Landmark News

Hey, everyone. Welcome to the course. (Our first order of business is to come up with a cool name for me to call you all. "Tourists" is a bit off, and "landmarkreaders" is a bit dumb. Extra credit to someone who can come up with a better tag.) From now on, I'll be putting announcements on this page having to do with course requirements, changes in these web pages, and other matters. I recommend looking here every time you visit the course web site--at least once a week.

12/18/00(updated 12/20)

Some end-of-semester announcements and logistics:

• (0) Ellison reflection essay: I'll send out a note to the listserv when I've finished grading those. You can come by my office to pick yours up this week (or come by the pizza party [see below, #4]).
• (1) Office hours: I'll be available for conferences on your final papers or projects, projections on final grades, further evaluations of the course, or whatever during finals week. My hours will be M 12-4; T 10-2, 4:30-6; W 10-6; Th 2-6; F 10-5; and by appointment.
• (2) Listserv: Don't sign off until just before you head out of town--I may need to send final announcements over it. The instructions to sign off can be found on the course listserv page (actually, on a link off of it), but there's no need to do anything to sign off--the list will be automatically shut down by the end of December.
• (3) Final Papers: They'll be in a box in the mailroom of the English department office (Fenton 277) by the beginning of January (no sooner than 1/4/01). If you're curious about your grade on the project and in the course and the reasons for them, you'll need to either email me between semesters or make an appointment to see me during the first week of spring semester.

10/30/00

We'll be doing in-class group presentations in Wednesday's class, following up on the group work we did in class today on each "narrator" (Rosa Coldfield and Mr. Compson, Quentin's father) and the stories he or she tells Quentin. We broke up into two groups, one on each narrator, and each group considered the following questions in relation to its narrator. If you missed class today, come to class Wendesday prepared to contribute to one of the group presentations!

• 1. What style would you say characterizes each narrator's story? With what genre(s) or literary movement(s) would you associate the narrative strategies of each?
• 2. What does each narrator know, infer, speculate, or invent about Sutpen and his "dynasty"?
• 3. What don't they know? What questions about Sutpen and his "dynasty" remain for each?
• 4. What does each emphasize, stress, try to get across to Quentin? What effect does each try to have on Quentin? How does each try to influence Quentin?
• 5. What biases, prejudices, or interests might be influencing their stories and how might they affect Quentin's take (or yours) on each narrator's reliability?

In class, we'll devote some time to fleshing out your answers to these questions, compare and contrast Miss Coldfield and Mr. Compson as narrators and "sources" based on the group presentations, and try to work out what questions we have about the subjects of all this storytelling--Thomas Sutpen and his children. We'll also continue the mode we ended class with today, of trying to find connections between Faulkner and the works we've read thus far in the semester. One you might consider (in addition to the Twain parallels I pointed out in class) is what light the contrast between Ishmael/Ahab in Moby-Dick might shed on the Quentin Compson/Thomas Sutpen relation in Absalom, Absalom!.

Your observations and discussion questions may be closely related to the planned activities for Wednesday, or look ahead to influencing what we choose to focus on for Friday's class....

10/25/00

Mid-Semester Course Evaluation

Please copy the following questions into a word processing program, answer them, print off the document, and return it to me by Monday at 5 pm (in the envelope on the bulletin board outside my office door [Fenton 240]). The purpose of this questionnaire is for you to give me a sense of your priorities and for me to get useful feedback on the course, your experience in it, and my teaching strategies, so please take a bit of time with this and think carefully about the questions. I'm using these questionnaires to help me improve the course and make it a better learning experience for you; I can't guarantee that I'll follow every suggestion you make, but if there are significant patterns in your responses, I will make every effort to address them in the second half of the semester. Please do not put your name anywhere on the document you print off; let's keep answers strictly anonymous. The questions are a mix of multiple choice and short answer; on multiple choice questions, please check all options that apply. Remember, this is a pilot course--we are trying to determine as a department whether it should be required of all students who major in English and Secondary English. Please be honest and take the time to give feedback on the course. Thanks!

