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Home My WebLink AboutLIT-118 Bergen Community College Division of Humanities Department of English LIT 118: Culture and Identity in American Literature Course Syllabus Semester and year Section Number Meeting Times Location Instructor: Office Location: Phone: E-mail: Office Hours: This course examines the literature of North America through the lens of cultural identity. The course draws upon significant works of fiction, poetry, drama, and autobiography written by representatives of diasporic communities including those of African, Asian, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Latinx and Native American descent. Credits: 3, Lecture 3 Prerequisite: None General Education course Diversity course Student Learning Outcomes Means of Assessment 1. Identify major works and themes of ethnic American literature. Discussion, Writing, Multimodal Presentation 2. Interpret literary works within a historical context. Discussion, Writing, Multimodal Presentation 3. Cultivate a knowledge of the diversity of literary voices in American literature. Discussion, Writing 2 4. Employ a variety of analytical techniques to respond to texts. Discussion, Writing, Multimodal Presentation 5. Write a clear, well-organized, and properly formatted analysis of a literary work; demonstrate competency in textual analysis. Discussion, Writing, Multimodal Presentation Essential Learning Outcomes SLOs: EL 1 EL 2 EL 3 EL 4 EL 5 EL 6 EL 7 EL 8 EL 9 EL 10 EL 11 1. x x x x 2. x x x x 3. x x x x 4. x x x x 5. x x x x x EL1-Effective Speaking EL2-Effective Writing EL3-Mathematical Reasoning EL4-Scientific Reasoning EL5-Technological Competency EL6-Information Literacy EL7-Social-Behavioral Analysis EL8-Historical Analysis EL9-Humanistic Analysis EL10-Intercultural Awareness EL11-Moral Literacy Signature Assignment Analysis: Students will write an analysis of a text introduced in the course. Course Requirements Students will be required to do the following: 1. Write 10-15 pages or 2500-3750 words for the course. This includes a major paper as well as discussions and reading responses, quizzes, and in-class essays if appropriate. All formal papers must use MLA style and demonstrate effective proofreading and editing. 2. Read, interpret, discuss, and analyze numerous literary works from the assigned texts. (Meets student learning objectives 1-5.) 3. Learn and apply various literary terms to texts. (Meets student learning objectives 2, 4 and 5.) 3 4. Write at least one analytic 5-page paper that demonstrates effective proofreading, editing and MLA style. (Meets student learning objectives 1-5.) 5. Participate in conferences to discuss your work, course progress, and any other concerns you may have. (Meets student learning objectives 1-5.) Sample Required Texts Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands, La Frontera:The New Mestiza. Aunt Lute Books, 2012. Cole, Teju. Open City. 2011. Random House. Diaz, Junot. The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. 2007. Riverhead. Orange, Tommy. There There. 2018. Vintage. Yezierska, Anzia. Bread-Givers. 1925. Persea. Kaldas, Pauline & Mattawa, Khaled Eds. Dinarzad’s Children: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Fiction. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2004. Silko, Leslie Marmon. Storyteller. [Edition with new introduction], Penguin Books, 2012. Viramontes, Helena Maria. Under the Feet of Jesus. New York, Plume, 1996. Student Assessment Journals 25% Assignments 25% Final 25% Class Participation 25% Grading Scale Please refer to the following grading scale. Note that in order to receive the higher grade, a .5 and above is necessary. For example, an 89.4 is still a B+; only an 89.5 and above is equal to a 90, A. A 90-100% B+ 85-89% B 80-84% C+ 75-79% C 70-74% D 64-69% F Below 60% Attendance Policy Your presence is vital to our classroom community, so regular attendance is required. You will be permitted four absences after which your grade will be 4 negatively affected. You are expected to come to class every day prepared to discuss assigned texts and to produce written responses both in class and at home. Academic Integrity A note on plagiarism: please give credit where credit is due! Honesty is expected of you. It is expected that the work you hand in will always be your own, and that you