Surveying Course 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. How about "surveyors"?) I'll be putting announcements on this page having to do with course requirements, changes in these web pages, and other matters. Between this page and the main page, you should get a good sense of what's new and upcoming in the course. So I recommend checking out both those pages every time you visit the course web site--at least once a week.
12/17/02
A quick note on procedures for turning in and getting back your final projects. I've put envelopes outside my office door (Fenton 240) for this class, so you can drop your final project off there or in my mailbox in Fenton 277, any time between now and the end of the day Wednesday. I write comments only on the final projects of people who ask for them, so if you want comments from me, you have several options: (1) attach a self-addressed envelope to your final project when you turn it in; (2) write the phrase "comments wanted" on the first page by the staple; or (3) drop me a line over email saying you want comments. If you take any option but the first one, you can pick up your final projects from me during my office hours in the spring semester. (The same goes for people who don't want comments.)
12/13/02
Just wanted to let you all know my schedule for the rest of the semester. If you have any questions about any aspect of the course, drop me a line or drop by. Good luck in the home stretch!
12/10/02
I've put up a draft of the final exam preview page and will be expanding it tomorrow, when I'll be in the office from 9-5. So if you have any questions about either the final project or the final exam, drop me a line or stop by for an appointment!
12/9/02
I've made some revisions to the final project assignment sheet to clarify questions people have raised with me in class, over email, and in conferences. Please check it out when you get a chance and let me know if anything about the assignment is unclear.
12/6/02
I'll be having extended office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays next week, as well as Wednesday after 4:30, for those who want to meet with me to discuss their progress on their final projects and get feedback from me. Please email me for an appointment.
11/15/02
Hey all, I've pushed back the due date for the final project to 4 pm on Wednesday, December 18, to give you more time to work on it after returning from Thanksgiving Break.
11/14/02
Correction to the readings for tomorrow: the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem is listed incorrectly on your syllabi--I've corrected it on the main page to "Spring" (HAAL 1181-1182). My apologies for the error.
11/13/02
I'm having extra office hours on Thursday (10 am - noon) for any who want to meet with me to discuss any aspect of the course, including the final project.
11/12/02
I've updated the response paper assignment sheet to give an overview of the "Literature of Resistance" unit and to offer suggestions on response papers that would engage a work or two from this unit. You may, of course, write on any (combination of) assigned reading(s) from the course in any response papers you write beyond the second.
I've also created the assignment sheet for the final project. Check it out ASAP.
11/11/02
I'll be having extended office hours this week. I'll be on campus from 11:30-5 on Tuesday and from 10-11 am on Thursday (during the make-up exam). Anyone who wants to meet with me on either of those days can make an appointment--I'm willing to meet with anyone at any time on Thursday, not just during the time listed.
11/8/02
I've revised the assignment sheet for the second response paper due next Monday. I've also put the Part III options and answer sheet for the make-up exam up on the course web site, so you can decide whether you want to take advantage of this opportunity to improve on your mid-term exam grade.
11/5/02
I've updated the response papers page to include a revised assignment sheet for the second response paper. Please check it out and run ideas by me this week if you want feedback before turning in the second response paper on Monday.
10/23/02
Please note that I've changed the reading assignment for Friday, dropping Larsen, moving Dos Passos from last Friday to this Friday, and adding Moore and Rolfe. Hemingway stays the same. The additions are all poetry and experimental prose, so it actually comes out to less reading.
I've also added new office hours this week: Th 1-5.
10/22/02
I have to cancel my Friday office hours this week because of a conference I am attending in Albany. As a result I'm adding new office hours on W: 1-3, 4:30-6. As always I'm available by appointment on Thursday.
10/14/02
I have to cancel one hour of my office hours today--from 2-3 pm--because I am speaking at the English department's Open House for prospective students and their families during that time. My apologies!
9/30/02
Hey all, the link to the options for Part III of the mid-term exam--the take-home component worth roughly 45% of your grade on the test--can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the mid-term exam page. I recommend reading this page carefully before skipping ahead to the link--it contains important advice on how to prepare for this exam, which I've revised in light of your questions and our discussions today in class. If you have any questions about the take-home options for Part III, please email me or see me during office hours tomorrow (officially 1-3 pm but I'll be there long past 3!). And of course we'll devote class time Wednesday to answering questions, as well. Because I'll be out of town from Thursday through Saturday (giving a lecture at the University of Rochester and participating in my union's delegate assembly), it's imperative that you pose your questions to me as soon as possible. So check out this page ASAP! Good luck.
9/19/02
I've completed the overview of the mid-term exam page, so come to class with any and all questions, and I'll try to answer them!
9/18/02
I've made some significant revisions to the response paper assignment page--added more details on suggested options and included a paragraph explaining why I'm putting this assignment in the course and structuring it the way I've done. I wasn't able to finish the preview page for the mid-term exam, but it will be up and running tomorrow. Please be sure to check both of these pages out before next class and come to Friday's class meeting with questions about both assignments that the pages raise but don't answer. Thanks.
9/10/02
Just a quick note to let you know that I'm going to be using the response paper assignment page to help you keep track of the emphases and priorities of the course. When the time comes, the mid-term exam page will also help serve this purpose. In both pages, I'll strive to be as clear as possible not just about what's required and expected but also about why the assignment is structured the way it is and how it's supposed to help advance your learning in the course. This will make these pages a bit more detailed than the typical assignment sheets, but the pay-off is that you will be better informed about the goals and methods of the course. Be on the lookout for these kinds of explanations on these pages, and let me know if anything at all is unclear. Thanks.
Oh, and be sure to watch ESPN's "Outside the Lines" at 8 pm tonight if you've finished the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn reading. He's a philosopher and his specialty is ethics of professions and practices, including sports. He was interviewed in CT a few weeks ago on his take on how 9/11 has affected the sports world, and that interview will be part of this special that's airing in a little over a half-hour from now. So I'm outta here! See you all in class tomorrow.
9/9/02
Hey everyone, I've just put two new pages on the course website. The first gives information and suggested topics for the first response essay. You can get to it by clicking on the appropriate link in the main page's list of assignments or by clicking here. If you have any questions, please email them to me, bring them up in class, or stop by my office (either during regular hours or by making an appointment to see me outside them). The second page I finished this evening (phew!) is the links page--or rather, a draft of the page. You may get extra credit in the course by suggesting links to be added to this page.
9/6/02
Hey everyone, good news. There are plenty of copies of all the assigned texts in the course now on sale in the campus bookstore. So definitely pick up the anthology and the Twain at least (and since there's only two others, why not the Faulkner and the Morrison, while you're at it?)!
8/28/02
As of tonight, the main page and this page are up and running. Look for more to come on-line tomorrow.
Late this morning I discovered that the bookstore has run out of copies of our anthology, the 4th edition of The Heath Anthology of American Literature, and is running low on the other required texts. I requested that they order 15 more copies of all course texts--check here for a notice of their arrival. Unfortunately, since this edition is a new and fairly significant revision, we do not have it in Reed Library and the older editions of American literature anthologies that are in may not have all the assigned texts for this week and next. That said, there are several options for people who have not yet purchased their texts for this course:
ENGL 206: Survey of American Literature, Fall 2002
Created: 8/28/02 6:19 pm
Last modified: 12/17/02 12:43 pm