Course Syllabus
The information contained on this page is designed to give students a representative example of material covered in the course. Any information related to course assignments, dates, or course materials is illustrative only. For a definitive list of assignments and course materials please check the online course catalog eight weeks before the course start date.

ENGL 232W: American Literature from 1865 (3) Introduction to literary history and analysis. Writers such as Mark Twain, James, Cather, Frost, O'Neill, Faulkner, Hemingway, Hughes, and Morrison. Prerequisite: ENGL 015 or ENGL 030

Overview | Objectives | Materials | Software | Technical Requirements | Course Schedule | Grading | Academic Integrity | Policies

Overview

Welcome to the World Campus and English 232W: American Literature from 1865. This course provides students with an introduction to literary history and analysis of works by American authors after the Civil War. As a literature survey, this course requires a good deal of reading. As a “W” course, it requires a reasonable amount of writing.

Course Structure

This course consists of fifteen lessons. Lessons 1-15 involve required readings and a reading quiz. During the course, students will be required to write four informal journal entries in response to prompts that will appear with the lessons. Students will also be asked to write six formal essays (three long and three short) over the length of the course.

Want to know more about how this will work?
The World Campus has a student orientation resource called "World Campus 101" designed to help you become more acquainted with online learning. Before you begin the course, I recommend that you work your way through World Campus 101!
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Course Objectives

ENGL 232W is a survey course of American literature from the end of the American Civil War (1865) to the present. This course is designed to provide students with the following:

• An awareness of the emergence and growth of a uniquely American literature.
• A general familiarity with some of American literature’s most significant writers and their works, including an understanding of those characteristics of their works that distinguish them as important contributions to American literature.
• A strong grasp of the relationship between the literary works we will read in this course and the historical periods from which they emerged.
• Strategies for actively reading and interpreting literature.
• Skills for competently drafting informal and formal written observations about literature.

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Required Course Materials

Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Using the Library

Many of Penn State's library resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Library Resources and Services for World Campus and Distance Education Web site, you can...

  • access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases
  • borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep...or even your desktop
  • ask a librarian for research help via e-mail, chat, or phone using the ASK! service

...and much more!

NOTE: You must have an active Penn State Access Account and be registered with the University Libraries in order to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and services. Registration and services are free!


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Software

Students using PCs must use Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003 (MSWord 2007 users MUST "Save As" .doc); students using Macs must use Office 2001, Office v.X, or Office 2004.

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Technical Requirements

Web access is required in order to complete this course. We recommend the minimum World Campus technical requirements listed below:

World Campus Technical Requirements
Operating System Windows 2000/XP or Vista, Mac OS X 10.2 or higher (10.3 or higher recommended)
Processor 1 GHz or higher
Memory 256 MB of RAM
Hard Drive Space 500 MB free disk space
Browser Mac OS X: Firefox (current version)
Windows: Firefox (current version)
Note: Cookies, Java, and JavaScript must be enabled.
Pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows
from Penn State web sites.


Due to nonstandard handling of CSS, JavaScript and caching,
we do not recommend using Internet Explorer 6 as your browser.
Plug-ins Adobe Reader [Download from Adobe]
Flash Player [Download from Adobe]
Additional Software Microsoft Office
iTunes/Quicktime
Internet Connection Broadband (cable or DSL) connection required
Printer Access to graphics-capable printer
DVD-ROM Required
Sound Card, Microphone, and Speakers Required
Monitor Monitor (Capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution)

If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the World Campus Help Desk.

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Course Schedule

NOTE: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. More information regarding graduation policies can be found on our Student Services graduation Web page.

Getting Started

Orientation to the online environment.

01: Poetic Nation: Emerging Voices in American Literature – Part I

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

02: Poetic Nation: Emerging Voices in American Literature – Part II

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

03: Minority Voices

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

04: Mark Twain and the American Novel

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

05: Women's Voices

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

06: Realism and Naturalism

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

07: Poetry in the New Century -- Part I

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

08: Poetry in the New Century -- Part II: Williams and Stevens

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

09: Regionalism and Race: William Faulkner and Zora Neale Hurston

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

10: Modernism and the New Poetry: Pound and Eliot

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

11: Modernism and the New Fiction: Hemingway and Fitzgerald

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

12: Ethnicity and Modernism

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

13: Tarnish on the Gilded Age – Waking from the American Dream

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

14: Postnuclear Poetry and the Beats

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

15: Postnuclear Fiction

ASSIGNMENTS and ACTIVITIES

Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. However, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year from the day the course began.

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Grading

Points
Description
52 Quizzes (13 @ 4 points)
60 Reading Journal (4 entries @ 15 points)
120 Longer Essays (3 @ 40 points)
60 Shorter Essays (3 @ 20 points)
8 Assignments on time (instructor-assigned points)
300 TOTAL POINTS


There are 300 total points possible in this course. Your final grade will be calculated according to the following scale:

Points
Letter Grade
276-300 A
270-275 A-
261-269 B+
250-260 B
240-249 B-
230-239 C+
209-229 C
179-208 D
0-178 F

Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Undergraduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.

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Academic Integrity

The World Campus is committed to maintaining academic integrity in this and all other courses it offers. The World Campus, the academic unit that is the home of each course, the course instructor, and exam proctors take academic integrity matters seriously.

Academic integrity—scholarship free of fraud and deception—is an important educational objective of Penn State. Academic dishonesty can lead to a failing grade or referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:

In cases where academic integrity is questioned, Penn State's policy on academic integrity requires that the instructor give the student notice of the charge as well as the recommended sanction. Procedures allow the student to accept or contest the charge through discussions with the instructor. If a student chooses to contest, the case will then be managed by the respective College or Campus Academic Integrity Committee. If a disciplinary sanction also is recommended, the case will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information students receive upon enrolling in a course. For that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us.

Additionally, students enrolled at Penn State via the World Campus are expected to act with civility and personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for self and others, and a civil community.

For more information on academic integrity at Penn State, please see the Academic Integrity Chart for specific college contact information or visit one of the following URLs:
www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/G-9.html
www.sa.psu.edu/ja/


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University Policies

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Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.

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