Student Information

1. Do you enjoy coming to class? [ ] always [ ] never [ ] most of the time [ ] sometimes [ ] hardly ever [ ] often [ ] I feel differently every day

2. Have you done the assigned reading? [ ] yes [ ] no [ ] some of it [ ] a little of it [ ] all of it

3. If not, was it because [ ] I don't care [ ] no time [ ] not made important in class [ ] boring material [ ] frustrating, difficult material [ ] I seldom read assignments on time [ ] personal emergencies [ ] focusing more on other courses [ ] I really don't know why

4. How confident do you feel about your understanding of the literary works we've been reading and the issues we've been discussing in class and on the course listserv? [ ] very [ ] not at all [ ] depends on the work [ ] somewhat

5. Have you been reading other students' observations/discussion questions on the course listserv? [ ] regularly [ ] hardly ever [ ] never [ ] always [ ] sometimes

6. Have you made use of the "links" page on the course web site to help prepare for class discussion or for your presentations or essays? [ ] regularly [ ] hardly ever [ ] never [ ] always [ ] sometimes [ ] only for presentations [ ] only for essays

7. Have you made use of the works on reserve in Reed Library to help prepare for class discussion or for your presentations or essays? [ ] regularly [ ] hardly ever [ ] never [ ] always [ ] sometimes [ ] only for presentations [ ] only for essays

8. How many hours per week out of class do you typically spend reading and thinking about the reading? [ ] 9+ [ ] 6-9 [ ] 3-6 [ ] 1-3 [ ] less than 1

9. How many hours do you typically devote to writing the personal response essays (rereading texts and notes, brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading)? [ ] 9+ [ ] 6-9 [ ] 3-6 [ ] 1-3 [ ] less than 1

10. What grade do you expect to get at the end of the course? [ ] A [ ] B [ ] C [ ] D [ ] E

11. What should be changed about the course to make it more enjoyable and a better learning experience for you?

Course Information

1. Is this course what you expected? [ ] yes [ ] no

2. If "no," is it [ ] better [ ] worse?

3. Is it better or worse because it's [ ] easier [ ] more flexible [ ] unfocused [ ] harder [ ] a waste of time [ ] too general/vague [ ] challenging [ ] playful [ ] interesting [ ] irrelevant [ ] a welcome change [ ] it makes me think [ ] it takes up too much time [ ] a reason other than the ones listed here

4. Classes themselves are [ ] interesting [ ] boring [ ] unfocused [ ] irrelevant [ ] thought-provoking [ ] a welcome change from my other classes [ ] a waste of time [ ] overly managed by teacher

5. Please rank the following activities in terms of which you prefer to have happening in class, from most often to least often: [ ] in-class writing [ ] small-group work with defined task [ ] question/observation-brainstorming small-group work [ ] student presentations [ ] open discussion [ ] large-group discussion of questions selected through small-group work [ ] large-group discussion of questions selected by teacher [ ] lectures [ ] reading comprehension quizzes [ ] game show-type competitions

6. Please rank the following activities in terms of how much you learn from them during class, from most to least: [ ] in-class writing [ ] small-group work with defined task [ ] question/observation-brainstorming small-group work [ ] student presentations [ ] open discussion [ ] large-group discussion of questions selected through small-group work [ ] large-group discussion of questions selected by teacher [ ] lectures [ ] reading comprehension quizzes [ ] game show-type competitions

7. The kinds of writing you've been required to do thus far in the course (annotating literary texts as/after you read them, in-class brainstorming, listserv observations/discussion questions, preparing presentations, personal response essays) are [ ] interesting [ ] challenging [ ] stupid/silly [ ] a positive change from what I'm used to [ ] unclear [ ] unrewarding [ ] similar to what you do in other English courses

8. The options for the final project are [ ] interesting [ ] challenging [ ] stupid/silly [ ] a positive change from what I'm used to [ ] unclear [ ] daunting [ ] unrewarding [ ] too much work

9. What do you see as the major goals/objectives of the course?

10. How well do readings, classes, and assignments help fulfill those goals/objectives?

11. Please comment on the texts we're reading in this course and the principles of selection/organization. Do you have any suggestions for changing this in future versions of the course?

12. Based on your experience so far in the course, do you believe a "literary landmarks" course like this should be required of English and Secondary English majors? Why or why not?

13. How can the course be changed to be more useful to English and Secondary English majors? If you answered "no" to the previous question, would implementing the changes you suggest lead you to change your mind?

