English 2890: Critical Introduction to Literature

Fall 2004: T/H 5:30-6:45pm, LA 113
Instructor: Dr. John Charles Goshert
Office: LA 121t  Hours: TBA and by appointment
Phone: 863-6288  e-mail: gosherjo@uvsc.edu

Required Texts: Students must purchase indicated editions.

Nathaniel Hawthorne.  The Scarlet Letter.  Ed. Ross C. Murfin.  St Martin’s, 1991.  ISBN: 0312035462

Joseph Conrad.  Heart of Darkness.  Ed. Ross C. Murfin.  St. Martin’s, 1996.  ISBN: 0312114915

Lois Tyson.  Critical Theory Today.  Garland, 1998.  ISBN: 0815328796

F. Scott Fitzgerald.  The Great Gatsby.  Scribner, 1995.  ISBN: 0684801523

J.A. Cuddon, ed.  Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory.  Penguin, 2000.  ISBN: 0140513639

Course Overview, Objectives, Requirements

The course opens with an examination of two classic literary works (Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness), through which students will learn practices of close reading and be introduced to some prominent modes of critical analysis.  In the final third of the semester, students break up into groups to present the basic principles of critical modes (ie. psychoanalytic theory, cultural studies, marxian theory, etc.) and demonstrate the practical application of those modes.  

Assignments include periodic response papers, formal presentation, final exam, and—of course—attendance and active participation in class.

Presentation Guidelines

Presentations will be made by groups of 2-3 students and will take about 40-60 minutes (about 20 minutes per student).  Based on chapters from Tyson, presenters will map out the concepts and motivations that drive a particular mode of critical inquiry, its historical context, and the major figures who practice in that mode.  The group will also demonstrate the practical application of the critical mode, either through one of the course’s common literary texts, or through a brief text of the group’s choice (ie. a poem, work of art, or film clip).

The presentation comprises a significant portion of the semester grade; thus, groups must prepare diligently a clear, well-reasoned explanation of relevant information.  The demonstration of practical application should also be prepared, and group members should be ready to field questions about their presentation from classmates and instructor.  Groups should meet early and often to prepare, to distribute presentation responsibilities, to do additional research on their topic, and to organize their panel in a logical way.

Make use of office hours early, rather than late, especially if you or group members are facing challenges.

Consider preparing a paper that can be read to the class: it takes about 20 minutes to read 8-10 pages clearly.  A handout—with presentation bullet points, key quotations, visual aids, and additional references—will help the audience follow the presentation and give them “anchors” for post-presentation questions.


 

Response Paper Guidelines

Students will write two brief (2-3 pages) papers on each The Scarlet Letter and Heart of Darkness (see dates below).  

The first paper is due at the completion of the literary text, and will address the student’s interests in and questions concerning the text.  Students might examine the “machinery” that makes the novel work: characters, motifs, style, etc., which will emerge from lecture and class discussion.  Taking The Scarlet Letter, for instance, why are topographic relations (inside/outside, town/wilderness, church/prison/scaffold) important to the novel? how does “The Custom House” contribute to understanding the novel? why does the symbolic value of the scarlet letter shift and multiply over the course of the novel?  See a sample paper on The Scarlet Letter from September 2.

The second paper (“critical test drive”) is due at the completion of the critical apparatus appended to the text, and will address one or more of the critical modes presented there.  Students might expand upon sample analyses, raise questions to or challenges against the key concepts or practices of modes.  Again, in The Scarlet Letter, for instance, is the Oedipal Complex—almost inescapable in a psychoanalytic reading—a useful concept to understand character relations in the novel? how might New Historicism be applied to the novel’s “text and context” beyond Bercovitch’s analysis? can principles of feminist criticism be applied to a novel that precedes modern feminism by more than 100 years?  See sample papers on psychoanalysis and deconstruction focusing on The Scarlet Letter from September 21.

The final response paper, a narrative self-and-course evaluation, is due on the last day of class.    

Grade Distribution/Notes

Response papers: 20%
Formal Presentation: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Attendance/Participation: 30%

•    If you have any disability that may impair your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Accessibility Services Department located in BU 146. Academic Accommodations are granted for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with the student and instructor by the Accessibility Services Department. Accessibility Services Department telephone 801 863 8747; TDD 801 221 0908.

•    Plagiarism will result in failure of the course and the possibility of administrative action.

•    Attendance is required.  You should plan to attend and be prepared for each class meeting.

•    All written work will follow MLA style guidelines; late work will not be accepted.

•    This is a class focused on developing strategies of critical thinking, analysis, and writing.  Course materials are determined by standards of academic inquiry and a commitment to the exchange of ideas; materials will not be “rated G” or censored in any way.

•    Per UVSC policies: “Each student is expected to take an active role in the learning process by meeting course requirements as specified in written syllabi” (VII.A).  Thus, the course syllabus comprises a contract between instructor and students, who will be held to its terms and expectations:  “The right to receive academic credit and/or academic degrees when all specified requirements and course work have been satisfied” (V.L).  In other words, the student has the right to receive credit for work that meets or exceeds satisfactory performance; however, the student also has the right to fail based on those same conditions of performance.

•    It is not only your right, but also your responsibility to ask questions, to raise challenges, to discuss readings, and to otherwise participate in the class as it unfolds over the semester.

•    Students will activate their UVSC e-mail accounts or notify the instructor of alternate e-mail address.

•    The course website (http://complicity.uvsc.edu/~goshert/uvsc289.html) will direct students toward additional resources for research, documentation, and bibliographic conventions.  Sample student papers will also be archived, if possible.


 

Tentative Class Schedule

August

26    Course Introduction

31    Scarlet Letter: Preface, “The Custom House,” ch. 1-11

September

2    Scarlet Letter: ch. 12-21

7    Complete Scarlet Letter
      Response paper #1 due: preliminary response to The Scarlet Letter

9    Psychoanalytic Criticism (223-51)

14    Reader-Response Criticism (252-74)

16    Feminist Criticism (275-303)

21    Deconstruction (304-29)

23    New Historicism (330-58)

28    Research Seminar (LC 4--)
       Response paper #2 due: “criticism test drive” on Scarlet Letter

30    No Class (Rocky Mountain MLA Convention)
       Please begin Heart of Darkness

October

5    Complete Heart of Darkness
    
7    Reader-Response Criticism (115-31)
      Response paper #3 due: preliminary response to Heart of Darkness

12    Feminist and Gender Criticism (148-69)

14    Deconstruction (185-205)

19    New Historicism (221-38)

21    Cultural Criticism (258-77)

26    presentation guidelines/group meet and greet
        Response paper #4 due: “criticism test drive” on Heart of Darkness

28    No Class (Fall Break)

November

2    Film: Apocalypse Now (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)    reminder: (re)read The Great Gatsby, and
                                                                                                 hold meetings and planning sessions with
4    continue  Apocalypse Now                                                  your presentation group during this week!
                                
9    complete Apocalypse Now                    

11    Psychoanalytic Criticism (Tyson 13-34)

16    Marxist Criticism (Tyson 49-66)

18    Structuralist Criticism (Tyson 197-226)

23    Deconstructive Criticism (Tyson 241-60)

25    No Class (Thanksgiving)

30    New Historical and Cultural Criticism (Tyson 277-99)

December

2    Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Criticism (Tyson 317-45)

7    Postcolonial and African American Criticism (Tyson 363-401)

9      Final Q&A/Final Exam Preparation
       Response paper #5 due: Self-and-Course Evaluation Narrative

14    Final Exam: 5:30pm, LA 113

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