Nature and Goals of the Course

The focus of this course is conventional; the angle of vision is not. It is conventional, since we will be concentrating on an era in 19th-century American literature (1850-1855) and five authors (Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, and Melville) often depicted as the most important era in American literature and the most revered authors. The angle of vision is less conventional because we will be discussing the period and the authors through three contexts that raise questions about American literature: (1) a Web site that surveys American literature anthologies and histories from the mid-19th-century to the present; (2) discussions of canon formation, especially as these arguments heated up during the 1980s; and (3) a series of pairings of well-known texts by the five celebrated authors and texts that either have only recently become part of the canon or are still "outside" the canon.

The use of the Web site, examinations of the canon discussion, and the pairings will help to raise questions about: (1) the literary, cultural, historical, and emotional values of the lesser-known works; (2) new ways to perceive literary "classics"; (3) literary criteria; and (4) aesthetic, ethical, ideological, and institutional implications of changing American literary canons.

Required Readings

www.uta.edu/english/mal/e/roemer (browse)
Course Packet (CP; 19th- and 20th-century readings about canon formation, a brief bibliography, and material relating to specific texts)
The Night Chant (handout; Washington Matthews' translation of parts of the Navajo Nightway, as presented by John Bierhorst)
Emerson's "The Poet"
Whitman's "Song of Myself" and "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (available in the Norton Critical Leaves of Grass )
Douglass's Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Jacob's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (handout; selections)
Emerson's "Self Reliance"
Thoreau's Walden
Hopi "Powaq-wuuti" (CP)
Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" (CP)
Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin
Melville's Moby-Dick

 

 

Tentative Schedule: Topics, Readings, Exams, Paper

8/26 Introduction to the Course & Canon Formation Contexts, Part I: 19th-Century Proclamations

Readings: In CP: Emerson, Fuller, Thoreau, & Boyesen; "American Literature 1820-1865 (bibliography)

9/2 Labor Day Holiday; No Class

9/16 Canon Formation: Parts II, III, IV

Readings: <www.uta.edu/english/mal/e/roemer>;
CP: Matthiesen; Warren, Brooks, Lewis
CP: the 1980's essays -- Lauter through Roemer

9/23 Chant Ways: Part I

Readings: Matthews' Night Chant in Bierhorst
CP: map/diagram; Witherspoon, Natonabah, Faris
Film: By This Song I Walk

9/30 Chant Ways Part II

Readings: Emerson's "The Poet" (CP); Whitman's "Song of Myself" and "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"

10/7 Chant Ways Part III: Comparative Analyses

Re-readings: Assignments for Chant Ways I & II
Take-Home Exam Distributed

10/14 Take-Home Exam Turned In

10/14 Life Narratives: Part I

Readings: Douglass, Narrative ; selections from Jacob's Incidents

10/21 Life Narratives: Parts II & III

Readings: Emerson's "Self-Reliance" (CP); Thoreau's Walden
Re-readings: Douglass and Jacobs to compare with Emerson and Thoreau
Take-Home Distributed

10/28 Take-Home Exam Turned In

10/28 Short Fictions: Comparative Analysis

Readings: "Poowak Wuhti" (CP); Jaskoski's "Witch Lady Story"; Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" (CP)

11/4 Long Fictions: Part I

Reading: Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin

11/11,18 Long Fictions: Part II

Reading: Melville's Moby-Dick

11/25 Long Fictions: Part III, Comparative Analysis

Re-reading: Stowe and Melville

12/2 Paper Presentations

12/5 Papers Due

12/9 Final Exam

Examinations

The two take-home exams and the in-class final will consist of one or more essay questions relating to the goals of the course. Length limits for the take-home exams will be indicated. A study sheet for the final will be distributed on December 2nd. The first take-home will cover the Chant Ways readings and discussions; the second will cover the Life Narratives. In the first part of the final the question(s) will focus on the short and long fictions readings and discussions; the second part will be comprehensive.

The two questions that define my grading criteria are: (1) How well did the student focus on the question(s) asked? (2) How well did he or she use relevant examples from the primary sources and (where relevant) critical readings to build convincing arguments?

 

Paper

Due: December 5; length: 3,500-5,000 words (approx. 15-20 pages; avoid overly small fonts). Because of the nature of this course, I would certainly welcome comparative papers that examine the implications of pairing "classic" and lesser-known works appearing during the American literary renaissance. The selection of texts is critical. If the two texts are too dissimilar, you make end up writing two papers stitched together in contrived ways. Yet the two must be different enough to raise questions about different functions, aesthetics, audiences, etc. of literature. If you wish you may also focus on one author, or a comparison of two well-known or two lesser-known texts, or an issue that involves comparing several texts by several authors. Whichever approach you take it will be important to discuss the scope, focus, and methodology of the paper with me. A paper with an overly narrow focus can turn redundant; an overly broad paper can become superficial; a paper utilizing an inappropriate critical approach can become contrived.

Conceive of the paper as (a) personal/original idea(s) that is being tested in the context of a critical conversation. Begin with your own arguments and ideas about the text(s). Formulate a tentative thesis; even plot out tentative argumentative strategies and organization. Then, using the bibliographic suggestions in the course packet -- especially American Literary Scholarship, but also other relevant tools (e.g., first search, google, Jeanetta Boswell's American Renaissance and the Critics ) -- see how your arguments stand up to the critics views. This process may involve modifying your thesis and arguments, arguing against particular critics, and/or using them to support (an give authority to) your thesis.

Grading criteria: I'm expecting engaging, coherent, and convincing papers in which you can articulate your thesis and its significance and support your arguments with pertinent examples from the primary source(s) and by placing those arguments convincingly within the contexts of relevant criticism. Basic writing skills will, of course, also be taken into consideration.

Two helpful guides to the paper writing are: the description of the MA thesis prospectus in our English Graduate Handbook and the sections on paper writing in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.

Approximate Grading Weights

The two take-home exams (25%); the final exam (25%); the paper (50%). See the important note below on class participation and group reports.

Gentle Warnings

(1) University policies do not allow professors to drop students for excessive absences; however, in this class for every three unexcused absences, the semester grade drops by a half grade. (This policy indicates the importance of the group "reports.") (2) If you must withdraw from the class, be sure to follow Graduate School and University procedures. Otherwise your grade may appear as an F. (3) Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty will be handled according to University policies. (For a discussion of plagiarism, see the Graduate School's Thesis and Dissertation Manual available at <www.uta.edu/etd/>.) (4) Under normal circumstances, no late take-home exams, final exams, or papers will be accepted.

Encouragements

Improvement and class participation, especially in the group "reports" can improve semester grades. Typically at the beginning or end of each class, I will divide the class into small groups and assign a question or issue related to the next week's readings to each group. The responses to these questions are key elements in the class's learning experience. Hence it is appropriate to reward students who contribute effectively to the group responses to the questions. Also I am very willing to work with students with disabilities. At the beginning of the semester these students should provide me with documentation authorized by the appropriate University office.

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