English 223 – American Literature to 1870

Spring 2010 Section 800 Online

 

Instructor: Ms. Ashley Bissette

E-mail: bissettee@uncw.edu  

Webpage:  http://people.uncw.edu/bissettee

Office: MO 103B                                                                                               

Office Hours: MW 2:00 – 3:00 and by appointment                                

Office Phone: 910-962-2690, Cell Phone: 910-232-3652

 

 

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

 

Required Texts and Materials:

You should be able to order textbooks online through the UNCW bookstore.  You will want to obtain your books as soon as possible, as your first reading assignment will be due during the second week of classes.  The web address for the UNCW bookstore is http://www.uncw.edu/ba/bookstore/

·         Cain, William.  American Literature, Volume 1. New York: Longman, 2004.

·           MyLiteratureLab Student Access Code Card (This should be packaged with your textbook. If it isn’t, you’ll need to purchase the code from the website.)

·         Microsoft Word (If you do not have access, you can use “Tealware” offered by UNCW - http://uncw.edu/itsd/services/hardware/tealware.html)

·         Technical Requirements as listed at http://uncw.edu/ONLINE/techreq.html

·         A saving device such as a flash drive

 

Course Description:

In this course, we will study American Literature from the Colonial era to the Romantic era, including the works of writers such as Paine, Emerson, Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, and Dickinson. We will consider the ways in which these writers have shaped American Literature as we know it, as well as how the literature reflects the history of early America.

 

Course Objectives:

Students should develop skills in analyzing, presenting, and defending interpretations and in writing thoughtfully about literary texts.  Furthermore, students should develop an appreciation and an understanding of literature achieved through practice in asserting and supporting their interpretations of a literary work.

 

Course Requirements:

Discussion Board Participation – 15 points

Journal Entries – 15 points

Critical Essay – 20 points

Midterm Exam – 20 points

Final Exam – 30 points

 

 

Final Grading Scale:

93-100 points – A

90-92 points – A-                

87-89 points – B+               

83-86 points – B 

80-82 points – B-

77-79 points – C+               

73-76 points – C

70-72 points – C-

67-69 points – D+

63-66 points – D

60-62 points – D-

Below 60 points – F

 

 

Getting Started:

We will be using Blackboard as the platform for this course.  For instructions on how to log in, go to http://www.uncw.edu/itsd/help/instructions/BlackBoardVistaLoginInstructions.html

   

Once you log in, you will be able to click on English 223.  On the Home Page for our course, you will see an icon that says, “Getting Started.”  This is a learning module containing several links to important information as well as an orientation to the course.  

 

Online Support: 

If at any point during the semester you have problems with Blackboard, you can receive assistance from the Technology Assistance Center. The email address is tac@uncw.edu and the phone number is 910-962-HELP (4357).  If you do email the TAC, be sure to put “Blackboard” in the subject line.  There is also a very useful online support center at http://uncw.edu/bbsupport.

 

General Expectations:

Because this is an online course, it is important that you keep yourself accountable for weekly assignments and deadlines.  Assignments and deadlines can be found on the Blackboard Calendar. You will find it extremely important to stay organized and to check Blackboard frequently.  It is also a good idea to maintain contact with me throughout the semester.  If I notice that you have not been logging in to Blackboard and completing weekly assignments, I will assume you have decided to drop the course.  

 

 

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS

 

Readings and Learning Modules:  

Each week you will be asked to complete readings and will be responsible for their content. In addition, you will find weekly learning modules which will contain corresponding lectures, PowerPoint presentations, activities and/or worksheets.  Students are always responsible for this information.  Learning Modules will also contain discussion board items and journal prompts.

 

Discussion Board Participation:  

·         A large part of your grade for this class will be participating in a dialogue with classmates via discussion boards.  Discussion boards for each week will be located in the corresponding learning module.  While I will usually post at least one discussion question, students should also occasionally post his or her own questions for discussion. I don’t expect every student to post their own discussion question each week. Instead, I ask that students post at least two of their own throughout the course of the semester. Of course, this is only a minimum. I want students to post their own discussion questions when they have something particularly interesting to say or ask.

·         Responses to discussion questions should be thoughtful and well written.  Refer to “Netiquette” at the end of this syllabus for a list of guidelines. When replying to classmates, you should be sure to be polite and open-minded.  The discussion board is a place where all students should feel comfortable expressing ideas.  This does not mean that you cannot disagree with your classmates; it means that you should be conscious of your language and tone.

·         I will judge participation in discussion boards based on how often a student responds to instructor and student discussion questions, how often a student posts his or her own discussion questions, and the insightfulness and usefulness of all of the above.

