Topics in American Literature and Culture:
American Autobiography
ENGL 251/ Fall 2005 [4 credits]
LH 315/ TTH 9.50-11.30
Dr. Sean Meehan
Office hours (310 LH): MWF 12-2
All other times welcome by appointment
Office phone: 274-5268
Course web site:
http://webs.morningside.edu/meehan/americanliterature/251.htm
American Autobiography: Craft and Culture
I should not talk so much about myself if there were any body else whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience.
--Thoreau, Walden
Course Overview and Objectives:
This course explores this rich tradition of American autobigraphy from a contemporary and personal perspective. We will focus on reading both the culture and the craft of 5 autobiographical texts published since the 1970s. This means that we will be reading these works both critically and creatively, thinking about the issues (childhood, memory, race, gender, identify) and styles of American autobiography as both readers and writers. This dual perspective will culminate in the main writing project of the course, an original and substantial autobiographical essay or chapter of one’s own.
Key objectives for this course include the following:
Students will understand a variety of critical issues and creative techniques that inform the genre of American autobiography. Students will demonstrate this understanding in reading responses, class discussion and in the range of writing (from informal to formal) they will produce.
Students will develop a substantial, polished piece of autobiographical writing, through multiple stages of the writing process, and consider submitting this for publication (Kiosk, New York Times, etc) and/or develop upon it for their autobiography in progress.
Students will leave the course with greater confidence in their own autobiographical literacy, an understanding of their own learning that they can apply to future learning.
Course Texts:
Can be purchased at the Campus book store.
Dillard, An American Childhood
Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted
Momaday, The Names
Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory
Wolff, This Boys’ Life
You will also need a notebook of some sort to keep a journal (can be electronic if you prefer).
Additional material may be linked to the Assignments page on the web.
Course Expectations and Policies:
Some crucial things you can expect from me as an educator and the leader of your experiences in the course.
Response: One of my roles is to assess your learning in the course so that I can help in that process. That means more than giving you a grade. It means giving you the response (employing a variety of methods of assessment, some with numbers, some without) that you will need to understand your own learning and thus perform in this course (and beyond it) more effectively and thoughtfully—the main objective of this and any course I teach. I understand that you may be more used to “grades” alone rather than this broader emphasis on response and qualitative assessment; feel free to talk with me whenever you feel you need a response that is more oriented toward a number.
Curiosity: I am a learner and love the process of learning; that is why I teach. This means that my curiosity for the subjects in this course and my desire to learn more about them will be part of the course and should encourage you, I would hope, to be equally curious and passionate about your learning. I will be a leader of the course but be prepared to have me follow your lead as well.
Flexibility: Since I am a learner and the course is therefore a work in progress, you should expect the course to evolve. We will follow a general syllabus with assignments given in advance; but be prepared for some changes to be made based on where we are going at a given time. You should always consult the course web page for updates. Regarding disabilities: If you have an identified disability which may impact your performance in this class, schedule an appointment with me as soon as possible to discuss adaptations or accommodations which may be necessary to provide you with an equal opportunity for success in this course.
Some crucial things I will expect from you as a student (and fellow learner) in this course.
Participation: If you are going to participate more effectively and thoughtfully in your own learning (an objective of the course) you will need to participate on a daily basis. Class participation is a key component of the course and will be part of your overall grade. It involves keeping up in your journal writing, speaking and listening actively in class, being prepared for discussions. Since you can’t participate if you are absent, unexcused absences will affect your grade. An excused absence is one where you have spoken with me in advance about your need to miss class. Here is my attendance policy:
--After two absences (your free pass), each absence will count -10 from your final participation grade.
--A student who misses 50% of the classes by midterm (this includes classes missed before signed into the course) will automatically fail the course.
--Students may have the opportunity to add extra credit points to their participation grade. See me if interested or concerned about your absences.
Communication: Keep in touch with me about how things are going for you, difficulties you are having with your work, confusion, curiosity, excitement. Communicating how things are going is also a key part of participating thoughtfully in your own learning. My late work policy: As a rule, if you have not communicated with me in advance about turning in an assignment later than the due date, you will loose credit for that assignment. An assignment more than one week late will receive a 0.
Integrity: You can’t participate thoughtfully if you aren’t being fully honest with me, with your colleagues, and with yourself. Plagiarism is one form of dishonesty. In general, using the ideas and language of another without giving proper credit is plagiarism. Any student guilty of such plagiarism is subject to serious penalty for the assignment (failing) and for the course overall. We will talk about how to credit properly the use of another’s work as well as how to distinguish between collaboration and sharing (both of which are important in education) and plagiarism. For more on plagiarism and the policies of the College, consult the College Catalog and Student Handbook.
Progress: Throughout the course I will be looking for and assessing your progress as a way to help you make that progress. I will expect you to be striving for progress in all aspects of the course, willing and eager to do the work that progress requires.
Assessment:
I will use a variety of evaluation methods to assess your performance and determine your grade. These methods will be discussed in advance. The general scale I will use for determining final grades should be familiar to you (+ and – at each level may also be applied):
A/Excellent/90-100
B/Good/80-89
C/Average/70-79
D/Poor/60-69
F/Failing/below 60
What follows is a guideline for how your progress and work in the course will count toward your final grade:
Participation: 100 points
Journal will inform participation grade.
Reading:
Quizzes/responses: 50 points
Midterm: 25 points
Presentation: 25 points
Writing
Craft Reading: 50 points
Cultural Reading: 50 points
Final essay/chapter: 200 points