The Buddha Rat

Susquehanna 1101: MTuWThF 9:00am–12:00n
Instructor: Mark Forrester
E-mail: maforr@umd.edu
Office: Susquehanna 3119
Office Hours: After class or by appointment
Office Ext.: 53823
Phone #: 301.422.4719 (emergency only)

Required Text
William E. Cain, ed.: American Literature, Volume Two
ISBN # 0-321-11624-0

Course Description & Objectives
English 222 is designed to provide an overview of American literature since the Civil War. The goals of our class include: 1) to introduce you to many of the most important authors, literary movements, and critical terms relative to this period, 2) to strengthen your ability to read a text with close critical attention, 3) to strengthen your ability to make sophisticated comparisons between texts, and 4) to strengthen your ability to write about texts in both formal and informal contexts, as well as to discuss them with others.

Course Requirements
There will be two formal papers (5–6 pages each) and frequent in-class quizzes. Punctual attendance and active class participation are also required: our most important work will be accomplished in the discussions that are the focus of each class. Because of the compact nature of this term, even one absence means you will miss a significant amount of important work and information, and may make it difficult for you to pass this course. Papers drop one letter grade if they are turned in late (i.e., more than ten minutes after the start of class) on the assigned due date; after that date, they will not be accepted and will receive a zero. Papers less than the minimum required length, or which contain numerous mechanical errors, will receive an F.

Paper Format
Do NOT use any quotes longer than four lines in length. Papers must be typed (in an 11 or 12 point, easy-to-read, serif font), double-spaced, left justified only, with 1” margins on all four sides. Do not use a title page: put only your name in the upper right margin, skip a line, center the title, skip a line, and begin your essay. Papers must be stapled! Do NOT use outside sources.

Disability Support
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations with me, please contact me immediately.

Academic Dishonesty
You are responsible for knowing the University's policies regarding academic dishonesty. Plagiarism (the use of another person’s words or ideas without attribution), or any other form of academic dishonesty, will not be tolerated and will be reported.

Cancelled Classes
Should the campus close due to bad weather, we will make up the missed class on the Saturday following it, at the same time. W eather alerts are announced on the University website (http://www.umd.edu/) and the “snow phone line” (301-405-SNOW), and reported to local radio and television stations. If we miss two classes that week, we will meet both that Saturday and Sunday. If absolutely necessary, we may also meet on Tuesday January 23. For additional information on winter term policies, please consult:
http://www.winter.umd.edu/w/.

Final Grades
Paper #1: 20%
Paper #2: 25%
Final Exam: 25%
Quizzes: 20%
Participation: 10%

Note: This syllabus is subject to change: any changes will be announced in class, and you are responsible for knowing those changes. Complete each reading assignment before the beginning of the first class at which we are scheduled to discuss it. You are also responsible for reading the biographical headnotes for each author, and may be tested or quizzed on that material as well!

Tue Jan 2
Introduction to Course
Expo: Magic of the White City

Wed Jan 3
Letter to the Reader: Literary Realism in America [3]
Bret Harte: Outcasts of Poker Flats [42] (1869)
Sarah Orne Jewett: A White Heron [126] (1886)
Mary Wilkins Freeman: The Revolt of "Mother" [145] (1890)

Thu Jan 4
Booker T. Washington: from Up from Slavery [162] (1901)
W.E.B. DuBois: from The Souls of Black Folk [240] (1903)
Charles Chesnutt: The Sheriff's Children [174] (1899)
Paul Laurence Dunbar: We Wear the Mask [334] (1896)

Fri Jan 5
Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Yellow Wallpaper [204] (1892)
Stephen Crane: An Episode of War [255] (1899)
Jack London: To Build a Fire [280] (1902)

Mon Jan 8
Edith Wharton: The Other Two (1904)
Willa Cather: Paul's Case [336] (1905)
Sherwood Anderson: Hands [407] (1919)
Robert Frost: "Out, Out—" [401] (1916)

Tue Jan 9
Susan Glaspell: Trifles [430] (1916)
Zora Neal Hurston: The Gilded Six-Bits [560] (1933)
Claude McCay: If We Must Die [545] (1919)
PAPER #1 DUE

Wed Jan 10
William Faulkner: That Evening Sun [627] (1931)
Richard Wright: Long Black Song [700] (1938)
Langston Hughes: Theme for English B [693] (1949)

Thu Jan 11
F. Scott Fitzgerald: Babylon Revisited [601] (1931)
Ernest Hemingway: Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber [645] (1936)
Wallace Stevens: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird [422] (1931)

Fri Jan 12
James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty [587] (1941)
John Cheever: The Enormous Radio [860] (1953)
Ralph Ellison: Battle Royal [878] (1952)
Robert Lowell: Memories of West Street and Lepke [1325] (1959)
Frank O'Hara: The Day Lady Died [1399] (1959)

Mon Jan 15
MLK DAY: NO CLASS

Tue Jan 16
Letter to the Reader: American Literature Since 1945 [729]
Tennessee Williams: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof [773] (1955)

Wed Jan 17
Philip Roth: Defender of the Faith [972] (1959)
Flannery O'Connor: Revelation [917] (1964)
Joyce Carol Oates: Where Are You Going . . . [1020] (1966)
James Wright: A Blessing [1416] (1963)
Elizabeth Bishop: In the Waiting Room [1295] (1976)

Thu Jan 18
Alice Walker: Everyday Use [1094] (1973)
Grace Paley: A Conversation with My Father [892] (1974)
David Leavitt: Territory [1189] (1982)
Mary Oliver: The Black Snake [1448] (1979), The Black Walnut Tree [1450] (1979)

Fri Jan 19
Louise Erdrich: The Red Convertible [1162] (1984)
Raymond Carver: A Small, Good Thing [1035] (1984)
Alice Elliott Dark: In the Gloaming [1144] (1993)
Yusef Komunyakaa: Facing It [1484] (1988)
Joy Harjo: Eagle Poem [1489] (1990)
PAPER #2 DUE

Mon Jan 22
FINAL EXAM