| Updated Schedules (highlighted as available); these sites
overrule the paper syllabus schedule: |
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
ENGL 386, as the SU catalogue states, studies "Native American, African-American,
U.S., Latina and Asian-American women's writing, emphasizing 19th and
20th-Century issues which influenced their writing." Thus, we'll read a mixture
of historical and literary material. More specifically, though, this course
introduces issues of sex(uality), race/ethnicity, class, and culture explored in
fiction by contemporary "women of color" in the U.S. We will investigate
constructions of subjecthood and objecthood for women, treating the U.S. itself
as a multilayered experience. Our readings will immerse us in not only
contemporary defining tropes of/for women, but also in critical methodology and
praxis, encouraging us to challenge our knowledge, thinking, and social
environment through experiment with literary and cultural critique.
Our readings and writing will intersect a few concepts out of various cultural
theories -- such as otherness, transculturation, hegemony, etc. (see the terms/concepts site) -- and we
will define and explore these concepts as we go along. Each of these approaches
will help us interrogate and destabalize each element in the course title:
"American," "women," "writers," "of color." Each section in the course will
constellate a series of questions -- beginning with "what's a white male doing
teaching this course?" To evaluate your comprehension of, and involvement with,
the course material you will complete two long papers, and two exams, as well as
numerous possible unannounced quizzes. I also encourage you all to participate
through e-mail, as a convenient extension of classroom space.
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»»Course Objectives and Goals
This course will not enable you to point to a text and say "this is obviously by
a woman from X group" -- 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 as "X-American." None of the authors we'll
read is representative of a group, but rather is one of many possible voices to
speak from the experience described by that group. So, this course seek to help
you develop a critical reading practice, vocabulary, and analysis/critique
through reading and writing about the experiences described in 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:
- Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior: A Memoir of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
- Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
- Bharati Mukherjee, Jasmine
- Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
- Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
- D. Soyini Madison (editor), The Woman That I Am
Additional handouts, online sources (perhaps a small course packet?)
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 5-9 pp. = 60% (30% each)
- mid-term exam = 15%
- final exam = 15%
- Class work, attendance, quizzes, etc. = 10%
(quiz scores: 100-90=A,89-80=B,79-70=C,69-60=D,50-0=F)
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»»Papers
60% of your grade comes from two long papers (5-9 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). We
will workshop paper topics and drafts, so 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 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.
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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. 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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