Dr. Karen Schneider
Spring 2002
Office: CH 118
karen.schneider@wku.edu
5714 (office) / 782-3037 (home)
www.wku.edu/~schnekl
Required Texts:
Octavia Butler, Kindred
Ana Castillo, So Far From God
Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
Citra Banerjee Divakuruni, The Mistress of Spices
Louise Erdrich, Tracks
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
Toni Morrison, "Recitatif" and Sula
Gloria Naylor, Bailey's Cafe
Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club
Reading packet
Recommended: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,
5th ed.
Ed. Joseph Gibaldi, 1999.
Description and Rationale:
In this course we will study novels and short stories written by American
women of color, mostly in the last two decades, during which time women's
voices have powerfully influenced the contours of contemporary literature.
Literature by minority women has enjoyed a flowering in part because the
liberation movements of the sixties created a milieu in which traditionally
silenced voices could speak and be heard. I have selected these specific
texts for their artistry in representing the often invisible but nonetheless
rich variety of experience and perspective of those in the doubly marginalized
position of being non-white and female in American culture.
This course is cross-listed with Women's Studies (and is an approved elective for the Women's Studies minor or the Women's Studies Graduate Certificate). Obviously, one of the assumptions behind this class is that a familiarity with and sensitivity to women's experience is essential for an understanding of the human condition. Less apparent assumptions informing my pedagogy include 1) feminism is not about male bashing, but about mutual respect, valuing difference, and social justice, 2) we all (students and teachers alike) have something to learn from one another, 3) open, constructive discussion facilitates active learning, 3) students and teachers are equally responsible for how much learning takes place, 4) personal experience can be a valuable source of knowledge, and 5) opinions are more valuable when cogently supported.
In our reading, writing, and discussion, we will consider several broad,
overlapping areas of inquiry:
Are women of color telling stories that (seemingly) haven't been
told before?
How do they make use of their historic and cultural past?
How do they define themselves?
How do gender, race, ethnicity, and class intersect to shape experience
and the literary imagination?
How has minority women's writing modified our notions of literature
and the literary canon?
How do these writers use or modify familiar stories?
How does their writing reconfigure Western social, historical,
and political "reality"?
What narrative strategies and techniques do the writers use to
give their stories shape and significance?
What reading strategies (familiar or otherwise) do these texts
require?
Finally, we will be white reading black, male reading female,
Asian reading Latina, etc. How
do these differences affect our understanding?
Requirements:
**Regular and Punctual Attendance
**Keeping up with all reading, which will enable you to enjoy
**active participation in class discussion
**four short papers (no more than 3 pgs)
These are due at regular intervials (see syllabus)
and may be on any of the novels we have read during that particular interval.
These papers should consist of focused, clearly argued, well supported
interpretations of some aspect of the novel. I want you to practice
developing your own readings and arguments, so do not consult any secondary
sources for these.
**research paper -- This should focus on one or two of the novels
we read this semester.
undergraduate: ~10 pages, w/ min. of 5 sources
graduate: 13-15 pages, w/ min. of 8 sources
Note: The undergraduates will
have an opportunity to present their papers at an English
department conference. Details forthcoming.
Note: Graduate students pursuing
Rank I or II teaching certification are required to
incorporate pedagogy into their research papers. More on this individually,
as appropriate.
**Graduate students only: a summary and evaluation (4-6 pages) of a critical essay on one of our writers and/or the work we have read by that writer. You may select an essay you plan to use in the research paper. First summarize the critic's thesis and his/her argument (main supporting points and essential evidence). Then discuss why you chose this particular essay--what makes it worthwhile to you, in a general way and/or for use in your research paper. A synopsis of this paper (~ 10-15 min.) will be presented in class, on the day we read the author you have selected. Please turn in a copy of the source essay along with your paper.
**take-home final exam
Grade Determination:
Undergraduate
Graduate
four short papers: 400 (100 pts each)
four short papers: 400
research paper: 300
summary/eval: 200
final exam:
200
research paper: 300
900 total points available final exam:
200
1100
General Information:
All papers must be typed or computer-generated, double-spaced
with standard 1" margins, non-justified on the right, on non-erasable paper.
Keep a back-up copy somewhere. Late papers will not be accepted except
in cases of extreme circumstance; in such cases, arrangements should be
made IN ADVANCE if at all possible. Cover sheets are unnecessary,
but all essays should have illuminating titles. Please use current
MLA documentation style on all papers. I reserve the right to return,
unread, papers that are inadequately proofread or do not in good faith
meet the minimum requirements.
I hope never to encounter any PLAGIARISM, but it is only fair that you know the results of academic dishonesty: a zero for the assignment and perhaps failure of the course. University policy also recommends informing the Dean and noting the incident on your permanent academic record. To assure proper documentation and to avoid accidental plagiarism, we will take class time to discuss MLA documentation form and techniques for incorporating secondary material into your own writing.
Conferences
I will be in my office during announced office hours, and available
for consultation, by appointment, at other times as well. Do not
hesitate to come by and talk with me about any aspect of this course.
I urge you to take advantage of the individual attention I can give you
in conference. I require at least one conference with everyone
to discuss research paper topic. I require one additional conference
with the undergraduates--a research paper draft conference, in preparation
for revision--for which you must make an appointment. Always let
me know if you must cancel a conference.
Office hours: MWF 9-11 / T 12-3 / by appointment
1/15 Introduction to
Course
Visit my web site, gleaning whatever you find useful
1/22 Morrison, "Recitatif"
(reader)
Jehlen, "Gender" (reader)
Appiah, "Race" (reader)
1/29 Silko, Ceremony (1977)
Presentation:____________________________________________
2/5 Erdrich, Tracks (1988)
Presentation:_____________________________________________
Paper # 1 Due
2/11 Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
Presentation:____________________________________________
2/19 Butler, Kindred (1979)
Presentation:___________________________________________
2/26 Mayberry,
"White Feminists Who Study Black Writers" (reader)
on research papers Dinner?
3/5 Morrison, Sula (1973)
Presentation:___________________________________________
Paper # 2 Due
[3/7 is deadline for dropping class with a W]
3/12 Naylor, Bailey's Cafe (1992)
Presentation:__________________________________________
SPRING BREAK
3/26 Kingston, The Woman Warrior (1975)
Presentation:____________________________________________
Paper # 3 Due
4/2 Tan, The Joy Luck Club (1989)
Presentation:____________________________________________
4/9 Castillo, So Far From God (1993)
Presentation:____________________________________________
4/16 Cisneros, The House on Mango Street (1989)
Presentation:____________________________________________
Paper # 4 Due
4/23 Divakuruni, The Mistress of Spices (1997)
Presentation:____________________________________________
4/30 Research Papers Due
Presentations (graduates)
Discuss Final Exam
Take-home Final Exam due by 4p.m., Tuesday, May 7. You may turn
it in earlier.