Spring 2026
American Literature
1 AMERICAN LITERATURE ENGL 2326 2A1 INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION Instructor: Joshua Cobb Email: jscobb@lit.edu Office Phone: 409-245-9596 Office Location: T5, Room 102 Office Hours: Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. CREDIT 3 Semester Credit Hours (3 hours lecture, 0 hours lab) MODE OF INSTRUCTION Online. PREREQUISITE/CO-REQUISITE: A D or better in ENGL 1301 (Composition I). COURSE DESCRIPTION A survey of American literature from the period of exploration and settlement to the present. Students will study works of prose, poetry, drama, and fiction in relation to their historical and cultural contexts. Texts will be selected from among a diverse group of authors for what they reflect and reveal about the evolving American experience and character. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to 1.Identify key ideas, representative authors and works, significant historical or cultural events, and characteristic perspectives or attitudes expressed in the literature of different periods or regions. 2. Analyze literary works as expressions of individual or communal values within the social, political, cultural, or religious contexts of different literary periods. 3. Demonstrate knowledge of the development of characteristic forms or styles of expression during different historical periods in different regions. 4. Articulate the aesthetic principles that guide the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities. 5. Write research-based critical papers about the assigned readings in clear and grammatically correct prose, using various critical approaches to literature. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK AND MATERIALS Reliable access to the Internet. The instructor will provide information for any supplemental reading resources via Blackboard 2 ATTENDANCE POLICY This is an online course. Students are not required to attend any online class. However, students are expected to check Blackboard and their LIT e-mail daily. Students who do not engage with the class daily will fall behind. DROP POLICY If you wish to drop a course, you are responsible for initiating and completing the drop process by the specified drop date as listed on the Academic Calendar. If you stop coming to class and fail to drop the course, you will earn an “F” in the course. STUDENT EXPECTED TIME REQUIREMENT For every hour in class (or unit of credit), students should expect to spend at least two to three hours per week studying and completing assignments. For a 3-credit-hour class, students should prepare to allocate approximately six to nine hours per week outside of class in a 16- week session OR approximately twelve to eighteen hours in an 8-week session. Online/Hybrid students should expect to spend at least as much time in this course as in the traditional, face-to-face class. COURSE CALENDAR Subject to change at your instructor’s discretion DATE LECTURES AND READINGS MODULES ASSIGMENTS Due last day of week unless otherwise noted Week 1: 1/20/2026-1/25/2026 Syllabus How to Read a Poem PowerPoint Why We Read American Literature PowerPoint Literary Criticism PP Week 1: Introduction Introduce Yourself Orientation Quiz Research Assignment 1: Find a Poem Week 2: 1/26/2026-2/01/2026 Bradstreet & Equiano PowerPoints and reading selections Works Cited PowerPoint The Colonial Period Research Assignment 2: Works Cited Reading Assignment 1 Week 3: 2/02/2026-2/08/2026 Freneau & Jefferson PowerPoints and readings How to Research a Topic PowerPoint The Revolutionary Period Research Assignment 2: Outline Reading Assignment 2 3 Week 4: 2/09/2026-2/15/2026 Bryant & Irving PowerPoints and readings In-Text Citations PowerPoint Early National Period Research Assignment 2: Final Draft Reading Assignment 3 Week Five: 2/16/2026-2/22/2026 Truth & Emerson PowerPoints and readings Literary Theory PowerPoint American Renaissance Research Assignment 3: early National Period & American Renaissance Works Cited Reading Assignment 4 Week Six: 2/23/2026-3/01/2026 Ossoli & Poe PowerPoints and readings How to Research Any Topic video American Renaissance 2 Research Assignment 3: early National Period & American Renaissance Outline Reading Assignment 5 Week Seven: 3/02/2026-3/08/2026 Dickinson & James PowerPoints and readings The Realistic Period Research Assignment 3: early National Period & American Renaissance Final Draft Reading Assignment 6 Week Eight: 3/16/2026-3/22/2026 London & Wharton PowerPoints and readings The Naturalist Period Midterm Reading Assignment 7 Week Nine: 3/23/2026-3/29/2026 Stein and Hemingway PowerPoints and readings The Lost Generation Independent Research Essay Topic Proposal Reading Assignment 8 Week Ten: 3/30/2026-4/05/2026 Hurston & Hughes PowerPoints and readings The Harlem Renaissance Reading Assignment 9 Week Eleven: 4/06/2026-4/12/2026 Baldwin & Angelou PowerPoints and readings The Contemporary Period Pt 1 Independent Research Essay Annotated Bibliography Week Twelve: 4/13/2026-4/19/2026 Vonnegut & Morrison