Beowulf The Perfect Hero English Literature Essay

Beowulf The Perfect Hero English Literature Essay What is a hero. Directly defined from the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a hero is a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability. A great display of heroism and what it truly means to be a hero was captured in a long poem, Beowulf, which was close to being lost during a fire in 1731 in the Cotton Library (Foster). All of the attributes in which a hero should have are possessed by Beowulf, such as loyalty, courage, and strength. Beowulf presents a journey of a warrior that transforms himself into a unforgettable hero. The epic of Beowulf perfectly captured and paved the way for all heroes. The first attribute to a good hero is being loyal to the people around you, no matter the circumstance. In the very beginning of the poem we see the first signs of loyalty when Beowulf sails for land of the Danes. The family ties between that of Hrothgars family and Beowulfs is enough for Beowulf to go with his men and risk his life to help (Foster). Not only does this support and show how Beowulf was loyal but it shows us the mind set of how people thought in that time period. These morals and values which you begin to see in Beowulf also reflect some of the ideas and beliefs of Anglo-Saxons England, the time period in which Beowulf is believed to be set in (Foster). Once he arrives on the shore of Denmark he announces: We belong by birth to the Geat people And owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac. In his day, my father was a famous man, a noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow. (260-263) Loyalty emerges again when Beowulf prepares to fight Grendel, Edward Foster writes Beowulf confronts that physical evil and, bolstered by lineage and loyalty, routs the inimical force with which all people must contend (Foster). What Edward Foster is saying is, Beowulf needs to stay loyal to Hrothgar as well as protect his families reputation; Beowulf must go through with his fight and defeat Grendel. After Beowulf had defeated Grendel he speaks to Horthgar in lines 1826-1829 saying: If ever I hear from across the ocean That people on your borders are threatening battle As attackers have done from time to time, I shall land with a thousand thanes at my back This passage continues to show Beowulfs continued loyalty to Hrothgar even after defeating Grendel and his mother. Jacqueline Vaught wrote in her criticism Beowulf: The Fight at the Center, In a poem so obviously concerned with social loyalty, the fact Beowulf is alone when he enters the mere is one of the largest signals that his experinces there are central to the meaning of the poem (Vaught). Hrothgar isnt the only person in the poem in which Beowulf swears loyalty to. Richard Schrader wrote in his analysis of Beowulf, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦never indicating that he wants to take over and his stressing his loyalty to Hygelac upon returning to his home (Schrader). Even towards end of his life, coincidentally towards the end of the poem, Beowulf shows loyalty to his people. When a thief steals the goblet guarded by a dragon it begins to terrorize the people of Geatland. In return Beowulf, much older now, suits up and sets out to defeat the dragon. The men with Beowulf refuse to go in to fig ht the dragon, all but one, whom shows loyalty to his leader. Loyalty, a recurring theme in this poem pushes the two men to defeat the dragon at the expense of Beowulfs life. Another, trait that contributed to Beowulfs heroism is his courage and lack of fear. One instance where Beowulf displays his courage was during the swimming match in lines 530-580. Not only was he swimming for five days and five nights but during the race he decides to stop and fight sea monsters as stated in lines 559-5641: Time and again, foul things attacked me, lurking and stalking, but I lashed out, gave as good as I got with my sword. My flesh was not for feasting on, there would be no monsters gnawing and gloating Over their banquet at the bottom of the sea. When is was time to fight Grendel, a descendent of Cain, Beowulf refused to wear armor or use any weapons because Grendel himself did not wear armor or have any weapons. The poem goes beyond belief to sell the point that Beowulf was truly afraid of nothing even making him seem godlike in a way. When the time comes to fight Grendels mother must separate himself from society to the cave in which she lives in (Vaught). Essentially in his epic adventure in being the perfect hero, Beowulf needs to man up and become a monster himself (Vaught). The final act of courage displayed by Beowulf was when he was at his weakest, weakened by old age. With a bunch of cowardly men as described in lines 2596-2601: No help or backing was to be had then from his highborn comrades; that hand-picked troop broke ranks and ran for their lives to the safety of the wood. But within one heart sorrowed welled up: in a man of worth the claims of kinship cannot be denied. No matter the circumstance Beowulf, even with the feeling of death among him, he went out on the quest to destroy the dragon terrorizing his people. He along, with Wiglaf, were the only two men with the courage to face the dragon and kill it for their peoples protection. The whole epic poem is a timeline of the development of a perfect hero. Each of the three battles contributed to the creation of the perfect hero. When he first comes Beowulf is a war hardened warrior but still needs to prove and make a name for him self. In the first battle with Grendel, Jacqueline Vaught does a great job pointing out Beowulf does not fulfill his quest as the hero-precisely because he is still within society, literally inside the walls of Herot and the circle of his men (Vaught). What you can take away from that is, although Beowulf wanted to even the playing field per say by taking off his armor and fighting Grendel bare handed, he still had home court advantage and still had all his men within Herot Hall. The real test came in the next great battle of Beowulfs against Grendels mother where he had to venture to a new undiscovered and unknown place. This is where you begin to see Beowulf grow as a hero and a character because for the first time he is really challeng ed. His transformation here was put best by Vaught when she wrote: As he enters the mere, Beowulf makes his journey inward. Rapidly he discovers that neither society nor even his own physical strength can help him in this internal battle. But when he stands, he also finds the center of himself, the strength of his unyielding will (Vaught) Still though, Beowulf relies on a sword made by giants to defeat the monster. Taylor Culbert summed it up best when saying Whereas the first two battles reveal  Beowulf  in the role of youthful warrior, the dragon fight displays his exemplary behavior as a mature king (Culbert). The last dragon he defeats is where the perfect hero is born and at the same time killed. It was when Beowulf knew he wasnt going to make it yet willed himself onward to help defeat the dragon that the perfect hero was made. Family and lineage was an important factor when determining whether or not someone could be a hero in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Throughout the poem, before Beowulf would speak, it would refer to him as Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow. This shows the importance of lineage along with other things. For example after the watchmen, Wulfgar, told Hrothgar of Beowulfs lineage, Hrothgar sends the reply: My lord, the conquering king of the Danes, Bids me announce that he knows your ancestry; Also that he welcomes you here to Herot And salutes your arrival from across the sea. (391-394) The hero in Anglo-Saxon culture is expected to carry about revenge in honor of family and to show loyalty (Foster). Some may have a different view of Beowulf and may see him as an arrogant character that only cares about glory. This is a valid point, but regardless Beowulf put the people first and protected them during all his fights. During his fight with Grendels mom Beowolf had no audience to see him defeat her, this shows that although he may care about being remembered, he cares more about his loyalty to Hrothgar and his people. Another relative point can be made during the fight against Grendel. During this fight the poet only regards Beowulfs point of view in four passages, as pointed out by Charles Moorman (Culbert). Also it is fair to point out that it was selfish of Beowulf to try and defeat the last dragon when he was old of age. But if it were not going to be Beowulf to defeat this dragon, who else would have? Clearly everyone else was afraid of it as was pointed out above during the passage in which all his cowardly men left him to go in alone with Wiglaf. The dragon would have contin ued to terrorize the people and set villages on fire. It was a necessary sacrifice to go and die for his people. The qualities of loyalty, courage and nobility all play key factors into the development of a perfect hero in Beowulf. In this epic poem he takes a journey to unknown lands and displays these characteristics in many ways. He was loyal to the Danes and helped them during a time where they lived in fear for their lives. He was courageous and didnt back down from any fight, even risking his life at times to give his opposition a fair fight. Beowulf proved to be a noble man and represent his lineage with great pride. The epic of Beowulf perfectly captured and paved the way for all heroes. As he was dying in the cave with Wiglaf by his side, Wiglaf refused to take Beowulfs treasures (Schrader). Being the only one of Beowulfs kinsmen to go in with him this man, Wiglaf, is set up to be the next perfect hero. Beowulf proved to be a legendary figure and displayed his ability of great strength many times, transforming himself into one of the greatest heroes of all time.

