1 UCLR 100: Interpreting Literature (Introduction to Modernism) Spring Semester 2018 Wednesdays 10:00-12:30 a.m. Dr. Mena Mitrano Email: mmitrano@luc.edu Office Hours: Wednesdays, by appointment Course Description The subtitle of UCLR 100 is "Introduction to Modernism." This course is meant to be a journey of discovery. It uses the literary and aesthetic movement called "Modernism" to introduce students to a meaningful encounter with literature. Students will read texts Ezra Pound, H. D., T.S. Eliot, Mina Loy, the Harlem Renaissance poets, and other modernism authors, often in conjunction with images and visual materials. The aim is to raise questions about what we do when we read, about the relation of the past to the present, and about our capacity to understand our time. This is a foundational course of literary studies. We will read closely a variety of texts and you will learn how to approach them meaningfully. Learning Outcomes By the end of this class, students should be able to: Master a basic set of themes, concerns, conflicts, and desires central to modern American imagination which, however, extend their influence also beyond national boundaries and to world literature; Master close reading; Become familiar with and master key literary and critical terms useful to the analysis and interpretation of a literary text; Learn to discuss literature in meaningful ways, as a process of individual discovery and in relation to other forms of creativity; Perform an effective interpretation of a literary text. Required Text Nina Baym et al., The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 8th edition, vol. D (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011), ISBN: 978-0393934793. NB:You must own this book in print copy. You cannot attend the course if you do now have your personal copy. Packet of critical reading provided by the instructor and available on SAKAI. Requirements Active participation always informed by reading and reflection, Midterm, Final exam, and a variety of short responses to be assigned readings to be announced in class.
2 Attendance Policy In accordance with the JFRC mission to promote a higher level of academic rigor, all courses adhere to the following absence policy: For all classes meeting once a week, students cannot incur more than one unexcused absence. For all classes meeting twice a week, students cannot incur more than two unexcused absences. For all classes meeting three times a week, students cannot incur more than two unexcused absences. This course meets once a week, thus a total of one unexcused absence will be permitted. Unexcused absences beyond these will result in a lowering of your final grade. Evaluation Active participation 20% Midterm Exam 20 % Assignments 30% Final exam 30 % Grading 94-100: A 90-93: A- 87-89: B+ 84-86: B 80-83: B- 77-79: C+ 74-76: C 70-73: C- 67-69: D+ 60-66: D 59 or lower: F Late work: minus one grade. Academic Honesty Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable at the JFRC and will be dealt with in accordance with Loyola University Chicago s guidelines. Please familiarize yourself with Loyola s standards here: http://www.luc.edu/academics/catalog/undergrad/reg_academicintegrity.shtml. You are responsible for understanding what constitutes plagiarism according to the LUC Student Handbook. Disabilities Students with documented disabilities who wish to discuss academic accommodations should contact me the first week of class, as well as the Senior Academic Services Advisor. Proposed week-by-week schedule Week 1 Jan 17 Lecture Introductory lecture: Modernism and Reading
3 Seminar for next time Gertrude Stein Anne Stillman, "Prufrock and Other Observations," in The New Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot, ed. Jason Harding (2017): 41-54. See course packet on Sakai. Week 2 Jan 24 for next time T. S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" Anne Stillman, "Prufrock and Other Observations" T. S. Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (Norton Anthology) George Bornstein, " Ezra Pound and the Making of Modernism," in The Cambridge Companion to Ezra Pound, ed. Ira B. Nadel (1999): 22-42 Week 3 Jan 31 Ezra Pound George Bornstein, " Ezra Pound and the Making of Modernism" Ezra Pound poems in the Norton Anthology: "To Whistler, American," "In a station of the metro," "Hugh Selwyn Mauberley (Life and Contacts)," Canto I. Week 4 Feb 7 Ezra Pound and Imagism George Bornstein, " Ezra Pound and the Making of Modernism" Gertrud Reif Hughes, "Making It Really New: H.D., Gwendolyn Brooks, and the Feminist Potential of Modern Poetry," in American Quarterly 42.3 (Sep. 1990): 375-401. Week 5 Feb 14 H. D. Pre-Midterm review Prepare for the Midterm Week 6
4 Feb 21 Class topic MIDTERM Michael Bibby, " The Disinterested and the Fine: New Negro Renaissance Poetry and the Racial Formation of Modernist Studies," Modernism/modernity 30.3 (Sep. 2013): 485-501. Week 7 Feb 28 Race and modernism I Michael Bibby, " The Disinterested and the Fine: New Negro Renaissance Poetry and the Racial Formation of Modernist Studies" Gail MacDonald, "Gender and Sexuality," in The New Cambridge Companion to T. S. Eliot, ed. Jason Harding (2017): 162-174. See course packet on Sakai. Claude Mckay, poems in Norton Anthology, p. 480 + Week 8 March 7 Spring Break--no class Week 9 March 14 T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land (Norton Anthology) Gail MacDonald, "Gender and Sexuality" Manifestos in Norton Anthology, Marinetti, Loy, Pound, pp. 337-343, and The Vorticist Manifesto, in course packet, Sakai. Eliot, parts of The Waste Land" Week 10 March 21 Race and Modernism II Manifesto Day Anne Cheng, "Skin Deep: Josephine Baker and the Colonial Fetish," Camera Obscura 23. 3 (2008): 5-79, excerpts. Week 11
5 March 28 Marianne Moore Anne Cheng, "Skin Deep: Josephine Baker and the Colonial Fetish" Langston Hughes, poems in Norton Anthology (all of them) Marianne Moore, "To a Snail," "The Paper Nautilus," Norton A. Week 12 April 1 Easter recess--no class Week 13 April 8 Wallace Stevens Marianne Moore, "To a Snail," "The Paper Nautilus," Norton Anthology Lesley Janssen, "Ecopoetics: the language of nature and the nature of language," book review, in The Wallace Stevens Journal 38.1 (2014):110-112. Week 14 April 15 ------------------FINAL EXAM ----------------