ENGLISH 3143
African American Experiences
Summer Session I, 2009
Dr. Bill Thierfelder
631 244-3098
ThierfeW@dowling.edu
www.thierfelderwilliams.com
OFFICE HOURS: Before and after class; in the classroom.
CLASS RULES: NO EXCEPTIONS
1. Please turn off cell phones and electronic devices. No text-messaging during class.
2. You must have active e-mail to be in this course. There are regular on-line assignments and questions.
3. Lateness is rude and disruptive.
4. There are absolutely no make-ups or “take early’s” on any exam. No late papers are accepted. No exceptions. All tests must be taken during the assigned class period. All papers are due during or before the class period. A missed quiz or paper will result in a zero. No exceptions.
5. Every student is allowed 1 absence, 1 lateness, and 1 leave-early without penalty. After that 5 points are taken off the participation grade for the course for each absence. You are allowed three (3) absences in total. Your fourth absence will result in an automatic failure or withdrawal for the course; no exceptions. Three points will be deducted for each lateness and leave early after the permitted single late/leave. Lateness of more than 30 minutes will be counted as an absence. Attendance is taken from the first day of class, not the first day the student starts attending. No exceptions will be made to any of the rules of the attendance policy. PERFECT ATTENDANCE, no lateness and no leave early will result in 5 points being awarded to your participation grade.
6. Dr. Thierfelder will be in regular contact with all students via e-mail, phone, or regular mail regarding assignments and other “news.” He will also have all papers/tests returned to the students within one to two class periods. Failure to hand back papers in such a timely manner will result in each student receiving 5 points added to that assignment’s grade. If Dr. Thierfelder fails to meet with a class and does not provide a substitute (except in cases of a weather emergency), forcing a class to be cancelled, 5 points will be added to each student’s participation grade.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Through the reading of Black literature dating from the 1840's to the present day and the viewing of video documentaries and films, we will explore the African-American experience from the pre-Civil War period to the post-Civil Rights Movement. Students will explore Black culture and heritage and be invited to see that heritage in relation to their own lives. Feature films, documentaries, and film biographies will provide the social/cultural context for the literature. Extra credit documentaries will be shown on Thursday evenings.
PURPOSE: Students will come to know how to analyze a text; be able to explicate plot, character, and theme; be able to discuss works of literature in their political and social context; and be able to analyze texts.
METHODS: Class lectures
TEXTS: Available at www.amazon.com or at College Bookstore
1. Frederick Douglass: The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, American Slave (Signet)
2. Toni Morrison, Beloved (Plume)
3. Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (Perennial)
4. Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Bantam)
5. James Baldwin, Going to Meet the Man (Vintage Books)
GRADING AND ASSESSMENT: 4 Tests 40%
4 two-page papers 40%
Attendance/participation 20%
GENERAL COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course the student should be expected to:
1. Apply communication theory, analytical reading, and critical thinking skills to the interpretation of texts, documentaries, and films.
2. Demonstrate an awareness of language as a tool for learning, communication, and creative thought; this includes knowledge of mood, tone, and diction as key elements of an author’s creative palette.
3. Collect, analyze, and critically evaluate information to produce writing with appropriate documentation (i.e. successfully create short objective research papers).
4. Write well-organized argumentative and analytical essays with a firm thesis and clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
5. Follow the standards of written English, specifically in regard to sentence structure, punctuation, grammar and usage, and spelling.
6. Recognize relations between works of literature, film, and the arts and the cultural and socio-political world in which they are created: i.e. understand the music, art, literature, and current events of a particular era.
7. Be able to present oral reports on a particular work of literature or film.
8. Work co-operatively in small groups and class discussions to develop listening, speaking, interpretive, and debating skills.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Donna Ballard, Doing It For Ourselves. New York: Berkley Books, 1997.
Richard Barksdale and Keneth Kinnamon, Black Writers of America. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002 edition.
