Note: If you are a student in one of my courses, you can access our course materials in Blackboard. For courses taught between 2016 and now, materials have moved to the University’s Blackboard platform; email me if you’d like more information.
Syllabi and information for some of the courses I have taught at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell:
Spring 2016 Gothic Tradition Syllabus is here and for information, notes, discussion outlines, and handouts, see this page.
Spring 2016 American Literary Traditions Syllabus and notes, discussion outlines, and handouts, see this page.
Fall 2015 Special Topics: Transatlantic Novel syllabus: Transatlantic Novel Fall 2015 Syllabus and course information, handouts, and lecture & discussion notes.
Fall 2015 syllabus for Disability in Literature Fall 2015 Syllabus and course information, handouts, and lecture & discussion notes.
Spring 2015 The Gothic Tradition in Literature syllabus is available here, and the class lecture notes and other class info.
Fall 2014 Syllabus for Disability in Literature for fall 2014. Fall 2014 Class Notes and Materials
Spring 2014 Critical Methods Syllabus
Spring 2014 Critical Methods information, materials, notes, and assignments for Spring 2014 here.
Disability in Literature Fall 2013 Syllabus
Fall 2013 Disability in Literature Class Discussion and lecture notes and readings.
American Literary Traditions Syllabus for Fall 2013.
Fall 2013 American Literary Traditions Class Discussion and lecture notes and readings.
Horror Story syllabus for Spring 2013.
Horror Story Spring 2013 course notes and some of the reading assignments
Critical Methods Syllabus Spring 2013.pdf
Critical Methods Class discussion and lecture notes and readings.
Gothic Tradition Fall 2012 Syllabus (PDF)
Gothic Tradition Fall 2012 Class Lecture and Discussion Notes
Disability in Literature Fall 2012 Syllabus
Disability in Literature Fall 2012 Class Assignment Information, Lecture & Discussion Notes
American Literary Traditions Spring 2012: Syllabus and lecture notes and materials.
Disability in Literature (South Campus) Spring 2012 Syllabus : dislitSPRING2012syll.pdf, also the Current Events Assignment and class lecture & discussion notes here.
Honors Seminar: Disability in Literature (North Campus)Spring 2012 syllabus :HONORSdislitSPRING2012syll.pdf, links to news stories related to disability and class notes from lecture & discussion.
American Literary Traditions notes and materials.
History of American Literature I, Spring 2011
History of American Literature course details, including assignments, notes, and other course materials.
Gothic Tradition in Literature Spring 2011 syllabus and course details, including assignments and lecture notes
Disability in Literature, Fall 2010
History of American Literature I, Fall 2010
Disability in Literature Fall 2009
History of American Literature I Fall 2009
The Gothic Tradition in Literature Spring 2009
The History of American Literature I Spring 2009
Disability in Literature Fall 2008
History of American Literature I Syllabus Fall 2008
College Writing I Syllabus Fall 2008
American Literature I for Fall 2007
College Writing I for Fall 2007
The Horror Story Syllabus for Fall 2006
History of American Literature I (Beginnings to 1850): Writing Lives of Men and Women for Fall 2006
College Writing II for Spring 2006
The Horror Story for Spring 2006
College Writing 101: Making Money, Spending Money: Writing about What We Do and What We Buy
History of American Literature I (Beginnings to 1850): Writing Lives of Men and Women for Fall 2005
The Digital Document Assignment
In the Fall Semester of 2006, I created and developed a new assignment for my American Literature Survey during a Carnegie Technology Workshop. The assignment is called the Digital Document Assignment. I’m including information, handouts, and sample student papers here:
Handouts on the Digital Document Assignment
Links to use for the Digital Document Assignment
Sample Digital Document Assignments for American Literature I
I have posted these papers from students in the Fall 2006 and Fall 2008 sections of American Literature I with their permission. They are good examples of the kinds of things you can do with the Digital Document Assignment final paper.
Many thanks to the students who wrote these papers and agreed to share them. Please note that any formatting errors in the papers (particularly in works cited lists and indentations) are due to my attempts to transfer different file formats and are not the fault of the paper authors. If you’re a student in my class preparing your own paper, please be sure to follow proper MLA style.
An Advertisement for a “Life-Preserving Coffin” (seriously!) — by Miranda Fortenberry
Link to the Advertisement: http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/eaa.B0096/pg.1/
John Hale’s Modest Inquiry Into The Nature Of Witchcraft — by Melissa Dorval
Link to Hale’s Modest Inquiry: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/archives/ModestEnquiry/
Abigail and John Adams Letters — by Jessica Sukaloski
Link to Abigail Adams’ Letter: http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/aea/cfm/doc.cfm?id=L17760302aa
Benjamin Franklin’s “No Stamped Paper to be had” — by Timothy Donovan
Link to Franklin’s “No Stamped Paper”: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=rbpe&fileName=rbpe34/rbpe346/34604500/rbpe34604500.db&recNum=0&itemLink=r?ammem/rbpebib:@field(NUMBER+@band(rbpe+34604500))&linkText
Narrative of John Jewett — by Nick Colella
Link to John Jewett’s Narrative: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mymhiwe:@field(DOCID+@lit(mymhiwef1089n8j4)):@@@$REF$
A History of the Amistad Captives with the woodcut, The Death of Captain Ferrer — by Anthony Kemezys
Link to the Amistad Pamphlet: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/treasures_popamistad.html
Emma Spaulding Bryant Letters — by Nicole Wetencamp
Link to the Bryant letters: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/bryant/
Four letters exchanged between Abigail Adams and John Adams — by Brendon DeMeo
Link to the Adams Letters: http://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/aea/browse/letters_1796_1801.html
For History of American Literature I: Images for Lecture on American Romanticism in Art & Literature
Courses I have developed at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell:
Disability in Literature: I developed this course in the Spring Semester of 2007; it was approved and now regularly runs (typically once a year in the fall semester). It is a required course for the Disability Studies Minor.
The Gothic Tradition in Literature: I developed this course in the Fall of 2005; it is in my regular rotation of course offerings.
Comics in Context: I developed this course along with my colleague, Dr. Susan Kirtley. Professor Kirtley is currently teaching this course.
Courses I taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst:
Seminar in Literary Studies: A Survey of Literary Form and Theory
Here is the Table of Contents for the Course Packet.
Here are some online resources that will be useful for students in English 200.
Man and Woman in Literature: Love, Betrayal, Obsession: Narratives of Relationships Gone Wrong
Here is the Table of Contents for the Course Packet
American Popular Culture: Cultures, Sub-Cultures, and Resistance
Here are some research and information links that will be useful for students in the course, or anyone interested in American Popular Culture
Here are some Sample Writing Assignments from previous students.
History and HorrorHere is the Table of Contents for the Course Packet, which includes links to some of the course readings.
Here are some useful links for students in the course, or for anyone interested in New England Witch Trials and “Witches”
Course Development, University of Massachusetts, Amherst:
If you are a teacher, you may be interested in my useful links for teachers of literature which I created for members of my Course Director Group at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2005.