Tidwell (Miami University)

General Information

Abstract

Our goal for this term is to read, analyze, and appreciate texts by famous American writers and by relatively unknown ones. In the course, we will encounter an "American" literature that has undergone reshaping and redefinition, having benefitted from efforts to expand the canon of "traditionally" anthologized texts and authors. As we encounter this new, richly diverse collection of writers and texts, we will be guided not only by an attention to formal qualities but by historical contexts too. Ultimately, our challenge is to develop not only skills in critical reading and writing but an informed sense of what is of value in literature.

Required Texts

Paul Lauter, ed. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, vol. 2

Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson

Requirements

Each student will be asked to take a written mid-term and final examination. Supplementing these major exams will be a number of quizzes, both announced and announced. (Please note: there is no make-up on missed quizzes.) Moreover, students will be divided into groups of four to five to conduct research on a problem related to the materials we study in the course. Each group will submit a collaboratively-written paper and present to the class the results of their research. An option to the research paper (e.g., musical recital, debate, display of original art work, etc.) is also possible.

Consistent attendance and class participation are expected. Two or more unexcused absences will lower the final grade, and may result in dropping the student from class. Unusual contributions to meaningful class discussions will be rewarded.

Readings & Pedagogy

First Part

Jan. 12, 14 Introduction; "To Reader"; and "Late Nineteenth Century"

Jan. 19, 21 Development of Women's Narratives 35-35; Rebecca Harding Davis 41-67

In-Class Writing: "Life in the Iron Mills"

Jan. 26, 28 Regional, National Voices 192-213; James's "Daisy Miller"

Focus Questions: "Daisy Miller"

Feb. 2, 4 Paul Laurence Dunbar , 473-89

February 8 H.W. Martin's "Eyes of the Poet: Paul Laurence Dunbar"

Feb. 9, 11 Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson

Feb. 16, 18 Mon-Tues Exchange; Twain (cont.)

Feb. 23, 25 Issues and Visions 738-39; Gilman's "Yellow Wall-Paper"; New Explorations, 850-51; Booker T. Washington 851-77

Focus Questions: "The Yellow Wall-Paper"

Mid-Term Examination

Second Part

Mar 9, 11 Modern Period 933-960; Toward Modernism 961- 62; E.A. Robinson 962-72

Mar 23, 25 Frost (TBA) Masters 1033-36

Mar 30, Apr 1 Brown , 1519-35

Apr 6, 8 Faulkner 1406-21 Hemingway 1387-92

Conclusion

Apr 13, 15 GROUP REPORTS

Apr 20, 22 GROUP REPORTS

April 27, 29 Conclusions; Course Evaluation

Second Examination

Research Paper Topics

Suggested Research Paper Topics

As indicated early in the semester, I am interested in dividing the class into a series of research teams to write collaboratively on different topics. The list of subjects follows; after each group comes to an agreement about the topic it chooses, please let me know. The group will do all of the research collectively, from preliminary library research, formulating the thesis, to writing the final draft. The final product will be a fifteen to twenty page paper; it is to be typed or word-processed. All papers are due no later than class time on April 20th. Evaluation will be of two kinds: first, the paper will be evaluated on its own merits as written work; and a second grade will be assigned to the oral presentation of the work to class, which will occur in the last two weeks of the semester. The following topics are options: 1. Research an Ohio writer not on our reading list and analyze a sampling of fiction, drama, or poetry by this writer. 2. In light of the controversy generated by "canon formation," research the origins of the term and then discuss its implications for defining American literature. 3. Research and come to consensus on a working definition of biography. Then select an emeritus member of Miami's faculty (preferably one from the English Department, although you will not be limited in that respect), and write a "biography" of that person. 4. Select a written work of American literature that has been made into a movie. After reading and researching the work, explore how the work undergoes change from one medium to the other. 5. After researching a working definition of feminism, apply it to an interpretation of a novel written in the period 1920-1940. 6. Demonstrate how the 1920s Harlem Renaissance acquired the status of "the cultural mecca of New Negroes" by presenting a representative program of blues and poetry to illustrate this literary and artistic movement. 7. Research and offer an analysis of a representative sample of work from one of the following groups: Native Americans, Asian Americans, or Chicanos. Discuss the question of identity--both individual and group identity. ("Who am I, and what is my relation to others?") 8. If you would like to propose another topic, please write a half-page abstract and then discuss it with me.