English 353 Zacharias

The Contemporary Novel Fall 2001

 

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SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Lee Zacharias

131 McIver

334-4695

lazachar@uncg.edu

Office hours 9-9:30 T Th 1:30-3:30 T

TEXTS: Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

Saul Bellow, Seize the Day

John Updike, Rabbit, Run

Robert Stone, Dog Soldiers

Walker Percy, Lancelot

Thomas Pynchon, Vineland

Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine

Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

COURSE DESCRIPTION: In this course we will study the American novel since 1945 through a series of texts that reflect the periods literary and social trends. Rather than read them in the order in which they were published, we will read them in an order that reflects some of the periods major social trends, beginning with the post-war (World War II) move to the suburbs, in order to observe how novelists of this period have dealt with cultural change, using either traditional or post-modern fictional structures.

STUDENT LEARNING GOALS: At the completion of this course, students should be able to read novels of various lengths with close attention, understand how authors create meaning, recognize literary techniques, key ideas, and strategies used to develop those ideas, respond to a novels aesthetic, rhetorical, and cultural qualities, and write a coherent literary argument in response to one or more novels.

REQUIREMENTS: Students are required to read nine novels and participate in class discussions of those novels. Additional requirements include short, unannounced reading quizes, two essay exams (midterm and final), and one 8-10 page interpretive and/or analytical paper on a novel read for the course.

GRADING: Each exam will count 25% of the semester grade; the paper will count another 25%. Quiz scores will count 12.5% and discussion 12.5% Note: Quizes cannot be made up. A quiz missed as a result of an excused absence will be recorded as E and will not be averaged into the total quiz score; a quiz missed as a result of an unexcused absence will be recorded as a 0, which will be averaged into the total quiz score.

ATTENDANCE POLICY: After 3 consecutive or a total of 5 unexcused absences, I will request that the Registrar drop a student from the class roster, which may result in a WF for the course. Course grade will be lowered one letter for a total of 4 unexcused absences or excessive tardies.

 

COURSE OUTLINE:

After the war we moved to the suburbs...

Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

But middle-class life demanded too much conformity...

Saul Bellow, Seize the Day

John Updike, Rabbit, Run

Was this the American Dream? We had to wonder: What kid of society are we?

Robert Stone, Dog Soldiers

Walker Percy, Lancelot

Thomas Pynchon, Vineland

One thing we leared: "We" arent everyone...

Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine

Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

 

ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE:

Aug. 23 Revolutionary Road (through Part One)

Aug. 28 Revolutionary Road (through Part Two)

Aug. 30 Revolutionary Road (finish)

Sept. 4 Seize the Day (through III)

Sept. 6 Seize the Day (finish)

Sept. 11 Rabbit, Run (through p. 116)

Sept. 13 Rabbit, Run (through p. 227)

Sept. 18 Rabbit, Run (finish)

Sept. 20 Lancelot (through IV)

Sept. 25 Lancelot (through VII)

Sept. 27 Lancelot (finish)

Oct. 2 Dog Soldiers (through p. 115)

Oct. 4 Dog Soldiers (through p. 214)

Oct. 11 Dog Soldiers (finish)

Oct. 16 MIDTERM EXAMINATION

Oct. 18 Vineland (through p. 106)

Oct. 23 Vineland (through p. 191)

Oct. 25 Vineland (through p. 293)

Oct. 30 Vineland (finish)

Nov. 1 Song of Solomon (through chapter 4)

Nov. 6 Song of Solomon (through chapter 9)

Nov. 8 Song of Solomon (finish)

Nov. 13 Love Medicine (through "Lulus Boys")

Nov. 15 Love Medicine (through "Love Medicine")

Nov. 20 Love Medicine (finish)

PAPER DUE

Nov. 27 The Joy Luck Club (through "Feathers from a Thousand Li Away")

Nov. 29 The Joy Luck Club (through "The Twenty-six Malignant Gates")

Dec. 4 The Joy Luck Club (through "American Translation")

Dec. 6 The Joy Luck Club (finish)

 

FINAL EXAM Period Eng 353 T Dec. 18, 8-11

Note: The final exam will cover only those novels read since the midterm examination and will be no longer than the midterm. You should not need three hours to take it.