ENGLISH 651-01: STUDIES IN CONTEMPORARY
LITERARY AND CULTURAL THEORY (3.0 CR.)
Modernity, Postmodernity, Globalization:
Theoretical Models and Narrative Representations
Instructor: Assistant Professor Christian
Moraru
Fall 2002
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McIver
139A, M 6:30-9:20 PM
Office:
McIver 112
Office
Hours: M 5:30-6:30 PM, and by appt.
Office
Phone: (336) 334-3564
Home
Phone: (336) 834-9866
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COURSE
DESCRIPTION AND GOALS: This graduate seminar focuses on one of the most crucial
and hotly debated issues in critical theory, cultural analysis, and the
humanities generally at the turn of the millennium: the rise of global or
“network” society. There has been, indeed, over the past decade or so, growing
interest in phenomena of globalization. Globalization, globalism, global
culture, the global age, recent forms of the modern world-system (Immanuel
Wallerstein), have emerged as leading buzzwords of the late nineties. They have
surfaced in all sorts of contexts and areas of inquiry, bearing upon English
and American studies, and theory in general, rapidly becoming a major subject
in fields as diverse as sociology, political sciences, economics, media
studies, and rhetoric (which has begun to address issues such as global
literacy, the spread of English, and so on).
This
course explores globalization and its complex, often contradictory meanings, in
conjunction with theories of modernity and modernism, post modernity and
postmodernism, and postcoloniality. We will start from the premise that
globalization represents a certain moment (or chapter) in the same narrative of
modernity that critics have used to understand post modernity and
postcoloniality. We will discuss both theories and fictions of globalization
and try to see how literary narratives relate to various theoretical models.
Readings include works by Giles Gunn, Martin Albrow, Gayatri Chakravorty
Spivak, Anthony King, Slavoj Zizek, Timothy Brennan, John Carlos Rowe, Don
DeLillo, Bharati Mukherjee, and Karen Tei Yamashita, among others.
The
course aims at familiarizing the students with recent theory and criticism,
turning in particular to a topic of increasing relevance and its cross-cultural
developments. In this class, students also learn, and apply, the research
methodology needed for the professional study of literature and the critical
ideas and theories shaping literary discourse. The emphasis will be placed on
identifying the dynamic and
features of core concepts and models of current critical and cultural analysis:
difference, identity, community, universality, globalism, cosmopolitanism,
modernism, postmodernism, post colonialism, and so on. We will place these
notions in their appropriate and complex contexts; we will study their origins
in modern theory as well as their forms in cultural history both in the West
and East. Classroom work and individual projects--to be presented orally or in
writing--are geared toward this goal. See the Professional Development note
below for more specific objectives graduate students (Ph.D.’s, M.A.’s, and
M.F.A.’s) will reach in this class.
METHODOLOGY
AND CLASS FORMAT: We will use criticism, theory, and philosophy, but we will
also turn to some fictional narratives. Running for almost three hours, this
class will resemble a seminar, combining lecture, extensive discussion, student
presentations, and, occasionally, group work. Usually, our meetings will open
with a lecture by the instructor providing historical and cultural background
and placing the scheduled readings in the appropriate context. Following this
introduction, students give 15-20-minute individual presentations on specific
aspects of those readings. Then, we discuss collectively the materials for the
day. I will set aside time to prepare and evaluate writing projects, exams, and
other assignments.
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES: Graduate students are encouraged to use this course to
put their work in the larger, more demanding and competitive perspective of
professionalism and academic performance. The class is geared toward graduate
reading and writing carrying potential for presentation and publication outside
UNCG. While fulfilling the course’s requirements is your main goal, I urge you
to take these requirements as an opportunity to think about yourselves as part
of the academic community, with its standards, language, methods, tools, and
venues.
Here
are a few questions for us: where do I stand as a scholar, teacher, critic, and
writer, and which are my goals? What is, or will be, my audience? In what kind
of scholarly conversation do I wish to intervene based on what I learn in this
class? What steps do I have to take to do that? What are the resources? Which
are the outlets for my work? What do I have to do, for instance, to turn my
seminar presentation/paper into a conference paper/journal article/dissertation
chapter/writing sample? (more details in class and individually).
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Writing Assignments and Exams.