Floyd Hayes III, A Turbulent Voyage. San Diego: Collegiate Press, 1997.
Patricia Hill, Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of The African American Literary Tradition.
New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Bell Hooks, Salvation: Black People and Love. New York: William Morrow, 2001.
Lorraine Roses and Ruth Randolph, Harlem’s Glory: Black Women Writing, 1900—1950. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997.
Jeffrey Stewart, 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History. New York: Doubleday, 1996.
Mary Helen Washington, Invented Lives: Narratives of Black Women, 1860—1960. New York: Doubleday, 1987.
African American Writers: A Celebration (http://frank.mtsu.edu/~vvesper/afam.html)
African American Studies Research Bibliography (http://www.library.yale.edu/rsc/af-am/bibliography.html)
African American Biography:A Research Guide (http://www2.lib.udel.edu/subj/blks/resguide/afambio.htm)
WRITING PAPERS AND EXAMS FOR THIS COURSE
Instead of one 8-10 page paper due at the end of the course, 4 two page papers will be required throughout the semester.
A. All papers will be 2 pages in length. Learn to self-edit. No paper over 2 pages will be accepted. Writing focused, short papers compels you to master your material so well that you are able to express your ideas succinctly. NO EXCEPTIONS.
B. All papers will be typed, 1 ½ -- 2 spaces, traditional margins, 11 or 12 point font. No cover pages. Put your name in the corner; the name of course goes under your name; double space, then put the title of paper centered: double space, then begin your text. NO EXCEPTIONS
C. Some papers require research. All articles or online articles must be included with the paper. All papers must properly cite sources. No article; no grade. Put the article(s) and your paper in a pocketed folder with the paper on one side and the article(s) on the other. NO EXCEPTIONS. All papers in literature classes need specific quotations from texts and primary sources (using MLA in-text documentation format) to support writer’s arguments. NO EXCEPTIONS.
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1. All papers must have an introduction. Your introduction must clearly state the theme of your paper. Keep your topic focused around two or three main points, which you clearly state in your introduction. Avoid broad generalizations: Tell your reader exactly what you are going to write about. [A lawyer gets in front of the jury on the first day of the trial and tells them what he/she plans to prove.]
2. The body of your essay centers on the two or three points that you have already introduced in the opening and in the same order. [A layer brings in witnesses before the jury, saving the star witness (most important point) for last.] Failure to use illustrations such as quotes or specific references will preclude an A on your paper.
3. A. Make sure each sentence and paragraph builds on the previous one; otherwise you have blocks of ideas that can be moved without affecting the whole. Use transitional words and phrases.
B. Use transition phrases to move reader from idea to idea. Failure to do this results in choppy, incoherent writing, and precludes an A on the paper.
WEAK: The Clash of the Titans talks about the gods. They can be very selfish. I know a man like that. Perseus is told to kill Medusa in order to win Andromeda. Thetis is very angry with Zeus for having mutilated her son, Calibos.
BETTER: the Clash of the Titans tells a tangled tale of revenge and jealousy involving two young men—Perseus and Calibos—and their respective, adoring parents—Zeus and Thetis. Both Zeus and Thetis selfishly want their sons to “win” the hand of the princess Andromeda and go to astounding lengths to insure the victory. Perseus, for example, must kill the dreaded Medusa and the titan named Kraken before he can claim the beautiful princess. To “help” Perseus along, Zeus enlists the aid of several other gods to provide his son with a magical helmet, sword, shield, and even an all-wise mechanical owl.
4. All papers must have a developed conclusion that tells your reader what you’ve proven. Never introduce a new idea or topic in the conclusion. This paragraph is not a repeat of your introduction; merely to repeat means you’ve taken your reader nowhere. The conclusion is an outgrowth of the argument you have constructed. [The lawyer makes his final argument before the jury, telling them what all of his witnesses have proven.] Failure to create a meaningful conclusion precludes an A on the paper.
