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English 620: The Profession of English

Fall 1999
Monday 3:30 - 6:00
Kuykendall 408
 John Zuern
Office: Kuykendall 219
Office Phone: 956-3019
zuern@hawaii.edu
Office Hours: M 2:30-4:00 W 12:00-1:30 and by appointment
Objectives
Policy
   Required Texts
Assignments
Reading Schedule

MAILE

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Objectives

This course serves as an introduction to the multifaceted profession of English studies and to the many opportunities available for graduate students in the UH-M Department of English. Seminars will be organized around the discussion of selected texts that address issues related to literary criticism, cultural studies, rhetoric and composition, and creative writing. In addition to assigning relevant readings, I will coordinate class discussions with visits from representations of the four concentrations in the graduate program.

All dimensions of the field called "English" are currently undergoing dramatic transformations. Anyone who wants to play a creative, productive role in the future of the profession must have an understanding of these changes, the dynamics that have brought them about, and the conversations and debates they have spurred. This course gives students the opportunity to orient themselves within the profession of English by exploring the major coordinates of the field as it has developed in higher education over the past three centuries and by engaging with discussions of the discipline's present configurations and its future prospects.

Policy

I expect all seminar participants to conduct themselves professionally and responsibly throughout the semester. You must come to class every week and be prepared to discuss the readings assigned for that session.

Begin planning your written and oral contributions to the seminar right away; you must sign up for in-class discussion panels by September 20.

I will accept late work only in extraordinary circumstances; the same policy applies to incompletes. If a situation arises that makes it difficult for you to attend class or complete your assignments, you need to inform me right away so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Do not wait until the end of the semester to let me know you're having trouble, at which point we will have few alternatives.

Materials

All participants must have an active email account
and must register on the MAILE class site by August 30.

Required Texts

These texts are available at Revolution Books, 1019 University Ave, Suite 3A

Bérubé, Michael. The Employment of English: Theory, Jobs, and the Future of Literary Studies.
New York: New York UP, 1997.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph P. Williams.
The Craft of Research.
Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995.

Byatt, A. S. Possession.
New York: Vintage, 1991.

Miller, Thomas P.
The Formation of College English: Rhetoric and Belles Lettres in the British Cultural Provinces.
Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh P, 1997.

Smithson, Isaiah and Nancy Ruff, Eds.
English Studies/Culture Studies: Institutionalizing Dissent.
Chicago: U of Illinois P, 1994.

Assignments

One of my goals for this class is to have you become familiar with a variety of genres of academic writing other than the research paper. Semester grades will be based on the following required work:

Reading Schedule

 Subject to change. All reading must be completed by the date for which it is assigned. Bold listings indicate due dates for assignments.

August 23 "Critical Thinking and Critical Pedagogy"
Introduction to the course
introduction to MAILE
Online personal statements: why did you choose English?
(posted by Friday, August 27)
August 30 Byatt, Possession (to 259)
Sign up for discussion panels
September 6 Holiday
September 13 Byatt, Possession (to end)
Booth, Colomb, and Williams The Craft of Research (Chapters 1-6; Chapters 11 and 13)
sign up for discussion panels (last chance)
September 20 Gramsci, "The Formation of Intellectuals," "Ideology," and "Hegemony"
Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction (Preface-Chapter 1)
Miller, The Formation of College English (Introduction-Chapter 2)
September 27 Miller, The Formation of College English (Chapters 3-5)
Viswanathan, "English Studies in India"
October 4 Levine, "Reclaiming the Aesthetic"
Bérubé, The Employment of English, (Chapter 1)
Miller, The Formation of College English (Chapter 9-Conclusion)
October 11 visitor: Nell Altizer, Creative Writing (readings TBA)
October 18 visitor: Beth Tobin, Cultural Studies in Asia/Pacific (readings TBA)
October 25 visitor: Jeff Carroll, Composition and Rhetoric (readings TBA)
November 1 visitor: Robert McHenry, Literary Studies (readings TBA)
project literature review due (no more than 5 pages)
November 8 Figiel, "A Writer's Story"
Hau`ofa, "Our Sea of Islands"
Teaiwa, "bikinis and other s/pacific n/oceans"
     "Real Natives Don't French Kiss (When They're Making Love)"
Trask, "Neocolonialism and Indigenous Structures"
    "Native Student Organizing: The Case of the University of Hawai`i"
November 15 Bérubé, The Employment of English, (Chapters 3, 5, 6, 8)
November 22 Smithson, "Introduction: Institutionalizing Culture Studies";
Graff, et. al., "A Dialogue on Institutionalizing Cultural Studies";
Mariscal, "Can Cultural Studies Speak Spanish?";
Caughie, "Passing as Pedagogy: Feminism in(to) Cultural Studies"
(all in Smithson and Ruff)
Wednesday, November 24
draft of conference paper due
submit your draft to me and to Writing Exchange on MAILE

(I will not read drafts that are turned in after this date.)
November 29 Francis, "Elder Wisdom: Native American Culture Studies";
Redmond, "Griots, Bluesicians, Due-Payers, and Pedagogues: An African-American, Autobiographical, 1960s' View of Culture Studies";
Ma, Asian Immigrant: Confessions of a 'Yellow Man'";
Nelson, "Always Already Cultural Studies: Academic Conferences and a Manifesto"
(all in Smithson and Ruff)
December 6 Morisson, Noble Lecture, December 7, 1993
http://www.nobel.se/laureates/literature-1993-lecture.html
Heaney, Noble Lecture, December 7, 1995
http://www.nobel.se/laureates/literature-1995-lecture.html
Wednesday, December 15
final conference paper due

Syllabus in PDF Format

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