Marxist Understanding of Family Essay

Examine the Marxist contribution to our understanding of the family The Marxists society view family through the eyes of capitalism and that the proletariat (the working class) solely benefit the bourgeoisie (the ruling class), whereas a functionalists perspective of family is that they should benefit both society and individual members of the family, however, Marists argue family is simply an instrument of the ruling class. Marxists believe family in today’s society perform key ideological functions for capitalism, a set of ideas/beliefs that justify inequality, a system that persuades the public into accepting this is a fair and natural way to act in society. Capitalism is an economic system in which private ownership controls all of the means of production for profit and exploits the proletariat class, selling their products for more money than paying the working class for their labour. Benefits that the family provide through capitalism include the inheritance of private property, socialisation into acceptance of inequality and a source of profits – all of these which do not benefit the members of the family. Capitalism leads to family playing a major role in profits as they are the market for the sale of consumer goods. Family fulfil this role by persuading families to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ by consuming the latest products, ‘pester power’ which persuades parents to spend more on their children, especially if their child do not have the latest gadgets, clothes etc. nd being mocked because of this. The capitalist system requires nuclear monogamous relationships as it is needed for private ownership, as said by Friedrich Engels. A sociologist, Friedrich Engels, alongside Karl Marx, studied family from a Marxist perspective and traced the changes of family to the mode of production. Engels explains that society has not always been exploited by the bourgeoisie, in fact, the means of production were collectively owned. Engels theorized that as society changed, more restrictions of norms and values in a family were placed on sexual relationships and the production of children. Primitive communism was described as a large promiscuous horde; however, family and marriage have evolved through stages which included polygyny evolving into the monogamous nuclear family. This form of family is believed to have developed to solve the problem of inheritance of private property because there would be no confusion about the paternity of their offspring, whereas a promiscuous horde would have difficulty defining who the father of their offspring was. Gough approves of Engel’s views claiming they have a ‘sound basis’ agreeing that when the means of production is shared tend to be have larger units, however, as the means of production moves towards private ownership, the family size decreases. Nevertheless, criticisms against Engels’ theory by Lewis Henry Morgan claimed Engels’ studies are a ‘figment of his imagination’, due to the fact Morgan found out that monogamous marriages and the nuclear family existed. However, Eli Zaretsky’s view on family is linked to the Marxist view, that they are just a unit of consumption – the ‘major consumer of capitalist products’ – and that the ‘modern capitalist society creates an illusion’ of private family life as the family cannot meet its family’s needs. Zaretsky sees that the family is an apparent ‘safe haven’ due to the fact individuals were alienated at work which built up stress, however, families were unable to provide for the personal needs of its members. Family basically provided satisfactions which were unavailable out in public. Zaretsky argues that the ideology of the private family life is separate from the economy as he also feels the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat for their own gains. Marxists feel that there are many institutions that the capitalist system are maintaining within society such as education – which provides secondary socialisation which prepares children for adult life, working for the bourgeoisie, and institution of healthcare from the NHS who provides free healthcare. This is also seen to benefit the bourgeoisie as free medical care for patients mean they will recover quicker in order to go back to work and serve interests of capitalism. However, these perspectives from a Marxists view of family are highly criticized for being too deterministic, not giving enough credit to individuals, overly emphasizing the importance of the economic system’s effect on family structures. Critics also suggest Marxists are too negative on family, ignoring realistic benefits of the family such as intimacy and mutual support rather than reproduction just to provide the next generation. Also, this perspective on family is proved to be very outdated as the rise of alternative family and types of household have changed within society over the years and the fact that Marxism blame capitalism for lack of responsibility in individuals, even in non-capitalist countries such as Cuba, where do the problems come from there if they do not suffer capitalism? Other opposing perspectives of the Marxist view on family come from Feminists who argue that Marxists emphasize on social class, underestimating the importance of gender inequalities within the family and Functionalists such as Parsons believe that family are not present to serve capitalism. Talcott Parsons believes the family is like a ‘warm bath’ in which family life helps individuals relieves their stresses from work at home. To conclude, the Marxist view of family proves to be quite negative on the concept of family, stating that the proletariat are being exploited by the bourgeoisie as a unit of consumption (said by Zaretsky), and other than that, serve no other purpose but to reproduce for the inheritance of property (said by Engels). Edmund Leach, although not a Marxist, has a consensus view of family, pointing out problems found within the nuclear family, presenting a pessimistic view of the family. Leach says that today’s domestic household is isolated with large amounts of emotional stress in individuals which results into the nuclear family becoming ‘like an overloaded electrical circuit’ causing ‘fuses to blow due to high demands’. Because of this, conflict is present – parents begin to fight and children rebel. Leach’s view is diametrically opposed to the Functionalists as Parsons feels that the nuclear family makes up a supportive unit, whereas Zaretsky thinks that this view is too positive and this ‘happy family’ is an illusion and is a fake impression of reality. However, Engels believe that the nuclear family did not exist in pre-industrial society, but promiscuous hordes did – now in today’s society, that has changed due to serial monogamy being seen as a set norm and inheritance can function for capitalism. Feminists disagree saying that this perspective ignores gender, Morgan stating that Engels has imagined this theory and Functionalists claiming the nuclear family is in fact a natural process, not deliberately changed for the bourgeoisie.

English William Shakespeare

?ENGLISH NOTES 2012-2013 Advising and Preregistration ONLY declared English majors (who have formally declared their major by Monday, April 30th) may preregister for English classes via the web on Monday, May 7th during their registration appointment times according to the following schedule: The last day to add a class for Fall Quarter is Friday, September 7th. The last day to drop a class for Fall Quarter is yet to be determined. PLEASE NOTE: The Registrar has indicated that students may preregister for a maximum of two courses in any one department.Students can sign up for additional courses in that department during regular advanced registration. Information Sources When you declare, the undergraduate program assistant automatically signs you up for the departmental listserv. Consult your email regularly for announcements about upcoming deadlines and special events. 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University Hall 215 Evanston, IL 60208 (847) 491-7294 http://www. english. northwestern. edu/ [email  protected] edu 1 ?ENGLISH NOTES 2012-2013 Applications for the following are available early spring quarter through either the English Office in University Hall 215 or the departmental website at www. english. northwestern. edu Annual Writing Competition The English Department will be conducting its annual writing competition Spring Quarter, with prizes to be awarded in the categories of essay, fiction, and poetry.Announcements about specific prizes, eligibility and submission will be available in the English office by April 1st. The following rules apply: 1) Students may not enter competitions for which they are not eligible. 2) Students may submit only one work per genre. 3) The maximum length for essay and fiction manuscript is 20 pages; the maximum length for a poetry manuscript is 10 pages or 3 poems. Students should submit only one copy of each work. The deadline for submission of manuscripts for the 2012 contest is Thursday, May 3rd by 3:00pm. Awards will be announced at a ceremony on May 25th, 2012 at a time that is yet to be determined.A reception will follow. Literature Major 399 Proposals Individual projects with faculty guidance. Open to majors with junior or senior standing and to senior minors. Students interested in applying for independent study in literature during spring quarter should see the potential adviser as soon as possible. Guidelines for 399 are available in UH 215 and on the English webpage. Writing Major Honors Proposals Writing majors should apply for Honors in the spring of their junior year. The department will have application forms available early spring quarter. The application deadline for the 2012-2013 academic year is yet to be determined.Literature Major 398 Honors Applications Literature majors who wish to earn honors may apply during the spring of their junior year for admission to the two- quarter sequence, 398-1,2, which meets the following fall and winter quarter. The departmental honors coordinator for 2012- 2013 is Professor Paul Breslin. The application deadline to apply for the 2012-2013 academic year is Tuesday, May 8th, 2012by 4:30pm. Declaring the Major or Minor In the past, in order to declare the English Major or Minor, students needed to complete prerequisites. Prerequisites are no longer required to declare the Major or Minor.To declare the Major or Minor, pick up the appropriate declaration form in UH 215 and consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Professor Grossman) in stipulated office hours. At this point, the new major will choose a Departmental Advisor and become eligi ble for English preregistration in succeeding quarters. WCAS policy requires instructors to return student work in person or by mail. Student work is not to be kept in the departmental office, nor is it to be distributed in any public place. **Reminder to Seniors: Seniors who have not yet filed their Petitions to Graduate must do so immediately. A Calendar of Course Offerings Taught by English Department Faculty *Class times and course descriptions are subject to change without notice. 