Course Description

The “revolutionary conditions” of literature, Deleuze and Guattari said, can be found in literature “which a minority constructs in a major language.” Why, how? They ascribe the insurgent potential of this form of writing to its capacity for a collective and political perspective, and its “deterritorialization” of language. With an eye to these conditions, we will study the “deterritorialization” of English literature in the work of Anglophone authors from Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Australia. Attending to local and global histories of English, we will approach the discourse of different nations and regions in three-part units: first, the precedent of fiction that reflects on the aftermath of British imperialism; second, contemporary work that interrogates the persistent and reconfigured social orders and power dynamics of decolonization; and third, critical theories about expression and history or memory in each region.

Contemporary writings about histories of war, globalization, diaspora, and migration deepen the present. We will permeate these histories through modes of expression, such as hybridity, creolization, code switching, translation, and multimedia. Taking inspiration from our materials, we will engage in essay writing that is critical and creative, personally meaningful and politically informed.

Aims

• Explore works of global Anglophone literature
• Practice close reading literary and theoretical texts
• Form original, critical analyses in discussion and writing
• Become familiar with conventions of academic writing, research, and citation

Participation

Participation is mandatory. It includes outside preparation, taking notes while reading for class, and in-class written reflections. You should aim to speak at least once each meeting. Voicing a question or confusion is a simple, vital method. We will discuss ways to promote an environment of respect and support for all participants.

We are contending with a pandemic and unequal access to remote learning technology. Therefore, synchronous meetings are optional. You are strongly encouraged to attend meetings. Greater engagement with the class means direct support for testing and refining your ideas, finding effective ways to communicate them, gauging their wider implications, and breaking down challenging readings. Plus: it combats isolation.

If you struggle to speak in class, please contact me to make an alternate plan. Let me know if technical or other issues impede your participation.

Please inform me of any disabilities to arrange accommodations.

Assignments

Annotations
Using a social reading tool, we will highlight and analyze passages in specified texts. The passages you select to annotate could be one word or several sentences long. Analysis should focus on the function or representation of English – or the idea of language itself – in the passage. Reasons for writing English in different ways manifest historically and in creative use. Annotation enables close reading, collaborating, and bookmarking ideas for development in our discussions and writing. I will pose open-ended questions that may provide seeds for your textual analysis.

Presentation
In a group of 3 students, you will give a short presentation (10 min. long) in class. This is a chance to communicate an individual interest in connection to the reading. You will explain your interest in an aspect of the text, share your method of analysis through an example, and receive questions from the class. We will briefly talk as a group beforehand for preliminary feedback.

Midterm
On the midterm, you will respond to an essay prompt given in class. The prompt provides guidelines for analytical reflection on one text from the first half of the semester and your own creative or academic purposes. In this way, you will clarify your understanding of the reading, critically position yourself in relation to your object of study, and practice referring to sources with purpose and intellectual generosity.

Final essay
You will design the topic of your final essay. It should investigate a question or problem that occurs in your consideration of the course topics. It should connect to at least one of the readings and a secondary source. Individual conferences will be set up for discussing your topic proposal during the last week of class. While the ethos of writing will be that of the essay (its word origins include testing the quality of, weighing, trial –OED), the precise genre and media should suit your aims. The essays will appear in a digital gallery on our course site.

Writing length
Students will cumulatively write at least 3,500 words as per Faculty Council mandate. Approximately:

• 1,000 words: Annotations (approx. 90 words each, 12 in total)
• 150 words: Presentation reflection
• 700 words: Midterm
• 200 words: Topic proposal
• 1,250 words: Final essay
• > 200 words: In-class writing

Expectations

Assessment
More than flawless literary interpretation or the perfect essay, I am looking for your direct engagement with the texts, hard work to communicate that engagement in writing, and efforts to think critically and collaborate supportively with the class. If you approach the assignments in this manner, I will be able to help you improve in any weaker areas and your grade will be rewarded.

Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own. Examples of plagiarism include:

• Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes attributing the words to their source.
• Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging the source.
• Internet Plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or parts of term papers, paraphrasing or copying information from the internet without citing the source, or “cutting & pasting” from various sources without proper attribution.

– CCNY Undergraduate Bulletin

Plagiarism will result in failing the assignment and possibly the course. No exceptions.

Grade

15%     Participation      Weekly
15%     Presentation      Once
20%     Annotations       See schedule
20%     Midterm             Due 10/20
30%     Final essay         Due 12/17

Each day past the due date will lower the grade of an assignment incrementally (e.g. A to A-, A- to B+). Extensions do not affect your grade and must be approved in advance.

Course materials

All readings are available through our course site.

You are welcome to read the assigned texts in other languages. English does not exist in a vacuum, and diverse reading practices will enhance our literary study. Contact me for help obtaining translations.

 

Header image: Tracey Moffatt, Suburban No. 2. ‘Crossed the Creek’, 2013