ENG 303: American Novel

Course Description

This course will focus on a survey of important American novels. The reading ranges from the earliest American novels to more contemporary ones. The claim of greatness varies for each novel; some are important in the history of the United States, some for their themes, and some are 'firsts" in a number of ways. The course will consider a variety of cultures in the United States. Throughout, the identification of the "American-ness" of the American novel will be a central focus. Resources for further study of American literature and history will be identified. (3 credits)

Prerequisites

• ENG 101: English Composition 1
• ENG 102: English Composition 2

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Read novels carefully, with understanding, attention to details, tone, audience, and cultural assumptions—both of their own culture and other cultures in the United States.
2. Respond to prompts in written English that is clear and mechanically sound. Answers will be elaborated with evidence from the readings.
3. Draw conclusions from the readings.
4. Reflect on and revise previous assumptions about American literature and history.
5. Show evidence of changes in values and assumptions about literature and American values.
6. Understand the different expectations of different audiences of readers: scholarly, popular, literary, historians, majority versus minority readership, and male versus female.
7. Access and evaluate literature-related websites using an evaluative rubric.
8. Understand cultural and ethnic differences among Americans in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Course Activities and Grading

Required Textbooks

• Kate Chopin's The Awakening. No specific edition required.
• John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. No specific edition required.
• Toni Morrison's Beloved. No specific edition required.
• Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. No specific edition required.
• N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn. No specific edition required.
• Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five. No specific edition required.
• Herman Melville's Moby Dick. No specific edition required, but recommend the Longman Critical Edition. Edited by John Bryant and Haskell Springer. New York: Pearson, 2007. ISBN: 0-321-22800-6.
• Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson. No specific edition required.

Note: Books may be found at area libraries or bookstores.

Additional Resources

• http://www.angelfire.com/nv/English243/Chopin.html
• http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/program.html
• http://www.usingenglish.com/amazon/us/0142000663.html
• http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/grapesofwrath/
• http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/steinbeck.asp
• http://www.luminarium.org/contemporary/tonimorrison/beloved.htm
• http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1993/index.html
• http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg149.htm
• http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/stowe.asp
• http://fayette.k12.in.us/~cbeard/cy/
• http://www.bartleby.com/227/0119.html
• http://www.melville.org/mobyname.htm
• http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/Moby.htm
• http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues00/Co05062000/CO_05062000_Momaday.htm
• http://www.salon.com/books/int/1999/10/08/vonnegut_interview/
• http://www.vonnegutweb.com/index.html

Course Schedule

COSC Accessibility Statement

Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.

COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources

Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.