105 Expository Writing 205 Intermediate Composition 206 Reading & Writing Poetry MW 9:30-10:50 Webster MWF 11-11:50 Curdy MWF 1-1:50 Kinzie MWF 2-2:50 Curdy TTh 9:30-10:50 Goldbloom MWF 10-10:50 Bresland MW 9:30-10:50 Webster MW 3:30-4:50 Curdy TTh 12:30-1:50 Altman TTh 2-3:20 Breslin MW 11-12:20 Seliy MW 12:30-1:50 Donohue TTh 9:30-10:50 Goldbloom TTh 12:30-1:50 Goldbloom MW 9:30-10:50 Bouldrey TTh 9:30-10:50 Bresland TTh 2-3:20 Bresland MWF 1-1:50 Lane (210-2)MWF 1-1:50 Gibbons MW 3:30-4:50 Curdy M WF 11-11:50 Webster MW 11-12:20 Seliy TTh 12:30-1:50 Goldbloom MW 9:30-10:50 Biss MWF 2-2:50 Webster TTh 9:30-10:50 Kinzie TTh 11-12:20 Bouldrey MWF 11-11:50 Soni (210-1) 207 Reading & Writing Fiction 208 Reading & Writing Creative Non Fiction 210-2,1 English Literary Traditions (Additional Discussion Section Required) FALL WINTER SPRING Several Sections Offered Each Quarter Several Sections Offered Each Quarter ? 3 211 212 213 220 Gender Studies 231 234 270-1,2 273 275 298 302 306 307 Introduction to Poetry (Additional Discussion Section Required) Introduction to DramaIntroduction to Fiction (Additional Discussion Section Required) The Bible as Literature (Additional Discussion Section Required) Gender Studies Introduction toShakespeare (Additional Discussion Section Required) American Literary Traditions (Additional Discussion Section Required) Intro. to 20th-Century American Literature (Additional Discussion Section Required) Introduction to Asian American Studies Introductory Se minar in Reading and Interpretation History of the English Language Advanced Poetry Writing Advanced Creative Writing MWF 11-11:50 Gottlieb FALL WINTER SPRING TTh 9:30-10:50 Phillips MWF 12-12:50 Erkkila (270-1)MW 12:30-1:50 Kim MWF 11-11:50 Grossman TTh 9:30-10:50 Thompson TTh 3:30-:50 Roberts TTh 11-12:20 Breen TTh 12:30-1:50 Goldbloom MWF 12-12:50 N. Davis MWF 2-2:50 Feinsod TTh 11-12:20 Cutler TTh 3:30-4:50 Lahey MW 2-3:20 Gibbons TTh 2-3:20 Kinzie TTh 11-12:20 Froula MWF 11-11:50 Thompson MWF 12-12:50 Stern (270-2) TTh 9:30-10:50 Erkkila TTh 11-12:20 Phillips TTh 2-3:20 Harris TTh 12:30-1:50 Dybek TTh 3:30-4:50 Cross MWF 1-1:50 Manning MWF 10-10:50 Newman ?4 311 Studies in Poetry 312 Studies in Drama 313 Studies in Fiction 323-1 Chaucer 324 Studies in Medieval Literature 331 Renaissance Poetry 332 Renaissance Drama 333 Spenser 35 Milton 338 Studies in Renaissance Literature 339 Special Topics in Shakespeare 340 Restoration & 18th Century Literature 353 Studies in Romantic Liter ature 359 Studies in Victorian Literature 365 Studies in Post-Colonial Literature 366 Studies in African American Literature MWF 11-11:50 Passin TTh 3:30-4:50 Hedman TTh 4-5:20 Schwartz TTh 12:30-1:50 Harris TTh 12:30-1:50 Roberts TTh 2-3:20 Thompson TTh 2-3:20 Law TTh 11-12:20 Feinsod MW 9:30-10:50 T. Davis MWF 10-10:50 Breen MWF 11-11:50 Newman TTh 9:30-10:50 Masten TTh 11-12:20 Evans TTh 2-3:20 Grossman/Soni TTh 9:30-10:50 Soni MW 3:30-4:50 Lane MW 11-12:20 WeheliyeMW 3:30-4:50 Hedman MW 9:30-10:50 Johnson MWF 1-1:50 Newman TTh 3:30-4:50 Harris MW 11-12:20 West MW 3:30-4:50 Evans TTh 12:30-1:50 Harris TTh 2-3:20 Sucich TTh 11-12:20 Roberts TTh 11-12:20 Lane TTh 12:30-1:50 Lahey TTh 9:30-10:50 Dangarembga FALL WINTER SPRING ?5 368 Studies in 20th-Century Literature 369 Studies in African Literature 371 American Novel 372 American Poetry 377 Topics in Latina/o Literature 378 Studies in American Literature 383 Studies in Theory and Criticism 385 Topics in Combined Studies 386 Studie s in Literature and Film 393- Theory & Practice of Poetry FW/TS 394- Theory & Practice of Fiction FW/TS 95- Theory & Practice of FW/TS Creative Nonfiction 398-1,2 Senior Seminar Sequence (Lit) TTh 12:30-1:50 Hedman TTh 4-5:20 Mwangi TTh 2-3:20 Mwangi MWF 11-11:50 Lahey MWF 2-2:50 Grossman MWF 10-10:50 Bouldrey TTh 3:30-4:50 Weheliye MWF 1-1:50 Leong MW 3:30-4:50 Leahy MW 12:30-1:50 Webster MW 12:30-1:50 Bouldrey MW 12:30-1:50 Bresland W 3-5 Breslin MWF 11-11:50 Hedman MW 12:30-1:50 Passin TTh 12:30-1:50 Cross MW 3:30-4:50 Stern TTh 2-3:20 Erkkila MWF 1-1:50 Cutler MW 2-3:20 Roberts TTh 12:30-1:50 Lahey MW 2-3:20 Froula TTh 2-3:20 N. Davis TTh 3:30-4:50 Leong MW 12:30-1:50 Webster/Curdy MW 12:30-1:50 Bouldrey/SeliyMW 12:30-1:50 Bresland/Bouldrey W 3-5 Breslin MW 9:30-10:50 diBattista MW 12:30-1:50 Passin TTh 11-12:20 Froula T 6-8:20 diBattista TTh 3:30-4:50 Cutler MWF 10-10:50 Smith TTh 12:30-1:50 Savage MWF 2-2:50 Soni MWF 1-1:50 Breslin MWF 11-11:50 Feinsod MW 12:30-1:50 Curdy MW 1 2:30-1:50 Seliy MW 12:30-1:50 Biss FALL WINTER SPRING ?6 399 Independent Study SeveralSections Offered Each Quarter FALL WINTER SPRING ?7 ENG 206 [Prerequisite to English Major in Writing] Reading & Writing Poetry Course Description: An introduction to the major forms of poetry in English from the dual perspective of the poet-critic.Creative work will be assigned in the form of poems and revisions; analytic writing will be assigned in the form of critiques of other members’ poems. A scansion exercise will be given early on. All of these exercises, creative and expository, as well as the required readings from the Anthology, are designed to help students increase their understanding of poetry rapidly and profoundly; the more wholehearted students’ participation, the more they will learn from the course. Prerequisites: No prerequisites. No P/N registration. Attendance of first class is mandatory.Course especially recommended for prospective Writing Majors. Literature Maj ors also welcome. Freshmen are NOT permitted to enroll until their spring quarter. Seniors require department permission to enroll in English 206. Teaching Method: Discussion; one-half to two-thirds of the classes will be devoted to discussion of readings and principles, the other classes to discussion of student poems. Evaluation Method: Evidence given in written work and in class participation of students’ understanding of poetry; improvement will count for a great deal with the instructor in estimating achievement.Texts include: An Anthology, a critical guide, 206 Reader prepared by the instructor, and the work of the other students. [Prerequisite to English Major in Writing] Reading & Writing Fiction Course Description: A reading and writing course in short fiction. Students will read widely in traditional as well as experimental short stories, seeing how writers of different culture and temperament use conventions such as plot, character, and techniques of voice and dist ance to shape their art.Students will also receive intensive practice in the craft of the short story, writing at least one story, along with revisions, short exercises, and a critical study of at least one work of fiction, concentrating on technique. Prerequisites: English 206. No P/N registration. Attendance of first class is mandatory. Course especially recommended for prospective Writing Majors. Literature Majors also welcome. Teaching Method: Discussion of readings and principles; workshop of student drafts.Evaluation Method: Evidence given in written work and in class participation of students’ growing understanding of fiction; improvement will count for a great deal with the instructor in estimating achievement. Texts include: Selected short stories, essays on craft, and the work of the other students. Fall Quarter: Rachel Webster Averill Curdy Mary Kinzie Averill Curdy Winter Quarter: Rachel Webster Averill Curdy Toby Altman Paul Breslin Spring Quarter: Reg Gibbons A verill Curdy Rachel Webster ENG 207 MW 9:30-10:50 MWF 11-11:50 MWF 1-1:50 MWF 2-2:50 MW 9:30-10:50 MW 3:30-4:50 TTh 12:30-1:50 TTh 2-3:20MWF 1-1:50 MW 3:30-4:50 MWF 11-11:50 Sec. 20 Sec. 21 Sec. 22 Sec. 23 Sec. 20 Sec. 22 Sec. 23 Sec. 24 Sec. 20 Sec. 21 Sec. 22 Fall Quarter: Goldie Goldbloom Winter Quarter: Shauna Seliy Sheila Donohue Goldie Goldbloom Goldie Goldbloom Spring Quarter: Shauna Seliy Goldie Goldbloom TTh 9:30-10:50 MW 11-12:20 MW 12:30-1:50 TTh 9:30-10:50 TTh 12:30-1:50 MW 11-12:20 TTh 12:30-1:50 Sec. 20 Sec. 21 Sec. 22 Sec. 23 Sec. 20 Sec. 22 ENG 208 [Prerequisite to English Major in Writing] Reading & Writing Creative Non Fiction Course Description: An introduction to some of the many possible voices, styles, and structures of the creative essay.Students will read from the full aesthetic breadth of the essay, including memoir, meditation, lyric essay, and literary journalism. Discussions will address how the essay creates an artistic space distinct from the worlds of poetry and 8 fiction, and how truth and fact function within creative nonfiction. Students will be asked to analyze the readings closely, and to write six short essays based on imitations of the style, structure, syntax, and narrative devices found in the readings. Students can also expect to do some brief writing exercises and at least one revision. Prerequisites: English 206. No P/N registration.Attendance of first class is mandatory. Course especially recommended for prospective Writing Majors. Literature Majors also welcome. Teaching Method: Discussion; one-half to two-thirds of the classes will be devoted to discussion of readings and principles, the other classes to discussion of student work. Note: Prerequisite to the English Major in Writing. Fall Quarter: moment, does it become possible to ignore or overlook the political projects embedded in these texts? In readings of Chaucer, More, Sidney, Shakespeare, Milton, Behn and Swift, among others, we will consider how importan t it is to understand these texts from a political erspective, and wonder why this perspective is so often ignored in favor of psychologizing and subjectivizing readings. Teaching Method: Two lectures per week, plus a required discussion section. Evaluation Method: Regular reading quizzes (15%); class participation (25%); midterm exam (20%); final exam (20%); final paper (20%). Texts include: Beowulf; Mystery Plays; Chaucer, Canterbury Tales; More, Utopia; Sidney, Defense of Poesy; Shakespeare, Tempest and selected sonnets; Milton, Paradise Lost; Behn, Oroonoko; Swift, Gulliver’s Travels. ENG 210-2 English Literary Traditions Christopher LaneMWF 1-1:50 Winter Quarter Course Description: English 210-2 is an English Literature major requirement; it is also designed for non-majors and counts as an Area VI WCAS distribution requirement. This course is a chronological survey of important, representative, and highly enjoyable British works from Romanticism to the modern period (rou ghly the French