To the 10th Decade 10th Decade

American Literature in the Twentieth Century

	Syllabus
	Required Books Zora Neale Hurston: Their Eyes Were Watching God Robert Lowell: Life Studies Don DeLillo: The Names Shelley Jackson: Patchwork Girl Supplies Hardback notebook or ring-binder and paper for journal Two-pocket folder for submission of papers Computer discs A dictionary (preferably one you can bring to class) A writers' handbook
	Course Description Welcome to English 201. In reading and writing about literature, we discover our ability to inhabit others' minds and see through others' eyes. Every sentence we read maps a nano-second in our culture's inner life. Every sentence we write inscribes us, however faintly, into that consciousness. The authors assigned in this course clinically dissect their own moment of history, and ask us, as readers, to peel open the twentieth century, America's century, and investigate how words have made us who we are. But what is said is only half the story. These authors also interrogate how it is said. Words trigger a personal response in each of us and this course emphasizes our creativity as readers and writers. It is not a search for the 'right' interpretation of Emily Dickinson or Zora Neale Hurston or Don DeLillo but an investigation of how we, as individuals, create meaning from words. Why do some lines of poetry never leave us and whole books vanish as if we had never read them? How do writers use characters, images and voices to shape their material and reach out to their audience? How do writers slide past our prejudices, or leave us angry or lonely when we turn the page? Does the writer provide only the raw materials, and we, the audience create a new story every time we read? Close reading, a technique that involves the detailed analysis of the language, tone, structure and ideas of a work, will balance intensive writing in journals, in formal papers, and on-line to answer these questions. Once achieved, the skills of the sophisticated reader and imaginative communicator should not only help you to undertake advanced work in your major but also equip you for critical thought and action in the world beyond GMU.
	Course Requirements Papers You will be asked to write 10 short, one-page papers (350 words minimum) over the semester, with the first paper due in week three. The paper should focus intensively on a single question related to each week's reading, and I shall provide suggestions for paper topics one week in advance. You may also choose your own subject, and write more than 350 words, if you wish. The short papers allow you to write as you read, and enable me to offer much more detailed feedback on your thinking and writing than the three- or four-essay format. Each paper should have an introduction, a conclusion and a thesis which you argue through a logical sequence of paragraphs, and support with relevant evidence drawn from your readings. Each paper should be typed and double-spaced, and I do count words. Each writer in the class will be allowed one late paper: thereafter, I shall deduct one grade for every day the paper is late. Each paper may also be revised once, if you wish to develop an idea further or improve your grade. Reading partners Working with a partner also stimulates creativity through the informal exchange of ideas, opinions and arguments. Each writer in class will be assigned a reading partner so that my comments are not the only feedback on your work. When you submit your weekly paper to me, you should also give a copy to your reading partner. Over the next week, partners should respond to ideas, structure, and presentation in the paper and return thorough, legible comments that might help their colleagues revise their papers. You should think also of discussing readings and assignments together. We may switch reading partners once during the semester. Research Project You will be asked to develop a research project with a partner, and to create a hypertext presentation of your conclusions suitable for posting on the class web page at the end of the semester. This format allows each pair to participate as thinkers and writers in the wider intellectual community beyond George Mason. Do not worry if you are unfamiliar with the technology or with the writing of hypertext. I plan to cover the basics in class, and the Media Authoring Center offers intensive training in creating web pages (especially if you do not wait until the last four weeks of the semester when every student assigned a web project is lining up for help). The presentation constitutes your major research project for the class: each writer should be prepared to read, write and research imaginatively. Reading Journal The reading journal should constitute your own personal record of your encounter with the assigned readings and you may write as informally as you wish. Copy into the journal phrases and sentences you admire or which provoke ideas or reactions from you. Note down your own interpretations of paragraphs or sections, your ideas for class discussion or questions you want to raise. Write as you read: the journal should work as an active part of your reading process. If you read a section, then try to write the journal entry later, you may well forget your best ideas. Write one journal entry for each assigned reading: I again plan to provide study questions to help focus your reading. I read journals once a week and offer one-to-one feedback on your ideas. Quizzes Ten quizzes. No trick questions. No make-up days. Class participation This course is a discussion and workshop class. Class participation thus counts in the final grade. I am looking for evidence that you have completed and thought about the assigned readings. I am also looking for your willingness to participate in all class activities, whether full-class discussions, small-group workshops or the on-line discussion group. Here I give high marks for effort, not just for the intellectual quality of your responses.
	Grades The course is graded out of a total of 300 points, which are allocated as follows:-  Papers 100 points  Journal 50 points  Research Project 50 points  Final Examination 40 points Class Participation 30 points Quizzes 30 points Conferences One-to-one conferences are your time: bring a list of questions, a paper you want to revise or requests for writing or research help. I schedule some conferences formally but I am also available in the office every week. If you do not understand an assignment, or are encountering difficulties with the readings, please do not wait for an official conference time, or try to find a solution via a quick question before or after class. Drop by during office hours, make a specific appointment or send me a detailed e-mail. Most of my enjoyment in this class comes from my encounter with your ides. I look forward to talking to you.

