Emily Russell Carnegie 114 Am Lit Fiction: [email protected] Office Hours: WF 10-11; TR 11:00-12:30 High and Low Culture
For English majors, the department has broken up your American literature requirement into two courses: the historical survey (303) and genre study (304). By “genre study,” we mean fiction, poetry, or drama—the long-standing divisions among major classes of literature. But there are cascading definitions of the term genre, and when we speak about “genre fiction” or “genre movies,” we are much more likely to mean the collection of texts that falls under science fiction, detective fiction, fantasy, romance, the western, and horror. Despite strikingly obvious differences in conventions and setting, these texts can be grouped under the umbrella of “genre fiction” because they share features like focus on plot, a turn away from realism, and—above all—mass-market appeal. “Literary fiction,” by contrast, emphasizes craft and meaning, ooften appeals to academic audiences, and is understood as a virtuous endeavor. Genre fiction is trash.
Time and tastes change, however. The novel, once considered low art suitable only for women, and “fast” women at that, has a firm place in the academy. Writers like Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Edgar Allen Poe who were writing in widely-circulated periodicals are now considered classics. Our most heralded contemporary authors are exploring genre conventions in their award-winning literary fictioon: Colson Whitehead writes about zombies, Michael Chabon writes science fiction, and Cormac McCarthy is doing serial killers and the apocalypse.
This course will look at examples of genre fiction, froom the popular archetypes to the high literary experiments. We will find depth in trash like Nightmare on Elm Street, discover gender bending in a 1928 British romance, and ask what it might mean to follow a hard-boiled detective with Tourette’s. In examining these texts, we will ask bigger questions about who constitutes the American reading public, how do lenses like race, class, gender, and time shift meaning, and what does operating within genre conventions offer up for fiction. We’ll also think about our own critical methods and talk about how looking at low culture or popular movies may or may not require new ways of reading.
English 304B, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-10:45, Orlando Hall 113
Required Readingn s Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep 0394758285 Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn 0375724834 Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men 0307387135 Georgette Heyer, The Masqueraders 1402219504 Neil Stephenson, Snowcrash 0553380958 Henry James, The Turn of the Screw 1420922440
Course Reader available through Canvas—a new site like Blackboard; titles marked with ® can be found posted on our class site under “Files.” You must take notes on this material and it must be readily accessible for class discussion—to that end, I strongly recommend printing it out. What you pay in printing costs, you have more than made up for by not having to buy additional books for the class. The website for Canvas is “rollins.instructure.com” (note spelling of “instructure”); you will receive an e-mail soon inviting you to create an account.
Course Requirements Participation and Short Assignments (15%): Class meetings will be conducted with the lively, intellectual engagement ideal to an upper-level course in the major. As such, your active participation is essential for a successful and enjoyable course. Contributions may include comments from your reading, questions about something that seems unclear, and responses to each other. Remember that the number of times you speak is less important than demonstrating that you have a thoughtful reading of the text. Since we are reading several long novels, these books are listed on the schedule of readings over multiple sessions. Periodically I will as you to submit short assignments to our Canvas page. I will be facilitating this course as a seminar, meaning that your interests and responses to the reading will direct the discussions. Students with last names A‐K will submit to Canvas 2 discussion questions by 8 a.m. on Tuesday of each week; last names L‐Z will submit questions by 8 a.m. on Thursdays. I will use these questions, in part, to structure discussion for that class session according to your interests— questions, therefore, should be open‐ended, focused on thematic or stylistic elements, or draw our attention to specific passages. This assignment is also an excellent way for quieter students to shine. You get 2 passes on postings through the semester; each subsequent missed assignment will deduct one letter grade from this requirement. Creative Writing Assignment (10%): On 9.6 you will submit a creative writing assignment in which you explore genre conventions by writing 2 scenes. Each 5-page, double-spaced piece should have the same central conflict and characters, but unfold in different genres. For example, what does a fight between a couple about a mother-in- law’s upcoming visit look like when staged as a western and then as science fiction? Be prepared to read a 2-page excerpt of your piece to the class. Trailer Assignment (15%): For this assignment, due 9.27, you will be training in iMovie in order to edit a re-imagined film trailer that takes a highbrow film and imagines it as a popcorn flick and vice versa. 5-page paper (25%): On 10.25, students will turn in a 5-page paper offering a literary analysis of work we’ve covered in class to that point. A good strategy for this short assignment would be to select a short scene or passage from the text and offer a reading of how the stylistic approach in that scene is emblematic of the thematic interests of the work as a whole. The skills I expect to see on the paper will be the same kinds of close reading we’ll be doing in discussions. My feedback on this short paper should guide your approach to the longer, final paper. Final Paper Prospectus (5%): On 11.13, students will submit a 250-word plan for their final paper. This prospectus should cover the major argument of the paper and propose the evidence you’ll use to prove your claim; think of it as an extended introduction without any “since the beginning of time” filler. In class, be prepared to read your thesis to your colleagues for constructive comment. Final Paper (30%): your success in this course will depend on your ability to write a compelling, well-argued essay of literary criticism. Your 10-page paper should offer an original thesis supported by thoughtful explication grounded in textual specifics. All written work for this class should be typed in 12-point font, double-spaced, and free from grammatical errors. Late papers will be penalized 1/3 letter grade per day.