Revolution to the First World War). Focusing on poetry, drama, essays, and several short novels, we'll examine compelling themes, styles, movements, and cultural arguments, paying particular attention to the way literary texts are located in history.For perspective, the course also tackles several comparative issues in nineteenth-century art and intellectual history, drawing on such large-scale themes as tensions between individuals and communities, the narrative fate of women and men, and the vexed, uncertain role of authors as commentators on their social contexts. An overview of English literary history and its traditions during a fascinating century, English 210-2 provides excellent training in the analysis of fiction. Teaching Method: Two lectures per week and one required discussion section each Friday (section assignments will be made during the first week of class). John Bresland Winter Quarter: Brian Bouldrey John Bresland John Bresland Spring Quarter: Eula Biss Rachel Webster Mary Kinzie Brian Bouldrey MWF 10-10:50 MW 9:30-10:50 TTh 9:30-10:50 TTh 2-3:20 MW 9:30-10:50 MWF 2-2:50 TTh 9:30-10:50 TTh 11-12:20 Sec. 20 Sec. 21 Sec. 22 Sec. 20 Sec. 21 Sec. 22 Sec. 23 ENG 210-1 English Literary Traditions Vivisvan Soni MWF 11-11:50 Spring Quarter Course Description: English 210-1 is an English Literature major requirement; it is also designed for non-majors and counts as an Area VI WCAS distribution requirement.This course is an introduction to the early English literary canon, extending from the late medieval period through the eighteenth century. In addition to gaining a general familiarity with some of the most influential texts of English literature, we will be especially interested in discovering how literary texts construct, engage in and transform political discourse. What kinds of political intervention are literary texts capable of making? What are the political implications of particular rhetorical strategies and generic choices? How do literary texts encode or allegorize particular political questions?How, at a particular historical ? 9 Evaluation Method: Two short analytical papers; one final essay; performance in discussion section; final exam. Texts include: The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors (8th edition; volume B); Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility (Penguin); Charles Dickens, Hard Times (Norton); Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (Harvest/HBJ). Please buy new or used copies of the editions specified. Texts available at: The Norris Center Bookstore. ENG 211 Introduction to Poetry: The Experience and Logic of Poetry Susannah Gottlieb MWF 11-11:50 Fall QuarterCourse Description: The experience of poetry can be understood in it at least two radically different ways: as a raw encounter with something unfamiliar or as a methodically constructed mode of access to the unknown. The experience of poetry includes both of these models, and theories of poetry from antiquity to the present da y have grappled with these two dimensions of the poetic experience. In order to understand a poem, a reader must, in some sense, enter into its unique and complex logic, while nevertheless remaining open to the sometimes unsettling ways it can surprise us.In this class, we will read some of the greatest lyric poems written in English, as we systematically develop an understanding of the formal techniques of poetic composition, including diction, syntax, image, trope, and rhythm. Students should come prepared to encounter poems as new and unfamiliar terrain (even if you've read a particular poem before), as we methodically work through the formal elements of the poetic process. Teaching Method: Lectures and weekly discussion groups. Evaluation Method: Three papers (5-7 pages), weekly exercises, active participation in section discussions, and a final exam.Texts Include: The Norton Anthology of Poetry. ENG 212 Introduction to Drama: Modernism in Performance Susan Manning MWF 1-1:50 Sp ring Quarter Course Description: This survey course follows the emergence of modernism in diverse genres of theatrical performance—drama, dance, cabaret, and music theatre. In London, Paris, Berlin, and New York, new theatrical practices emerged in the late 19th century and through the first half of the 20th century, practices that have continued to inspire theatre artists into the present.Readings are complemented by film and video viewings and by excursions to Chicago-area theatres. Teaching Method: lecture with weekly discussion sections Evaluation Method: three short papers and a take- home final exam. Texts include: Noel Witts, ed. , The Twentieth- Century Performance Reader (3rd edition); Gunter Berghaus, Theater, Performance and the Historical Avant-Garde. ENG 213 Introduction to Fiction: Worlds in a Grain of Sand Christine Froula TTh 11-12:20 Winter Quarter Course Description: What is fiction? How is it different from history, biography, nonfiction?How and why do peop le invent and tell stories, listen to them, pass them on, often in new versions, forms, or media? In this course we’ll study a selection of fictional narratives from around the globe and from different historical moments, in a variety of prose and verse forms—short story, novella, novel, myth, story cycle, serial—and in visual and aural as well as literary media: ballad, theatre, zine, painting, photograph, graphic novel, film. If, as Ezra Pound put it, literature is news that stays news, we’ll consider how these fictional works bring news from near and far.We’ll think about the traditions, and occasions of storytelling, the narrators who convey them, the conventions and devices they inherit or make new, and some ways in which stories may influence or talk to one another, as well as to audiences and communities within and across cultures. We’ll consider whether and how each work’s historical origin and context may illuminate ? 10 the situation and conflict it depicts; and how its point of view, narrative voice, techniques of character- drawing, plot, imagery, dialogue, style, beginning and end help shape our questions and interpretations.As we taste some of â€Å"the rarest and ripest fruit of art which human thought has to offer,† in Nabokov’s words, we’ll seek to develop skills and awareness that will deepen our pleasure in the inexhaustible riches of imaginative literature. Teaching Method: Lecture and Discussion Evaluation Method: Attendance, participation, weekly exercises, two short papers, midterm, final. Texts include: Texts and course packet TBA. Texts Include: Bible, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) with apocrypha (Oxford U. Press). GNDR ST 231/co-listed w/ Comp Lit 205 Gender Studies:Feminism as Cultural Critique Helen Thompson MWF 11-11:50 Winter Quarter Course Description: In this class, we will consider the origins and ongoing powers of feminism as a critique of culture. At its origins in the 1790s through the middle of the twentieth century, modern Western feminism fought on two fronts, condemning women’s legal and political disenfranchisement as well as more subtle practices and norms, like the wearing of corsets, that shored up women’s subordinate status at the level of everyday life.In this class, we will explore feminism in America after the legal and political battle has, to some extent, been won: we’ll examine the so-called second wave of feminism, from roughly 1960 to 1980. This exciting, volatile, and radical phase of the feminist movement dedicated its critical energies to problems that persisted beyond women’s nominal political and legal enfranchisement.By disrupting everyday institutions like the Miss America pageant, second- wave feminism revealed that mainstream norms, habits, and assumptions might operate just as powerfully as repressive laws. Because so much second-wave feminism consists of physical activism, cultural interventions, and artistic production, in this class we will encounter a variety of media: academic writing, but also manifestos, journalism, film, visual art, novels, performances, and documentaries.An ongoing goal of the class will be to explore the critical methodologies enabled by the second wave. What tools does second-wave feminism use to read culture? What tools does second-wave feminism use to re-tell history? The class will begin by looking at part of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (French, 1949; English, 1953) to examine how its foundational claim that â€Å"one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman† invites us to analyze culture rather than nature. The remainder of the class is broken into units.Unit One, â€Å"Beauty,† includes the documentary â€Å"Miss . . . or Myth? † (1987) on the Miss American pageant and its feminist re-staging, Gloria Steinem on her experience as a Playboy Bunny (1969), and founding discussions of wom en’s looks by Kate Millet, Germaine Greer, Betty Friedan and others. Unit Two, â€Å"Housework/ Domesticity,† covers pivotal texts on women’s lives at home (â€Å"The Politics of Housework,† â€Å"The ENGLISH 220 The Bible as Literature Barbara Newman MWF 10-10:50 Combined w/ CLS 210 Spring QuarterCourse Description: This course is intended to familiarize literary students with the most influential text in Western culture. No previous acquaintance with the Bible is presupposed. We will consider such questions as the variety of literary genres and strategies in the Bible; the historical situation of its writers; the representation of God as a literary character; recurrent images and themes; the Bible as a national epic; the New Testament as a radical reinterpretation of the â€Å"Old Testament† (or Hebrew Bible); and the overall narrative as a plot with beginning, middle, and end.Since time will not permit a complete reading of the Bible, we will c oncentrate on those books that display the greatest literary interest or influence, including Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Ruth, Job, Daniel, and Isaiah; the Gospels according to Luke and John, and the Book of Revelation. We will look more briefly at issues of translation; traditional strategies of interpretation (such as midrash, typology, and harmonization); and the historical processes involved in constructing the Biblical canon.Teaching Method: Three lectures, one discussion section per week. Evaluation Method: Two midterms and final exam, each worth 25% of grade; participation in sections; occasional response papers; some interactive discussion during lectures. ?11 Personal is Political,† â€Å"Why I Want a Wife,† and others); we will examine one mainstream reaction to the feminist critique of domestic labor, Ira Levin’s horror novel and adapted film The Stepford Wives.Unit Three, â€Å"Sex,† will look at second-wave femin ist challenges to both the social and anatomical determinants of