University of Virginia Department of Politics
PLPT 4060: POLITICS & LITERATURE Fall 2013
Professor Lawrie Balfour W 1-3:20 S395 Gibson Hall Room: 142 Gibson Office hours: Wed. 10:30-12:30, 924-4631 or by appointment
This advanced, interdisciplinary seminar considers how works of fiction enhance our understanding of the terms of democratic life. The theme of the seminar in the Fall of 2013 is the life and afterlife of slavery in American political experience. Our core texts will be Moby Dick, Invisible Man, and Beloved. In addition to considering these novels as works of political theory, we will read related work by writers from the antebellum, Jim Crow, and post-civil rights eras. With them, we will ask the following questions: How do these authors address the political circumstances of their own times in their work? In what ways do they make use of the presence of the past; how do they redescribe familiar histories or bring silenced histories to the fore; and how do they address the legacies of historic injustice (slavery, colonialism, and state violence)? In what ways do different texts work on their readers and what, if any, are the political consequences? How do the authors contribute to our understanding of ourselves as individuals and as citizens and to our conception of political identity (local, national, global)?
Required Texts: The readings marked by an asterisk in the syllabus are available in the "Resources" section on Collab. The following required books are available for purchase.
Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark (Vintage) Herman Melville, Moby Dick (Oxford) Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Herman Melville, Benito Cereno (Bedford) Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (Vintage) James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son (Beacon) Toni Morrison, Beloved (Vintage) Toni Morrison, Home (Vintage)
There is also one copy of each book on reserve in Clemons Library. Please bring the assigned readings, including those on Collab, with you to every class.
Course Requirements
Reading:
Be warned: there is a lot of reading for this course. I will provide questions every week to help guide you, and I will identify important chapters or passages whenever possible. Although the books are big, it is crucial that you set aside sufficient time and energy to read reflectively. You should come to class prepared to discuss the central ideas in the text(s), raise questions about them, and offer your own interpretations. As you take notes on the reading, be sure to identify passages that strike you as particularly important and those that are confusing or unclear to you.
1 Writing:
There will be two 5-6-page essays and one 8-10-page essay. I will post the questions on Collab at least two weeks before the deadline and will include a set of guidelines for writing political theory papers with the first set of essay questions. Please consult these guidelines before and during the writing of each essay. You will have the option to devise your own question for the final essay, if you receive approval in advance.
Extensions will only be granted on rare occasions and only with permission in advance from me (there is no guarantee that an extension will be approved). Late papers will be penalized 1/3 of a letter grade per day, and the penalties will begin to accrue immediately after the deadline has passed.
Participation/Attendance:
The success of the seminar depends on you! Active, thoughtful participation in class discussion is essential. You will be expected to complete all of the reading before class, to come prepared to ask critical questions, and to listen and respond to the questions and comments of the professor and other students. Repeated lateness will count as an unexcused absence, and more than one unexcused absence will affect your grade.
As part of your participation grade, you will be expected to post a brief essay (approximately one page, single-spaced of typed text or 400 words) to the readings in the Collab discussion section by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the class. This response can explore a question and/or offer a statement about a particular dimension of the reading. Alternatively, it can tie together material from a particular week or across weeks, or it may offer a detailed reaction to someone else’s comment. Ideally, the entry will be thought-provoking and will serve as a springboard for discussion in class. You are responsible for the response essay even when you cannot make it to class, and you may take a pass on one week of your choice. Please try to read all of the reflections before class. Late comments will not receive credit, and technological difficulties will not count as an excuse.
Laptops will not be allowed.
Grading: You must complete each component of the course in order to pass the course. The final grade will be determined as follows: Class participation (including on-line discussions): 25% Papers #1 and 2: 20% apiece Paper #3: 35%
Reading and Class Schedule
August 28: Introduction
September 4: Morrison, Playing in the Dark; Melville, Moby Dick, Etymology-ch.23
2 September 11: Melville, Moby Dick, ch.24-90
September 18: Melville, Moby Dick, ch.91-Epilogue
September 25: Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
October 2: Melville, Benito Cereno
* Paper #1 due at my office by noon on Monday, October 7 *
October 9: Ellison, Invisible Man, Prologue-ch.13
October 16: Ellison, Invisible Man, ch.14-Epilogue
October 23: James Baldwin, Notes of a Native Son
October 30: Howe, "Black Boys and Native Sons"*; Ellison, "The World and the Jug"*; Arendt, "Reflections on Little Rock"*; Warren/Ellison, "Leadership from the Periphery"*; Allen, “Invisible Citizens: on Exclusion and Domination in Ralph Ellison and Hannah Arendt”*
* Paper #2 due at my office by noon on Monday, November 3 *
November 6: Morrison, Beloved, parts I and II
November 13: Morrison, Beloved, part III; Morrison, "The Site of Memory"*
November 20: Morrison, "Unspeakable Things Unspoken"*; screening of Django Unchained
December 4: Morrison, Home; Morrison, "Home"*
* Paper #3 due at my office by noon on Monday, December 9 *
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