5. A. Many papers require quotations (specific evidence): If you are writing about an article or a literary piece, you must use quotations. Lack of documentation/citations precludes an A.
B. Make quotations part of your text:
WEAK: Tennyson misses Hallam but he knows that he did the right thing. “’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” (Tag-on quotes like this example preclude an A.)
BETTER: Though Tennyson misses Hallam very much, he realizes that it is always “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
OR: To remain isolated from others out of fear of getting hurt is no excuse for the Narrator. It is “better to [love],” even if it means eventual “loss,” because in daring to love, one is daring to enter fully the human experience and condition.
6. All essays about films, literature, music, painting, etc. must be written about in the present tense. The Arts are alive and well—a poem, a film, a song, or a painting, etc. IS not WAS. If you do not do this or if you skip back and forth between past and present tense, you are precluded from an A on your paper.
7. Avoid shifting past to present or present to past in your paper.
WEAK: Then Sylvia goes into the woods to climb the pine tree. There she found herself looking out over a vast, new world.
BETTER: Then Sylvia goes into the woods to climb the pine tree. There she finds herself looking over a vast, new world.
8. You should use inclusive language. Sexist words like “mankind” or using “he” when you also mean to include women are not acceptable.
WEAK: A good lawyer always brings in his best witness last.
BETTER: Good lawyers always bring in their best witness last.
9. Avoid speaking directly to your reader: YOU or YOUR
WEAK: When you read line 37, you know that Shakespeare has felt love deeply.
BETTER: When readers examine this poem, especially line 37, they know that Shakespeare has felt love deeply.
10. Avoid use of short, choppy sentences: creates a “Police Report” style.
WEAK: Browning wrote “My Last Duchess” in the 1840’s. It tells the story of a greedy Duke. The Duke may have killed his most recent wife. This explains the title. (FACT…FACT…FACT…FACT)
BETTER: Browning’s 1842 poem, “My Last Duchess,” contains a clue right in its title. There is reason to believe that the greedy Duke has had several wives and that the “last” one may have been murdered.
11. Avoid repetition of the same words and phrases from one sentence to the next.
EXAMPLE: AIDS is a horrible epidemic. This epidemic has especially hit hard in Africa. In Africa it is estimated that nearly half the population of some countries is infected. Such devastating infection rates will undermine the economy of the continent. If the economy of the continent goes under, the rest of the world will follow.
12. Do not summarize the plot or content of a work. Stick to your topic. Your reader does not need Cliffs’ Notes.
13. Proofread for important grammar and usage errors, such as run-on sentences, comma splices, sentence fragments, incorrectly used idiomatic expressions, etc. CHECK for correct spelling of words and names. Your professor is not your editor; you are. More than a few important errors will automatically preclude an A on your paper. C or less is the usual grade for papers with faulty grammar and usage.
NOTE WELL: All papers and exams will use the number system of this section for correction purposes. Thus if next to a paragraph in one of your papers, you see 11, that means that repetition/redundancies is a problem. If you see 6, that means you have written about a film or story in the past tense. If you see 3, that means that you have not used transitions between paragraphs or sentences/ideas. If you see 13, that means you have a punctuation, grammar, usage, or idiom error. It is your responsibility to know grammar and usage and to get help if you need it. Etc.
GRAMMAR WEBSITE: http://www.grammarbook.com/
STUDENT’S GUIDE TO GRADING ON PAPERS AND EXAMS IN THIS COURSE:
NOTE WELL: Even if the content of a paper, quiz, or exam is correct, poor writing automatically precludes an A. No exceptions.
A: EXCEPTIONAL. Your work is convincing, persuasive, and exceptional all around; its content and style are superior; penetrating analysis, balanced argument, apt illustrations, and specific evidence are present. Your work is free of grammar and usage errors.