eroticism and pleasure (The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, Sex and the Single Girl, Lesbian Nation, Pornography); we will read one early 70s feminist novel (Erica Jong, Fear of Flying) and one early 70s mainstream romance (Janet Woodiwiss, The Flame and the Flower) to examine their contesting representations of women’s sexual desire and agency.In the course of this comparison, we’ll take up the issue of rape, or â€Å"rape culture† (Susan Brownmiller, Against our Will, and others); the material conditions and ideologies at stake in romance reading; and the charge that second-wave feminism reflected the concerns of only white middle-class women (bell hooks, Ain’t I A Woman? ). Unit Four of the class will look at feminist cultural production. We’ll look at avant-garde art (short films include Carolee Schneeman’s â€Å"Meat Joy,† Martha Rosler’s â€Å"Semiotics of the Kitchen,† and other videos, images, and performances) and artistic provocations (like Valerie Solanas, â€Å"The S.C. U. M. Manifesto†) to consider how these texts challenge high art and cultural values down to the present day. Macbeth, Henry V, Anthony and Cleopatra, Measure for Measure, and The Tempest. Teaching Method: Lectures with Q; required weekly discussion section. Evaluation Method: Attendance and section participation, two papers, midterm, final exam. Texts include: The required textbook is The Norton Shakespeare, ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. Textbook available at: Norris Center Bookstore. ENG 234Introduction to Shakespeare Susie Phillips TTh 9:30-10:50 Fall Quarter Course Description: What spooks America? From the Puritan â€Å"city upon a Hill,† to Tom Paine’s Common Sense, to Emerson’s American Adam, America was imagined as a New World paradise, a place to begin the world anew. And yet, from the story of Pocahontas and John Smith, to the origins of the American Gothic in the Age of Reason, to Melville’s Moby Dick, American literature has been haunted by fantasies of terror, sin, violence, and apocalypse.Why? This course will seek to answer this question. Focusing on a selection of imaginative writings, including origin stories, poems, novels, and a slave narrative, we shall seek to identify and understand the significance of the terrors—of the savage, the dark other, the body, nature, sex, mixture, blood violence, authoritarian power, and apocalypse—that haunt and spook the origins and development of American literature.Students will be encouraged to draw connections between past American fantasies and fears and contemporary popular culture and politics, from classic American films like Hitchcock’s Psycho to The Hunger Games, from American blues and jazz to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, from the Red Scare and the Cold War to the war on terror. Teaching method: Lecture and discuss ion; weekly discussion sections. Evaluation Method: 2 papers; quizzes; final examination.Texts Include: The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Beginnings to 1820 (Volume A; 8th edition); Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly; or Course Description: This course will introduce students to a range of Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, histories and romances. During the quarter, we will be considering these plays in their Early Modern context—cultural, political, literary and theatrical. We will focus centrally on matters of performance and of text.How is our interpretation of a play shaped by Shakespeare’s various â€Å"texts†Ã¢â‚¬â€ his stories and their histories, the works of his contemporaries, the latest literary fashions, and the various versions of his plays that circulated among his audience? Similarly, how do the details of a given performance, or the presence of a particular audience, alter the experience of the play? To answer these question s, we will consider not only the theaters of Early Modern England, but also recent cinematic versions of the plays, and we will read not only our modern edition of Shakespeare but also examine some pages from the plays as they originally circulated.Our readings may include Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, ENG 270-1 American Literary Traditions: What Spooks America? Betsy Erkkila MWF 12-12:50 Fall Quarter ?12 Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker; Ralph Waldo Emerson, Selected Writings; Edgar Allan Poe, Great Short Works; Frederick Douglass, The Narrative of Frederick Douglass; Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter; Herman Melville, Moby Dick. ENG 273 Post 1798 Introduction to 20th-Century American Lit.Nick Davis MWF 12-12:50 Spring Quarter Course Description: This course aims to draw English majors and non-majors alike into a substantive, wide-ranging, and vivacious conversation about American literature and life, spanning from modernist watersheds of the 1920s to th e present moment. In all of the literature we read, the impressions we form, and the insights we exchange, we will track complex evolutions of â€Å"America,† both as a nation and as a notion, deepened and ransformed over time by new ideas about language, history, movement and migration, individuality and collectivity, social positioning, regional identities, political attitudes, and other forces that shape, surround, and speak through the texts. However, we shall remind ourselves at all points that literature is not just a mirror but an engine of culture; it produces its own effects and invites us into new, complicated perspectives about language, form, structure, voice, style, theme, and the marvelous, subtle filaments that connect any text to its readers.Teaching Method: Lecture and discussion Evaluation Method: Two formal essays, quizzes, and a final exam, plus participation in discussion sections and occasionally in lecture Texts include: William Faulkner’s As I L ay Dying; Marita Bonner’s The Purple Flower; Nathanael West’s Miss Lonelyhearts; Don DeLillo’s White Noise; Suzan-Lori Parks’s The America Play; and others. ENG 270-2 American Literary Traditions Julia Stern MWF 12-12:50 Winter Quarter Course Description: This course is a survey of American literature from the decade preceding the Civil War to 1900.In lectures and discussion sections, we shall explore the divergent textual voices – white and black, male and female, poor and rich, slave and free – that constitute the literary tradition of the United States in the nineteenth century. Central to our study will be the following questions: What does it mean to be an American in 1850, 1860, 1865, and beyond? Who speaks for the nation? How do the tragedy and the triumph of the Civil War inflect American poetry and narrative?And how do post- bellum writers represent the complexities of democracy, particularly the gains and losses of Reconstruction, the advent of and resistance to the â€Å"New Woman,† and the class struggle in the newly reunited nation? Evaluation Method: Evaluation will be based on two short (3-page) essays, in which students will perform a close reading of a literary passage from one of the texts on the syllabus; a final examination, involving short answers and essays; and active participation in section and lecture. Texts include: Herman Melville, â€Å"Bartleby,Scrivener†; Harriet Wilson, Our Nig; Rebecca Harding Davis, â€Å"Life in the Iron Mills†; Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl; Emily Dickinson, selected poems; Walt Whitman, â€Å"Song of Myself† and other selected poems; Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Charles Chestnut, selected tales; Kate Chopin, The Awakening. Textbooks will be available at: Norris Bookstore. Note: Attendance at all sections is required; anyone who misses more than one section meeting will fail the course unless both his or her T. A. and the professor give permission to continue.ENG 275/co-listed w/ Asian_Am 275 Introduction to Asian American Studies Jinah Kim MW 12:30-1:50 Fall Quarter Course Description: This course examines literature, film, and critical theory created by Asian Americans in order to examine the development of Asian America as a literary field. We will explore how Asian American literature and theory engages themes and questions in literary studies, particularly related to questions of race, nation and empire, such as sentimentalism, the autobiography, bildungsroman and genre studies.For example, how does Carlos Bulosan draw on tropes and images of 1930’s American depression to Post 1798 ?13 draw equivalence between Filipino colonial subjects and domestic migrant workers? How does Siu Sin Far use sentimentalism as a strategy to evoke empathy for her mixed race protagonists? How does Hirahara manipulate conventions of literary noir to contest dominant recollections of W WII? Thus we are also learning to ‘deconstruct’ the text and understand how Asian American literature and culture offers a parallax view into American history, culture and political economy.Starting from the premise that Asian America operates as a contested category of ethnic and national identity we will consider how Asian American literatures and cultures â€Å"defamiliarize† American exceptionalist claims to pluralism, modernity, and progress. The novels, short stories, plays and films we will study in this class chart an ongoing movement in Asian American studies from negotiating the demands for domesticated narratives of immigrant assimilation to crafting new modes of ritique highlighting Asian America’s transnational and postcolonial history and poesis. Teaching Method: Lecture, Discussion, Readings, Class participation, Guest speakers, Writing assignments, Films / video. Evaluation Method: Presentations, attendance, class participation, mid-term pa per, final paper. Texts Include: Carlos Bulosan, America is in the Heart, University of Washington Press, 1974; Don Lee, Country of Origin, W. W.Norton and Company, 2004; Karen Tei Yamashita, Through the Arc of the Rainforest, Coffee House Press, 1990; Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies, Mariner Books, 1999; Susan Choi, Foreign Student, Harper Collins, 1992; John Okada, No-No Boy University of Washington Press, 1978; A required reader is available from Quartet Copies and films for the course will stream on blackboard. ENG 298 Introductory Seminar in Reading and Interpretation Course Description: English 298 emphasizes practice in the close reading and analysis of literature in relation to important critical issues and perspectives in literary study.Along with English 210-1,2 or 270- 1,2 it is a prerequisite for the English Literature Major. The enrollment will be limited to 15 students in each section. Nine sections will be offered each year (three each quarter), and their speci fic contents will vary from one section to another. No matter what the specific content, 298 will