W  8/29

1^st day of class

What are we doing here?

Where are we going?

F 8/31

Further Reading: A Representative American text

Read and prepare to share with class a text (verbal, visual, or aural) from any time period that you believe represents or somehow defines the American experience

+ reading log (posted to blackboard at beginning of class)

Description of Reading Log here:

http://webs.morningside.edu/meehan/englished/readinglog.htm

M  9/3

Labor Day: no class.

W  9/5

Read: Emerson, “The American Scholar”

+ reading log (posted to blackboard by class)

Text link: http://www.emersoncentral.com/amscholar.htm

Some questions to consider (and perhaps respond to in reading log):

What is Emerson’s view of American experience?

What should America and American literature be? What role does the scholar play in this?

What might we do in this course if we follow Emerson's ideas about being a reader and a writer?

F  9/7

 Read Emerson, “Self-Reliance”

[no reading log required for this assignment, but I encourage you to use journal or log to help you with reading and be prepared for class discussion]

Essay linked here [emersoncentral.com]

http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm

What are Emerson’s views of the self in America—what does he want Americans to be, what is he concerned about?

What do you notice about Emerson’s writing style—how does it read? Any connections to “American Scholar”?

M  9/10

Reading: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: until the end of chapter 7, page 44 on the e-text (this includes the Preface) + reading log

[http://docsouth.unc.edu/douglass/douglass.html]

What are your expectations for a narrative about slavery (what comes to mind)? How does the opening of the narrative meet those? What moments thus far leave an impression?

W  9/12

Frederick Douglass: Narrative, chapters 8, 9, 10 (to page 100) http://docsouth.unc.edu/douglass/douglass.html

 [no reading log required for this assignment, but I encourage you to use journal or log to help you with reading and be prepared for class discussion]

Consider Douglass' representation of his encounter with Covey: the literary quality of the writing.

F  9/14

Douglass: finish the Narrative (chapter 11 and Appendix + reading log

http://docsouth.unc.edu/douglass/douglass.html

Consider his discussion of his eventual escape from slavery: any surprises? Does it meet expectations? What about the conclusion of Narrative—is this what you expected?

M 9/17

Thoreau, Walden, chapter 2, “Where I lived and what I lived for”  and chapter 3 “Reading”

http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html#toc

 [no reading log required for this assignment, but I encourage you to use journal or log to help you with reading and be prepared for class discussion]

What is Thoreau’s purpose in writing Walden? What does Thoreau mean by living deliberately? How does Thoreau read as a writer—and how does that compare/contrast with Emerson and Douglass?

W 9/19

Further reading: Thoreau, additional chapter in Walden other than “Conlusion” + reading log

http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html#toc

prepare to report to class what chapter observes and how it continues Thoreau's agenda, what you notice and wonder about the chapter.

F  9/21

Reading: Thoreau, Walden, “Conlcusion”

+ instead of reading log, post rough/initial draft of your autobiographical essay to blackboard.

http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html#toc

M  9/24

Writing due: Autobiographical Link

[submitted to Blackboard Assignments by start of class; be prepared to share/discuss your writing in class]

W 9/26

Reading: Thoreau, “Resistance to Civil Government” (or, "Civil Disobedience")

[http://thoreau.eserver.org/civil.html]

note: there is another web/hypertext version of this essay that includes a kind of study kind with the text: check it out if interested

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/civil/

Do you see connections between this essay and Walden—is there a similar perspective?

Is Walden also about ‘civil disobedience’?

 What views of American experience (particularly regarding the issue of the minority) does Thoreau express?

F  9/28

Further Reading: Thoreau.

Read another essay by Thoreau located at “Thoreau Reader” or a critical  essay about Thoreau [must have an author; note that Emerson has one called 'Thoreau'] or a piece of writing by a contemporary writer that you feel someway echoes Thoreau +reading log

[reminder: a critical essay might be web-based, but must have an author and some sort of focus or thesis, no spark notes or wikipedia for this assignment]

What do we learn from this further reading that we can apply back to Walden? What insight does the reading offer?

M  10/1

Emerson, “The Poet” + reading log

[http://www.emersoncentral.com/poet.htm

 Web-text version (with notes):

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/essays/poet.html

Notice Emerson's views of language and poetry. Any links back to  "American Scholar" or “Self-Reliance”? What kind of poetry is Emerson imagining for America?

W  10/3

Whitman, “Song of Myself” (1855) 1^st half of the poem:  to pg. 58

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/whitman/1855.html

What kind of poetry is this? Any links back to Emerson and his view of poetry?

Identify at least one passage/section of poem you  will spend more time with.

F  10/5

Whitman, “Song of Myself": finish the poem + reading log

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/whitman/1855.html

Notice where Whitman leaves us in the poem. Identify another section to spend more time with and discuss in notice section of log.

