Literature
and/as Theory
Contemporary
Critical Approaches
to Literature
English 3890, fall 2003:
LA 124 9:00-9:50am
Instructor: John C. Goshert
Office: LA 121t
Hours: MW 2:30-4:00 and by appointment
Phone: 863-6288
e-mail: gosherjo@uvsc.edu
Course
Description
Among the most difficult
components—if not the most
difficult—of literary study is access to and appreciation of the
critical/philosophical constellations that surround pieces of
literature. Nonetheless, the central
premise driving this
course is that such critical work, while often difficult to access, is
of
extreme importance as we strive to become informed and credible
respondents to
literature. Engaging with the
relationship between literary and critical texts is, furthermore, one
of the most
rewarding experiences in the study of literature.
During the semester we will
examine a set of literary texts
which have spawned significant bodies of scholarship, and then develop
for each
of those texts our own contemporary critical apparatus.
These critical works will not always deal
specifically with our “target” texts; rather the literature and
criticism
inform each other, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly. We will examine not only the ways in which
contemporary scholars—in philosophy, history, medicine, ethnic studies,
and
other fields—use literature as their points of reference, but also the
ways in
which literature may take criticism as its own subject or point of
departure.
Assignments include weekly
response papers, a presentation,
a take-home midterm, and a final project.
Response
Paper
Guidelines
Each Monday, a 1-2 page response
paper will be due. While this paper is,
primarily, an expression
of your opinion, you should nonetheless form a cogent, well-written
argument. The best responses are often
those that take on a specific topic from lecture, class discussions,
presentations (or, of course, from your own reading alone), which is
then
worked out in some critical/analytic detail.
Avoid trying to fit an entire week's reading—or
an entire play or novel—into your response, since this leaves you with
such a
broad scope that any detailed examination is rather difficult. At a reasonable point in the semester, the
expectation for papers generally is that theoretical works will be
incorporated
into arguments.
Avoid simply summarizing the
text and, instead, argue for a
particular position, for a particular “reading.” Your
treatment of whatever topic you choose
will be enhanced not only by a cogent argument, but also by your
incorporation
of specific material from the texts (both literary and critical); that
is,
present details, such as dialogue or other citations from the text. This is in keeping with that old adage of
“showing” rather than “telling” as you work out your argument/position.
Consider also, addressing
questions you have about the
reading—perhaps centered on a scene, event, character, etc. How do specific questions or parts of the
novel/essay/poem inform the significance of the whole?
You may also think about developing
connections between works—how do formal characteristics, topics,
characters,
etc. resonate across historical periods, across national and/or ethnic
boundaries? How are those
characteristics treated differently and why?
Presentation
Guidelines
Presentations can be made either
by individuals or by a
panel of two people—take about 15-20 minutes per person, and bring to
the class
concepts, themes, etc. that have not been (at least in significant
detail)
discussed. Focus on the reading for the
day (as with the response papers, avoid trying to talk about the entire
work in
a short amount of time), and have follow-up questions or discussion
topics
prepared for after the presentation. In
group presentations, group members will coordinate with each other to
avoid
repetition and ensure coherence. Plan to
sign up for a date within the first week of class.
Prepare to incorporate outside
material, and make that
material available to classmates at least one week in advance of
presentation (you
may not present unless material is first made available). For example, if you work on Diderot, present
your reading of one of his philosophical works and demonstrate its
relevance to
the novel (to a scene, a character, the form, the tone, etc.). Or, consider reading a critical essay (or
more than one) that deals with the author, the novel, the historical
context of
either novel or author, etc. If we take
Diderot as an example, the eighteenth century is a period marked by
numerous
“philosophical novels”—in France (Voltaire’s Candide), England
(Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels, Sterne’s Tristram Shandy), and Germany (Goethe’s Sorrows
of Young Werther, Novalis’ Heinrich von Ofterdingen)—how is
Diderot
connected to or different from other writers of his time?
What are their common concerns, their
differences? What is it about the
period—the rise of “Reason” in the age
of Enlightenment—that seems to foster the development of this genre?
On both response papers and
presentations, these are simply
preliminary remarks/guidelines. Feel
free to drop me an e-mail if you have other questions that need to be
addressed
here, or bring questions to class.
Grade
Distribution/Notes
Response papers: 20%
Take-Home Midterm: 20%
Presentation: 20%
Term Project: 20%
Attendance/Participation: 20%
- If you have a disability that
may impair your ability to successfully complete the course, contact
Accessibility Services (BU 145). Academic
accommodations are granted for all students who have qualified
documented disabilities. Services are
coordinated with the instructor by the Accessibility Services
Department.
- 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.
