Unit 1***Unit 2***Unit 3***Unit 4***
Unit 5*** Unit 6*** Unit 7

UNIT ONE: Introduction and Origins

Th 08/21: Introduction to Class
[Note: If you haven't read Conrad's Heart of Darkness, or haven't read it recently, this might be a good time to read it, as our reading assignments are rather short for the next couple of class periods.] After the first-day stuff, we'll look at ways to read a recent New Yorker cover (hand-out; also available in the ER for Unit One).
T 08/26: Religious Thinking About Language
Read: "The Religions of the Book" (ER), "The Word in the New Testament" (ER), selection from In The Shadow of the Prophet by Milton Viorst (ER), poems by Taylor and Zeitlin (ER). [Note: I prepared the first two pieces for an undergraduate theory class, hence the obtrusive 'think about' questions, but the information they convey is valuable]. Be ready to discuss the differences between Jewish, Christian, and Islamic ideas about (sacred) language, and to apply some of these ideas to the poems. We'll also make sure we understand Dante's four-fold method of interpretation.

Th 08/28: Classical Greek Thinking About Language

Read: "Selections from Plato and Aristotle" (ER), excerpt from Erich Auerbach's Mimesis (ER).

T 09/02: Mondo Hermeneutico

Read: selections by Peter Hessler (ER), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (ER), and Mary Louise Pratt (ER).
Written Response Possibility #1: Due Th, 09/02, beginning of class.
**OPTION 1A: In a page or two, respond to one of the three poems assigned for 8/26 in terms of theological questions/assumptions about writing, letters, speech, tradition, etc. I am not asking for a finished 'reading' of any poem; instead, this would be more of a preliminary consideration of how one might approach one of these literary texts from a 'religio-critical' perspective. (Maybe another way of thinking of such a response paper is as a 'prospectus' for a theoretically-informed paper that is yet-to-be-written.)

**OPTION 1B: In a page or two, either:
--comment upon the approaches to textual interpretation that Hessler uses, giving your opinion on their pedagogical usefulness and/or appropriateness; what problems, if any, do you see in his methods? . . . or
--comment upon Gates's article, giving some attention to his comparison of Esu to Hermes (see our selection from Plato's Phaedrus, as Thoth/Theuth is cognate with Hermes).

Please email me with any questions you may have about 1A or 1B.

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UNIT TWO: Varieties of Formalism

Th 09/04: Linguistics and Russian Formalism
Read: selections by Ferdinand de Saussure (ER), Viktor Shklovsky (ER), and [if you have time) Vladimir Propp (ER).
--Class Discussion Leader for Shklovsky: SCOTT WAGER
(I'll first go over Saussure; we'll try to get to Propp after Shklovsky.)
--Note on Class Discussion Leading: You do not have to give a lecture, although a few minutes of overview might be a good idea. What you do need to do is to come prepared with discussion points, which might be questions about the text, problematic aspects of the text, ideas about comparing the day's theoretical article to others we've read (harder to do at the beginning, of course), etc. In the past, I would have suggested hand-outs, but due to the paper crunch you might want to think about using the board. You'll have approximately 30 minutes at the helm, but expect to be enthusiastically aided by your classmates, who should be prepared to enter actively into the discussion.

T 09/09: More Russian Formalism; English and U.S. Formalisms

Read: David Murray, "Dialogics: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness" [ER}; Cleanth Brooks, "Keats's Sylvan Historian" [ER]; John Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn" [ER].
--We'll briefly go over Bakhtin's ideas as highlighted in Murray's Section I.
--Group Discussion Leaders for the rest of Murray: CARRIE CLINE, PETER COMPITELLO
--Note on Group Discussion Leading: these small-group efforts will be directed at articles applying theory to Heart of Darkness. As the first section of Murray's piece explains key Bakhtinian concepts, which we'll go over at the beginning of class, I'd like this group to concentrate on Sections II and III, in which Murray uses (or tries to use) these concepts on Conrad. Your collective job will be to emphasize the crux of his argument (briefly) and critique it (more extensively), with the active participation of the rest of the class.
*****Does the author clearly explain the theoretical approach s/he uses?
*****Does the author apply the theoretical assumptions and methods of that approach consistently to Heart of Darkness?
*****Does the article provide an innovative or interesting perspective on Conrad's text?
*****What are the strengths and weaknesses of the article?
As with single discussion leading, you will want to involve the rest of the class in these matters. You'll have about 30 minutes, and you might want to divide up the topics among you. [In general, this note applies to all Group Discussions.]
--during the last part of the class, we'll do a Practical Criticism exercise patterned after the British critic I. A. Richards.

