Maurice A. Evers

AML 2070 - Literature of the American South: Syllabus Spring 2017

AML 2070 - LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH (sec. 0541), Spring 2017

Instructor Name: Maurice A. Evers

Course meeting times & locations: MWF Period 3 (9:35am-10:25am); MAT 0005 (Matherly)

Office Location and Hours: TUR 4341; TBA, and by appointment.

Course website:

Instructor Email: mauriceanthony1@ufl.edu

Course Description: This survey will introduce students to major writers and issues through a cross-genre examination of southern literature. Southern literature here is defined as American literature about or set in the southern United States or by writers from the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia (Pre-Civil War southern states include: Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware). Thus, the course will explore various authors, styles, and literary movements from the 18^th, 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st centuries. Moreover, it will look at engagements between key texts and social differences, such as race, class, gender, and sexuality, and will deal with socio-cultural, economic, and political conflict from the antebellum period to the present. Ultimately, this course seeks to understand the ways southern literature has informed and continues to contribute to the American literary imagination.

General Education Objectives:

• This course confers General Education credit for either Composition (C) or Humanities (H). This course also fulfills 6,000 of the university’s 24,000-word writing requirement (WR).
• Composition courses provide instruction in the methods and conventions of standard written English (grammar, punctuation, usage), as well as the techniques that produce effective texts. Composition courses are writing intensive. They require multiple drafts submitted to your instructor for feedback before final submission.
• Course content should include multiple forms of effective writing, different writing styles, approaches and formats, and methods to adapt writing to different audiences, purposes, and contexts. Students should learn to organize complex arguments in writing using thesis statements, claims, and evidence, and to analyze writing for errors in logic.
• The University Writing Requirement (WR) ensures students both maintain their fluency in writing and use writing as a tool to facilitate learning. To receive Writing Requirement credit, a student must receive a grade of C or higher and satisfactory completion of the writing component of the course. This means that written assignments must meet minimum word requirements totaling 6000 words.

General Education Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course, students will be expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes in content, communication, and critical thinking:

• Content: Students demonstrate competence in the terminology, concepts, theories, and methodologies used within the academic discipline.
• Communication: Students communicate knowledge, ideas, and reasoning clearly and effectively in written and oral forms appropriate to the discipline. Students will participate in class discussions throughout the semester to reflect on assigned readings.
• Critical Thinking: Students analyze information carefully and logically from multiple perspectives, using discipline-specific methods, and develop reasoned solutions to problems.

Required Texts:

The Literature of the American South: A Norton Anthology

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams

Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward

Recommended Texts:

The Elements of Style (any edition), E. B. White and William Strunk Jr.

Revising Prose (any edition), Richard A. Lanham

Assignments (see below for Grading Rubric):

Reading Quizzes and In-Class Participation 200 pts

Reading Responses (400 words x 4 entries) 200 pts

Essay One: Close Reading (900 words) 100 pts

Essay Two: Thematic Analysis Paper (1,500 words) 200 pts

Essay Three: Literary Research Paper (2,000 words) 300 pts

Total points for this course = 1,000 points

Total word count for this course = 6,000 words

Course Policies:

1. 1. You must complete all assignments to receive credit for this course.
2. 2. Attendance: Attendance is required and will be taken every day.

You are allowed three (3) absences. For every absence exceeding this, your final grade will drop by one letter grade. If you miss more than six (6) classes, you will automatically fail the course.

The University of Florida exempts from this policy only those absences involving university-sponsored events, such as athletics and band, religious holidays, military duty, and court-mandated responsibilities (e.g., jury duty or subpoena). Students who participate in athletic or extracurricular activities are permitted to be absent twelve (12) scholastic days per semester without penalty. A scholastic day is defined as any day on which regular class work is scheduled. Absences related to university-sponsored events must be discussed with the instructor prior to the date that will be missed. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to be aware of all due dates. If you are absent due to a scheduled event, you are still responsible for turning assignments in on time.

A note on tardiness: Students who enter class after the roll has been taken are late, which disrupts the entire class. Two instances of tardiness count as one absence.

Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this class are consistent with university policies that can be found at https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx

1. 3. Paper Format & Submission: Final drafts should be polished and presented in a professional manner. All papers must be in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced with 1-inch margins and pages numbered and correct MLA formatting. All papers will be submitted as an MS Word (.doc or .docx) to Canvas by 8:35 am.
2. 4. Late Papers/Assignments: No late papers or assignments will be accepted.
3. 5. Paper Maintenance Responsibilities. Keep duplicate copies of all work submitted in this course. Save all returned, graded work until the semester is over.
4. 6. Academic Honesty and Definition of Plagiarism. Plagiarism violates the Student Honor Code and requires reporting to the Dean of Students. All students must abide by the Student Honor Code: https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/.
5. 7. Students with disabilities who are requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/), which will provide appropriate documentation to give the instructor.
6. 8. For information on UF Grading policies, see: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx
7. 9. Grade Appeals. In 1000- and 2000-level courses, students may appeal a final grade by filling out a form available from Carla Blount, Program Assistant, in the Department office (4008 TUR). Grade appeals may result in a higher, unchanged, or lower final grade.
8. 10. Course Evaluations. Toward the end of the semester, you will receive email messages asking you to go online and evaluate this course: https://evaluations.ufl.edu/evals/Default.aspx
9. 11. Students who face difficulties completing the course or who are in need of counseling or urgent help may call the on-campus Counseling and Wellness Center (352) 392-1575, or contact them online: http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc/Default.aspx
10. 12. Classroom behavior and netiquette: Please keep in mind that students come from diverse cultural, economic, and ethnic backgrounds. Some of the texts we will discuss and write about engage controversial topics and opinions. Diversified student backgrounds combined with provocative texts require that you demonstrate respect for ideas that may differ from your own. Disrespectful behavior will result in dismissal, and accordingly absence, from the class. Additionally, emails to me must follow professional protocols of subject, grammar, and tone--including proper salutations and signature. Remember that all emails sent through our UFL accounts are Public Records (Florida Statutes, Chapter 119).
11. 13. UF’s policy on Harassment: UF provides an educational and working environment that is free from sex discrimination and sexual harassment for its students, staff, and faculty: http://hr.ufl.edu/manager-resources/recruitment-staffing/institutional-equity-diversity/resources/harassment/

Course Schedule: Readings/viewings appear in parenthesis on the day they are due

Week 1

1.4 Class Introduction: Syllabus Review, Course Requirements, Paper Assignments & Due Dates

1.6 Introduction to Literary Studies, Close Reading, and Southern literature; (MacKethan, Genres of Southern Literature)

Week 2

Beginnings to 1880: Documenting the American South

1.9 John Pendleton Kennedy (Swallow barn, or, A sojourn in the old dominion. Swallow barn; A Country Gentleman; The Quarter)

1.11 George Moses Horton (Selected poems)

1.13 Edgar Allan Poe (The Raven; The Philosophy of Composition)

Week 3

1.16 No Class—Holiday

1.18 Johnson Jones Hooper (Some Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs, Late of the Tallapoosa Volunteers. The Captain Attends a Camp-meeting)

