SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS
Colorado State University, Academic Partner
Voyage: Fall 2018 Discipline: English Course Number and Title: E 333 Critical Studies of Popular Texts (Focus: Expatriate Literature) Division: Upper Faculty Name: Andrew Altschul Semester Credit Hours: 3
Meeting: B Days, 0930-1050, Lido Restaurant Prerequisites: One (1) composition or college writing course
COURSE DESCRIPTION
“Going away is what you do to see yourself plain,” writes Don DeLillo in Libra. But for Americans abroad, “seeing themselves” is often a secondary goal or unexpected consequence of their travels. In this course we will read novels by and/or about Americans living in other countries, and examine the collisions between U.S. cultural, psychological, and political values and those of the countries in which they’ve made their new homes. Along the way, we will interrogate the concept of expatriatism: What explains the urge to leave one’s country of origin? How have perceptions of the American expatriate evolved as the role of the U.S. in the world has changed? What is the difference between an expatriate and a tourist, or an immigrant, or a refugee? How do expatriates change their environment, and how are they changed by it?
The class will feature novels set in or near several of the semester’s destinations, and will include works by Djuna Barnes, Paul Bowles, Geoff Dyer, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Henry James, Dinaw Mengestu, and Anchee Min. Students will write both critically and personally about identity, nationality, culture, and travel, drawing upon their own experiences of cross-cultural encounter and estrangement.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Gain familiarity with classic and contemporary works of expatriate literature. • Interrogate the concept of expatriatism for historical, cultural, socioeconomic, and gender assumptions. • Learn about the culture and history of destination countries both independently and through literary representations. • Consider the history and impact of America(ns) in the world, particularly developing countries. • Analyze one’s own cultural standpoint through the estrangement of cross-cultural experience. • Write probing and coherent examinations of literature and its contexts. • Interpret one’s own experience of travel through the thematic lens(es) of expatriate literature.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
AUTHOR: James, Henry TITLE: Daisy Miller PUBLISHER: Penguin ISBN #: 978-0141441344 DATE/EDITION: 2007, Penguin Classics Edition
AUTHOR: Hemingway, Ernest TITLE: The Sun Also Rises PUBLISHER: Scribner ISBN #: 978-0743297332 DATE/EDITION: 2006
AUTHOR: D’Souza, Tony TITLE: Whiteman PUBLISHER: Harvest Books ISBN #: 978-0156032490 DATE/EDITION: 2007
AUTHOR: Barnes, Djuna TITLE: Nightwood PUBLISHER: New Directions ISBN #: 978-0811216715 DATE/EDITION: 2006
AUTHOR: Dyer, Geoff TITLE: Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi PUBLISHER: Vintage ISBN #: 978-0307390301 DATE/EDITION: 2010
AUTHOR: Greene, Graham TITLE: The Quiet American PUBLISHER: Penguin Classics ISBN #: 978-0143039020 DATE/EDITION: 2004
AUTHOR: Min, Anchee TITLE: Katherine PUBLISHER: Berkeley ISBN #: 978-0425180235 DATE/EDITION: 2001
AUTHOR: Mengestu, Dinaw TITLE: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears PUBLISHER: Riverhead ISBN #: 978-1594482854 DATE/EDITION: 2008
TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE
Depart Hamburg, Germany — September 9
B1—September 12: Course introduction. What Is an Expatriate? Self-examination: On being an “American” outside of America.
B2— September 14: Read: Daisy Miller (all). Themes of expatriate literature. Views of America and Americans.
Barcelona and Valencia, Spain — September 15-18
B3—September 20: Read: Bradbury, “The Expatriate Tradition in American Literature” (electronic); The Sun Also Rises (pp. tba). The Lost Generation. Contemporary economics: USA, Spain, and the Great Recession.
B4— September 22: Read: The Sun Also Rises (finish Tourism vs. Expatriatism. Destination Recap: Spain.
Study Day — September 23: No Class
B5—September 25: Read: “A Distant Episode” (electronic); Whiteman (pp. tba). American views of Africa. European colonialism and the Atlantic slave trade.
Tema, Ghana — September 27-30
B6—October 1: Read: Whiteman (pp. tba). American views of Africa. The Peace Corps and “goodwill” initiatives in the developing world.
Community Programming — October 2: No Class
B7—October 4: Read: Whiteman (finish). Destination recap: Ghana.
