NCHU Course Outline
Course Name (中) 美國文學:二十世紀前(3022)
(Eng.) American Literature before the 20th Century
Offering Dept Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Course Type Required Credits 3 Teacher LIN, JIAN-GUANG
Department Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures/Undergraduate Language 中/英文 Semester 2024-FALL
Course Description This course is a survey of American literature, beginning with the colonial period to the end of American Civil War. Students will read a diverse of literary works renowned in the history of American literature. Through reading these works, students are expected to have a mastery of a significant portion of American literary heritage, improve their skills in reading and analyzing literary works, and cultivate their critical thinking ability. Besides the instructor’s lecture, this course also requires discussion and active class participation, so it is very important that students taking this course prepare lessons before the class.

Prerequisites
self-directed learning in the course Y
Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%) Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives
Course Objectives Competency Indicators Ratio(%) Teaching Methods Assessment Methods
By the end of the course, the students are expected to (1) identify key ideas, authors, and works in the history of American literature before 1865, (2) better understand the themes, metaphors, symbols, and other literary devices of a certain literary work, (3) analyze literary works from historical, cultural, or ideological perspectives.
1.Foreign language skills
2.Professional expertise
50
50
Lecturing
Discussion
Oral Presentation
Other
Attendance
Quiz
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content
Week 1 Introduction

Week 2 Quiz 1
“Introduction: Beginnings to 1820”
Columbus: “Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage”
John Smith: The General History; A Description of New England
Week 3 Quiz 2
William Bradford: Of Plymouth Plantation
John Winthrop: “A Model of Christian Charity”
Week 4 Quiz 3
Mary Rowlandson: A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration
Edward Taylor: “Huswifery”
Jonathan Edwards: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Film screening on the subject of early American history
Week 5 Holiday, no classes due
Watch The Last of the Mohicans (1992) (大地英豪)
Week 6 Quiz 4
Benjamin Franklin: “The Way to Wealth”; The Autobiography
Jean de Crevecoeur: Letters from an American Farmer

Thomas Jefferson: The Autobiography
Week 7 Quiz 5
Thomas Paine: Common Sense; “The Crisis”
Thomas Jefferson: The Autobiography
“Introduction: American Literature, 1820-1865”
Week 8 Quiz 6
Washington Irving: “Rip Van Winkle”
Week 9 Midterm exam
Week 10 Quiz 7
Ralph Waldo Emerson: Nature
Week 11 Quiz 8
Emerson: “The American Scholar”; “Self-Reliance”
Week 12 Quiz 9
Nathaniel Hawthorne: “The Minister’s Black Veil”; Edgar Allen Poe: “The Raven”; “Annabel Lee”
Week 13 Quiz 10
Poe: “The Purloined Letter”; “The Philosophy of Composition”
Week 14 Quiz 11
Henry David Thoreau: “Resistance to Civil Government”
Week 15 Quiz 12
Thoreau: Walden
Week 16 Final exam
Week 17 Self-directed learning
Watch a film related to American history
Week 18 Self-directed learning
Oral report (optional, for extra points)
Evaluation
The final grade for this course will be determined based on your performance in the following:

1. Midterm exam: 30%
2. Final exam: 30%
3. Class discussion and participation (including activities in Zuvio): 20%
4. Quiz:10% (The quiz will cover the reading materials of the week. The quiz coverage will also be announced at “I-Learning.”)
5. Attendance: 10% (Students who are absent for more than five times will fail in the course)
Textbook & other References
Norton Anthology of American Literature (shorter tenth edition)

Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website

Office Hours
Tuesday 10:00-11:00, and by appointment


Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs
04.Quality Educationinclude experience courses:N
Please respect the intellectual property rights and use the materials legally.Please repsect gender equality.
Update Date, year/month/day:2024/07/08 15:47:06 Printed Date, year/month/day:2024 / 10 / 04
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