ENGL2618H: American Literature and Diversity
Spring 2008, Course code 1320, 10-10:50 MWF	

Dr. Sherry LinkonOffice hours:235 DeBartolo Hall 
330-941-1951 
330-941-2977
sllinkon@ysu.eduMW 11-12
Th 2-5
COURSE GOALS:
This course fulfills general education requirements as an Artistic and Literary Expressions course, addressing the following goals:
Goal 8: Grasp and appreciate artistic expression in multiple forms and contexts.
Goal 12: Comprehend and appreciate the development of diversity in America in all its forms.

These fairly general goals translate into several specific ideas that form the core of this course: 
Understand that “diversity” refers not only to a range of social and cultural categories of identity but also to a whole set of issues in American society, including the distribution of opportunity, discrimination and resentment, social divisions and attitudes, and how we define ourselves as individuals and as a society.  
Understand that diversity affects and involves everyone, not only because we all have complex cultural identities but also because the complexity of our society shapes our opportunities, experiences, and attitudes.
Understand that diversity involves inequity that we cannot “fix” easily because it is rooted in social systems, not only in attitudes or interpersonal relationships.
Understand that education offers opportunities for one to improve one’s position in American society (by “becoming” more American or by becoming more middle class), but that educational opportunity is distributed unequally and that the education system supports and is supported by the existing social structure.   
Develop the ability to select and deploy appropriate strategies for interpreting literary texts and analyzing situations related to diversity. 
Appreciate that literature offers insight into our own lives, the perspectives of others, and how society functions.

This course is about learning ways of thinking, not about memorizing a set of facts, terms, or specific data.  Through reading, thinking, writing, and talking about the assigned texts, you’ll strengthen your ability to develop and support your own ideas.  

REQUIRED TEXTS:
Dorothy Bryant, Miss Giardino
Ernest Gaines, A Lesson Before Dying
Maria Massiotti Gillan and Jennifer Gillan, eds.  Unsettling America: An Anthology of Contemporary Multicultural Poetry
Moises Kaufman, The Laramie Project
Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake
Anzia Yezierska, Breadgivers

Additional texts are available for download in WebCT.
ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING:  

AssignmentDescriptionDue datePointsOngoing critical thinkingEvery week, you will post at least twice in a WebCT online discussion board, once by 5 pm on Sunday and again by 5 pm on Wednesday.  I will sometimes pose questions for discussion, but you may also suggest your own questions for discussion, or you may continue or reflect on our in-class discussions.  You may earn 1 point for each post that meets the basic requirements, which I will explain in my initial discussion board posting.Weekly30Literature as argument A 3-4 page paper identifying the argument made by a poem of your choice (something we do not read as a class) from the Unsettling America anthologyFebruary 1120Style discussionsPlan and lead a class discussion of one short text, focusing on its style; this project will be completed collaboratively, in small groups.March 19, 21, 2410 Intertextuality projectDuring the last two weeks of the semester, we will stage a panel discussion among some of the writers and characters we’ve encountered during the semester.  You will be responsible for writing a character sketch and representing your character or writer during the panel.  Sketch due April 23

Panel notes due April 2810Fieldwork notesOver the course of the semester, you will complete 15 hours of fieldwork, selecting a combination of at least 3 activities from the list we provide.  You will take notes on your experiences, making connections between course themes and what you observe and learn through the fieldwork.  3 times:
February 20
March 28
April 3010Research projectUsing your field work experience, our course readings, and any additional research you complete for 1551H or on your own, you will write an 8-10 page research paper answering the inquiry question you posed at the beginning of the semester.  May 620
Your course grade will be based on the total number of points you accumulate, using the following scale:
90+  = A
80 – 89 = B
70 – 79 = C
60 – 69 = D
59 or below = F





