English 210, Readings in American Literature
TU,TH 10.35-11.50 68742
Sloan 150

Dr. Donna Campbell
Avery 357 • 335-4831
campbelld@wsu.edu
http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/index.html
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-2
You can also schedule meetings by appointment. I'm available in my office much of the day on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and alternate Wednesdays.
Virtual office hours: Contact me by email to set up a time for IM, Skype, or Google voice chat. My address is dmcampbellwsu@gmail.com

Course blog: http://readingamlit.blogspot.com

About the Course

English 210, Readings in American Literature, is an introduction to short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction narratives from the nineteenth- through the twenty-first centuries. We'll read works by authors that address the following themes, with some works addressing more than one: sex and courtship, humor, nature and mad science, and race and social justice. We will explore these four themes in these three periods of American literature: 1865-1900, 1900-1960, and 1960 to the present.

This course is not a traditional literature survey because we will not read work from all periods and movements in American literature. However, it is like a survey course in that you will (1) read works of classic American literature and (2) learn about important movements and trends. Instead of being a complete picture of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature, English 210 is an exploration of American literature and culture through "snapshots" of the literature of the times.

The goals for students in the course are as follows:

• To read and analyze a number of works of classic American literature in the areas listed above.
• To compare the social attitudes of our own time with those in the past by analyzing how social perspectives were revealed in literature of earlier centuries.
• To become familiar with some significant movements and trends in American literature (realism, naturalism, and modernism, for example).
• To work with and learn to evaluate primary and secondary resources, including locating primary print sources and digitized versions online, learning to use the MLA Bibliography and other databases to find secondary sources, learning to assess web materials for reliability, and locating primary source materials.
• To synthesize the knowledge thus gained into papers and presentations in order to disseminate those insights to the class.

Required Texts

Important: You need to bring your book with you to class each day. Having your book in class is a vital part of class participation: you'll be asked to read passages aloud, give page citations, and so forth. Reading the book online and then coming to class is not sufficient, and your class participation grade will be lower as a result.

Schedule of Assignments. This is a tentative guide to the assignments; it may change as the course progresses. Unless otherwise indicated, the numbers in parentheses are page numbers for Belasco and Johnson's Bedford Anthology of American Literature, vol. 2 . If there are no page numbers, the reading is available in Angel (http://lms.wsu.edu); please print it out and bring it to class. URL for this syllabus: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl210/index.html.

Requirements and Assignments

Attendance and Class Participation.  Attendance is expected, as is class participation; both are essential parts of the course. You have four free absences; a fifth absence means that you may fail the course.

Class participation is important, and you should come to class prepared to discuss each day's reading. Since the syllabus is online, as are the readings not in your textbooks, you should have no trouble in reading the next day's assignments even if you're absent on the previous day. If you have questions about the day's reading, don't hesitate to ask; chances are good that someone else had the same question.

Because we will be reading and analyzing passages from the readings during the class period, bringing your book with you is an essential part of class participation and will count in your class participation grade. As mentioned above, reading the assignment online and then coming to class is not sufficient.

Formal Papers. Students in this class will write the following:

• Two shorter papers of literary interpretation or analysis requiring no research (3-4 pages or 750-1000 words).
• One longer paper (5-7 pages or 1250-2000 words) that will require either research or the reading of additional texts. The longer paper may be a group project and may take the form of a web site, wiki, or video production; more details will be available later in the course.
• There is also the option to write a third short paper near the end of the semester before the final paper is due; if you do this, you can opt not to take the final exam or to substitute this paper grade for one of the other shorter paper grades. This optional third paper will be based on your findings about contemporary genres of American literature on the Internet.

I will use abbreviations as references to grammatical principles on your corrected papers. The abbreviations and accompanying explanations are available on the "Key to Comments" document here: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/keyto.htm.

Format. Papers must be neatly typed and carefully proofread. Citations should follow MLA style as outlined in the MLA Handbook, Bedford Handbook, or other such guides. See more formatting guidelines at this link: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/format.htm.

