ENGL 50 Syllabus Updated PDF

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Summary

Course syllabus for the course. great reference anyways....

Description

Introduction to U.S. Minority Literature Course: Instructor: Time: Lecture Zoom: Office Hours: Email:

Spring 2021, English 50 Professor Swati Rana TR 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Via Gauchospace Email for appointment [email protected]

Unita Adhifard: Aisha Anwar: Alesha Claveria: Lexxus Edison: Jihyun Lee: Erick Rodriguez:

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] coff[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Course Objectives * Understand the broad trajectory, main themes, and primary concerns of U.S. ethnic literature. * Develop a critical framework for reading, writing, and thinking about U.S. ethnic literature. * Build a list of key terms for understanding literature, nationalism, identity, power, and difference. * Learn how to read and interpret literary and social texts closely and contextually. * Learn how to construct complex and convincing arguments using textual evidence. Course Description When José Martí referred to “Nuestra América” in his famous 1891 essay of that title, he did not have the United States in mind. This writer, theorist, and fighter sought to imagine an independent Latin America, free from Spanish colonialism and the threat of U.S. expansion. This course begins with Martí’s view of America from the other side. Its title is itself a translation that begs the question of whose “America” we inhabit, claim, and define. We will approach the task of surveying U.S. ethnic literature with this insight in mind. Our focus will be on writers who have a self-reflexive approach to the United States and to America more broadly—writers who craft a distinctly American voice or are invested in local and regional fictions, writers who expose the hypocrisies of the American dream and interrogate the boundaries of Americanness, writers who forge transnational, cosmopolitan, or even explicitly un-American affiliations. What story of American origins do these writers create? What vision of the nation and its subjects is produced in their writings? In what ways does their work reshape the geopolitical map of the United States? Readings will include the following: Nella Larsen’s Passing, John Okada’s No-No Boy, Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy, and other readings. Required Texts Nella Larsen, Passing John Okada, No-No Boy Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy Other readings The books are available via the UCSB bookstore and may also be available via library reserves. Other readings will be posted on GauchoSpace.

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ENGL 50 Rana Grade Composition Paper One.............................................20%* Midterm...............................................20% Paper Two.............................................30%* Final.....................................................20% Participation.........................................10%

*Please note that these assignments are required. Failure to complete them is grounds for a failing grade.

Lectures Lectures will be delivered synchronously via Zoom at the regular lecture time for the course. The link is available at the top of the GauchoSpace site. Please note that synchronous lectures will be recorded for students who may not be able to attend at the lecture time. By default, your microphone and camera will be muted when you join the session; if you do not want to be included in the recording, keep your camera and microphone off. Once the lecture is complete, I will stop the recording and open up for questions. Recordings of the lectures will be made available on GauchoSpace. If you are having trouble accessing the lectures on a regular basis, please email me. You should plan to complete the reading before you join a live lecture or watch the recorded lecture. I will not take attendance at the live lectures, so you can choose whether to join the live lecture or watch the recorded lecture at your own convenience. Please note that only the instructor is permitted to record: student participants are prohibited from recording of any kind. Discussion Sections Discussion sections will be synchronous and will not be recorded. Attendance at discussion sections is required. The Zoom link for your discussion section is available through the GauchoSpace discussion section site. Papers Paper One should be 3–4 pages in length and consist of a close reading of a given passage or set of passages with a clear argument based on your close reading. Paper Two should be 4–6 pages in length and consist of several close readings linked together in a broader argument related to the major themes of the course. Papers should be submitted to GauchoSpace by 11:59 p.m. PT on the day that they are due. Papers received at any time after this deadline will be considered to be late. Late papers that have not been approved in advance will be accepted at the discretion of your TA and will receive a one-third grade reduction for each day they are late. Examinations You will need to complete the reading and watch the lectures if you plan to do well on the exams. The midterm and final exam will consist of short essays defining key concepts discussed during lecture and linking these to the readings. The exams will be conducted on GauchoSpace within a twenty-four hour window, in which you will be able to log in at your convenience to complete the exam. 2

