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ENGLISH 823 / Fall 2003 Fragmented
Narratives in Contemporary Professor: Sandra Jamieson <http://www.dept.drew.edu/engl/sjamieso/> Contact: (email):
sjamieso@drew.edu (office phone): 973.408.3499 (home phone):
908.757.1051 Class meetings: Tuesdays, Office: S.W. Bowne 118,
(Office
hours for this class): Tuesdays, The Class
The fragmented
narrative is not a new phenomenon within the history of the
novel–-indeed the earliest novels adopted what we might call a
fragmented form. Nor are theories of narrative new; however, Narrative
Theory as such is still quite new, developing in Europe after World
War II. As they shifted from interpretation of what texts "mean" to
how they "work," as Jameson puts it, these theorists studied
narrative structure in the hope of developing a model that could
apply to all novels, and later to all forms of narrative in a
multitude of disciplines. Others have developed and problematized
those models, exploring narrative structure from a socio-cultural
perspective and considering the role of social class and narratives of
identity in story-telling structure. Yet
others have explore the fragmented novel as
a
function of postmodernity. According to
Ramón Saldívar, the creation of fragmented narratives can be
interpreted
as "a strategy to enable readers to understand their real conditions
of existence in postindustrial twentieth-century The Texts
*Available from
the professor, not in the bookstore. #Also
available on reserve in the library The Research
Component This course is
designated a "research emphasis" course. This means that as part of
the course, members of the class will explore resources available
through the library and practice using them in ways that will further
their entry into the academic discipline of English and the
professional life of an academic. For this class the research
component will dovetail into the formal paper as follows: Conference proposal: Jody Caldwell will work with course members to identify topics and sources, as will other Library faculty. We will also discuss appropriate topics in class. I will provide lots of information about conference proposals and feedback on your topics along the way, and I urge everyone--especially those who have completed a year or more of coursework--to actually submit the conference proposal. The worst that can happen is that it gets accepted . . . The Writing
Projects Conference Proposal Due Dates: The final conference proposal package (the complete annotated bibliography, the conference proposal, and one or more calls for papers/conference descriptions for which it might be appropriate) is due December 16 along with the final paper (see below). The Final Paper: Most professional organizations produce annual annotated bibliographies of sources in their field. Several journals also produce annotated bibliographies (including The National Council of Teachers of English and the Modern Language Association) and many scholars keep their own annotated bibliographies within their fields, at least for areas of particular interest. The annotated bibliographies you prepare for this class will help you develop and refine this habit. Final bibliographies will be shared with all class members and will be used as a resource for the final paper. Position papers The Scholarly
Community In
order to practice your professional paper-giving skills, two students
per week will present position papers on that week’s
reading. The goal of these presentations is to BRIEFLY apply the
theories we have read and discussed to the novel assigned for that
week and raise questions of narrative and related issues (see above).
Students reading position papers will deliver the presentation
formally, and will then lead class discussion on the issue raised in
that position paper. Following the assigned presentations, we
will discuss other issues raised in other position papers and the works in
general. Class
participation is your invitation to enter the academic community.
Academics talk to each other at conferences, on listservs and
discussion
groups, and through books and articles. Thoughtful class participation
helps to prepare you for full entrance into the academic
community. Academics also share their ideas and texts as they
are in development, and the dialog that follows enriches our work
(and our lives). For this reason, English 823 is a seminar; however,
a seminar is only as strong as its weakest member. If you are
to make this class a partnership in learning you will need to be
prepared for class, you will need to participate thoughtfully, and
you will need to respect the other students in the class. Final Grades Grades
will be determined based on the conference proposal, the final paper,
the annotated bibliography, presentations, and class participation,
with the greatest weight placed on the final paper. I will be happy
to discuss your progress at any point. Schedule
Introduction,
film September 9: Martin Wallace, Recent
Theories of Narrative September 16: Thomas
Pynchon, The Crying of September 23: Paul Auster,
"City of September 30: Don DeLillo, White
Noise. October 7: John Dos
Pasos, The 42nd Parallel (Book I of October 14: Draft conference proposal package due October 14: Frederic
Jameson, an extract from The Political Unconscious:
Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act.
October 21: Toni Cade
Bambara, The Salteaters. October 28: Toni Morrison, November 4: Alternate due date for draft conference proposal package November 4: Ramón
Saldívar, extracts from Chicano Narrative: The Dialectics of
Difference Rolando
Hinojosa, This Migrant Earth November 11: Maxine Hong
Kingston, The Woman Warrior November 18: Gerald Vizenor, Narrative
Chance: Postmodern Discourse on Native American Indian Literatures; November 25:
Thanksgiving. No class. December 2: Last
class Leslie Marmon
Silko, Ceremony December 16:
Final paper and conference proposal package due contact the professor
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