Th 09/11: Structuralism

Read: selections by Roman Jacobson (ER -- these aren't up yet but will be soon) and Diana Knight (ER).
--I'll first go over Jacobson (and maybe refer back to Propp) by way of introducing Structuralism.
--Group Discussion Leaders for Knight: LAURA EDWARDS, MATT GOODMAN (see notes on Group Discussion leading above)

T 09/16: Structuralism to Deconstruction: Roland Barthes

Read: selections by Roland Barthes (all in ER): "Chopsticks," "The World of Wrestling," "On Cinemascope/On Barthes on Cinemascope: (Morrison)[these preceding three selections are short -- read at least one of them carefully], "Textual Analysis of M. Valdemar," "The Death of the Author."
--class discussion leader for Barthes's "Textual Analysis": BRIAN SANTANA

Th 09/18: CLASS CANCELLED: HURRICANE (?) ISABEL

T 09/23: Deconstruction

Read: selections by Ross C. Murfin, "What is Deconstruction?" (HD; Jacques Derrida ("Structure, Sign, and Play . . ." [ER] and "Outwork" [ER]).
--class discussion leader for Derrida's "Structure, Sign, and Play": KIMBERLY WINE
Written Response #2: Due W 09/18, beginning of class.
Select a paragraph or two from Conrad's Heart of Darkness and do a Barthesian textual analysis of it, following his procedures (?) for cutting the text into lexias, then identifying and commenting upon codes. You can use his codes, invent your own, or both.

Th 09/25: More Derrida, and applied Deconstruction

Read: selections by Jacques Derrida ("Plato's Pharmacy" [ER]and from Monolingualism of the Other or Religion[ER]); read J. Hillis Miller, "Heart of Darkness Revisited" (HD). --Group Discussion Leaders for Miller: BETH GRAHAM, JESSICA GRAVELY

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UNIT THREE: Psychoanalytic/Reader Response Theories

T 09/30: Freud
Read: Short selections from Freud [ER], Freud, "The Uncanny [ER], Elizabeth Wright, on "Modern Psychoanalytic Theory" [ER], and Frederick Karl, "Introduction to the Danse Macabre: Conrad's Heart of Darkness [ER]

--We'll do an in-class exercise on applied Freudian criticism.

Th 10/02: Lacan

Read: Jacques Lacan, "The Mirror Stage . . ." (ER) and "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter'" (ER); if you haven't read Poe's story "The Purloined Letter," you might want to read it -- it's linked on the Unit Three Electronic Reserve. There you'll also find an introduction to this long seminar by Muller and Richardson -- you might find that helpful.
--Discussion Leader for Lacan, "Seminar on 'The Purloined Letter': ANN POWELL

T 10/07: Kristeva

Read: Julia Kristeva, on "Abjection" [ER].
Read Kristeva's article carefully; she's a provocative writer, a bit difficult, but not as convoluted as Derrida or Lacan (two of her major influences). Please frame two questions about her ideas and post them on the Netforum before midnight on Monday (Oct. 6).
Written Response #3: Due T 10/07, beginning of class
Using ideas from Freud, Lacan, and/or Kristeva, write a mini-psychoanalytical analysis of Poe's short-short story, "The Oval Portrait" (accessible via this link).

Th 10/09: NO CLASS: FALL BREAK

T 10/14: Reader Response Theory

Read Murfin on "A Critical History of Heart of Darkness [HD 99-112, skim if necessary], Murfin on Reader/Response Criticism {HD pp.115-127), Stanley Fish, "Is there a text in this class?" (ER).
We'll discuss these things and do a reader-response exercise in class.
FIRST PAPER DUE

--First Paper:

