Writing and Sexual Politics: what’s love got to do with it? | ENGL 1105 Goldwin Smith Hall 283 | MWF 1:25pm to 2:15pm Katie Thorsteinson | [email protected] Office hours by appointment “My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love” (1990) might be the most famous graffiti painting that appears in Berlin’s East Side Gallery— a nearly mile-long stretch of the remaining Berlin Wall. The kiss may seem like satire, but artist Dmitri Vrubel simply replicated a 1979 photograph of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker which was taken in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of the German Democratic Republic–East Germany. Fraternal kisses among socialist leaders were not unusual, even if these dictators seem slightly more enthusiastic than most. While graffiti totally covered the West side wall throughout its three-decade existence, the East side was forbidden from access and thus left entirely blank. After the Berlin Wall’s fall in 1989 signaled an end to the Cold War, Vrubel painted this graffiti on the East side to celebrate German reunification and taunt the old communist order. His was only one among hundreds of paintings to appear on the East Side Gallery during that period, but something about the kiss has infatuated people around the world and it continues to signify politically today— sometimes to ironize the nepotism of government officials, or to emasculate political leaders, and now even to fight for LGBTQ rights. The image is, indeed, both true to life and open to interpretation. On the one hand, it is a reminder that power often functions through love. The Cold War was decided by economic and diplomatic factors, but the opposition between capitalism and communism can really be understood as different models of love (collectivist/individualist, duty- bound/freedom-bound, and so forth). On the other hand, the image is an example of the power of love to change the political present. After all, this is how the labor of love we call “art” works its magic upon us. Throughout this course, we will be pursuing this question: what’s love got to do with it? Is it constraint or salvation? What are its forms and how do they function differently? How might desire complicate our theories of power? And why do we turn to art, literature, music, and cinema to answer these questions about love? We will read feminist arguments about how romance enables gender oppression, Black civil rights debates about religious love and forgiveness, as well as queer critiques of the nuclear family along with their celebrations of friendship and sexual desire. Learning objectives and outcomes: In essays and other required writing, you should develop and demonstrate competency in the following areas: • an ability to debate and discuss ideas in an open and creative manner with colleagues. • an ability to formulate theses and supporting arguments effectively, organize ideas clearly, use evidence appropriately, understand correct register and genre to meet reader expectations, as well as apply proper diction and mechanics (proofreading). • an understanding of the strengths/limitations of different reading approaches and types of argument. • an ability to interpret, summarize, extend, critique, and reclaim different cultural/literary theories. • an appropriate use of primary and secondary sources; proficiency and creativity with research methods. • a consistent application of MLA formatting and style. • an ability to use preparatory writing strategies such as drafting, revision, and peer review. • an ability to critically analyze the literary or formal qualities of different texts and media: e.g., themes, motifs, narrative structure, style, mediation, and other audio/visual techniques; Such analysis will form the basis for essay topics. Texts: You will be asked to read an average of 40 pages every Monday and every Friday (a total of 80 pages per week). For those weeks that you are asked to watch/listen to other media, your readings may be reduced. *Required: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, Beloved by Toni Morrison, The Book of Salt by Monique Truong *Blackboard: Many readings will be posted on our course Blackboard site. You are responsible for reading these texts and bringing annotated copies to class. *Note about films: In this course you will watch many films in addition to your readings. These will all be available through the library system and online through Blackboard. I suggest watching these at home where you can pause or rewind your viewing and enlarge images. But if you wish to coordinate a group viewing amongst yourselves outside of class time, I can help you make these arrangements. If you choose this latter option and request my help, please give me considerable notice. Grading guidelines: *80% Portfolio What is the portfolio? Your portfolio is the collection of all written material you produce this semester. You may notice there are a greater number of assignments in this course than other FWS sections. Please note this is because several of the assignments are very short (1 or 2 pages). I have split them up this way to give you more chances to improve with feedback and preparation, but the total number of pages you write will be 2 of 8 equivalent to that in other FWS sections. The weight of each assignment in your portfolio is broken down roughly as follows: #1 (ungraded) Diagnostic essay [2-3 pages] #2 (5%) Summary [3 pages] #3 (10%) Reparative reading [4-5 pages] #4 (5%) Creative writing [3-4 pages] #5 (5%) Proposal [1 page] #6 (5%) Annotated bibliography and counter argument [2 pages] #7 (10%) Close reading [5 pages] #8 (15%) Comparative reading [7 pages] #9 (5%) Peer review [1-2 pages] #10 (10%) Final project [with 2-3 pages] #11 (10%) Weekly blog reflections [5-10 pages] Assignments 3, 7, and 8 can be revised as many times as you like to improve your grade, all others receive a fixed grade unless I say otherwise in my feedback. This means that 35% of your final grade can be improved through revision. Many of the assignments you will be doing this semester build off one another as a sequence and thus revision will be one of the most important components in my grading. Before submitting revisions, you must arrange to meet with me for an in-person review. Why are we being graded this way? Because assignments are sequenced, you have more time to fully develop your thoughts and write more rigorous and polished pieces of scholarship. By delaying the finality of your grades for the two weightiest assignments, there is less pressure for you to perfect each before submitting them to me. My focus in reading your papers will thus be to engage with your ideas and to provide constructive feedback rather than to evaluate your work as though it were a finished product. This method of evaluation also enables me to “grade between the lines” since I will be witness to all the behind-the-scenes work of discussion, planning, revision, and editing. Ultimately, I will be grading your performance as a student more holistically. I will be evaluating how you navigate the writing process, not merely what you submit as the finished product. *10% Class participation This portion of your final grade will be determined by a combination of your class attendance and punctuality, as well as your engagement in class exercises and individual conferences. I also expect you to post reading responses on our class blog every other week. These preparatory discussions are crucial for ensuring that we can put our different readings together meaningfully in class and will also familiarize you with a different writing medium. All too often, theory and practice remain distinct forms of political engagement. It can be difficult to create spaces for social activism in the University, but I will acknowledge evidence of praxis in the grading of your class participation. If this applies to you, please make time to discuss with me what you are doing and what your work involves. I will ask you to write a very short and informal reflection on your work at the end of the semester and will credit you for a portion of your participation grade. *10% Presentations You will each be responsible for planning and instructing two classes this semester in small groups. Your tasks will consist of the following: assign brief readings, design teaching plans, lead exercises or discussions, and write de-briefs. Each of these student-led classes will fall on a different Wednesday throughout the term. Through consultation with me, your groups will organize the content and approach to these classes. The purpose of these "presentations" is 1) to extend more responsibility and agency to you over your own learning, 2) to encourage peer instruction and active engagement with course content, and 3) to introduce you to other genres of writing and activities in the discipline. Grading contract: Assignments 2, 5, 6, and 9 are graded according to the rubrics available on our Blackboard page. My guarantee: if you complete all assignments on time, if your work adequately responds to the instructions provided, and if you meet all other requirements included in this syllabus, then you will achieve a B or better in this course. Other guidelines: * Content: This course includes material that is graphic and that touches directly on topics such as colonial oppression, criminal and state violence, sexuality and gender, race and racism, bodily and intellectual ability, and religion. If you are ill at ease with any of these topics, I very much hope that you will nonetheless remain in this course to discuss and learn in a welcoming intellectual environment.