Survey of American Literature: 1865-Present

Dr. Yvonne Mills

Picture of my dog, Mr. Charlie Chaplin

Introduction

Welcome to the liquid syllabus for Professor Mills's American Lit 2! You can think of this as a crash course in what to expect from this class, as it offers a preview of what's to come and an overview of course objectives , major assignments, scheduling, and expectations. Reviewing this page is the first step in orienting yourself to the course and asserting your commitment to delving into the challenge that is modern British literature.

My name is Dr. Yvonne Mills, and this semester I will be playing the role of instructor and guide. If you need me or ever have questions (no question is too small), please don't hesitate to reach out. I am here to help facilitate your success this semester. You can find my contact information through the Cerro Coso Staff and Faculty Directory. Preferred methods of contact and additional ways to contact me are detailed in the complete course syllabus available to you on Canvas.

Who am I?

I am an award-winning stage actor and director, whose past credits range from playing Hamlet in a reverse-gender adaptation of the play, to directing Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, to performing as The Witch in Into the Woods. My love of literature, and especially Shakespeare, has allowed me to bridge the gap between the study of literature and literature as living art. I earned a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and Biology from the University of Redlands, a Master's degree in Literature and Film from the Claremont Graduate University, and a PhD in English, also from the Claremont Graduate University. My academic research centers on adaptations of Shakespeare used across the globe as socio-political commentary, and my publications can be found in such journals as LLIDS and Theory and Practice in English Studies.

In addition to my academic and stage pursuits, I sing in the Eastern Sierra Community Chorus, ski, garden, enjoy hikes with my dog, Mr. Charlie Chaplin, and am an avid traveler.

Dr. Yvonne Mills as Hamlet

To learn about this course, scroll down to continue reading or visit the course pages in the dropdown menu at the top of the page

About the Course

This literature course introduces students to American literary traditions from 1865 to the present. The course emphasizes analyzing texts and studying Americans' intellectual, social, and cultural history through literary trends and movements from the latter half of the nineteenth century to modern day.

Additional Course Information

English 242 represents the second American literature survey course offered by Cerro Coso. This course will offer a broad view of not only the major canonical authors in modern American literature, but it will also seek to include a number of women and minority voices as well.

In addition to an emphasis on close-reading and literary analysis, this course will also delve into the cultural and socio-political contexts from which the studied works emerge.

English 242 demands that you give over much of your time these next 16 weeks to the solitary and sometimes exhausting task of puzzling through a wide variety of literary works. Most students will need to spend at least six hours a week reading; many will have to devote eight or ten. Some of what we read is likely to frustrate confuse, and/or bore superficial readers, and even attentive readers are likely to find some of what is assigned annoyingly opaque.

It is in the nature of a survey course to give students the somewhat dizzying experience of reading more broadly than deeply. There are advantages and disadvantages in trying to get through so much literature. Part of the rationale is to give you points of reference for further reading, in other courses or in your free time.

I expect all students to make an honest effort to read carefully the works that are assigned. But don’t worry too much when you don’t understand something; you’re almost certainly not alone.

And one more thing: There will be several readings assigned each week. While, ideally, you should read them all, I understand that sometimes life happens and some weeks are busier than others. But again, please strive for completion each week. When major, long works are assigned (for example, complete plays) alongside shorter works, if you cannot complete everything, you should strive to prioritize the major work. Weekly discussions will offer a variety of topics about which to write or will be based around broad conceptual topics that will allow inclusion of any number of the assigned readings.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

Read actively and critically a diverse selection of literary works of American literature from 1865 to the present.
Identify key elements of literary genres in order to analyze and interpret texts.
Relate literary works to their historical, cultural, and aesthetic contexts.
Define, identify, and analyze literary and dramatic techniques in the works.
Compose formal written analyses of texts that demonstrate appropriate academic discourse and the conventions of literary analysis.
Research appropriate primary and secondary sources and apply documentation skills without plagiarism.

How this Course Works

Major Units and Readings

In brief, here are the major units of study for the semester:

Realism, Regionalism, and Naturalism: Weeks 1-4
- Select poetry and fiction by authors such as Mark Twain, Henry James, Kate Chopin, and Jack London
Early African American Literature: Week 5
- Select essays and poetry by authors such as Booker T. Washington and Paul Laurence Dunbar
Modernism: Weeks 6-9
- Selections of Modernist poetry by authors such as Robert Frost and Ezra Pound
- Selections of Modernist fiction by authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway
- Arthur Miller's play The Death of a Salesman
Harlem and Southern Renaissance: Weeks 10-12
- Selections of authors of the Harlem Renaissance including Langston Hughes and Claude Mckay
- Selections of contemporary fiction and poetry from First and Secondwave Southern Renaissance authors such as William Faulkner
- Tennessee Williams's play A Streetcar Named Desire
Post-Modernism: Weeks 13-14
- Selections of post-modernist fiction and poetry by authors such as Allen Ginsberg and Toni Morrison

Working Through Course Materials

Everything you need for a given week is provided to you in Canvas, including our primary course textbook. Each week has two modules associated with it. The first module, "Overview and Lessons" will provide you with the learning materials you will need to be successful on assignments for the week. The second module, "Assignments" will house all of your assignments for the week. Reviewing the Overview and Lessons module each week is a pre-requisite to unlocking your assignments each week.

Average Week Described

This course operates on a Monday through Sunday schedule with the following typical due-date pattern:

Fridays: Initial Literary Salon posts due
- On rough draft weeks for formal writing, drafts will typically be due on Fridays
Sundays: Response posts due to classmates;
- On quiz or essay weeks, quizzes and final drafts of essays will typically be due on Sundays
- Literary Responses will typically be due on Sundays

Materials for the upcoming week will typically be posted the Friday before the week begins (if not sooner).

Image of Toni Morrison

Positive Attendance, Participation, and Drop Policy

Cerro Coso requires active participation and attendance in all classes to maintain enrollment in a course. Inactive students will be dropped by the instructor any time up to the 60% point (last day to receive a W) of the semester.

What is Active Participation?

Active participation means that the student submits original and authentic work (your own ideas and writing, created without the use of AI or unauthorized assistance)on a regular basis. Logging into Canvas and looking around does not count as active participation. Submission of plagiarized work does not count as active participation.

Student Responsibilities

Regularly submit work
Ensure work is original and authentic: Submission of plagiarized work does not count as active participation.
Be aware of your current participation/attendance status
Notify instructor about inactivity: Notification in no way relieves the students of responsibility for work missed. Notifying me about inactivity also may not prevent a drop if participation requirements are not met.
Drop courses that you do not plan to complete: Students are responsible for officially withdrawing from any course in which they no longer wish to be enrolled. Non-attendance/non-participation does not release the student from this responsibility. You will receive a grade if you do not drop the course before the drop date.
Be aware of drop dates: Drop dates for this semester can be found in the Important Dates section of the complete course syllabus.

Academic Honesty

For an explanation of this course's expectations regarding academic honesty, please visit the "Academic Honesty" page in the drop-down menu above

Getting Started

To get a jump start on your readings for Week 1, visit the "Getting Started" page in the drop-down menu above.

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