intelligent reader. Consider form and literary device as well as theme.
Your essays should be printed clearly on 8 ½ x 11 inch paper, in a standard font at 10 or 12 points. You should have one-inch margins top and bottom, right and left.
You must present your essays and carefully and correctly document all your sources using MLA format. Essays must be presented professionally, with appropriate formatting and correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style. Grades will be reduced on essays that are presented haphazardly and poorly.
A word about plagiarism. Failure to acknowledge the work of other scholars constitutes an egregious breach of ethics and is a violation of civil law. You must in all cases do your own work, acknowledge your sources, and document them appropriately. Any incidents of plagiarism will result in an “F” for the course. Also, the sanctions imposed by the
University Catalog will be applied. If you have any questions about plagiarism, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Quizzes and Examinations
On a regular basis you will be given quizzes to evaluate your comprehension of the reading material. To prepare for the quizzes simply do all required readings carefully and judiciously. There will be a quiz on Moby-Dick and it may be more comprehensive. Read the book in its entirety.
The final examination will cover all the required readings. Your performance will be enhanced by attending all classes, participating in discussions, and doing all the required reading carefully. The examination will require that you know dates of publication, dates of periods and authors, basic critical terms related to the periods, and have an in-depth grasp of the readings. There will be three sections:
1)Quote Identification (25%)
2)Definition (25%)
3)Essay. This section will involve a broad yet detailed textual and contextual analysis in which you demonstrate an understanding of the various periods and movements as they appear in the assigned readings. (50%)
Critical Reaction Journal
After finishing each work (in the case of poetry, the day’s reading), you should compose a typed-written critical reaction. This reaction need not be thesis driven, but neither should it be a mere summary. Assume that your reader has read the text (s). Focus on a specific aspect of the work that interests you and compose a two-page response. There is freedom here. But be thoughtful and inquisitive. Your journal will be evaluated based upon the thought, detail, interest, and insight you put into the process of composing your reactions. Present them professionally, making sure to proofread and edit for correctness. Compose the reactions right after reading the works, since the primary purpose is to give you something to contribute to our discussions in class. You will turn this reaction journal in with your final essay and final examination, but you are welcome to bring them to me to see if you are composing them correctly.
Attendance and Participation
Participation in class involves demonstrating an interest in the reading material and sharing insights with others in class discussions. All reading is to be completed by the due date on the syllabus. Success in the course is dependent upon attendance; attending a class means arriving on time, coming back to class promptly from breaks, and staying for the entire class period. Leaving early or missing any part of class will count as an absence. Any missed class sessions may naturally affect your performance, but you may miss two class meetings without formal penalty. Additional absences will affect your grade unless there are clear and verifiable extenuating circumstances. If you miss more than five classes you will not pass the course.
As a courtesy to your fellow students and instructor, please turn off all pagers and cellular phones for the duration of class. If you respond to a pager or a cellular phone in class, you will be asked to leave the class for the remainder of the meeting; furthermore, you will not receive attendance credit for the day.
Computers are permitted in class for legitimate academic purposes (specifically for note taking and website searches directly pertinent to the topic being discussed in class). You may not use them for unrelated web searches or for checking email. If I find that computers are being used inappropriately I will ask you to leave class for the day.
Waiting List Policy
On a waiting list, you are eligible for a place in the class
- if you come to every class and
- if you turn in the work while you are there
Being on a waiting list does not mean you are guaranteed a place in the class. It simply means you are welcome to wait for an opening in the class if you desire. If no one drops out of the section you’re attending, no students can add.
As a result, you should be aware of the last day to add and have a back-up class chosen if you need another class. This plan is especially important for financial aid recipients, who
Instructor-Initiated Drop Policy
This course is subject to the policy on instructor initiated drops. If the class is full and has a waiting list, I have the right to have you administratively dropped from the class by the end of the second week of the term if you have missed three consecutive class sessions during the first week of the term and have not contacted me with alternate plans. However, you should not assume that you will be automatically dropped from the course due to non-attendance.
Grading Criteria as defined by the English Department, CSUB
An “A” paper—unusually competent
1. Avoids the obvious and thus gains insights on an analytical level that are illuminating and stimulating to an educated reader.
2. Develops ideas effectively and purposefully with appropriate evidence, examples, and illustrations.
3. Progresses by clearly ordered and necessary stages with paragraphs that are coherent and unified.
4. Uses a variety of punctuation conventionally and purposefully.
5. Has sentences which are skillfully constructed, concise, forceful, effective, and varied.
6. Demonstrates a concern with the right words and a willingness to be inventive with words and structures in order to produce a clearly identifiable style, even though at times the efforts may be too deliberate or fall short of the writer’s intentions.
A “B” paper—demonstrably competent
1. Usually avoids the obvious and offers interesting interpretations, but lacks the imaginative insights of the A paper.
2. Develops an idea with a clear and effective sense of order.
3. Progresses by ordered stages with paragraphs that are coherent and unified.
4. Uses mechanics and punctuation to help communicate the meaning and effect of the prose.
5. Has sentences which are correctly constructed with efficient use of coordination and subordination; demonstrates an understanding of variety.
