City College of San Francisco

Course Outline of Record

I. GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A. Approval Date
B. Department
C. Course Number
D. Course Title
E. Course Outline Preparer(s)

September 2010
English
ENGL 30B
American Literature, 1865-present
English Department Curriculum Committee

F. Department Chairperson
Jessica Brown
G. Dean
Bob Davis
II. COURSE SPECIFICS
A. Hours
B. Units
Corequisites
Advisories

E. Field Trips
F. Method of Grading
G. Repeatability

Lecture: 3 weekly (52.5 total)

3.0
C. Prerequisites Completion of ENGL 96 or
placement in ENGL 1A
None
None
D. Course Justification In order to allow for
study of a broader range of writers, and
foster a stronger sense of historical
continuity, the Department wishes to replace
ENGL 30 with ENGL 30A, covering the
period 1608-1865, and ENGL 30B, covering
1865-present. As core components of
CCSF's English major, ENGL 30A and
ENGL 30B are intended to transfer to UC
and to the California State system as a
course satisfying English major
requirements at those schools.
No
Letter, Pass/No Pass
0

III. CATALOG DESCRIPTION

ENGL 30B is a course surveying American literature from the Civil War to the present. It
is designed to introduce students to significant stories, novels, poetry and drama.
IV. MAJOR LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course a student will be able to:
A. Analyze literary works by both canonical and previously marginalized writers of
the period.
B. Distinguish characteristics of literary movements of the period, including
regionalism, realism, naturalism, modernism, and post-modernism.
C. Summarize characteristics that define literary genres, including poetry, plays,
short stories, and novels.
CCSF, English, ENGL 30B, American Literature, 1865-present, September 2010, Page 1 of 5

D. Describe important literary characteristics, such as allusion, metaphor, and

symbolism, and employ these concepts to analyze works in which they occur.
E. Describe major themes and literary characteristics that distinguish American
literature from other literatures of the period.
F. Analyze social, political, and historical forces that helped shape modern American
literature.
G. Assess contributions made by diverse regional, ethnic, racial, and gender groups
to the development of American literature.
H. Select appropriate critical standards and methodology to interpret and evaluate
works in all literary genres.
V. CONTENTS
A. Techniques and themes characterizing the emerging American poetic tradition
1. Thematic developments
a. The Self in relation to geographical expansion & social diversity,
emphasizing Walt Whitman
b. Emotional & philosophical awareness of the Self, emphasizing Emily
Dickinson
2. Technical advances
a. Adaptation of traditional meters and rhymes
b. Invention of open (organic) poetic forms
B. Diversification of prose from the Civil War to 1900
1. Regionalism
a. Western Humor: exaggerated social satire and the Tall Tale
b. Midwestern Realism: hardship and mobility inherent in frontier life
c. The Postbellum South: psychological and emotional conflicts created by
changing social hierarchies and manners
d. New England Realism: social conventions in defining isolated, ordinary
lives, often from women's perspectives
2. Psychological realism
a. Conflicts common to themes of marriage, money, and social position
b. Contrasts of American and European values and attitudes
3. Naturalism: subservience of character to impersonal natural forces
C. Modernist poetry
1. Themes of political disillusionment and heightened personal awareness
2. Radical techniques such as symbolism and surrealism
3. Emerging literary movements such as Imagism, Vortecism, and the Harlem
Renaissance
D. The realistic novel: 1914-1945
1. Themes of cultural dislocation and migration, urbanization, mechanization,
and acquisition of wealth
2. Technical experiments in prose styles and point-of-view
E. The rise of the American theater after World War II
1. Plays of family and social conflict
2. Psychological expressionism
3. Theater of the Absurd

CCSF, English, ENGL 30B, American Literature, 1865-present, September 2010, Page 2 of 5

