美國文學(一)

This course introduces students to some major authors and literary works in American literature before the Civil War. We will highlight several antebellum issues, such as settler colonialism, slave narratives and the abolitionist movement, romanticism and the gothic, and the intersectionality of race, gender, and other social differences.

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CLASS ATTENDANCE You have to check your attendance each week. Whenever you miss one hour of class, I will dock 1 point (out of 10). Our TA Star Chen (starchen.flg07g@nctu.edu.tw) will be in charge of the roster. If you have not let her know your attendance within the first ten minutes of each hour, your attendance score will suffer. Once you check your attendance, you do not have to do it again in the next hour(s). If you have to miss classes for legitimate reasons (official or sick leave), please let the TA and me know in advance/in person. A doctor's note must come with your sick leave for the sick leave to be valid. I will not count your legitimate leaves as absences unless there are more than TWO times. If you miss more than TWO classes (even for legitimate reasons), those absences will more or less affect your final score. Also, if you miss any class, your quiz score of the week will be 0 (since not all your quiz scores enter the final score, you should not have any additional waiver). If you are on personal leave, you are not entitled to any exemption. GROUP REPORT On our schedule, you will see a dual report system: the numeral ([1], [2], and so on) are for readings assigned to the whole class; the alphabetic ([A], [B], and so on) are for unanthologized novels or unrequired readings. For each text in the numeral system, three (or four) people will introduce the author, summarize the assigned text, and point out important themes in 15 minutes. If you are in charge of a long novel, be smart about your time. For each text in the alphabetic system, three people will summarize the assigned text and show us crucial topics in 10-15 minutes. In each presentation, there should be only one student in charge of the plot summary. If the groups in the numeral system have not introduced the author, you have to. Unless you report in a careless manner, you may expect to obtain 90-100 points (out of 100) for your one-time report. DISCUSSION, PARTICIPATION, AND QUIZZES We will have quizzes (weekly or biweekly) and discuss our readings in the third hour. The highest 80% of your quiz scores will enter your final score. Sometimes, I have additional questions for discussion in the third hour. Those who come up with a fair answer to the question will earn a bonus 10 points for their quiz score. You are entitled to earn 2 times of the bonus throughout the term. You need to see the TA right after class to enter your bonus 10 points; otherwise the points become invalid. MID-TERM EXAM Depending on the nature of the questions on your mid-term exam, you may refer to your textbook or notes for 3-5 minutes or the whole session. All questions will come from lecture or discussion. 10-15% of the questions come from group reports. FINAL PROJECT In place of a traditional final exam, we will have final projects. You may write a short academic paper (1000-1200 words, double-spaced) on any text covered in class, retell one of the antebellum texts covered in class (in Chinese or in English, 5-8 pages long), create art works inspired by our readings (with a few paragraphs to describe the connection between your works and the literary texts), or produce a film adaptation of any story we cover this term. You are encouraged to talk to me if you have any other kind of project in mind. In weeks 14 and 15, we will have mandatory conferences. Depending on the nature of your project, you may complete the assignment alone or in a small group of people. You should decide how you are going to approach your final project by week 10.

Class Attendance: 10% Group Report: 10% Discussion, Participation, and Quizzes: 20% Mid-Term Exam: 30% Final Project: 30%

Baym, Nina, et al., editors. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 9th ed., vol. 1, W. W. Norton, 2017. Please use the 9th edition. We will read some texts only available in the new edition. It will also be easier to locate passages during lecture if we use the same edition.

地點

HC409

時間

M. 14:00-16:00 or by appt.

聯絡方式

chku@nctu.edu.tw #58117