Course Syllabus

Course: ENGL 2410

Division: Humanities
Department: English & Philosophy
Title: Literature of the American West

Semester Approved: Spring 2021
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2025
End Semester: Fall 2026

Catalog Description: This course is a regional study of literature of the American West. Areas of emphasis include Native Americans, mountain men, settlers, the cowboy myth hero, and the American frontier. Manifest Destiny and the multicultural nature of westward expansion are emphasized in the course.

General Education Requirements: Humanities (HU)
Semesters Offered: TBA
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 3; Lecture: 3; Lab: 0

Prerequisites: None

Corequisites: None


Justification: English 2410 allows students to read, discuss, and write about literature written about the region west of the Mississippi River. The idea of the American frontier as a unique influence on the character of individuals, on a sense of community, and on exploitation of the land in the past and in contemporary times is explored. Literary texts are placed in a historical context and viewed as a way of coming to a better understanding of self through universal themes expressed in a regional context.

This course offers a General Education opportunity to students who are not attracted to the traditional canon of literature written in English. Such approaches are informed by current trends in literary studies and will aid students who are English majors and others by exposing them to diversity in areas such as ethnicity, language, geography, history, gender, and many others.

The Humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the many ways by which humans have attempted to understand themselves and their world. At Snow College, the Humanities focus on cultural traditions that are expressed largely through text or which have a strong textual component: languages, literature, and philosophy. The methods by which the Humanities study culture are at once analytical and interpretive, objective and subjective, historical and aesthetic.


General Education Outcomes:
1: A student who completes the GE curriculum has a fundamental knowledge of human cultures and the natural world. An important goal of this course is to foster an appreciation of literature in general. After completing this course, students are prepared to recognize and enjoy literary works for intellectual as well as visceral reasons. Students read and discuss a selection of significant and representative texts addressing western American exploration and settlement including Manifest Destiny, Native American oral and written traditions, the cowboy myth hero, and the multicultural nature of westward expansion. Quizzes, writing assignments, examinations, special projects, and class discussions will ask students to consider readings in a variety of contexts.

2: A student who completes the GE curriculum can read and research effectively within disciplines. Students will be able to closely read a variety of primary literary texts and use this reading as the basis for analysis along with consideration of secondary interpretations from outside sources. Students will demonstrate their close reading skills through class discussions, quizzes, exams, and projects/papers.

3: A student who completes the GE curriculum can draw from multiple disciplines to address complex problems. The study of literature is inherently interdisciplinary because it connects the lived realities of social groups through literary expression. Students use insights from geography, history, sociology, gender studies, and other fields to read and analyze literature. They will demonstrate this learning through class discussions, quizzes, exams, and projects/papers.

4: A student who completes the GE curriculum can reason analytically, critically, and creatively. Students analyze written texts to form conclusions about artistic excellence, the formation of literature, and cultural norms. They will demonstrate this analysis on exams, quizzes, class discussions, and written assignments.

5: A student who completes the GE curriculum can communicate effectively through writing and speaking. Students will write and participate in class discussions both to respond and to create arguments. They will use effective writing processes to write about course readings and class discussions, and they will demonstrate these skills through critical thinking questions on quizzes, written assignments and on revised projects/papers.

General Education Knowledge Area Outcomes:
1: Through the study of a representative selection of Western American literature texts, students will examine a variety of philosophical questions about human thought and experience (e.g., human nature, race and identity, power and cultural status, individuality and society, etc.). Class discussions, essays, and essay-exams will allow students to demonstrate they can articulate ways in which authors writing about the American West have asked and answered various questions; they will also allow students to demonstrate they can participate in discussions about these questions.  Through the study of a representative selection of Western American literature texts, students will examine a variety of philosophical questions about human thought and experience (e.g., human nature, race and identity, power and cultural status, individuality and society, etc.). Class discussions, essays, and essay-exams will allow students to demonstrate they can articulate ways in which authors writing about the American West have asked and answered various questions; they will also allow students to demonstrate they can participate in discussions about these questions.

2: Understand how knowledge is created through the study of language systems, literature, and/or philosophy. Through the practice of close reading (literary analysis), from a range of literary texts, students will understand how knowledge is created within the field of literature. Students will be able understand how such elements as history, audience, authorial choices in relation to the text, and personal biases impact the reading of a text. Students will be asked to demonstrate their ability to read closely on exams and in written assignments.

3: Understand cultural traditions within an historical context and make connections with the present. Students will understand cultural and geographic development in the Western United States as presented through literature. They will also be able to discuss representative works of Western American literature in a historical context and be able to articulate connections with contemporary culture. Class discussions, quizzes, and exams will allow students to identify, contextualize, and explain various authors, works, and movements in literature about the American West.

4: Critically read and respond to primary texts (original, uninterpreted) from a Humanities’ perspective. Students will be able to read, interpret, analyze, and respond to a representative selection of primary literary texts. Reading strategies, writing assignments, discussion, and exams will allow students to demonstrate an ability to read critically in order to understand, explain, and evaluate literary texts.

5: Write effectively within the Humanities discipline to analyze and form critical and aesthetic judgments. Students will be able to write interpretive and analytic essays that are supported through textual analysis. They will be given feedback on written drafts in order to improve writing and thinking skills from one assignment to the next.


Content:
A general literature of the American West anthology and/or additional readings of the instructor’s choice are used to present and illustrate historical, geographic, religious, cultural, and economic contexts from a western American perspective. Course content should be inclusive and offer students the opportunity to see diverse ethnic, cultural, gender, regional, economic, and other perspectives.

Key Performance Indicators:
Content quizzes, discussion boards, or other reading assessments  15 to 30%

Exams 25 to 40%

Special projects and/or writing assignments  30 to 45%

Participation may be assessed  0 to 10%


Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Thomas J. Lyon, editor. The Literary West: An Anthology of Western American Literature. Current edition.

Owen Wister. The Virginian.

James Welch. Fools Crow.

Cormac McCarthy. All the Pretty Horses.

Leslie Marmon Silko. Ceremony.

Molly Gloss. The Jump-Off Creek.

Willa Cather. My Antonia.

Rudolfo Anaya. Bless Me, Ultima.


Pedagogy Statement:
There are a range of pedagogical concerns for the class. Course content will be delivered through short lectures, class discussions, and writing assignments to ensure an engaged and interactive classroom. Some form of accountability for reading should be established: reading quizzes, discussion boards, bell work, etc. The course should also build to a signature assignment that will allow students to demonstrate their learning related to the HU GE outcomes. Exams can have some focus on recall and content but should also be opportunities for critical thinking and synthesis of concepts across literary texts.The course content should reflect the value of diversity. Students' first encounter with the literature occurs outside the classroom, and class time employs differentiated and inclusive learning techniques, including discussion in varying formats like freewriting and pairing, group discussion, class discussion, and feedback on writing. The professor functions as a guide asking students to engage with the literature and historical moments as they move from initial impressions to informed analysis, close reading, interpretation, and critical thinking.

Instructional Mediums:
Lecture

Maximum Class Size: 30
Optimum Class Size: 20