COURSE GUIDELINES:  
Come prepared – Always bring the assigned reading to class, and come prepared to say something about it.  If you have any difficulty accessing any of the online texts, contact me at least 24 hours before class.
Follow the style sheet – I will distribute a style sheet detailing the format and editing guidelines for the papers.  If you do not follow these guidelines, you will lose points on your papers.  If you have difficulties with editing, please visit the Writing Center or meet with me before completing your papers.
Turn your work in on time – If you do not request an extension before class time on the day an assignment is due, you will lose 1 point for every calendar day (not every class meeting) that it’s late.  I will not accept any assignment more than 1 week after its due date.
Don’t cut and paste –- Write your own ideas in your own words.  Cutting and pasting from the web limits your learning, and it’s a form of cheating.  If I catch you, you’ll have to rewrite the assignment.  If I catch you more than once, you’ll fail the course.  
Incompletes -- You may request an incomplete in this course if something beyond your control prevents you from finishing all of the assignments, but only if you have completed enough of the course, and done well enough, that I am persuaded that you will can finish the course independently.  If you take an incomplete, you have up to a year to complete the course requirements.  If you do not complete them, the incomplete grade will change to an F.
Disabilities – If you have a physical or learning disability, and if you have registered with the YSU Disabilities Services office, please let me know early in the semester.
Safe Zone – YSU’s “Safe Zone” program provides training to faculty and staff in the issues faced by many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students.  One of the basic principles of a “safe zone” is that classroom and online behavior should not be discriminatory or threatening.  Safe Zone faculty commit to try to maintain a welcoming classroom atmosphere and to provide support for LGBT students.  In this course, I will try to ensure that our discussions explore the complex and often difficult issues of difference, identity, and power without making anyone feel threatened, judged, or excluded.  While LGBT students may have a special need for a safe zone, this need applies to everyone in a course on diversity.  We should honor all voices, across the political, religious, and cultural spectrum.  If something happens in class that makes you feel that you cannot speak freely, please let me know how I can help.  


COURSE SCHEDULE 

DateThemes/GoalsWhat to read BEFORE you come to class 1/14What is literature?  How and why do we study it?  Collins, “Introduction to Poetry”1/16What is diversity?  What questions and issues does it raise?  What puzzles you about it?

Models for thinking about diversity1/18Why does education matter?  Why is education a theme in writing about diversity?Poems TBD – “I’m sitting in my history class,” 1/23Race, class, ethnicity, and gender – understanding identity and social categoriesPoems TBD1/25Re-active reading: why your response mattersBreadgivers1/28Zooming in: why the text mattersSelect a passage (no more than 3 paragraphs) from the novel that seems especially important or interesting1/30Themes & big ideas: what does it mean?2/1Literature as argument: analyzing poemsPoems TBD2/4Literature as argument: analyzing poemsPoems TDB2/6Field work day2/8Posing questions: what makes a good question?A Lesson Before Dying2/11Strategies for unpacking questions2/13Positionality: why who we are mattersOlds, “On the Subway”2/15More with positionalitySelect a poem that “speaks” to you and one that you find un-engaging or offensive2/18Field work day2/20Identifying difficultyMiss Giardino2/22Digging into difficulty: why “hard” is also “good”2/25More work with difficulty2/27Field work day2/29Style – What does “style” look like?  Poems that invite style analysis3/3How do writers shape our experience? narrative perspectiveBambara, “The Lesson”3/5How does style connect with meaning?Bring the 3 novels to class3/7Linking style with meaning – groups begin workPoems TBD3/10-3/14SPRING BREAK3/17How to plan an effective discussion
Meet with your discussion leading group3/19Student-led discussions about style3/21Student-led discussions about style3/24Student-led discussions about style3/26Form – How does the way a story is told shape its messages about diversity?Read The Laramie Project3/28Tolerance vs. acceptance: moving beyond morality3/31Field work day/Optional film screening4/2Thinking about literature in contextPoems TBD4/4Lab session – finding contextual sourcesDunbar, “When Malindy Sings” & “We Wear the Mask”4/7What can we learn from the context?4/9Intertextuality: How do literary texts work together?Whitman, “I Hear America Singing” and Hughes, “I, Too, Sing America”4/11Synthesis: moving from reaction, to questions, to analysisThe Namesake4/14Synthesis: foregrounding ideas about diversity4/16Bringing it all together4/18Field work & research day4/21Field work & research day4/23The literary conversation about diversity, identity, and power4/25Preparing for the panel4/28Intertextuality panel4/30Peer reviews5/2Peer reviews