School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English/Foreign Languages/Journalism
Fall 2002 Syllabus
6:30 – 9:20 p.m. Tuesday Classroom: SSC 210
Office: SSC 215
Office Hours: 1-3 MW; 5:30-6:20 p.m. T
Phone: 271-4274
E-mail: sawin@missouriwestern.edu
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
People are not separate from the land. The earth is our heritage. We will study Native American writers who affirm their culture(s)in many different ways, writing of urban and reservation life, of old traditions and new ways of living, of war and work, of hate and love.
DEPARTMENTAL COURSE
OBJECTIVES:
1. Recognize the major characteristics of literary genres.
2. Discuss literature, orally and in writing, with assurance.
3. Appreciate literary works which are encountered.
4. Understand the different ways in which literary themes may be treated in literature.
DEPARTMENTAL COURSE
MEANS:
1. Read poetry, fiction, and drama.
2. Investigate various methods of approaching and understanding literature
3. Write papers, including themes and essay examinations
4. Read a variety of literary works in which a chosen theme is dominant
REQUIRED TEXTS:
The White Man’s
Indian Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. New York: Vintage, 1978
Native American Literature Ed. Gerald Vizenor New York: HarperCollins, 1995.
Tracks Louise Erdrich New York: HarperCollins, 1988.
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water Michael Dorris New York: Warner Books, 1988.
Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko New York: Penguin Books, 1986.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Dee Brown
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
One 70-page spiral bound notebook reserved exclusively for your JOURNAL.
Lined, 8.5x11 inch white paper.
Blue or black pens.
2 high-density 3.5-inch computer discs with carrying case.
REQUIRED ASSIGNMENTS
AND GRADING POLICY:
Reading Journal and in-class work: 30% 120 points
One (possibly 2) papers: 35% 140 points
Quizzes & mid-term test and final 35% 140 points
400 points
GRADES will be assigned with the following percentages based on total points awarded in the course:
A 100-91% B 90-81% C 80-71% D 70-61% F 60-0%
ACADEMIC HONESTY:
You are expected to do your own reading and writing in this course. Any student who submits someone else's work as his or her own will receive no credit (0 points) for that assignment. A second infraction will earn an "F" in the course.
MAKE-UP POLICY:
There will be no make-up opportunities for points awarded for in-class writing or unannounced quizzes.
LATE PAPERS:
When a final draft of a paper is DUE, you MUST hand it in on the due date at the beginning of the hour.
Late papers receive a reduction of one letter grade for every day beyond the deadline.
For example, a 100 point paper turned in one day late is then worth a maximum of 90 points.
Two days late: 80 points. Three days late: 70 points. I will not accept a paper more than 3 days after it is due, that is,
if a paper is due on Tuesday evening, the very latest you can submit it to me is on Friday of that week.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Regular and punctual attendance is expected. One night class can be missed without penalty. With the second and subsequent absences, you will receive a 5% reduction in grade (20 points) from your semester total for each absence.
I reserve the right to waive the penalty for highly unusual (and fully documented) extenuating circumstances, although I accept no obligation to do so. You are responsible for obtaining assignments, notes, and handouts from a responsible classmate if you do miss class. You may also alert me by email that you need them and then you will need to pick them up from my office door where I will post them for you.
DISABLED STUDENT
POLICY:
If you have a recognized disability that requires special consideration, please make an appointment to see me during the first week of classes so that we can discuss course requirements and what accommodations are necessary.
REQUIRED FORMATTING for out-of-class copy:
Identify yourself in the upper, right-hand corner:
Elizabeth Sawin
English 210
Yellow Raft on Blue Water
October 29, 2002
Use regular white paper in a printer that provides a clear, dark copy.
Leave one-inch margins on all sides. Center the title. Number each page (bottom right)
Single-space within paragraphs. Double-space between paragraphs.
August
20 in class: How the West Was Lost NAVAJOS “A
Clash of Cultures”
"The Navaho Long Walk" Howard W. Gorman (Narrative)
"Captured by the Enemy" Chahadinelli Benally (Oral History)
If you want to follow up on the story of the
Navajos read:
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
"The Long Walk of the Navahos"
13-36 (Ch. 2)
HOMEWORK to be done before class on August
27:
READ Luther
Standing Bear
“At Last I Kill A Buffalo”
from My Indian Boyhood (Handout)
“First Days at Carlisle” from
My People, the Sioux (NAL 32-44)
Contrast the education Luther
Standing Bear received in his tribe and at Carlisle School in your JOURNAL
READ Maria
Campbell
“The Little People” (NAL
76-83)
Use Maria Campbell’s
autobiographical memories to jog your own memories of growing up.
Compare / contrast in as many ways as you can
in your JOURNAL
READ / RESPOND / SUMMARIZE in your JOURNAL the
following sections from The White Man’s Indian:
Preface xiii-xvii
“The Idea of the Indian:
Invention and Perpetuation” 3-31
“From Religion to Anthropology: The Genealogy of the Scientific Image of the Indian” 33-69
"Black Kettle National Grasslands, Western Oklahoma" Diane Glancy