Course Policies and Tips Given the collegial spirit that keeps this course afloat, I take class participation and academic integrity very seriously. Your regular attendance in class is essential. As you will discover very quickly, our work in this course centers on class discussion. Your attendance at every class session is very important. Of course, life sometimes gets in the way of our conscientious habits as students. More than four absences of any kind will lower your participation grade by a full letter grade for each absence. More than six absences will result in a zero for participation. Work missed due to absences cannot be made up. I define plagiarism as using another’s words as if they were your own. Any violation of the college’s policy on academic honesty will result in failure of the course and immediate referral to the Academic Honor Council.
With all submitted work, Rollins students reaffirm their commitment to the Academic Honor Code by including the following pledge followed by their signature: “On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.”
If you feel you may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, please contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. You should also get in touch with Disability Services; you’ll find their website at http://www.rollins.edu/tpj/disability_services/index.shtml
For this upper division course, I will not spend much time in class reviewing the formal conventions of paper writing; I will assume you already know them. My lack of explicit attention to citation and grammar, however, does not mean that I’m not happy to serve as another resource about every stage of the writing process. Please do not hesitate to approach me with concerns.
Date Reading Assignment Week 1 Intro—What are High and Low Culture? 8/21 What is Genre Fiction? (In class) Read selections from William Levine, Highbrow/Lowbrow (Harvard UP) 8/23 Arthur Krystal, “Easy Writers” and M-Z Group, 2 Discussion Lev Grossman, “Literary Revolution in the Questions submitted to Supermarket Aisle” Canvas Week 2 Edgar Allen Poe, “Murders in the Rue A-L, 2 Discussion 8/28 Morgue” and Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Questions submitted to Speckled Band” Canvas 8/30 Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep Week 3 Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep 9/4 9/6 Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn Creative Writing Assignment due. Be prepared to read a 2 page excerpt in class. Week 4 Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn 9/11 9/13 Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn Week 5 Elmore Leonard, “Fire in the Hole” and Submit archetypal 9/18 Justified pilot episode (view in class) “Western” images to Canvas web page 9/20 Meet in Cornell Fine Arts 113 for iMovie Training Week 6 E. Annie Proulx, “Brokeback Mountain” 9/25 and Langston Hughes, “The Gun” 9/27 Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men Movie Trailer Assignment Due to Canvas Week 7 Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men 10/2 10/4 Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men Week 8 Fall Break—No Class 10/9 10/11 Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men Week 9 Reading Women: Book Clubs, Jonathan 10/16 Franzen, and Women as Reading Public— Read Beth Driscoll, “How Oprah’s Book Club Reinvented the Woman Reader” 10/18 Georgette Heyer, The Masqueraders Week 10 Georgette Heyer, The Masqueraders Submit dating advice 10/23 articles/lists—1 current example, 1 example from before 1950 10/25 Discuss Lars and the Real Girl (view outside 5 page paper due class) No Discussion Questions due Week 11 Henry James, The Turn of the Screw 10/30 11/1 Henry James, The Turn of the Screw Week 12 Carol Clover, “Her Body, Himself: Gender in 11/6 the Slasher Film” 11/8 Neal Stephenson, Snowcrash Week 13 Neal Stephenson, Snowcrash Paper prospectus due— 11/13 bring copies for entire class 11/15 Neal Stephenson, Snowcrash Week 14 Neal Stephenson, Snowcrash 11/20 11/22 Thanksgiving—No Class Week 15 2 science fiction short stories, selected by the 11/27 class 11/29 Discuss Blade Runner (view outside class) 12/7 by Final 10-page paper due to 2pm my office