Autumn 2011
English 761: Introduction to
Graduate Study in Narrative and Narrative Theory
Tu-Th 11:30 - 1:18
Journalism Building 0291
Instructor: David
Herman
Office: 409 Denney (office hours T-Th 2:15 - 3:15, 5:30 - 6:00,
and by appointment)
Phone: 292-6123; e-mail: herman.145[at]osu.edu
Web address for this syllabus:
http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/herman145/ENG761-11.html
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
As accounts of what happened to whom in what sorts of
circumstances, and with what specific consequences, stories have
come to be viewed as a basic human strategy for coming to terms
with time, process, and change--a strategy that
contrasts with, but is in no way inferior to, "scientific" modes
of explanation that characterize phenomena as instances of general
covering laws. Across a variety of media--from literature, comics,
and film to face-to-face
interaction and digital
environments--narratives can be used to create fictional worlds
that comment on the world of everyday experience; to engage with
questions of identity and explore how institutions, situations,
and events shape people's lives; to account for one's own or
others' reasons for acting; and to come to terms with the
(ongoing) legacy of the past.
This course is a graduate-level introduction to
the strategies that theorists of narrative have developed for
studying these and other aspects of stories and storytelling. In
the first part of the course, using a number of illustrative
narratives to anchor our discussions, we will focus on the history
of recent developments in the field, core features of narrative,
and key concepts proposed by narrative analysts. Then, at around the mid-point of the quarter,
we will "reboot" and sample some of the approaches being used currently by practitioners
in the field. After a consideration of issues in transmedial
narratology, or the study of narrative across media, we will
center our discussions on Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir Fun Home, using this text to
explore issues of medium-specificity, the fiction/nonfiction
distinction, the links between narrative and identity, and
questions surrounding the nexus of narrative and (ethical and
other) norms.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Texts available for purchase at
SBX and other local bookstores
Abbott, H. Porter. The
Cambridge Introduction to Narrative, 2nd edition
(Cambridge UP, 2008); ISBN 0521887194
Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A
Family Tragicomic. 2006 (Mariner Books, 2007); ISBN
0618871713
Herman, David, Manfred Jahn, and Marie-Laure Ryan, eds. Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative
Theory (Routledge, 2005), abbreviated as RENT in the
course schedule below; ISBN 0415775124
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs Dalloway.
1925 (Harvest Books, 1990); ISBN 0156628708
Texts available on the internet or via electronic reserve
A number of texts are either available on the web or have
been placed on e-reserve at the library and can be accessed via
the Carmen site for our course. The e-reserve items are marked
"[ER]" in our course schedule below; please click here for a full list of and
complete bibliographic citations for these items.
OTHER
TEXTS RELEVANT FOR THE COURSE
Texts placed on print reserve at the Science and Engineering
Library (SEL)
Chatman, Seymour.
Story and Discourse: Narrative
Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1978.
Genette, Gérard. Narrative
Discourse. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell UP,
1980.
-----. Narrative Discourse
Revisited. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell UP,
1988.
Herman, David. Basic Elements
of Narrative. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
-----., ed. The Cambridge
Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007.
-----., ed. The Emergence of
Mind: Representations of Consciousness in Narrative Discourse in
English. Lincoln: U of Nebraksa P, 2011.
Herman, David, Brian McHale, and James Phelan, eds. Teaching Narrative Theory.
New York: MLA, 2010. [Note that this text has an extensive
Glossary that you may find useful.]
Herman, Luc, and Bart Vervaeck. Handbook
of Narrative Analysis. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 2005.
Phelan, James, and Peter J. Rabinowitz, eds. A Companion to Narrative Theory.
Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.
Prince, Gerald. A Dictionary of
Narratology. 2nd edition. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 2003.
Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith. Narrative
Fiction:
Contemporary Poetics. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2002.
Ryan, Marie-Laure, ed. Narrative
across
Media: The Languages of Storytelling. Lincoln: U of
Nebraska P, 2004.
