English 5/4106 Studies in Genre: Fiction

Dr. Margaret E. Mitchell

Fall 2005 MWF  Hum 225

Office: TLC 2235

Email: mmitchel@westga.edu

Website: http: //www.westga.edu/~mmitchel

Phone: 678.839.4852

Office Hours: MW 3-5, T 10-1

And by appointment

Required Texts 

Followed by recommended editions

Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (Tor)

Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus (Penguin)

Toni Morrison, Sula (Vintage)

Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (Vintage)

Colson Whitehead, The Intuitionist (Anchor/Doubleday)

Virginia Woolf, The Waves (Harcourt)

Marilynne Robinson, Housekeeping (Picador)

Course Description

As a genre, fiction may be said to present pretense as reality, thereby involving the reader in a temporary illusion. This course will consider the cultural and ideological function of this process. We will raise questions about what kinds of fictions arise from particular historical and cultural circumstances and consider the relationship between text and context. Some writers strive to close the gap between real and fictional worlds, producing fictions that mirror reality as closely as possible; others emphasize the constructed, textual nature of the worlds they have invented. We will read an eclectic assortment of novels that define and contest the boundaries of fiction, considering the relationship between form and content, representation and reality.

Requirements:

This course requires a considerable amount of reading, and it is essential that you keep up with it. Classes will be largely discussion based, and I expect everyone to come to class prepared to participate. I will often distribute or announce reading questions in advance, and these will serve as taking-off points for class discussions. I strongly encourage you to take notes on the reading with these questions in mind, perhaps sketch out rough responses, and make a note of one or two passages in the text that strike you as relevant to the questions I have posed. I’ll expect you to be ready to bring specific passages to the attention of the class in order to focus and deepen our discussions. There will be frequent, unannounced quizzes and occasional in-class writing assignments. In the course of the semester, you will be responsible for one 5-minute oral presentation designed to illuminate some aspect of  historical, political, or cultural concerns that arguably help to determine the form of a particular work; details will follow in a separate handout. You will also turn in a two-page formal, thesis-driven written version of your presentation, due exactly one week later. You will write two longer critical essays for which you will receive a list of possible topics in advance; the first will be 5 pages and the second will be an 8-10 page research-based paper. Drafts are mandatory, not optional, along with any workshops or writing exercises associated with each paper; failure to complete them will lower your overall paper grade. You may elect to revise (substantially) your first essay, in which case I will average the two grades. If you choose to rewrite, you must schedule an appointment to discuss your essay with me. There will also be a cumulative final exam.

Attendance:

Your active presence is essential to the success of the class. Quizzes and in-class writings cannot be made up regardless of the reason for your absence. Papers will drop a third of a letter grade for each day they are late (from a B to a B-, for instance)—including weekends. Papers will be accepted only in class; please don’t email them to me or leave them in my mailbox unless I indicate otherwise. If you miss more than three classes, your grade will be affected. I assume that illness or other pressing circumstances may legitimately cause you to miss three classes in the course of the semester; I don’t need to know your reasons. Beyond that, however, absences will affect your grade, regardless of your excuse. If you do miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and arrange to obtain handouts or reading questions. If you miss 7 classes, you will not pass. (If you have truly extraordinary circumstances, please come to my office to discuss your options.)

You are required to have all relevant texts with you at each class. Make sure you have the correct edition of the required works. These are available from the university bookstore and from other sources (Amazon, for example); there will be no acceptable excuses for failing to obtain texts on time.

Please do not disrupt the class by arriving late or leaving early unless you have a very compelling reason. Three late arrivals/early departures will count as an absence.

Lateness may also affect your ability to complete quizzes or in-class writings within the amount of time allowed. Cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off and removed from your desk during class. Text messaging will not be tolerated.

I expect you to preserve an atmosphere of courtesy, respect, and intellectual maturity in the classroom, to take your own work and that of the other students seriously. Very little is less respectful than napping: if you fall asleep, you will receive one warning; the second time you will be asked to leave and counted as absent.

Graduate students

Anyone taking the 5106 version of the class will be expected to fulfill these additional requirements: weekly response papers (guidelines forthcoming), a longer (15+ pages) research paper, and additional critical reading. I’ll also expect you to take a more active role in class discussion. Please come talk to me to work out the details.