Length -- 7 to 10 pages (double spaced, normal type face and margins)
Documentation Format -- Use MLA parenthetical style quotations, unless you need explanatory notes; include a separate WORKS CITED sheet at the end (this will not count as one of your pages). Since some of our theoretical material is on-line, please refer to the Web Resources page for sites explaining citation form for on-line sources. Probably the best way to cites from Harris's novel is to use book and chapter references (e.g. One, III).
Subject -- use one of the critical approaches we've studied so far (New Criticism (? Probably not), Russian Formalism, French Structuralism, Deconstruction, Freudian, Lacanian, or Kristevan Psychoanalysis,) to organize an analysis of Wilson Harris's Palace of the Peacock (in the ER, Miscellaneous Section; there are also links to a couple of articles about the novella). The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate your facility with the theory of your choice, not necessarily to produce a 'thorough' reading of Harris's short novel. I expect you to use terms, key concepts, and short quotes from the theorist or theorists with whom you're working, as well as adequate supporting material from Harris. You can, of course, do additional research on the novel (or on the theoretical approach, or both); all sources must be acknowledged (see above). I'll be happy to discuss your paper with you, and/or to read a draft.
Due Date -- Tuesday, October 14, beginning of class

Here are some background links useful, perhaps, for Harris:

Guyana Map: Press here for a fairly detailed map of Guyana
Guyana Information (history, culture etc.) links:
--World Factbook on Guyana -- from the CIA
--Geographia: Guyana -- touristy, but pretty pictures
--Guyana and the Caribbean -- includes good short articles on history

Th 10/16: More Reader Response
Read: Wolfgang Iser, from The Act of Reading (ER) and the article by Peter Rabinovitz, "Reader Response/Reader Responsibility: Heart of Darkness and the Politics of Displacement" (HD 131-144). [Note: Rabinovitz refers to Chinua Achebe's condemnation of Conrad: we'll be looking at this later, but you might want to read it now . . . it's in the ER for Unit 5.]
Written Response #4: Due Th 10/16, beginning of class
In lieu of group discussion leaders for Rabinovitz (not assigned because of proximity to first paper being due), act as a committee-of-one group discussion leader for Rabinovitz. To do so, come to class prepared with at least three well-planned questions, including specific page cites for reference, about Rabinovitz's article, following the guidelines for group discussion leading. Follow these questions with a paragraph or two in which you give your own assessment of the article as a demonstration of applied reader-response theory.

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UNIT FOUR: Feminist and Gender Theory

T 10/21: Reading and Writing as a Woman
Read: Patricinio Schweickart, "Reading Ourselves" (ER), Murfin's Introduction to Feminist/Gender Criticism (HD), the selections from Luce Irigaray and Helene Cixous (ER).
Th 10/23: Beautiful Dolls
Read: John Stratton, "Man-Made Women" (ER), Pamela Thoma, "Of Beauty Pageants and Barbies" (ER) [yes, these are kindof cultural criticism -- be sure to look at the linked photos in the Stratton]; Joanne F. Diehl, "Too Beautiful Altogether . . ." (HD)
Please write two questions or comments about Diehl's 'applied feminist criticism' into the NetForum by midnight Wednesday, so we can have starting points for our discussion.
Written Response #5: Read Kathy Acker's story, "Dead Doll Humility" (ER) and respond to it using some of the theoretical ideas expressed in Stratton and Thoma, or respond to it as a 'French [Freedom?] Feminist.' Due next class period (next Tuesday).
T 10/28: Feminist Rock Stars
Read: Judith Butler, "Interview," (ER) and Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto" (ER)
Discussion Leader for Haraway: MICHAEL ROBERTS
Th 10/30: Gay/Lesbian Criticism; Queer Theory
Read: Eve Sedgwick, "Gosh, Boy George" (ER), Michael Moon, "A Small Boy and Others" (ER), skim the other Sedgwick article (ER) if you have time
Discussion Leader for Moon: JESSICA GRAVELY
T 11/4: Gender World
Read: Gloria Anzaldua, from Borderlands/La Frontera (ER); Chandra Talpade Mohanty, from "Under Western Eyes" (ER), Joan Kee, "Denaturalizing the Desexualized Asian Male" (ER).
Written Response #6: Go to the Jouvert Special Issue: Postcolonial Masculinities. Read one of the articles besides the Kee, or the introduction to the issue, and write a critique/assessment of it. Due next class period.
Th 11/6: EcoInterChapter
Read (all of these are in the ER for Unit 7) the articles by Estock, Gotfelty and Fromm, Hamilton, MacNamee, and Spretnak. Some of these pieces are quite short -- pay particular attention to Estock and Spretnak.
Class Discussion Leader for Estock and ecocriticism: CARRIE CLINE

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UNIT FIVE: Ethnic and National Theories

