ENGL 4510: African-American Literature
Spring 2013 Course Syllabus
Course
Description
ENGL 4510 is an in-depth seminar in a special
topic in literature. Topics may include American Nature Writing, African-American
Lit, and Native-American Lit. It may be repeated once with a different topic. Prerequisites: ENGL 2200, 2240 or 2400 and ENGL 2600.
This section of ENGL 4510 will expose students
to twentieth-century African-American literature through the in-depth study of
four fundamental and representative novels and their critical reception.
Course
Goals and Learning Outcomes
Successful students will complete this course
with the ability to do the following five learning outcomes at an advanced
level. These outcomes, introduced to students in their prerequisite coursework,
will be reinforced in this course through instruction, practice, and formative
assessment. Students’ efforts will be summatively
assessed via four interrelated assignments and projects.
| Learning Outcomes | Learning Activities | Assessment Methods |
|
Evaluate how perspective and background inform the reading experience |
Class discussion, seminar, and group activities |
Personal response journal and seminar discussion |
| Conduct scholarly research |
Class instruction, seminar preparation and participation, research, and drafting |
Seminar discussion leadership, seminar paper, and conference presentation |
|
Apply a range of literary theories and critical perspectives through close reading and analysis |
Class lectures and discussion, seminar preparation and participation, drafting, workshop, and revision |
Seminar discussion and leadership, seminar paper, and conference presentation |
|
Apply critical positions and interpretations through presentations and academic essays |
Class lectures and discussion, seminar preparation and participation, drafting, workshop, and revision |
Personal response journal, seminar discussion and leadership, seminar paper, and conference presentation |
|
Satisfy the admission requirements for a variety of graduate or professional programs |
Seminar preparation and participation, drafting, workshop, and revision |
Seminar paper |
Course
Instructor
Dr. Kyle Bishop Office: BC 304-A
Office Hours: MW
9:00–9:50, TR 2:00–2:50, or by appointment
Telephone: 586-7804
E-mail: bishopk@suu.edu
Web Site: www.suu.edu/faculty/bishopk
Meeting
Times and Location
MWF 10:00–10:50
a.m.
BC 301
Required
Texts
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their
Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print. ISBN:
978-0061120060
Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York:
Vintage, 2004. Print. ISBN: 978-1400033416
Naylor, Gloria. Linden Hills. New
York: Penguin, 1986. Print. ISBN: 978-0140088298
Wright, Richard. Native Son. New
York: Harper Perennial, 2005. Print. ISBN: 978-0060837563
Recommended
Supplies
A composition-style notebook for journaling
A notebook or three-ring binder with ruled
paper for in-class writing and note taking
Photocopying and printing expenses for research,
written assignments, and seminar materials
A jump drive for backing up all essays,
assignments, and other homework
Course
Standards and Policies
Attendance: Attendance is not required for this course; however,
vital information concerning the texts and the assignments will be covered in
class, and this material will not be
available otherwise.
Class
Decorum and Behavior: During class, students should listen attentively, engage
respectfully in discussions, and take
notes. They are also expected to come to class prepared and to participate
in all in-class assignments and activities. Cell phones must be set to silent for the duration of class.
MLA
Manuscript Format:
Papers must be word processed and comply with MLA format guidelines; that is,
papers must have 1″ margins;
be typed in a 12-point, Times New Roman font; and be double spaced throughout.
The first page must contain the student’s name, the instructor’s name, the
course title, and the date (with the month spelled out) on separate lines
against the left margin. Papers must also have descriptive titles, centered and
just below the date line. Each page must then have a page number, preceded by
the student’s last name, in the upper right corner (˝″ below the margin).
Late
Work: All
components of the course are due on the days indicated in the course schedule; late options will not be available. If
students know they are going to miss class, arrangements must be made to meet
expectations early. In extenuating circumstances, exceptions may
be made in advance and at the instructor’s discretion.
Content
Disclaimer
Many of the works assigned for this course deal
with sensitive issues of racism, violence, and sexuality. Students are
cautioned to approach this material with care and maturity, as the study of
such content does not endorse its existence. Students who find such content offensive
or objectionable are free to forego any reading assignment; however, no
alternative readings will be provided by the instructor.
Course
Assignments
Personal
Response Journal
Over the course of the semester, students will
maintain journals, recording at least a full page of written comments,
thoughts, personal responses, insights, and questions for each class period’s
reading assignment. These journals will be submitted periodically to the
instructor, often without warning, for spot checking and formative assessment.
