ENGL 301 (Schedule #25049)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Spring 2011
MW 4-5:15pm :: LFSCB 154
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 324D Hibbs Hall
Spring 2011 Office Hours: m 2-3:30pm & 5:30-6pm; w 5:30-6:30pm

English Studies: Reading Literature:
Reading Today

Why read at all? Why speak? Why write? These questions come to us at all levels in the study of literature. In this class we will read and/or listen to a variety of fiction and poetry texts that ponder just these questions while placing them within larger social contexts. What is literature for? What does it mean to be "literate" or not? In this class we'll read, watch and listen to a number of stories, both true and not true, in which the relationship between stories, reading, and storytelling and the "rest of life" is made explicit. Some, including stories from Jorge Luis Borges, are puzzles about reading, but for the most part we will focus on good and/or meaningful stories in which these other issues happen to emerge around the edges. We will also listen to a variety of contemporary versions of "oral storytelling" from radio programs in which stories are told rather than read; and we will not only read written poetry on the page, but also listen to and watch poetry performed in live in an environment where improvisation is allowed or even encouraged. The class is taught primarily via discussion; students will write three short papers and do some in-class work as part of their participation grade, and we will also spend some time workshopping each other's papers on a volunteer basis.

Books: Fiction and Poetry (available at bookstore, but you are welcome to acquire used copies of any edition of these books)

1. Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (novel, 2007)
2. R. Zamora Linmark, Rolling the R's (experimental prose, 1997)
3. Jorge Luis Borges, Labyrinths (short stories, 1940s)
4. MT Anderson, Feed (novel, 2004)
5. Frank Miller with Lynn Varley, Ronin (graphic novel, 1995)
6. Haryette Mullen, Sleeping With the Dictionary (poetry, 2001)
7. Edwidge Danticat, Krik? Krak! (short stories, 1996)
8. George Ella Lyon, With a Hammer for My Heart (novel, 1997)
9. Juliana Spahr, Well Then There Now (poetry/experimental prose, 2011)

Books: Non-Fiction

1. Maryanne Wolf, Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (Harper, 2008)

Audio (available online/in Blackboard)

1. The Moth
2. Storycorps
3. Verbs on Asphalt: The History of Nuyorican Poetry Slam

Assignments and Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on written exercises and course participation as follows:

• Written work: two short papers, 2-3 pages each (15% each, 30% total)
  Twoshort papers on media or texts we use in class or another text or media object chosen in consultation with the instructor. Students are encouraged to explore works outside the syllabus for at least one of their three course papers. Suggested topics will be distributed before paper due dates, and we will discuss paper writing and work on it together during class, possibly including "workshopping" some student papers.
• One longer paper, 5-7 pages (30%)
  On simi liar topics to the short papers, a longer paper will be due during the scheduled final exam time for the course. There is no other final exam.
• Participation (40%)
  This class is exclusively devoted to the discussion of and thought about reading, writing, and speaking . Many of the texts are brief; some weeks we will involve listening to audio narratives. The class only works if you come to the class having read the assignment, prepared to say something about the text. Each student will

Honor System

• All VCU students are presumed upon enrollment to have acquainted themselves with and have an understanding of the Honor System. Therefore, it is a student's responsibility to ask course instructors to clarify expectations for each assignment in order to be in compliance with the Honor System. The 2007 - 8 VCU Honor System policy statement and purpose is located at http://www.provost.vcu.edu/pdfs/Honor_system_policy.pdf

Reasonable Accommodations

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 require Virginia Commonwealth University to provide an 'academic adjustment' and/or a 'reasonable accommodation' to any individual who advises us of a physical or mental disability. If you have a physical or mental limitation that requires an academic adjustment or an accommodation, please arrange a meeting with me at your earliest convenience. Additionally, if your course work requires you to work in a lab environment, you should advise the instructor or department chairperson of any concerns you may have regarding safety issues related to your limitation(s)

What to Know and Do to be Prepared for Emergencies at VCU

1. Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts (www.vcu.edu/alert/notify). Keep your information up to date.
2. Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms.
3. Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities.
4. Know where to go for additional emergency information (www.vcu.edu/alert).
5. Know the emergency phone number fort the VCU police (827-1234). Report suspicious activities and objects"

