Catalog Description

Prerequisite: Eligibility for ENGL 1A
Hours: 54 lecture
Description: Survey of major authors, themes and genres of American literature from the Civil War to the present. Students may begin with either 30A or 30B. (C-ID ENGL 135) (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Compare, interpret and evaluate major and some of the minor works of American literature from the Civil War era through the present.
  • CSLO #2: Analyze, synthesize, and generalize the major themes and genres of the works across periods from the Civil War through the present.
  • CSLO #3: Correlate the relationships between the attitudes and cultural values in literary works with the historical contexts in which they are written between the Civil War and the present.
  • CSLO #4: Construct and compose analysis, evaluations, and interpretations of single or several related authors or texts.

Effective Term

Fall 2017

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

Students will through oral and written work:
1. Identify, compare and contrast the major and some of the minor writers of American literature from the Civil War through the present.
2. Analyze and chart the major themes of American literature as they are evidenced in the assigned texts.
3. Identify and compare major genres of American literature of this period.
4. Describe and discuss the relationship between paradigm shifts, such as Modernism and post-Modernism, and the historical and cultural events which surround them, such as industrialization, urbanization, and immigration.
5. Communicate analyses, interpretations, and critiques of single works, or several works by the same author, or to several closely related texts in class discussion and in required essays and exams.
6. Synthesize and generalize about themes and genres of American literature across time, across thematic periods, and across works by various authors.
7. Describe and discuss the relationship between cultural diversity and literary production.
8. Describe and discuss the influence of European thought and cultural production on American literature.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Literature & Language
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • CSUGE - C2 Humanities
  • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
    • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)
      • IGETC - 3B Humanities

    Articulation Information

    • CSU Transferable
    • UC Transferable

    Methods of Evaluation

    • Classroom Discussions
      • Example: 1.Compare and contrast the writing style of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway using "Barn Burning" and "Hills Like White Elephants," respectively. In groups, determine three specific elements of style to bring to a class discussion. Instructor evaluates using a rubric to determine the clarity and depth of the comparison and contrast and the examples.
    • Essay Examinations
      • Example: 1.Using a minimum of six of the texts we've read to date, and including some quotes and significant specific detail, analyze the impact of theories of social Darwinism on writings by so-called realist and naturalist authors. Instructor evaluates using a rubric to determine the depth of the analysis, the clarity of understanding of the theories of Social Darwinism, and the breadth of examples. 2. For the final: Imagine that you are teaching a short course (six weeks) in American literature since the Civil War. You have a limited amount of time, and you must convey to your students an accurate, if abbreviated, sense of the American literary experience since 1865. What texts will you include and why? Be sure to create a theme for the course, justify that theme, and give a brief justification for each text you will use. Include, as well, what in those texts you will focus on and why. You must cover a minimum of twelve texts, and include quotes and specific detail from each. Instructor evaluates the project using a rubric to assess the number and validity of the texts, the clarity of the themes, the depth of the justification, and the explanation of the focus.
    • Projects
      • Example: 1.Using Animoto of another similar online video tool, create an overview of an author and the era in which he/she wrote, explaining in detail the literary movement and political ideals of the time and how these informed the author's work. Present your video to the class. Instructor evaluates the presentation based on a rubric that includes the elements discussed via lecture, including breadth and depth of identifying the literary movement and political ideas in the author’s work.

    Repeatable

    No

    Methods of Instruction

    • Lecture/Discussion
    • Distance Learning

    Lecture:

    1. Instructor presents a lecture on the 19th century American South focusing on the underclass that is represented in Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying. Instructor breaks students into groups to address the following questions: how does social class and religious or spiritual ideas relate in the narrative, and then discuss what Faulkner is showing about this particular family by their use of religion to understand their existence? Instructor then asks student to analyze how gender operates in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Addie Bundren, though she is in the coffin, is very present in the novel and critics call this type of phenomenon an “absent presence.” How does her absent presence affect the overall meaning in the story, especially considering themes of femininity and motherhood in the novel?
    2. Instructor gives presentation on the literary movement of Naturalism, most prominent from 1880 to the 1940s, which emphasized how social environment framed human action and decisions – that environment is more powerful than people realize. Though people may feel they have “free will” their choices and actions are largely framed by their circumstances. Instructor then asks students to discuss the relationship between this literary tradition to the late 20th-century play by David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross.

    Distance Learning

    1. Instructor presents an overview lecture about Literary Modernism. Using a specific online tool (Animoto, Voice thread, Blog), students gather images of writers of the period, but also Modernist visual art and historical images from 1918-1945 or so to show examples of Modernist thought outside of literature. Instructor assesses using a rubric to determine breadth, depth, and accuracy of content.
    2. Using Voice thread, instructor assigns a group project to identify different literary eras and define their similarities and differences. Each group develops a Voice thread to accomplish this task. Instructor evaluates using a rubric to determine breadth, depth, and accuracy of content.

    Typical Out of Class Assignments

    Reading Assignments

    1. In the anthology, read Henry James' short stories, "Daisy Miller" and "The Beast in the Jungle." Compare the two works. 2. In the anthology, read Alice Walker's "Everyday Things." Provide a short summary to discuss in class.

    Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

    1. In an essay of 1000 to 1250 words, argue that Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" is or is not a work of literary naturalism. 2. In an essay of 1000-1250 words, argue that Willie Loman is or is not a tragic hero.

    Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

    Required Materials

    • The Norton Anthology of American Literature
      • Author: Baym, Nina
      • Publisher: WW Norton and Company
      • Publication Date: 2017
      • Text Edition: 8th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:
    • The Heath Anthology of American Literature
      • Author: Paul Lauter
      • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
      • Publication Date: 2012
      • Text Edition: 7th
      • Classic Textbook?:
      • OER Link:
      • OER:

    Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.