Professor Lori Askeland, English
123 Hollenbeck
Office Hours: 4-5:15 MWTh, 12-1 T
Phone: 327-7061
&
Required
Texts
Great Short Stories by American Women. ed. Candace Ward. New York: Dover, 1996.
Morrison, Sula. 1973. New York: Penguin, 2002.
Oates, Joyce Carol. Snapshots: 20th-century Mother-Daughter Fiction. New York: David R. Godine, 2001.
Rowson, Susanna. Charlotte Temple. 1790. ed. Cathy Davidson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Wilson, Harriet. Our Nig. 1860. ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 3rd ed. New York: Vintage, 2002.
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. 1926. ed. Cynthia Griffin Wolff. New York: Penguin, 1987.
A good grammar handbook (I have freebies—ask!) and/or MLA handbook.
M Course
Description/ Objectives
Lust. Sex.
Birth. Madness.
Death. What more is there to
life? American women have long been
wrestling with these topics, along with the age old question, “What will my
mother think if I . . . ?” This
course is going to examine a variety of women’s short stories and novels,
starting with one of the first American woman’s novels, Charlotte Temple, all the way up to some very recent works by women
who make us question terms like “American” and “women” and
“fiction.” I’ve already
deliberately chosen a few thematic elements for our consideration: adultery and
the “fallen” woman, the seductiveness of the “foreign” (and what that
term means in a land of immigrants), mothers and daughters, etc.
I’m intrigued by the roles and purposes that women have carved out for
themselves—at least in fictional exploration—in a land where “all men are
created equal.” Our goals:
·
To read and explore a variety of
traditions of fiction written by American women, in order to better understand
women’s roles in American culture(s) and in the production of culture.
In other words, how have women—of varying races and ethnicities and
social classes—helped to create what we think of as “American” society and
culture? What kinds of stories have
they tended to tell about being “American” and about being
“women”?
·
To be able to distinguish between
some of the genres of fiction: the sentimental novel, realism, naturalism,
romance, science fiction, etc., and to see some “fictional” elements in
“non-fiction,” e.g. the stories told in the non-fictional text, Reviving
Ophelia
·
To consider the relationship
between “fiction” and “reality.” Why
write fiction? Why read it?
Do fictional texts help us see things, or say things, that we can’t
readily say if we’re purporting to tell only “the truth”?
·
To re-consider how we evaluate
“good” literature. What makes a
novel “trashy”? What makes it
“artistic”? (Is one person’s
trash another’s treasure? Should
all kinds of novels be taught in college classrooms? Why or why not?)
Does the writer’s gender—or the perceived gender of his/her
readers—affect how a novel gets evaluated?
Does it make a difference as to how we interpret it?
·
To work on our own
writing—primarily expository, analytical writing—and also to experiment with
some fiction-writing strategies.
@
Course Assignments/Assessment
Reading
Responses/Quizzes 20%
(expect at least one over every reading)
Essay 1: 15% (3-5 pages)
Midterm exam: 15% (2 parts: identification of terms, characters,
quotations etc., and essay question)
Essay 2: 20% (3-5 pages)
Final Project: 25% (5-7 pages)
Attendance/Participation/Maturity* 5% (“90% of life is just showing up.” –Woody Allen.)
*Any absence for ANY reason has the potential to interfere with learning, especially if you fail to Practice Maturity. (See attached “Attendance, Pariticpation, Maturity” handout for more information.) I reserve the right to fail any student for too many absences—whether excused or unexcused. More than 3 T/Th absences=“too many.” FYI: That number—3—includes excuses for university-related events, athletics, music, theatre, etc.academic honesty:
In
order to do my job, I must be able to trust that any student work I read was
created by the student whose name appears on it. Once that trust is broken, it
is very difficult to regain. Thus, any instance of plagiarism or other form of
cheating will be treated as a serious matter in this course.
Remember that all work done at Wittenberg must now carry the following
words:
“I affirm that my work upholds the highest standards of honesty and
academic integrity at Wittenberg, and that I have neither given nor received
unauthorized assistance.”
All
students should familiarize themselves with the new Code of Academic Integrity,
which is available at: http://www4.wittenberg.edu/academicintegrity/CodeOfAcademicIntegrity01152003.pdf
the
fine print: dr. askeland’s pet peeves, rules for papers, etc.
1) All papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date, unless specified otherwise. But it is better to attend class, without a paper, than to skip class to finish a paper. Skipping class to finish a paper is a pet peeve of mine. I may cut you a break if you come to class, on time, sans paper. I will not cut you a break if you skip class.
2) If you arrive late with the paper, or do not come to class at all on that date, hoping to turn it in after class, the paper is automatically considered one full day late—even if I find it in my mailbox after class. The day ends whenever I happen to leave or cease to check my mailbox for the day. Any excuse must be unforeseeable and fully documentable—including funerals. Illnesses must be very serious indeed to avoid penalty. Colds, for example, are just bad luck; plan ahead. Quizzes and in-class activities that are worth points cannot be made up, regardless of excuse.
3) Papers are docked 10 pts the first day they are late and 5 pts each day thereafter. (So, if you show up 20 minutes late for class and turn in a paper that should have received an 85, it will receive a 75. If I find it on my door after class, it is one full day late. If I find it in my mailbox the next day, it will receive a 70.) This includes each weekend date, and, no, you may not hand in papers on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.
4) Please do not slide papers under my door. They may lie crumpled behind my door for weeks, and will no doubt receive a failing grade. Put them in my departmental mailbox or tack them to my board. Hand them to me during my office hours. I prefer NOT to have to print your papers out for you, except in emergencies. If you feel you must email me an attached paper, be SURE to also turn in a hard copy of the paper as soon as possible.
5) All papers must be written according to MLA style: typed in a normal font (10-12 pt Times New Roman or equivalent), with normal 1” margins on all sides. Your last name and the page number should appear on the top right hand corner of each page.
6) To receive a passing grade, all papers MUST quote from relevant texts, analyze the quotations, and use parenthetical citations and ALWAYS include a complete works cited list. Papers that do not have a works list will fail, even if the only works that are cited are texts from this class.
7) If I have collected and commented on drafts of the paper, keep the draft and turn it in with the final version of the paper.
FINAL ADVICE: In the long run it will be better for you to lose a few points with grace than to bother me with a continuous stream of excuses. If given the choice between accepting the penalty for lateness or absence, even if it strikes you as unfair, or whining for a break or an exception, please choose the former tactic. I bore of guilt trips, and remember them when I’m calculating end-of-term grades. Practice maturity.
Differing
Learning Styles
Students
who face any special learning challenges,
“America
is now wholly given over
to
a damn’d mob of scribbling women . . .”
~~Nathaniel Hawthorne,
in a letter to his publisher, 1855
> go to American Women's Fiction syllabus
> go to lori askeland's home page
(c) Lori Askeland, Wittenberg University 2003; last update 08/27/2003 04:37 PM