In addition to
assigned texts (see below), students should either be familiar with, or
plan to
familiarize themselves with strategies of literary research. Using research libraries (UVSC students have
privileges at both Utah and BYU), and/or alternative research methods,
such as
internet resources Project Muse, JSTOR, and Academic Search Elite, is
fundamental for success in the course.
Required
Texts and
Points of Departure
(in order of
assignment)
To
be purchased
available—among other
places—in the UVSC bookstore
please buy the indicated editions
William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Signet,
1998.
Denis Diderot.
Jacques
the Fatalist. Oxford, 1999.
Mark Twain.
Pudd’nhead
Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins.
Norton, 1981.
Sigmund Freud.
Civilization and its Discontents.
Norton, 1989.
Charles Johnson.
Middle
Passage. Scribner, 1998.
To
be photocopied
Alan Ackerman.
“Visualizing Hamlet’s Ghost.” [Theatre Journal 53 (2001): 119-144]
Eric MacPhail.
“Diderot and the Plot of History.”
[New Literary History 30 (1999): 439-52.]
Michael O’Dea.
“Freedom, Illusion and Fate in Diderot’s Jacques le fataliste.” [Symposium 39.1
(1985): 38-48.]
Roland Barthes.
“Operation Margarine” and “Dominici, or the Triumph of
Literature”
[Mythologies
41-46]
Bruce Michelson.
“The
Markers of the Self” [Mark Twain on
the Loose 187-202]
Lauren Berlant.
“The
Face of America
and the State of Emergency”
[The Queen of America
Goes
to Washington City
175-220]
Franz Kafka.
“In the
Penal Colony” and “A Hunger Artist” [Franz Kafka: The Complete
Stories
140-67; 268-77]
Michel Foucault.
“The
Means of Correct Training” and “Panopticism” [The Foucault Reader
188-213]
Jean François Lyotard.
“What Is Postmodernism?” [The Postmodern Condition 71-82].
Charles Johnson.
“Exchange Value” [The Sorcerer’s
Apprentice 27-40]
Cathy Caruth.
“Unclaimed Experience” [Unclaimed
Experience 10-24]
Felman and Laub.
“Bearing Witness” and “An Event Without a Witness” [Testimony
57-92].
Larry Kramer.
“AIDS:
The War Is Lost” [Reports from the Holocaust 334-53]
*See the UVSC electronic reserve site: http://eres.uvsc.edu
for downloads; hard copies will also be available for brief checkout.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS
August
W 27 Course
Introduction
F 29 Hamlet:
Barnet Introduction
(lxiii-xcii); Act I
September
M 1
No Class
W 3 Hamlet
Act II-IV
F 5 Hamlet Act V; Ornstein (215-222)
M 8 Ackerman
(reserve)
W 10 Research
methods workshop (LC)
F 12 Jacques
the Fatalist (3-64)
M 15 Jacques
(64-138)
W 17 Jacques
(138-99)
F 19 Complete Jacques
M 22 MacPhail
(reserve)
W 24 O’Dea (reserve)
F 26 Barthes
“Operation Margarine” (reserve)
M 29 Pudd’nhead Wilson (1-57)
October
W 1
Pudd’nhead (57-92)
F 3 complete
Pudd’nhead
M 6 Those
Extraordinary Twins
W 8 Michelson
(reserve); Barthes “Dominici” (reserve)
F 10 Berlant
(reserve) (175-91)
M 13 complete
Berlant
W 15 Midterm
Assigned
F 17 No Class
M 20 Kafka “A Hunger
Artist” (reserve) and Civilization
(10-36)
W 22 Civilization
(37-52)
Midterm Due
F 24 Civilization
(53-82)
M 27 Civilization
(83-96)
W 29 complete Civilization
F 31 Kafka “In the
Penal Colony” (reserve)
November
M 3
Foucault
(reserve)
W 5 Lyotard
(reserve)
F 7 research
project workshop
M 10 Middle Passage
(1-43)
W 12 Middle Passage
(44-99)
F 14 Middle
Passage (100-41)
Final
opportunity to submit term project proposals
M 17 Middle Passage (142-84)
W 19 complete Middle
Passage
F 21 Johnson
“Exchange Value” (reserve)
M 24 Caruth
(reserve)
W 26 No Class
F 28 No Class
December
M 1
Felman and
Laub “Bearing Witness” (reserve)
W 3 Film: Night and Fog [Nuit et brouillard] (dir.
Alain Resnais, 1955)
F 5 Felman
and
Laub “An Event Without a Witness” (reserve)
M 8 Kramer
(reserve)
W 10 Last Day of Class
W 17 Final Exam
Period: 9-11am