21L.000J | Fall 2015 | Undergraduate

Writing About Literature: Writing About Love

Readings

[FSF] = Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, 2004. ISBN: 9780743273565. [Preview with Google Books]

[AB] = Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Reprint edition. Mariner Books, 2007. ISBN: 9780618871711. [Preview with Google Books]

[TM] = Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Reprint edition. Vintage, 2004. ISBN: 9781400033416.

[SC] = Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek: And Other Stories. Vintage, 1992. ISBN: 9780679738565.

[JD] = Díaz, Junot. This Is How You Lose Her. Reprint edition. Riverhead Books, 2013. ISBN: 9781594631771. [Preview with Google Books]

[JH] = Harris, Joseph. Rewriting: How To Do Things with Texts. Utah State University Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780874216424. [Preview with Google Books]

Gardner, Janet E. Reading and Writing About Literature: A Portable Guide. 3rd edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. ISBN: 9781457606496. [Preview with Google Books]

SES # TOPICS READINGS
Week 1: Narrator
1

Theme

General introduction; basic vocabulary; course structure

No assigned readings
Week 2: Narrator cont.
2 Close Reading

[FSH] Ch. 1–3

[JH] Introduction & Afterward

3 Close Reading cont.

[FSF] Ch. 4

[JH] Ch. 1

Week 3: Character
4 Plot

[FSF] Ch. 5–6

[JH] Ch. 2

Week 4: Character cont.
5 The Great Gatsby and Waitress [FSF] Ch. 7–8
6 The Great Gatsby [FSF] Ch. 9
Week 5: Autobiographical
7 Graphic Novels

[AB] Ch. 1–2

[JH] Ch. 3

8 Graphic Novels cont. [AB] Ch. 3–4
Week 6: Autobiographical cont.
9 Fun Home

[AB] Ch. 5–7

[JH] Ch. 4

Week 7: The Archive
10 Historical [TM] pp. 4–59.
11 Historical cont. [TM] pp. 60–100.
Week 8: The Archive cont.
12 Beloved

[TM] pp. 102–173.

[JH] Ch. 5

13 Beloved cont. [TM] pp. 174–235.
Week 9: The Archive cont.
14 Beloved cont. [TM] pp. 236–270.
15 Beloved cont. [TM] pp. 271–324.
Week 10: New Historicism
16 Benito Cereno Melville, Herman. Benito Cereno. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016. ISBN: 9781536864175. [Preview with Google Books]
Week 11: New Historicisms cont.
17 “The Counterpane” & “The Monkey-Rope” Butler, Judith. “Speaking of Rage and Grief.” YouTube. 2014.
18 “The Counterpane” & “The Monkey-Rope” cont. Melville, Herman. “The Counterpane” and “The Monkey-Rope.” In Moby Dick. Project Gutenberg EBook.
Week 12: Feminist Analysis
19 Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories [SC] pp. 1–40.
20 Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories cont. [SC] pp. 41–113.
Week 13: Cultural Analysis
21 Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories cont. & This Is How You Lose Her [SC] pp. 114–165.
22 Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories cont. & This Is How You Lose Her [JD] pp. 1–50.
Week 14: Cultural Analysis cont.
23 This Is How You Lose Her cont. [JD] pp. 51–122.
24 This Is How You Lose Her cont. [JD] pp. 123–217.

Course Info

Instructor
Departments
As Taught In
Fall 2015
Learning Resource Types
Written Assignments