T 11/11: African and African Diaspora Theory
Read Leopold Sedar Senghor, from "On Negritude" (ER), Deborah Wyrick, from Fanon from Beginners (ER), Gregory Jay, "Who Invented White People"(ER), Chinua Achebe, "The African Writer . . ." (ER), Ngugi wa Thiong'o, from Decolonizing the Mind (ER).
--Class Discussion Leader for Achebe and Ngugi: BETH GRAHAM,
Th 11/13: Postcolonial Theory
Read Homi Bhabha, "On Mimicry and Man" (ER), Abdul R. JanMohamed, from The Economy of Manichean Allegory (ER), Edward Said, from Orientalism, "What Price Oslo," and "Two Visions . . ."(ER).
--Class Discussion Leader for Said: MATT GOODMAN
Written Response #7: Due Tue., 11/18, beginning of class.
--Read V. S. Naipaul's short story "B. Wordsworth" (in the ER) or Victor Hernandez Cruz's poem "It's Miller Time" (ER) or one of Mickey Smith's poems (ER); write a brief analysis of it (or critique of it) from a specific ethnic or postcolonial or language perspective.
T 11/18: The Aladdin Files
Read everything you have time to read in the Aladdin Files (ER). It would be swell if you could rent the Disney movie also! (and watch it). Our discussion will center on the three critical articles; the following groups will be responsible for prompting/prodding/propelling discussion about them:
MacLoed: CARRIE CLINE, PETER COMPITELLO, LAURA EDWARDS, MATT GOODMAN
White and Winn: BETH GRAHAM, JESSICA GRAVELY, ANN POWELL, MICHAEL ROBERTS
Wise: BRIAN SANTANA, SCOTT WAGAR, KIMBERLY WINE

[Note: These discussions are not as formal as the Discussion Leading sessions for the Heart of Darkness articles. Just be prepared to voice opinions, questions, etc. on your article.]

Written Response #8: Due Tue., 11/25.
--Option 1: Read the Burton translation of "Aladdin" (part of the Aladdin files) and discuss it (or part of it . . . a character or an event) in terms of colonial/postcolonial and/or ethnic theory.
--Option 2: Rent the Disney movie and discuss how the actual cinematography (animatography?) reinforces or contradicts some of the Orientalist stereotypes discussed by our critical articles. You'll have to know some basics of film analysis for this assignment. (For some help, go to our Film Studies Site. This site is arranged in frames; on the green panel to the left, press 'web resources' . . . when that frame comes up, go to the bottom of it and press the 'Andrea Mensch Web Page' link. This is an "Introduction to Film" syllabus that has hot links to helpful information about mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, etc.)
Th 11/20: Postcolonial Heart of Darkness
Read Ross Murfin, "What is Cultural Criticism?" (HD), Patrick Brantlinger, Heart of Darkness . . . (HD), Nico Israel, "Only Disconnect . . ." (this is in the ER for unit 6)
Group Discussion Leaders for Brantlinger: ANN POWELL, MICHAEL ROBERTS

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UNIT SIX: Historicist Theories

T 11/25: Marxist Theory
Read David Forgacs, "Marxist Literary Theory" and Catherine Gallaher, from "Marxism and the New Historicism" (both in ER) and poke around in the various readings by Marx.
Class Discussion leader for Forgacs: LAURA EDWARDS
Th 11/27: NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

T 12/2: New Historicism

Read Ross Murfin, "What is the New Historicism?" (HD), Stephen Greenblatt, "Towards a Poetics of Culture" (ER), Louis Montrose, "The Poetics and Politics of Culture" (ER)
Class Discussion leader for Greenblatt: PETER COMPITELLO
Th 12/4: More New Historicism and we're done . . .
Read Brook Thomas, "Preserving and Keeping Order . . ." (HD)
Group Discussion Leaders for Thomas: BRIAN SANTANA, SCOTT WAGAR, KIMBERLY WINE
ABOUT THE FINAL PAPER
--This paper will be similar to the last one (same length, same purpose). The theoretical perspective you use should be drawn from the second half of the course (feminist/gender, ethnic, national/postcolonial, Marxist, new historicist), and for your proof text you can choose among: Harris's Palace of the Peacock, Naipaul's A Bend in the River, and/or something yo've cleared with me beforehand. Any questions? Contact me.

--During exam week, we'll meet a couple of times to give our papers (either this one or the Harris one) in a conference setting. We'll arrange times etc. in class.

Illustration: "Universal Structure with Three Arches"
Joaquín Torres-García, Uruguay, 1945, Oil on Cardboard

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