be a small seminar class that features active learning and attention to writing as part of an introduction both to the development of the skills of close reading and interpretation and to gaining familiarity and expertise in the possibility of the critical thinking.Prerequisites: One quarter of 210 or 270. Note: First class mandatory. No P/N registration. This course does NOT fulfill the WCAS Area VI distribution requirement. Fall Quarter: Jay Grossman Helen Thompson Wendy Roberts Winter Quarter: Betsy Erkkila Susie Phillips Carissa Harris Spring Quarter: Harris Feinsod John Alba Cutler Sarah Lahey FQ Section 20: MWF 11-11:50 TTh 9:30-10:50 TTh 3:30-4:50 TTh 9:30-10:50 TTh 11-12:20 TTh 2-3:20 MWF 2-2:50 TTh 11-12:20 TTh 3:30-4:50 Section 20 Section 21 Section 22 Section 22 Section 21 Section 20Section 20 Section 21 Section 22 Literary Study: â€Å"Coming to Terms† Jay Grossman M WF 11-11:50 Course Description: This seminar will introduce you to some of terms–and through these terms, to some of the materials, methods, theories, and arguments– that have become central to literary study today. By coming to know these terms, we will begin to come to terms with literary study in other, broader ways–to think about what the study of texts might have to do with reading, writing, and thinking in twenty-first century American culture.The seminar is organized around the following terms: writing, author, culture, canon, gender, performance. Some of these terms are of course familiar. Initially, some will seem impossibly broad, but our approach will be particular, through particular literary texts and critical essays. Throughout the course we will also return to two important terms that aren't a part of this list: literature (what is it? who or what controls its meaning? why study it? ) and readers (who are we? what is our relation to the text and i ts meaning[s]? what does â€Å"reading† entail? hat is the purpose of reading? what gets read and who decides? ). ?14 Teaching method: Mostly discussion. Evaluation method: Mandatory attendance and active participation. Shorter papers, some of them revised, and one longer final paper. No exams. Texts Include: Mostly fiction and poetry, including some of the following: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass; Emily Dickinson’s poetry; Elizabeth Bishop, Geography III; Michael Chabon, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh; Henry Blake Fuller, Bertram Cope’s Year; Critical Terms for Literary Study (eds.Lentricchia and McLaughlin; second edition). FQ Section 21: Romanticism and Criticism Helen Thompson TTh 9:30-10:50 Course Description: This seminar pairs a series of key texts in the history of critical thought with canonical fiction and poetry of the Romantic era. You’ll learn about critical movements— psychoanalysis, Marxism, feminism, and post- structuralism or deconstr uction—by testing their substantive and methodological claims against poems, novels, plots, images, and fictions.As the class proceeds, you’ll be able to mix and match critical and literary texts to experiment with the kinds of interpretations and arguments their conjunctions make possible. How do entities like history, class struggle, the unconscious, manifest versus latent content, patriarchy, the body, sex, gender, signification, and textuality continue to engender literary meaning and galvanize the claims we make for the poems and novels we read?We’ll pair Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto and William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience; Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; William Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads and key essays in Jacques Derrida’s theory of deconstruction; and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex. T here will be short supplemental critical or historical materials to flesh out some of these methodologies and provide context for the literary texts.Again, you’ll be encouraged to recombine authors and approaches as we proceed. A central aim of this class will be to facilitate your appreciation of not only the substantive claims made by Marx, Freud, Derrida, and Beauvoir, but also the methodological possibilities that their challenging worldviews open for the interpretation of literature. At the same time, we’ll appreciate that Blake, Shelley, Wordsworth, and Austen are also critical thinkers: indeed, perhaps their poetic and fictional texts anticipate the methodological and historical provocations offered by Marx and the rest.As we gain facility with some of the dominant methodological strands of literary analysis, we’ll think about their historical roots in the Romantic era and ponder the still urgent critical possibilities they open for us today. Teaching Met hod: Seminar. Evaluation Method: TBA FQ Section 22: Contact Wendy Roberts TTh 3:30-4:50 Course Description: European contact with the â€Å"new world† initiated various textual interpretations of people groups and cultures, including our own. The very project of defining what it means to be American can be said to egin in the first encounter with the other. It is often noted that the physical senses were central to this narrative in which textuality became linked to modernity and orality to the primitive. In many ways, the rich metaphor of â€Å"contact† is helpful for thinking about literary methodologies, which often attempt to make strange, at the same time that they attempt to understand, a given text. This course will introduce English majors to some of the key terms and issues in textual interpretation through reading American literature pertaining to contact, broadly conceived.Whether coming face to face with the savage Indian in the wilderness, or conversely, a white ghost, experiencing a supernatural event, or stepping onto American soil after surviving the Middle Passage, the texts we read will offer compelling narratives of rupture, displacement, and recreation helping us to reflect on the various methodologies literary studies offers for interpreting texts and the claims it makes on the real world. We will think about the definition of literature, our status as readers, and the way our encounter, contact, or discovery of a given text becomes literarily, culturally, and personally meaningful.Teaching Method: Discussion. 15 Evaluation Method: Participation, attendance, shorter writing assignments, group blog project, and one revised paper. Texts include: Mostly fiction and poetry, including some of the following: contact narratives by Christopher Columbus and Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, selection of Native American tales and songs, including contemporary poet Leslie Marmon Silko, Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative, John Marra nt’s conversion narrative, Phillis Wheatley’s poetry, Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Wieland, and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.WQ Section 20: Reading and Interpreting Edgar Allan Poe Betsy Erkkila TTh 9:30-10:50 Course Description: Edgar Allan Poe invented the short story, the detective story, the science fiction story, and modern poetic theory. His stories and essays anticipate the Freudian unconscious and various forms of psychoanalytic, poststructuralist, and modern critical theory. Poe wrote a spooky novel called The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and several volumes f poetry and short stories. As editor or contributor to many popular nineteenth- century American magazines, he wrote sketches, reviews, essays, angelic dialogues, polemics, and hoaxes. This course will focus on Poe's writings as a means of learning how to read and analyze a variety of literary genres, including lyric and narrative poems, the novel, the short story, detective fiction, s cience fiction, the essay, the literary review, and critical theory.We shall study poetic language, image, meter, and form as well as various story- telling techniques such as narrative point of view, plot, structure, language, character, repetition and recurrence, and implied audience. We shall also study a variety of critical approaches to reading and interpreting Poe’s writings, including formalist, psychoanalytic, historicist, Marxist, feminist, queer, critical race, poststructuralist, and postcolonial theory and criticism.We shall conclude by looking at the ways Poe's works have been translated and adapted in a selection of contemporary films and other pop cultural forms. Teaching Method: Some lecture; mostly close- reading and discussion. Evaluation Method: 2 short essays (3-4 pages); and one longer essay (8-10 pages); in-class participation. Texts Include: Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry, Tales, and Selected Essays (Library of America); M. H. Abrams and Geoffrey Galt Harpham: A Glossary of Literary Terms (Thomson, 8thEdition); Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, eds. Literary Theory: An Anthology (Blackwell, rev. ed. ). WQ Section 21: Songs and Sonnets Susie Phillips TTh 11-12:20 Course Description: Beginning with the sonnet craze in the late sixteenth century, this course will explore the relationship between poetry and popular culture, investigating the ways in which poets draw on the latest trends in popular and literary culture and, in turn, the ways in which that culture incorporates and transforms poetry—on the stage, in music, and on the screen.We will consider how poets borrow from and respond to one another, experimenting with traditional forms and familiar themes to make the old new. In order to recognize and interpret this experimentation, we will first study those traditional forms, learning to read and interpret poetry. While we will be reading a range of poems in modern editions, we will be situating them in their social, historical, lite rary and material contexts, analyzing the ways in which these contexts shape our interpretation.How for example might our reading of a poem change if we encountered it scribbled in the margins of a legal notebook or posted as an advertisement on the El rather than as part of an authoritative anthology? Teaching Method: Discussion. Evaluation Method: Two papers, short assignments, and class participation. Texts Include: Poetry by Shakespeare, Donne, Marlowe, Sidney, Spenser, Keats, Shelley, Williams, Stevens, and Eliot. WQ Section 22: Representing the Prostitute in Early Modern EnglandCarissa Harris TTh 2-3:20 Course Description: The London stage was continually populated by actors playing prostitutes, from the morality dramas of the 16th century to early 17th-century plays in which the prostitute takes 16 center stage, such as The Dutch Courtesan and The Honest Whore Part 1 and 2. Why was the figure of the prostitute particularly important to early modern English writers, and what did staging the