ENGLISH 3 -- Writing About Literature and Society
Cultural Controversy in Contemporary America
Master Syllabus -- Mon-Wed-Fri Schedule
[plug in your own info as specified between the asterisks, below.
Be sure to delete the asterisks and instructions, including these
instructions and the 'p' code that follows them]
*Days, Time, Room Number*
Instructor: *your name*
Eamil: *Your
email address again*
Office: 4th floor Bennett Hall
Hours: *your office hours*
Phone: *your phone number*
Course listserve:*your last name*3@english.upenn.edu
Course home page: http://www.english.upenn.edu/~*your email
ID*/eng3.html
Course Description
This is a course on cultural controversies--controversies over art, film,
fiction, music,
photography--in contemporary America. We will study some of the texts on
which recent
controversies have been centered as well as the journalistic and academic
commentary on those
texts. Our aim will be not just to come to a better understanding of
these kinds of cultural
outbursts and of the social situations that produce them, but to learn how
to write effectively
about cultural matters without simply taking sides in simplistic
evaluative debates. How does one
write a good arts column or editorial, and how does that differ from
simply expressing one's
personal opinions (e.g. in a diary)? What is the difference between a
book or movie review and a
critical essay written for an English class or a scholarly journal? What
does it mean to write in a
"natural" or "authentic" as opposed to an "artificial" or even a
"fraudulent" voice? How closely
do different forms of writing correspond to different types of audience,
and what audience should
we think of as properly ours when we write about literature or other arts?
These are the kinds of
questions that will be taken up, both implicitly and explicitly, in
English 3. You will be writing
every week for this course, discussing and evaluating each other's writing
on a regular basis, and
meeting individually with me to discuss your writing. By the end of the
semester you should all
be much better writers than you are now, able to deal more readily with
the various kinds of
writing assignments you will be facing at Penn.
Requirements, Policies, and
Grading
The requirements for this class fall into three categories: Attendance,
Preparation and
Participation, and Written Work.
- Attendance: This is a discussion/workshop based class and will
only succeed if
everyone is a fully involved participant. You may miss one class meeting
without penalty, but
attendance is required at all other class meetings unless you have
obtained my permission in
advance or can document a medical or family crisis after the event.
Students with 1, 2, or 3
unexcused absences will be graded 3, 6, or 9 percentage points lower for
the course; students
with more than 3 unexcused absences will fail the course.
- Preparation and Participation: You should read all of the
assigned texts, or view an
assigned film, at least once before the corresponding class meeting, and
come to class ready to
participate in our discussions or workshops. It is alright if you are
naturally shy or quiet; good
listening and the occasional helpful comment can be a better form of
participation than constant
chatter. But I expect you all to keep up with assignments and to make
yourselves productive
participants in whatever way suits you. A third of your final grade will
be based on the quality of
your preparation and participation.
- Written Work:The required written work for this class takes
several forms, all of
which are important though not all will be evaluated by me.
- Listserve Posts -- At each class meeting I will announce a topic or
question to be discussed on
the listserve prior to the next class meeting. Part of the class will
then be responsible for sending
email postings of no more than 300 words to the class listserve by 5PM the
evening before the
next class meeting. These are not meant to be formal or finished essays,
of course, but they
should be coherent and grammatical; please proofread and edit them before
posting to the group.
I will not be grading your listserve posts, but I will be archiving them
in individual folders, and
these will become part of your final (graded) portfolio for the course.
- Peer Evaluations -- At times you will be asked to evaluate and comment
on another student's
work. Your comments should be carefully written in the form of a one- or
two-paragraph essay
that captures the main strengths and weaknesses of the paper. I may look
briefly at these
evaluations, but I will not be grading them.
- In-Class Writing -- We will be doing some writing in class. This work
will not be graded
except as it reflects your preparation and participation, as discussed
above.
- Essays -- The formal essays for this class include an opinion column,
a movie review, a
parody or pastiche, and several argumentative essays. I will grade these,
and I will try to indicate
in my comments how the work might be improved. You may then revise the
essays once or more
(with continued guidance and feedback from me) before submitting them
(along with the original)
in your final portfolio. Your final grade for an essay will be the
average of your grades on the
original version and the portfolio version. Note that a revision of the
first essay is
required; revision of subsequent essays is optional but encouraged.
