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Stephen F. Austin State University English 463, Elements of Craft

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Stephen F. Austin State University English 463, Elements of Craft Professor: Andrew Brininstool Section Number: 090 Office: LAN-256 Classroom: Ferguson 177 Office Hours: Tue: 11-12:30; Wed: 9-2 Meeting: TR 12:30-1:45 Email: [email protected] Phone: 936 468- 5659 “Randomness I love. And I still love just a holler right in the middle of an ongoing narrative. Pain or joy, ecstasy.” - Barry Hannah Overview The purpose of Elements of Craft is to help fiction writers improve their writing by training them to actively engage with texts--to read as a writer, rather than as a reader. In this course, we will be reading and discussing six larger texts (mostly novels) and two packets of shorter texts (mostly short stories), and while we will be discussing all of the elements that make up a piece of narrative art--setting, dialogue, characterization--the main thrust of this particular Elements course is concerned with the examination of perhaps the two most important literary styles of the twentieth and twenty-first century. In one corner, we have Minimalism. Antonin Chekhov (1860-1904) is often considered the father of what we now consider minimalist prose style. Rather than use this space to launch into a theoretical thesis on what Minimalism is and is not (don't worry: we'll be doing plenty of that later), here are a few brief quotes from writers who wrote or have written in this vein: Joan Didion: "I had...a technical intention...to write a novel so elliptical and fast that it would be over before you noticed it, a novel so fast that it would scarcely exist on the page at all....white space. Empty space. This was clearly the picture that dictated the narrative intention of the book -- a book in which anything that happened would happen off the page, a white book to which the reader would have to bring his or her own bad dreams." Ernest Hemingway: "...the dignity of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water.” Frederick Barthelme: "You're leaving room for the readers, at least for the ones who like to use their imaginations." In the other corner, we have Maximalism, a far less defined, less examined notion of literary style. Indeed, it is difficult to pin down when Maximalism began. Moby Dick has pages and pages devoted to technical and erudite how-to's on everything from cleaning fish to how to whale species. For this course, we are going to be looking at contemporary maximalism--a kind of reaction to the rise of Minimalism (1960s - 1980s). Zadie Smith: "It's all laughter in the dark - the title of a Nabokov novel and still the best term for the kind of writing I aspire to: not a division of head and heart, but the useful employment of both." To be clear, what we're talking about in this course is style, not genre. All of these novels and stories fall in line with Realism. They want to accurately portray how it feels to be alive and human. But these writers have developed radically different ways to manipulate language in order to accomplish this goal. Texts Abbott Awaits by Chris Bachelder Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen Sabbath’s Theater by Philip Roth Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace Selections from Donald Barthelme, Denis Johnson, Zadie Smith, Wells Tower, and Raymond Carver, et al. Assignments Participation 15 First Analysis (Minimalism) 15 Second Analysis (Maximalism) 15 Mimesis One 15 Mimesis Two 15 Presentation 10 Final Paper 15 Total 100 Attendance Policy: Mandatory. You are allowed three (3) absences. Your fourth absence will result in a half-letter grade reduction. Your sixth absence will result in a failing grade. I take roll within five minutes of the beginning of class. Decorum: Immature behavior—texting in class, falling asleep, etc.—will not be tolerated. Note: Unless you and I have come to an agreement, assume the following: I do not accept late work. I do not accept emailed work. I expect all work to be done when I have asked for it to be done, and turned in at the time I ask you to turn it in. Straying from these assumptions will result in negative consequences. Analysis and Mimesis: We will go into the particulars of these assignments later. The general idea here is that you will write an annotation—a close reading of an aspect of a novel—for a novel from the Minimalism camp, and an annotation for a novel from the Maximalism camp. You will also write a mimetic short story—that is, a new piece of creative fiction—that mimics some aspect of craft from the Minimalism camp, and again from the Maximalism camp. Presentation: From the six novels, you will be assigned one (along with one other student). The selections will be made by your professor. The selections will be arbitrary. You and your partner will be expected to begin class discussion for the week(s) we will be discussing the novel at hand. Final Paper: Your final paper will be an amalgamation of formal academic criticism and personal response to the works. Which is to say, it will be a well articulated and researched personal essay. Withheld Grades Semester Grades Policy (A-54) Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average. Students with Disabilities To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/. Academic Integrity (A-9.1) Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism. Definition of Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit. Please read the complete policy at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/academic_integrity.asp Tentative Class Schedule Week One – Aug. 27 Introduction to the class The Giraldi / Ohlin imbroglio Selected Essays Week Two – Sep. 3 What Is Style? Style / Genre / Movement / Paradigm Barry Hannah, Raymond Carver, Susan Minot, Ernest Hemingway Begin Didion Week Three – Sep. – 10 Discuss Didion Week Four – Sep. 17 Begin Bachelder Week Five – Sep. 24 Discuss Bachelder Week Six – Oct. 1 Begin Coetzee Week Seven – Oct. 8 Discuss Coetzee Analysis One Due Week Eight – Oct. 15 NO CLASSES Week Nine – Oct. 22 Mimesis One Due Selections from New York Times Begin Franzen Week Ten – Oct. 29 Discuss Franzen Week Eleven – Nov. 5 Discuss Franzen Begin Wallace Week Twelve – Nov. 12 Discuss Wallace Begin Roth Week Thirteen – Nov. 19 Discuss Roth Week Fourteen – Nov.26 Discuss Roth Week Fifteen – Dec. 3 Analysis Two Due Mimesis Two Due Week Sixteen – Dec. 10 Final Essay Due .
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