prostitute mean for both authors and audiences?In this course we will explore how early modern English writers used the character of the prostitute to embody a variety of popular anxieties concerning female sexuality, social disorder, the continual influx of foreigners to London, the rapid spread of syphilis, urban growth, and widespread poverty. We will study the literary and cultural meanings of the prostitute, seeking to identify what precisely representing the prostitute on stage accomplished for both authors and audiences in early modern London.We will also investigate the roles the prostitute performs in particular genres, including satirical love poetry, erotica, gender debates, and drama. Readings for the course will include William Shakespeare’s comedy Measure for Measure, Thomas Dekker’s plays The Honest Whore Part 1 and 2, Thomas Nash’s poem A Choyse of Valentines, several short poems by court poet John Skelton, and John Marstonâ€℠¢s plays The Insatiate Countess (unfinished) and The Dutch Courtesan (selections). Teaching Method: Seminar. Evaluation Method: 2 short close-reading papers (3- 4 pp. , an in-class presentation with an accompanying paper (2 pp. ), and a final paper (5-7 pp. ). Texts include: Shakespeare, Measure for Measure (Arden Shakespeare edition); and a course reader Textbooks will be available at: Quartet Copies. SQ Section 20: Modern Poetry & Poetics: Experiments in Reading Harris Feinsod MWF 2-2:50 Course Description: This course offers an introduction to key texts and major paradigms for the reading and interpretation of modern poetry in English. The first half of the course contends with questions at the heart of the discipline of poetics: what is poetry?Is it of any use? How do poems employ figures, rhythms, sounds, and images to address problems of experience and society? How do poems acknowledge or reject tradition? How does poetry enhance or alter our relationships to language and to t hinking? We will read â€Å"experimentally,† pairing works by poets such as Dickinson, Yeats, Frost, Hughes, Stevens, Moore, Crane, Pound and Eliot with theoretical statements of poetics by Paz, Jakobson, Agamben, Stewart, Frye and others. This will allow us to gain fluency with poetic forms and genres, and to practice the fundamentals of close reading.In the second half of the course our attention will shift from individual poems to a series of scandalously inventive collections and sequences (including Williams, Brooks, Oppen, Ginsberg, O'Hara, or others). We will learn to shuttle with agility between the observations of minute formal elements and larger historical, performative, and transnational logics. We will continue to experiment widely and self-consciously with practices of close reading, but we will also flirt with alternatives such as â€Å"close listening† and â€Å"wild reading. We will move between an understanding of a â€Å"text† and its social â€Å"context,† between iterative â€Å"forms† and unrepeatable â€Å"performances,† between discrete â€Å"works† and the wider â€Å"networks† of poems to which they belong. At the conclusion of the course, we will begin to speculate about the future of poetry and poetics in the new media environment of the 21st century. Teaching Method: Lecture and discussion. Evaluation Method: frequent short writing assignments, one ~10 page paper, one in-class presentation. Careful preparation and participation is crucial.Texts include: Individual poems and collections by Dickinson, Yeats, Frost, Hughes, Stevens, Moore, Crane, Pound, Eliot, Williams, Bishop, Ginsberg, and others; criticism by Agamben, Adorno, Culler, de Man, Frye, Greene, Jakobson, Ramazani et. al. ; Brogan, The New Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms. This list is subject to change, contact me for the syllabus during enrollment. Texts available at: Beck’s Bookstore SQ Section 21: Adapt ation John Alba Cutler TTh 11-12:20 Course Description: This seminar will examine literary adaptation as a way to approach questions of reading, interpretation, genre, and literary culture.Literary works have much to teach us about the act of reading itself, especially when those works adapt some other source material and in the process 17 interpret it. The process of adaptation into poetry or fiction foregrounds how literary texts make meaning. Adaptation will thus provide us a framework for studying basic concepts from poetics, including meter, rhyme, and form, as well as from narratology, including point of view, characterization, plot, and narrative temporality. We will consider literary adaptation from a variety of perspectives: what choices do writers make when creating a work of fiction from historical records?Or a play from a poem? How have poets from the Early Modern period to the present used sources as various as the Bible and visual art as inspiration? What do all of th ese adaptations teach us about how literature compares to other forms of cultural production? The seminar will end by considering what happens when a canonical work of American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, becomes the subject of adaptation and re-adaptation. Teaching Method: Discussion Evaluation Method: Quizzes, short essays. Texts include: Poems by John Milton, W. H.Auden, Langston Hughes, and Frank O’Hara; â€Å"Benito Cereno,† by Herman Melville; A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry; and The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald SQ Section 22: Many Faces of Gothic Fiction Sarah Lahey TTh 3:30-4:50 Course Description: The Turn of the Screw has famously been interpreted as both a ghost story and a psychological drama. Some claim it is a novella about supernatural events, and others argue it revolves around a crazy governess suffering hallucinations. As a genre, gothic literature inspires an unusually diverse range of critical reacti ons.Yet, how many ways can we accurately read the same story? What prompts one form of criticism over another? What are the stakes of choosing to read a story in a particular way? These questions will drive our discussion as we examine classic works of gothic fiction in the British tradition from the 18th and 19th centuries. We also will pair each primary text with an excerpt of literary theory or criticism. Our aim is to understand the practice of literary criticism, while at the same time enjoying the thrills – and horrors – of gothicism’s most famous creations.Teaching Method: Discussion Evaluation Method: In-class presentation, two short papers (4-5 pages), and one longer paper (6-8 pages). Texts include: The Castle of Otranto (1764); Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824); Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886); Dracula (1897); and The Turn of the Screw (1898). ENG 302 History of the English Language Katherine Breen TTh 11-12:20 Fall Quarter Cours e Description: Have you ever noticed that, unlike many other languages, English often has two different names for the same animal?These double names can be traced back to 1066, when the French- speaking Normans, led by William the Bastard, conquered England and installed their countrymen in almost every position of power. In the aftermath of this victory, William the Bastard became William the Conqueror and cows and pigs and sheep became beef and pork and mutton – at least when they were served up to the Normans at their banquets. Like many other high-falutin’ words in English, these names for different kinds of meat all derive from French.As long as the animals remained in the barnyard, however, being cared for by English-speaking peasants, they kept their ancient English names of cow and pig and sheep. In this course we will investigate this and many other milestones in the history of the English language, focusing on the period from the Middle Ages through the eight eenth century. We will pay particular attention to the relationship between language and power, and to the ways people in these periods conceived of their own language(s) in relation to others.This class will also help you to develop a more sensitive understanding of the English language that you can bring to other classes and to life in general. Have you ever thought about analyzing a poem – or a political speech – in terms of which words come from Latin, which from French, and which from Old English? Teaching Method: Mostly discussion, with some lecture. Evaluation Method: Quizzes, a midterm exam, and a final exam, plus a couple of short papers and an oral report. Texts Include: David Crystal, The Stories of English; a course reader. 18Texts available at: Beck’s Bookstore and Quartet Copies NOTE: This course fulfills the English Literature major Theory requirement. ENG 306 Combined w/ CLS 311 Advanced Poetry Writing: Theory and Practice of Poetry Translation Reg Gibbons MW 2-3:20 Spring Quarter Course Description: A combination of seminar and workshop. Together we will translate several short poems and study theoretical approaches to literary translation and practical accounts by literary translators. We will approach language, poems, poetics, culture and theoretical issues and problems in relation to each other.Your written work will be due in different forms during the course. In your final portfolio, you will present revised versions of your translations and a research paper on translation.. Prerequisite: A reading knowledge of a second language, and experience reading literature in that language. If you are uncertain about your qualifications, please e-mail the instructor at to describe them. Experience writing creatively is welcome, especially in poetry writing courses in the English Department. Teaching Method: Discussion; group critique of draft translations; oral presentations by students.Evaluation Method: Written work (â€Å" blackboard† responses to reading, draft translations, revised translations, and final papers) as well as class participation should demonstrate students’ growing understanding of translation as a practice and as a way of reading poetry and engaging with larger theoretical ideas about literature. Texts include: Essays on translation by a number of critics, scholars and translators, in two published volumes and on the Course Management web site (â€Å"blackboard†). ENG 307 CROSS-GENRE Advanced Creative Writing: Finding a Place Goldie Goldbloom TTh 12:30-1:50 Fall QuarterCourse Description: Setting is an often overlooked aspect informing fiction, and yet, when we think back on our favourite books, what remains with us, besides character, is often connected with setting. What would Harry Potter be without Hogwarts? What would The Lord of the Rings be like without Middle Earth, Charlotte's Web without the farmyard, To Kill a Mockingbird without Maycomb, Alabama? We wi ll be examining setting in our own work and in the work of published writers, to determine what it adds to the dreamscape of a story, and how it can be manipulated to express hidden emotion.This is a workshop class, and you will be expected to bring in your own writing for analysis and critique. Prerequisites: Prerequisite English 206. No P/N registration. Attendance at first class is mandatory. This course may be used toward the inter-disciplinary minor in creative writing. Texts include: The Street of Crocodiles, Bruno Schulz, 978-0-14018625-5; Nadirs, Herta Muller, 978-0-80328254-4; Too Loud a Solitude, Bohumil Hrabal, 978-0-15690458-2; Being Dead, Jim Crace, 978-0-31227542-6; The Woman in the Dunes, Kobo Abe, 978-0-67973378-2; Bastard Out of Carolina, Dorothy Alison; Lord of the Rings, J.R. R. Tolkein ENG 307 Advanced Creative Writing: Fabulous Fiction Stuart Dybek TTh 12:30-1:50 FICTION Winter Quarter Course Description: Fabulous Fictions is a writing class that focuses on writ ing that departs from realism. Often the subject matter of such writing explores states of mind that are referred to as non- ordinary reality. A wide variety of genres and subgenres fall under this heading: fabulism, myth, fairy tales, fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, horror, the grotesque, the supernatural, surrealism, etc.Obviously, in a mere quarter we could not hope to study each of these categories in the kind of detail that might be found in a literature class. The aim in 307 is to discern and employ writing techniques that overarch these various genres, to study the subject through doing—by writing your own fabulist stories. We will be read examples of ? 