Missouri Western State College
Liberal Arts and Sciences
English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism
Summer, 2001
May 30-June 21
English 357-01 Literature in English: 1945-Present
10:30-1:20 MTWTh JGM 104
Dr. Stacia Bensyl, SSC 222I phone: x5936 email: bensyl
Office hours: MTWTh 9:30-10:00 and by appointment
Required texts:
Geyn, Paula, Fred G. Leebron and Andrew Levy, eds. Postmodern American Fiction.
McCabe, Patrick. The Butcher Boy.
Powell, Jim. Postmodernism for Beginners.
Smith, Zadie. White Teeth.
NOTE: If you don't already own an MLA style manual, or if you don't have access to one, make sure you correct that for this class. Not having one will not excuse you from using proper MLA documentation for your papers.
Course objectives:
Upon completion of English 357 students should be able to:
In order to accomplish this students will complete the following:
Evaluation methods:
2. Each Monday you will have a five page research paper due. For these assignments you should focus on an aspect of postmodernism and how you see that reflected in a particular text. These are really short papers, so you'll need to stay very focused. I'd suggest looking at a short story instead of a novel, as that genre lends itself better to a paper of this depth. Remember that these are research papers, so you'll need to use proper MLA documentation (I'm a real stickler on that) and you'll need to have a thesis which is supported with evidence from the text, as well as secondary material. It needs to be spell-checked and proofread, as well. Each of these (3) is worth 100 points and will be worth 1/6 of your grade.
3. Instead of a mid-term or final in this class, you will each be making a 15 minute presentation June 11 and June 21. Both presentations will focus on outside reading, as we have so much we could potentially cover but which must be omitted in our brief time together. The presentations June 11 will be over a poet of your choice. This is a perfect time to explore the work of a write you're interested in. This is also an opportunity for you to teach us all something that you're a bit of an "expert" on. Your June 21 presentation will be over the author/work of anyone you like, from any culture you like, providing it fits our 1945-present parameter. Again, you get to be "scholar of the day" and teach us all. For each presentation, I'll ask for a one page biography of the writer and a one page summary of your talk, to be handed in at the beginning of class so I can make copies for all of us during the break. When you leave this class, then, you should have a nice folder of information about approximately 20 postmodern writers and their work. This should be a useful resource for future classes. Each of these presentations is worth 100 points and is worth 1/6 of your total grade.
Class participation:
You'll notice there's no class participation grade. I'm taking for granted that you'll all participate. The dynamics of a class this small and this brief depend on all of us talking and asking questions and making comments. If you don't participate, it will hurt your grade.
Attendance policy:
I expect everyone to be here all the time. Note that you will not have class June 7, as I will be at a conference. You should use that time to work on your paper and your presentation due June 11.
Academic honesty:
I abide by the standards for academic honesty outlines in the student handbook. If I suspect you are claiming another's work as your own, or cheating in any way, I will prosecute you to the full extent of the laws I have available to me.
Students with disabilities:
Students with disabilities (impaired hearing, vision, reading disorders, etc.) should notify me in writing of the disability before the end of the first week of class. In consultation with the Center for Academic Support, I will work out a course of study for such students.
Course grades:
Course grades will be calculated using the following scale:
100-90% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
59-0% = F
Tentative Course Outline:
There is just so much to cover that we can’t possibly do everything; we’ll try to cover as much as we reasonably can. You can count on reading some of the BIG NAMES you probably recognize, and some smaller names that deserve our attention. I’ll also try to supplement our text with films and audio-recordings. By the way, notice the "tentative" in this subtitle. Sometimes we may have to omit something on the list because something else takes up more of our time. The essence of a summer class of this short nature is flexibility.
English 357 readings:
5/30 Introduction/Po-Mo theory/applying that theory
5/31 More Po-Mo theory (finish reading the Powell text)
6/1 Bobbie Ann Mason "Shiloh"
Donald Barthelme "See the Moon?"
Kurt Vonnegut from Breakfast of Champions
6/4 Paper #1 due
Truman Capote from In Cold Blood
Joseph Heller from Catch 22
Don DeLillo from White Noise
6/5 Helene Cixous
Ihab Hassan
Bell Hooks
Trinh T. Minh-Ha
6/6 assorted poetry handouts
6/7 no class-work on paper and presentation
6/11 Paper #2 due
presentations
6/12 Audre Lorde from Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
Leslie Marmon Silko from Ceremony
Phillip Roth from The Ghost Writer
Helena Maria Viramontes "The Cariboo Café"
6/13 The Butcher Boy
6/14 The Butcher Boy
6/18 paper #3 due
The Butcher Boy
White Teeth
6/19 White Teeth
6/20 White Teeth
6/21 presentations