Assignments:
1) 3 close reading essays, due each Saturday by 2 p.m. on the Canvas Assignments site (except for the Saturday you turn in the creative essay instead). Each close reading essay should focus on the novel read during the week that ends the Saturday of the due date (for example, your Giovanni’s Room will be due Saturday, April 14th. Since there are 5 novels for the course and only 3 essays, you may choose which three novels you wish to write on. Click here for the Guidelines.
2)1 creative essay substituted for one of the essays above, also due Saturday by 2 p.m. on the Canvas Assignments site. You may do this assignment on whichever of the novels you choose. Click here for the Guidelines.
3)5 quizzes, each due on the Canvas Assignments site Tuesday by midnight of the novel’s second week. Quizzes are available on Canvas. They will include multiple choice answers, short answers, and 2-3-sentence answers on the novels and contextual material from the UOBlogs course site. The questions will not be super specific (such as “When did Beauford Delaney die?”) but more conceptual and designed to show you have a good sense of the novels, the writers, and their contexts (“Why were Beauford Delaney, Richard Wright, and James Baldwin drawn to Paris?”). Think of the quizzes as scavenger hunts, where you need to read through this course site to fine the answers. You should have read at least halfway through each novel by the time of the quiz.
4)3 remote real-time discussion group meetings (about 10 students each) over the course of the term, during two different weeks. Sign up for these meetings on the Calendar page of Canvas.
5)5 200-word entries (one every two weeks) on the Discussions page of the Canvas site for the course. Also, a 1-2-sentence response to another student’s comment each time you post. Due every Thursday by midnight.
6)a 2-3-sentence statement introducing yourself to me and the rest of the class, entered on Canvas by the end of the first week of the term.
Passages for Close Reading and Creative Assignments(Close Reading essays should be 500 words and should be uploaded to the Canvas course site for English 392–American Novel. See guidelines above). Choose a passage below on which to focus your essay. For the Creative Assignment, rewrite one of the passages from a different point of view or create a screencast (see guidelines for Creative Assignment in link above):
Under the Feet of Jesus Passage #1
Under the Feet of Jesus Passage #2
Passage #1 for Fun Home Close Reading Essay
Passage #2 for Fun Home Close Reading Essay
Passage #3 for Fun Home Close Reading Essay