Teacher Information

1. The teacher [ ] is sympathetic [ ] is unfocused [ ] is interesting [ ] rambles [ ] dominates the discussion annoyingly [ ] fills the spaces left by student apathy [ ] rambles on and on and on and on.... [ ] nags us about our grades too much [ ] expects too much of us [ ] raises thought-provoking questions [ ] encourages class participation [ ] is well-prepared [ ] micromanages too much

2. Grading criteria are [ ] fair [ ] reasonable [ ] mysterious [ ] arbitrary

10/24/00

Due to committee obligations, I will have to curtail my office hours this week. Today (Tuesday), I can only be in the office from 2-3 pm (although I will be available between 12:30 and 2 to meet with you, as well). On Thursday, my office hours will be from 2-3:30. Wednesday hours are the same as usual, 2-3. If you have any questions about your mid-term grade or want advice on how to improve your standing in the course, please stop by during these hours or make an appointment to meet with me outside them.

I've updated the presentations page to include suggestions for presentations on Faulkner and Ellison. Please sign up for a presentation date if you haven't already done so.

10/16/00

A first draft of the final essay or project assignment sheet is now up and running on the course web site. You can get to it by clicking on the link in the previous sentence, or from the main page. Please familiarize yourself with the options listed thus far on the page. I'll be revising it over the coming weeks, as well.

Looks like we're not going to go with the "Twain experiment" I proposed on the course listserv a little while ago. But please do familiarize yourself with the list of presentation options for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn so that as you read (or reread) the novel, you can attend to some of the key topics that literary critics and the wider public have been interested in since the publication of Twain's novel in 1884.

10/10/00

Hey folks, I'm just writing to remind you to come to class with ideas about the Twain experiment that I emailed you about last week. I encourage you to get a fast start on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and finish the novel as soon as you can. Don't rely on fuzzy memories of reading it in high school--reread it closely, even if you've read it before. I'm sure you'll notice things you never before noticed when you do.

On the Whitman personal response essay (due next Friday), don't forget to address specifically the requirements of the assignment, as described on the main page. Thanks, and have a great break.

9/28/00

Announcement about office hours: for the next two Thursdays, I will have to cut short my office hours at 3:30 pm (instead of ending at the usual 4 pm time). I'm chairing the English department's Curriculum Committee this semester, and 3:30 Thursday is the only time we can meet as a group. Sorry! I'll give more advance notice the next time we have committee meetings scheduled at 3:30 on Thursday.

9/25/00

Please see the main course page for some fairly significant changes to requirements of the course. I've added a personal response essay requirement (5 short reflective essays, each worth 5% of your final grade) to encourage people to keep up with the reading and be thinking about how what they're hearing in presentations and discussing in small- and large-group activities relates to their own personal experience in reading the assigned texts. I've also attempted to clarify the requirements and expectations of the presentations and follow-up papers; click here for details. Please feel free to email me questions and comments, or see me after class or during office hours. As you know, this is an experimental class, and I'm searching for the right combination of readings and assignments that will help you get the most out of this class that you can. Any feedback or suggestions is much appreciated!

9/21/00

I've updated both the presentations page and the reserves page to give a wider range of suggested approaches and a better sense of what's newly available on reserve for our course.

9/19/00

The problem that came up last Friday and that continued through Monday has now been fixed. Unfortunately, whatever messages were sent to the list during that period are locked up and won't be distributed until the listserv manager returns to campus next week, if then. So you will have to resend your messages (look in your "sent-mail" folder if you have one--many email programs automatically save all messages you send) or reconstructed. Sorry! Those who sent their messages straight to me when they saw the listserv wasn't working don't have to resend--I'll forward them myself.

9/18/00

There appears to be some sort of serious problem with the class listserv. I've contacted the help desk and others to notify them of the problem, and they are looking into it. I'll put a notice up here when I hear back from them. If you have been receiving messages from the listserv, please notify me. Thanks! If worse comes to worse, I'll allow late postings....

9/15/00

Mark in your calendars that Molly Hite (Cornell U.) is coming to campus to speak on Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow on September 28th (7:30 pm, S-124/125 in the Williams Center). Extra credit to those who attend her talk and send an analysis of it to the class listserv.

I've just updated the "presentations" page to include suggestions on Whitman and Twain. Sign up for your first presentation ASAP--get it under your belt before the semester gets really busy!