B8— October 6: Read: Nightwood (tba). Freedom to or freedom from? Gender norms and sexual mores in traditional cultures. Discuss First Paper prompt.
Cape Town, South Africa — October 7-12
B9—October 14: Read: Nightwood (finish). Destination recap: South Africa.
Study Day—October 16: No Class
B10—October 17: Read: Iyer, “The Burning House” (electronic). First Paper discussion. Port Louis, Mauritius — October 19
B11—October 20: First Paper Due. Read: Jeff in Venice (pp. tba). Destination recap: Mauritius.
Study Day—October 21: No Class
B12—October 23: Read: Jeff in Venice (pp. tba). Western views of India.
Cochin, India — October 25-30
Reflection and Study—October 31: Global Studies Reflection
B13—November 1: Read: Jeff in Venice (finish). Destination recap: India.
B14—November 3: Read: The Quiet American (pp. tba). British, French, and American wars in Burma and Indochina.
Yangon, Myanmar — November 4-8
B15—November 10: Read: The Quiet American (finish). Destination recap: Myanmar.
Community Programming — November 11: No Class
B16—November 13: View: The Vietnam War, episode 1, “Déjà Vu.” Preparation for Field Class.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — November 14-18
Field Class—November 14: Ho Chi Minh City
B17—November 20: Read: Katherine (pp. tba). Destination recap: Vietnam. Second Paper discussion.
Study Day—November 21: No Class
B18— November 23: Read: Katherine (finish). American views of China. Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
Shanghai, China — November 24-29
B19—December 1: Second Paper Due. Destination recap: China. Presentation brainstorm sessions. American views of Japan.
Kobe, Japan — December 2-6
B20— December 8: Read: The Beautiful Things (pp. tba). “Expatriate” vs. “immigrant” vs. “refugee.” Views of America.
B21—December 10: Read: The Beautiful Things (pp. tba). Destination recap: Japan.
B22—December 12: Read: The Beautiful Things (finish). Group Presentations.
Study Day—December 12: No Class (International Date Line Crossing (2 days)
B23—December 14: Read: Kincaid, “A Small Place” (electronic). Group Presentations. Discuss Final Paper.
Honolulu, Hawaii — December 16
B24— December 17: Group Presentations. Self-examination: What is the meaning of “home”?
Study Day — December 18: No Class
B25—December 20: Final Paper Due. Destination recap: Hawaii. Course conclusion.
Arrive San Diego, California — December 23
FIELD WORK
Semester at Sea field experiences allow for an unparalleled opportunity to compare, contrast, and synthesize the different cultures and countries encountered over the course of the voyage. In addition to the one field class, students will complete independent field assignments that span multiple countries.
Field Class & Assignment The field class for this course is on Wednesday, November 14 in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Field Class attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of your field class. Field Classes constitute at least 20% of the contact hours for each course, and are developed and led by the instructor.
The Quiet American and Graham Greene’s Saigon This field class takes students on a trip through sites in Ho Chi Minh that figure prominently into the plot of Greene’s novel, as well as having relevance to the French and American military conflicts. To orient students to the historical underpinnings of Greene’s novel, the class will begin at the War Remnant Museum, before undertaking a walking tour of several other prominent locations from the novel: including the “Bot Catinat” building where political prisoners were held and tortured; the Hotel Continental and/or Majestic Hotel, where the novel’s expatriate characters spend their evenings drinking; the U.S. consulate, on the site of the former U.S. embassy which was evacuated in 1975; City Hall and the Municipal Theater. Finally, students will visit the Saigon Skydeck, for an overview of modern Ho Chi Minh City.
Objectives 1. Students will familiarize themselves with modern Ho Chi Minh City, and its relationship to the Saigon of Graham Greene’s era. 2. Students will gain an understanding of how the French and U.S. wars in Vietnam affected the city’s residents. 3. Students will further consider the impact of U.S. foreign policy and military intervention in foreign socieities and cultures.
Field Class Assignment and Due Date The second of the semester’s three papers will require students to consider the complicated questions raised by Greene’s novel about colonialism, American exceptionalism, and the origins of the Vietnam War. As one of the course’s themes is the way that expatriates unwittingly (or, sometimes, wittingly) alter the countries and cultures to which they have come, students will be asked to draw on their visit to Saigon in discussing the way Greene and other authors may fall vicitm to the same errors of perception and judgment they diagnose in their characters. The paper is due on November 30 and is worth 20% of students’ final grade.
