Professor Amanda Barnett Office: Reed 402

Professor Amanda Barnett Office: Reed 402

English 10133 Office Hours: Mon, Wed- 10-11 and by Appt.

Room: TBD

Spring 2015

Welcome to English 10133: Introduction to Lit: Sin in American Literature!

This course will focus on the shifts in and depictions of sin in American literature during the nineteenth century. I have chosen the term sin for this class precisely because it is fraught and slippery. Throughout the semester our conversations will work to parse out just what it means and whether it is possible to come to a conclusion on its definition. We will be discussing a range of sins, from the explicit sins of slavery and murder to more implicit and controversial examples such as sex, sexuality, and resistance.This course will help students in understanding not only how the views about sin morphed as time passed but will also allow them to think about how sin was portrayed differently by women/men, white/non-white, upper/middle class, and by different genres.

Students will become familiar with interpretive strategies and will examine the course texts in relation to literary antecedents, literary analysis as a research method, and the cultural circumstances of composition.In this class we will investigate texts in poetry, short fiction, drama, and novels.Throughout this semester we will learn to critically analyze and question a text, create a thesis for coherent extended arguments, know how and when to revise, follow MLA style, and conduct research both online and in the library.

Literary Traditions Outcomes / Student Action Steps for this Course
Students will demonstrate an understanding of literature as it reflects society and/or the individual. / Students will recognize how broad contextual understandings of literary works apply to life and cultural situations. Students will analyze the interrelationships of the individual, cultural milieu, and society in literary texts.
Students will demonstrate an understanding of literature as it influences society and/or the individual / Students will examine how literature influences society, both in the historical past and/or in the present.
Students will demonstrate familiarity with one or more disciplinary approaches to the study of literature. Students will examine how literary texts reflect society. / Students will scrutinize literary traditions historically, textually, theoretically, aesthetically and/or comparatively. Students will recognize the characteristics of a critical approach to the study of literature.

Required Texts:

The Little Seagull Handbook: Richard Bullock, Francine Weinberg- ISBN # 978-0-393-91151-0

Venture Smith: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident Above Sixty Years in the United State of America- online

The Blind African Slave, Or Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace, by Jeffrey Brace as told to Benjamin F. Prentiss, Esq., St. Albans, Vermont(

Mary Jemison: Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison:ISBN # 978-0140436716

Nathanial Hawthorne: Fanshawe

Harriet Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Henry James: “The Turn of the Screw” and “Daisy Miller”

Edith Wharton:Ethan Frome

--Many of these texts are available free online or for kindle. The rest can be bought fairly cheaply on Amazon or whichever online bookseller you prefer. Only if the ISBN is given do I require a specific text.

Grading/Assignments:

Essay- 25%

Discussion Facilitation- 30% (2 at 15% each)

Final Presentation- 5%

Class Participation/Preparedness- 15% (3% from attendance, 7% daily work, 5% verbal participation)

Writing Center attendance and reflection- 5%

Response Papers-20%

Essays: There will be one essay due this semester. The paper turned in MUST hold to the following formatting style. It must be Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1inch margins, and double spaced with no extra spacing between paragraphs. If you have a question about formatting please ask. Points will be deducted for papers which are formatted incorrectly. Detailed instructions for the essay will be uploaded to the course site.

Discussion Facilitation: Each student will chose two days to lead discussion on the text we have read for that day. You will need to generate discussion questions beforehand and be ready to lead the discussion for 10-15 minutes min. I will participate as well but you will be in charge of guiding the discussion during that time toward what you felt was most interesting/important/confusing in the text. Some days there will be multiple students assigned to present. In this case you may decide whether you would like to combine your discussions or do them separately. Either way the grades will be separate and not dependent on the other student’s performance.

Final Presentation: This 5-7 minute presentation will cover the information in your essay and will include a brief summary of your argument as well as discussion of at least one piece of evidence to support the argument. Details will be given on the course site.