- Portfolio -- At the end of the semester you will submit all the formal
written work you did for
the course: original essays, interim revisions, and final revisions. I
will add to this your listserve
postings and review the entire portfolio. You can improve your final
grade for the course
considerably by working hard on your portfolio, revising your papers to
make them as fine as
possible by the end of the term. But keep in mind that your original
grade on an essay will always
be factored in; the portfolio should not be seen as an invitation to do
shoddy work throughout the
term and then work frantically in the final days or weeks.
- Grading: Your final grade will be based on the following
percentages: 30% for
preparation and participation, 70% for portfolio of written work. Any
penalty for missed classes
will be deducted from this total.
- Policy on Late Papers: You will be penalized for submitting
work after the due date unless I have given you an extension in advance
or you have a medical excuse. Papers that are submitted at the first
class meeting after the due date will be marked down 1/3 grade (3 points).
Papers submitted later than that will be marked down 1/3 grade for every
subsequent class meeting.
- Policy on Plagiarism: The work you submit to this class
is expected to be your own. If you submit work that has been copied
without attribution from some published or unpublished source, or
that has been prepared by someone other than you, or that in any other
way misrepresents somebody else's work as your own, you will face
severe discipline by the University. For more detailed information,
see the College of Arts and Sciences' pages on
academic
integrity.
Books, Films, Bulkpack
- BOOKS have been ordered through the Penn Book Center. You
should purchase copies of all the following:
- Bolton, Richard. Culture Wars. New Press.
- Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Norton.
- Newman, Leslie. Heather Has Two Mommies. Alyson.
- Pinney, Thomas. A Short Handbook. Harcourt Brace.
- Rushdie, Salman. Satanic Verses. Holt.
- Santiago, Danny. Famous All Over Town. NAL/Dutton.
- FILMS for English 3 will be shown on ResNet:
Here is a list
of all the
locations where you can view ResNet movies.
- THE COURSE BULKPACK is available from Wharton Reprographics, in
the
basement of Steinberg-Deitrich Hall.
Resources for Writers
Penn provides a number of useful resources to help you
improve your writing. Check these out:
- The
Writing Center -- tutors, advisers, all kinds of advice
and assistance.
-
Writers House -- this is where the Writing Center is located.
Writers House hosts many events for readers and writers.
-
Writing Advisers -- information on working with a peer adviser
at the Writing Center or elsewhere on campus.
- Writing
Program Home Page
-- general guide to writing resources at Penn.
- Jack
Lynch's Grammar and Style Guide -- style advice from Penn's
world-famous website designer, Jack Lynch: faster to use and more
reliable than most style handbooks.
Schedule
You can take shortcuts to: unit 1, weeks 2-3
(Conrad) | unit 2, weeks 4-6 (Heather, Culture Wars) | unit 3, weeks
7-8 (Kids, Right Thing) | unit 4,
weeks 9-10
(Santiago) | unit 5, weeks 11-13 (Rushdie)
Sept 3
-
- We will use this first class to introduce each other and to go over
such
things as the syllabus,
grading and attendance policies, course goals and expectations,
email/listserve/web basics, and so
forth. The class will be divided into three groups; each group will be
responsible for posting to the
listserve by 5PM the day before one of our weekly class meetings. I will
announce the topic for
the first listserve postings today. We will also devote about 15-20
minutes to
in-class writing for
introductory and diagnostic purposes. The in-class assigment will be to
describe, in about one
page, your background in and attitudes toward "culture." What kinds of
art, film, literature, or
music do you especially like or dislike? What particular background do
you have in any of these
fields?
Sept 5
This will be another introductory session. I will hand back the in-class
writing you did on Wednesday, and we will discuss these, along with
tips on how to use the handbook, the dictionary, and other reference
sources when you write or proofread. We'll also talk about the first
listserv postings and preapre for our first discussions (listserv and
in-class) of Heart of Darkness.
Unit
1: Classic Literature and its Discontents -- Conrad's Heart
of
Darkness
Sept 8
- Reading:
- Heart of Darkness
- Discussion:
- Heart of Darkness--first reactions. What makes this a
"classic"?
- Brief discussion of listserv postings.
- Writing:
- No writing for today, but in most cases I will have suggested in my
comments on your in-class writing last week some pages for you to study
in the Pinney Short Handbook. Today I will also go over the
first essay assignment, 2 pages answering the
question: Why should English professors assign (or avoid assigning)
Heart of Darkness in
their classes? These short essays are due on Sept 12, and you should
submit them in two copies,
one for me and one for peer review.
