Syllabus and Policies: CORE 112 Hipsters, Comedians, and Critics: Irony and Identity

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1 Syllabus and Policies: CORE 112 Hipsters, Comedians, and Critics: Irony and Identity Alex Young Spring 2013 Wed. 10:00 11:50 Office Hours: Wed. 8:00-9:30 am CAS 208 (or by appointment) In this class, we'll undertake a critical exploration of ironic humor and its effect on identity. Whether in the deadpan musings of Brian the Dog on Family Guy, the tacky 1980s design of a vintage Dr. Pepper t-shirt, the faux partisanship of Stephen Colbert, or the viral popularity of Rebecca Black s YouTube masterpiece Friday, irony is everywhere in our contemporary cultural landscape. But what exactly do we mean when we describe a clothing choice or a joke as ironic? At the most basic level, irony is the use of language to convey a meaning different from the literal meaning of what is said. This seemingly simple mental operation, however, often has unintended consequences for the characters (and even the authors and artists!) who engage with it. In our quest to understand exactly what it is irony does for us and does to us we will start with the iconic irony of Oscar Wilde s trivial comedy for serious people, The Importance of Being Earnest. Then we ll witness irony run amuck in the entirely unserious and thoroughly scandalous proclivities of Jane Bowles Two Serious Ladies. Our ironic lens will turn on the university itself as we explore the worldview of Murray Siskind, the Professor of Elvis Studies whose misadventures in kitsch consumption are chronicled in Don Delillo s White Noise. Against the backdrop of Thomas McGuane s Montana, we ll follow the archly ironic protagonist Berl Pickett as he realizes that at some point in life he might have to take something seriously. As we move through this series of always witty and often hilarious examples of ironic humor, we will also be engaging with thinkers such as Linda Hutcheon, Richard Rorty, and David Foster Wallace to help us answer the questions that will accompany the humor of our readings: Is the ironist the comic hero of our age? How does irony shape our ethical, political, or artistic identities in today s media-saturated world? Books: Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest Jane Bowles, Two Serious Ladies Percival Everett, Erasure Thomas McGuane, Driving on The Rim Films: Christopher Guest, Waiting for Guffman Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom Course Requirements Assignments

2 In this course you will complete three research essays, a creative assignment, and a final research paper. All of these assignments will have attendant tutorial assignments to help you prepare for them. Assignment Format All writing assignments must be completed as Microsoft Word documents, and will be submitted to me electronically as attachments. I accept papers via only. Make sure to adhere to the following formatting requirements for each assignment: 1) Use a standard Microsoft Word file format (.doc or.docx). 2) Use size 12 Times New Roman font and standard margins. 3) Include your name, assignment number, and a title for your essay. 4) Number your pages. 5) Your subject heading and the file name of your assignments should both follow this format: YourLastName.NumberofAssignment. Thus if I was turning in my first assignment, I would name my file and label my Young.A1. Class Attendance and Participation "Eighty percent of success is showing up." Woody Allen "To my writing classes I used later to open by saying that anybody who could talk could also write. Having cheered them up with this easy-to-grasp ladder, I then replaced it with a huge and loathsome snake: 'How many people in this class can talk? I mean, really talk?' Christopher Hitchens Our class discussions will be a vital part of your journey towards becoming better close readers and analytic writers. Not only will we talk about important issues in literary analysis and expository writing during class, but I will be challenging you to express your ideas about literature persuasively and clearly. As the Hitchens quote above suggests, gaining proficiency and confidence in this sort of oral expression can be a vital part of your development as a writer. You are required to be prepared for and engaged in every class session. This means: Be on time. Bring all assigned texts. Carefully read and annotate all assigned reading before class. Be prepared participate in a discussion on any assigned material. Everyone will be called on to participate in every class. Engage in the discussion in a respectful manner. Turn off and put away all cell phones, laptops, or any other electronics.

3 Tutorials One of the most unique and rewarding aspects of CORE 112 is the amount of one-onone instruction time it affords us. In addition to our scheduled classes, I will meet with each of you individually, in my office, six times over the course of the semester (or, about once every two weeks) for thirty minutes. These sessions will give us time to talk about how to improve specific aspects of your writing, ranging from research to revision. While we will discuss drafts as a part of this process, this is not a time in which I will be extensively proofreading your drafts for you: proofreading and revising are skills that I will be encouraging you to practice independently. During our first class session, you will sign up for a permanent tutorial appointment. It is not possible to reschedule or make up a tutorial session, nor is it possible for your session to be extended if you arrive to a tutorial late. While I will give you an assignment for each tutorial, you should also come prepared with as many relevant questions and concerns as possible. Tutorials will be from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Thursdays in the following weeks: 2, 3, 6, 10, 13, 14 (see dates below). Grading Final grades in this course will be holistic, meaning they will be based on your performance as a close reader and an analytic writer over the course of the term. Diligence (how consistently you apply yourself to your writing and class work) and development (how much your writing improves over the course of the semester) will be major factors in my decision making progress. This grading system is designed to take our focus off of grades as such, and put it on to your development as a writer. If you find yourself dissatisfied with a grade on a particular paper, I want you focused not on that stumbling block, but on how to make your next paper and your final grade reflect your full capability. Having said that, a rough breakdown of the areas of grading would look something like this: Performance on papers total: 70% A1: 8% A2: 10% A3: 15% A4 (creative): 7% Seminar Paper: 30% Participation and preparedness in class: 15% Participation and Preparedness in tutorial: 15% A note on late papers: Late papers will be graded down 1/3 of a letter grade for each day they are late, meaning a B would become a B- if it was one day late, a C+ if it was two days late, etc. Exceptions will be made in the case of emergencies or other extreme extenuating circumstances, if I am notified ASAP as soon as the

