DAILY WORK SCHEDULE

Note: bulleted items are due on the date immediately above them. The designation “BA” means the reading is found in the Broadview Anthology of American Literature. Last update: 1/26/2025

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

• First Day of Class.

Friday, January 17, 2025 [Updated 1/15]

• We have class but no homework.

Monday, January 20, 2025

• NO CLASS: MLK Day.

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays.
• Last Day to Add a Class without Faculty Signature.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

• Read the instructions and complete the Contact Information handout (See Handouts page).
• Read the instructions and complete the Student Contract handout (See Handouts page).
• Read "How to Really Read This Book" (Download from the Readings section of the Canvas web page)

• Read and mark in the Broadview Anthology (noted as BA) the following:
• “Indigenous North American Cultures and Literatures” (BA 1-5).
•  “Contact, and the Literature of Contact” (BA 5-15).
• "Lenni Lenape (Delaware) Accounts of the Arrival of the Whites) oral tradition (BA 116-119, stop when you get to Thomas Harriot)
• Read and mark the following documents found in the Readings section of the Canvas course site in this order:
• "In Focus: America in the World/The World in America" (background essay that sets up the following additional excerpts from much larger works)
• from Utopia (Thomas More)
• from Of Cannibals (Michel de Montaigne)
• America (Painting)
• from New Atlantis (Francis Bacon)

• “from Christopher Columbus with Bartolomé de las Casas, Journal of the First Voyage to America” (BA 90-94).
• “Chrisopher Columbus, Letter of Columbus to Varous Persons Describing the Results of His First Voyage and Written on the Return Journey” (BA 94-97).

Friday, January 24, 2025

• Read and mark “Requermiento” by Palacios Rubios (See Readings section of Canvas page).
• Read and mark “from Bartolomé de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” (BA 99-103).

Monday, January 27, 2025

• Read and mark the following in in the Broadview Anthology (BA):
• “New Mexico: The Pueblo Revolt” (BA 104-105).
• “Antonio de Otermín, letter on the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, 8 September 1680” (BA 105-11)
• All of the selections by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (BA 137-144).

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

• Read and mark all of the John Smith section (BA 146-163)
• Read and mark all of Richard Frethorne (See Reading section of Canvas page).

Friday, January 31, 2025

• Read and mark the entire William Bradford section (BA 165-181).

Monday, February 3, 2025

• Read and mark the entire “John Winthrop” section (BA 187-197).
• Read and mark the following from the Anne Bradstreet section:
• “Anne Bradstreet” Bio (BA 213-215).
• “Prologue” (include the title page reproduction) (BA 215-217).
• “The Flesh and the Spirit” (BA 221-223).
• “To My Dear and Loving Husband” (BA 234).
• “A Letter to Her Husband, Absent upon Public Employment” (BA 234).
• "In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and Half Old" (BA 225).
• "On My Dear Grandchild Simon Bradstreet, Who Died on 16 November, 1669, being but a Month, and One Day Old" (BA 235).
• “For Deliverance from a Fever” (BA 235-236).
• “To My Dear Children” (BA 227-29).

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays.
• Last Day to Drop a Course.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

• Read the following from Cotton Mather:
• “Cotton Mather” Bio (273-274).
• from Wonders of the Invisible World (BA 275-279).
• The Negro Christianized (available in the Readings section of our Canvas site).
• Withdrawal without faculty signature starts.

Friday, February 7, 2025

• Read the following from Jonathan Edwards:
• “Jonathan Edwards” Bio (BA 284-286).
• Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (BA 286-295).

Monday, February 10, 2025

• Scholarly Article Analysis Project (20 points).  First, read and mark "’Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’: Some Unfinished Business” by Edward J. Gallagher. Present marked essay in class and post written response in the “Academic Article Activity” Assignment.  See Assignment description for specific details. (Marked text=5 points; Activity=20 points)

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

• Read and mark the selections by William Byrd (in Readings section of Canvas web page).

Friday, February 14, 2025

• Read the following from Benjamin Franklin:
• “Benjamin Franklin” Bio (BA 303-305)
• from The Autobiography: Part 1 (BA 311-348)

Monday, February 17, 2025

• Draft of Paper #1 due.  Post a copy in the "Paper #1: Draft" Discussion Board topic. Posting is worth five points.
• We will have a workshop on your drafts today worth 20 points. You must attend class with a completed draft printed for a partner to read to get those points. Incomplete drafts will be prorated, but it is better to come with a partial draft than to skip class.
• If you had an accommodations letter sent to me, please send me an email to remind me that you will need extra time on the midterm exam so I can make arrangements.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

• Quotation Assignment #1 Due. Submit to the “Quotation Assignment #1” Assignment. This assignment will not be accepted late (20 points).
• Review the essay questions for the midterm exam, available in the Graded Tasks section of the class web page.