Two options:
a) a midterm paper (10 pp.) and a
final paper (25 pp. plus endnotes
and Works Cited), recommended for advanced graduates;
b) a midterm and final paper (10 pp.
each) plus a take-home final exam.
For the final paper only, you are
responsible for submitting to the instructor and (ahead of time),
duplicating and circulating among class members a 1-p., single-spaced
proposal, which will be presented and discussed in class toward the end of
the semester. We will meet individually to discuss your proposal before its
presentation in class. I urge you to consult with me on the topic of your first
paper.
Note: All assignments are due in
class on the day indicated in
the syllabus.
2. Individual Presentations.
Students sign up for their final project and oral presentations right away so
that we can spread out the presentations over the course of the semester. Each
student will give a brief, 15-20-min. talk on the scheduled readings. The presentations
need not be written, but if they are, you should probably aim for 7-7.5,
double-spaced pages.
Presentations cover a relevant
aspect or material for the day. I do not expect you to fully analyze or explain
the assignments or even one of these assignments. But I do ask you to a) briefly outline the argument
or content of the readings you intent to talk about; b) identify one major element (theoretical problem) in these
works, which should help us open up our conversation; c) finally, you must
introduce us to one critical article on your subject (identify and
present its thesis, outline its argument and research, and judge it overall).
Feel free to consult with me before you choose your presentation topic.
3. The Question for the Day. Each student
will write up, before the class, one question on the scheduled readings. You
need not have the answer to the question; nor does the question have to be
fully formulated--you may, occasionally, phrase it more as a problem than a
full-blown query. I request that you e-mail your question to me by 2:00 PM each
Monday.
4. Attendance and Participation.
Both are expected and will factor in the final grade (see below under course
policies).
CONFERENCES:
Please meet with me during my regular office hours or make an appointment to
discuss your specific interests, goals, or any aspect of this class. I ask
you to make a first, formal appointment early on in the semester. I will
schedule these meetings immediately. I will also hold a second round of
formal conferences before the semester ends, to discuss your 1-p. proposals
and your progress in this class.
COURSE
POLICIES:
1. Late Papers: No late papers--and
any other kind of work for that matter--accepted. However, if you foresee any
deadline-related problems, please come to see me ahead of time. We shall work
together to find a solution.
2. Absences: You are allowed no
more than 2 (two) absences during the semester for illnesses (which you must
document afterwards), religious holidays, or emergencies preventing you
from attending. No undocumented absences allowed. Should they occur,
they will affect your final grade. I will subtract 5% from the latter for any
undocumented absence. Since we meet once a week, attendance is particularly
critical to the success of our work in this class. If you are the victim of an
emergency, please stay in touch with me by e-mail or phone.
GRADING:
As a general rule, no incompletes (but, again, come to see me if you anticipate
any problems). The quality of your work will be reflected in the final grade as
follows:
1. Papers and/or exams: 85%
2. Oral participation: 15%
Note: I would like to discuss these
percentages and all requirements in general on the first meeting.
REQUIRED
TEXTS
DeLillo,
Don. The Names. 1982. New York: Random House, 1989. ISBN: 0679722955.
(pbk.)
Mukherjee,
Bharati.Jasmine. 1989. New York: Grove P, 1999. ISBN: 0802136303 (pbk.).
Yamashita,
Karen Tei. Tropic of Orange. Minneapolis: Coffee House P, 1997. ISBN
1566890640.
Brennan,
Timothy. At Home in the World : Cosmopolitanism Now. Cambridge, Mass.,
London, England: Harvard UP, 1997. ISBN: 0674050312
(pbk.).
King,
Anthony D. Culture, eds. Globalization and the World-System : Contemporary
Conditions for the Representation of Identity. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1997. ISBN: 0816629536 (pbk.).
Gunn,
Giles. Beyond Solidarity. Pragmatism and Difference in a Globalized World. Chicago and
London: The U of Chicago P, 2001. ISBN:
0-226-31064-7 (pbk.).
Rowe,
John Carlos, ed. Post-Nationalist American Studies. Berkeley, CA: U of California P, 2000.
ISBN: 0520224396.
Spivak,
Gayatri Chakravorty. A Critique of Postcolonial Reason : Toward a History of the Vanishing
Present. Cambridge, Mass., London, England: Harvard UP, 1999. ISBN:
0674177649 (pbk.).