4 circumstance arises. Please note that quotidian computer issues broken printers, wireless routers, etc. do not constitute extreme extenuating circumstances. A note on absences: Unexcused absence from our seminars or tutorials will have a negative impact on your grade. Your first absence will severely negatively impact your participation and preparedness grade for the week. For each unexcused absence from class or tutorial after the first, your grade in the class will be lowered by a 1/3 rd of a letter grade i.e. an A- would become a B+. Absences due to extracurricular or athletic activity must be pre-approved with me at least 1 week before the date of absence. Absence due to illness can only be excused with a note from the health center. Required Texts MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7 th Edition. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, Trimble, John R. Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing. 3 nd Edition. Saddle River: Prentice Hall, Occasional handouts from me Academic Integrity As you should know already, plagiarism is the attempt to pass off someone else's writing or ideas as your own. The thematic option program and I take plagiarism very seriously. Any plagiarized work will result in an "F" on the assignment (if the instance of plagiarism occurs in a rough draft, you will receive an "F" on the final paper), and, depending on the seriousness of the case, an "F" in the class, and expulsion from T.O. and potentially the university. For further information on T.O. and the university's academic integrity policies, please consult the T.O. Guidebook or the USC SCampus manual. Communication is the best way to communicate with me outside of class and tutorials. Feel free to me at any time with thoughts about our class discussions or questions about your assignments. Some caveats about how I use 1. I sit down to answer student s once or twice a day. I will generally answer s within 24 hours, but expect a longer response time on the weekends. 2. I don't look at drafts over , and are tutorial sessions will not be solely devoted to looking at drafts. Part of what I hope you attain this semester is the self-confidence about your own analyses if I check off on each paragraph you write as you write them, the thoughts in your paper won't be wholly yours. 3. If you feel you are slipping behind in the class, or that you are having difficulty completing an assignment, please let me know as soon as possible.

5 It's always better for us to address a problem before it manifests itself in your work. Students with Disabilities Any student requiring academic accommodations based on disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me in the first two weeks of the semester, not at the time of an exam or paper due date, so that we can arrange for appropriate accommodations. DSO is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) Important Conference Dates for Spring 2013: Conference Topic Announced: February 13th Proposals Due: March 8th Presenters Notified: March 25th Panels Announced: March 25-27th Abstracts Due: March 29th Conference: April 8 th and 9 th

6 Class Schedule CORE 112, Spring 2013*** Week Class Meeting Primary Text Topic/Handouts 1 Jan. 16 Rorty Intros Irony, aesthetics, politics 2 Jan. 23 Wallace, Hutcheon, The Importance of Being Earnest 3 Jan. 30 The Importance of Being Earnest 4 Feb. 6 Two Serious Ladies Intro A1 Irony, modernism and postmodernism Oscar Wilde Modernist Irony Jane Bowles Irony and queer identity Assignments Due/Conference Deadlines A1 Due: Thursday, 2/7, 10:00 pm Tutorial T1: Jan. 24 th T2: Jan 31st 5 Feb. 13 Two Serious Ladies Intro A2 Conference topic announced 6 Feb. 20 White Noise Irony and Postmodernism 7 Feb. 27 White Noise Library Visit (date A2 Due: & Time TBA) Thursday, 2/28, Irony and the 10:00 pm Academy 8 Mar. 6 Poetry Intro A3 Conference Irony and poetic Proposals Due: form March 8th 9 Mar. 13 Poetry/ Irony and the novel Erasure *****Spring Break March 14-19th ********** 10 Mar. 27 Erasure Irony and race A3 Due: Sunday, 3/31, 5:00 pm. Conference Abstracts due: 3/29 T3: Feb 21st T4: Mar Apr. 3 Driving on The Rim Intro A4 Irony and race/ Irony and masculinity 12 Apr. 10 Waiting for Guffman T.O. Conference: April 8th & 9th 13 Apr. 17 Driving on T5: Apr.

7 14 Apr. 24 Moonrise Kingdom The Rim 17 A4 DUE Friday, 5/26, 10:00 pm 15 May 1 Seminar Paper Presentations SEMINAR PAPERS DUE WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH AT 5:00 PM. *** All dates are subject to revision. T6: Apr. 25

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