Friday, February 21, 2025

• Read the following Franklin essays in the Broadview Anthology:
• “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” (BA 305-308).
• “On the Slave Trade” (BA 308-310).
• Read and mark the following short piece by Benjamin Franklin found on the open web:
• “The Way to Wealth” (913-919)
• “A Witch Trial at Mount Holly” (919-920)
• “The Speech of Polly Baker” (920-922)
• “Speech in the Convention” (933-935

Monday, February 24, 2025

• Final draft of Paper #1 due by noon in the “Paper 1: Final Draft (Graded copy)” in Assignments (for up to 200 points) and the “Paper 1: Final Draft (Discussion Board)” option (for 5 points).  See checklist for details.

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

• Midterm exam, Day 1: Identifications. Remember to use the quotation study guide (available on the Graded Tasks page) to get ready for the exam.

Friday, February 28, 2025

• Midterm exam, Day 2: In-class Essay. Remember to prepare an exam card for the essay question (available on the Graded Tasks page) to get ready for the exam. Historically, students who choose not to do an exam card do very poorly on the exam.

Monday, March 3, 2025

• Read and mark the following texts by or about Thomas Paine:
• “Thomas Paine” Bio (BA 391-393).
• from Common Sense (BA 395-400).
• “The American Crisis” (available online) .

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

• Read and mark the entire Thomas Jefferson section (BA 403-415).

Friday, March 7, 2025

• Read and mark the entire Federalist section (BA 416-423).
• Read “Essay #1” of the Anti-Federalist’s Papers (Available online).

Monday, March 10, 2025

• NO CLASS: Spring Break.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

• NO CLASS: Spring Break.

Friday, March 14, 2025

• NO CLASS: Spring Break.

Monday, March 17, 2025

• Read and mark the following in the J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur Letters from an American Farmer section of BA:
• “J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur” Biography (BA 371-374)
• From Letter 3: What Is an American? (BA 374-382)
• From Letter 9: Description of Charles-Town (BA 382-388)

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

• Read the following from Washington Irving:
• “Washington Irving” (Bio: BA 534-536)
• “Rip Van Winkle” (BA 536-546)
• “From the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty by Diedrich Knickerbocker: Book 1, Chapter 5” (Readings on Canvas).

Friday, March 21, 2025

• Read and mark the entire James Fenimore Cooper section (BA 621-626)

Monday, March 24, 2025

• Read and mark the following by or about Phillis Wheatley:

• "Phillis Wheatley” bio (BA 514-515).
• "To MÏcenas" (BA 515-16).
• "To the University of Cambridge, in New England" (BA 516)
• "On Being Brought from Africa to America" (BA 517)
• “On Imagination” (BA 517-18).
• "To His Excellency General Washington" (BA 519-20).)
• “In-Context: Preface to Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” (BA 523-24)
• Letter to Samson Occom (Available online)

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

• Read and mark the following by Olaudah Equiano:
• “Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa” bio (BA 424-426).
• Chapters 1-3 of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vasa, the African, Written by Himself (BA 427-440).
• Withdraw without faculty signature ends.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays.
• Withdrawal with faculty signature begins.

Friday, March 28, 2025

• Read and mark the following from the Frederick Douglass section:
• “Frederick Douglass”  (BA1068-1072)
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Written by Himself  (BA 1072-1093, Preface through the end of Chapter 7)

Monday, March 31, 2025

• Read and mark the rest of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. Written by Himself  (BA 1093-1121; stop at “My Old Master,” which is not part of the book).

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

• Read and mark the following by or about Frederick Douglass:
• “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” (BA 1125-1140).
• Photographs of Frederick Douglass (BA1140-1143, no notes needed).

Friday, April 4, 2025

• Read and mark the follow texts about women’s rights in America:
• Letters between Abigail and John Adams (Readings on Canvas).
• The Entire Sarah Moore Grimké section (BA 701-706).
• Sojourner Truth: “Speech at the Akron, Ohio Women’s Rights Convention, 1851” (BA 911-917: read both version and review photos).
• Fanny Fern selections (Readings on Canvas).
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton: “Declaration of Sentiments” (Readings on Canvas).

