REQUIRED TEXTS
--Annas, Pamela and Robert C. Rosen. Literature and Society: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Non-fiction, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2007.
--Hersey, John. Hiroshima, Vintage Books, 1989.
--Burdick, Eugene and Harvey Wheeler. Fail Safe. New York: Harper Perennial. 1999.
--Any up-to-date dictionary
OTHER MATERIALS
--This webpage/syllabus
--Links to other websites
--Handouts and assignment sheets to be distributed as needed.
--Possible E-Reserves at Schmidt Library
For the literary readings, ALWAYS read and try to answer the questions at the end; they will help toward your understanding of the readings. If you have any questions/concerns, e-mail or see me after class.
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Class Schedule for LIT160 (Tuesday-Thursday, 3:30 - 4:45)
Week 1
1/22: No Class. Late scheduling and New Student Orientation.
1/24: Distribution of syllabus. NOTE: You are responsible for reading this website version of the syllabus thoroughly and, when necessary, asking questions. Growing Up and Growing Older: "Girl," Jamaica Kincaid, 67-69, and "Yours," Mary Robison or http://wps.ablongman.com/long_longman_mylitlabdemo_1/0,9668,1606980-,00.utf8.html.
Week 2
1/29: "Kinds of Writing," 19-22; "Critical Reading Journal," 22-27; "How Fiction Works," 1467-1482. Growing Up and Growing Older: From "The Bluest Eye," Toni Morrison, 69-72.
REMINDER: Drop/Add ends on 1/30.
1/31: Growing Up and Growing Older (continued): "A Mistaken Charity," Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, 140-150. "How Poetry Works," 1483-1512. "Ex-Basketball Player," John Updike, 166-167; "the mother," Gwendolyn Brooks, 162-163; "Undertaker," Patricia Smith, 181-184, and "Danner Walked the Walk" (Obituary handout).
Week 3
2/5: Growing Up and Growing Older (continued): "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," T.S. Eliot, 168-172.
2/7: "How Non-fiction Works," 1527-1534. Growing Up and Growing Older (continued): "No Name Woman," Maxine Hong Kingston, 265-274; "Gun Crazy," Dorothy Allison, 291-295; and "Leap," Brian Doyle, 1119-1121.
Week 4
2/12: The American Dream: "Harlem," Langston Hughes, 1286; Read play: The Piano Lesson, August Wilson, Act I, 808-843. Begin VIDEO.
2/14: The American Dream (continued): Read play: The Piano Lesson, August Wilson, Act II, 843-879. Finish video. Begin discussion.
Week 5
2/19: The American Dream (continued): Finish discussion of The Piano Lesson.
2/21: Growing Up and Growing Older (continued): "Touch Me," The Doors, http://home.att.net/~chuckayoub/Touch_Me_lyrics.html and http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_doors/touch_me.html, "Touch Me," Stanley Kunitz, http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/touch-me/; "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night," Dylan Thomas, 194.
Week 6
2/26 & 2/28: Spring Break
Week 7
3/4: UNIT TEST #1 (0-100 POINTS): "GROWING UP AND GROWING OLDER" and "THE AMERICAN DREAM." "Writing Under Pressure: The Essay Exam," 17-19 (See also Section IV of this packet).
3/6: "How Drama Works," 1513-1526. Women and Men: "Trifles," Susan Glaspell, 551-564.
Week 8
3/11: Women and Men (continued): "Hills Like White Elephants," Ernest Hemingway, 320-324; "Cinderella," Olga Broumas, 397-398; "I Want a Wife," Judy Brady, 569-572.
3/13: Money and Work: "I Stand Here Ironing," Tillie Olsen, 588-594.
Week 9
3/18: LITERARY JOURNAL SUBMISSION #1 (0-100 POINTS): "GROWING UP AND GROWING OLDER," "THE AMERICAN DREAM," and "WOMEN AND MEN," by 10:00 p.m., submitted as an MSWord file (See Section III.E of this packet), OR by the beginning of class for print versions. Money and Work (continued): "Ballad of the Landlord," Langston Hughes, 685-687; "Ella, in a square apron, along Highway 80," Judy Grahn, 672-674; and "MIKE LEFEVRE: Who Built the Pyramids?" Studs Terkel, 929-937."
3/20: Easter Break.
Week 10
3/25: Money and Work (continued): "Everyday Use," Alice Walker, 654-662; "So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs From Americans," Jimmy Santiago Baca, 676-679.
3/27: No class. I will be attending a professional conference.
Week 11
4/1: Varieties of Protest: Read: "The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner," Alan Sillitoe, Parts I-II,1204-1222. Begin Video.
4/3: Varieties of Protest (continued): "The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner," Alan Sillitoe, Part III, 1222-1232. Video (finish).
Week 12
4/8: Varieties of Protest (continued): "The Loneliness of the Long-distance Runner," Alan Sillitoe, Discussion. Biography and Background on Alan Sillitoe.
4/10: Varieties of Protest (continued): Sylvia Plath video and discussion.
Week 13
4/15: "Daddy," Sylvia Plath, 1292-1294; "Edge" (handout), Sylvia Plath; "The Lovepet," Ted Hughes, 394-396.
4/17: UNIT TEST #2 (0-100 POINTS): "WOMEN AND MEN," "MONEY AND WORK," and "VARIETIES OF PROTEST" (Review Section IV of this packet).
Week 14
4/22: Peace and War: "August 2026, There Will Come Soft Rains," Ray Bradbury, 946-951; Begin Hiroshima, by John Hersey, read chapters 1-3.
4/24: Peace and War (continued): Finish discussion of Hiroshima, by John Hersey, read chapters 4-5. (For voluntary a.m. conferences on 11/15, sign up on the conference sheet).
Week 15
4/29: Peace and War (continued): Begin reading Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, chapters 1-5. Begin video: Fail-Safe.
5/1: Peace and War (continued): Read Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, chapters 6-13. Finish video: Fail Safe. Discussion.
Week 16
5/6: Peace and War (continued): Read Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, chapters 14-23 (end). Finish discussion of Fail-Safe. The Cold War connection. "The Man I Killed," Tim O’Brien, 979-984; "In Response to Executive Order 9066: ALL AMERICANS OF JAPANESE DESCENT MUST REPORT TO RELOCATION CENTERS," Dwight Okita, 999-1001.
5/8: LITERARY JOURNAL SUBMISSION #2 (0-100 POINTS): "MONEY AND WORK," VARIETIES OF PROTEST, "PEACE AND WAR" and "PROTEST SONGS" (See Section III.F of this packet). Due by 10:00 p.m. as an MSWord attachment. Protest Songs: "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)," Woody Guthrie, 711-712. Handouts: "The Merry Minuet," Sheldon Harnick, and "The Moral Majority," Doug Mayfield.
Final exam period
5/15: FINAL EXAM (0-100 POINTS): (Review Section IV of this packet.) at 3:30 in our regular classroom.
* * * Please note that the final exam period is scheduled for the very last exam slot; I do not make up the final exam schedule, so do not complain to me. However, you are bound to this final exam slot, for I will NOT reschedule or give early exams for ANY reason. If this schedule does not work for you, then you may use this exam as your *dropped* grade; otherwise, it is your responsibility to make your final exam your top priority. * * *
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