Independent Field Assignments: Souvenirs The French verb souvenir means “to remember.” While tourists often bring home trinkets and knick-knacks to commemorate a visit, in a deeper sense a souvenir is something that returns us to a place and returns the place to us. In each port, students are encouraged to acquire a souvenir that speaks to the encounter with foreignness – their own as well as that of the destination. This need not be a large purchase – items might include a local periodical, a product package, a menu, or something else intrinsic to place; it need not even be an object at all – it might be a photograph, a sound recording, or a brief written account of a conversation or incident.
After each port we will devote part of a class meeting to a “destination recap,” in which students will share these “souvenirs,” as well as specific observations about the place and culture. (Each student is expected to share 3-4 souvenirs in the course of the voyage.) In the last few class meetings, student presentation groups will incorporate souvenirs, class discussion, and the readings into an exploration of some specific aspect of the expatriate experience.
METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING SCALE
The following Grading Scale is utilized for student evaluation. Pass/Fail is not an option for Semester at Sea coursework. Note that C-, D+ and D- grades are also not assigned on Semester at Sea in accordance with the grading system at Colorado State University (the SAS partner institution).
Pluses and minuses are awarded as follows on a 100% scale:
Excellent Good Satisfactory/Poor Failing 97-100%: A+ 87-89%: B+ 77-79%: C+ Less than 60%: F 93-96%: A 83-86%: B 70-76%: C 90-92%: A- 80-82%: B- 60-69%: D
Final grades will be determined according to the following breakdown:
Participation – 20% Paper #1 – 20% Paper #2 (based on Field Class) – 20% Group Presentation – 20% Final Paper – 20%
ATTENDANCE/ENGAGEMENT IN THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM
Attendance in all Semester at Sea classes, including the Field Class, is mandatory. Students must inform their instructors prior to any unanticipated absence and take the initiative to make up missed work in a timely fashion. Instructors must make reasonable efforts to enable students to make up work which must be accomplished under the instructor’s supervision (e.g., examinations, laboratories). In the event of a conflict in regard to this policy, individuals may appeal using established CSU procedures.
Please attend all classes, and come ready to discuss all readings and assignments. You are permitted two absences for any reason; each additional absence will result in a deduction of 5% from your final grade.
Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late assignments will be penalized 5% for each calendar day past the due date.
LEARNING ACCOMMODATIONS
Semester at Sea provides academic accommodations for students with diagnosed learning disabilities, in accordance with ADA guidelines. Students who will need accommodations in a class, should contact ISE to discuss their individual needs. Any accommodation must be discussed in a timely manner prior to implementation.
A letter from the student’s home institution verifying the accommodations received on their home campus (dated within the last three years) is required before any accommodation is provided on the ship. Students must submit this verification of accommodations to [email protected] as soon as possible, but no later than two months prior to the voyage.
STUDENT CONDUCT CODE
The foundation of a university is truth and knowledge, each of which relies in a fundamental manner upon academic integrity and is diminished significantly by academic misconduct. Academic integrity is conceptualized as doing and taking credit for one’s own work. A pervasive attitude promoting academic integrity enhances the sense of community and adds value to the educational process. All within the University are affected by the cooperative commitment to academic integrity. All Semester at Sea courses adhere to this Academic Integrity Policy and Student Conduct Code.
Depending on the nature of the assignment or exam, the faculty member may require a written declaration of the following honor pledge: “I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance on this exam/assignment.”
RESERVE BOOKS FOR THE LIBRARY None
FILM REQUEST
The Vietnam War: Episode 1, “Déjà Vu” Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, dir. PBS, 2017
ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS
AUTHOR: Bowles, Paul ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: “A Distant Episode” JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: The Stories of Paul Bowles PUBLISHER: Harper Perennial DATE: 2006 PAGES: 24-35
AUTHOR: Bradbury, Malcolm ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: “Second Countries: The Expatriate Tradition in American Literature” JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: British Association for American Studies (BAAS) Pamphlets in American Studies VOLUME: No. 9 DATE: 1982 PAGES: 15-39
AUTHOR: Iyer, Pico ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Chapter 1, “The Burning House” JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home PUBLISHER: Vintage DATE: 2001 PAGES: 1-38
AUTHOR: Kincaid, Jamaica ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: “A Small Place” JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present, Lex Williford and Michael Martone, eds. PUBLISHER: Touchstone DATE: 2007 PAGES: 257-264
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
None