ENGL 2132: American Literature II (Fall 2010)

· 80203: TR 2-3:15, C322

Prof. Jesse Bishop

Office: Cartersville 327

Office Hours: MWF 9-11; MW 2-4

Phone: 678.872.8093 (it is best to contact me via email, when possible)

e-mail: jebishop@highlands.edu; professorjessebishop@gmail.com

Course Description (from the GHC Catalog): A survey of American literature from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

Professor Bishop’s course will focus on the notion of what makes something “American” by developing the socio-historical background for its development and how Americans (both native born and immigrant-Americans) embrace (and occasionally pervert) the notion of identity. Some ideas students can expect to deal with include but are not limited to: the Puritan work-ethic, boot-strap individualism, notions of democracy and independence, as well as an examination of the themes in literature that assert a seemingly unique sense of identity. Students can expect to read authors such as Franklin, Emerson, Whitman, Melville, Twain, T. Roosevelt, B.T. Washington, W. E. B. Dubois, Ellison, Updike, and others. Students will also be expected to screen select films outside of class, including Last of the Mohicans (1992), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Fight Club (1999).

*A note on language: This is a literature course, with an ENGL prefix, which means we will be examining the language used to express specific and complicated ideas. We will, on more than one occasion, deal with strong and/or abrasive language. It is my pedagogical and personal belief that language ought not to be sterilized because it makes us uncomfortable. If you are bothered, in any way, by strong language or themes (racism, sexuality, greed, and violence), then you should drop this course and enroll in another. Likewise, if you are blinded by a false sense of patriotism and believe that our national identity is not something that can (or should) be critiqued, then you should drop this course immediately.

Prerequisites: ENGL 1101 and 1102 with grades of C or better.

Course Text(s): Norton Anthology of American Literature, 7^th ed., Vols. C-E

Additional materials available through the course website and on DVD

Policies

MIDTERM WIHDRAWAL DATE: 12 October 2010.

The Hendricks Mandate: Dr. Randy Hendricks, one of my former professors and a close personal friend, offered me the following advice when I was an undergraduate, and it seems as apropos now as it ever did: “The professional relationship between an instructor and a student is not that of vendor and consumer. One does not buy learning the way one buys a car, a sound system, or a hamburger. Tuition buys professional direction and assistance to your own study as well as a fair and careful assessment of your progress. It never buys the right not to attend class, to fail to complete assigned work, or to practice a radical individualism that distracts the instructor and classmates with impunity. By agreeing to teach this class, I agree to provide direction, assistance, and assessment. By enrolling in this class, you have created obligations for yourself. If you do not meet them, you will not succeed.”

Furthermore, I, Mr. Bishop, do not give grades. Students earn them. Please know that our relationship should not be antagonistic. I am here to help you, but I am here to make you work. If we are all aware of this, things should run smoothly this term. Writing takes practice and practice takes discipline; let’s share the load.

Consider this a binding contract between us; I do.

Attendance: It is essential that each student attend class for each meeting of the term.

I do not make distinctions between excused and unexcused absences. Each student in this course brings an important element of knowledge to the class. When one person is absent, the class as a whole is affected. Every class is important; every class contributes to your education. I expect you to come to class not only for what you can learn, but also for what you can contribute to the class. Your opinions and comments are valuable; therefore, your absence is a loss to the class as a whole, not just yourself. If you miss a class, get notes from a classmate; don’t ask me to go over what you missed. You may not make up missed daily assignments, including but not limited to: activities, essay workshops, quizzes, or exams.

Any student who misses five (5) classes will not be permitted to return to the class unless he or she has written permission from the Humanities Division Chair or his designee. If a student does not get permission from the Chair, he or she will fail the course. If a student misses 5 class meetings, that student will have 3 business days to meet with the Division Chair. If a student does not comply, he or she will fail the course. This policy is not negotiable.

Academic Honesty: Students are encouraged to read the GHC Academic Integrity Code at http://www.highlands.edu/academics/academicaffairs/academicintegritypolicy.htm and be familiar with policies concerning plagiarism, student conduct, and academic integrity.

Georgia Highlands College seeks to promote and ensure academic integrity on its campuses. Adherence to the principles of academic integrity insures students are provided opportunities that foster their academic growth. Students are expected to complete all work without cheating, lying, plagiarizing, stealing, or receiving or giving unauthorized assistance. Students with questions about any of these policies or definitions should seek clarification from an instructor, division chair, Director of Student Life, or the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Members of the College community are expected to be familiar with the Academic Integrity Code and to cooperate upon enforcement. Faculty will take all appropriate steps to inform students of academic integrity principles, including all permissible as well as prohibited acts.

Examples of Prohibited Acts

No student shall knowingly perform, attempt to perform, or assist another student in performing an act of academic dishonesty, including the following:

Plagiarism

Submitting the words, ideas, opinions, or theories of another, except those that are common knowledge, without proper credit to that person is considered plagiarism. Unfair credit includes, but is not limited to, a direct quotation of all or part of another’s words without the proper identifying marks and/or merely stating the general source in a bibliography without noting the specific source in a body of work. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following when performed without fair credit:

· Direct quoting of all or part of another person’s written or spoken words without quotation marks or similar appropriate punctuation;

· Paraphrasing all or parts of another person's written or spoken words without proper documentation within the submitted work;

· Stating an idea, theory, or formula originated by another person, as one's own;

· Repeating information, such as statistics, which is not common knowledge and was originally compiled by another person;

· Purchasing or receiving any academic works from another person or another source and submitting the work as one's own for evaluation or grade.