Participation/Preparedness:To receive full credit for this category students must come to class having read what was assigned for the day, must have any and all assignments completed and must be willing to participate in everything we do in class (includes doing thereadings, discussion, group work, attendance, etc.).You are expected to have completed the readings by class time on the date under which they appear in the course schedule.I reserve the right to administer pop quizzes if I think that a large portion of the class is not keeping up with their reading responsibilities.

Writing Center: Attendance at the Writing Center is required for all students. Staffed with professional faculty, the Writing Center is an important resource for all writers on campus. Tutors are available at no cost to help students in prewriting, writing, and revising their papers on an individual and small-group basis. You must attend the writing center at least once throughout the semester and write a one page reflection on your experience. This requirement will give you a view of how the editing process works. Your reflection allows you a space to think through why the center was helpful and how you can use this resource to your advantage in the future. The reflection can note both positives of your experience and topics you wish had been addressed, things you could have done to be more prepared for the session, and any other notes you want me to know about your time at the writing center.–You MUST set up an appointment and attend the writing center before your final paper is due.

Response Papers:You must complete four response papers over the course of the semester. When you complete them is up to you, BUT you must have completed at least TWO responses by the midterm mark. This paper should be at least 350 words and should give an analysis of the text you have chosen to respond to. You may pick one theme we have discussed and apply it to this text or you may choose something that you see within the text that we did not discuss. You may also connect the ideas within the text to something that you are studying in another class. There are many different ways to satisfy the requirement; however, what I do NOT want is a summary of the piece. I am familiar with these works and I want to see that you can do more than simply summarize them.

Classroom Policies

Grade Breakdown-

93-100= A

90-92= A-

87-89= B+

83-86=B

80-82=B-

77-79= C+

73-76= C

70-72=C-

67-69= D+

63-66=D

60-62=D-

Below 60= F

Absence Policy- In English 10133 the work we do in class is an essential component of the course. This includes in-class writing assignments, quizzes, note-taking, peer review, and group work. Students with more than 6 absences, either excused or unexcused, may have failed to complete a substantial number of these writing assignments, and may therefore be unable to pass unless there is an exceptional situation.

0 absences= extra credit in the class participation category

1-2 absences= A

3-4 absences= B

5 absences= C

6 absences= D

More than 6 absences= F

An "excused" absence is one documented by either the Athletic Department or the Dean for Student Affairs, these are official university absences.If you are having significant medical or family problems please speak with ME and with the student life office and to obtain assistance with these absences.

Tardiness Policy- Class will begin at the scheduled time every day and students are expected to be present at the beginning of class. Four tardies are equal to one unexcused absence. Students who are more than 20 minutes late to a class without prior notice will be given an absence for the day.

Late Papers- NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED IN THIS CLASS without a prior agreement between the professor and the student.

Technology Policy- In this class we will be using your computers fairly often; however, computers should only be open while we are employing them for classroom purposes. If we are not using them all together they should be closed. Cell phones should not be visible during class time. Anyone with their phone out in class, without prior permission, will be given an absence for the day.

Email Etiquette- As a student you are also learning how to relate in professional ways with your classmates and professor. To this end, I will not respond to emails which are rude, demanding, or improperly formatted (heading, greeting, body, sign off, signature).

---I require a lot of you in this class but you can also expect me to:

• Be professional
• Treat you with respect as you treat me and your classmates with respect
• Answer your emails within 24 hours during the week
• Be available both in office hours and outside them as necessary and allowed by my schedule
• Create a space in the classroom and in my office where students feel safe to express their ideas

