Honors 332 -- The American Experience
Fall 2005 Office: UC 526
Prof. Andrew R. Heinze Hours: T 10:30-12:15
e-mail: heinzea@usfca.edu and by appointment
webpage: http://www.usfca.edu/fac-staff/heinzea/ Phone: x 6231
Through an examination of important American fiction,
autobiography, essays, poetry, theater, history, and art, we will explore
fundamental tensions and values in American culture. The themes we will examine include: what it means to pursue one’s
individual destiny, how Americans grapple with the conflict between
individualism and tradition, and how racial, ethnic, and religious categories
and differences shape personal destinies in the U.S.
I would hope that students in this course will become: 1) more aware of the scope and nature of American creative works and American culture, 2) more attuned to dominant themes and values in American culture, 3) more able to write thoughtfully on the subject of American culture.
Winthrop Jordan, The
White Man’s Burden
Emily Dickinson, The Complete Poems
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance and Other Essays
Herman Melville, Billy Budd and Other Stories
Willa Cather, My
Antonia
Abraham Cahan, Yekl
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Flannery O’Conner, Everything That Rises Must Converge
Gail Levin, Edward
Hopper
Richard Rodriguez, Hunger
of Memory
Arthur Miller, Death
of a Salesman
Philip Roth, The Human Stain
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies
George Saunders, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
Requirements
The success of a seminar depends on the intellectual energy of the members. Therefore, attendance at every meeting is compulsory and readiness to discuss the assignments is expected.
Class participation = 20% of final grade
Written Work = 80% of final grade
Four short papers (40%) and one long paper (40%) are required. Please be sure to observe the page limits on the short papers. You are being asked to say a lot in a small space. The purpose is to produce highly focused thinking and writing by eliminating space for rambling and vagueness. These assignments will prepare you to express yourself concisely and thus more elegantly in your final paper.
Introduction.
Winthrop Jordan, The White
Man’s Burden
One-page paper due: What is the thesis of Jordan’s book?
Week 3 (Sept. 13)
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance and Other Essays (entire)
Week 4 (Sept. 20)
The
Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Three-page paper due: What are the main themes of Dickinson’s poetry?
Week 5 (Sept. 27)
Herman Melville, Billy
Budd & Benito Cereno
Week 6 (Oct. 4*)
Willa Cather, My Antonia
Week 7 (Oct. 11)
Abraham
Cahan, Yekl (only the title
story)
One-page paper due: What is Yekl
about?
Week 8 (Oct. 18*)
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Week 9 (Oct. 25*)
Flannery O’Conner, Everything That Rises Must Converge (entire)
Three-page paper due: What are the primary themes in O’Conner’s stories?
Week 10 (Nov. 1)
Gail Levin, Edward Hopper
Week 11 (Nov. 8)
Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory
Week 12 (Nov. 15)
Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman
Week 13 (Nov. 22)
Philip Roth, The Human Stain
Week 14 (Nov. 29)
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (entire)
Week 15 (Dec. 6)
George Saunders, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (entire)
Please plan to attend the reading by George Saunders at USF on Monday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 PM.
Final Paper: Compare at least five of the above
texts, and write a fifteen-page paper explaining why the texts you selected
offer an interesting comparison and what we may learn from them about the
nature of American history, society, and culture. Due in my office by 5 PM on
Tuesday, December 13.