1.20 Frederick Douglass (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Chapter I-Chapter VI)

Week 4

1.23 Frederick Douglass continued (Chapter VII-Chapter XI)

1.25 Mary Boykin Chestnut (Mary Chestnut's Civil War)

1.27 Henry Timrod (Selected poems)

Week 5

1.30 Essay 1 Workshop

2.1 Essay 1 Peer Review

2.3 Essay 1 DUE

Week 6

The New South 1880-1940: The Rise of the New South

2.6 Samuel Clemens (Life on the Mississippi. The boys' Ambition; I want to be a Cub-pilot; A Cub-pilot's Experience)

2.8 Sidney Lanier (Song of the Chattahoochee; The Marshes of Glynn; An Evening song)

2.10 Kate Chopin (Désirée's Baby)

Week 7

2.13 Charles W. Chesnutt (The Goophered Grapevine)

2.15 H. L. Mencken (The Sahara of the Bozart)

2.17 Zora Neale Hurston (Sweat; How it Feels to be Colored Me)

Week 8

2.20 Jean Toomer (Karintha; Becky; Carma; Georgia dusk; Cane)

2.22 William Faulkner (Dry September)

2.24 Richard Wright (The Man Who Was Almost a Man)

Week 9

2.27 Essay 2 Workshop

3.1 Essay 2 Peer Review

3.3 Essay 2 DUE

Week 10

3.6 No Class—Spring Break

3.8 No Class—Spring Break

3.10 No Class—Spring Break

Week 11

The Contemporary South 1940-Present: The Changing South

3.13 Tennessee Williams (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)

3.15 Williams continued

3.17 Williams continued (watch Cat outside of class)

Week 12

3.20 Flannery O'Connor (A Good Man is Hard to Find)

3.22 Eudora Welty (Where is the voice coming from?)

3.24 Nikki Giovanni (Selected poems)

Week 13

3.27 Alice Walker (In Search of our Mothers’ Gardens)

3.29 Dorothy Allison (Trash. Preface: Deciding to Live; River of names)

3.31 Percival Everett (The Appropriation of Cultures)

Week 14

4.3 Jesmyn Ward (Salvage the Bones)

4.5 Ward continued

4.7 Ward continued

Week 15

4.10 Beasts of the Southern Wild (watch outside of class)

4.12 Jericho Brown (Selected poems)

4.14 Saeed Jones (Selected poems)

Week 16

4.17 Essay 3 Workshop

4.19 Essay 3 DUE

Grading Scale

Assessment Rubric

Reading Quizzes and In-Class Participation 200 pts

Quizzes: To encourage detailed reading, there will be weekly quizzes to ensure and supplement out-of-class assignments. Quizzes will take place during the first ten minutes of class, and will be on the reading assigned for that day. They can be either multiple choice or short essay, both open and closed book, both announced and unannounced.

In-Class Participation: Students should read each of the texts for their central ideas, the compositional elements of the text, and themes the works deal with. Students are encouraged to find critical resources (critical summaries, scholarly journal articles, etc.) to supplement their reading and contribute to their overall understanding of the text. Additionally, students are expected to bring their notes to class and be prepared to engage in class discussions.

Reading Responses (400 words x 4 entries) 200 pts

Reading responses will be focused and organized, showing critical thinking and an attempt to integrate ideas into course topics and objectives. You are responsible for writing a response to three total readings, and each student will choose which days to respond. Reading responses are due at the beginning of class. No late responses will be accepted. Part of the first week of class will be evaluating examples as models for successful reading responses.

Essay One: Close Reading (900 words) 100 pts

The close reading essay will read and analyze closely a passage from a novel, short story, or a poem. You will analyze the passage by paying close attention to its composition (diction, syntax, rhyme, rhythm, meter) and will make an argument about the way in which the author’s composition influences your thematic reading. This assignment is particularly useful when analyzing poetry. Students might find it helpful to contact me with a selected passage before beginning the writing process to help facilitate a successful close reading.

Essay Two: Thematic Analysis Paper (1,500 words) 200 pts

The thematic analysis essay will consist of a thematic analysis of one of the works we have read for class. The essay will incorporate at least two critical sources that speak to similar issues and themes you are exploring in your texts. Consider the ways in which scholarly criticism can help you to build your own original arguments on the text. As always, I encourage you to consult with me before you begin the writing process.

Essay Three: Literary Research Paper (2,000 words) 300 pts

The literary research paper will use the skills we have built throughout the course and in our previous essays. Your paper should have a strong, clear, and creative argument about a text of your choosing, and should consult at least five critical sources. This should not be a regurgitation of the issues, ideas, and themes we have discussed in class, but should instead be a result of your own critical thinking and understanding of the text.

Grade Meanings

A—Student did what the assignment asked at a high-quality level, meeting all of the composition objectives required of the assignment. Additionally, his or her work shows originality, creativity, and demonstrates that the student took extra steps to be original or creative in developing content, solving a problem, or developing a style. Since careful editing and proofreading are essential in writing, papers in the A range must be free of typos and grammatical or mechanical errors.

B—Student did what the assignment asked at a quality level, meeting most of the composition objectives required of the assignment. Work in this range needs revision; however, it is complete in content, is organized well, and shows special attention to style.

C—Student did what the assignment asked, but overlooked some of the composition objectives. Work in this range needs significant revision, but it is complete in content and the organization is logical. The style is straightforward but unremarkable.

D—Student neglected some basic requirements of the assignment and completed it at a poor-quality level. Work in this range needs significant revision. The content is often incomplete and the organization is hard to discern. Attention to style is often nonexistent or chaotic.

E—An E is usually reserved for students who do not do the work or do not come to class. However, if work is shoddy, shows little understanding of the needs of the assignment, and/or an inability to meet the composition objectives, he or she will receive a failing grade.

Note: You must pass this course with a “C” or better to satisfy the CLAS requirement for Composition (C) and to receive the 6,000-word University Writing Requirement credit (E6). You must turn in all papers totaling 6,000 words to receive credit for writing 6,000 words. NOTE ALSO: a grade of “C-” will not confer credit for the University Writing Requirement or the CLAS Composition (C) requirement.