LAW OF THE LAND:
THE LEGAL AND LITERARY INVENTION OF AMERICA

Assignments:

Papers must be typed, double-spaced and with one-inch margins.

Written assignments are due at the beginning of the class for which they are assigned. Late work will drop one third of a grade per day (e.g. from B to B -), unless you have met with me in advance of the due date and we have made a special arrangement. Please note that final papers are due on the last day of reading period.

Attendance & Participation:

Class discussion is an essential part of this course. Attendance and class participation are therefore required. I expect you to have completed the assigned reading for that class and to be prepared to make thoughtful contributions to discussion. Five unexcused absences will constitute grounds for a "No Entry." If you are struggling with attendance or with the class workload, you must let me know: if you communicate with me about it, we can work on the problem.

Discussion Groups:

During the first two weeks of the course, I will divide up the class into small groups that will meet inside and outside of class throughout the semester in order to work on responses to reading and ideas for individual paper projects. Please understand that responsible participation in this scheme will contribute to your overall grade.

Schedule:

W 9/6	Introduction Mayflower Compact (1620)
F 9/8	Jefferson, "Declaration of Independence" (1776) DUE: 2 page prep paper
M 9/11	Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams "Declaration of Sentiments" (1848)
W 9/13	In class work toward Paper #1
F 9/15	Selections from William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation(1622) Selections from Cotton Mather, The Wonders of the Invisible World (1693)
M 9/18	Rough Draft materials (your draft plus commented upon drafts) due. You will have distrubuted copies of your rough draft to your group (either hard copies or email attachments), commented upon their drafts, and met with your group and Jane Glynn to discuss issues and strategies of paper writing. Group Presentations: Rough Draft Writing
W 9/20	Selections from Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Hope Leslie (1827)
F 9/22	Herman Melville, "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids" (1855)
M 9/25	PAPER #1 DUE, Beginning of class. Have emailed me by 11am: 1. Either a sentence or a paragraph from your paper of which you are particularly proud (you just like the writing, or you felt good about how you framed an argument, or you thought your close reading of a certain sentence was really great.) 2. Either a sentence or a paragraph with which you really struggled (you couldn't quite get your thoughts down as you wished, or your argument felt too convoluted, or your sentences felt too dense, etc.)
W 9/27	Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Alice Doane's Appeal" (1835)
F 9/29	In class writing exercises, assignments TBA
M 10/2	Stephen Crane, "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" (1899)
W 10/4	Susan Glaspell, "A Jury of Her Peers" (1917) Due, response papers, all groups
F 10/6	"A Jury of Her Peers" Discussion continued
M 10/9	No class: Yom Kippur
W 10/11	Due: Rough Draft Materials on "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Mainds," "Alice Doane's Appeal," "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" or "A Jury of Her Peers." You will have distrubuted copies of your rough draft to your group (either hard copies or email attachments), commented upon their drafts, and met with your group and Jane Glynn to discuss issues and strategies of paper writing.
F 10/13	In Class: Suffrage cartoons, Sojourner Truth, (and Frances D. Gage)"Ain't I a Woman" speech (1851)
M 10/16-F 10/20	NO CLASS &endash; FALL BREAK
M 10/23	Due at Beginning of Class: PAPER #2 Patricia Williams, "On Being the Object of Property"
W 10/25	Excerpts from Virginia and Maryland slave law Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
F 10/27	David Christy, "Cotton is King" (1855)
M 10/30	Lydia Maria Child, "The Quadroons" (1842) and "Slavery's Pleasant Homes"(1843)
W 11/1	Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) Preface, Introduction, and through chapter 9 (inclusive) Due: Response Paper
F 11/3	Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, through chapter 18 (inclusive)
M 11/6	Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, through chapter 28 (inclusive)
W 11/8	Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, through end
F 11/10	Due: Paper #3 Proposal. You will have met in your groups with Jane Glynn to formulate your proposals.
M 11/13	Kate Chopin, "Desiree's Baby" (1893) AND Charles W. Chesnutt, "Her Virginia Mammy" (1899)
W 11/15	In class writing day: Assignment TBA
F 11/17	PAPER #3 DUE, Beginning of Class Email assignment TBA
M 11/20	Henry David Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience" (1848)
W 11/22	NO CLASS: Schedule individual conferences
F 11/24	NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING BREAK
M 11/27	Michelle Daniel, "From Blood Feud to Jury System; The Metamorphosis of Cherokee Law from 1750-1840" "Indian Removal Act" (1830) Chief Justice John Marshall, "Cherokee Nation v Georgia" (1831) Chief Justice John Marshall, "Worcester v. Georgia" (1832)
W 11/29	California-Mexico Legal materials, TBA "Indian Removal Act" (1830) Chief Justice John Marshall, "Cherokee Nation v Georgia" (1831) Chief Justice John Marshall, "Worcester v. Georgia" (1832)
F 12/1	John Rollin Ridge (Yellow Bird), The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, The Celebrated California Bandit (1854) Through page 80 (to "In such matters God is the only judge")
M 12/4	John Rollin Ridge (Yellow Bird), The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta The Celebrated California Bandit (1854). Through end
W 12/6	Cherrie Moraga, Heroes and Saints(1992)
F 12/8	Cherrie Moraga, Heroes and Saints
M 12/11	Peer Revue: Final Paper Topic (can be a new paper on Ridge or Moraga, or a revision of paper 2 or 3.
W 12/13	Last Class: Wrap Up
SUNDAY 12/17	LAST DAY OF READING PERIOD Paper #4 due by 5pm