Sept 10
- Reading:
- Heart of Darkness
- Discussion:
- Literary study and the function of criticism. Description versus
evaluation. Objectivity
versus subjectivity. Questions of relevance. Some types of critical
argument.
- Writing:
- None.
Sept 12
- Reading:
- Heart of Darkness
- Discussion:
- Continued from Wednesday, with students reading opening paragraphs of
their essays.
- Writing:
- First Essays are due today. Remember to submit two copies, one for
the peer reviewer.
Sept 15
- Reading:
- Achebe, "Image of Africa" and Sarvan, "Racism in Heart of
Darkness" (both in the
Norton Heart of Darkness)
- Discussion:
- Contemporary attitudes and the literature of the past. Does it matter
whether long-dead
authors were racist? What do we accomplish by recasting them in this
light?
- Half of this class period will be devoted to peer-review workshop.
- Writing:
- Have your written comments and suggestions ready for the student whose
paper you are
peer reviewing. Based on the feedback you receive about your own essay,
from your peer
reviewer and from me (I will be handing back your paper today), you should
revise it for Sept 19.
Sept 17
- Reading:
- Denby, "Jungle Fever" (bulkpack)
- Discussion:
- Further discussion about classic literature, criticism, and
contemporary social attitudes.
- Discussion of writing and revision: lessons learned? problems run
into?
- Writing:
- None.
Sept 19
- Reading:
-
- Discussion:
- Conclude discussion of classic literature and contemporary attitudes.
The various forms of evaluation (aesthetic, moral, commercial). Can there
be criticism without evaluation?
- Writing:
- Revised Essay #1 due. Individual Conferences to discuss your first
essay and revision will be scheduled for next week.
Unit 2: Culture, Sexuality, and the Public
Sphere:
Heather Has Two
Mommies, Mapplethorpe, and the NEA debates
Sept 22
- Reading:
- Heather Has Two Mommies; John Barbarel, "Under 'Rainbow,' a
War:
When Politics,
Morals, and Learning Mix," and other Heather readings (bulkpack).
- Discussion:
- The Heather controversy; art and family values; art and audience;
educational art.
- Writing:
- Assignment for essay #2 will be presented: 3-4-page editorial or
opinion column on culture
and school curriculums or on culture and taxpayer rights. These essays are
due Oct 6. A draft of
your thesis paragraph is due next Monday, the 29th. The thesis can be
very
provisional at this point, but
prepare a sufficiently polished paragraph that it will be worth discussing
in workshop.
Sept 24
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Continued from Monday: relationship of literature to (moral)
education. Sexuality and education. Education and "normality."
- Writing:
- Start working on your thesis paragraphs for Friday.
Sept 26
- Reading:
- Culture Wars: Illustrations (309-328, and esp. 321-328)
and Chronology (331-363),
D'Amato and Helms statements (28-30); Buchanan (31 and 137-8), Kramer (51
and 259).
- Discussion:
- The rhetoric of arts bashing and the stakes of "culture wars."
What logical or emotional appeals do arts-bashers make? What
are they hoping to "win"?
- Writing:
- None
Sept 29
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Thesis Workshop. Pair off for work on thesis paragraphs. Then an
open
discussion of
argument (paragraph level: topic sentences, logical units, evidence and
support).
- Writing:
- Thesis paragraphs for essay #2 due today. Complete essay due next
Monday.
Oct 1
[Rosh Hashanah begins sundown today]
- Reading:
- Culture Wars articles on Mapplethorpe: Brenson (68-70),
Vorhees (173-75), Krauthammer (183-85); Will (88-89); Katha Pollitt,
"Honk if you Like
Art" (bulkpack)
- Discussion:
- Culture and sexuality (cont'd)
- Taxes, public vs private, cultural autonomy, social purpose.
- Writing:
- Keep working on your 2nd essays
Oct 3
- Reading:
- dl>Havel (156), Finley (210, and 282-3), Danto (96-7), Guerrilla Girls
poster (313);
Goldstein (288-90), all in Culture Wars
- Discussion:
- Argumentative logic vs. other forms of persuasion. Compare and
contrast Will and Pollitt with Finley and Guerrilla Girls, for example.
