Approaches to Postmodernism Fall credits Department of English MA program in literature Teacher: Frida Beckman

Transcription

1 Approaches to Postmodernism Fall credits Department of English MA program in literature Teacher: Frida Beckman Dates Seminars Readings Other remarks Sept 1, Sept 8, Introduction What is Postmodernism? Lyotard, Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism? Note on the Meaning of Post Hassan Toward a Concept of Postmodernism Description of course and course assignments Sept 15, Postmodernism as a Cultural Logic Jencks The Emergent Rules Jameson, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism Nealon Post-Postmodernism: Periodizing the 80s: The Cultural Logic of economic Privatization in the U.S. Deadline first assignment: Sept 21 Sept 22, Toward a Postmodern Poetics Hutcheon Theorizing the Postmodern: Toward a Poetics Barth Literature of Exhaustion Literary text: Coover The Babysitter Sept 29, Postmodernist Fiction and Ontology McHale From Modernist to Postmodernist Fiction: Change of Dominant Literary text: Thomas Pynchon The

2 Oct 6, Oct 13, Oct 20, Postmodernism, Images and the Real Postmodernism and Feminism Postmodern Subjects and Strategies Crying of Lot 49 Baudrillard, From Simulacra and Simulation Deleuze from The Simulacrum and Ancient Philosophy Literary Text: Don DeLillo White Noise Felski Feminism, Postmodernism, and the Critique of Modernity Jardine The Demise of Experience: Fiction as Stranger than Truth? Literary text: Angela Carter The Passion of New Eve Hutcheon Intertextuality, Parody, and the Discourses of History Subject in/of/to History and His Story Literary text: Kathy Acker Great Expectations Tuesday Oct 25, 14.00, Summary Rehearsing key points and questions from the course in preparation for the final assignment. Deadline second assignment: October 31 Reading List Literary texts: Kathy Acker Great Expectations (1982) John Barth Lost in the Funhouse (1968) Angela Carter The Passion of New Eve (1977) Robert Coover The Babysitter (1969) Don DeLillo White Noise (1985) Thomas Pynchon The Crying of Lot 49 (1965) Theoretical texts: Barth, John. Literature of Exhaustion Available online (14 pages) Baudrillard, Jean. From Simulacra and Simulation, (Postmodern American Fiction pp ) (6 pages)

3 Deleuze, Gilles. The Simulacrum and Ancient Philosophy (excerpt) The Logic of Sense (Handout) (12 pages) Felski, Rita. Feminism, Postmodernism, and the Critique of Modernity, Cultural Critique 13, 1989, pp (23 pages) Hassan, Ihab Toward a Concept of Postmodernism (Docherty ) (10 pages) Hutcheon Linda Theorizing the Postmodern: Toward a Poetics, A Poetics of Postmodernism: History Theory, Fiction (London: Routledge, 1988) 3-21 (17 pages) Available electronically through SUB. Intertextuality, Parody, and the Discourses of History A Poetics of Postmodernism (16 pages) Available electronically through SUB Subject in/of/to History and His Story A Poetics of Postmodernism (19 pages) Available electronically through SUB Jameson, Fredric The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism Postmodernism, or, The Logic of Late Capitalism (1991), pp (or Docherty, pp ) (30 pages) Jardine, Alice. The Demise of Experience: Fiction as Stranger than Truth? (Docherty ) (8 pages) Jencks, Charles. The Emergent Rules (Docherty ) (13 pages) Lyotard, Jean-Francois. Answering the Question: What is Postmodernism? (Docherty 38-46) (8 pages) Note on the Meaning of Post (Docherty 47-50) (3 pages) McHale Brian. From Modernist to Postmodernist Fiction: Change of Dominant, in Postmodernist Fiction, Chapter 1: pp Available electronically through SUB (22 pages) Nealon Jeffrey T. Post-Postmodernism: Periodizing the 80s: The Cultural Logic of Economic Privatization in the U.S., in Post-Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Just-in-Time Capitalism (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012), pp (24 pages) Additional material to be assigned by the teacher Assignments First Assignment (deadline September 21) The texts we have read so far have focused on the question of how conceptions of postmodernism fit into a historical context both in terms of that which came before and that which it is supposed to describe. Most of the critics have also noted the difficulties of outlining and defining the concept in this sense. In this first assignment of the course, write a short essay identifying, comparing, and discussing some of the key concerns that the critics we have read so far articulate when it comes to periodizing and defining postmodernism.

