Damon (Niagara County CC)
General Information
About the structure of her course, Professor Damon writes:
The syllabus changes with each semester because it is
student - driven. I use the three-part structure of the text
and divide each semester into thirds. Within each section,
the students (who work in groups of five to six) choose
authors whose works they wish to read. I supplement their
choices, adding authors I want them to read. From these
selections, the calendar/syllabus is developed. By asking
students to make decisions, it has been my experience that
they thus invest more in the whole course and are more
willing to do a thorough job on papers and the oral
presentations which I require. This method also "shifts the
chalk;" students are frequently in charge of class
discussions. Their own assessment is that they know they
cannot bluff and so are thorough with their research and
presentation. When a student is making a presentation, I
simply highlight salient points.
At the conclusion of each of the three sections, I ask the
students to create the examination for that period. As
groups, they collaborate and write the exam question(s) for
the authors on whom they have focused. In order to avoid
picayune questions, I ask them to consider what they hope
their classmates will remember about "their" author ten
years from now. The results to date have been fair, tough,
thoughtful exams (which we refer to as "opportunities"). I
enclose a few samples.
The only drawback to this method is that the instructor
should be familiar with the entire text in order to fill in
the gaps that inevitably occur. The advantages are far
greater; the instructor does not get "stale," and the
students assume an extraordinary degree of responsibility
for their own learning.
Final Examination
SELECT TWO FROM THIS SECTION: Do NOT write on an author
about whom you have written a paper.
THE COLONIAL PERIOD
1. American Indian culture was (and is) different in many
ways. Their stories were the frame of their ways.
Demonstrate how their stories explained their understanding
of life and their "differentness."
2. "The Mayflower Compact" was written by Bradford and
represented a new way of thinking about human relationships
that has profoundly affected political writing and thinking
ever since its composition. Support this statement.
3. John Winthrop referred frequently to his sense of the
importance of the early settlers establishing a "City on the
Hill." Though the source of the idea was Biblical, the
implications were political, and ultimately, had impact on
writers of this and later periods. Cite and explain at least
three other authors (from any period) who might subscribe to
the "missionary" sense of Americans as a special people.
4. Michael Wigglesworth's "The Day of Doom" is a long poem
written with a keen awareness of poetic "rules." What was
his purpose in writing this way?
5. The women whose writing is represented in our text from
this period (Bradstreet, Rowlandson, Knight) had particular
purposes for their writing, but did you find them "small"
voices or predictors of the increasing importance of the
female voice in American Literature?
6. One American trait evident in much of the early
literature is a sense of guilt. Ministers exploited this
sense in their sometimes passionate sermons and journal
writing. Public figures were sometimes "driven" to confess
or to leave the community. Discuss this statement with
reference to at least two authors.
AGE OF REASON/ENLIGHTENMENT/ROMANTICISM AGAIN, CHOOSE TWO
FROM THIS SECTION, AND DO NOT WRITE ON AN AUTHOR ABOUT WHOM
YOU HAVE WRITTEN A PAPER.
1. Phillis Wheatley's writing was significant for several
reasons. What were (at least) three of these reasons?
2. Benjamin Franklin's publications from Poor Richard's
Almanac to his articles in The Courant gained widespread
popularity. What factors contributed to his success?
3. Crevecour and Paine wrote of the terrible, wrenching
dilemma that the impending American Revolution might mean
for the individual and for the country. How convincingly did
they (both should be discussed) present their cases?
4. Jefferson was chosen to write the Declaration of
Independence because he was one of the greatest writers of
his day. Support this statement.
5. The optimism of the Revolutionary period affected many.
Among them were Abigail Adams and Judith Sargent Murray, who
addressed the issue of equality for women. What were some of
the techniques each used to convince their readers?
6. During this period of American Literary history, a wider
variety of (minority) voices was being heard. Why did this
happen and what were the issues raised by at least two of
the "lesserknown" authors?
NATIONAL LITERATURE
CHOOSE THREE OF THE FOLLOWING AND, AGAIN, DO NOT WRITE ON AN
AUTHOR ABOUT WHOM YOU HAVE WRITTEN A PAPER.
1. In Cooper's novels a great attitudinal change about the
American wilderness occurred. What was the attitude (
specific citation of an author would be convincing), and
what was the change represented by Cooper?
2. Poe carefully explained how he constructed a particular
poem. Do you find evidence that all of his works were
constructed in a similar manner? Explain - thoroughly.
3. In his essay "Self-Reliance" Emerson said "A foolish
consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" (1516) . What
did he mean by that? What was he encouraging in this essay?
Of what value might this essay have been at the time he
wrote it?
4 . What Frederick Douglass wrote (and spoke) about was
powerful and profoundly affecting on the political arena of
his time. As this is a literature course, assess the power
of HOW he wrote with specific reference(s) from the text.
5. Henry David Thoreau was not only a writer of great skill,
but also a man with excellent perceptions of the human
problems of his time. Many of the problems he wrote about
still exist in 1991. What are at least two of those
problems, and what did Thoreau have to say about them that
struck you as insightful?
6 . Clear in his writing is Hawthorne's thesis that the
imposition of standards (another individual's or the
community's) was destructive (figuratively and literally) to
the individual. Discuss with specific reference to two
samples.
7. Although her characters were "shallow" and many of the
situations "contrived," the impact of Stowe's novels was
profound. How do you account for the power of her writing?
8. In "Billy Budd, Sailor" Melville frequently announces
that he is going to deviate from the path of the narrative.
Frustrating as this may be to 1991 readers, what purpose was
served by these deviations?
A Coffin - is a small Domain -
Yet abl e to contain
A Citizen of Paradise
In its diminished Plane
How do you identify the author of this poem?
10. Independent thinking is something most of us admire.
Whitman certainly encouraged that in the subj ects and the
style of his poetry as he made the style suit the subj ect
rather than the more traditional approach of forcing the
subject into a rigid form. Support this statement and
explain how it affected your reading of Whitman's poetry .
Bonus: For what would you be willing to go to jail? Not a
careless question; since many of the authors we've read this
semester were risk-takers who carefully thought about
principles and action based on those principles, one would
hope that you have also made some careful decisions.
OPPORTUNITY #2
THE MODERN PERIOD
Choose one of the following and prepare your answer. In all
cases, choose three authors from the Modern period as
examples, excluding the one on whom you have written a
paper.
1. The authors you selected to read in the Modern section of
the book are among the most famous, most widely read
American authors in history. Recently, there has been a
debate among teachers of Literature that such authors (who
form part of that is called the "canon") have caused less
widely read authors to be cast in the shadows. Many teachers
now advocate abandoning the canon in favor of giving the
"unknowns" their place in literary history. Make a case for
including these lesser known authors in American Literature
textbooks.
2. I see many similar issues that are shared by our authors.
Among them:
the generation gap;
the treatment of women;
the individual versus perceived or real social custom(s);
old values versus a search for (or abandonment of) new values;
animosity between the sexes
3. Lauter, in the introduction to the Modern Section of our
text states, "Modernism asks us to reconsider what we
understand ... [as] the center of culture" (934), that "new
styles of writing were necessary to express new ideas and
values" (935); "what society often treasured as its central
beliefs - in decency, in the necessity for hard work, in the
desirability of order and respect was what Modern art called
into question" (937).
Given this spirit of alienation in most of the authors we
have read, we, the readers, should feel uncomfortable.
Select three authors and point out what made you (or might
have made readers of 1910-1945) feel uncomfortable; why this
is so, and what the author seemed to be questioning,
reconsidering, and/or valuing.