Required texts:

Gordon M. Sayre, American Captivity Narratives (2000)
Nella Larsen, Passing (1929) [in The Complete Fiction of Nella Larson]
Langston Hughes, The Ways of White Folks (1934)
P. S. Rothenberg, White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism (2002)
David Henry Hwang, M Butterfly (1986)
Cristina Garcia, Dreaming in Cuban (1992)
Sherman Alexie, Indian Killer (1995)
Plus: a course packet (available at Copy Express in the student union)
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Here is EIU’s official description: “A study of American Multicultural literatures from approximately 1700 to the present, featuring African-American, Asian-American, Native American, and Latino/a writers, with emphasis on race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.” More specifically, we will take an historical, roughly chronological approach to this material, and we will also cover material that has recently arisen as significant in scholarly approaches to multiculturalism, including critical race theories, critical whiteness studies, and Arab American literature. It will become clear as we go along that no single perspective can fully represent or explain the American literary experience. Instead, there are many stories and many histories told from many different points of view. Most of us have been educated in only one or two of those histories and literatures, so in this course we will explore more of the recorded, interpreted experiences that make up our multiethnic, polyvocal society. Much of the material in this course might be difficult at first to grasp and to discuss, so you must be prepared for each class meeting by reading the material carefully beforehand. Finally, you may be expected to leave some of your “comfort zones”—we may have some heated discussions about issues that many Americans prefer to avoid, and some of your fundamental beliefs might be challenged.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

• To gain insight into forms of American literature written from unfamiliar perspectives, and to understand better the historical and cultural contexts from which such works were written
• To encourage consideration of the notion of “race” as a socially constructed fiction; of how deep and subtle the power of preconceptions of “Others” tend to be; and of how cultural factors intersect with others, including race, class, gender, sexuality, and religious preference
• To understand the impact on American literary studies of the opening of “the canon” to new literatures, and to explore the historical and theoretical relationships among canonical and non-canonical texts in American literature
• To practice articulating your well-considered responses to the issues raised by the course

MISSED QUIZZES, MISSED EXAMS, AND LATE PAPERS: 1) Because the answers to unannounced quizzes come up in class after they are taken, quizzes cannot be made up (even if you come to class late). These quizzes are one way to reward those who attend class regularly and on time. 2) There will also be no makeup exams in this course; if a student misses an exam, the makeup assignment will be a formal, eight-page essay on a topic chosen by the professor.
3) Papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date whether the student is in class or not. Late papers will be penalized fifteen points each day they are late. You may turn in the two essays before their due dates if you know you must miss class that day.

REGARDING READING: Since one skill you will be developing in this class is the art of textual analysis, you must give the readings more than a quick skimming over.  Instead of wolfing them down right before class, set aside enough time to read carefully—take notes as you read, then decide for yourself, before coming to class, what each author is trying to describe and bring to light. Also, to ensure that your final grade reflects your reading effort, I will occasionally give “pop” quizzes at the beginning of class on required readings. These quizzes will be unannounced beforehand and they cannot be made up. I recognize that some students must be absent at times; accordingly, when I compile your quiz grades at the end of the semester into an average score, I will drop the lowest one–if you miss a quiz, that will be your one dropped quiz. If you don’t miss any quizzes, I will still drop your lowest score from your quiz average.

REGARDING WRITING: When the final formal essay is turned in, it MUST be accompanied in a folder by all notes and drafts written towards it, with the final copy of the essay on top of these materials. I will use these materials to gauge and offer comments on your writing process.  I WILL NOT GRADE a final essay that is not accompanied by material that clearly demonstrates several earlier stages leading up to the final draft, so be sure to save all such materials (if you do most or all of your writing on a computer, print out occasional drafts to include with your final copy). Essays unaccompanied by materials that clearly demonstrate several stages of development toward the final copy will receive an automatic ZERO. Note that this requirement only applies to the final essay, not the first one.

E-MAIL ACTIVITY: Enrollment in this class requires an e-mail account, and you must check it frequently, preferably every day, for messages pertaining to the course. You already have a free EIU e-mail account, which I would prefer that you use. You can use a commercial account for this course, but you  SHOULD NOT use a free web-based account (such as Hotmail or Yahoo) because they often cause problems with listserv subscriptions. Our class discussions will carry over onto the e-mail listserv, and I will occasionally send messages to the entire class. E-mail is also the quickest, easiest way to reach me if I am not in my office; I welcome any and all questions and comments. Getting an e-mail account AND CHECKING IT REGULARLY is crucial for this course—if you do not send me an e-mail message at the above address by Friday, January 13 at 5:00 p.m. to confirm that you have established an account, I will assume that you have chosen against fully participating in the course, and I will therefore drop you. In your message, describe yourself in whatever ways you choose (including your major), and also write a statement to the effect that you have read and agree with these course policies and procedures.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT: In class, I expect all of you to participate in discussions (class participation will be figured into your final grade). The best way to demonstrate that you are an active, engaged, and interested reader is by contributing regularly to class discussions, and by paying close, respectful attention to what everyone else has to say. I do not plan to lecture in this class; I want us to contribute together to a positive, challenging, interesting learning environment. Also, be aware that many sensitive issues tend to arise within a course on multicultural material, so we must respect the opinions of others—try to respond to ideas, rather than to the person stating them. In my opinion, it’s okay for discussions to become “heated,” as long as we respect each other as people. If you have questions, no matter how simple or complicated, go ahead and ask me, either in class or via e-mail—chances are that other people have the same question.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: I will take attendance, and I expect you to attend class every day, on time, and prepared to discuss the material listed for that day on the “daily schedule.” More than three missed classes will lower your final grade by one letter grade for each subsequent absence (i.e., if you miss four classes, you can’t get an “A” in this course).  Missing class frequently will also harm your grade on the reading quizzes. In addition, note that coming to class “prepared” means coming to class with that day’s assigned reading—anyone who does not have the day’s assigned reading with them may be considered absent. Regarding tardiness: this is a small class, so late arrivals are disruptive—if for some bizarre reason you wish to get on my bad side, you can easily do so by developing the habit of arriving late for class.  If you will not be able to arrive for this class on time because of other commitments, drop it and take another section.  Finally, you are responsible for all assignments, whether you attend class or not. Get the telephone number of one or two other students in class, or get a hold of me, so you can find out about any missed assignments before you come to class.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: I expect you to act honestly and do your own work in this class, and so does Eastern Illinois University. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the English Department’s policy on plagiarism: “Any teacher who discovers an act of plagiarism—‘The appropriation or imitation of the language, ideas, and/or thoughts of another author, and representation of them as one’s original work’ (Random House Dictionary of the English Language)—has the right and the responsibility to impose upon the guilty student an appropriate penalty, up to and including immediate assignment of a grade of F for the course, and to report the incident to the Judicial Affairs Office.”
 