Electronic Version. Paper versions of papers (hard copies) are due at the beginning of class on the deadline date. If you prefer, you can upload an electronic copy to Angel (http://lms.wsu.edu) by 9 p.m. on the deadline date. Either a paper version or an electronic version is acceptable; paper versions will receive handwritten comments, and electronic versions will receive typed comments in the margins. Electronic versions will be returned through Angel in .pdf format.

If you upload your paper, name your file as follows: LastnameFirstinitial_ClassNumber_Papernumber. Example: If Joan Smith turns in her first paper, the file would be called SmithJ_210_Paper1.doc.

Late Papers and Extensions. Late papers are penalized at the rate of one letter grade (10 points) per class day late; a paper that would have received a "B" on Tuesday will receive a "C" if handed in on Thursday.

• Exams cannot be made up without a doctor's note.
• If you complete Optional Paper 3, you can opt not to take the final exam. The Paper 3 grade will substitute for your final exam grade.

Quizzes. Unannounced quizzes over the reading will be given frequently in this class. The quizzes test your specific knowledge of the reading assignment for that day and sometimes ask about information from a previous day's class discussion or lecture. For example, you might be asked the name of a character, the meaning of a term discussed in the previous class, the character associated with a particular quotation, or the results of a specific action that occurs in a scene. Their purpose is to reinforce your close reading of the material by asking you about significant points in the book.

• Quizzes are usually composed of 10 multiple-choice questions, although some quizzes will ask you to write a few sentences in response to a question. If you've done the reading and have paid attention in class, you should easily be able to get a 10/10 on them.
• Quizzes cannot be made up, even if you are absent because of illness, but the lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
• Quizzes are usually given in the first 10 minutes of class; if you come in late and the quiz is in progress, you will not be able to take the quiz.
• An optional quiz will be given as a universal "make-up" quiz at the end of the semester.
• Students who have their books will be able to look up material for the bonus questions on quizzes.

In-class writing and short assignments. Short, typed responses to the reading may be assigned from time to time, as will short pieces of in-class writing.

Policies

Plagiarism Policy. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's words or ideas. This definition includes not only deliberately handing in someone else's work as your own but failing to cite your sources, including Web pages and Internet sources.

• For a first offense, any paper plagiarized in whole or in part will receive an "F" (0 points), and the incident must be reported to the WSU Office of Student Conduct.  You will NOT be allowed to rewrite the plagiarized paper for a better grade.
• Penalties for a second offense can range from failing the course to suspension from the university.

WSU Statement on Academic Integrity. As an institution of higher education, Washington State University is committed to principles of truth and academic honesty. All members of the University community share the responsibility for maintaining and supporting these principles. When a student enrolls in Washington State University, the student assumes an obligation to pursue academic endeavors in a manner consistent with the standards of academic integrity adopted by the University. To maintain the academic integrity of the community, the University cannot tolerate acts of academic dishonesty including any forms of cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication. Washington State University reserves the right and the power to discipline or to exclude students who engage in academic dishonesty.

Electronics Policy. Recent studies have shown that people remember material better when they take notes by hand rather than on the computer, since typing on the computer tends to produce a transcription rather than the kind of selective note-taking that leads to understanding. Also, students participate more actively when they are not using a laptop, which benefits their class participation grade, and there are fewer distractions in the classroom without laptops. The following policies thus apply in this class:

• No cell phones or texting. Those using cell phones or texting will be counted as absent for the day.
• No laptops (iPads, netbooks, etc.) except on laptop days unless you have a reason that you've cleared with me ahead of time. If you must have a laptop open, the wireless should be turned off except on laptop days.

WSU Policy on Students with Disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Access Center. All accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center (Washington Building, Room 217). Please stop by or call 509-335-3417 to make an appointment with an Access Advisor.

Safety Policy. See also the WSU Safety Policy (http://oem.wsu.edu/Emergencies) and Safety Plan (http://safetyplan.wsu.edu/).

General Grading Criteria: List available at http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/grading.html.

Because of FERPA and privacy issues, no grades will be discussed or transmitted by e-mail or instant messaging.