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E 349S David Foster Wallace—Honors E 349S l David Foster Wallace—Honors Instructor: Houser, H Areas: I Unique #: 35465 Flags: Writing Semester: Fall 2012 Restrictions: English Honors Cross-lists: LAH 350 Computer Instruction: N Prerequisites: Six semester hours of upper-division coursework in English. Description: This course covers the truncateD career of DaviD Foster Wallace (1962-2008), one of the most examineD anD lauDeD authors of his generation. We will read all of Infinite Jest (fasten your seat belts!) along with essays, short stories, anD selections from his other two novels, Broom of the System anD The Pale King. The following questions will motivate the course: ⋅ What is Wallace's place in US literary history? What is his project for a new fiction? ⋅ What are his positions on 20th-century US culture, meDia, anD technology? Can particular ways of reaDing anD writing intervene in these domains? ⋅ How can the inDiviDual navigate the onslaught of information in the 20th-21st centuries through the novel? By the end of the semester, you will be able to: ⋅ Read analytically across an author's body of work, and craft probing questions that participate in debates about this work. ⋅ Create compelling written responses to these questions by close reading, conducting careful research (if you choose), and integrating textual evidence. ⋅ Articulate opinions about the state and direction of contemporary fiction based on DFW's contributions to it. ⋅ Assess and revise your own and classmates' writing through peer review. Texts: Books at the University Co-Op. Packet at Jenn's Copies (2200 GuaDalupe St., 473.8669) Course Packet (also on BlackboarD anD blog) All by David Foster Wallace Brief Interviews with Hideous Men Consider the Lobster and Other Essays Girl with Curious Hair Infinite Jest The Pale King A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again Requirements & Grading: Participation (15%), 10 blog posts anD comments (10%), 2 short essays + revisions (15% each), final paper prospectus (5%), final presentation (10%), final essay + revision (30%). I calculate your graDe on a 1000-point scale that I convert to a letter graDe at the enD of the term. Numbers accord with letter grades as follows. (UT Doesn't recognize the grade of A+.) A = 940-1000 points C = 740-769.999 A- = 900-939.999 C- = 700-739.999 B+ = 870-899.999 D+ = 670-699.999 B = 840-869.999 D = 640-669.999 B- = 800-839.999 D- = 600-639.999 C+ = 770-799.999 F = 0-599.999 Schedule: C = Course packet and on BlackboarD SFT = A Supposedly Fun Thing… GWCH = Girl with Curious Hair CL = Consider the Lobster IJ = Infinite Jest BIHM = Brief Interviews with Hideous Men READINGS ASSIGNMENT DUE TH Meet w/ professor this 1 ⋅ Beginnings: Conversations with Wallace Week 8/30 week & next (optional) T Information sheet 9/4 ⋅ "A SupposeDly Fun Thing…" (SFT) ⋅ "Here anD There" (GWCH) Blog 1 Week 2 TH 9/6 ⋅ "E Unibus Pluram" (SFT) Presentations begin ⋅ "Interview with DFW," Larry McCaffery (C) ⋅ "Lost in the Funhouse," John Barth (C) T Blog 2 9/11 ⋅ "Octet" (BIHM) ⋅ "LynDon" (GWCH) Week 3 TH Broom of the System (hanDout) ⋅ 9/13 ⋅ "Joseph Frank on Dostoevsky" (CL) T ⋅ *Harry Ransom Center Visit Draft Paper #1 9/18 Meet in Lobby of HRC Week 4 TH Peer Letters 9/20 ⋅ Peer Review Workshop ⋅ "Brief Interview #20" (BIHM) T "ConsiDer the Lobster" (CL) ⋅ Final Paper #1 9/25 ⋅ "Incarnations of BurneD ChilDren" (C) "GooD OlD Neon" (C) Week 5 ⋅ TH "How to ReaD Infinite Jest" ⋅ 9/27 ⋅ Infinite Jest (1-68 + notes)1 T Blog 3 10/2 ⋅ IJ (68-156) TH 10/4 ⋅ IJ (157-227, read through the CV) Week 6 T IJ (227-317) ⋅ Blog 4 10/9 ⋅ "Host" (just skim, CL) Week 7 TH Draft