SUNY Cortland English Department ENG 529: The Postmodern Sacred

Course Information: Professor Information: 3 Credit Hours Dr. Marni Gauthier Spring 2011 Phone: 753-2076 Office: Old Main 114E Office Hours: T 1:15-3, R 8:30-9:45 Tues 4:20-6:50 p.m. & by appointment E-mail: through our myRedDragon classroom Required Texts: ¥ Don DeLillo, “The Angel Esmeralda” (1994) ¥ Louise Erdrich, Tracks (1988) ¥ Toni Morrison, Paradise (1998) ¥ Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (1992) ¥ *Films: Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut (1993); Contact (1997); The Matrix (1999); The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001): (all on 2-hr reserve in the Library) *NB: Like the written texts, the films are required texts for this course. You are responsible for viewing each film no more than one week prior to our class discussion of it--even if you have previously seen it. This is because each film needs to be fresh in your mind as we refer to it in class--juxtaposing and close reading specific scenes; additionally, you will have assigned papers on the films. If there is interest and/or need, I will arrange on-campus screenings of the films on evenings prior to our class discussions of them; we will discuss this further in class. ¥ Required secondary readings (on e-Reserve at Memorial Library): where citation is absent in the Course Schedule (below), it is listed on the Sign-up Sheet for Oral Presentations.

Course Description, Goals and Objectives: The (re)emergence of the sacred in a secular, contemporary world has been variously dubbed the “postmodern sublime”; the “postsecular”; the “postmodern sacred.” This course will map this cultural terrain by exploring several new forms of religiously inflected seeing and being. The novels and films depict postsecular movements and possibilities that theorists and sociologists treat more abstractly. The stories they tell invent new forms of faith that are, to various extents, partial and open-ended. To what extent do they reflect or illuminate the world in which we live?

A key feature of postmodernism is its collapse of many binary distinctions; and the postmodern sacred— in its collapse of fixed traditions such as religious/secular, Christianity/Islam, Judaism/Islam, East/West and, finally, sacred/profane--is no exception. The texts we will study are filled with spiritual signifiers cobbled together from various traditions and myths. In this enunciation of the sacred to engage a contemporary audience, it can be said that the postmodern sacred consumes the spiritual. At the same time, a hungry market consumes these texts. They circulate in the contemporary currents of global capital; i.e. they are part and parcel of what Frederic Jameson has called “the cultural logic of postmodernism.” What does the popularity of the postmodern sacred suggest?

Finally, what is the relationship of genre to the contemporary entanglement of the sacred and the profane? Three of our four fictive texts are historical novels; all of our films are either science fiction or fantasy. In all, a postmodernist sensibility refracts religious symbols. What is at the heart of this paradox? Are the novels and films on opposite ends of the spectrum of “the real”?

What is at stake is nothing less than the attempt to grasp what is particular to our historical time; to know what constitutes, in significant part, our cultural moment. By the end of the course, students should be well on their way to answering the above questions, and more.

Course Attendance Policy: Attendance is required, and integral to your participation portion of the grade. Because class meets only once per week, students will be allowed no more than two absences. In accordance with The College Handbook, students who miss more than two classes will have their final grades adjusted downward by one-third of a letter grade for each absence over two. Absences are meant to cover illnesses, appointments, job interviews, child-care responsibilities, transportation problems, personal matters, etc. Late arrivals and early departures will adversely affect your participation grade.

Evaluation of Student Performance: Response Papers (4) 25% Oral Presentation 15% Midterm Exam 20% Term Paper 40% PAAP* (Preparation, Attendance, Attitude, Participation)

The Work of the Course: I will introduce the works, guide you, and ask questions, but most of your learning will occur by your writing and talking about what you have read. The contact point for learning is where your pen and mind touch the paper. The following requirements will thus serve as a cognitive tool for your own critical thinking, and for the success of this course:

1) Preparation, Attendance, Attitude, Participation (PAAP): Continuity and active participation are crucial to this seminar-style course. Students are therefore expected to complete and prepare for discussion all assigned readings prior to class. However, in order to ensure a lively, thoughtful, and intelligent exchange of ideas, it is essential that you not only complete, but reflect upon--i.e., taken some form of notes--all readings assigned for each class, including secondary materials. One element of this preparation is the formulation of at least one question about the day’s reading to foster discussion.

*The initial calculation of your grade is based upon the percentage distribution listed above. After this, I factor in PAAP, which your response papers will help facilitate: active and thoughtful participation is expected and will improve your grade as much as a letter grade; sporadic attendance and a lack of preparation and participation will hurt your grade.