- Writing:
- Keep working on your second essays.
Oct 6
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Workshop, with students reading aloud the first paragraphs of
their finished essays, discussion of argumentative style and substance.
- Writing:
- Essay #2, 3-4-page opinion column, due today.
Unit 3: Suburban Fears, Urban "Realities":
Kids, Do the
Right Thing, Gangsta Rap
Oct 8
- Reading:
- View Kids at least once. Read reviews of Kids (these
will be linked here if
they are not in the bulkpack)
- Discussion:
- Initial reactions to the film. Is it dangerous for the young viewer?
Would you take a 14-yr
old to it? A 7-yr old? Is it anodyne? Cautionary? Why is this film
controversial? Is it too
"realistic"?.
- Writing:
- The assignment for essay #3 (due Oct 24) will be presented today.
This will be a
3-4 page movie review
of either Kids or Do the Right Thing. Your review should
place particular
emphasis on the question of how "realistic" the film is, and what
difference that makes.
Oct 10
- Reading:
- It might be a good idea to view Do the Right Thing
prior to Fall Break if
you are going to be away over the break.
- Discussion:
- Continued discussion of Kids and the Kids controversy.
Are there important
dimensions of the film that get lost in the controversy?
- Writing:
- No writing this week except listserve posts.
Oct 13
FALL BREAK
Oct 15
- Reading:
- View Do the Right Thing at least once.
Read Micah Morrison,
"The World
- Discussion:
- Conclude discussion of Kids
- Initial reactions to Do the Right Thing. Is this film
more/less realistic than
Kids? Was it controversial because it is realistic, or because
it's not? If there were more
visible crack use, gang presence, and so forth, would that make the film
less upsetting to
conservative white viewers, or more? Does the film advocate
black-on-white violence?
- Writing:
- None
Oct 17
- Reading:
- Movie Reviews. Look for these in magazines, newspapers, or online,
and bring in what you would take to be a model movie review.
- Discussion:
- Workshop on movie review as a genre. Be prepared to present your
model review, to read parts of it aloud, and to explain why you think it
is a good review.
- Writing:
- Keep working on your movie reviews, due next Friday.
Oct 20
- Reading:
- Micah Morrison, "The World According to Spike Lee" and any other
Right Thing readings in bulkpack.
- Discussion:
- Further discussion of Right Thing, its representation of
Brooklyn, and the controversy surrounding the film and the artist.
- Writing:
- None.
Oct 22
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Further Discussion of Right Thing
- Writing:
- None
Oct 24
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Conclude discussion of Right Thing. The role of music in this
film, both thematically and in the soundtrack. Black filmmaking and rap
music.
- Writing:
- Essay #3, movie review, due today (2 copies: one for me, one for peer
reviewer). Individual or group conferences to discuss your movie reviews
will be scheduled for next week.
Oct 27
- Reading:
- Essays on rap: Morgan,
"Nigga Ya Hate to Love"; Ice
Cube, "Bum Rap"; Gates,
"Two Live Crew Decoded";
Harrison,
"Lewd Music". Possible
in-class or ResNet video viewings, or MMETS audio tapes.
- Discussion:
- Rap, popular music, race, and misogynistic violence. Are we meant to
take
gangsta rap
seriously, or is it an ironic form? Why is any music of adolescent
male rebellion
controversial, since its understood function is to be disreputable
and irritating to adults?
- Writing:
- None
Oct 29
- Reading:
- Continued rap reading/listening, as assigned.
- Discussion:
- Continued discussion of rap music, cultural fear, and the question of
realism.
- Writing:
- None
Oct 31
- Reading:
- Lanham, Style: An Anti-textbook; Jack Lynch's Style
and Grammar guide
- Discussion:
- Workshop on style. Students should bring in a one-page style
commentary (enough copies
for the whole class), consisting of: a short passage from the movie review
they peer-reviewed; a
sentence or two saying why this passage is flawed stylistically; and their
own improved version of
the passage.
- Writing:
- One-page style commentary, as described above. Return the essay
(movie review) you
peer reviewed with
your summary comments and suggestions for revision.
Unit 4: Culture and the Scandal of
Inauthenticity: Danny Santiago's
Famous All Over Town
Nov 3
- Reading:
- Santiago, Famous All Over Town, chaps 1-12
- Discussion:
- Initial reactions to Famous. Ethnic literature and "voice."
