jeanne.hamming
english.dept.
centenary.college
jhamming@centenary.edu
313.JAC
318.869.5082
v.card

engl.332: seminar in the novel
mwf |9-10:50am|113 JAC
office.hours: mwf 10-11, mw 1-2
(or by appointment)

schedule (click here to view)

course.description

At its most basic, this course focuses on the development of the American novel in the twentieth century. It is also a course about what should be counted as a "great" American novel, and how we decide? You will see from our reading list that the authors I use to "represent" the twentieth-century American novel is quite diverse. How do they fit together? What historical/social/cultural forces brought such a novel to prominance?

These are some of the questions we will ask as the course progresses. In part, such questions will draw out a theme of citizenship: who's voices are (or have been) heard in contemporary America? Whose voices haven't? How do novels like Ellison's Invisible Man, Erdrich's Love Medicine, or Morrison's Beloved attempt to redress the historical erasure of certain (minority) subjectivities within American culture?

Another important question is one of topic: what topics should be considered appropriate for great literary works (I'm thinking here of Lolita)? Hopefully you will find that many of these novels are quite innovative, both in content and style. What, then, is the role of language in the formation of the novel? What is the role of the novel in American public life (Why do we read novels?)

These are only a few of the issues we will concentrate on in the course. Certainly new issues and interests, presented by you and your interactions with texts and classmates, will bring other exciting issues to the forefront.

course.goals

In this course students will learn to:

• read and thoughtfully discuss an eclectic range of representative American novels;
• understand the history and major theories of the novel;
• distinguish between different modes and periods of American literature and identify their defining characteristics;
• identify and discuss relevant devices, techniques, tropes, and stylistic aspects of our course texts;
• research and write critically about course texts.
  

grade.breakdown

midterm research paper (5-7pp with minimum of 5 sources) 15%
final research paper (8-10pp with 8-10 sources) 25%
midterm exam 15%
final exam 25%
preparation and participation 20% (attendance, discussion, in-class writings, quizzes, etc)

All assignments must be completed in order to pass this course.

Note: While more difficult to quantify than other graded components, course preparation and participation (in class and out of class) is crucial to our having a fun, engaging, and enlightening experience. Figured into your p&p grade are occasional quizzes, attendance, attentiveness to assignments, and attitude. The more you contribute in a positive way to the course, the better your grade will be. Please keep this in mind.

attendance

Please note the English Department Policy on Attendance: to be eligible to pass an English course, a student may miss no more than three times the weekly number of class meeting, regardless of the reason for these absences. This means that for classes like this one that meets three times a week, students who have in excess of 9 absences cannot pass the course. Frequent absences, even when they fall short of this absolute limit, will adversely affect your preparation and participation grade. Lateness to class counts as one half of an absence.

cellphones.laptops.iWhatevers

Cellphone use is not permitted or tolerated in this class. All cellphones are to be turned off (not vibrate) and stowed (ie not on your person). The penalty for being caught using your cellphone in class is 1/2 of your participation grade.

Bags or purses containing cellphones should be placed beside you on the floor. Laptops and iPads are permitted for the purpose of looking at online course materials (the syllabus, readings, assignments). There is a two-strike policy regarding inappropriate lapto/iPad use. The FIRST time I catch you surfing the web, playing games, or otherwise using your laptop/iPad inappropriately I will ask you to put it away and out of sight. The SECOND time I catch you, you will no longer be permitted to use your laptop/iPad during class.

texts

Elizabeth Stoddard. The Morgesons. (Penguin)
William Faulkner. As I Lay Dying. (Norton Critical Ed.)
Eudora Welty. Optimist's Daughter. (Vintage)
Ralph Ellison. Invisible Man. (Vintage)
JD Sallinger. Catcher in the Rye. (Back Bay)
Vladimir Nabokov. Lolita. (Vintage)
Louise Erdrich. Love Medicine. (Harper)
Toni Morrison. Beloved. (Vintage)
Cormac McCarthy. Blood Meridian. (Vintage)

Selected handouts related to course readings will be made available to students through edmodo

schedule (click here to view)