 

T JAN 10 Introduction to the course and to each other

• Robert Frost, “The Gift Outright” (1942); Langston Hughes, “I, Too, Sing America” (1925)

R JAN 12  Ronald Takaki, “The ‘Tempest’ in the Wilderness,” 24-50 (from A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, 1995)

F JAN 13  By 5 p.m. today, carefully read the policies and procedures for this course, and then send a message to Dr. Engles (tdengles@eiu.edu) from your EIU e-mail account. In your message, 1) explain which course you are in (English 3705); 2) describe yourself in whatever ways you choose, including your career aspirations; 3) write a statement to the effect that you have read and agree with the course policies and procedures; and 4) be sure that, as with all e-mail messages, you “sign” it by adding your name at the end.

T JAN 17  Mary Rowlandson, from The Sovereignty and Goodness of God . . . (1682; in American Captivity Narratives, read pages 132-54 AND 166-76)

R JAN 19  Course Packet (CP): Thomas Morton, excerpts from Revels in New Canaan (1637), and from Manners and Customs of the Indians (of New England) (1637); Langston Hughes, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (1926)

T JAN 24  CP: Ghost Dance Songs (late 1900s); Charles Alexander Eastman, from The Soul of an Indian (1911) and From the Deep Woods to Civilization (1916)

R JAN 26  CP: Gertrude Bonin (Zitkala-Sa), excerpts from “Impressions of an Indian Childhood” and “The School Days of an Indian Girl” (both 1900)

T JAN 31  CP: Charles Waddell Chesnutt, “The Passing of Grandison” (1899); “What Is a White Man?” (1889)

R FEB 2  Langston Hughes, The Ways of White Folks (1934): “Slave on the Block,” “Home,”  “Passing”

T FEB 7  Nella Larson, Passing (1929)

R FEB 9  Passing

T FEB 14  White Privilege: David Roediger and James R. Barrett, “How White People Became White,” 29-34; Tim Wise, “Membership Has Its Privileges: Thoughts on Acknowledging and Challenging Whiteness,” 103-10

R FEB 16  Course Packet: Don Lee, “The Lone Night Cantina” (from Yellow: Stories [2002]); Lois-Ann Yamanaka, “When Asian Eyes Are Smiling” (1997)

• In-class film screening: Pam Tom, Two Lies

T FEB 21  Exam One

R FEB 23  Information on Madame Butterfly (handout); David Henry Hwang, M Butterfly (1986)

T FEB 28  M Butterfly

• Paper One Due

R MAR 2  CP: Toni Morrison, “Recitatif” (1983)  (SEMESTER MIDTERM)

T MAR 7  Cristina Garcia, Dreaming in Cuban (1992)

R MAR 9  Dreaming in Cuban

F MAR 10  deadline for W for course withdrawal

MARCH 13 — MARCH 17  SPRING BREAK!

T MAR 21  Dreaming in Cuban

R MAR 23  CP: Khaled Mattawa & Munir Akash, “Introduction: Post Gibran”; Khaled Mattawa, “Freeways and Rest Houses: Toward an Arab Location on the American Cultural Map,” (from Post Gibran: Anthology of New Arab American Writing, 1999)

T MAR 28  CP: Khaled Mattawa, "First Snow" (from Dinarzad's Children: An Anthology Of Contemporary Arab American Fiction, 2004); Ellen Mansoor Collier, “Arab Americans: Living with Pride and Prejudice”; Laila Halaby, “Browner Shades of White”; D.H. Melhem, “Gulf War” (from Food for Our Grandmothers: Writings by Arab-American & Arab-Canadian Feminists, 1994)

R MAR 30  CP: Dan Guillory, “Being Midwestern” (from In the Middle of the Middle West: Literary Nonfiction from the Heartland [2003], Becky Bradway, ed.)

T APR 4  CP: Junot Díaz, “Drown” (1996)

R APR 6  CP: ZZ Packer, “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” (2003)

T APR 11  In-class film-screening: Smoke Signals

R APR 13  Continue screening and discussion of Smoke Signals; read part of Sherman Alexie’s Indian Killer (1995) for today (page numbers TBA)

T APR 18  Indian Killer

R APR 20  Indian Killer

T APR 25  Indian Killer

R APR 27  Last day of class
  Final paper due
  Tearful, heartfelt farewells

Final Exam: Wednesday, May 3, 2:45-4:45 p.m.
 
 
 

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