I'm beginning to get upset at both the quantity and quality of observations and discussion questions posted (or not) to the listserv. You all are beginning to give me the impression you're giving up on Melville--and just as the novel gets going! At the very least, send something to the listserv about what frustrates, irritates, bothers you about the novel! Or what the (few and far between?) "good parts" are. Or why you deserve to be committed (as I do) for actually loving this novel.... Now if it's just that you're having technical difficulties, let me know! Send me an error message. Look at the trouble-shooting guide on the course listserv page. Come on, people, this is the end of the third week of classes! Let's get more in the swing of things....

9/11/00

I've revised the "presentations" a page a bit since last weekend. If you have any questions, please ask--it will help me make the directions more specific and my expectations more explicit. I would especially like to see people volunteering to present on the second and third categories on the Melville list. So don't be shy!

I see only two people turned in reading responses thus far. One issue we didn't get to in class today was what we do with the seemingly digressive (or even extraneous chapters) in which Ishmael (so to speak) goes off. The chapter on Bulkington and "Cetology" were mentioned as examples, but you might also check out "The Advocate" (Ch. 24, pg. 98-101)--it's another place where Ishmael (and Melville through him) tries to justify his choice to set an American tragedy on a whaling ship. It would be interesting if some reading responses for Wednesday's class tried to relate these kinds of chapters to the ones that form the "spine" of the novel (the introductions to the characters on the Pequod, especially Ahab, and to Moby-Dick, the white whale)....

Finally, don't forget to send me your answers to the on-line questionnaire below!

9/7/00

OK, the first draft of the presentations page is up and running. It will be expanded to include other writers than Melville shortly, but it should give people a better sense of what's expected than what had been on the web site. I encourage everyone to email me their preference for critics and dates to give their first presentation. Best to get it out of the way early before the semester really gets busy!

I've also indicated presenters and presentation topics on the main page, and began to update the links page. Remember, you get extra credit for any links you propose should be added to the page that I then go on to add.

9/6/00

Due to popular demand, I'm changing the requirements for the observations and discussion questions that you must post to the class listserv once a week. See the "main page" for details. The change should make this assignment a bit more flexible and allow you more choices about when to submit your posts to the listserv. Contact me if you have any questions about this policy change!

9/4/00

Well, the instructions for joining the listserv, links, and reserves pages are now up and running. I think you'll find them all very useful. I encourage you to explore the links on the links page before, during, and after your reading of a particular work. Also, very general advice on generating observations and discussion questions is now up and running; you can get to it off the main page, or by clicking here. I hope it answers many of your questions. Please don't hesitate to contact me directly if you have further questions after reading the advice. Your questions help give me a sense of what I need to explain better. Finally, please take the time to tell me a little bit more about yourself by responding in an email (addressed to me at bruce.simon@fredonia.edu) to the following....

....On-Line Questionnaire I

• Tell me a bit about the kinds and range of works of American literature you have read.
• Give me your take on this pilot course thus far.
• Tell me a bit about your relation to writing. Do you enjoy it? See it as a chore? How "successful" do you feel your writing has been thus far (how have teachers responded to it)? How satisfied are you with your writing (what do you think of it)? What do you see as your strengths as a writer? What do you most want to improve?
• Tell me a bit about your writing process. How do you come up with ideas, get them down on paper, revise them, and so on? What is your typical approach to writing a paper in a course and how well do you feel it's been working for you in college?
• Tell me a bit about your relation to reading. Do you enjoy it? See it as a chore? What do you like to read? If you had to rank reading on a list of activities you enjoy, where would it be?
• Tell me a bit about your reading process. Do you take notes as you read, underline passages, jot ideas down in margins? Do you find yourself getting "caught up in the story"? What do you find most difficult about the reading process?
• What really matters to you? What do you care about deeply, take very seriously, see as vitally important to who you are?
• Tell me something about yourself you think I should be aware of or know about.
• Finally, ask me a question.

Probably the simplest way to respond is to copy the above questions off the web browser you're using, paste them into an email addressed to me, fill in your answers after the questions, and send it off. Thanks for taking the time to do this!

EN 399-03: American Landmarks, Fall 2000
Created: 9/4/00, 2:46 pm
Last modified: 12/20/00, 5:49 pm