ENG 342 STUDIES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE: AMERICAN THOUGHT AND CULTURE IN THE 1960s 
Professor David Schmid 
Course Description

The purpose of this course is to analyze the complex ways in which literary culture and political action interact by examining the literature and social movements of the period. We will challenge the conventional image of the decade, which assumes it sprang fully_formed from a historical void, by examining how the concerns of the sixties grew out of those of earlier decades. Similarly, we will examine how the sixties spilled over into the seventies, and what relevance, if any, that time has for us in the 1990s. What caused the social upheavals of the 1960s? Why did the issues take the form they did? How did the literature inform the political movements, and vice versa? What lessons can be learned from that time? These are some of the questions that will orient our discussion.

Course Texts

In order to facilitate that discussion, we will use the following texts, which are all for sale at the University Bookstore and also on reserve at the Oscar Silverman Library.

James Baldwin The Fire Next Time 
Alexander Bloom and Wini Breines (eds) Takin' It To The Streets: A Sixties Reader
Sara Evans Personal Politics 
Ken Kesey One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest 
Malcolm X The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Anne Moody Coming of Age in Mississippi
Piri Thomas Down These Mean Streets
Tom Wolfe The Electric Kool_Aid Acid Test

Course Requirements

1. Completion of all reading and writing assignments.
2. Facilitate discussion with other students on an assigned date.
3. Three papers:
    a) Paper I (5_7pp)
    b) Paper II (5_7pp)
    c) Paper III (5_7pp)
4. Reading Notes: a total of 12.

Grading

Participation and Presentation 20%
Reading Notes 20%
Paper I 20%
Paper II 20%
Paper III 20%

Revisions

You will have the option of revising Papers I and II. The new grade, if the second version is a substantial improvement, will be averaged with the original grade. In order to improve your grade, your revision must not merely redot the 'i's' and recross the 't's,' but must demonstrate

structural changes such as altering the organization of the paper or its thesis statement, or improving sentences and paragraphs. Revisions will be due on a specific date that I will announce in class. I will not accept revisions after that date.

Reading Notes

On certain dates indicated in the syllabus, I will ask you to write reading notes about that day's reading. These reading notes are NOT a summary of the material. Rather, the notes are your opportunity to say what you think about the reading: What are these authors trying to do? Do they succeed or fail? What larger issues are raised by what these authors are saying? These are

the kinds of issues I'd like you to discuss in your notes. Reading notes will not be graded, but I will read them and return them to you. I will not accept late reading notes.

Attendance

Attendance at all classes is mandatory. If you have more than two unexcused absences over the course of the semester, your final grade for this class will be docked by half a grade. If you have more than four unexcused absences during the course of the semester, your final grade will be docked by a full grade. An excused absence is an absence due to illness that is supported by a doctor's note. An unexcused absence is any and all of the following: illness not supported by a doctor's note; faulty alarm clocks; oversleeping; missing your bus; your printer running out of toner or paper; being abducted by aliens, etc.

Class Discussion

On the dates indicated in the syllabus, students will facilitate class discussion. We will have a random drawing to determine when you will facilitate discussion on the second day of class. Facilitators must write five questions on the board to initiate discussion. What troubled you about

the readings? What appealed to you? What, for you, were the main themes and issues? Was there anything in the story you didn't understand, or that you thought was particularly significant? These are some possible areas to consider when coming up with your questions.

Late Paper Policy

Late papers will be docked half a grade unless you have spoken to me BEFORE the due date with a persuasive excuse. For papers over two weeks late, I will dock a full grade. I will not grant extensions or incompletes for Paper III except under very, very, very, very dire circumstances.

Plagiarism

Prof. Barbara Bono defines plagiarism in the following way: "Plagiarism is the unacknowledged dependence upon some secondary source. Indebtedness can range from direct quotation to the use of certain key phrases to the paraphrase of certain central ideas. If you use the words or ideas of others, please acknowledge and document them carefully. If in doubt, please ask me how to footnote, compile a bibliography, etc. If I suspect unacknowledged dependence on outside sources, be assured that I will investigate it thoroughly."  The moral of the story is, please do not plagiarize.