ENGLISH 16 - AMERICAN FICTION

FALL 2002 - MWF 11:30-12:20

OBJECTIVES This course should expand your sense of the diversity and vitality of modern American fiction. It also will provide you with opportunities to further develop your skills as a reader, writer, thinker, and speaker. In our discussions, we will pay attention to how these narratives are constructed, how they interact with their specific historical and autobiographical contexts, and what they may reveal about the complexities of gender, race or ethnicity, class, and regional or national identity. Students will be encouraged to take interdisciplinary approaches to reading and writing about fiction, drawing upon their knowledge of the other arts as well other subjects such as history, sociology, and psychology. TEXTS   Ernest Hemingway, The Short Stories William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (Norton, 2nd ed.) Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God James Agee, A Death in the Family Dawn Powell , The Wicked Pavilion Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior Don DeLillo, Mao II Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (Xeroxed copies of additional readings) REQUIREMENTS In keeping with College policy, you are expected to attend all of our class sessions and to prepare the readings assigned for each session. Since our classes will be largely discussion-based, your active participation (raising questions, suggesting possible interpretations, building upon or challenging others' interpretations, etc.) is essential. You and a partner (or partners) will be assigned responsibility for leading class discussion for certain sessions. For details, click here. Two 5-7 page papers are required for the course. For details, click here. Occasional in-class writing assignments and unannounced quizzes are also possible. A final examination will also be required. EVALUATION Approximate breakdown of final grade: 55% papers; 25% participation (including regular contributions to discussion, student-led discussion sessions, in-class writing assignments, quizzes, etc.); 20% final exam. Normally, paper deadlines will be extended and absences will be excused only in the case of a documented personal, family or medical emergency. Absences limit what you can gain from and give to this class. Unexcused absences will lower your final grade in the course. In-class writing, quizzes, and other activities completed in class may not be made up. [Top of Page] [Schedule]  [Details] [Class List] [Links] Site created and maintained by Cheryl Mares, English Department, Sweet Briar College. Last updated: 31 August 2002