Fall 2009
EN 082.03 A "Literature & Society" Core Course in English at Boston College
In modern Athens, the vehicles of mass transportation are called metaphorai. To to to work or come home, one takes a "metaphor"--a bus or a train. Stories could also take this noble name: every day, they traverse and organize places: they select and link them together; they make sentences and itineraries out of them. They are spatial trajectories. --Michel de Certeau, "Spatial Stories"Spaces can tell stories and unfold histories.
--bell hooks, "Choosing the Margin"
This section of the
Literature core is part
of the "Literature and Society" division in English. Our focus will be
on the imaginative functions of space in American literature and
society.
By "space," I mean three things: the representation of geographic
location; the use of landscape, and the built environment as the
setting
for literary storytelling; and finally, smaller-scale ideas about space
(borders, boxes, passageways, thresholds, and the like) that also make
their way into American writing. Given that our focus
is on the relationship of literature and society, we will explore
how America organizes its spaces (as with borders, for instance,
between
cities and country, or between nations), as well as setting
less-visible
boundaries about rights, responsibilities, and social membership (for
example,
divisions between public and private, immigrant and native, the rights
of a master or a slave). What does it mean, for instance, for a
former
slave like Harriet Jacobs to call her hideaway a "loophole of
retreat"?
For Willa Cather to describe the pages of
My Antonia as akin to
the open spaces of a frontier? We will begin by exploring
writers'
imaginative uses of setting in the short story, developing our close
reading
skills in the details of literary space. From there, we will take up
four
broad
themes: representations of national membership; social division
and
transgression; the use of literary space for "mental" geographies; and
the imaginary homelands of
transnational
migration.
Although every class in the Literature Core emphasizes close reading, and asks you to think critically about literary interpretation, each section necessarily takes a slightly different approach. This section of the Literature Core aims, in particular, to introduce students to interdisciplinary thinking and to social and political issues in American history and culture. For these reasons, it may be of interest to students contemplating an undergraduate minor in American Studies. For the home page of Boston College's American Studies program, please click here.
There will
also be short stories available on
our Blackboard course site. To get to Blackboard, click here
.
Alternatively, you can often find short stories on-line; for these readings and others for your first paper, you can try the On-Line texts library from the University of Pennsylvania, by clicking here . Or, you can try what is called the "e-server" for fiction, by clicking here .
On all days, you should bring your text to class.
SeptemberMonday 14 Space as Material Space: Reading for SettingAssignment Due next Wednesday, ungraded each student in class is asked to write a 1-2 page nonfiction reflection on the role of space (geographical, material, or cultural) in his or her own personal past. Try, if you can, to implicitly or explicity relate these matters of space to something important about who you are.
Lecture, Discussion and Workshop: John Updike, "A & P"(CR). For this class, I would like you to make either (a) a map of the town described in Updike's story or (b) a map of the layout of the grocery store. (Ungraded)Wed. 16 Discussion: Updike, "Still of Some Use" (CR)
For this class, you have two options as part of your preparation: (1) bring to class some notes to yourself about a board game you think has an interesting spatial organization; (2) think about the cultural significance of a particular room or space in a house you know, and be ready to discuss how the meaning of the space is different for different members of your family. (Ungraded)
Your nonfiction reflection is also due this day. (Also Ungraded)
Friday 18 Lecture/Discussion: Setting and Social Difference
For this day, please read F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams" (R) For this discussion, write a few notes to yourself about what you think social class is, and how Fitzgerald uses space to recreate it. If you'd like to use an on-line version, click hereMonday 21 Setting as Memory and Allusion: Discussion: Fitzgerald, "Babylon Revisited."(CR)
For this discussion, please also read Fitzgerald's Story "Absolution" (CR)
Wed. 23 Thinking about
Geography,
Material Space, and Culture at Once: The Example of
Gendered
Spaces
Discussion: Edith Wharton, "Roman Fever"(CR). For this class, please also read S. O. Jewett, "A White Heron" (CR). It would be a good idea to start reading The Tempest as well.
Fri. 25 Lecture/ Discussion: William Shakespeare, The Tempest
Mon. 28 Discussion: Shakespeare -2 -
Mon.
5
WRITING DAY
Wed. 7 Lecture/Discussion:
Harriet
Jacobs,
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Fri. 9
Discussion: Jacobs -2-
Mon. 12 No Class: Columbus Day
Wed. 14 Discussion: Jacobs
-3-
Fri. 16 Discussion: Jacobs
-4-
Wed. 21 Lecture/Discussion:
Willa Cather, My Antonia
Fri. 23 Discussion: Cather 2
Mon. 26 Discussion:
Cather
3
Wed. 28 Discussion: Cather 4
Fri. 30 Open Day for Adjustments in the
Schedule
IV. The Inside of His (Our/ Her)
Head: Smaller Spaces
Mon. 2 Lecture/Discussion:
Arthur Miller, Death of a
Salesman
Wed. 4 Discussion: Miller -2-
Fri. 6 Discussion: Miller -3-
Some Links Pertaining to the Expectations of the Course
Course Policies:
1. Class attendance is a requirement
of this course; on specific days, like our hourly exam, or when you've
volunteered for an oral presentation, it is mandatory.