Monday, April 7, 2025

• Read and mark the following by or about Ralph Waldo Emerson:
• “Ralph Waldo Emerson” bio (BA 706-709).
• selections from Nature (BA 709-711).
• “Self-reliance” (BA 714-728)

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

• Read and mark the following by or about Henry David Thoreau:
• “Henry David Thoreau” bio (BA 994-997).
• “Resistance to Civil Government” (BA 998-1010).

Thursday, April 10, 2025

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays.
• Withdrawal with faculty signature ends.

Friday, April 11, 2025

• Read and mark the entire Margaret Fuller section (BA 842-853).
• From this point on, any course withdrawals must go through administrative approval: your professor cannot sign a withdrawal request.

Monday, April 14, 2025

• Read the following by or about Edgar Allan Poe:
• “Edgar Allan Poe” bio (BA 805-807).
• “The Fall of the House of Usher” (BA 817-27).
• “The Tell-Tale Heart” (BA 827-29).
• “The Raven” (BA 835-37).
• “Annabel Lee” (BA 840-41).

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

• Read and mark the following texts by or about Nathaniel Hawthorne:
• “Nathaniel Hawthorne” bio (BA 755-57).
• “Young Goodman Brown” (758-65).

Friday, April 18, 2025

• Read the following by or about Herman Melville:
• “Herman Melville” bio (1242-45).
• “Bartleby, the Scrivener” (BA 1251-71).

Monday, April 21, 2025

• Draft of Paper #2 Due. Post a copy in the "Paper #2: Draft" Discussion Board topic. Posting is worth five points.
• We will have a workshop on your drafts today worth 20 points. You must attend class with a completed draft printed for a partner to read to get those points. Incomplete drafts will be prorated, but it is better to come with a partial draft than to skip class.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

• Read and mark the following from Emily Dickinson:
• “Emily Dickinson” (Bio: BA 1336-1341)
• [Success is counted sweetest] (BA 1344)
• [Some keep the Sabbath going to Church—] (BA 1348)
• [Wild nights—Wild nights!] (BA 1350)
• [There’s a certain Slant of light,] (BA 1353)
• [“Hope” is a thing with feathers—] (BA 1353)
• [I like a look of Agony,] (BA 1354)
• [I felt a Funeral in my Brain,] (BA 1354)
• [After great pain, a formal feeling comes—] (BA 1356)
• [The Soul selects her own Society—] (BA 1357)
• [Because I could not stop for Death—] (BA 1359)
• [I dwell in possibility—] (BA 1360)
• [This is my letter to the world] (BA 1361)
• [I heard a fly buzz—when I died—] (BA 1361)
• [A narrow Fellow in the Grass] (BA 1367-1370)

Friday, April 25, 2025

• Read and mark the entire Abraham Lincoln section (BA 798-805)

Monday, April 28, 2025

• Read and mark the following texts by or about Walt Whitman:
• “Walt Whitman” bio (BA 1144-48).
• “I Sing the Body Electric” (BA 1212-18).
• “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” (BA 1230-36).
• “To a Locomotive in Winter” (available on the Internet).

• If you had an accommodations letter sent to me, please send me an email to remind me that you will need extra time on the final exam so I can make arrangements.

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

• Final Draft of Paper #2 due by noon. Post to “Paper #2 Final Draft: Discussion Board” (for 5 points) and to “Paper #2 Final Draft: Graded Copy” (for up to 200 points). See checklist for details.

• LAST CLASS: It is strongly advised that you attend the last class and arrive on time.

Monday, May 5, 2025

• Final Exam: 8 AM to 10 AM in our normal classroom.
• Bring your exam card. Review the Exam Quotation study guide.
• Do not miss this day. I cannot guarantee that you can make up this exam if you sleep through your alarm or simply forget.

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

• NO CLASS: The course is over.
• Optional Major Paper Rewrite of Paper #1 due by noon. Please submit to “Major Paper Rewrite” Assignment and email a copy directly to Dr. Halbert. You must post and email. Make sure your review the instructions: folks who only fix a few commas will not have their grades changed, nor will people who write an entirely new paper. The goal is to see deep revision.

End of Semester Notes and Reminders:

• Attend the final meeting of all your classes.
• Check your Montco email and Canvas announcements every day until Dr. Halbert says the grades are posted.
• Don’t email Dr. Halbert to see if the grades are done: he will announce when he is done.
• Do check your gradebook on Canvas during the exams to see individual assignment grades as they are entered.
• If there is a problem with a graded assignment, please email Dr. Halbert immediately.
• Faculty have until 11:59 PM on May 9th to get their grades in, but if they submit them sooner, they do not have to look at any work you try to submit late. Bear that in mind with your other professors.