Class Schedule
Week One
19 January	Introduction to the course
Assignment	"What is Literature?" See handout for guidance
21 January	Tricks of the Trade: Reading I
Assignment	Read and respond to Emily Dickinson, "My Life..." Use study questions for guidance.
Week Two
26 January	Tricks of the Trade: Reading II
Assignment	Read sample questions for paper#1 carefully. Bring any quesries to class on Wednesday. Read and respond to Emily Dickinson, "Tell all the Truth.." and "Because I could not stop for Death"
28 January	Computers, Literature and Writing (Meet in in Robinson A105)
Assignment	Read and respond to the assigned essay from The George Mason Review. See handout for guidance
Week Three
2 February	Tricks of the Trade: Writing
Assignment	Complete paper #1
4 February	Paper#1 due Like and Is
Assignment	Respond to H.D. "Eurydice" and Marianne Moore "Those Various Scalpels"
Week Four
9 February	Ghosts
Assignment	Read and respond to T. S. Eliot, "The Wasteland" (Extracts
11 February	Paper #2 due Fragments
Assignment	Read Their Eyes Were Watching God, Chapters 1-3. Listen to at least three songs on the Bessie Smith recording on reserve in the Johnson Center
Week Five
16 February	Voices
Assignment	Read Their Eyes Were Watching God, Chapters 4-6. Watch Dust Tracks on a Road (on reserve in the Johnson Center)
18 February	Paper #3 due Narration
Assignment	Read Their Eyes Were Watching God, Chapters 7-13
Week Six
23 February	Conflict and Space
Assignment	Read Their Eyes Were Watching God, Chapters 14 -20
25 February	Paper #4 due Hubris
Assignment	Read Muriel Rukeyser, "The Road," "Statement," "Gauley Bridge," "Mearl Blankenship," and "Absolom." Watch Matewan (on reserve in the Johnson Center)
Week Seven
2 March	Art or Journalism?
Assignment	Read hypertext pages TBA
4 March	Paper #5 due Web pages and hypertext
Assignment	Read Muriel Rukeyser, "The Disease," "George Robinson," "The Doctors," "Alloy," "The Dam," "The Disease: After-Effects" and "The Book of the Dead."
Week Eight
9 & 11 March	Spring Break NO CLASSES
Week Nine
16 March	Poem or prose?
Assignment	Read Robert Lowell, Life Studies, "My Last Afternoon with Uncle Devereux Wilson," "Dunbarton," "Grandparents," "Commander Lowell," and "Terminal Days at Beverley Farms."
18 March	Paper # 6 due Confession
Assignment	Read Lowell, "Father's Bedroom," "For Sale," "Sailing Home from Rapello," "Waking in the Blue," and "Home after Three Months Away."
Week Ten
23 March	Irony
Assignment	Read Lowell, "Memories of Lepke" and "Skunk Hour." Read Elizabeth Bishop and Philip Larkin handouts
25 March	Paper #7 due Codes of Authenticity/Planning projects (Meet in Robinson A 105)
Assignment	Read Don DeLillo, The Names, Chapters 1-3
Week Eleven
30 March	Paranoia
Assignment	Read Don DeLillo, The Names, Chapters 4-5
1 April	Paper #8 due Conspiracy
Assignment	Read Don DeLillo, The Names, Chapters 6-8
Week Twelve
6 April	Foreknowledge
Assignment	Read Don DeLillo, The Names, Chapters 9-10
8 April	Paper #9 due Research projects (Meet in Robinson A 105)
Assignment	Read Don DeLillo, The Names, to the end
Week Thirteen
13 April	The Names
Assignment	Finish paper #10
15 April	Paper #10 due Project Planning
Assignment	Explore Shelley Jackson, Patchwork GirlCompare the experience of reading hypertext with that of reading a conventional book. Use handout for guidance.
Week Fourteen
20 April	The Body (Meet in computer lab TBA)
Assignment	Read hypertext articles on Patchwork Girl.
22 April	The Lexia (Meet in Robinson A105)
Assignment	Explore Patchwork Girl
Week Fifteen
27 April	Creating Knowledge (Meet in computer lab TBA)
Assignment	Complete Web Project
29 April	Presentations (Meet in Robinson A105

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