AML
4170/5295
Realism,
Naturalism, and Local Color
T
4, R 4-5 MAT 113
Professor Susan Hegeman
shegeman@ufl.edu
office
hours: Tuesdays 1-3 p.m. in Turlington 4119
Description
This
course will survey some of the narrative fiction – novels and short
stories – of the United States in the period 1880 to 1915. The literature
of this moment is categorized using a number of different labels, especially
Òrealism,Ó Ònaturalism,Ó and Òlocal color,Ó but it is also indebted to other
artistic movements of the time, including aestheticism, decadence, and
modernism. We will discuss the process by which literary historians categorize
works of literature as we examine the overlapping themes, forms, settings, and
contexts that went into the creation of both novels and short stories. In
particular, we will be interested in how authors of this exciting period of
American history grappled with the experience of being Òmodern.Ó
Required
course materials
1. Books
Abraham Cahan, Yekl and the Imported Bridegroom and other Stories of
Yiddish New York (Dover 0486224279)
Stephen Crane, Maggie, a Girl of the Streets and Other
New York Writings (Modern Library 0375756892)
Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron
Ware (Penguin 0140390251)
Henry James, The Bostonians (Oxford UP 0192834428)
James Weldon Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (Hill and Wang 0809000326)
Jack London, The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and
Other Stories (Oxford UP 0192835149)
2. Articles and documents. These materials will be posted on
the courseÕs Sakai e-learning page, which can be accessed at the following website: https://lss.at.ufl.edu. To use e-learning, click ÒcontinueÓ under ÒSakai system entry.Ó You
will then be asked to log in using your GatorLink
username and password. If you donÕt have a GatorLink
account, canÕt remember your GatorLink login information,
or for some reason have trouble using your GatorLink
account, go to the GatorLink website
(http://gatorlink.ufl.edu) or contact the UF Computing
Help Desk: The Hub, 392-HELP for assistance. You will not be
excused from participation due to an inability to get access to the course
materials.
1. You are required to attend class and participate in course discussions, either in class or on the Sakai Discussion list. You are also expected to have read the material to be discussed on a given day, and you are expected to bring the assigned material to class. I reserve the option of holding unannounced quizzes if I feel students are inadequately prepared for class discussion. One third (33%) of your grade will be based upon attendance, participation, any quiz grades, and participation in paper workshops.
2. You will write two papers of 7 to 10 pages each (2100-3000 words) on topics generated from the assigned course materials. An in-class paper workshop will be held well before the due date to allow an opportunity to refine paper topics and get feedback on the writing from your professor and peers. Each paper will count for one third (33%) of your final course grade.
For
information about the UF grading scale, consult the following site: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx
Attendance is defined as attentive presence in the classroom. In other words, if you are very late to class or engage in non-class related activities during class time (sleeping, studying, texting, emailing, etc.) you will be counted as absent.
University policy requires that absences be accepted with prior notice for university sponsored events (e.g., athletics) and religious holidays. Otherwise, all absences will be regarded as unexcused, regardless of their reason. In other words, I donÕt accept doctorsÕ notes or other excuse from work/school notes.
Your attendance determines your maximum participation grade.
0-2 absences: maximum participation grade: A
3 absences: maximum participation grade: A-
4 absences: maximum participation grade: B+
5 absences: maximum participation grade: B
6 absences: maximum participation grade: B-
7 absences: maximum participation grade: C+
8 absences: maximum participation grade: C
9 or more absences: automatic failure of the course
Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Disability Resource Center in the Dean of Students Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc). The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation—which must be shown to the Instructor—that specifies what kind of accommodations are needed.
You are required to review the university's Student Honor Code (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/honorcodes/conductcode.php) especially the discussion of plagiarism. Plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic failure of the assignment and the filing of a report in your academic file.
Types of plagiarism include (but are not limited to):
o presenting as your own work papers written in whole or in part by someone else (for example a paper written by a friend; a purchased or retyped paper; or one taken from a file)
o directly quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing from external sources without proper citations
Please take a moment to consider the second category of plagiarism. Many students fail to fully understand that even such possibly innocent mistakes as paraphrasing the work of others or failure to give proper citation is plagiarism. Because such mistakes have serious consequences, you should talk to the Instructor if you have any questions about plagiarism, academic honesty, or proper research and citation methods. All papers will be submitted electronically, via Sakai; they will be scanned using Turnitin software.
Course
Schedule
Course
Introduction
T 8/23 course materials and mechanics
R 8/25 realism, naturalism, local color
reading: Campbell, ÒRealism,Ó ÒNaturalism,Ó ÒLocal ColorÓ
The
Problem of Regions
T 8/30 Mary Austin, ÒThe Land of Little RainÓ (Ch. 1)
R 9/1 Hamlin Garland, ÒUp The CouleeÓ
T 9/6 Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, ÒA New England NunÓ
R 9/8 Sui Sin Far (Edith Eaton), ÒIts Wavering ImageÓ
The
Experience of Being ÒModern,Ó the Need to be Wild
T 9/13 Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron Ware
R 9/15 Frederic, The Damnation of Theron
Ware
T 9/20 Frederic, The Damnation of Theron
Ware
R 9/22 Frederic, contd. and Cather, ÒPaulÕs CaseÓ
T 9/27 Cather, contd. and Roosevelt, ÒThe Strenuous
LifeÓ
R 9/29 London, The Call of the Wild
T10/4 First paper workshop
R 10/6 London, The Call of the Wild
T10/11 London, The Call of the Wild
Those
Modern Women
R10/13 James, The Bostonians
T10/18 James, The Bostonians First paper due
R 10/20 James, The Bostonians
T 10/25 James, The Bostonians
R 10/27 Crane, Maggie A Girl of the Streets
T 11/1 Crane, Maggie A Girl of the Streets
R 11/3 Crane, Maggie A Girl of the Streets
Immigration,
Assimilation, and the Color Line
T 11/8 Cahan, Yekl
R 11/10 Cahan, Yekl
T 11/15 Second paper workshop
R 11/17 Cahan, Yekl and Chesnutt, ÒThe Wife of his YouthÓ
T 11/22 Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man
R 11/24 Thanksgiving
T 11/29 Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man
R 12/1 Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man
T 12 6 Johnson, Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man; second paper due