Zizek,
Slavoj. Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism? Five Interventions in the (MIS)Use
of a Notion. New York: Verso, 2002. ISBN 1859844251 (pbk.).
Albrow,
Martin. The Global Age. State and Society Beyond Modernity. Stanford,
CA: Stanford UP. 1997.
II. Additional materials (whole books or
xeroxed excerpts) placed on reserve and marked R in the syllabus, or available
online (marked O):
Jameson,
Fredric, and Masao Miyoshi, eds. The Cultures of Globalization. Durham
and London: Duke UP, 1998.
Llosa,
Mario Vargas. Global Village or Global Pillage? Reason 33. 3 (July
2001): 40-47. Online through Jackson Library (InfoTrac).
Robbins,
Bruce. Feeling Global. Internationalism in Distress. New York and London: New York UP, 1999.
Yamashita,
Karen Tei. Interview with Karen Tei Yamashita. By Jean Vengua Gier and Carla
Alicia Tejeda. Jouvert 2.2. Online:
http://152.1.19.5/jouvert.v2I2/yamashi.htm
COURSE
SYLLABUS
Week
1
Mon
Aug. 19 LITERARY AND CULTURAL THEORY;
INTERDISCIPLINARITY.
Introduction
to the course: goals, requirements, policies. Presentation of the topic and
daily syllabus followed by discussion.
Start reading DeLillos novel and try to finish it by Sep. 16.
Week
2
Mon
Aug. 26 MODERNITY, MODERNISM, AND
BEYOND.
Assignment
for the day: Albrow 77-202
Week
3
Mon
Sep. 2 Labor Day Holiday.
No class
Week
4
Mon
Sep. 9 MODERNISM,
POSTMODERNISM, AND GLOBALISM: CONTINUITIES, DISCONTINUITIES
Assignments: Jameson, The Cultures of
Globalization xi-xvii R; 54-77 R; King 1-18; 19-40; 69-106. Moraru, The
Global Turn R/O. Start reading Mukherjee’s novel and have it ready by Sep. 30.
Week
5
Mon
Sep. 16 THE WORLD-SYSTEM: LANGUAGE AND
COMMUNITY
Assignments:
DeLillo, The Names (I); DeLillo, In the ruins of the Future R; Cowart
162-180
Week
6
Mon
Sep. 23 DeLillo, The Names (II)
Week
7
Mon
Sep. 30 POSTCOLONIALITY AND
GLOBALIZATION (I)
Mukherjee
(I); Moraru, Rewriting 155-166 R/O;
Week
8
Mon
Oct. 7 Mukherjee (II);
Robbins 97-113
Hand out
Spivak study guide
Week
9
Mon
Oct. 14 Fall break; no class
Week
10
Mon
Oct. 21 POSTCOLONIALITY AND
GLOBALIZATION (II)
Spivak
198-311; 423-431 During R/O;
Midterm
student evaluations
Midterm
papers and exams due (in class)
Week
11
Mon
Oct. 28 Spivak 312-421
Week
12
Mon
Nov. 4 COSMOPOLITANISM AND
GLOBALIZATION
Assignment:
Brennan 1-118; 307-317
Start reading Yamashita’s novel and have
it done by Nov. 25.
Week
13
Mon
Nov. 11 COSMOPOLITANISM, COMMUNITY,
SOLIDARITY, AND THE GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Assignments: Gunn ix-47; 171-195; Rowe
110-125
Hand out
Zizek study guide
Week
14
Mon
Nov. 18 POST-COLD WAR STUDIES, CULTURAL
STUDIES, AND THE GLOBAL
Assignment:
Zizek 1-60; 190-256
Final
project presentations (I)
Week
15
Mon
Nov. 25 LIBERALISM, NEO-LIBERAL
GLOBALISM--AND THEIR CRITIQUE.
BORDERLAND AND BORDER-CROSSING NARRATIVES
Assignments:
Yamashita, Tropic of Orange (I)
Optional:
Yamashita, Interview O; Rowe 1-39
Final
project presentations (II)
Discussing
the final exam
Week
16
Mon Dec. 2 Yamashita, Tropic of Orange (II); Llosa,
Global Village or Global Pillage? R; Rowe 41-62
Final
project presentations (III)
Final exam
assigned
Week
17
Mon
Dec. 9 Last day of
classes
Final
project presentations (IV)
Overview
Final
evaluations
Final
papers and exams due (in class)