The English Concentration 
in the Liberal Studies Degree 

Dr. Jim Wohlpart  
Office:  AB Two 212;  590-7181 
Hours:  MW 3-4:30 and by appointment 
e-mail:  wohlpart@fgcu.edu  
homepage:  http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/wohlpart/  
 

Textbooks 
The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al.  3rd ed. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Zora Neale Hurston.  Harper and Row, 1990.
As I Lay Dying.  William Faulkner.  Vintage, 1987.

Course Description and Goals
This course centers on an examination of literature written in the United States during the Modern period (roughly between World War I and World War II).  Readings will be drawn from a mixture of canonical and marginal figures, including such authors as Eliot, Pound, Hemingway, Faulkner, O’Neill, and Hurston, and will include a mixture of essays, short fiction, and poetry as well as a few longer works (Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God).  The emphasis in the course will be on texts and contexts, that is, on the works we read and on the cultural, historical, economic and political contexts in which those works were produced and disseminated.  By the end of the semester you should be able to identify American writers and their works from this period;  describe their central concerns and achievements as well as the contexts in which they wrote;  analyze specific texts closely in relation to those contexts; and synthesize the themes of the works and the various movements within this period.

Course Requirements
READING, ANALYSIS, and SYNTHESIS:  You will be expected to read and analyze each piece of literature before the class meeting on which it is assigned, as well as be prepared for discussion of these works.  I would strongly suggest that you read each work once closely before class and take notes and mark important passages.  During class, you should take careful notes on all material, which you might later recopy.  After class, you should reread the piece and, based on our class discussion, you should write a statement of the theme of the work, connecting that theme to the relevant historical background.  This kind of individual synthesis, founded on classroom discussion, will be crucial to your complete understanding of these works and the ideas connected to them and thus to your success on the exam and quizzes.

EXAM:  One exam will be given on the material assigned for the course.  This comprehensive exam will cover both the High Modernist writers and their contexts and Women’s Voices and African-American Voices and their contexts.  The exam may include sections for identification, interpretation, definition, and an essay.  The exam will count 25% of your final grade.  

QUIZZES, MINI-ESSAYS, and CLASS PARTICIPATION: You will also be given occasional (cumulative) quizzes at the beginning of class on the background material and the assigned reading material (missed quizzes cannot be made up); these quizzes, along with mini-essays and class participation, will count a total of 25% of your final grade. Please note that I consider the work that we do in class, which will center on your participation and discussion, one of the most important aspects of this class.   Indeed, absences will directly affect your Quiz/Class Participation grade.  To receive an “A” for the Quiz/Class Participation grade, you can miss no classes with at least a 4.5/5 average on the quizzes and productive, active participation;  to receive a “B,” you can miss no more than one class with at least a 4/5 average and productive, active participation;  a “C,” two classes with at least a 3.5/5 average and productive, active participation; etc.

LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY:  You will also write one essay for this class, approximately 1500-1750 words in length (about 6 double spaced pages) without the use or consultation of research.  This essay will count 25% of your final grade. The topic for this essay will be your own to develop but should come from our classroom discussion;  the paper that you turn in must be written for this class to answer this assignment (no plagiarism and no duplication of papers is allowed in the English program!).  You will need to follow all guidelines for good essay writing:  a provocative title;  an informative lead-in that sets up your argument and a clear, focused thesis;  good development;  unity;  coherence;  and a well thought out, non-repetitive conclusion.  You will be graded on the correctness of the citation and documentation of your quotations and paraphrases (use MLA internal documentation). In order to get credit for the essay, you must participate in any workshops and turn in a completed draft of your essay on the rough draft due date.

SUMMARY-RESPONSE ESSAY:  Finally, you will complete a summary-response essay in reaction to an assigned piece of research. You will need to read the assigned article closely, analyzing the argument as it unfolds and determining the thesis.  Then you will need to write an essay that summarizes the thesis and the argument of the article (2-4 paragraphs) and that responds to the strengths and/or weaknesses of the article (2-4 paragraphs).  Your summary should clearly state the thesis of the article and should explain how the critic develops the thesis.  Your response should provide a clear thesis, agreeing or disagreeing with the article, and provide evidence for your stance;  this evidence can come from an analysis of the critic’s argument and/or from a discussion of the literary work considered in the article.

Grades
Any work turned in late (ie, after the beginning of class on the due date) may be down graded one letter grade per day late;  exams and quizzes cannot be taken late.
      Exam 25%
      Quizzes & Class Participation 25%
      Literary Analysis Essay 25%
      Summary-Response Essay 25%
The grading scale for the class will be as follows:
      A 90 to 100% =Excellent Work
      B 80 up to 90% =Strong Work;  Well Above Average 
      C 70 up to 80% =Average/Satisfactory Work
      D 60 up to 70% =Below Average
      F below 60%

Attendance
Attendance and promptness are expected in this class.  In order to pass, you must be in attendance a minimum of 75% of the class meeting time (i.e., you can miss no more than 3 class meetings).  Please let me know in advance if you will be missing a class. I reserve the right to lower your final letter grade due to a high number of absences (i.e., 2 class meetings).  If you arrive significantly late (10-15 minutes) or leave early, you will be counted absent.  Your participation in this class is crucial to the success of this class;  if you do not attend or participate, your fellow class members are not getting their money’s worth.  
 
 

M 10 May––Course Introduction:  Review Policy Statement and Syllabus
 Background and Introduction to Modernism

W 12 May –– High Modernism:  Poetry:  Frost, “Road Not Taken” 1153, “Line-Gang” 1156, “Stopping by Woods” 1159, “Mending Wall” 1149-50
 Pound, “A Retrospect” 1220-21, “In a Station” 1219
 Eliot, “Tradition” 1405-10, “The Love Song” 1399-1403

M 17 May –– Williams, “Spring and All” 1272-73, “The Poor” 1281-82, “These” 1282-83
 Stevens, “Snow Man” 1538, “Sunday Morning” 1534-37, “Anecdote” 1541
 Practice Summary Response Essay

W 19 May ––High Modernism:  Fiction:  Hemingway, “Hills” 1522-25
 Faulkner, As I Lay Dying (supplemental text)

M 24 May –– High Modernism:  Drama:  O’Neill, The Hairy Ape 1291-1323

W 26 May –– Summary-Response Essay Exam
 Workshop Sample Literary Analysis Essay

M 31 May ––  No Class;  Memorial Day Holiday

W 2 June –– Modernism:  Women’s Voices: Glaspell, Trifles 1124-34
 Cather, “Old Mrs. Harris” 1087-1122
 Lowell, “A Lady” 1244, “Patterns” 1244-47
 HD, “Sea Rose” 1341-42, “Oread” 1343, “Helen” 1344
 Rough Draft of Literary Analysis Essays due

M 7 June –– Modernism:  African-American Voices:  McKay, “The Lynching” 1690, “If We Must Die” 1689
 Hughes, “Dream Variations” 1618-19, “Harlem” 1619, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” 1612-13, “Freedom Train” 1619-21
 Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (supplemental text), Ch. 1-9

W 9 June –– Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Ch. 10 to end
 Workshop Literary Analysis Essays (students must bring completed draft of essay)

M 14 June ––Literary Analysis Essays Due (in folder with both drafts)

W 16 June –– Final Exam

You will also be expected to read all biographical introductions;  relevant information from these pieces may be included in your exams.  Syllabus is subject to change;  all changes will be announced in class.