Instructor:          Dr. Thomas R. Mitchell, Associate Professor of English

Office:                KL 428A

Office Hours:    9:00 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday-Friday

Telephone:        326-2633 (Office) ; 791-5475 (Home)

E-Mail & Webpage: tmitchell@tamiu.edu and www.tamiu.edu/~tmitchell

(The homepage features many useful links for writers, researchers, and students of American literature.)

FAX:                326-2469
 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Blithedale Romance. 1852. Penguin Classics. New York: Viking-Penguin, 1983.

- - -. Hawthorne: Tales and Sketches. College Edition. New York: Library of America, 1996.

- - -. The Scarlet Letter. 1850. Any edition.

Melville, Herman. Melville: "Moby-Dick," "Billy Budd," and Other Writings. College Edition. New York: Library of America, 2000.

Poe, Edgar Allan. Poe: Poetry, Tales, & Selected Essays. College Edition. New York: Library of America, 1996.
 

Course Paper: 40%

The course paper should be a highly-focused critical paper on a work or works of one of the course authors. The paper may take any number of acceptable critical approaches, but in any event it must demonstrate an adequate knowledge of relevant scholarship on the subject and should feature individual interpretative insights. The paper should be no fewer than 12 pages long and no longer than 20 pages -- unless special permission is granted. From 10 to 20 secondary sources are expected. Please follow MLA style guidelines. Work with me during the first third of the semester to select a topic. We will discuss the paper throughout the semester, and at the end of the semester, you will present a short summary of your project and your findings to the rest of the seminar. Please consult with me about any problems you encounter along the way. Tip: Check the holdings at LCC before ordering a book through interlibrary loan. I ordered many books on Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville for the LCC library when I taught there. If the paper is completed and submitted a week before the final due date, I will allow revisions if you want that opportunity. Note: I give "Incompletes" only for legitimate crises (death in immediate family, serious medical problems) which prevent a well-intentioned, otherwise hard-working student from completing the course in the time-allotted.

Class Discussion, Participation, Critical Reports: 15%

This part of the course grade will primarily be determined by attendance, preparation, and willingness to share your thoughts in class -- all essential to the success of a small graduate seminar. Periodically during the semester, you will be asked to lead the discussion the following week on a particular work or to read a critical article on an assigned reading and report briefly to the class on the article.

Oral & Written Review of Book: 15%

Each participant in the seminar will read one assigned biography or critical book, write a 500 - 700 word book review, and give a 10 - 20 minute presentation to the seminar. A list of the books will be provided in a separate handout.

Comprehensive Final Exam: 30%

A comprehensive exam will be given over course readings, lectures, and presentations. A portion of the exam may be devoted to specific identification questions, but most of the exam will be devoted to essay questions of the type which might be expected on the M.A. in English Comprehensive Exam to be taken at the end of your M.A. program.
 

As with all semester schedules, this one expresses an intention rather than an absolute certainty. If adjustments are necessary, as they usually are, I will either announce them in class or provide a revised, printed schedule. Add report dates to the schedule as they are announced.

August 24: Introduction

August 31: Poe: Poetry; "Ligeia" and "The Fall of the House of Usher"

September 7: Poe: "William Wilson," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter," "The Oval Portrait," "The Tell-Tale Heart."

September 14: Poe: "The Gold-Bug," "The Black Cat," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Cask of Amontillado."

September 21: Hawthorne: "My Kinsman, Major Molineux," "Roger Malvin's Burial," "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," "Drowne's Wooden Image," and "The Birth-mark"

September 28: Hawthorne: "Rappaccini's Daughter," "Ethan Brand," and The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 1-12)

October 5: Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 13-24) and The Blithedale Romance (Chapters 1-9).

October 12: Hawthorne: The Blithedeal Romance (Chapters 10-28)

October 19: Melville: Moby-Dick (Chapters 1-29)

October 26: Melville: Moby-Dick (Chapters 30-60)

November 2: Melville: Moby-Dick (Chapters 61-99)

November 9: Melville: Moby-Dick (Chapters 100-135)

November 16: Melville: "Bartleby, the Scrivener," "Benito Cereno," and selected poems.

November 23: Thanksgiving Holiday

November 30 : Melville: Billy Budd

December 4: Course Papers Due (by 5 p.m. in KL 428)

December 7: Final Exam (8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. officially but an earlier time possible)