ENGL 383 sections 001 & 002
African-American Literature Survey
--Mainpage--
Spring 2005 / section 001 MWF 9-9:50/section 002 MWF 12-12:50 p.m./Devilbiss 211
| Dr. Nick Melczarek
| Office phone: 410-546-6203 |
| Office: HH 344
| e-mail anmelczarek@salisbury.edu
(send no attachments!) |
| Office hours: MTWF 10-11 a.m. & by appt.
|
This website and the schedule updates linked to it for
ENGL 383.001/.002 supercede and overrule the paper syllabus. You must have an
e-mail account and web access to participate in this course. If you don't have
both of these yet, obtain them immediately.
FINAL EXAM: T.B.A.
This syllabus remains deliberately brief to allow flexibility to the
unpredictable needs of students. Once updates are posted online, you are
responsible for tracking due dates. To ensure that you do not miss class notes, familiarize yourself with at least two other students
-- trade 'phone numbers or e-dresses so that you have two people to contact. I
should be the last person you contact for any such information. Always consult
the online syllabus and schedule updates before asking
me any questions about assignments or the class.
»»Course Decsription and Rationale
What role have African-American writers conceived for the black artist in
America? Which have they emphasized more: "black" or "artist"? Why have some
writers urged blacks to segregate themselves from dominant white society, while
others have advocated assimilation? What possibilities for personal, social, and
global change do black thought and writing hold? Our readings, lecture, and
course discussions will use a few primary themes (the black intellectual, black
self-identity, a black aesthetic) and images or discourses (ships, passage,
passing, Biblical reference, folk/oral tradition, and African legend) to help us
answer these questions and interpret the rich and volatile history of
African-American literature. We will trace the course of black identity in and
through literature in the U.S. as both a response to historical forces and as a
historical force in itself.
To do so, ENGL 383 surveys short fiction, novels (some excerpts), drama,
essays/autobiographies, and speeches by African-American writers spanning the
19th-20th Centuries. Our fiction readings are framed by historical background
material. While studying how African-American literature intersected and
participated in such literary movements as Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism, as
well as Postmodernism and Postcoloniality, we will also investigate the
developing process of self-identification for both U.S.-born and naturalized
foreign-born blacks within the U.S. as reflected in their literatures.
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»»Course Objectives and Goals
This course will not enable you to point to a text and say "this is obviously a
black piece" -- as if it were an animal behind a sign in a zoo. Rather, this
course emphasizes the individuality of each of the authors who speaks from within
a particular experience labeled "African-American." None of the authors we'll
read is representative of blackness overall, but rather is one of many possible
voices to speak from the experience of blackness in the U.S. So, this course seek
to expose you to the changing idea of the "black artist" in the U.S. over time,
through the stories, poems, drama, essays and novels we'll read during the
semester.
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»»Required Texts and Materials
Available at the bookstore in the SU Commons:
- Gates Jr. & McKay, The Norton Anthology of African-American Literature, Second edition
- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
- Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
Additional material on the web, or library reserve (including written materials and visual arts)
A working e-mail account and reliable access to the internet
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»»Assignments & Grade Distribution (elements described below)
- Mid-term Exam = 25%
- Exploratory Research Paper = 30%
- Final Exam = 25%
- Reading Quizzes/Responses = 10%
- Participation = 10%
(quiz scores: 100-90=A,89-80=B,79-70=C,69-60=D,50-0=F)
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»»Exploratory Research Paper
30% of your grade comes from a research paper (6-7pp.) that you will compose
during the semester that will include elements of literary research as well as
creative thought of your own; I will issue detailed instructions on the website
in plenty of time. We will derive topics for these papers from our readings and
classroom discussion. Given the ubiquity of papers for sale, on the internet,
etc., however, I will set strict guidelines to discourage plagiarism (see below).
Papers are due on the date/time that they are listed as due. Late papers will be
penalized one letter grade for each day late, including weekends. Failure to turn
in the research paper will fail you from the course.
