Coursework
Required work for the course includes careful reading of all assigned material and active participation in class discussions. Please come to class prepared with questions and comments about the assigned reading for each day—the success of the course depends on your involvement.
Participation (10%): You will receive a grade based on how well-prepared you are for class and how actively you participate in class discussion.
Blog (15%): For every day that we have assigned readings or films in the course, students may post a response on our class blog. I will provide a prompt for each of these days to get you started thinking. You may respond to the prompt if you like, but you may also respond to other students’ comments, or to anything else that interests you in the reading or film. Blog posts must be at least 200 words to receive full credit for the day, and they must be posted before class discussion for the day. Blog posts will not receive letter grades, but you will receive credit for the number of comments you post, with 8 posts equaling 100%.
Papers (60%): You will write two formal papers for the course. The first one (20%) will be a close reading of a poem ; the second will be a longer, interpretive essay that explores a cultural or historical issue in one of the works we read (40%).
Presentation (15%):You will be assigned a critical article about one of the texts. In your class presentation, you will teach the information in the article to other students in the class.
Grading
Your final grade will be determined according to these percentages:
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- Participation 10%
- Class Blog 15%
- Paper 1 20%
- Paper 2 40%
- Presentation 15%
Attendance
Regular attendance and participation are requirements to pass the course. If you miss more than 2 days of class, I will begin subtracting points from final course average—3 points off for each subsequent absence. You are responsible for all work covered during your absence.
Late Papers
Late papers will be penalized five points for each day or fraction of a day they are late.
Plagiarism
All work submitted must be your own. You may discuss writing assignments and prepare for tests with your classmates (in fact, I strongly encourage you to do so), but all that you write should be yours. Incorporating others’ words or ideas or using Artificial Intelligence software in your essays without proper acknowledgment, or any other form of academic dishonesty, will result in an “F” for the entire course.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
The College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students should apply for services at the Center for Disability Services/SNAP. Students approved for accommodations are responsible for notifying me as soon as possible and for contacting me one week before accommodation is needed.
Course Goals
Students completing the course should demonstrate:
- Knowledge of U.S. women writers of Latina heritage
- Familiarity with topics, themes, and literary techniques in these works
- An understanding of how the works reflect the cultures in which they were written
- An acquaintance with the main historical events explored in these works
- Knowledge of some of the philosophical underpinnings of these works
- Familiarity with some of the ways these works of literature have been interpreted and appreciated by others
- Skills in analyzing and interpreting literary texts
- Skills in understanding and analyzing literary criticism
- Skills in writing, critical reading, and oral communication
General Education Student Learning Outcomes, Humanities
This course counts as a general education humanities credit. Such courses share the following student learning outcomes:
- Students analyze how ideas are represented, interpreted or valued in various expressions of human culture.
- Students examine relevant primary source materials as understood by the discipline and interpret the material in writing assignments.
These outcomes will be assessed using Paper #2.