4 Word count: words Deadline: September 21. Submit on Mondo under Assignments as a word attachment before midnight. Second Assignment (deadline October 31) With a starting point in postmodernism as a contested term, the second assignment asks you to provide an informed discussion of its fault lines. Referring to and analyzing one or several of the literary texts from the reading list, and making active use of the theoretical material, identify, compare, and problematize questions of postmodernism when it comes to one or several of these key areas of debate 1) its periodization, 2) its relation to a cultural and economic logic, 3) its consistency and usefulness as a poetics, 4) its extended focus on questions of ontology. Word count: words Deadline: October 31. Submit on Mondo under Assignments as a word attachment before midnight. Contact info Teacher: Frida Beckman, frida.beckman@english.su.se, Office: E875, Work phone: Available via or by appointment. Assessment and assessment criteria You will be continually assessed according to your performance in class, and according to the quality of your submitted assignments: written assignments (70%), seminar work (30%). OUTSTANDING For a grade of A the student should Display wide-ranging knowledge of the themes and concepts covered by the course material and seminar presentations as well as a profound familiarity with the texts we have read. Show the ability, in written work and in active class discussion, to critically analyze theoretical arguments and literary works in a manner that is on occasion innovative and often illuminating, consistently deploying appropriate critical concepts in an elegant way. Present his/her arguments in a persuasive and coherent manner, in correct, fluent and idiomatic English, in a consistently academic style of writing and spoken delivery. EXCELLENT For a grade of B the student should

5 display a broad knowledge of the themes and concepts covered by the course material and seminar presentations as well as a solid familiarity with the texts we have read. show the ability, in written work and in class discussion, to critically analyze theoretical arguments and literary works in a manner that is on occasion illuminating, with frequent and correct use of appropriate critical concepts. present arguments in a solid and coherent manner, in correct and fluent English, in an academic style of writing and in an acceptably formal register of spoken delivery GOOD For a grade of C the student should display considerable knowledge of most of the themes and concepts covered by the course material and seminar presentations as well as an adequate familiarity with the texts we have read. show the ability, in written work and in class discussion, to critically analyze theoretical arguments and literary works, with at least occasional and correct use of appropriate critical concepts. present arguments in a coherent manner, in adequate English with only minor errors, with only some lapses from an academic style of writing and with a correct and fluent spoken delivery. SATISFACTORY For a grade of D the student should display basic knowledge of most of the themes and concepts covered by the course material and seminar presentations as well as some familiarity with the texts we have read. show the ability, in written work and in class discussion, to critically analyze literary works and theoretical arguments, with some, basic use of appropriate critical concepts. present his/her arguments in a largely coherent manner, in adequate English with only minor errors, in a consistent, formal register of writing and with a largely correct and fluent spoken delivery ADEQUATE For a grade of E the student should display basic knowledge of some of the themes and concepts covered by the course material and seminar presentations as well as a basic knowledge of some of the elements of plots, characters, settings and narrative structure in most of the texts we have read. show some ability, in written work and in class discussion, to critically analyze literary works and theoretical arguments, with at least a minimal employment of technical terms. present his/her arguments in an intelligible manner, in adequate English, in a largely formal register of written or spoken delivery, with some fluency and few errors. INADEQUATE A grade of F will be set if the student fails the attendance requirements or fails to hand in assignments in time.

6 shows scant or no knowledge of the themes and concepts covered by the course material and seminar presentations; likewise shows very little or no familiarity with the texts we have read. fails to reach a satisfactory level of critical analysis in written assignments and in class discussion, a failure that includes inability to properly use critical concepts. fails to communicate adequately in English, with many errors and no sense of stylistic register. Any of these failures is enough for an overall fail. INCOMPLETE The Fx grade is set if the student has reached most of the Learning outcomes of the course, but must hand in revised or supplementary material in order to fully meet the requirements.