B: GOOD, SOLID WORK. Your work is solid but not completely conclusive; there is substantial content, illustration, and fairly well controlled handling of the material, but there may be errors in organization or in mechanical details like punctuation. Lacks the polish of an A paper.
C: AVERAGE; SATISFACTORY. If your paper has grammar and usage errors, such as fragments and comma splices, your paper automatically starts out at the C level. Only partially successful in explaining or persuading. Such papers often lack substance, conclusive arguments, or specific illustrations. Insufficient use of transitions, specific illustrations, or sentence variety also mean a C, the average grade for a paper.
D: VERY WEAK. If you receive a D, you simply have not written a college-level paper. Contains even more serious errors than a C paper. It may have two or more of the following errors: organizational flaws; brief or unevenly developed paragraphs; no sentence variety; contradictions; paragraphs that can be moved around without effecting the whole; ideas that do not flow from one sentence to another; lack of transitional terms; no/faulty introduction and/or conclusion; lack of focus; excessive wordiness; serious diction/idiomatic faults; serious errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.
F: FAILURE. Below college-level writing [OR] suspected or proven plagiarism.
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STRUCTURE OF COURSE:
For every session, there is a corresponding section in the Course Workbook. Please read all materials. Answers to homework questions are to be prepared at home before class session; we will go around the room to hear each other’s answers and ideas. Your answers are part of your Participation Grade.
WEEK ONE
1. May 26
1. WORKBOOK
2. Introduction to course
3. Film: Amistad
2. May 27
1. WORKBOOK
2. Douglass: Narrative of a Slave (Chapter 1 to end of Chapter 7)
3. Film: Amistad
3. May 28
1. WORKBOOK
2. Douglass: Narrative of a Slave (Chapter 8 to end)
2. Film: Amistad
On Thursday evenings, I will show a short extra credit documentary.
EXTRA FILM: Mississippi, America (60 minutes)
EXTRA ASSIGNMENT (up to 5 points added onto QUIZ NO. 1): What, in your opinion, was the biggest obstacle that those who participated in Freedom Summer had to overcome?
4. May 29 (MAKE-UP DAY)
1. BRING GOODIES FOR A MAKE-UP DAY PARTY
2. Video: Frederick Douglass
2. PAPER NO. 1. (Follow guidelines A, B, C on page 3 of this syllabus; papers not following guidelines will be returned unread with an “F.”) Pick one (1) of the following topics and write a 2-page essay: Compare and contrast Cinque in Amistad with Frederick in the Narrative. OR Discuss communication (including reading, writing, and spoken language) as a major theme of the film Amistad and of Douglass’s Narrative .
WEEK TWO
5. June 1
1. WORKBOOK
2. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT ON MISSISSIPPI, AMERICA DUE
3. Video: Jefferson’s Blood
4. Morrison: Part One: Beloved (Chapter 1 to end of Chapter 8)
6. June 2
1. WORKBOOK
2. Video: Jefferson’s Blood 18)
3. Morrison: Part One: Beloved (Chapter 9 to end of Chapter 18)
7. June 3
1. WORKBOOK
2. Film: Glory
3. Morrison: Part Two: Beloved
8. June 4
1. WORKBOOK
2. Film: Glory
3. Morrison: Part Three: Beloved
4. QUIZ ONE: Short answers on Workbook, Narrative, Amistad, Jefferson’s Blood, Beloved.
EXTRA FILM: Mighty Times: Rosa Parks (40 minutes)
EXTRA ASSIGNMENT (up to 5 points added onto QUIZ NO. 2): What, in your opinion, was the biggest obstacle that those who participated in Birmingham Bus Boycott had to overcome?