Parody and pastiche
- Writing:
- Assignment for Nov 7 workshop on voice and imitation: write a
1-2-page account of a
recent day (or part of a day) in your life, imitating the voice and manner
of Chato. The class will
be divided into two groups, a group that writes these as parody and a
group that writes them as
pastiche. These will be peer-reviewed and some will be read aloud to the
class, but they will not
be evaluated by me.
Nov 5
- Reading:
- Continue reading Famous
- Discussion:
- Continued discussion of novel
- Writing:
- None
Nov 7
- Reading:
- Continue reading Famous; read Dunne, "The Secret of Danny
Santiago" (bulkpack)
- Discussion:
- Workshop on voice and imitation. Pair off for peer review of
imitations, then general
discussion of voice, parody vs. pastiche, mockery vs. flattery, etc. A
few imitations will be read
aloud.
- Writing:
- 1-2 page imitations due today. Assignment will be presented for essay
#4, due Nov 14: 3-4
page essay on race and authenticity in contemporary art, centering on
Do the Right Thing,
rap music, or Famous All Over Town.
Nov 10
- Reading:
- Finish reading Famous
- Discussion:
- Further discussion of creativity, imitation, authenticity and their
relation to race or ethnicity.
- Writing:
- None
Nov 12
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Conclude discussion of authenticity and scandals of inauthenticity in
contemporary culture.
Final remarks on Famous All Over Town and its value as literature.
- Writing:
- None
Nov 14
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Plagiarism. Borrowings, appropriations, imitations, etc, are all
important, even crucial creative practices. Where does legitimate
artistic practice leave off and a violation of fundamental rules begin?
- Writing:
- Essay #4 on race and authenticity is due today.
Unit 5: Culture and the Sacred: Satanic
Verses for
American Readers
Nov 17
- Reading:
- Satanic Verses part I
- Discussion:
- First reactions to Satanic Verses: is it "unreadably
difficult"? Discussion of Rushdie's
style, voice, implicit audience.
- Writing:
- We will discuss the final essay assignment, schedule of composition,
due date, and date for
submission of final portfolios. You should also schedule your final
Individual Conference at this time.
Nov 19
- Reading:
- Satanic Verses part II
- Discussion:
- More on voice and tone. If Rushdie is writing satire, who or what are
the butts or objects of his jokes?
- Writing
- None
Nov 21
- Reading:
- Satanic Verses part III
- Discussion:
- Further discussion of the novel. Form: the relation of dream sections
to London sections.
- Writing:
-
Nov 24
- Reading:
- Satanic Verses parts IV and V. Finish the novel before
Thanksgiving if possible.
- bulkpack readings on American responses to the Rushdie Affair
- Discussion:
- Art and the sacred. Is art a secular sphere in America today? Has
art become a kind of
religion in itself? Why is the Rushdie affair even an issue in American
culture, given how many
writers are being persecuted for their writing all over the world? Is the
controversy over
Serrano's Piss Christ at all analogous to the Rushdie affair?
- Half of this class will be a workshop on completing and revising your
final essays. Open discussion of problems you are running into.
- Writing:
- To be announced.
Nov 26, Nov 28
THANKSGIVING
Dec 1
- Reading:
- Finish Reading Satanic Verses and review the bulkpack readings.
- Discussion:
- Continue discussion of Satanic Verses. Is it necessary to take
sides in this controversy? Must one either attack or defend Salman
Rushdie? Is this different from attacking or defending the novel?
- Writing:
- To be announced
Dec 3
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Return to our starting point: cultural controversy and the function of
criticism. If the
Rushdie Affair has nothing to do with interpretation or criticism of
Satanic Verses, and
almost none of the participants in this controversy have ever read the
novel, then what is the
function of people like us, who have read it carefully and discussed it in
detail? What is the critic's
role in moments of violent controversy?
- Writing:
- To be announced
Dec 5
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Final, open discussion of culture and the nature of cultural
controversies in contemporary
America.
- Writing:
- To be announced.
Dec 8
- Reading:
- None
- Discussion:
- Review of the course, its strengths and weaknesses, especially as
regards improvement of your writing. You will fill out evaluation forms
today. Wild, exuberant party (well, maybe some cookies and soda).
- Writing:
- To be announced. Final essays are likely to be due no later than
today. Portfolios are likely to be due no later than Dec 12.