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College of Arts and Letters Fall 2008
English 500: Introduction to Graduate Literary Studies Mon., 7-9:30 p.m., LA. 208 Instructor: Nancy L. Paxton Office LA 115 E; office phone: 523-6280 home phone: 773-9181 Office hours, T, Th. 12:15-12:45 and 2:15-3:45; and by appointment Email: “Nancy.Paxton@nau.edu” Please give me at least 24 hours to reply, M-F; call me if you need a quicker response.
Course Description: Graduate students in this course will be introduced to Elizabethan, Romantic, Modernist, and Postmodern literary works, written originally in English considered in the context of current interpretative practices, print and electronic research tools, and relevant historical and cultural materials. Three short and one longer writing assignment will allow students to practice various types of academic writing and consider how to address different academic audiences. The assignments will be designed to allow students to consider texts from various theoretical perspectives and explore some of the uses of historical and cultural materials. Students will receive detailed, in-depth critiques of their written work. Guest lectures and demonstrations will supplement class discussions and workshops. This course is recommended for first year graduate students in literature and general English; creative writing, rhetoric, and others are welcome.
Required Texts: Books are available at NAU bookstore
Peter Barry, Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press, 1995. (distributed in U.S. by St. Martin’s Press). Paperback ISBN: 07190-4326-3. Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Ed. Ross C. Murfin. Boston: Bedford, 1996. ISBN: 0312-11491-5 paperback. Keats, John. The Complete Poems, ed. John Barnard. London: Penguin, 1988. third edition ISBN: 0-14-042210-2 paperback; Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. New York: Harper Perennial, 1998. ISBN: 10: 0060977493 paperback. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2000. ISBN 0-312-19766-7 paperback.
1 Optional Text: Azar Nifisi. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. New York: Random House, 2004. paper, ISBN 0-8129-7106X. We will only read 1 chapter. It’s also on print reserve. Electronic on-line Readings as noted below.
Requirements: Attendance/Participation (10%) Final Oral presentation (10%) Team report (10%) Assignment 1 (10 %) Assignment 2 (20%) Assignment 3: Research prospectus and annotated bibliography (10%) Assignment 4: 6-10 page research paper (30%)
Participation/ Attendance (10%): You are an essential part of this class and your absence has an impact on everyone, including your classmates, your work partners, and myself. I expect you to honor our time and take seriously the responsibility to read the assignments, attend all classes, and participate in class discussions. Our aim is to create a collegial and productive discussion in all of our class meetings. There are no “excused” absences and no make ups; if you miss a class it is your responsibility to get summaries from other students regarding what you missed.
Team Report (10%) This assignment will involve a team of 2-4 members who all agree to work on one of the topics listed on the syllabus. Your team should plan and present a 20 minute (total) presentation in class. Team reports are designed to promote collaboration, share relevant contextual information with the rest of the class, and give you and other members of the class a sense of the kinds of questions and resources you might use as a professional in this field. You should collaborate on how you will present your findings in both oral and written form to the class. The goal is to share the work equally and to devise an interesting, well-organized, and well-timed presentation that will prompt questions and useful discussion. Prepare a written outline to turn in to me.
Oral Report (10%): This assignment is designed to give you practice in presenting a conference paper, using your individual research paper as your subject. Academic conferences often require oral presentations of no longer than a 15 min. oral summary of your research. During the first two weeks of December, we’ll assemble related “panels” of 3-4 members with a moderator to give introductions and lead a brief talk back sessions. This presentation provides practice for developing a conference presentation. It’s also a lot of fun.
Formal writing assignments: I do not accept late papers so please plan ahead.
Assignment 1: (10%) Personal Essay and your current vita. After reading the assigned essays on E-Reserve, write a 1-2 page essay focusing on one specific literary work that has been an important influence on your life, your writing, and/or your decision to study literature in graduate school. Please include specific passages from your favorite text to illustrate what it was/is about this text that is so important to you. Essays by Gerald Graff or Azar Nifisi may serve as models for organization and/or appropriate voices for this type of personal/ professional essay (this type of essay is often required for graduate school and some grant applications). Then read Danahay’s essay, think about it, and develop a vita for the kind of job you will seek upon graduation from our MA program, listing your actual qualifications to date. I’ll provide samples.
Assignment 2: Textual Comparison (20%). In a 3 page essay, 1) compare two poems by John Keats, one familiar canonized work, and one unfamiliar poem included in the Penguin collection. Describe how the form and/or the content of this unfamiliar poem creates a new perspective for your reading of the more familiar text you select. Or 2) compare one poem by Keats with one by Shakespeare Or 3) analyze at least two important episodes in The Tempest to show how the historical information or theoretical insight of one of the critical essays in the collection creates a new perspective on these exchanges and expands your understanding of the play as a whole. Whatever your topic, include in your argument direct quotations from the primary source and at least one secondary source (biographical, historical, cultural, critical, or theoretical) in developing your argument. Your essay should demonstrate correct MLA citation style for both direct and indirect quotations in your essay and your chosen sources should be appropriate for your purpose and critical/theoretical approach.
Assignment 3: Prospectus and Annotated Bibliography (10%). 1-2 page typed “best guess” description of your research topic, listing your primary and secondary sources, defining your theoretical approach, your focus and objectives. Also provide a 2-3 page annotated bibliography of 6 secondary sources you have read (at least 4 print and 2 electronic), with your own 2-3 sentence annotations which reflect your own summary of these essays, chapters or sections of longer critical, historical, theoretical or cultural studies. Also add a sentence describing how you plan to use the work or why this source isn’t suitable for your research project. This assignment is designed to provide practice in applying for grants and thinking critically and independently about your research and the materials you select. Availability shouldn’t be the only criteria you use.
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