ENGL 50 Rana Participation Your participation grade is based on your virtual attendance at your discussion section, as well as your punctuality, preparedness, and participation. You are expected to read actively, come to discussion section with comments and questions, and engage respectfully in discussion and debate. Lateness will lower your class participation grade. You are allowed one unexcused absence. To request that an absence be excused, you must notify your TA by email before the start of class; whether or not your absence will be excused is at your TA’s discretion. More than one absence will lower your participation grade. Having more than two unexcused absences is grounds for failure of the course. Protocol All written work should be in your own words and should be constructed upon a plan of your own devising. If you draw upon another author’s writing or ideas, please cite accordingly. If you are uncertain as to whether or not you have provided adequate acknowledgment, do not hesitate to ask. It is your responsibility to understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. I encourage you to think critically about the lectures. Please feel free to voice opposing arguments and ask questions when something is unclear. But remember to keep an open mind and address your comments to ideas and not to individuals. Copyright My lectures and course materials, including recorded presentations, slides, tests, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by United States copyright law and by university policy. I am the exclusive owner of the copyright in the materials I create. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own use, and you may also share those materials with another student who is enrolled in this course. You may not reproduce, distribute, display, post, or upload lecture notes, recordings, or course materials in any other way—whether or not a fee is charged—without my express prior written consent. You also may not allow others to do so. Failure to respect the instructor’s intellectual property rights may subject a student to conduct proceedings under the UCSB Student Code of Conduct. Similarly, you own the copyright in your original papers and exams. If I am interested in posting your work on the course website, I will ask for your written permission. Availability Please contact me via email for logistical questions. For questions that require an extended answer, email me to schedule a Zoom appointment. If you have questions about the reading or assignments, please bring these questions to the lecture and talk with me during the unrecorded portion of class. Resources For resources for remote learning, see Keep Learning UCSB (https://keeplearning.id.ucsb.edu/). For resources available in light of Covid-19, see Basic Needs Resources (http://food.ucsb.edu/). Students with disabilities may request academic accommodations for exams through the Disabled Students Program (http://dsp.sa.ucsb.edu/). For resources regarding stress, anxiety, relationships, depression, 3

ENGL 50 Rana or cultural differences, contact Counseling & Psychological Services (805-893-4411, https:/ /caps.sa.ucsb.edu/). For policies, tips, and resources for proper citation use, help recognizing academic theft, and student responsibilities to prevent academic misconduct, contact the Office of Judicial Affairs (http://judicialaffairs.sa.ucsb.edu). For general academic support, instructional groups, tutoring, writing and ESL services, skills workshops, and individual consultations, contact Campus Learning Assistance Services (http://clas.sa.ucsb.edu). Schedule The following is a tentative schedule that that will be adjusted to meet the demands of the online lecturing format. Except for the books, all other readings will be posted to GauchoSpace (GS). Readings should be completed before you attend or watch the lecture on the dates listed below. WEEK 1 March 30 April 1

Introduction Gruesz, “America” (GS) Martí, “Our America” (GS)

WEEK 2 April 6

April 8

Whitman, Selected Poems (GS) Hughes, Selected Poems I (GS) Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (GS) NO CLASS watch recorded lecture Larsen, Passing, pp. 1-81 (Part One through Part Two)

WEEK 3 April 13 April 15

Larsen, Passing, pp. 82-114 (Part Three) McKay, Selected Poems (GS) Hughes, Selected Poems II (GS)

WEEK 4 April 20 April 22 April 25

Sui Sin Far, Selected Stories (GS) Bourne, “Trans-National America” (GS) Okada, No-No Boy, pp. xxiii-105 (Preface through Chapter 5) Paper One Due 11:59 p.m. PT

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ENGL 50 Rana WEEK 5 April 27 April 29

Okada, No-No Boy, pp. 106-167 (Chapter 6 through Chapter 8) Film: A Flicker in Eternity (GS) Okada, No-No Boy, pp. 168-221 (Chapter 9 through Chapter 11)

WEEK 6 May 4 May 6

Midterm Exam Cisneros, The House on Mango Street, pp. 1-110 (whole book)

WEEK 7 May 11

May 13

Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera (GS) Silko, Selected Poems (GS) Silko, Yellow Woman (GS) Kincaid, Lucy, pp. 1-112 (“Poor Visitor” through “Cold Heart,” until “not my own”)

WEEK 8 May 18 May 20

Kincaid, Lucy, pp. 112-164 (“Cold Heart” from “A strange calm” through “Lucy”) Film: Life and Debt (GS) Kincaid, A Small Place (GS)

WEEK 9 May 25 May 27 May 30

Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies, “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” pp. 23-42 (GS) Film: The Guru (GS) Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies, “Mrs. Sen’s,” pp. 111-135 (GS) Paper Two Due 11:59 p.m. PT

WEEK 10 June 1 June 3

Hong, Minor Feelings (GS) Roy, Azadi (GS) Danticat, “Message to My Daughters” (GS) Conclusion

June 9

Final Exam

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