American Lit. Course Calendar Spring 2021
NOTES • • • • • •
Reading responses, exams, and essays must be completed before 11:59 p.m. on the Sunday following the week under which they are listed. For instance, Reading Response #11—“Going to Meet the Man” by James Baldwin—is listed under the week of March 14–20; therefore, it is due on or before 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 21. The same is true of your two exams and your one essay. The readings that require you to write reading responses are typed in bold and red. Exams and essays are typed in ultra bold and blue. The volume and page number for each reading are in parentheses. For instance, “(D582)” would indicated that the reading is in Volume D of your textbooks and on Page 582 in that volume. Footnotes are listed numerically and can be found on the last page of this course calendar. Be sure you read them.1 A lot of times you will see the initials ALW following an en dash—a punctuation mark that is longer than a hyphen and shorter than an em dash, which is traditionally referred to simply as a “dash.” This is a weird habit I developed years ago when social media was first starting out. The organization I was running at the time had a group of assistants, secretaries, PR people, and other individuals who would make posts under my name. To indicate that I personally wrote the post, I would add “–ALW,” and it’s a habit I’ve kept
Allen Loibner-Waitkus • UA-PTC
for years. Oddly, I found out years later that Hillary Clinton does the same thing. • Just like the syllabus, this course calendar is subject to change.
CALENDAR JANUARY 19–23 • Introduction to Class • Complete Course Agreement JANUARY 24–30 • Read “The Storm” by Kate Chopin (C544) JANUARY 31–FEBRUARY 6 • Read “The Other Two” by Edith Wharton (C857)— Reading Response #1 (2 points) • Read “[Because I could not stop for Death -]” by Emily Dickinson (C100) • Read “[I heard a fly buzz - when I died -]” by Emily Dickinson (C102)—Reading Response #2 (2 Points) FEBRUARY 7–13 • Read “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (C844)—Reading Response #3 (2 Points) • Read “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost (D230)—Reading Response #4 (2 Points) • Read “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost (D233) FEBRUARY 14–20 • Read “Swear” by Zora Neale Hurston (D517)— Reading Response #5 (2 Points) • Read “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald (D630)—Reading Response #6 (2 Points) FEBRUARY 21–27 • Read “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner (D771)—
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Reading Response #7 (2 Points) Read “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (D803)—Reading Response #8 (2 Points)
FEBRUARY 28–MARCH 6 • MIDTERM EXAM (20 Points) MARCH 7–13 • Read “Yet Do I Marvel” by Countee Cullen (D854) • Read “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright (D958)—Reading Response #9 (2 Points) • Read “The Leap” by James Dickey (Instructor provided Reading)2—Reading Response #10 (2 Points) • Read “Adultery” by James Dickey (Instructor Provided) MARCH 14–20 • Read “Going to Meet the Man”3 by James Baldwin (E392)—Reading Response #11 (2 Points) • Read “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor (E432) • Read “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg (E487)—Reading Response #12 (2 Points) • Read “Footnote to Howl” by Allen Ginsberg (E495) MARCH 21–27 • SPRING BREAK—No Class MARCH 28–APRIL 3 • Read “Sylvia’s Death” by Anne Sexton (E551) • Read “Ariel” by Sylvia Plath (E625) • Read “The Woman Thing” by Audre Lorde (E685) • Read “Sex Without Love” by Sharon Olds (E857)— Reading Response #13 (2 Points) APRIL 4–10 • Read “The Dear at Providencia” by Annie Dillard
(Instructor-provided Reading)—Reading Response #14 (2 Points) • Read “Turning Out Badly” by Annie Dillard (Instructor provided Reading) • Read “Tsunami” by Annie Dillard (Instructor provided Reading)—Reading Response #15 (2 Points) APRIL 11–17 • Read “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker (E913) • Read “Lullaby” by Leslie Marmon Silko (E1042) • Read “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros (E1101)—Reading Response #16 (2 Points) APRIL 18–24 • Read A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (E76)—Reading Response #17 (4 Points) APRIL 25–MAY 1 • Watch Life of a Dog4 by Laurie Anderson (Instructor provided Video)—Reading Response #18 (4 Points) MAY 2–8 • •
FINAL EXAM (20 Points) FINAL ESSAY DUE (20 Points)
Good for you for reading the footnotes. Instructor-provided readings can be found in a folder in the “Course Content” section of the class. While they may not be available now, they will be posted before they are due. 3 Trigger Warning: This short story is very graphic and may be upsetting. That does not mean, however, that you don’t have to read it. Baldwin, an AfricanAmerican author and civil-rights activist, intended to upset the reader. If the reader isn’t horrified, the story isn’t effective. 4 Yes, this class actually includes a movie (if it can be called that). Two versions of the film in MP4 format will be included in a folder in the “Course Content” section. One version will include closed captions. 1
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