Otherwise,
you are allowed three cuts this semester (hereby defined as an
"unexcused
absence") without penalty. But absence beyond this three-cut maximum
can
lower your overall course grade--and, in some cases, be grounds for
failing
the course altogether. To avoid misunderstanding, I use the following
system:
At three cuts, you get a warning from me. Beyond three cuts, your
overall grade suffers. If you're failing because of absences,
I'll
tell you before the final exam.
Obviously, if there
is a good reason why you have had to miss a class, please don't
hesitate
to tell me (though advance warning is always better). I say that
because the University no longer provides confirmation for health
absences--and with the potential of an H1N1 flu season upon us, as you
may know, they are asking you not
to go class if you are showing symptoms. So please communicate
electronically with me as soon as possible. It may be that you
will be asked to complete an on-line assignment until you are better.
Otherwise, we will use a "yellow card" system that warns you once if
you are at risk of having your grade lowered, and then I'll notify you
if you have exceeded our limit and will not pass the course. Naturally,
as the university guidelines suggest, there is no reason we should be
asked to reschedule an exam you have missed.After the first week, we'll
probably
be using an attendance sheet sign-in to save a little time.
You are also responsible for keeping track of
email announcements and postings on Blackboard. If your email
address is different from the one the University lists, please let me
know.
2. As I say above, class participation
will normally
account for about 20% of your grade. Generally, I try to use your class
participation (including your work on any in-class presentations) as a
measure of how well you have read and understood the assignments. My
main
goal is to encourage strong class participation--and to teach each of
you
how to represent yourself successfully in oral presentations--but not
to
penalize unduly those who are temperamentally quiet or feel
uncomfortable
speaking in large groups. If your participation reflects strong reading
skills, consideration for others' viewpoints, and frequent
contributions
to the flow of discussion, the "average" based solely on your writing
efforts
can be boosted considerably. Conversely, infrequent or poor class
participation
simply makes your overall grade more dependent on your written
performances.
Generally speaking, in a class that is based largely on
discussion, "open" laptops are an
impediment to full participation:
it's hard to read your keyboard, your screen, and your own thoughts
while listening to others. So if I sense that this kind of thing is
happening to you, I may call you on it. And it goes without
saying that
emailing or texting or any cell phone use is not
acceptable during class. Turn off your phones when
you
arrive at class.
The other thing that follows from my guideline about
laptops: don't rely on an
electronic text for class. Instead,
print out a copy that you can read, underline, and bring to class.
3. When you submit a paper, it should be neatly typed or word- processed and double-spaced, preferably on both sides of the paper so that we can save a few trees. In addition, you are required to keep either a xerox or carbon copy, not just a copy on your disk. That way, if your paper is lost, you can simply re-submit your copy promptly. Please don't email me your papers; the risks for mishaps, viruses, and misunderstandings are just too great at present.
4. Hard Copy versions of your papers are due on the assigned dates. On penalties, my rule is that I allow 24 hours leeway without penalty; after that, you will be penalized about 1/3 of a grade for every part of 24 hours the paper is late. For example, a B+ becomes a B, a B- becomes a C+. The idea of this "leeway" period is that you should never miss a class in order to type a paper; come to class, and turn the paper in later. And since the leeway period is there, all other excuses (e.g. "the computer center was closed," "my roomate didn't turn in my paper," etc.) are irrelevant. If you turn in any paper late, please also attach a note identifying the exact time you turned it in Please put it under my office door, Carney 435, not in the department mailroom).
5. As the university
regulations on Academic Integrity state, "Students at Boston College are
expected to have high standards of integrity. Any student who cheats or
plagiarizes on examinations or assignments is subject to dismissal from
the College. Cases involving academic integrity shall be adjudicated
according to the policies and procedures of the appropriate school or
college." It should go without saying, simply as a matter of
fairness to everyone who participates in this class, that I take such
matters quite seriously. All students are required to read the
university guidelines on integrity at the start of the course. To see
those guidelines, click here.
6. In a Core class, it isn't uncommon for
students
to feel, alternately, "over their head," unprepared--or, conversely,
bored
or unchallenged. The first remedy for any of these situations is to
come to my office for a conference, and to come early in the semester.
There are easy ways to invididualize class assignments, formats, and
discussions
to better suit your needs. If my office hours don't fit your schedule,
just talk to me in class about setting up another time. Please note: my
"voice mailbox" on my phone extension (552-3719) really operates more
like
a mailbox than a "phone machine"--that is, I will try to respond to
calls
when I come into my office hours. But email conversations are very much
encouraged, particularly as "follow ups" to class discussions. And
I really look forward to talking with you in my office about the
readings
and your written work. Please come and see me.
7. As much as possible, this course emphasizes improving your writing. To that end, I use a correction guide adapted from the Writing Handbook by Diana Hacker, which is on Reserve and which is often available at the BC Bookstore. I will hand out a sheet explaining these symbols if you can't easily access the WWW links above. If you're confused by some of the symbols I use in the margins to correct your papers, you can also consult Hacker. It's worth repeating: I'm always happy to discuss your writing with you in conference.