| What
is American Literature? Winter 2004 |
Professor Alisse Portnoy 4172 Angell Hall
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Course Information |
Welcome to English 239. This course has as its title a deceptively simple question: “What is American literature?”. That question invites discussion, both serious and playful, and it also invites more questions. What is “American”? Who is “American”? What is the relationship between “American” and the United States? What is “literature”? Who gets to say whether texts count as “good” or “representative” or “canonical” literatures? Do movies count? What about narratives? For me, the very idea that we are beginning with a question implies activity: critical reading, collaborative discussion, analytical writing. I hope this course will open or will continue for you an inquiry into what we might call literary cultures of the United States. The course design assumes that there are multiple points of entry into the full richness of U.S. literature. The "classical" American literature that originates in New England is just one part of a dialogue that includes Native American, Latino American, and African-American traditions older than the United States, and Asian Pacific American and "ethnic" European traditions that reach back well into the nineteenth century. This particular section of this course is special in that it is one of three sections being "team-taught" this semester. That means that we will meet as a small class for about half of our meetings this semester. On the other days, most Thursdays of the semester, we'll meet with two other sections for shared conversations and frequent guest lectures. The other professors teaching in this group are Sara Blair and Joshua Miller. Together, we've designed our courses via a comparative logic, working across historical and identity rubrics under three operative thematics: self-invention, transition and translation, and alternative and hidden histories. I hope you enjoy the course and the opportunity to consider the texts and ideas of the course in small and large groups. I will hold office hours on Tuesdays from 10 - 11:30 am. Office hours are an extension of the classroom. You are welcome to come by with questions, comments, and concerns. If you are enjoying a reading and would like to discuss it further, if you are having a problem with something in the course, if you don’t understand something, if you want to talk about a paper or an exam, please come and see me. The best way to get in touch with me outside of class time and office hours is email. Although I have an answering machine in my office, I only check messages on Tuesdays and occasional Thursdays. Email really is the way to go. I’ll use email to contact you in case class is canceled because of snow or some other emergency, or if I want to pass on information about the course. Your classmates are an integral part of your English 239 experience. I recommend that you introduce yourself to people in this class, and that you exchange email addresses with several classmates so that you can form discussion, workshop, and study groups, and so that you can find out what you missed in case of an absence. We are reading and watching some really great texts this semester, written by a particularly diverse group of people (more questions: what is “diverse”? in what ways are people “diverse”?). The texts span five genres, too: poetry, novels, a film, a drama, and short stories. Here’s the list: Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man (Vintage) Everything but the movie and the short story is available at Shaman Drum Bookshop, which is located at 313 South State Street. Their phone number is 662-7407, and their website is <www.shamandrum.com>. Please be sure to get the editions ordered for the class (the only exception is the Morrison, which we’ll discuss in class), and bring the appropriate text to each class meeting. I’m happy to make appropriate and necessary accommodations for any sort of disability. If you think you may need special accommodations, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities (G-625 Haven Hall, 763-3000, <www.umich.edu/~sswd/ssd>) and see me during office hours within the first two weeks of the semester. The Sweetland Writing Center is a great campus resource. Check them out for assistance with your essays. The Sweetland is located at 1139 Angell Hall, its phone number is 764-0429, and it is located on the web at <www.lsa.umich.edu/swc/newMainMenu.html>. Attendance and participation in this course are important, and amount to 15% of your final grade. Your grade is also based on two exams (15% each) and three essays (15% for the first, 20% each for the second and third). And now, the formal stuff. First, academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, cheating, aiding and abetting dishonesty, and the double submission of essays will not be tolerated. Second, the collection, recounting, promulgation, or selling of materials based on this course, including its websites, lectures, discussions, compiled readings, handouts, or other activities and documents is prohibited. Third, course policies and the schedule of assignment are subject to change. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out about changes. |