Catalog Description: An examination of the themes and forms of U.S. literature from the 1960’s to the present.

Objectives: Students in this course will develop the research, reading, and writing skills necessary for advanced literary study, and will begin to see that literary study demands an awareness of historical, social, political, and cultural contexts. We will read a range of contemporary fiction and a variety of critical material; it is expected that students will become conversant with critical language and will be equally attentive to both primary and secondary materials. This course will ask students to think about the reciprocal relationship between authors and their society, particularly in response to the cataclysmic events of the twentieth century, including the Holocaust, the legacy of slavery, and AIDS; to consider the role of history and historical representations in contemporary literature; to examine the paradoxical nature of “post-modernism;” and to explore the issues of ethnicity, race, gender, and sexuality that are presented in these novels.

Requirements:

• All students should maintain an e-mail account (on Iona’s server or elsewhere) that they check regularly.
• Participation: Because this is an upper-level course, I expect a significant level of class participation from all of you.  We cannot have productive class discussions unless everyone is consistently and thoroughly prepared for class: this means, not to put too fine a point on it, that you must have done the reading (or made a valiant attempt) for each class and that you should have thought about what you read.
• Writing: There are several different kinds of writing that you will be asked to do in this course, which are explained briefly below.  All of these assignments will be explained in more detail during the course of the semester.  Please note that all assignments, unless otherwise noted, should be typed, double-spaced, with 1” margins, and should adhere to the MLA citation format. (MLA online: http://www.mla.org).  Late papers will be penalized by one half-grade for every day they are late, unless you have spoken with me at least two days prior to the paper’s due date.
• Occasional one to two page “response” writings: These short writings will be used as the basis for class discussions and should contain at least one discussion question.  The writings will be graded on a numerical basis (1-3, with 3 being the best) and will be counted as part of your “participation” grade.
• Two short “close reading” papers: One of these papers will focus on a critical issue from the secondary reading and the other will focus on a section of a novel.
• One long analytical essay or hyper-text project:  The final paper for the course will be a sustained discussion of a text from the course, using such critical materials as are appropriate for the topic.  As an alternative to this piece of writing, you may choose to create a hyper-text document that provides insights, notes, and other contextual resources for a text from the course.  The hyper-text resources will be accompanied by a written rationale that explains the structure of the hyper-text.  Both the final paper and the hyper-text project will be explained in more detail later in the semester.  For either project, you will be asked to write a brief prospectus (about two pages) that explains the project.
• Final exam: There will be a final exam for the course.  The format of the exam will be announced later in the semester
• Context presentations: Small groups of students will deliver brief (10-15 minute) presentations that will provide additional context for one novel.  A prospectus of a page will be due in advance of the presentation.
• Attendance:  Chronic lateness and/or absence will severely affect your final grade for the course.  Be on time and be prepared for class.  It is College policy that a student who misses 20% of the classes may be assigned an FA (failure on account of absence).

Grading:  The grading percentages are approximately as follows:
Participation (including response writing): 20%
Two short papers    20%
Presentation     20%
Final project     20%
Final exam      20%

Required Texts: All of these are on order at the Iona College Bookstore.  If you intend to purchase your books from the campus bookstore, please do so promptly—the bookstore starts to return unpurchased books at the end of January, so if you wait you might not find what you need.  All of these books, however, are readily available in libraries and other bookstores.

Kindred – Octavia Butler
The Hours  - Michael Cunningham
Tracks – Louise Erdrich
Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy
Beloved – Toni Morrison
Because it is bitter and because it is my heart – Joyce Carol Oates
The Crying of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon
Sophie’s Choice – William Styron
Assorted handouts

January 23 Introductions and openers

January 24 “Dunyaziad” – John Barthes (xerox)

January 28 excerpts from Cambridge Literary History – Wendy Steiner (xerox)

January 30 excerpts from Columbia History of the American Novel – Molly Hite (xerox)
 Response writing: bring into class your questions and ideas about these two critical essays; also comment on points of similarity between these two essays

January 31 Hite and Steiner, continued

February 4 The Crying of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon

February 6 Pynchon

February 7 Pynchon

February 11 Beloved – Toni Morrison

February 13 Morrison
Response writing: Bring into class a brief write-up about what elements of the “postmodern” you find in Morrison’s novel and discuss how postmodernism does or does not help Morrison address the subject of her novel

February 14 Morrison

February 18  No Class – President’s Day

February 20 Kindred  - Octavia Butler
Short paper #1 due – close reading of a novel passage

February 21 Butler

February 25 Butler – critical essay

February 27 Sophie’s Choice  - William Styron

February 28 Styron

March 4 Styron

March 6 Styron

March 7 Styron – critical essay

March 11 Tracks – Louise Erdrich

March 13 Erdrich

March 14 Erdrich
Short paper #2 due – close reading of critical essay

March 18 No Class – St. Patrick’s Day

March 20 Erdrich

March 21 Erdrich – critical essay
Explanation of final project

March 25 – April 1 No class – Spring Break

April 3 Blood Meridian  - Cormac McCarthy

April 4 McCarthy

April 8 McCarthy

April 10 McCarthy
Prospectuses due for final project and group presentations

April 11  McCarthy – critical essay

April 15 Because it is bitter… Joyce Carol Oates

April 17 Oates

April 18 Oates
Response writing: brief written discussion addressing the issue of violence in Oates and McCarthy

April 22 Oates

April 24 The Hours - Cunningham

April 25 Cunningham

April 29 Cunningham

May 1 Student presentations

May 2 Student presentations

May 6 Student presentations
May 8 Last day of classes
Final papers/Hyper-text projects due

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