English 28C (Lecture A): Realism and Romance

Race and the American Novel

 

Spring 2002, MWF 10:00-10:50 SSL 168

Instructor: Scott Kaufman

Office Hours: MW 11:00-12:00 KH 553

Contact: skaufman@uci.edu

Mailing List: 21060-S02@classes.uci.edu

 

Over the next ten weeks, we will attempt to answer a single, seemingly simple question: What is a novel?  To answer this question, we must ask others: What are the novel’s defining characteristics?  What are its central concerns?  We will attempt to answer the first question by engaging in a close reading of Don Quixote, thought by some scholars to be the last historical romance, by others to be the first novel.  By examining the formal characteristics of Don Quixote, we will build the theoretical vocabulary needed to see how the formal properties of a novel determine how we, as readers, interpret its content.  In order to focus our formal investigation, we will examine how novels that emerge out of different historical moments address the legacy of slavery in America.  Two of the novels we will read – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Moses, Man of the Mountain – specifically address the struggle from bondage to freedom.  Two others – Light in August and Native Son – address the social, political, and familial ramifications of that struggle.  Though many things may be said about these novels, we will analyze how these different authors choose to articulate what the novelist James Baldwin calls “the fury of the color problem.”

 

The principal goal of this course is to hone your skills as a reader – in this case, a reader of novels.  In conjunction with that goal, you will be expected to develop your skills as a writer.  The two skills are intricately intertwined.  While we will focus on the themes outlined above and while you will be expected to master a vocabulary of terms and ideas associated with these themes, this approach is only a starting place – one of many possible starting places.  The success of this course should be measured by your ability to negotiate the details of the texts in order to make arguments that complicate these and other possible themes.  

 

Course Requirements:

 

·        Papers: Essay #1 (3-4 pages), Essay #2 (4-5 pages), Essay #3 (5-6 pages)         These papers are formal essays and must follow the conventions of academic essays.  They must be printed in 12-point font, double-spaced with 1-inch margins.  All formal essays, including drafts for peer editing, must be typed and should adhere to MLA format. (Please refer to the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.) Essays should have a proper heading, appropriate title, pagination, and, if appropriate, a Works Cited page. Your final drafts are due at the beginning of class on their respective due dates.  Late work will not be accepted unless you have cleared it with me at least one class period prior to the due date. 

 

·        Reading Responses (2 pages each): You will be required to write and turn in a reading response paper for each of the five novels we will read.  These responses are not formal essays.  Instead, they should indicate how you reacted to the work – what issues of content or form it brought to mind – and what in particular interested you in the novel.  The purpose of these responses is to insure that you have read the texts, to help you engage the texts in ways that will help you participate in class discussions, and to help you beginning thinking through possible essay topics.  I will also use your responses to adjust some of our class discussions to match your interests.  Reading Responses are due on the days indicated in the schedule below.

 

·        Final Exam: The final exam will require you to identify passages from the reading material, recognize and demonstrate your mastery of terms and concepts discussed in class, and write short essays that show your own thinking concerning the texts and ideas discussed in class.  The exam is cumulative.

 

  • Attendance: Woody Allen once said, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." Accordingly, my attendance policy requires that students regularly attend class; your success in this course largely depends upon it. I do take attendance every class, and it is your responsibility to make sure that your presence is duly noted. Missing more than 3 classes will negatively affect your final grade. Not showing up for more than 5 classes – the equivalent of 2 weeks, or twenty percent of the course – will result in automatic failure of the class.

 

  • Participation: Most people hate being ignored. They spend their entire lives just trying to be noticed. So why is it that students continually try to avoid being noticed by their instructors? Learning is not a passive endeavor: you have to read, write, and talk about your reading and writing. Only through active participation and engagement in your education will you benefit from your education. Intense classroom dialogue is one of the single most educational experiences you will have while here at Irvine. You often learn from yourself as you speak, and you will frequently produce ideas and theories in class by building on and occasionally challenging each other’s comments. Therefore, since I envision this course as more of a discussion than a lecture, you should commit yourself to speaking regularly and provocatively in class.

