MLA 690 syllabus

Texts:

Michael Kammen, American Culture/American Tastes

J. Radway, Reading the Romance

Assignments/Grading

3 papers: 75% (25 pages total)
Weekly summaries 25%

You must submit at least 25 pages of polished prose (individual papers may be of any length). Grades assigned to papers will be weighted according to the percentage they contribute to your total writing. (Example: a 5-page essay would be worth 20% of writing component if you submit exactly 25 pages of polished prose.) For further guidance on writing essays and adding appropriate citations, click here.

My expectations of students
I expect all work to be your own original work. I expect formal essays to be polished, thoughtful essays. For further details, click here.

Weekly summaries:
Each week, provide a written summary (typed/word-processed) of what you've read. One page should be about the right length. This is not an outline. It is a prose summary of the main idea(s), picking out what is most important. Don't tell me what the author talks about. Tell me what the author thinks about it. What is the central thesis and how does he defend it? What are the central concepts?

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Second meeting Levine, Parts I and II
Recommended: What is culture?

Third Meeting    (January 24)    Levine, Part III
       Recommended: Matthew Arnold:
       "Sweetness and Light" from Culture and
       Anarchy (1882)

Fourth Meeting  (January 31)   M. Kammen,
         Chapters 1 through 5
         For an overview, see the New York Times review

Fifth Meeting (February 7) M. Kammen,
Chapters 6 through 10

Sixth Meeting (February 14) T. S. Eliot

Poems: Prufrock, Gerontion
Prose: Tradition and Individual Talent
Hamlet;
Notes Towards a Definition of Culture;
The Function of Criticism;
The Use of Poetry;
Marie Lloyd

Seventh Meeting (February 21) T. S. Eliot

Poems: The Wasteland
Prose: Religion and Literature;
The Music of Poetry:
What is a Classic?
Idea of a Christian Society

Eighth Meeting (February 28) John Fiske, Chpts. 1, 2, 3

Ninth Meeting (March 7) John Fiske, Chpts. 4,5

March 14: No class due to spring break

Tenth Meeting (March 21) John Fiske, Chpts. 6, 7

March 28: No class due to Friday holiday

Eleventh Meeting (April 4) Gracyk, Chpts 4, 5, 6

Twelfth Meeting (April 11) Gracyk, Chpts. 7, 8

Thirteenth Meeting (April 18) Radway, Intro, Chpts 1, 2, 3
Suggested reading: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0201.marsh.html

Fourteenth Meeting (April 25) Remainder of Radway

May 2: No class due to study day

Last Class (May 9) Bring Three Copies of Draft of Last Paper