Web-based Resources
Hühn, Peter, John Pier, Wolf
Schmid, and Jörg Schönert, eds. The Living Handbook of Narratology.
Manfred Jahn, Narratology: A Guide to the Theory
of Narrative.
Project Narrative
Bibliographical Wiki: http://pnbibliography.wikispaces.com/
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
There are 6 basic requirements for this course, spelled out in
more detail below: (1) participating regularly in class
discussions; (2) posting discussion questions on the Carmen site
for our course; (3) submitting two short response papers; (4)
drafting and revising an abstract for a colloquium-style talk that
you'll give at the end of the quarter, in connection with your
final project for the course; (5) presenting an oral version of
your final project at the colloquium; and (6) submitting a written
version of the final project.
1. Active class participation:
Regular participation is crucial for the success of this course.
Indeed, I view the course as an opportunity for a team of scholars
to investigate, in a kind of workshop environment, major issues in
the study of narrative and narrative theory. Sustained
participation by everyone in the class is thus not only intrinsic
to the course's design but also one of its central goals.
2. Posting (and reading!)
discussion questions on Carmen: To enhance group
participation and facilitate scholarly exchange, each student
will, for two different class meetings, post 2 well-thought-out
and carefully articulated questions on the Carmen site for our
course. Click here for
the schedule for the Carmen posts. Your questions should be posted by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the class meets. By the same
token, check our Carmen site before coming to class and give some
thought to the questions that have been posted.
In formulating
your questions, you should put one or more of our assigned
readings in narrative theory into dialogue with one of our
illustrative narratives, exploring aspects of the text that the
theoretical approach can help illuminate as well as aspects that
it is less able to account for. In other words, your discussion
questions should explore the possibilities and limitations of a
particular contribution to narrative theory, using our example
texts to flesh out those potentials and problems.
3. Two short position papers:
To enrich your reading and responses, you will be required to
submit two short (500- to 750-word) position papers on two
different days of your choice. The papers should be submitted via
the dropbox function of our Carmen site prior to the start of the
class meeting centering on the material you write about. Also,
your position papers should not overlap with your discussion
questions; in other words, your response papers should focus on
different readings than the ones you address in your discussion
questions.
In composing your position papers, you should
again put one or more of our assigned readings in narrative theory
into dialogue with one of our illustrative narratives, exploring
aspects of the text that the theoretical approach can help
illuminate as well as aspects that it is less able to account for.
In other words, like your Carmen posts, your response paper should
explore the possibilities and limitations of a particular
contribution to narrative theory, using one of our example texts
to flesh out those potentials and problems.
Please keep these papers within the allotted
word-limit, and save them in case you should decide to use one (or
more) of them as the basis for your final project for the class.
4. An abstract (approximately
500 words): This abstract corresponds to the oral and
written versions of your final project for the course, per items 5
and 6 below. Following the general conventions for abstracts for
presentations and articles, your abstract should (a) state and
describe the research problem (in this case, the aspect of
narrative/narrative theory) that you are addressing via a
particular case study; (b) situate that problem in the context of
previous scholarship devoted to the issue you intend to explore;
and (c) indicate how your own approach to this problem will
advance or enrich or refine prior scholarship in this domain.
Please include a title and a tentative bibliography.
First drafts of abstracts are due Thursday,
November 10, to be submitted via the dropbox function of our
Carmen site; we'll then work together to revise your abstract
until, by the end of the process, you'll have an abstract ready to
submit to a scholarly conference. Note that the deadline for
abstracts falls before our discussion of Bechdel's Fun Home, so if you do want
to work on Bechdel's text you'll need to plan ahead.
For examples of abstracts written by OSU
graduate students for colloquia held in previous courses, follow
these pointers:
5. A 12-minute
conference presentation: This presentation will be
delivered at the 2011 OSU
Graduate Colloquium on Narrative and Narrative Theory (all
submissions guaranteed acceptance). The colloquium will be held in
two "waves," on the last day of class (Thursday, December 1) and
on the following day--Friday, December 2--at a time and place to
be announced. If you choose to read from a script for your
presentation, please note that 12 minutes corresponds to about 5-6
double-spaced pages of written text. You do not need to hand in
any written material that you use for your presentation.