Students should use their journals to generate material for class discussions
and seminar and for their seminar papers.
Seminar
Seminar Discussion: Learning in this
course will take place primarily through seminar discussion, often lead by the
instructor, but occasionally by the students themselves. For seminar to work
effectively, students must come to class having read the assigned materials and
written in their journals. All students are expected to participate in seminar,
which means making comments and sharing ideas and observations. To facilitate
seminar both in and outside the classroom, all students will participate in a
Google+ networking "Community," to be organized the first week of classes. Students
should use Google+ to begin seminar before class and to continue it
after.
Seminar Leadership: Students will sign up
for one seminar day in class and conduct research to locate one related secondary, scholarly
source. Students must share that source with the rest of the class via the Google+
Community at least 48 hours prior to the seminar
day. All students will read the assigned article, and the discussion leader
will prepare ideas, questions, and insights to guide the seminar for 15–20
minutes. Students should coordinate with their peers.
Seminar
Paper
Students will spend the duration of the
semester composing formal, critical, seminar-style essays of at least 15 pages
that make insightful literary arguments about any author, text, theme, or group
of the same covered in this course. Students should select projects that play
to their strengths and academic/scholarly interests. Students must not delay selecting their paper topics! Additional
research will be necessary for this project, requiring proper 7th-edition
MLA-style citations. Each student will begin by submitting a 200-word abstract
proposing a paper title, topic, scope, and thesis. Upon approval by the course
instructor, students will compose 6–8 page conference-style drafts of their
essays for instructor feedback, meet with the instructor for one-on-one
conferences, and revise their papers into 15+ page final drafts. Students
should also participate in peer workshopping.
Conference
Presentation
During the last week of instruction and the
scheduled final exam period, students will participate in a simulated academic
conference experience. Students will be divided into presentation panels based
on their seminar paper topics, and they will take turns reading revised and
polished versions of their 6–8 page paper drafts. After all members of the
panel have read their papers, those students in the audience will ask questions
of the presenters, who will respond accordingly.
Grading
Policy
Because the primary goal of this course is
student learning, students will have every opportunity to explore, experiment,
fail, and recover before they are graded. All semester long, this course will
emphasize formative assessment; that
is, students will receive constructive and nonjudgmental feedback from both the
instructor (as comments on drafts, comments during seminar and on Google+,
periodic “report cards” via Google+, and face-to-face conversations) and their
peers (via class, Google+, and workshop) to give everyone opportunities to
improve.
Not until the end of the course will students be summatively assessed. Student journals; seminar
discussion, participation, and leadership; and the conference presentations are
simply required to pass the course. The seminar paper will be graded with the
help of a systematic rubric, available on the course website. Final grades will
be determined based on both the seminar paper grade and a holistic “report
card” addressing the course learning outcomes. Students who demonstrate mastery
of the learning outcomes will receive A’s; competency, Bs; familiarity, Cs; and
ignorance, Ds or Fs. Student effort and demonstrable improvement may also be
taken into consideration.
Small
Print
Academic
Integrity Policy: Scholastic
dishonesty is intolerable and will be prosecuted fully. Any student caught deliberately plagiarizing work will immediately fail
that assignment and possibly the entire course. Students are expected to
have read and understood the current issue of the student handbook (published
by Student Services) regarding student responsibilities and rights, and the
intellectual property policy, for information about procedures and about what constitutes acceptable on-campus behavior.
SANS: Professors and instructors
at SUU care about student success; as a result, the faculty participate in the Student Assessment Notification
System (SANS), an early alert program designed to provide peer mentor support
and resources. Students struggling in this course will receive a notice of
concern from their instructor through SANS and should use the support resources
offered them through this system.
Accommodation
of Students with Disabilities: Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic
adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the
Southern Utah University Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities
(SSD) in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or
phone (435) 865-8022. SSD determines eligibility for and authorizes the
provision of services.
Emergency
Management: In
case of emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be
activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using
the link on the homepage of the mySUU
portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves
with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed
information about the University's emergency management plan can
be found at http://www.suu.edu/ad/em/.
HEOA
Compliance: The
sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except
as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law. Detailed information
can be found at http://www.suu.edu/it/p2p-student-notice.html.
Disclaimer
Information contained in this syllabus—other
than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies—may be
subject to change with advance notice.