Paper #2 (external 10/11 ⋅ IJ (317-379, enD at "…Deep") peer review) 1 Always read the endnotes as you go. Don't save them until the end. T ⋅ IJ (380-469) Blog 5 10/16 ⋅ "The Intentional Fallacy," Wimsatt & BearDsley (C) Week 8 TH ⋅ *Harry Ransom Center Visit Final Paper #2 10/18 Meet in Lobby of HRC T IJ (470-549) ⋅ Blog 6 10/23 "Forever OverheaD" (BIHM) ⋅ Week 9 TH IJ (550-648) 10/25 ⋅ T Blog 7 10/30 ⋅ IJ (648-719, enD at "…stones") Final Paper Prospectus TH Week 10 IJ (719-785) 11/1 ⋅ T Blog 8 11/6 ⋅ IJ (785-845) TH Week 11 11/8 ⋅ IJ (845-916, enD at "…lattice") T Blog 9 11/13 ⋅ IJ (916-981) Lipsky, "Lost Years & Last Days of DFW" (C) ⋅ TH ⋅ D.T. Max, "The UnfinisheD" (C) Week 12 11/15 George SaunDers, "Informal Remarks…" (C) ⋅ ⋅ Kenyon College Commencement ADDress (hanDout) T Blog 10 11/20 ⋅ The Pale King (5-6, 31-45, 68-87, 156-254) TH THANKSGIVING – NO CLASS Week 13 11/22 safe travels. eat well T Draft Final Essay 11/27 ⋅ The Pale King (255-311, 378-387, 412-416, 446-511, 539-540) Week 14 TH Peer Letters 11/29 ⋅ *Peer Review Workshop T Presentations 12/4 ⋅ TH Week 15 12/6 ⋅ Presentations T Final Paper due (5pm, PAR 228) Finals 12/11 Policies: TECH DEVICES No phones, laptops, tablets, etc. in class. HONOR CODE I invite discussion anD exchange outside of class, but you must abide by the Honor CoDe, which reaDs: "The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, Discovery, freeDom, leaDership, inDiviDual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the University is expecteD to upholD these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community." Plagiarizing anD claiming credit for others' work have serious consequences. Plagiarizing means using any worDs or iDeas that are not your own without citing them. I encourage you to go through the library tutorial on plagiarism. If you aren't sure what constitutes dishonorable conDuct, please ask me or consult the Academic Integrity site. ABSENCES & LATE WORK Attendance and participation are mandatory. After 3 absences, your final graDe will drop 50 points (out of 1000) anD continue to lower with each aDDitional absence. After 9 absences, you will not receive creDit for the course. Habitual lateness will also lower your graDe. If you have an illness or other emergency, please contact me immeDiately. If you're struggling with an assignment, request an extension at least two Days before the deadline. For every day that an assignment is late, I reduce your grade by 1/3 (a B+ woulD become a B). Special note on religious holy Days: By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your penDing absence at least 14 Days prior to the date of an observed holy day. If you miss a class or an assignment, you'll be able to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. EMAIL PROTOCOL Email is the primary means of communication for this course. Check email Daily for announcements, anD I'll responD to your email in a timely manner in turn. Announcements will also be posted in relevant sections of BlackboarD anD our blog. ON-CAMPUS RESOURCES ⋅ Services DocumenteD Disability Support (SSB 4.206) StuDents with Disabilities may request appropriate academic accommoDations from the Services for StuDents with Disabilities online or at 471-6259 or 232-2937 (viDeo phone). UnDergraDuate Writing Center (FAC 211) offers free, inDiviDualizeD, expert help with writing at any stage of the process. Appointments and walk-ins available. Harry Ransom Center holds the archive of Wallace's manuscripts, correspondence, and library. Also collects Wallace's contemporaries anD preDecessors. (Two class visits scheDuleD.) Web Site: BlackboarD, anD course blog .
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