Memoir and Memory 2013 syllabus
Transcription
Memoir and Memory 2013 syllabus
Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 1 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY BOOKS REQUIRED FOR PURCHASE: 1. Harriet A. Jacobs. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. L. Maria Child: Editor; Jean Fagan Yellin: Editor, Introduction. 1987; reprinted Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009. ISBN-10: 0674035836; ISBN-13: 9780674035836. $19.00. [Prior editions with Jean Fagin Yellin as editor are acceptable.] 2. David Thompson, River of Memories: An Appalachian Boyhood. New York: Writers Club Press, an imprint of iUniverse, 2002. ISBN-10: 0595261949; ISBN-13: 978-0595261949. $14.95. 3. Sandra Day O'Connor and H. Alan Day, Lazy B: Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest. 2002; reprinted New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003. ISBN-10: 0812966732; ISBN-13: 978-0812966732. $16.00. 4. Hamilton Holt, ed. The Life Stories of Undistinguished Americans As Told By Themselves. 1990; reprinted with a New Introduction by Werner Sollors. New York: Routledge, 2012. ISBN-10: 1440063001; ISBN-13: 978-1440063008. $9.72. [Order from amazon.com] 5. Paul Clemens, Made in Detroit. 2005; reprinted New York: Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 2006. ISBN-10: 1400075963; ISBN-13: 978-1400075966. $15.95. 6. Jeanette Walls, The Glass Castle: A Memoir. 2005; reprinted New York: Scribner, 2006. ISBN-10: 074324754X; ISBN-13: 978-0743247542. $16.00. 7. Domenica Ruta, With or Without You: A Memoir. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2013. ISBN10: 0812993241; ISBN-13: 978-0812993240. $25.00. [May be available only in hard cover edition.] 8. Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. 1975; reprinted New York: Vintage International Edition, 1989. ISBN-10: 0679721886; ISBN-13: 978-0679721888. $14.00. Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 2 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY 9. Piri Thomas, Down These Mean Streets. 1967; reprinted New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 1997. ISBN-10: 0679781420; ISBN-13: 978-0679781424. $14.95. 10. Edwidge Danticat, Brother, I'm Dying. 2007; reprinted New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 2008. ISBN-10: 1400034302; ISBN-13: 978-1400034307. $15.00. 11. Sonya Sotomayor, My Beloved World (2013). New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. ISBN-10: 0307594882; ISBN-13: 978-0307594884. $27.95. [Available only in hard cover edition.] 12. Martin Duberman, Cures: A Gay Man's Odyssey, Tenth Anniversary Edition. 1992; reprinted Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2002. ISBN-10: 0813339545; ISBN-13: 978-0813339542. $16.00. 13. Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic (2007): Mariner Books; Reprint edition (June 5, 2007); ISBN-10: 0618871713; ISBN-13: 978-0618871711. $14.95. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The design of this course has been assisted by advice from Ann Fabian of the History Department at Rutgers and from my colleagues in American Studies: Louise Barnett and Andrew Urban. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Memoir and Memory examines classic and modern American memoirs in order to understand how these memoirs sought to interpret their subjects’ lives both as they had been lived and as their subjects would like to have them understood retrospectively. LEARNING GOALS: Departmental learning goals: • Students will be able to describe the methods of American Studies and synthesize the debates that have shaped the field. • Students will learn to investigate American culture and society across time and space by examining history, politics, literature, and the arts. • This course will contribute to the department’s long-term goal that students learn to articulate ideas in well-organized oral presentations and clearly written prose. Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 3 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY • Assignments are designed to help students learn to think critically, analytically, and creatively. Additional learning goals met by this course: Students will learn: • to examine memoirs as primary sources and to situate them historically in their cultural, social, and political context • to understand and apply a critical vocabulary in memoir and memory studies to a whole series of texts: historical, literary, film, and other cultural artifacts • to do in-depth research on a topic related to memoir and memory in American cultures • to identify central concerns about memoir and memory in primary source documents and write thoughtful response papers, responding critically to the primary text’s central concerns or question ABSENCES: Regular class attendance is required by Rutgers and is essential to this class. You will be allowed one unexcused absence without grade penalty. The consequences of unexcused absences are as follows: 1 unexcused absence = No penalty 2 unexcused absences = 20% grade penalty = final grade no higher than a B 3 unexcused absences = 30% grade penalty = final grade no higher than a C 4 unexcused absences = failure in the course Excused absences are those that result from documentable family emergencies, illness, religious observance, court dates, jury service, etc., that is, situations over which you have no individual control. Please inform me as soon as possible if you are unable to attend class on a regular basis. ABSENCE AND LATENESS POLICY Students are expected to arrive at class promptly and to attend the entire class. Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes for reasons such as jury duty, illness, family funeral, etc., please use the University absence reporting website //https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra// /to indicate the date and reason for your absence. An email is automatically sent to me. SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS: All special accommodation requests must be brought to my attention during the first two weeks of class. Full disability policies and procedures are available for review at: http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/. Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 4 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY Students with disabilities requesting accommodations must follow the procedures outlined at http://disabilityservices.rutgers.edu/request.html. CURRENT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml. Violations include: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, denying others access to information or material, and facilitating violations of academic integrity. Honor Pledge: I pledge on my honor that I will adhere to all aspects of the Rutgers Academic Integrity Policy. _____________________________________ Take interactive‐tutorial on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: http://sccweb.scc‐ net.rutgers.edu/douglass/sal/plagiarism/Intro.html. Consult Don't Plagiarize: Document Your Research! For tips about how to take notes so that you don’t plagiarize by accident: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/lib_instruct/instruct_document.shtml Online Learning Tools from Rutgers University Libraries including Rutgers RIOT, Searchpath and RefWorks: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/lib_instruct/lib_instruct.shtml; Academic Support Programs: http://lrc.rutgers.edu/ NO CELL PHONES OR COMPUTERS ARE PERMITTED IN THIS SEMINAR EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF STUDENTS WITH CLASSIFIED DISABILITIES THAT REQUIRE SUCH USE. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Class participation. This is a seminar. Its success depends on your active and informed participation in our weekly discussions. Therefore, attendance is required at ALL class meetings, and class participation constitutes an essential part of the final grade. (15% of final grade) Each student will be the primary moderator of one class and the assistant moderator of another. (15% of final grade) Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 5 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY October 14th: Last date to consult on term paper topics. October 21st: First 3-4 page critical paper due. October 28th: Preliminary bibliography due. E-mail to me at fishbei@rci.rutgers.edu. November 4th: Second 3-4 page critical paper due. November 25th: Thesis statement due. E-mail to me at fishbei@rci.rutgers.edu. December 9th: 12-15 page term paper due on topic to be decided in consultation with instructor. Please supply stamped self-addressed large (e.g. 9” x 13”) manila envelope for return of paper. AMERICAN STUDIES DEPARTMENT CONTACT INFORMATION: FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanStudiesAtRutgersNewBrunswick TWITTER: @RUAmerStudies SITE: http://amerstudies.rutgers.edu/ OFFICE HOURS: Office: Ruth Adams Building 024C Office telephone: (848) 932-8650 E-mail: fishbei@rci.rutgers.edu Office hours: Monday: 3:30-5:00 P.M. Tuesday: 3:45-5:15 P.M. and by appointment GRADING COMPONENTS: Moderation….................15% Class participation…......15% First short critique..........15% Second short critique…..15% Term paper......................40% Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. 6 AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY FILM SHOWINGS: FILM Family Gathering (1988, 30 minutes) SHOW DATE September 9th Harlan County, USA (1976, 103 minutes) September 23rd Sandra Day O’Connor: Biography (2004, 60 minutes) September 30th The Stories of Maxine Hong Kingston (1994, 60 minutes) November 4th Every Child is Born a Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas (2003, 59 minutes) November 11th Daughters of Dykes (1994, 14 minutes) December 9th ASSIGNMENTS: All readings on reserve at Mabel Smith Douglass Reserve Desk and articles available on electronic reserve. No. Week of: Readings and Films: (*on reserve) I. September 9th No readings. FAMILY GATHERING (1988, 30 MINUTES) SHOWN IN CLASS Slavery and Race: II. September 16th Harriet A. Jacobs. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. L. Maria Child: Editor; Jean Fagan Yellin: Editor, Introduction. 1987; reprinted Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009. Portrait of Harriet Jacobs in 1894; Preface by Jean Fagan Yellin: pp. vii-viii; Introduction: pp. xix-liii; Note on the Text: lv; Chronology: lvii-lx; Title page of the first edition lxi; Cast of Characters: lxii; Preface by the Author: pp. 1-2; Introduction by the Editor: pp. 3-4; pp. 5259; Appendix: pp. 261-264; Illustrations: pp. 295-306; Abbreviations: p. 309; Correspondence: pp. 310-342; Notes: pp. 343-391. Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 7 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY No. Week of: Region: III. September 23rd IV. September 30th Readings and Films: (*on reserve) David Thompson, River of Memories: An Appalachian Boyhood. New York: Writers Club Press, an imprint of iUniverse, 2002. Dedication/ Preface: ix; Acknowledgments: xi; Quotation from Denis Waitley; Introduction: pp. 1-9; pp. 11-207; Epilogue: pp. 209-211. EXCERPTS FROM HARLAN COUNTY, USA (1976, 103 MINUTES) SHOWN IN CLASS Sandra Day O'Connor and H. Alan Day, Lazy B: Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest. 2002; reprinted New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003. Biographical sketches of Sandra Day O’Connor and H. Alan Day. Dedication, photographs, maps. Preface: vii-xi; pp. 3-312; Epilogue: pp. 313318; Acknowledgments: p. 319. SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR: BIOGRAPHY (2004, 60 MINUTES) SHOWN IN CLASS Poverty, Class, and Addiction: V. October 7th Hamilton Holt, ed. The Life Stories of Undistinguished Americans As Told By Themselves. 1990; reprinted with a New Introduction by Werner Sollors. New York: Routledge, 2012. Acknowledgments: vii-viii; Note on the Second Edition: ix; Foreword by Werner Sollors: From the Bottom Up: xi-xxviii; Note: xxix-xxx; Introduction: Undistinguished Americans by Edwin E. Slosson: pp. 1-5; pp. 6-224. VI. October 14th Paul Clemens, Made in Detroit. 2005; reprinted New York: Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 2006. Quotations from Coleman A. Young and Bernard Malamud. Author’s Note; 1-241; Acknowledgments. LAST DATE TO CONSULT ON TERM PAPERS Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 8 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY No. Week of: Readings and Films: (*on reserve) VII. October 21st Jeanette Walls, The Glass Castle: A Memoir. 2005; reprinted New York: Scribner, 2006. Wedding photograph of Rose Mary and Rex Walls; Dedication; Acknowledgments; Quotation from Dylan Thomas; 1-299; About the Author: p. 299. FIRST CRITICAL PAPER DUE VIII. October 28th Domenica Ruta, With or Without You: A Memoir. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2013. Dedication; Quotation from Kurt Vonnegut; PRELIMINARY Prologue: Glass: pp. 3-6; pp. 7-200; Epilogue: Just Keep Coming: BIBLIOGRAPHY pp. 201-207; Acknowledgments: pp. 209-210; About the Author: DUE [p. 211]. If available, examine the book’s dust jacket. Immigration and Ethnicity: IX. November 4th SECOND CRITICAL PAPER DUE X. Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. 1975; reprinted New York: Vintage International Edition, 1989. Pp. 1-209. THE STORIES OF MAXINE HONG KINGSTON (1994, 60 MINUTES) SHOWN IN CLASS November 11th Piri Thomas, Down These Mean Streets. 1967; reprinted New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 1997. Piri Thomas/Down These Mean Streets: unnumbered page; Author’s Acknowledgments: vii-viii; Prologue: ix-x; Harlem: [p. 1]; pp. 3-331; Afterword to the Thirtieth-Anniversary Edition: 333337; Glossary: 339-340. EVERY CHILD IS BORN A POET: THE LIFE AND WORK OF PIRI THOMAS (2003, 59 MINUTES) SHOWN IN CLASS Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 9 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY No. Week of: Readings and Films: (*on reserve) XI. November 18th Edwidge Danticat, Brother, I'm Dying. 2007; reprinted New York: Vintage Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 2008. Dedication; Quotation from Paul Auster; pp. 3-269; Acknowledgments: pp. 271-272. XII. November 25th Sonya Sotomayor, My Beloved World (2013). New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. Quotation from José Gautier Benítez. Preface: vii-x; Prologue: pp. 3-9; 111-297; centerfold photographs; Acknowledgments: pp. 305-308; Glossary: pp. 309-312: “A Puerto Rico (Regreso)”/ “To Puerto Rico (I Return)” by José Gautier Benítez, Translated by Lyn Di Iorio: pp. 313-315; A Note about the Author: [p. 317] THESIS STATEMENT DUE E-mail thesis statement to me at fishbei@rci.rutgers.edu. Sexuality: XIII. XIV. December 2nd December 9th Martin Duberman, Cures: A Gay Man's Odyssey, Tenth Anniversary Edition. 1992; reprinted Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2002. Dedication; Acknowledgments; Note; Prologue: pp. 1-3; pp. 5-301; 2002: An Afterword: pp. 303-313; Notes: pp. 317-319; Martin Duberman biographical sketch. Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. 2006; reprinted Boston: A Mariner Book, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. Pp.1232; Acknowledgements: [p. 234]. DAUGHTERS OF DYKES (1994, 14 MINUTES) SHOWN IN CLASS -- continued on page 10 Leslie Fishbein American Studies Department F.A.S., Rutgers University 10 Fall 2013 Ruth Adams Building 018 Monday: 12:35-3:35 P.M. AMERICAN STUDIES 01:050:487:01: SEMINAR IN AMERICAN STUDIES: MEMOIR AND MEMORY No. Week of: XIV. December 9th (continued) Readings and Films: (*on reserve) TERM PAPER DUE: (12-15 pages). Paper actually must use and document in footnotes or endnotes THREE of the sources provided by the instructor at meeting at which term paper topic is approved. Please e-mail your paper to me at fishbei@rci.rutgers.edu and supply stamped self-addressed large (e.g. 9” x 13”) manila envelope for return of paper, which must be submitted in hard copy at the December 9th class.