Academic Honesty:

Presenting the language or ideas of someone else as your own constitutes plagiarism--whether your source is a friend, a relative, or a critic; whether the uncredited material is a phrase, a paragraph, or an entire paper; whether it is a formal or an informal assignment. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the class, and will also have consequences at the university level. If you are ever concerned about what constitutes plagiarism, please consult me. You may also see the English Department website for more details.

If you have special needs of which I should be aware, please meet with me as soon as possible to discuss satisfactory arrangements.

Schedule:*

M 8/22 Introduction.

W 8/24 Oliver Twist  1-50, chap 1-6

F 8/26 Oliver Twist 51-116

M 8/29 Oliver Twist  117-206

W 8/31 Oliver Twist 206-269

F 9/2 Oliver Twist 269-324

M 9/5 Labor Day—no class

W 9/7 Oliver Twist 324-409

F 9/9 Oliver Twist  finish

M 9/12 Nights at the Circus 1-50

W 9/14 Nights at the Circus 51-104

F 9/16 Nights at the Circus 105-157

M 9/19 Nights at the Circus 158-235

W 9/21 Nights at the Circus finish

F 9/23 Nights at the Circus. Topics distributed for Essay #1.

M 9/26 Sula 1-66

W 9/28 Sula 67-125

F 9/30 Sula finish

M 10/3 Sula

W 10/5 Draft workshop, essay #1.

F 10/7 The English Patient 1-60

M 10/10 The English Patient  61-123

W 10/12 The English Patient. 124-177. Essay #1 due.

10/13 last day to drop with a W

F 10/14 The English Patient 177-226

M 10/17 The English Patient finish

W 10/19 The English Patient. Selections from film.

F 10/21 The Waves. 7-29. Selections from Woolf’s A Writer’s Diary.

M 10/24 The Waves 30-107

W 10/26 The Waves 107-150

F 10/28 The Waves 151-193

M 10/31 The Waves 193-263

W 11/2 The Waves finish

F 11/4 The Intuitionist  1-50

M 11/7 The Intuitionist 50-102

W 11/9 The Intuitionist 102-140

F 11/11 The Intuitionist 145-197

M 11/14 The Intuitionist. Finish.  Research proposals due. Details to follow in separate handout.

W 11/16 The Intuitionist.

F 11/18 Writing and research workshop.

M 11/21 Draft workshop, research paper.

W 11/23 Thanksgiving—no class

F 11/25 Thanksgiving—no class

M Nov 28 Housekeeping 1-59.

W Nov 30 Housekeeping.  60-94. Drafts due.

F Dec 2 Housekeeping. 95-142

M Dec 5 Housekeeping. Finish. Drafts returned.

W Dec 7 Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings”

Th Dec 8 Review, Conclusion

Final Exam. Papers due.

*I may make adjustments to the schedule as the semester progresses; please make a note of any changes I announce. You will also have access to a regularly updated version of the syllabus on my website.

Grading

20% Quizzes/In-Class writing

20% Presentation (including written version)

20% Essay #1

30% Essay #2

10% Final Exam

Departmental Course Goals

• Students will learn about the distinguishing characteristics of a literary genre and develop and appreciation of how that genre evolves into many diverse forms.
• Students will develop an advanced critical facility in the formal analysis of a specific literary genre.
• Students will be able to identify and use some of the most significant theories and methods that shape the contemporary study of a specific literary genre.
• Students will read and analyze works from a specific literary genre written during different historical eras and from different national or cultural perspectives.
• Students will demonstrate in both oral and written work a discipline-specific critical facility through convincing and well-supported analysis of related material.
• Students will demonstrate their command of academic English and the tenets of sound composition by means of thesis-driven analytical prose.
• Students will learn to use discipline-specific computer technologies related to the study of language such as listservs, word processing, and internet research.

Departmental Program Goals

• This course fulfills one of the departmental requirements for the completion of the English major.
• Students will develop the analytical, oral and written skills to pursue graduate study or careers in teaching, writing, business and a variety of other fields.
• Students will be able to define and pursue independent research agendas.
• This course contributes to the program goal of equipping students with a foundation in literary history and the issues surrounding literary study in contemporary culture.
• This course broadens students' desire and ability to take pleasure in their encounter with literature.