ENGL 301 (Section 001, Schedule #31836)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Spring 2019
MWF 1:00 -1:50pm :: Hibbs B024
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 324D Hibbs Hall
Spring 2019 Office Hours: M 2-5pm

Introduction to the English Major

This class provides an overview of the study of literature and interpretation. Our focus will be on understanding the variety of approaches used in the discipline. Our time will be split about evenly between fiction and poetry. We’ll read both original literature and criticism about that literature, exploring the many ways that readers and writers respond to and make sense of textual expression. The class is taught primarily by discussion, and significant attention will be devoted to the construction of solid interpretive essays about literature, including workshopping each other’s papers and doing other classroom exercises about the written interpretation of literature and media.

Texts

Texts for purchase (note that in some cases, students are required to obtain the specific edition of the book listed below):

• Hannah Arendit, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (first published 1965; Penguin Books edition, 2006) · this specific edition is required
• Charles Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition (first published 1901; first Norton Critical Edition, 2012) · this specific edition is required
• Martha Collins and Kevin Prufer, eds., Into English: Poems, Translations, Commentaries (Graywolf Press, 2017)
• Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Told By Himself (first published 1845; second Norton Critical Edition, 2016) · this specific edition is required
• Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing with Readings (fourth edition, Norton, 2017) · this specific edition is required
• Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing (2017)
• Zora Neale Hurston, Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" (completed 1931, first published 2016)
• Toni Morrison, Tar Baby (1981)
• Claudia Rankine, Citizen: An American Lyric (2014)

Assignments and Evaluation

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

• Written Assignments: 60%. Students will write and edit 4 different essays and exercises over the course of the term. Each will count for 15% of the total grade.
  Link to Assignments page.
• Course Participation: 40%. A combined grade reflecting vigorous course participation and attendance. Being in class most of the time and contributing to discussion at least occasionally in such a way as to reflect having done the course reading will result in full or nearly full credit for course participation.

Course-Specific Policies

• Attendance. This course is taught primarily via discussion. Your attendance and participation are vital to its success.
• No Late Work. 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.
• Class Preparation. You are expected to have done the primary reading and any other primary course assignments before the beginning of course each week.
• Honor System. 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.
• Evaluations. Final grades for the course will not be released until the entire class has submitted online course evaluations.

Official VCU Policy Statements

Please consult the Provost's official page on topics such as classroom conduct, email, the Honor System, and other important policy issues.

Week-by-Week Syllabus

Week One: Introduction

• Mon Jan 14
• Weds Jan 16
• Fri Jan 18

Week Two: Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

• Mon Jan 21: MLK DAY, no class
• Weds Jan 23: Preface, and "The Text of the Narrative of the Life..." (pages vii-84)
• Fri Jan 25

Week Three: Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

• Mon Jan 28: "Contexts" + first 3 essays in "Criticism" (pages 85-145)
• Weds Jan 30: remainder of "Criticism" (pages 145-191)
• Fri Feb 1

Week Four: No classes (instructor away)

• Mon Feb 4: no class
• Weds Feb 6: no class
• Fri Feb 8: no class

Week Five: Hurston, Barracoon

• Mon Feb 11: Barracoon
• Weds Feb 13: Barracoon
• Fri Feb 15

Week Six: Rankine, Citizen

• Mon Feb 18: Citizen
• Weds Feb 20: Citizen
• Fri Feb 22

Week Seven: Morrison, Tar Baby

• Mon Feb 25: Tar Baby
• Weds Feb 27: Tar Baby
• Fri Mar 1

Week Eight: No classes (spring break)

• SPRING BREAK: Mon Mar 4
• SPRING BREAK: Weds Mar 6
• SPRING BREAK: Fri Mar 8

Week Nine: Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition

• Mon Mar 11: The Marrow of Tradition (Chapters I - XXXI, pages 5-163)
• Weds Mar 13: The Marrow of Tradition (Chapters XXXII - XXXVII, pages 163-195)
• Fri Mar 15

Week Ten: Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition

• Mon Mar 18: The Marrow of Tradition (Sollors, "Introduction," xi-xxxix; "Charles W. Chesnutt's View of His Own Story," xxxix-xli; Delmar, "Character and Structure in Charles W. Chesnutt's The Marrow of Tradition," 390-396; Pickens, "White Supremacy and Southern Reform," 397-399; Najmi, "Constructs of Blackness and White Femininity," 400-412)
• Weds Mar 20: The Marrow of Tradition (Plessy v. Ferguson, 426-427; Thomas, "The Legal Argument of Charles W. Chesnutt's Novels," 427-451; Pettis, "The Literary Imagination and the Historic Event," 452-463; Sundquist, "From Charles W. Chesnutt's Cakewalk," 472-487)
• Fri Mar 22

Week Eleven: Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem

• Mon Mar 25: Eichmann in Jerusalem
• Weds Mar 27: Eichmann in Jerusalem
• Fri Mar 29

Week Twelve: No classes (instructor away)

• Mon Apr 1: no class
• Weds Apr 3: no class
• Fri Apr 5: no class

Week Thirteen: Gyasi, Homegoing

• Mon Apr 8: Homegoing
• Weds Apr 10: Homegoing
• Fri Apr 12

Week Fourteen: Poems from Into English

• Mon Apr 15: Introduction by Martha Collins; poems by Tao Qian, Rainer Maria Rilke, Anna Akhmatova
• Weds Apr 17: Poems Frederico Garcia Lorca, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Paul Celan
• Fri Apr 19

Week Fifteen: Poems from Into English

• Mon Apr 22: Poetry
• Weds Apr 24: Poetry
• Fri Apr 26

Week Sixteen: Conclusion

• Mon Apr 29

Final paper is due by the end of the final exam period for the course, 1:50pm, Fri, May 3, 2019, per the registrar's exam schedule. The paper should be submitted on Blackboard. No late papers can be accepted for the final paper assignment. There is no other final exam for the course.

Last updated  April 12, 2019.