19 fabulism as writers read: to understand how these fictions are made—studying them from the inside out, so to speak. Many of these genres overlap. For instance they are all rooted in the tale, a kind of story that goes back to primitive sources.They all speculate: they ask the question What If? T hey all are stories that demand invention, which, along with the word transformation, will be the key terms in the course. The invention might be a monster, a method of time travel, an alien world, etc. but with rare exception the story will demand an invention and that invention will often also be the central image of the story. So, in discussing how these stories work we will also be learning some of the most basic, primitive moves in storytelling.To get you going I will be bringing in exercises that employ fabulist techniques and hopefully will promote stories. These time tested techniques will be your entrances—your rabbit holes and magic doorways–into the figurative. You will be asked to keep a dream journal, which will serve as basis for one of the exercises. Besides the exercises, two full-length stories will be required, as well as written critiques of one another’s work. Because we all serve to make up an audience for the writer, attendance is mandatory . Prerequisites: Prerequisite English 206.No P/N registration. Attendance at first class is mandatory. addition to our readings and discussions of published fiction, we will spend time workshopping your own stories. Dependent on time, each student will have their creative prose workshopped twice. ENG 307 CROSS-GENRE Advanced Creative Writing: Cross-Genre Experiments Mary Kinzie TTh 2-3:20 Spring Quarter Course Description: A creative writing course for any undergraduate who has taken at least two of the Reading & Writing prerequisites (poetry and one prose course).We will explore the blending of prose with poetry in genres such as the â€Å"lyric essay† as well as the insertions of prose into works by poets; the blending of narrative with visual art (as in Donald Evans’s series of stamps

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer - 563 Words

Jon Krakauer presents Into The Wild a tragic tale of a young ambitious man who is motivated to go into the wilderness and discover his true identity.Jon krakauer conveys many messages to his readers through Chris McCandless, and his messages often offer a warning to society.we will furture idenitfy how the author delievers the warning to society and what effect it can have upon society today.Three of the very important messages he empatizes on are the societies influence on people,the essence of nature and the importance of fogriving someone. Firstly we see how jon krakauer uses people and societies influence as a prime example to pass a very important message.As we know American society seems to center around the idea of american dream of going to the best university and to buy a new car, a new house overall to buy anything and everything to look superior to others. This quote was said by chris which completly descirbes our materalistic society So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism.56-57 Through the character Chris Mccandless we see how troubled the author is by materalism and we also see authors disagreement to materalism when Chris denies his parents offer to buy him a new car and by putting the strong emphasis on materalism the writer makes the readers question the importance of the possesions and materalisms inShow MoreRelatedThe Wild By Jon Krakauer1096 Words   |  5 PagesAllyssa Mikes July 2012 Into the Wild Mr. Fertmann Throughout the non-fictional novel Into the Wild, the author Jon Krakauer catches the reader’s interest early on in the book. Krakauer takes us on a journey, telling the story of young Chris McCandless’ adventures after abandoning everything he owned. Krakauer fully emerged himself into the study of McCandless’ life’s adventures and soon developed a deep understanding of who he was and how he impacted to world. Krakauer connected with McCandless in anRead MoreInto The Wild By Jon Krakauer946 Words   |  4 Pagescompelling novel â€Å"Into The Wild† by Jon Krakauer the character and intelligence of the youth in men is questioned. Through the pieced together 200 page novel we are introduced to Christopher Johnson McCandless also known as â€Å"Alex Supertramp†. A ripe 24 years of age he chose to question our reality and his meaning of life that is given to us by hitchhiking across America to the Alaskan wilderness, where after four months in the last frontier he is found dead. Krakauer throughout the novel shows thatRead MoreInto The Wild By Jon Krakauer1330 Words   |  6 Pagesshared.† - Jon Krakauer Into the wild. Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild told the story of Chris McCandless. Chris escaped reality and went to go live off the land in Alaska, hoping to live a simpler life. In the novel, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless shared a similar philosophy with Jack London, as they both have a strong passion for Alaska, they both appreciated they beauty of nature, and both wanted to be reborn. In the novel, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandlessRead MoreInto The Wild By Jon Krakauer1349 Words   |  6 PagesSummary Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer is a true story about Chris McCandless who is found dead in the Alaskan wild during September 1992. After discovering that his father had a secret secondary family when Chris was young, Chris pushes away his friends and family and eventually isolates himself. He obtains $25,000 from his parents by lying about attending law school and drives away from home, deserting his real name. He later leaves his car in Georgia after an engine breakdown due to rain damageRead MoreThe Wild By Jon Krakauer1522 Words   |  7 Pagesvictories.† (Richard M. Nixon). In his investigative biography, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer, expresses that even though young people can be ignorant and take treacherous risks, these can be used as knowledge enhancers and can be life changers. Krakauer gives us insight by giving examples of what risk really are, how people take them, and how it actually affects those people. Throughout the whole book there are instances where krakauer uses real life examples of things that have happened where people haveRead MoreInto The Wild By Jon Krakauer Essay1237 Words   |  5 Pages Jon Krakauer s novel â€Å"Into the wild†, Is a story about a young man named Christopher McCandless or â€Å"Alex Supertramp† who went on a self discovering odyssey in which he had traveled around the U.S. The story surrounds Chris and his travels and what he had done at the time, leading to his death in August 1992. Thus the story takes a direction in the viewpoints of the people Alex has come across through in his travels. It speaks about what he had done at the time of his journey before he hadRead MoreInto The Wild By Jon Krakauer1013 Words   |  5 Pages Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, narrates the life of adventurer and free spirit Christopher McCandless, who died August 1992 in the Alaskan wilderness; however, his journey still remains relevant in today’s pop culture due to the unresolved controversy of whether he is a saintly role model or hubristic fool. Krakauer openly states that he â€Å"won’t claim to be an impartial biographer† (Author’s Note) due to the parallels he struck with McCandless, and provides a more idealistic approach to the biographyRead MoreInto the Wild by Jon Krakauer1516 Words   |  7 PagesRosselini, John Waterman and Carl McCunn. They all went to Alaska, just like Chris and died. After that Chris continued to canoe and got caught by the US officers when he was trying to get back into the US from Mexico. So he spent a night in jail. Krakauer then compared Chris to Everett Reuss. They both changed their names and they both disappeared. Chris applied for an ID as Alex Supertramp and found a job in Los Angeles. New York Times published about Alex’s death. Jim Gallien and Wayne WesterbergRead MoreInto the Wild: by Jon Krakauer1186 Words   |  5 Pagessense Krakauers natural liking for McCandless. He was sympathetic to McCandless, based on Krakauers sense of a shared experience in their youth and up until McCandless eventual death and Krakauers perceived near death experience on the Devils Thumb. I believe the author’s main point and perspective was formed from his own experience and relationship with his father. While the situations were basically reversed with Chris not approving of his father and Lewis Krakauer disappointed in Jon for notRead MoreThe Wild By Jon Krakauer990 Words   |  4 PagesWould choose a new car, a good job position and a high quality life or would you choose to give up all for a journey into the wild to discover the truth? Christopher Johnson McCandless choose ultimate freedom and truth rather than choosing security and material excess. The story into the wild is written by Jon Krakauer and it covers how Christopher lived for two years without the need of society and material excess. Chris journey enlightened him to the truth and made him feel the raw throb of existence