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»»Mid-term and Final Exams
50% of your grade comes from two exams, one at mid-term and a final, that include
terms, concepts, and writers covered to each respective point in the course. We
will discuss the specifics of the exam as we draw closer to each date -- I
compose each exam based on the flow of the class during the semester.
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»»Quizzes, etc.
Expect unannounced quizzes on reading comprehension. I may also ask you to write
brief, informal responses to class readings to supplement classroom discussion; I
will announce due dates/times for these assignments upon issuance.
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»»Attendance & Tardiness
Since most of this class comprises class discussion and some lecture, class
attendance remains crucial. This counts for unannounced quizzes and in-class
assignments as well. Nevertheless, I allow you 3 absences (equivalent to a week
of class) before I begin to penalize you. If you anticipate an absence, notify me
in person or by e-mail; e-mail must be time/date-stamped at least 24 hours before
your absence. Tardiness disrupts class flow. Arrive to class on time -- not five
or ten minutes later. Travel difficulties are immaterial. Three late arrivals
will count as an absence. Check with me at the end of class to be counted on that
day's roll; unless you check with me, you will stay marked absent.
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»»Participation
Simply attending class is not enough. Have assigned texts read before you come to
class. I also expect you to actively participate, in class in general but
particularly in discussion. Ask questions and offer ideas based in the texts. I
do not give you participation points just for showing up. You may contribute to
the course discussion through e-mail as well. I also welcome individual student
conferences.
Black History Month Events: This February, SU celebrates Black History
Month with a series of events (I have included the schedule with your syllabus).
Attending any of these, or visiting any of the black historical sites on the
Eastern Shore or in Baltimore, and providing a detailed one-page commentary can
contribute to your overall quiz grades. Check the website for links, and the
brochure I gave you in class.
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»»Class Conduct
Whether you agree with ideas and perspectives from the reading material, peers,
or class discussion, you will show respect for those ideas, perspectives, and the
people who hold them. This counts in class, on paper, and in e-mail. You will
participate in class discussion in a polite, responsible, adult manner. ANY
name-calling, derogatory or belittling comments, disparaging attitude or the
like, directed toward either myself or another student, will NOT be tolerated One
instance will receive a verbal reprimand; another will lose you all class
participation points. After the first instance, it remains at my discretion to
expel you from class and seek disciplinary measures from SU authorities.
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»»Pagers, cell phones, beepers, PDAs, electronic alarm watches, etc.
All such electronic devices must remain switched off during class time and in
individual conferences -- turn them off before class. If any of these in your
possession goes off during class or conferences, you will automatically be
counted absent for that session. This counts especially for exams. Repeated
incidents of interruption by such devices and your checking/responding to them
will result in your expulsion from the class.
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»»Academic Dishonesty & Plagiarism
You're here to learn and to prove yourself, not simply to accrue empty grades
like a scavenger hunt. I will therefore pursue and prosecute any instance of
cheating, plagiarism, or other academic dishonesty in my class with the utmost
vigor, in accordance with SU policies. "Plagiarism" constitutes any of the
following
- turning in as your own work a paper or part of a paper that anyone other than you wrote; this
includes but is not limited to work taken from another student, from a published author, or from
an Internet contributor
- turning in a paper that includes unquoted and/or undocumented passages someone else wrote
- including in a paper someone else's original ideas, opinions, or research results without
attribution
- paraphrasing without attribution
Any form of dishonesty will result in automatic failure from the course; will
be reported to SU authorities; and could result in expulsion from the university.
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»»Students with disabilities
Please discuss with me during the first week of the semester any special
accommodations you will require due to a verifiable disability.
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Students remain responsible for knowing when assigned readings and essays are
due. I advise you to collect 'phone numbers from at least two peers in class, so
that you have someone to contact for assignments in case of absence. After I have
announced the website's launch, check the website regularly for schedule updates.
Avail yourself of my office hours as well -- instructor availability remains one
of the key advantages of a small university.
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