Policies

• This course is taught primarily via discussion. Your attendance and participation are vital to its success. A significant portion of your grade (40%) depends on your class participation. "Class participation" does not necessarily mean that you have said what everyone thinks is the smartest thing in the world, but has much more to do with whether other students know your name by mid-semester because you contribute to discussion regularly. Because the class meets only twice a week, more than 2 unexcused absences will count against your final course grade. 3 unexcused absences results in automatic failure of the course, in accordance with College guidelines.
• No late work is accepted in this class. Work handed in late is automatically marked down one-third grade (e.g., a B becomes a B-) for each day it is late, and after one week becomes a failing grade for the assignment.
• You are expected to have done the primary reading and any other primary course assignments before the beginning of course each week.
• All work in this course is subject to the University's Honor System. You may work in teams for some assignments, but all written work must be solely your own, and any reliance on published work must be properly cited.
• Final grades for the course will not be released until the entire class has submitted online course evaluations.

Week-by-Week Syllabus

Week One. Introduction

• Weds Jan 19: intro, no text

Week Two. Short texts

• Mon Jan 24. Gregory Benford, "Matter's End" (pdf on Blackboard)
• Weds Jan 26. Community, "Cooperative Calligraphy" (NBC tv, Season 2, episode 8) (tv program on Blackboard)

Week Three. Stories from Labyrinths

• Mon Jan 31. Borges, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," "Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote"
• Weds Feb 2. Borges, "The Garden of Forking Paths," "The Library of Babel"

Week Four. Rolling the Rs

• Mon Feb 7. Linmark, Rolling the R's, pages 1-71
• Weds Feb 9. Linmark, Rolling the R's, pages 72-end

Week Five. Stories from The Moth (all on Blackboard)

• Mon Feb 14. David Carr, "The Crackhouse: Snow Suits and Snow Blindness"; Barry Gibbs, "Exonerated"; Dina Pearlman, "30 Days Off Crack... And Cute"
• Weds Feb 16. Jeffrey Rudell, "The Undertaker's Daughter," "Under the Influence"

Week Six. Sleeping With the Dictionary

• Mon Feb 21. Mullen, Sleeping With the Dictionary, pt1
• Weds Feb 23. Mullen, Sleeping With the Dictionary, pt2. Short paper 1 due.

Week Seven. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

• Mon Feb 28. Diaz, Brief Wondrous Life, pages 1-165
• Weds Mar 2. Diaz, Brief Wondrous Life, pages 166-end

Week Eight. Ronin

• Mon Mar 7. Miller, Ronin, pt1
• Weds Mar 9. Miller, Ronin, pt1

Spring Break

Week Nine. Feed

• Mon Mar 21. Anderson, Feed, pt1
• Weds Mar 23. Anderson, Feed, pt1

Week Ten. Krik? Krak!

• Mon Mar 28. Danticat, Krik? Krak!, pt1
• Weds Mar 30. Danticat, Krik? Krak!, pt2

Week Eleven. Well Then There Now

• Mon Apr 4. Spahr, Well Then There Now, pt1
• Mon Apr 6. Spahr, Well Then There Now, pt2. Short paper 2 due.

Week Twelve. Nuyorican Poets

• Mon Apr 11. specific poems/poets tbd.
• Weds Apr 13. specific poems/poets tbd.

Week Thirteen. Storycorps

• Mon Apr 18. specific stories tbd
• Weds Apr 20. specific stories tbd

Week Fourteen. Proust and the Squid

• Mon Apr 25. Wolf, Proust and the Squid pt 1
• Weds Apr 27. Wolf, Proust and the Squid pt 2

Week Fifteen. With a Hammer for My Heart

• Mon May 2. Lyon, With a Hammer for My Heart, pt1
• Weds May 4. Lyon, With a Hammer for My Heart, pt2

Final paper due in my English Dept mailbox (Hibbs Hall), or in Blackboard or via email, by 5:15pm, Thursday, May 12, 2011, per the registrar's exam schedule. There is no other final exam for the course.

Last updated February 7, 2011.