WEEK THREE
9. June 8
1. WORKBOOK
2. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT ON MIGHTY TIMES DUE
3. PAPER NO. 2: (Follow guidelines A, B, C on page 3 of this syllabus; papers not following guidelines will be returned unread with an “F.”) Pick one (1) of the following topics and write a 2-page essay: Compare and contrast the character of Trip in Glory (Denzel Washington) with that of Paul D in Beloved. Focus on similarities and differences, on those things with which these two men struggle. OR Often films and books contain characters who act in a way that is difficult to understand, yet we understand why they do what they do. In Beloved, Sethe is forced (or so she believes) into making an horrific decision about her children; in Glory, the drill Sergeant, Mulcahy (John Finn), treats the company in a way that seems often cruel and bigoted. Yet in the end, do we find these characters sympathetic? Do we understand and/or appreciate why they do what they do? Do we or can as the reader/viewer “forgive them”?
4. Video: The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
10. June 9
1. WORKBOOK
2. Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Chapter 1 to end Chapter 6)
3. Video: Zora’s Roots
11. June 10
1. WORKBOOK
2. Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Chapter 7 to end of Chapter 16)
3. Video: The Tuskegee Airmen: They Fought Two Wars
12. June 11
1. WORKBOOK
2. Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Chapter 16 to end)
3. Video: The Murder of Emmett Till
4. QUIZ NO. 2: Short answers on Workbook, Tulsa Lynching, Zora’s Roots, The Tuskegee Airmen, Emmett Till, and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
EXTRA FILM: Portions Four Little Girls (60 minutes)
EXTRA ASSIGNMENT (up to 5 points added onto QUIZ NO. 2): What, in your opinion, was the greatest tragedy of The Birmingham Church Bombing of 1963?
WEEK FOUR
13. June 15
1. WORKBOOK
2. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT ON FOUR LITTLE GIRLS DUE
3. PAPER NO. 3: (Follow guidelines A, B, C on page 3 of this syllabus; papers not following guidelines will be returned unread with an “F.”) Pick one (1) of the following topics and write a 2-page essay: How is Their Eyes Were Watching God about personal fulfillment, about hopes and dreams? OR Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God. What are her strengths and weaknesses?
4. Video: Two Towns of Jasper
14. June 16
1. WORKBOOK
2. Angelou: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Chapters 1—12)
Workbook: Questions 91—95
3. Video: Two Towns of Jasper
15. June 17
1. WORKBOOK
2. Angelou: Caged Bird (Chapters 13—24)
Workbook: Questions 99—103
3. Film: Miss Evers’s Boys
16. June 18
1. WORKBOOK
2. Angelou: Caged Bird (Chapters 24—36)
3. Film: Miss Evers Boys
4. QUIZ NO. 3: Short answers on Workbook, Two Towns of Jasper, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and Miss Evers’ Boys
EXTRA FILM: Martin Luther King: The Man and the Dream (50 minutes)
EXTRA ASSIGNMENT (up to 5 points added onto QUIZ NO. 2): What, in your opinion, was Dr. King’s greatest achievement?
Week Five
17. June 22
1. WORKBOOK
2. EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DUE
3. PAPER NO. 4 (Follow guidelines A, B, C on page 3 of this syllabus; papers not following guidelines will be returned unread with an “F.”) Pick one (1) of the following topics and write a 2-page essay: Compare and contrast the struggles and growing pains of Maya in Caged Bird with those of John in “The Rockpile” and “The Outing.” (You might wish to focus on the sexual development of the two characters.) OR Compare and contrast the bigotry witnessed in documentary The Two Towns of Jasper with that found in the I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
4. Video: Witness James Baldwin
5. Baldwin: “The Rockpile,” “The Outing”
18. June 23
1. WORKBOOK
2. Baldwin: “Going to Meet the Man”
3. Film: American History X
19. June 24
1. WORKBOOK
2. Baldwin: “Sonny’s Blues”
3. Film: American History X
20. June 25
1. BRING GOODIES FOR A PARTY
2. WORKBOOK
3. Video: Barack Obama
4. QUIZ NO. 4: Short answers on Workbook, Baldwin stories, American History X, Witness James Baldwin, and Barack Obama.
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