6. A well-organized,
persuasively argued, and stylistically polished final paper with
a target length of 15-20 pages, or about 5,000 - 7,000 words:
This paper corresponds to items 4 and 5 and, as previously
indicated, it can build on your short response papers (item 3)--or
possibly even your Carmen posts (item 2). Please use the dropbox
function of our Carmen site to submit your paper by Tuesday,
December 6, at 5:00 p.m.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADES
In-class participation and
posting of discussion questions on Carmen = 25%
Short response papers = 20%
Drafting and revision of abstract = 15%
Oral presentation at colloquium + final project = 40%
OTHER POLICIES
Cellphones
Please make sure that cellphones, blackberries, 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
Office for Disability Services in room 150 Pomerene Hall
(614-292-3307; TDD
292-0901), which provides
services for students with documented disabilities.
COURSE SCHEDULE
The following is a tentative course schedule. Depending on the
actual pace at which we proceed during the quarter, we may have to
make adjustments to the syllabus as we go. Also, note that I've
built some flexibility into the schedule, by indicating dates on
which we may wish to continue discussing readings assigned for
previous class meetings.
September
Core
Features of Narrative and Key Concepts in Narrative Theory: Robert Browning's "My
Last
Duchess" (1842) and Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at
Owl Creek Bridge" (1890)
Th 22 Introduction to the class; read Abbott, chapters 1-3; Herman, excerpt
from Introduction to Narratologies
(pages 1-14) [ER]; Herman, "Histories of Narrative Theory (I)" [ER]; Monika
Fludernik, "Histories of Narrative Theory (II)" [ER]
T 27 Abbott, chapters 4-8; entries on
"Minimal Narrative," "Narrative," "Narrative Turn in the Humanities," and "Narrativity" in RENT
>>Recommended reading: Prince, "Narratology" [ER]
Th 29 Continued
discussion of items assigned for 9/22 and 9/27, as necessary; also
read Herman, chapter 1
of Basic Elements of Narrative (http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/30/14051415/1405141530-2.pdf),
Herman, "Narrative Worldmaking
across Media and Disciplines", and the following entries in RENT: "Actant," "Audience,"
"Character," "Focalization," "Narration," "Narrator," "Plot," and
"Storyworld"
October
T 4 Continued discussion of items assigned
for 9/29, as necessary; also
read Bruner, "The
Narrative Construction of Reality" [ER] and the following entries in RENT: "Gender Studies," "Genre Theory in Narrative Studies," "Narrative Dynamics," "Narrative in
Poetry," "Thought and Consciousness
Representation (Literature)"
Building and Populating (Realist) Narrative Worlds: Elizabeth
Gaskell's "The Manchester Marriage" (1858)
Th 6 Continued discussion of items assigned
for 10/4, as necessary; also read Abbott, chapters 10 and 12; entries on "Possible-Worlds Theory," "Realist Novel," and
"Realemes" in RENT
>>Recommended reading: Herman, chapter 5 from Basic
Elements of Narrative [ER]
T 11 Continued discussion of items from 10/6, as necessary;
also read Bridgeman,
"Time and Space" [ER] and
Herman, contributions to
(and response for) Narrative
Theory: Core Concepts and Critical Debates [ER]
>>Recommended reading: entries on "Space and Narrative," "Temporal Ordering," and "Time and Narrative" in RENT
Th 13 Barthes, "The Reality Effect" (available by scrolling down
toward the end of this
page on Google Books); Herman and Vervaeck, "Ideology" [ER];
Jannidis, article on "Character"
in The
Living Handbook of Narratology
