Returning to Others, Restoring Oneself: Novels of Community and Commitment
Course description:
We will explore the ways these much acclaimed novels represent cultural perspectives and historical legacies, and how these shape or condition relations among families, friends, and lovers, as well as commitments to broader communities and to the state. The coursework includes four focused journal entries (150-200 words, single-spaced) and four critical responses (350-400 words, single-spaced)--remember to title your entries and responses.
We'll meet for close to an hour once a week to share our responses to these works and to work at exploring and understanding their different representations of community, identity, and desire. Though focused on literary works, the class is interdisciplinary, and I look forward to the interplay of perspectives and methods that may emerge in discussion and in your writing. I shall also divide the class into four groups, with each group leading off discussion (ten minutes) on different novels twice during the semester.
The journal entries prompt you to respond briefly to a particular passage or problem (motif, characters' desires/behavior/relationships, various historical/cultural contexts), and articulate the topic's importance or potential significance. In short, how are you making sense of how the novel is proceeding, of understanding what's at stake, and how are you coming to terms with such provocations? The critical response is still succinct, but more substantial in the depth of its focus and perhaps in the significance of its scope. Here you might think of the response as the cornerstone or primary hypothesis (shaping principle/problem) of what could be developed into a longer essay (if one were required!).
I'm eager to start on our conversations on these works, and hope that if you are interested you will also feel invited to confer with me outside of class about your progress in the course and in the Honors Program. I shall set up a newsgroup for the class for you to post journal entries (and perhaps even the critical responses), and to share views and pose questions for discussion.
Finally, to receive a passing grade in the course (P), you must complete the written assignments by the due dates, and attend class to participate in our discussions. If you have three or more absences (excused or not), you will fail the course (F).
Required Texts:
David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars (Vintage,1995)
John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany (Ballantine, 1989)
Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams (HarperPerennial, 1990)
E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News (Scribners, 1993)
January
14 Kingsolver, Animal Dreams
21 Journal Entry #1 due (single-spaced, 150-200 words); Animal Dreams
28 Animal Dreams
February
4 Critical Response #1 due (350-400 words, single-spaced); Animal Dreams
11 Proulx, The Shipping News
18 Journal Entry #2 due; The Shipping News
25 The Shipping News
March
4 Critical Response #2 due; The Shipping News
11 Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars
25 Journal Entry #3; Snow Falling on Cedars
April
1 Critical Response #3; Snow Falling on Cedars
8 Snow Falling on Cedars; Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
15 A Prayer for Owen Meany
22 Journal Entry #4 due; A Prayer for Owen Meany
29 Critical Response #4 due; A Prayer for Owen Meany
May
6 A Prayer for Owen Meany
Advice on Journal Entries/Critical Responses Click here to access the newsgroup for this course (uidaho.class.intr.499.sf). Available only to users on the UI campus, and intended for those enrolled in this class. Information on Nicaragua (in reference to Kingsolver's and Irving's novels) Go to Stephan Flores' Home Page.