2) Response Papers: These double-spaced, two-page typed responses to several texts will consist of your response to a question that I have posed for the assigned reading on the previous class day. These are not paraphrases, but interpretations and analyses of cited textual evidence. Due at the beginning of class on one of the two or three days devoted to each corresponding text, the Response Papers will often serve as a springboard for our class discussions, and offer you practice in the type of literary analysis that will be the basis of your term papers. NB: Some RPs offer a choice of one of two posted due dates, and accordingly, one of two respective questions. You may choose four (and only four) of the five assigned Response Papers.

3) Oral Presentation: Each student will be responsible for one 15-minute, in-class presentation that elucidates the assigned secondary reading in relation to the primary reading for that class. A two-page, double-spaced précis of the secondary source should be prepared for distribution to the class. You may also distribute an additional handout if you wish. A successful presentation will open and/or conclude with a question(s) for class discussion, and it may additionally prompt your term paper.

4) Midterm Exam: This will be an in-class short essay exam that address the first half of the course.

5) Term Paper: A 12-13 page research paper that addresses two or more of the works on the syllabus (including at least one novel) in relationship to the course objectives is required. The paper should advance your own argument about an issue or related issues in the texts, be grounded in close textual analysis, and contextualized by relevant literary criticism on your topic. All sources must be peer- reviewed journals or books. I encourage you to discuss the central argument of your paper with me, prior to writing your paper. Doing so will provide you both the opportunity to articulate and explore your ideas with me, and to receive feedback on your proposal. More detailed guidance on the term paper will be provided during our discussion of graduate-level papers, Week 12.

Other Items: A note on plagiarism: Your writing must be your own. If you use other people's ideas, credit them in a footnote; if you use their words, put them in quotes and cite your source. If you have any questions at all about source citation, see me. Err on the side of source attribution. Academic Dishonesty: Any type of academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will be immediately reported to the Provost’s office in accordance with the procedure outlined in the College Handbook. Students are strongly advised to familiarize themselves with the College’s policy on academic integrity.

If you are a student with a disability and wish to request accommodations, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services located in B-40 Van Hoesen Hall or call (607) 753-2066 for an appointment. Information regarding your disability will be treated in a confidential manner. Because many accommodations require early planning, request for accommodations should be made as early as possible.

*** If you have any questions or concerns about the course, please let me know as soon as possible rather than at the end of the course when it is too late for me to do anything for you. You may visit me in my office hours or e-mail me anytime. * * *

Course Schedule and Activities: Week 1 T 1/25 Course Introduction.

Week 2 T 2/1 Blade Runner Gravett, Sharon L. “The Sacred and the Profane: Examining the Religious Subtext of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.”

Week 3 T 2/8 Don DeLillo, “The Angel Esmeralda” RP 1 due Ludwig, Kathryn. "Don DeLillo's Underworld and the Postsecular in Contemporary Fiction."

Week 4 T 2/15 The Matrix Feise-Mahnkopp, Patricia. “Finding God(s) in The Matrix – or: Religious Experience in Postsecular Media Culture.” Anglistik und Englischunterricht 74 (2010): 195-206.

Week 5 T 2/22 Tracks (Chapters 1-5) Hessler, Michelle R. “Catholic Nuns and Ojibwa Shamans: Pauline and Fleur in Louise Erdrich's Tracks.”

Week 6 T 3/1 Tracks (finish book) RP 2 due Friedman, Susan Stanford. “Identity Politics, Syncretism, Catholicism and Anishinabe Religion in Louise Erdrich's Tracks.”

Week 7 T 3/8 The English Patient Singh, Nikky. “Twice Repressed: The Case of Ondaatje’s Kip.”

M 3/14 - F 3/18 Spring Break

Week 8 T 3/22 The English Patient RP 3 due Goldman, Marlene. “’Powerful Joy’: Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and Walter Benjamin’s Allegorical Way of Seeing.”

Week 9 T 3/29 Midterm Exam The English Patient (finish book)

Week 10 T 4/5 Midterm Review Paradise (through “Seneca” chapter [138])

Week 11 T 4/12 Paradise (through “Consolata” chapter [266]) Romero, Channette. “Creating the Beloved Community: Religion, Race and Nation in Toni Morrison’s Paradise.”

Week 12 T 4/19 Paradise (finish book) Terry, Jennifer. “A New World Religion? Creolisation and Candomble in Toni Morrison’s Paradise. Discussion of graduate-level papers

Week 13 T 4/26 Contact Stone, Bryan P. “Religious Faith and Science in Contact.” Journal of Religion and Film 2.2 (1998): MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 2 Jan 2011.

Week 14 T 5/3 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Garbowski, Christopher. “Life as a Journey: The Spiritual Dimension in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 6 (2004): MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 2 Jan 2011.

Week 15 T 5/10 Course Conclusions Term Paper Due CTEs