Presenting another person’s ideas or words as your own is plagiarism, literary theft. I expect you to do your own work. I will report plagiarism in any and all instances, even if the stolen material amounts to a single sentence.

Plagiarized work will result in an automatic zero (0) for that assignment and a zero (0) for the course discussion/participation grade. Any such incident requires that paperwork be filed with the Office of Student Life and notations to the student’s permanent record will be made. Furthermore, any student caught plagiarizing or cheating in any way, shape, fashion, form, or amount, will receive a zero for the course participation grade. It is my firm belief that any student who plagiarizes is not participating in college, but trying to steal his or her way to a degree. I tolerate no such nonsense.

Plagiarism is stealing; one cannot hope not to be prosecuted for just stealing a little, so any instance of literary or idea theft will result in my vehement pursuit of the most extreme sanctions possible.

If I suspect, for any reason, that a student has plagiarized any assignment, I will fail the student for that assignment on the spot and the student loses any and all participation points for the term. Any student who finds himself or herself in this situation should expect to sign the Academic Misconduct Incident Report upon meeting with me at the initial disclosure of the suspected event. In keeping with the Georgia Highlands College Academic Integrity Policy, in the event of a suspected case of plagiarism, I will complete a copy of the Academic Misconduct Incident Report and present the document to the student at a meeting to take place no later than three working days of discovery of plagiarism. The student will either agree with my sanction—as outlined above—or he or she will request a formal hearing. If a student disagrees with my sanction, I will not discuss other options. The matter will be handled through the Office of Student Life.

The Bottom Line on Plagiarism: Don’t do it. If you do, you will fail the assignment and lose your discussion/participation points! No Exceptions!

Grading: Grades for this course will be determined as follows: three essays and three exams will count for 90% of the course grade; the remaining 10% will come from quiz/participation points.

Late work: Generally, I do not accept late work. However, I will accept essays after the due date at the following rates of penalty: -5 points for essays turned in on the due date but after class; -10 points for the next calendar day; -20 for two calendar days; -30 for three calendar days; beyond the third day, I will not accept work. Again, I make no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. If a student is absent on the day an assignment is due, the assignment is late—unless prior arrangements have been made. *Note: a “prior arrangement” is an agreed upon decision, not a student telling me that he/she will be turning something in later than expected.

Classroom Etiquette:

Respect—I will do my very best to foster a sense of community in the classroom, but it will require your participation. You will address your classmates and me in a courteous manner; you will not be disruptive; you will respect your classmates’ opinions; you will be respected in turn. You will not treat my classroom as a social environment by chatting with your classmates, playing with technology, or coming and going as you like. If any of the aforementioned behavior occurs, there will be consequences. Anyone who does not adhere to professional standard of classroom interaction will be asked to leave—once. The second time I have to ask a student to leave, I will send a letter to the Vice President for Student Affairs requesting that the student be removed permanently from my course.

Preparedness—This is a college course, and I expect you to be prepared to work each time you arrive to my class. If you fail to bring your course materials on any given day, then you will be asked to leave. If you fail to do your homework, then you will be asked to leave. If you fail to be able to discuss relevant themes in class because you have failed to read (or read thoroughly) an assignment, then you will be asked to leave. Any time I have to ask you to leave the classroom, you will be counted absent with regard to the course attendance policy.

Tardiness—Class starts at a specific time. If you cannot make it to my class on time, consider sleeping in. I will not be late and I expect the same of you. Do not simply walk into my classroom during a lecture. If any student is more than five minutes late, he or she will marked absent for the day and receive no grades on the day’s work.

Cell phones—Turn them off and put them up when you come in the room. I don’t want to see them on your desk, and I don’t want to hear them. If your phone goes off in class—pick up your things and leave for the rest of that class period. Any student whose phone rings or vibrates or makes any other disturbance will be asked to leave and marked absent for the day. If a phone goes off during an exam, the student will receive a zero (0) for the assignment.

Email Policy (taken directly from Dr. Laura Beth Daws)—You should treat every email as a chance to practice professional written communication skills, so please adhere to standard conventions of grammar, spelling and language when writing emails to me and other instructors at GHC. I will correct grammar, spelling and punctuation in your emails just like I would correct them in a written assignment. This is a class in human communication (Prof. Bishop’s note: the same holds true for ENGL courses), after all, and I’d hate to know you left my class thinking it was acceptable to contact potential employers, bosses, or other professionals with sloppy emails! (In other words: i am ur teacher, not ur friend. dont send me emails that look like txt msgs, even if u used ur iphone 2 send them. kthx).

Disability Statement: Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should make an appointment with the College Access Center (706-802-5003) to coordinate reasonable accommodations. Students may also contact the instructor privately to discuss needs and concerns. This should be done as early in the semester as possible.

Earned F: This message applies only to students receiving financial aid: Federal regulations state that if a student did not attend classes and received failing grades, then the grades were not earned and financial aid needs to be reduced accordingly. Please be advised that any student receiving a 0.00 GPA will be required to prove that the 0.00 GPA was earned by attending classes or completing requirements for each class. Students who have earned at least one passing grade for the semester will not be affected by this regulation. If a student has properly withdrawn from all classes, the student’s financial aid should be adjusted from the time they signed the withdrawal form.

IC @ GHC: This course proudly supports IC@GHC!

NOTICE: The instructor reserves the right to alter the dates, material covered, or format of any exam after notifying the students in advance.

You are acknowledging your understanding of and agreement with the above statements and with the syllabus in general by continuing to remain enrolled in this class.