6. Draws upon words adequate to express the writer’s own thoughts and feelings and demonstrates an understanding of alternate ways of expression as a means of making stylistic choices possible.
A “C” paper—competent
1. Functions on the literal level, often depending on the self-evident.
2. Develops ideas minimally, often leaving the reader with unanswered questions.
3. Has a discernible, if mechanical organization.
4. Conforms to conventional grammar, mechanics, and punctuation.
5. Has sentences which are correctly constructed, though perhaps tending toward repetitious patterns with minimal or mechanical use of coordination and subordination.
6. Works with a limited range of words and thus becomes dependent on the clichés and colloquialisms most available; is also generally unaware of choices that affect style and thus is unable to control the effects a writer may seek.
A “D” paper—lacking competence
1. Exploits the obvious either because of a lack of understanding, an inability to read, a failure to grapple with a topic, or, in many cases, a lack of interest.
2. Wanders aimlessly because of a lack of overall conception or, in some instances, has a semblance of form without the development that makes the parts a whole.
3. Has a plan or method that is characterized by irrelevancy, redundancy, or inconsistency.
4. Frequently lacks careful mechanical and grammatical distinctions although some papers contain correct (if simple) sentences.
5. Has sentences which are not correctly constructed or which are monotonous or repetitious.
6. Is characterized by convoluted sentences that are close to the rapid associations of thought or by “safe” words (ones the writer ordinarily speaks or can spell) and by excessively simple sentence structures.
An “F” paper—incompetent
1. Doesn’t fulfill the assignment; is unclear overall.
2. Lacks specific development; tends to wander aimlessly
3. Lacks logical and coherent progression.
4. Consistently lacks conventional grammar and mechanics so that communication is unclear.
Dates, Periods, Movements
- Events in Social History, 1816-1866
Second Bank of the United States, 1816
Erie Canal constructed, 1817-1825
Panic and depression, 1819
Missouri Compromise, 1820
Mexico wins independence from Spain, 1821
Monroe Doctrine established, 1823
American Society for the Promotion of Temperance founded, 1826
Noah Webster publishes An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
Joseph Smith publishes The Book of Mormon
Systematic removal of Native Americans from the South, 1830-1838
Nat Turner leads slave rebellion, 1831
American Anti-Slavery Society founded, 1831
Nullification Crisis, 1832-1833
The Seminole War, 1835-1842
Texas declares independence from Mexico, 1836
Depression, 1837-1843
Liberty Party formed by abolitionists, 1840
Brook Farm established, 1841
F. B. Morse sends first telegraph message, 1844
Congress declares war on Mexico, 1846
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organize women’s rights convention, 1848
Compromise of 1850
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
Bleeding Kansas, 1855-1856
Dred Scott Decision, 1857
Panic of 1857
Lecompton Constitution defeated, 1858
Lincoln-Douglas debates, 1858
John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, 1859
Abraham Lincoln elected president
American Civil War, 1861-1865
Emancipation Proclamation abolishing slavery in all confederate states, 1863
The Thirteenth Amendment abolishing chattel slavery, 1865
Abraham Lincoln assassinated in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth, 1865
National Labor Union founded; labor movement is fully born, 1866
Selected Bibliography of Secondary Criticism for Romanticism and the American Renaissance
Abrams, M. H. Natural Supernaturalism: Tradition and Revolution in Romantic Literature. New York: W. W. Norton,1971.
Abrams, M. H. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition.Oxford: Oxford UP, 1953
Bell, Michael Davitt. The Development of American Romance: The Sacrifice of Relation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Boler, Paul F. American Transcendentalism 1830-1860: An Intellectual Inquiry.New York: Putnam’s, 1971.
Buell, Lawrence. Literary Transcendentalism: Style and Vision in the American Renaissance. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1973.
Buell, Lawrence. New England Literary Culture: From Revolution Through Renaissance. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1986.
Budick, Emily Miller. Fiction and Historical Consciousness: the American Romance Tradition. New Haven: Yale UP, 1989.
Chase, Richard. The American Novel and its Tradition, Baltimore. Johns Hopkins UP, 1957.
Christy, Authur. The Orient in American Transcendentalism: A Study of Emerson, Thoreau, and Alcott. New York: Columbia UP, 1932.
Colacurcio, Michael. The Province of Piety: Moral History in Hawthorne’s Early Tales. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1984.
Curti, Merle. The Growth of American Thought. New York: W. W. Norton, 1951.
Davidson, Kathy N. Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1986.
Dekker, George. The American Historical Romance. Cambridge UP, 1987.
Ekirch, Arthur A. The Idea of Progress in America, 1815-1860. New York: W. W. Norton, 1944.
Frothingham, Octavius B. Transcendentalism in New England: A History. New York: Putnam’s, 1876.
Frye, Steven. Historiography and Narrative Design in the American Romance: A Study of Four Authors. New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2001.