PowerPoints and readings The Contemporary Period Pt 2 Independent Research Essay Early Draft Reading Assignment 10 4 Week Thirteen: 4/20/2026-4/26/2026 Kingston & Lahiri PowerPoints and readings Postcolonial Period & Beyond Reading Assignment 11 Independent Research Essay Peer Review Week Fourteen: 4/27/2026-5/03/2026 Laying the Ghosts to Rest PowerPoint Independent Research Essay Final Draft Week Fifteen: 5/04/2026-5/06/2026 Final Week: 5/07/2026-5/13/2026 Final Exam: Creative Assignment due Sunday, May 10 COURSE EVALUATION Final grades will be calculated according to the following criteria: • Participation 10% • Daily Work Assignments 40% • Mid-Term Exam 15% • Research Paper--Common Assignment 20% • Final Exam 15% • Total 100% GRADING SCALE 90-100: A 80-89: B 70-79: C 60-69: D 0-59: F All numeric grades will be rounded to the nearest whole number. LIT does not use +/- grading scales. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Students found to be committing academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, or collusion) may receive disciplinary action. Students need to familiarize themselves with the institution’s Academic Dishonesty Policy available in the Student Catalog & Handbook at http://catalog.lit.edu/content.php?catoid=3&navoid=80#academic-dishonesty. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS The latest technical requirements, including hardware, compatible browsers, operating systems, etc. can be online at https://lit.edu/online-learning/online-learning-minimum- 5 computer-requirements. A functional broadband internet connection, such as DSL, cable, or WiFi is necessary to maximize the use of online technology and resources. DISABILITIES STATEMENT The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are federal anti-discrimination statutes that provide comprehensive civil rights for persons with disabilities. LIT provides reasonable accommodations as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, to students with a diagnosed disability. The Special Populations Office is located in the Eagles’ Nest Room 129 and helps foster a supportive and inclusive educational environment by maintaining partnerships with faculty and staff, as well as promoting awareness among all members of the Lamar Institute of Technology community. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Special Populations Coordinator at (409)-951-5708 or email specialpopulations@lit.edu. You may also visit the online resource at Special Populations - Lamar Institute of Technology (lit.edu). STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT STATEMENT It is the responsibility of all registered Lamar Institute of Technology students to access, read, understand and abide by all published policies, regulations, and procedures listed in the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook. The LIT Catalog and Student Handbook may be accessed at www.lit.edu. Please note that the online version of the LIT Catalog and Student Handbook supersedes all other versions of the same document. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE STATEMENT Lamar Institute of Technology (LIT) recognizes the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, have changed the landscape of many career disciplines and will impact many students in and out of the classroom. To prepare students for their selected careers, LIT desires to guide students in the ethical use of these technologies and incorporate AI into classroom instruction and assignments appropriately. Appropriate use of these technologies is at the discretion of the instructor. Students are reminded that all submitted work must be their own original work unless otherwise specified. Students should contact their instructor with any questions as to the acceptable use of AI/ChatGPT in their courses STARFISH LIT utilizes an early alert system called Starfish. Throughout the semester, you may receive emails from Starfish regarding your course grades, attendance, or academic performance. Faculty members record student attendance, raise flags and kudos to express concern or give praise, and you can make an appointment with faculty and staff all through the Starfish home page. You can also login to Blackboard or MyLIT and click on the Starfish link to view academic alerts and detailed information. It is the responsibility of the student to pay attention to these emails and information in Starfish and consider taking the recommended actions. Starfish is used to help you be a successful student at LIT. 6 ADDITIONAL COURSE POLICIES/INFORMATION Due dates are subject to change. I do not allow students to retake/redo assignments. Communication: I will respond to e-mails within 24 hours during the week and within 48 hours over the weekend. Typically, I will only respond to e-mails during my office hours. Grading: I try to return assignments within one week of the due date. This is a target, not a promise, and in a writing-intensive course such as this, sometimes grading takes longer. If you have any questions or concerns about the pace