{"id":1134,"date":"2022-04-18T15:02:24","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T22:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abjohnson.net\/teaching\/?page_id=1134"},"modified":"2025-05-05T14:13:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T21:13:08","slug":"el132","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/abjohnson.net\/teaching\/courses\/el132\/","title":{"rendered":"EL 132"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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EL 132 | American Immigrant Literature<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Spring 2025<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Useful Link to Useful Things<\/strong>: Blackboard<\/a>
Just-in-Case Link<\/strong>: Etiquette for attending a virtual class: here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week 1<\/a> – Week 2<\/a> – Week 3<\/a> – Week 4<\/a> – Week 5<\/a> – Week 6<\/a> – Week 7<\/a> – Week 8<\/a> – Week 9<\/a> – Week 10<\/a> – Week 11<\/a> – Week 12<\/a> – Week 13<\/a> – Week 14<\/a> – Week 15 & Final<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am Lit eTexts and Helpful Sites<\/strong>: Here<\/a>
Overview of Authors<\/strong>: Here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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EL 132, American Immigrant Lit<\/strong>: From the journal writing of the earliest European explorers to the present, the immigrant experience has been a part of American literature. Our exploration of American immigrant writing will take us from the story of Alavar Nu\u00f1ez Cabeza de Vaca\u2014marooned in (believe it or not) Texas\u2014to stories of immigrants in early-twentieth-century New York City to more contemporary writers and stories. We will look at the ways characters in stories, poems, and plays navigate the often difficult terrain between the faith, family, and community traditions with which they (or their parents) arrive and the new cultural possibilities they discover as they make new lives, imagine new possibilities, and join (or reject) new communities in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also a class about reading well. We will read a wide variety of literary works (including prose, poetry, and drama), consider how and why they were written as they were written, and work to become sharper, more appreciative readers of all the writing (informal and formal, creative and not-so-creative) that we encounter. In our class sessions, we\u2019ll discuss\u2014together\u2014what we\u2019re reading and what sorts of strategies can be used to understand and appreciate it. We\u2019ll also consider, as we go, the practical importance of reading well. In your writing for this course, you\u2019ll be putting what you learn into practice by producing short, focused, analytical readings of prose, poetry, and drama. The course may be used to fulfill either the “Literature and Storytelling” or the “Culture and Diversity” shared curriculum requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Assignments\/Scores to Anticipate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Midterm and Final<\/mark><\/strong>, Each Including Essay Portions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Pop Quizzes (If There’s a Reading, There Might Be a Quiz)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Personal Ethnography<\/mark><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Poetry Analysis Essay<\/mark><\/strong> (Close Critical Reading)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Fiction Analysis Essay<\/mark><\/strong> (Close Critical Reading)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Drama Analysis Essay<\/mark><\/strong> (Close Critical Reading)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. An Evening Screening of In Time of War<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. An Evening Screening of Far and Away<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. A Course Participation Score.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    You Should Always Have the Readings in Front of You in Class<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Right in front of you, even if on a screen. But not on a small screen. Something with dimension, man. Something that lets the text breathe. We’re here to read together. Let the text take its right place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Week 1 (Jan. 31) <\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n