M  10/8

 Reading: Whitman, “The Sleepers” + reading log

Read both 1855 and 1881 versions of the poem linked here:

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/whitman/sleepers/index.html

W  10/10

Reading: Critical Link—Whtiman’s manuscripts

Read the remaining sections of the “Sleepers” site: Background through Issues (including the different manuscript sources)

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/whitman/sleepers/index.html

No log required, but consider as always (and suggest you add to journal) what insight about Whitman and his writing we learn from this critical reading.

F  10/12

Further reading: Whitman + reading log

Read an additional 20 page chunk (poetry or prose) from Whitman.

Suggestions:

--Read selections from his Civil War prose memoranda:

http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/WhiMemo.html

or Civil War poetry: Drum Taps.

Read one of the 'sex' clusters: Children of Adam; Calamus

Read his essay "Democratic Vistas" or his "Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads"

for most of these, go to the Whiman archive and open up the final 1892 edition and use the table of contents.

What is on Whitman's mind as a poet/writer? What do you sense he wants American poetry to be about?

For the Civil War Whitman: are there connections to the earlier poetry you see in this prose?

M  10/15

Midterm

W  10/17

Reading: Emily Dickinson, selected poems + reading log

[Johnson edition of poems]

http://members.aol.com/GivenRandy/r_emily.htm

Read the following Dickinson poems (they are numbered, not titled): 241. 242, 279, 280, 281, 282, 327, 445, 446, 607, 608, 1129

Reading log: select one poem to spend more time with and begin to grasp—prepare to share your thoughts with class.

What kind of poetry is this? How does it contrast and compare to Whitman's poetry?

F  10/19

No class: Fall break

M  10/22

Emily Dickinson: Fascicle 16, part 2

Read the essay "Translating Emily" by Michele Ierardi": http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~ajf2j/emily/emily.html

then go back into Fascicle 16 and look again at the poems, focusing on variations and manuscripts. use the path: check out both manuscript version of Fascicle 16 plus the Fascicle 16 with variants.

http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~ajf2j/emily/emilyindex.html

Is there a difference in Dickinson's poetry between her manuscript versions and how she is later published? Does it matter to how we read/understand her poetry?

W  10/24

Writing experiment: Draft of your formal link

Draft a 2 or more page version of your formal link (close reading essay) and post to Blackboard for feedback/workshop in class.

F  10/26

Further reading: Read the essay by Marta Werner on Emily Dickinson and photography in the nineteenth century [begin with "Introduction"]

http://www.classroomelectric.org/volume3/werner/

 with Werner's help, consider the analogies we can draw between photography and the poetry of Dickinson and Whitman

M  10/29

Formal Link due: close reading essay assignment

prepare to present your close reading in a class conference, including a reading of the poem.

W  10/31

Read: Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle”

http://www.bartleby.com/310/2/1.html

F  11/2

Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher” + reading log

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/POE/fall.html

M  11/5

Hawthorne, House [through chapter 2] + reading log

Notice how the novel is set up.

Pay attention to the Preface: what characteristics of writing and style do we get from the author?

W  11/7

House, continue reading

[will begin research in library]

F  11/9

House [through chapter 8]

quiz on novel through chapter 8

M  11/12

House [through chapter 13]

 focus: the story within the story--what do you notice about the Alice story

W  11/14

House [through chapter 17] + reading log

 focus: technologies in the novel (including the railroad, photography, mesmerism)--what significances do you notice?

F  11/16

Research link: proposal due

[see description]

 Your proposal should be a 1-2 page sketch of what you have, by that point, decided to focus on and what you have started to research. The proposal should include: [1]A brief discussion of your focus (what aspect(s) of the novel you plan to focus on, what connections to the novel’s cultural/historical context you plan to make) and your thesis at this point (what insight into the novel you believe this cultural context provides) ; [2]at least 2 secondary resources you have found thus far in your research (provide the ciation). For both of these resources, you will provide a one paragraph summary or abstract of the article/resource: indicate what the article argues and focuses on, any key examples and insight it provides; [3]list of any questions you have about your project or research at this point and about which you would like feedback, from me and/or a peer.

M  11/19

House, finish novel

quiz on novel through the end.

 the novel is famous for having what many consider to be a disappointing ending. How do you see the ending--is it what you expected?

W  11/21

No class: Thanksgiving

F  11/23

No class: Thanksgiving

M  11/26

Draft of research project due

We will workshop your draft.

Post to Blackboard.

W  11/28

Final draft due--with secondary sources incorporated, cited.

we will work on editing, including attention to effective and proper use of secondary citations in the essay.

Post to Blackboard

F  11/30

Writing due: Research Link

Submit to Blackboard.

M  12/3

Further reading:

Trachtenberg, "Seeing and Believing" page 418 in the text. + reading log

Identify aspects of the essay that you feel are most compelling and insightful; consider/assess how the essay is written. Be prepared to share with us your assessment and how it works as a form of literary scholarship. What would Emerson think?

W  12/5

Final project: further reading, re-reading, ideas for essay

will workshop ideas for final project and your development of your web

F  12/7

[last class]

Final project: Draft of American Experience essay

will workshop your web and have a final discussion regarding the American Experience issue of diversity, as seen through Douglass and others.