4. Ethnic and gender themes

F. Contemporary literary diversification
1. Broadening the American literary tradition to include the perspectives of
culturally marginalized groups
2. Alternative aesthetic values advanced by marginalized writers and groups
VI. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY
A. Assignments
1. Out-of-class assignments
a. Reading of designated stories, novels, poems, and plays
b. Reading of appropriate critical and contextual research sources
c. At least two formal essays, of at least 2500 words total, using MLA format
and conventions
d. Student journals (optional)
1. Written student reactions to assigned readings
2. Written student reactions to readings selected from the supplementary
reading list
e. Preparation of oral reports on individual writers or literary movements
(optional)
2. In-Class Assignments
a. Discussion, interpretation, contextualization, and analysis of assigned texts
b. Presentation of oral reports on individual writers or literary movements
(optional)
B. Evaluation
1. Out-of-class essays demonstrating in-depth critical analysis of significant
works and literary movements
a. Analyze themes important to essay topics
b. Demonstrate knowledge of literary characteristics of works, genres, or
movements discussed (such as symbolism, poetic conventions, or
characteristics of Regionalism or Naturalism)
c. Secondary sources employed where necessary or useful
1. Contextual and critical sources adequately researched
2. Sources reported according to Modern Language Association
conventions
2. Written essay exams, including Mid-term and Final Examinations
a. Analyze a broad selection of assigned readings
b. Demonstrate understanding of literary characteristics, such as metaphor
and symbolism
3. Class participation, including
a. Frequent and useful responses to instructors' classroom prompts
b. Regular discussions with instructor during office hours
4. Quizzes establishing students' grasp of major themes and characters (optional)
5. Student journals (optional)
a. Written student responses demonstrating significant engagement with
assigned readings

CCSF, English, ENGL 30B, American Literature, 1865-present, September 2010, Page 3 of 5

1. Awareness of literary qualities, such as characterization and dramatic

irony
2. Analysis of reasons for students' reactions to authors and readings
b. Written student reactions demonstrating significant engagement with
readings from the supplemental reading list
1. Distinguishing specific literary qualities, such as effect of diction and
plot resolution
2. Interpreting students' emotional reactions to authors and texts
6. Oral presentations on individual writers or literary movements (optional)
a. Awareness of distinctive qualities of writers or movements, such as
Hemingway's insistence of a code of behavior, or literary naturalisms'
focus of the impersonality of Nature
b. Utility of reports to other class members, as demonstrated in subsequent
class discussions
C. Textbooks and other instructional materials
1. An American literature anthology appropriate to the period, such as:
a. Baym, Nina, et. al., eds. The Norton Anthology of American Literature,
shorter Seventh Edition. Volume Two. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008.
Print.
b. Belasco, Susan and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of
American Literature. Volume Two. Boston, New York: Bedford St.
Martins, 2008. Print.
c. McMichael, George, et. al., eds. Concise Anthology of American
Literature, Ninth Edition. Volume II. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
2. Individual novels and plays by major American writers, including:
a. Novels such as: Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Knopf
Doubleday, 1995. Print.; Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New
York: Doubleday, 1991. Print.; Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby.
New York: Scribners, 1995. Print.; Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New
York: Knopf Doubleday, 2004. Print.; Twain, Mark. The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. Mineola, N.Y: Dover, 1994. Print.
b. Plays such as: Albee, Edward. Seascape. New York: Overlook Press, 1975.
Print.; Kushner, Tony. Homebody/Kabul. New York: Theater
Communications Group, 2004. Print.; Miller, Arthur. Everybody Wins.
New York: Grove/Atlantic, 1994. Print.; Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar
Named Desire. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. Print.; Wilson, August.
Gem of the Ocean. New York: Theater Communications Group, 2006.
3. Period-specific surveys of literary history, such as Cowley, Malcolm. Exile's
Return. New York: Penguin, 1994. Print.; Kazin, Alfred. On Native Grounds.
New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1995. Print.
4. Audiovisual recordings of selected poems and dramas, such as Dickinson,
Emily. Essential Dickinson. Read by Julie Harris. Compact disc. Caedmon,
1960.; Wilson, August. The Piano Lesson. Perf. Charles Dutton, Alfre
Woodard. Dir. Lloyd Richards. DVD. Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions,
1995.

CCSF, English, ENGL 30B, American Literature, 1865-present, September 2010, Page 4 of 5

5. Supplementary reading list of outstanding American authors, including

recommended texts, such as Bellow, Saul. The Adventures of Augie March.
New York: Viking, 1949.; Williams, William Carlos. Paterson. New York:
New Directions, 1992.
VII. TITLE 5 CLASSIFICATION
CREDIT/DEGREE APPLICABLE (meets all standards of Title 5. Section 55002(a)).

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