SCHEDULE

Day/Date / Reading Assignment / Work Due
Unit 1- 1790- 1810
Week 1- Tuesday / Syllabus Review/ Intro to class
Thursday / A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident Above Sixty Years in the United State of America, by Venture Smith, New London, 1798
Week 2- Tuesday / Early Native Literacies in New England: “The Case of Sarah Pharoah,” Sarah Simon, Letter; “The Confession and Dying Warning of Katharine Garrett,” plus others TBD- primary texts only / Oral Presentation (OP)
Thursday / Secondary texts to go with Early Native Literacies
Week 3- Tuesday / The Blind African Slave, Or Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace, by Jeffrey Brace as told to Benjamin F. Prentiss, Esq., St. Albans, Vermont, 1810 – 150 “pages” ( / OP
Thursday / Finish Brace’s narrative-
Secondary source tbd / OP
Week 4- Tuesday / Wrap-up and grammar assignments
Thursday / Grammar reports and intro to next unit
UNIT 2:1811-1860ish
Week 5- Tuesday / Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison 1824 / OP
Thursday / Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison 1824 / OP
Week 6- Tuesday / Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison 1824 / OP
Thursday / Surrounding pieces for Mary Jemison
Week 7- Tuesday / Nathanial Hawthorne’s Fanshawe
Thursday / Nathanial Hawthorne’s Fanshawe / OP
Week 8- SPRING BREAK
Week 9- Tuesday / Edgar Allan Poe: The Black Cat / 2 responses papers must be completed by this date
OP
Thursday / Poe: The Cask of Amontillado / OP
Week 10- Tuesday / Whitman selections / OP
Thursday / Dickinson selections / OP
UNIT 3- 1860-1911
Week 11- Tuesday / Excerpts from Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Dred / OP
Thursday / Dramatic presentations of UTC, The Black Cat, Octaroon / OP
Week 12- Tuesday / Paper workshopping / Full Draft of Essay
Thursday / Paper workshopping
Week 13- Tuesday / excerpts from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs / OP
Thursday / excerpts from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs and secondary source TBD / OP
Week 14- Tuesday / Henry James: The Turn of the Screw / OP
Thursday / Henry James: another short story TBD / OP
Week 15- Tuesday / James: Daisy Miller / Writing center requirement must be done by this date
OP
Thursday / James: Daisy Miller / Final paper due
Week 16- Tuesday / Edith Wharton: Ethan Frome to pg 100 / Last day to turn in Writing Center reflection
Thursday / Finish Ethan Frome
Week 17 / Last day of classes: evaluations and wrap up

Final Exam:TBA

This syllabus is subject to change throughout the semester.

University Policies:

Disabilities. Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator of Student Disabilities Services in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 016. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at 817- 257-6567.

Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at

Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.

Academic Misconduct (from Student Handbook). Any act that violates the spirit of the academic conduct policy is considered academic misconduct. Specific examples include, but are not limited to the following:

Cheating includes, but is not limited to:

A. Copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report, or computer files and listings.

B. Using in any academic exercise or academic setting, material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge of the test.

C. Collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during an academic exercise without the permission of the person in charge of the exercise.

D. Knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other assignment unauthorized for release.

E. Substituting for another student, or permitting another student to substitute for oneself, in a manner that leads to misrepresentation of either or both students’ work.

Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase or obtaining by any means another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s own offered for credit.

Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another’s work without giving credit therefore.

Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing work offered for credit.

Abuse of resource materials: Mutilating, destroying, concealing or stealing such materials.

Computer misuse: Unauthorized or illegal use of computer software or hardware through the TCU Computer Center or through any programs; terminals; or freestanding computers owned, leased or operated by TCU or any of its academic units for the purpose of affecting the academic standing of a student.

Fabrication and falsification: Unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification involves altering information for use in any academic exercise. Fabrication involves inventing or counterfeiting information for use in any academic exercise.

Multiple submission: The submission by the same individual of substantial portions of the same academic work (including oral reports) for credit more than once in the same or another class without authorization.

Complicity in academic misconduct: Helping another to commit an act of academic misconduct.

Bearing false witness: Knowingly and falsely accusing another student of academic misconduct.

TCU Campus Resources for Students: Many resources exist on the TCU campus that may be helpful to students: Mary Couts Burnet Library (257-7117); Center for Academic Services (257-7486, Sadler Hall. 1022); the William L. Adams Writing Center (257-7221, Reed Hall 419); Student Development Services (257-7855, BLUU 2003); and Office of Religious & Spiritual Life (257-7830, Jarvis Hall), Campus Life (257-7926, Sadler Hall 2006), and the Counseling, Testing, and Mental Health Center (257-7863, Brown Lupton Health Cente