will never copy sentences, phrases, paragraphs, or whole essays from any other person's work, for that is plagiarism. If you are ever unclear about how to cite another person or author's ideas, come see me or consult the staff in the writing center. In order to help you avoid plagiarism and preserve academic integrity, you are required to submit all papers to the Turnitin links embedded in the specific modules of our site. Turnitin alerts you to text that should be put in quotation marks and cited, and/or paraphrased in your own words. The use of Artificial Intelligence is also plagiarism; it is truly better to think for yourself than ask a computer to think for you. Papers are flagged for AI use by Turnitin. I will check the originality reports. No paper will be graded unless it has been turned in at the appropriate link. Note that any papers submitted for grading that are determined to be plagiarized will receive a failing grade. If this is the second incident of plagiarism, you may fail the course. Accessibility Statement Bergen Community College is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs. If you have a documented disability (or think you may have a disability) and, as a result, need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this class, complete course requirements, or benefit from the College’s programs or services, contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) as soon as possible at 201-612-5270 or www.bergen.edu/oss. To receive any academic accommodation, you must be appropriately registered with OSS. The OSS works with students confidentially and does not disclose any disability-related information without their permission. The OSS serves as a clearinghouse on disability issues and works in partnership with faculty and all other student service offices. Student Support Services Bergen Community College provides exemplary support to its students and offers a broad variety of opportunities and services. A comprehensive array of student support services including advising, tutoring, academic coaching, and more are available online at https://bergen.edu/currentstudents/. BCC’s Writing Center is located in L125, and you are encouraged to work with our faculty and professional writing tutors. 5 Sidney Silverman Library Online Resources: Guides BY SUBJECT - LibGuides at Bergen Community College General Search and Databases: Library | Bergen Community College Sample Class Schedule Week 1 Read: “Eat, Memory” by David Wong Louie “Education and Assimilation” Media: Eddie Huang on Identity Fresh Off the Boat Assignment: Identity Reflection Discussion Board Week 2 Read: “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie Excerpt from “Take This Man” by Brando Skyhorse Assignment: Memory Essay Discussion Board Week 3 Read: “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison Media: The Chappelle Show “The Racial Draft” Assignment: Reflective Journal Week 4 Read: “Cho Jeong Min” by Franny Choi “No More Maybe” by Gish Jen Media: Meet the Parents from The Joy Luck Club Assignment: Discussion Board Reflective Journal 6 Week 5 Read: “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank” by Nathan Englander Media: Into the Arms of Strangers Assignment: Reflective Journal Into the Arms of Strangers Week 6 Read: Two Poems by Mohja Kahf Uneasy in Two Worlds How’d Your Parents Die Media: Suheir Hammad on Def Jam Poetry Assignment: Reflective Journal Discussion Board Week 7 Read: “Wabdin Electrician” by Daniyal Mueenuddin “America” by Fatimah Ashgar “Hitting Budapest” by NoViolet Bulawayo Media: If They Come For Us Assignment: Reflective Journal Long Form Poem Week 8 Read: “Two Words” by Isabel Allende “Hunger of Memory” by Richard Rodriguez Media: TED Talk by America Ferrera Assignment: Reflective Journal Discussion Board Week 9 Read: Pgs. 1-43 in Dear America “Everything is Far From Here” by Cristina Henriquez Media: Outsourced: The Pilot Assignment: Reflective Journal Discussion Board Week 10 Read: Pgs. 43-72 in Dear America Media: Dark Girls Assignment: Reflective Journal 7 Weeks 11 and 12 Read: Pgs. 72-110 in Dear America Media: The Rachel Divide Assignment: Reflective Journal Discussion Board Week 13 Read: Pgs. 110-185 in Dear America Media: MTV White People Assignment: The Master Narrative Discussion Board Week 14 and 15 Read: Finish Dear America Assignment: Final Paper