| ENGL 383 section 001
African-American Literature
--Mainpage--
Spring 2006 / MWF 9-9:50 a.m. / Devilbiss 327
|  |
| Dr. Nick Melczarek
| Office phone: 410-546-6203 |
| Office: HH 344
| e-mail anmelczarek@salisbury.edu
(send no attachments!) |
| Office hours: MW 12:45-2p.m., TR 1-3 p.m. & by appt.
|
This website and the schedule updates linked to it for
ENGL 383.001 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: Wednesday May 24 8-10:30 a.m. same room
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 18th-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 Òblack artistÓ 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:
- Eric Sundquist, Cultural Contexts for Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
- Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
- William Andrews & Nellie McKay, Toni Morrison's Beloved: A Casebook
- Toni Morrison, Beloved
Library reserve material for photocopying; additional handouts; online sources
A working e-mail account and reliable access to the internet
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»»Assignments & Grade Distribution (elements described below)
- 2 long papers of ± 1,000 words (±5 pp) = 40% (20% each)
- group presentation = 10%
- mid-term exam = 15%
- final exam = 15%
- quizzes & 5 brief reaction papers = 10%
- active class participation = 10%
(quiz scores: 100-90=A,89-80=B,79-70=C,69-60=D,50-0=F)
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»»Papers
40% of your grade comes from two long papers (~5 pp.) that you will compose
during the semester; 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 the paper topics to discourage plagiarism (see below). Know
that it will be more work for you to plagiarize than to actually write the thing
on your own. 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 either of the major essays will fail you from the course.
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»»Mid-term and Final Exams
30% of your grade comes from two exams, one at mid-term and a final, that include
terms and concepts 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 what we've covered to that point.
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»»Group Presentation
Early in the semester you will sign on to one of five groups that will research cultural information and/or poetry for your assigned section, and present them to the class. I will give details on the assignment and meet with each group during the semester. If poetry is involved, everyone in the class must read the poems, regardless whether you're presenting on them.
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»»Quizzes & Reaction papers
Expect unannounced quizzes on reading comprehension. You will also compose a
brief (1 page) reaction to each of the novels/sections, including questions based
on your reading. I will discuss these in greater detail early in the semester.
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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 encourage and welcome office
visits to let me know how you feel you're doing.
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»»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
This course will discuss diverse perspectives and ideas, many of which may be
unfamiliar to you. Whether you agree with ideas and perspectives from the reading
material, peer groups, 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: your
pager, etc., going off during an exam will automatically fail you from the
exam. 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. 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. I welcome and encourage office visits for you to ask questions,
further explore lines of inquiry, and to update me on how you think you're doing
in the course.
Notice: I do NOT hold conferences during the
last two weeks of the semester before exam week--if you waited until then, it's
too late.
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