 

Grading:

 

            Responses (2 pages): 10%

Essay #1 (3-4 pages): 13%

Essay #2 (4-5 pages): 23%

Essay #3 (5-6 pages): 28%

Final Exam: 13%

Class Participation: 13%

 

Course Policies:

 

  • Add/Drop Policy: Add/Drop Policy for all Humanities Courses: A student may add or drop a course in the School of Humanities up to the end of the second week of classes with the instructor's signature. Requests to add or drop after the second week will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

 

  • Plagiarism: Plagiarism is defined as using another person's ideas or words without proper acknowledgement, and, depending on the seriousness of the offense, will result in automatic failure of the paper or of the course. Note that plagiarism may have further consequences as well, including expulsion from the university. Please be sure you have read the "Academic Dishonesty" policy found in UCI's Schedule of Classes.

 

·        Assignments: All written work should be typed (printed).  All assignments are due at the beginning of the class period on the due date.  Late work will not be accepted unless you have cleared it with me at least one class period prior to the due date.  If you must miss class when a written assignment is due, turn in your assignment before the due date or have a friend bring it to class.  Do not drop it off in the English Department unless you have made prior arrangements with me.  Do not email assignments to me.

 

Required Texts:

 

Don Quixote, Miguel Cervantes

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

Light in August, William Faulkner

Moses, Man of the Mountain, Zora Neale Hurston

Native Son, Richard Wright

Keywords, Raymond Williams

 

Schedule:

 

Please complete reading assignments before the beginning of the class period on the date for which they are assigned.  When possible, complete the week’s reading assignments (indicated parenthetically) before the beginning of the week for which they are assigned.

 

Week One: Don Quixote (1-358)

 

M: Introduction

W: DQ pp. 1-49

F: DQ pp. 50-358 (selections) Prompt for Essay #1 Provided

 

Week Two: Don Quixote (358-746)

 

M: DQ pp.  359-473 (selections) Response Paper for Don Quixote Due

W: DQ pp. 473-614 (selections)

F: DQ pp. 614-746 (selections)

 

Week Three: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (13-150)

 

M: Huck Finn pp. 13-48 Essay #1 Due

W: Huck Finn pp. 49-95

F: Huck Finn pp. 96-150

 

Week Four: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (151-296)

 

M: Huck Finn pp. 151-206 Response Paper for Huck Finn Due

W: Huck Finn pp. 207-252

F: Huck Finn pp. 253-296

 

Week Five: Light in August (1-200)

 

M: Light pp. 1-76 Prompt for Essay #2 Provided

W: Light pp. 77-145

F: Light pp. 146-200

 

Week Six: Light in August (201-444)

 

M: Light pp. 201-286 Response Paper for Light in August Due

W: Light pp. 287-361

F: Light pp. 362-444

 

Week Seven: Light in August (443-507) and Moses, Man of the Mountain (1-110)

 

M: Light pp. 443-507 Essay #2 Due

W: Moses pp. 1-54

F: Moses pp. 55-110

 

Week Eight: Moses, Man of the Mountain (111-288)

 

M: Moses pp. 111-159 Response Paper for Moses, Man of the Mountain Due

W: Moses pp. 160-211

F: Moses pp. 212- 288

 

Week Nine: Native Son (7-92)

 

M: Memorial Day Holiday

W: James Baldwin, “Everybody’s Protest Novel,” Native Son, “How Bigger was Born”

F: Native Son pp. 7-92

 

Week Ten: Native Son (93-392)

 

M:  Native Son pp. 93-253 Response Paper for Native Son Due

W: Native Son pp. 254-392

F: Review for Exam Essay #3 Due

 

Final Exam: Monday, June 10, 10:30 - 12:30 p.m.