Autumn 2004
English H590.07: Literature in
English after 1945
MW 11:30 - 1:18
Denney Hall 245
Instructor:
David Herman
Office:
Denney Hall 409 (office hours MW 10:45 - 11:15, 2:30 - 3:30, and by
appointment)
Phone:
292-6123
e-mail: herman.145@osu.edu
Web address for this syllabus: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/herman145/ENG59007.html
Course Description:
Welcome! The topic of this course is “Narrating
Identities." Focusing on post-1945 literature in English that
experiments with
first-person
narration, the class will explore storytelling as a process for the
expression as well as creation of a self. Class discussions and
writing assignments will center around a number of questions related to
narrative and identity: To what extent is identity constituted in
the process of narration itself? Are there in fact multiple
identities involved in any narrative that tries to tell the story of a
self, and can there ever be a full convergence between (for example)
the self that tells and the self that is told about? How is the
process of self-narration shaped by time, place, memory (or its
limits), interactions with others, and broader social, cultural, and
political institutions? We will draw on
contemporary theories of narrative to explore these and other questions
in the context of prose fiction as well as narrative poetry.
Although its chief concern is literature in English
after 1945, the course is
designed improve your ability to appreciate, analyze, and write
coherently and persuasively about texts in general, equipping
you with interpretive skills that will assist you in your lifelong
practice of reading.
Required Texts (Available at SBX):
Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
Ian McEwan, The Cement Garden
Lyn
Hejinian, My Life
Martin Amis, Time's Arrow
Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones
In addition, the following items are available on electronic reserve
at OSU's library:
- H. Porter
Abbott, "Narration"
- Gaby
Allrath and Marion Gymnich, "Gender Studies"
- John
Berryman, Homage to Mistress
Bradstreet
- Philippe
Lejeune, "The Autobiographical Pact"
- Andrea
Ritivoi, "Identity and Narrative"
- Marie-Laure
Ryan, "Narrative" (available at http://lamar.colostate.edu/~pwryan/narrentry.htm)
- Michael
Toolan, "Narrative: Linguistic and Structural Theories"
- Patrick
Williams, "Post-colonialism and Narrative"
Click here
for bibliographic information about each item in the above list.
Course Requirements and Grades:
Please note that I use a +/- system of grading. Your grade for
the course will be determined by the following factors:
1. Active
class participation (10%), including pop quizzes on the assigned
readings. The quality of class
discussions will determine how many such quizzes are necessary.
Please keep up with your reading, and speak up in class!
2. Mandatory
attendance (10% or more [see below]).
3. Oral presentations (20%). As the quarter
unfolds, I will assign oral presentations to "panels"
consisting of groups of students. Students in each panel will need to
work together in using the questions below to prepare a 10-15 minute
presentation on
the
assigned reading. These panels of experts will also field comments and
questions from the other students in class. Each student will
participate in two panels over the course of the quarter. Here is a menu of
issues to
consider as you prepare your panel presentations:
- Basic
issues of structure/plotting/comprehension: What are the
noteworthy aspects of the text's structure, including its handling of
temporality, perspective, setting, etc.? What patterns of imagery
did you detect, and what functions do they seem to be serving?
Were there details of the plot you couldn’t follow? Were there
inconsistencies (in the characters or setting) that threw you
off?
- Conceptual/thematic
issues: What main ideas did the author seem to be trying to get
across, and how? More specifically, what aspects of the text are
relevant to the focal concerns of our class? How do issues of
narrative and identity manifest themselves in the text? Along the same lines,
how can ideas discussed in our secondary sources be brought to bear on
the text?
- Overall
assessment of the text: Were you disappointed in any sense by the
work? If so, why? Or do you find the work to be successful
or interesting in some ways, but not others? Support your
reaction by referring to specific features of the text.
You should use
this same "checklist" to prepare for class discussions even when you
are not scheduled to participate in a panel discussion.
4. Three formal,
non-research papers, word-processed. The first
essay
(10%) is to be 450-550 words in length and is due Monday, October
4. The
second essay (20%, 900-1100 words) is
due Monday, November 8. The third essay (30%, 1400-1600 words) is
due the last day of class, Wednesday, December 1.
Paper topics
will be distributed well
in advance of the due dates
for your essays; the topics for your first paper can be found here
or
else by scrolling down to the course schedule below and clicking on
"FIRST ESSAY DUE." Meanwhile, for general guidelines concerning
how to compose
and
format your papers, click here.
Also, please use your word-processing program to do a word count for
each assigned paper, and type in the number of words at the end of your
paper.
Attendance:
10% of the final
grade is based on attendance. Every student begins with an "A" for this
grade. After three unexcused absences it drops to "B", and then one
letter grade for every absence thereafter. Absences will only be
excused in exceptional circumstances over which the student has no
control. Pop quizzes or other graded
classwork missed because of absence or tardiness cannot be made up,
although every student's lowest single score for such work will be
dropped.
If you are late to class you should ask, at the end
of the class, to be given a "tardy" mark. Three tardy marks count
as one absence.
Completing Assignments:
All assigned readings must be read before the date listed on the
syllabus. All out-of-class assignments are due at the beginning
of
class. If an emergency arises and prevents you from turning in
your
assignment on time, always call me and leave a message on my office
voicemail
if I am not there. In the absence of any previous consultation
with
me, work handed in late will be graded down, normally one letter grade
for each day that it is late.
Other Policies:
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism
and
cheating are serious offenses at OSU and will be reported to the
appropriate officers of the university. Plagiarism is the
representation of another's work or ideas as one's own; it includes
unacknowledged quotations as well as paraphrases of someone else's
words or ideas. Penalties may range
from
failure of the particular assignment, to failure of the course, or
worse.
Cellphones:
Please make sure that cellphones, pagers, etc. are turned off before
you enter the classroom.
Special
needs:
Anyone who feels
s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability
should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Anyone
with such needs should also be aware of the the Office for Disability
Services in room 150 Pomerene Hall (614-292-3307) which provides
services for students with documented disabilities.
The Writing Center:
All members of the OSU community are invited to discuss their writing
with a trained consultant at the Writing Center. Go to http://www.cstw.org or call 688-4291
to make an appointment.
Course Schedule:
Below is a list of readings for all class meetings. This list
is
meant to provide a common frame of reference for all readings and
assignments, but we may have to adjust the schedule as the quarter
proceeds.
September
Week One
W 22 Introduction; read Ryan and
Ritivoi
Week Two
M 27 Brideshead Revisited;
also read Toolan
W 29 Brideshead Revisited
October
Week Three
M 4 Bridehead Revisited;
FIRST
ESSAY DUE
W 6 The Bell Jar; also read Abbott
Week Four
M 11 The Bell Jar; also
read Lejeune
W 13 The Bell Jar
Week Five
M 18 Wide Sargasso Sea;
also read Allrath and Gymnich
W 20 Wide Sargasso Sea;
also read Williams
Week Six
M 25 Wide Sargasso Sea;
The Cement Garden
W 27 The Cement Garden
November
Week Seven
M 1 The Cement Garden
W 3 My Life
Week Eight
M 8 My Life; SECOND
ESSAY DUE
W 10 My Life; Homage to Mistress Bradstreet
Week Nine
M 15 Homage to Mistress Bradstreet
W 17 Time's Arrow
Week Ten
M 22 Time's Arrow
W 24 Time's Arrow; The Lovely Bones
Week Eleven
M 29 The Lovely Bones
W, Dec 1 The Lovely Bones;
THIRD
ESSAY DUE