of grading, please contact your instructor directly. Special Populations: If a student requires accommodations while on LIT campus, they must contact the Special Populations office in Student Services. If a dual credit student has accommodations through their school’s special populations office, they must still contact LIT’s Special Populations office at specialpopulations@lit.edu. Electronics Policy: Students cannot use electronic devices such as cell phones, laptops, AirPods, or any other distracting devices in the classroom, unless at my discretion. If a student needs an electronic device for accommodations in class, they should contact the Special Populations office at LIT. Unless I allow students to use their devices, devices will stay in backpacks, not pockets, until the end of class. Plagiarism/Cheating: Academic Dishonesty is a crime that Lamar Institute of Technology and I take seriously. Most colleges expel cheating students. Examples of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to: • Directly copying a source into an essay without citing the original source. • Paraphrasing a source without citing the original source. • Paying someone to complete an assignment, having a friend or family member complete an assignment, or using Artificial Intelligence to write a paper. If a paper has a student’s name on it, I expect to see that student’s work. • Making minor changes to an original source while still retaining up to 75% of the structure of the sentence. • Taking a quiz or test with another student, giving the answers to a quiz or test to another student, or Googling the answers to the quiz or test. My quizzes are not open-book quizzes. Students are only allowed the notes they have taken over an assignment during a quiz. How to Know If Something Is Not Plagiarism: Generally, plagiarism only covers things that are not general knowledge. If a student makes the claim that the sky is blue, then they do not have to cite where they got that information because it is something that 90% of the world already 7 knows. However, if a student describes why the sky is blue, they must cite their source since that is not common knowledge. How to Avoid Plagiarism: First, students should practice good paraphrasing and rewrite sentences in their own words. Part of the course will be discussions, assignments, and videos over good paraphrasing. Also, when students turn in their assignments, they should get a visible score from SafeAssign. SafeAssign is not perfect, and I have found plagiarism in papers with as low as a 10% score. If SafeAssign flags a paper as plagiarized, a student should rewrite and resubmit the paper until the percentage 25% or less. Late Work: If a student misses a deadline, they will get an automatic zero. Late work may be accepted with a penalty only up until the point when the assignment has been graded, typically within a week of the due date. Once an assignment is graded, it cannot be redone or resubmitted, or submitted late. Typically, if a student gets in the habit of turning in all assignments within the first three weeks, they can build that habit for the rest of the class. Make-Up Work: I can make accommodations on deadlines for extenuating circumstances (family emergencies, sickness, mental health, chronic health issues, etc.) However, communication is necessary in these circumstances. I need to know at least three days before a deadline if a student cannot complete an assignment on time. The new deadline will be three days after original deadline. If a student asks for more time on an assignment the day before or the day it is due, I will not respond to their e-mail. Absolutely no late work will be accepted after the last day of class. Concerns or complaints: If you have any concerns or complaints during this course, please follow the chain of command outlined below to ensure your issue is addressed promptly and appropriately: • Instructor: Your first point of contact should be your course instructor. They are available to discuss any issues related to the course content, assignments, or classroom environment. (If you instructor has not responded to your email in a timely manner, please proceed to the next level.) • Program Director/Lead Faculty: If your concern is not resolved after speaking with your instructor, please contact their Program Director or Lead Faculty. They can provide additional support and mediation. As of Spring 2026, the lead faculty for the English program in the GEDS department is Sarah Culver. Email sculver@lit.edu. • Department Chair: Should the issue remain unresolved, your complaint will be escalated to the Department Chair. The Chair's office is equipped to handle more serious or persistent issues COVID-19 Requirements: LIT no longer requires masks in the classroom. However, you are still allowed to wear a mask if it makes you feel comfortable. If you receive a positive COVID test, please do not come to class. Instead, send me an e-mail/phone call/text, and I will do what I can to ensure you have access to daily lectures and assignments.