T 18 Continued discussion of items from
10/13 (and previous meetings) vis-à-vis Gaskell; mid-course
review session
Modernist Fiction and Fictional Minds: Virginia Woolf's Mrs
Dalloway (1925)
Th 20 Jahn, "Focalization" [ER]; Cuddy-Keane,
"Narratological Approaches [to Virginia Woolf]" [ER]; entries on
"Modernist Narrative" and "Psychological Novel" in RENT
T 25 Woolf, "Modern Fiction" [ER]; Herman "1880-1945: Re-minding
Modernism" [ER] and introduction to The Emergence of Mind (to be distributed via
e-mail)
Postmodernist Narrative and Narrative Theory:
Jorge Luis Borges' "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" (1940) [ER]
and Angela Carter's "Flesh and the Mirror" (1974) [ER]
Th 27 Lyotard, excerpt from The Postmodern Condition (18-41) [ER]; also read
the following entries in RENT: "Historiographic Metafiction,"
"Metalepsis," "Postmodern
Narrative," "Postmodern
Rewrites," and "Reflexivity"
November
T 1
Hutcheon, chapter 8 of A
Poetics of Postmodernism [ER]; McHale, "Chinese Box
Worlds" [ER]; Nicol, "Postmodern Fiction" [ER]; also, discussion
of earlier readings vis-à-vis Borges and Carter
"Rebooting"
the
Discussion: An Overview of Some Contemporary Approaches to
Narrative Theory; A Case Study in Transmedial Narratology
Th 3 Continue
discussion of Borges and Carter
as necessary; also read
the following "approaches" entries in RENT: "Cultural Studies
Approaches," "Feminist Narratology," "Medicine and Narrative,"
"Psychological Approaches," and "Rhetorical Approaches"
>>Recommended reading: "Marxist Approaches to Narrative,"
"Post-Colonialism and Narrative," and "Poststructuralist Approaches" in RENT
T 8 Read the
following "approaches" entries in RENT: "Discourse Analysis
(Linguistics)," "Ethical
Turn," "Sociological Approaches to Literary Narrative"; also read
Herman, article on "Cognitive
Narratology" in The
Living Handbook of Narratology; Alber, Iversen, Nielsen and
Richardson, “Unnatural Narratives, Unnatural Narratology" [ER]
>>Recommended reading: "Master Narrative," "Positioning,"
and "Sociolinguistic
Approaches" in RENT
Th 10 Continue
discussion of items from 11/3 and 11/8, as necessary; also read
Herman, "Toward a Transmedial Narratology" [ER]; Ochs and Capps,
"A Dimensional Approach to Narrative" [ER]; and the transcript of
and background about "UFO or the Devil," available at http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/herman145/UFO.html;
ABSTRACTS DUE
Graphic Memoir and Issues of
Medium-Specificity, the Fiction/Nonfiction Distinction, Identity,
and Ethics: Alison Bechdel's Fun
Home (2006)
T 15 "Comics and
Graphic Novel" in RENT; Gardner and Herman, introduction to
special journal issue on Graphic
Narratives
and Narrative Theory [ER]; Herman, "Narrative Worldmaking
in Graphic Life Writing" [ER]; McCloud, chapter 3 of Understanding
Comics [ER]
>>Recommended
reading: Ewert, "Reading Visual Narrative" [ER]
Th 17 Continued
discussion of items from 11/15, as necessary; also read Abbott,
chapters 11, 13, and 14; Gorman, entry on "Fiction, Theories of" in RENT
T 22 Cohn,
"Signposts of Fictionality" [ER]; Doležel, "Fictional and
Historical Narrative" [ER]; Ritivoi, "Identity and Narrative" in
RENT
Th 24 No class: Thanksgiving Holiday
T 29 MacIntyre, excerpt from After Virtue [ER]; Ritivoi,
"Explaining People" [ER]; Strawson, "Against Narrativity" [ER]
December
Th 1 First wave of colloquium presentations
F 2 Second wave of
colloquium presentations;
12:30 - 3:30 p.m. in Hagerty Hall, room 359
Final projects to be submitted via the dropbox
function of our Carmen site by Tuesday, December 6, at 5:00 p.m.