Core 102: Narratives of the Self II
Spring 2009
Dr. Beth Mauldin
Office: Hearst 309
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday 12:00 – 1:30
bmauldin AT oglethorpe.edu
Course description:
In Narratives of the Self II, students will explore modern fictional and philosophical constructions of the self. We will use a cultural studies approach, drawing from a variety of disciplines: psychology/psychoanalysis, history, religious studies, and sociology.
Required Texts:
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground (Vintage) (core text)
Migel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote trans. Rutherford (Penguin) (core text)
Toni Morrison, Beloved (Vintage) (core text)
Cormac McCarthy, The Road (Vintage)
Art Spiegelman, Maus (Pantheon)
Strunk and White, The Elements of Style (Longman)
Also required: several photocopied handouts and films as noted on the schedule.
Honor Code:
The University Honor Code will be enforced. Students will pledge to have completed papers honestly by signing the following at the conclusion of each paper:
I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this paper.
Signed ___________________________________
Plagiarism (paraphrasing or quoting or borrowing an idea without attribution from an outside source) is a serious violation of the Honor Code and will not be tolerated. All use of sources or others' words or ideas should be duly cited and acknowledged. When in doubt, cite any source you look at. For further information on the honor code, please see the University Bulletin, p 77. Unpledged work will not be graded.
Requirements/Grading:
Participation 10 %
Quizzes 10%
Paper 1 20 %
Paper 2 20 %
Paper 3 20 %
Paper 4 20%
Requirements and Policies:
This syllabus constitutes a contract between us as teacher and student. If you do not drop the class, you have accepted these requirements and policies and the consequences of not fulfilling each as explained here. I expect attendance at each class meeting and the highest standards of academic honesty in accordance with the Honor Code. All written work must be pledged. Write the pledge and sign your name. Pledging means that you neither gave nor received any unauthorized assistance on the assignment. Any presentation of another’s words as your own (including from another student’s work and information from internet sources) is plagiarism.
Tardies:
If you come in late after the roll call, I will have no record of your attendance. It is your responsibility to see me immediately after the class in which you were tardy to make a request that you be counted tardy rather than absent.
Excused absences:
You are allowed three unexcused absences. After that, I will deduct half a letter grade for each unexcused absence from your final average.
Quizzes (10%): You will have a quiz on the reading every class period. I will drop your lowest grade.
Participation (10 %):
At the minimum participation requires attendance. Attendance at every class is expected, and roll will be called at the beginning of class. If you come in late, I will have no record of your attendance.
Four Essays (4-5 pages each) (80%) (20% each): You will compose four stylistically coherent, concise four to five page essays on an assigned topic. See the class schedule for due dates.
Oglethorpe’s Grade Scale:
A 4.0 93-100
A- 3.7 90-92
B+ 3.3 87-89 C+ 2.3 77-79 D+ 1.3 67-69
B 3.0 83-86 C 2.0 73-76 D 1.0 60-66
B- 2.7 80-82 C- 1.7 70-72 F 0.0 Below 59
Oglethorpe’s Grade Scale:
A 4.0 93-100
A- 3.7 90-92
B+ 3.3 87-89 C+ 2.3 77-79 D+ 1.3 67-69
B 3.0 83-86 C 2.0 73-76 D 1.0 60-66
B- 2.7 80-82 C- 1.7 70-72 F 0.0 Below 59
SCHEDULE:
Note: The dates show what is due on that date. Any changes will be announced in class.
January 12 Introduction
January 14 Bring Strunk and White to class
January 16 Don Quixote Prologue and Part I Chapters 1 - 10
January 19 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
January 21 Don Quixote Part I Chapters 16 - 22, 25, 52
January 23 Don Quixote Part II Chapters 1, 3, 12 - 17
January 26 Don Quixote Part II Chapters 25, 32, 64, 65, 73, 74
January 28 Notes from Underground pp. 3 - 41
January 30 Notes from Underground pp. 42 – 87 (Part II Chapters I – V)
February 2 Notes from Underground pp. 88 – 130 (Part II Chapters VI – X)
February 4 Office Space (Film on reserve—please watch before coming to class)
February 6 Writing Workshop
February 9 Introduction to Trauma Studies
February 11 Oglethorpe Day
February 13 Beloved pp. xvi - 51
February 16 Beloved pp. 52 - 100/PAPER ONE DUE
February 18 Beloved pp. 101 - 156
February 20 Beloved pp. 157 – 195
February 23 Beloved pp. 196 - 256
February 25 Beloved pp. 257 - 324
February 27 White Light Black Rain (Film on reserve—please watch before coming to class)
March 2 Workshop
March 4 Maus
March 6 Maus
March 9 Maus
March 11 Maus
March 13 Maus ** ESSAY 2 DUE **
March 14 – 22 Spring Holidays
March 23 The Road pp. 3 - 48
March 25 The Road pp. 49 - 93
March 27 The Road pp. 94 - 144
March 30 The Road pp. 145 - 199
April 1 The Road pp. 200 - 233
April 3 The Road pp. 234 - 287
April 6 Workshop
April 8 Presentations
April 10 Presentations/PAPER THREE DUE
April 13 Reading on Freud: Id, Ego, Superego/Marx: Capitalism and social class
April 15 Fight Club (Film on reserve—please watch before coming to class)
April 17 Fight Club (Film on reserve—please watch before coming to class)
April 20 Read: Jonathan Katz: “The Invention of Heterosexuality” and Michael Kimmel: “Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity”
April 22 Boys Don’t Cry (Film on reserve—please watch before coming to class)
April 24 Workshop
April 27 Wrap up
**PAPER FOUR DUE MONDAY, MAY 4**