 

Journal Entries:  

Another portion of your grade will be based on weekly journal entries.  Prompts for these entries will be located in the weekly learning modules.  Entries should be 2-3 paragraphs in length, and should follow the guidelines listed in “Netiquette.”

 

 

 

FORMAL ASSIGNMENTS

 

Critical Essay:  

You will be writing one critical essay for this class.  Essays should be emailed to my campus email address as a .doc or .docx attachment.  Essays that are not turned in as a .doc or .docx attachment will be considered late until they are turned in correctly. All deadlines in this class are firm. Be sure to plan wisely and save all work in at least two places.  For each day that an assignment is late, the grade for that assignment will be reduced by 3 points.   

 

The Writing Center:

I encourage all students to obtain online help from the Writing Center for their essays.  http://www.uncw.edu/stuaff/uls/writing_newconsultation.htm

 

Exams:

This course also requires a midterm and a final exam.  You must take these exams on the dates scheduled.  Exams will become available at 6:00am on the scheduled date, and must be completed by 11:59pm.  Exams will be timed, and will be made up of short answer and essay questions.

 

 

COMMUNICATION

 

Announcements:  

For this course, you are required to access Blackboard often.  I encourage every student to click on “Announcements” under “Course Tools” each time they log on to Blackboard, as that will be the first place I will post important information such as changes in the schedule of assignments, directions for activities, and answers to common questions.  

 

Email / Phone:

Sometimes, I will send information via campus email, so you should check your email often as well. All students will be responsible for knowing this information. “I forgot to check my email” is not an excuse. Email is also the best way to contact me if you have questions throughout the course.  While I do check my email often, students should be aware that I usually only check email Sunday – Thursday before 6:00pm.  Therefore, it is a good idea to work on assignments ahead of time in case you have questions.

My cell phone number is listed at the top of this syllabus.  Students are welcome to call or text this number in cases when email is insufficient.  However, I do ask that students only call or text Sunday – Thursday between 10:00am and 6:00pm.

 

FAQ:

If you have general questions about the course or specific assignments, you should post them to the FAQ on the Homepage.  This way, if other students have the same question, they will be able to see my answer easily.  If you have questions that pertain only to you, please email me at my campus email address.

 

Office Hours:  

I will have office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.  If you’d like to discuss something with me during office hours, you have a few options.  

1.       See me in person: Morton Hall 103B

2.      Office Phone:  910-962-2690.  

3.      Email: bissettee@uncw.edu.  

4.      Ms. Bissette’s Virtual Office on the Blackboard Course Homepage

*If you are not available to contact me during office hours, you can set up an appointment with me.

 

Building Community:  

I have created a Facebook group called Ms. Bissette’s English 223 online! (Spring 2010).  I encourage all students to join this group.  Not only will this allow us to have a name to a face for each other, but we can also have informal discussions.  Please note that this is not a requirement. 

 

NETIQUETTE

For this course, you will be expressing your thoughts in various types of writing.  There are a few things to consider when writing online.

·         Avoid internet speak.  This means spelling out words instead of using abbreviations often seen in chat rooms and text messaging.  For example, the following questions would be unacceptable:  What did u think of the second paragraph?  When r we supposed to turn this in?

·         Proofread.  Even in a reply to a discussion post, you should be sure to proofread what you have written.  You should also try to use correct grammar in all situations. 

·         Use proper capitalization.  The beginning of a sentence should always be capitalized, even in online writing.  You should also take care to avoid speaking in all caps.  For instance, you should not write: THE STYLE OF THIS ESSAY WAS EFFECTIVE.  This is the equivalent of shouting.

·         Use names:  When responding to a discussion item, blog post, or email, use the name of the person you are responding to.  Ultimately, we want to foster a positive community through this course.

·         Be polite.  This is an environment where students should feel comfortable communicating ideas.  Therefore, when responding to classmates you should always be polite, even if you want to express disagreement.  Excessive profanity, of course, is unacceptable.

·         Advance Discussion in useful ways.  Do not make off-topic posts in the midst of a thread.  Also, contribute, don’t reiterate.  A post that says “I agree” is useless. It’s okay to agree with a poster, but rather than simply agreeing, extend what they have to say by locating other examples or elaborating on the point.

 

 

OTHER POLICIES

 

Disabilities:

If you have a disability and need special accommodations, you should let me know within the first week of classes.  You will also need to register with Disability Services for proper documentation. The phone number for Disability Services is 910-962-7555.

   

Academic Dishonesty:

Academic Dishonesty is unacceptable and is grounds for failure for this course. All students are responsible for knowing the guidelines listed in this UNCW Academic Honor Code: http://www.uncw.edu/policies/documents/03_100FINALHONORCODE_Aug2009.pdf