J. Roth                                                                                                            FALL 2004

Office: Main Building 211-T

Phone: 533-7058

E-mail: jroth@scc.spokane.edu

Web Site: http://ol.scc.spokane.edu/jroth

AMERICAN LITERATURE 245—“W” Course

 

 TEXT:  Perkins:  The American Tradition in Literature, Volume I, Tenth Edition

ABOUT THE COURSE:

American Literature 245 is an interdisciplinary “W” course that gives us the opportunity to study early American authors and their works.  The time span will be roughly from 1620 to 1865.  Course content not only includes literature, but also history, philosophy, science, religion, and social movements including racial, labor, political, and legal issues.  No attempt will be made to convert you to a particular belief; no particular belief will be exempt from scrutiny.

Class time will include both small-group discussion, general discussion, and research.  Please remember that this is not a lecture course, and so, to profit, always read assignments in advance and come to class willing to discuss them; please do not attend if your intention is only to have other class members or me tell you what we think the assignments mean.  Expect an occasional pop quiz to encourage participation and reward those who complete assignments on time.

If you browse through the text’s table of contents, you will realize that this course’s content is difficult to simplify.  Therefore, understanding and enjoying this literature will demand extra time and effort from all of us.  In addition, your reading skills must be at college-level to understand much of what we will be reading.  If you feel your reading skills are not at this level, please consider enrolling in a reading improvement course before enrolling in English 245.

A sample of the English of the times is attached.  If you feel your reading skills are not at this level, please consider enrolling in a reading improvement course before enrolling in English 245.

 

THE WEB SITE

 Please visit our course web site often.  On it you will find announcements, assignments, due dates, calendar updates, handouts, and additional resources.   Just go to http://ol.scc.spokane.edu/jroth.  If you need help getting to this site, please stop by my office for a demonstration.

 

EXPERIENCES (EXAMS) (100 points each--three during the term)

There will be three of these, roughly dividing the course into thirds.  All questions will be short essay.  Each experience is worth up to 100 points and cannot be taken late unless you make arrangements in advance.  Because this course provides a "W" credit, your success on these experiences (exams) will depend upon your use of written English as well as upon your mastery of course content. 

 

PREPARATORY WRITING ASSIGNMENTS (10 points each, 15-20 during the term.)

Occasionally, prior to a discussion class, I will ask you to write a one-to-two page formal reaction to the reading or readings that we will be discussing in class that day.  Number and date the assignment, and be sure to put the name of the work it is about at the top of the page.  Be ready to share your reaction and turn it in at the beginning of the class.  

These preparatory writing assignments are due at the beginning of class and will not be accepted later during class that day for any reason.  This is because they only have value if they are written before the discussion and the writer then participates in the discussion.

The keys to success are the following:

·        Read the assignment carefully and answer the specific question(s) the assignment poses.

·        Always have your assignment written before class.  I will be calling on each of you to share your entries throughout the quarter.

·        Be honest.  Write what you really feel, not what you think you are supposed to say.

·        Show respect for the English language—use it correctly.  Because this course provides a "W" credit, the points you earn on these assignments will in part be determined by your use of written English.

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS POINTS (POP QUIZZES and other activities.  TOTAL POINTS TO BE DETERMINED)

 On occasion throughout the quarter I will award points at my discretion for work we are doing in class or at home.  For example, after a particularly rewarding class where all of us have done our best and actively participated, I might award five Miscellaneous Points to everyone present.  Again please remember that Miscellaneous Points DO NOT fall under the make-arrangements-in-advance guidelines--you cannot make arrangements to earn Miscellaneous Points on days when they are awarded and you do not attend.  In addition, even though Miscellaneous Points cannot be made up, they do, in fact, become part of the total course points used to determine your grade.

 

MAKING UP ASSIGNMENTS

 There are no make-ups unless you make arrangements in advance.  However, to allow for the unexpected, you may make up one missing prep-writing or short assignment without penalty. This make-up guideline does NOT apply to the three major experiences, pop quizzes, or Miscellaneous Points awards—only to prep-writing and short assignments.

 

PORTFOLIO FOLDER

 Please keep all returned assignments in your portfolio folder.  Being able to produce a returned, graded assignment is the ONLY WAY to verify that you have completed the assignment if my records indicate otherwise.

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY

 I do not take attendance because I believe that at the college level, attendance is the student’s responsibility.  Unlike earlier, required school participation, enrolling in college is a choice you freely make; in addition, it is a privilege, not a requirement.  Therefore, if you choose not to take advantage of it by not attending, that is your right. 

 

YOUR FINAL GRADE:

S.C.C. uses the decimal grading system.  I will first convert your grade to percentage by dividing you total points by the total points possible.  I will then convert your percentage grade to a decimal grade using the chart below.  The decimal value will appear on your grade sheet and transcript.

 

Grade Scale--Roth

All Courses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

% to

Decimal

 

Letter

% to

Decimal

 

Letter

% to

Decimal

 

Letter

% to

Decimal

 

Letter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100--4.0

A

89--3.4

B+

79--2.7

C+

69--1.7

D+

99--4.0

A

88--3.4

B+

78--2.6

C+

68--1.6

D+

98--3.9

A

87--3.3

B+

77--2.5

C

67--1.5

D

97--3.9

A

86--3.3

B

76--2.4

C

66--1.4

D

96--3.8

A

85--3.2

B

75--2.3

C

65--1.3

D

95--3.8

A

84--3.2

B

74--2.2

C

64--1.2

D

94--3.7

A

83--3.1

B

73--2.1

C

63--1.1

D

93--3.7

A-

82--3.0

B

72--2.0

C

62--1.0

D

92--3.6

A-

81--2.9

B-

71--1.9

C-

61--0.9

D-

91--3.6

A-

80--2.8

B-

70--1.8

C-

60--0.8

D-

90--3.5

A-

 

 

 

 

0.7--less

F

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READING SAMPLE

 

This is a sample of the English of the times:

From William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, Book II (Your text, top of Page 56)

They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength, and had all things in good plenty.  For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion.  All the summer there was no want, and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees).  And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc.  Besides they had about a peck a meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion.  Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned but true reports.

 

Questions:

1.      What time of the year does the passage describe?

 

2.      True or False:  The passage indicates that many of the people are sick or in poor health.

 

3.   True or False:  The passage indicates that fishing is very poor, which is leading to the people’s fears of hunger.

 

4.   True or False:  The author suggests that the number of animals to hunt has decreased since the group first arrived.

 

5.   True of False:  The author suggests that the people wrote their friends truthfully about the food supply.

 

If you had difficulty reading this passage and/or answering the questions that followed, your present reading skills may keep you from being successful in this course.  If this is the case, please consider enrolling in a reading improvement course before enrolling in English 245.