English 422: Topics in Multiethnic American Literature
Multiethnic American Women’s Literature
Spring 2009, MWF 12:00-12:50. Pawling Hall 105
Instructor: Dr. Kristin CzarneckiOffice Hours:MTW 2:00-4:00 and by appt.
Office: Pawling Hall 110Email:
Phone: (502) 863-8132Mailbox: #339
Course Description and Goals
“Who are we / and do we still Live?” asks Hopi poet Wendy Rose. Today’s ethnic American women writers provide an affirmative but complex response to these questions in voices both resonant of cultures far older than that of the Euro-American mainstream and also expressive of 21st-century concerns. We will read novels, short stories, poems, and essays by African American, Native American, Latina, and Asian American women, studying each writer individually and also considering the issues of gender, race, class, and identity that divide them. Course goals are to engage deeply in literary analysis, broaden our awareness and understanding of cultural diversity within the United States, conduct in-depth research, and write analytically sophisticated papers.
Required Materials
Morrison, Toni.Beloved. New York: Vintage, 2004
Erdrich, Louise.Tracks. New York: Harper Perennial, 1989.
Cisneros, Sandra.Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories.New York: Vintage, 1992.
Kingston, Maxine Hong.Woman Warrior.New York: Vintage, 1989.
Course Anthology (put together by me—may be under my name): Multiethnic American Women’s Literature
Course Requirements
Participation: This course entails a great deal of steady reading. You must complete all reading assignments on time and be fully prepared each day to listen, think, evaluate, question, and respond. Remember that “participation” entails more than showing up for class. It involves constant, active, vocal engagement with course materials. Feel free to bring drinks to class, but no food, please.
Quizzes: Be prepared for unannouncedquizzes throughout the semester. Some will be factual, designed to help you see the level of detail and retention necessary to work with these texts. Others will be short essays to model the sort of questions you might ask yourselves as you read on your own. Quizzes invite you into the ongoing activity of speculating, making connections, and thinking through significant issues. Missed quizzes cannot be made up.
Exams: There will be a timed midterm exam on Moodle.
Essays: You will write two analytical essays. I will provide specific guidelines later in the semester.
Panel Presentation: With a group of classmates, you will give a 30-minute presentation that enlarges upon our primary course materials, offering further information and insights into the writers and works we cover in class.
Panel Preparation: Each panel member is to:
- Locate a critical or theoretical article on your topic
- Contact each other to make sure there is not too much overlap in articles
- Write a two- to three-page summary and response paper; that is, briefly summarize the article and then explain how it leads to a greater understanding of the topic
- Prepare two discussion questions to pose to the class
Panel Presentation: Each panel member will:
- Read his or her write-up aloud to the class
- Provide discussion questions and lead discussion
- Discuss as a group how the different critical perspectives work together
You will hand in your write-ups, and the group as a whole will receive a grade based on the write-ups and presentation.
Reading Journals: You are asked to keep a reading journal this semester, either on paper or electronically. Write an in-depthresponse to the readings on the syllabus at least twice a week. Write down any ideas the reading raises in your mind; write about what you see as the most important issues; explain how a reading prompts you to view a topic or issue; note any words or passages that intrigue you; note any confusion you might be having with the readings, and establish questions to ask in class. As the semester goes on, you should build upon readings and ideas, considering how one text relates to another or not, how each woman’s particular concerns relate to and/or differ from the those of the others, etc. A reading journal encourages you to think carefully about each reading before you come to class, enables you to participate more meaningfully in class discussion, and helps you contextualize readings. I will collect journals (or have you email them to me) at several points throughout the semester.
Moodle: This class will use Moodle. I will post the syllabus and other class documents, suggest web resources to go along with course materials, send emails to the entire class, and provide space and sometimes prompts for conversational threads. From time to time, I may want to use it to continue discussions begun in class. It is also a simple way for me to make announcements, and I expect you to check it regularly for that purpose. Remember that email sent through Moodle arrives in your Georgetown email account. NOTE: Whenever the schedule says “print and bring,” please print and bring to class the relevant posting from Moodle.
Attendance: You are allowed three absences in case of illness or emergencies. If you miss more than three classes, regardless of reason, your participation grade will be lowered. After an excessive number of absences, you may be asked to withdraw from the class. Telling me ahead of time that you are going to miss a class does not excuse the absence. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to check with me or a classmate to learn what you missed.
Academic Honesty Policy: Academic Honesty is governed by the Georgetown College Honor Code. According to the Georgetown College Student Handbook, Honor Code infractions include cheating, stealing, and lying related to academic matters. I will address any infractions using the Procedures outlined in the Handbook.
Grade Breakdown:Mid-Term Exam25%
Essay 120%
Essay Two25%
Panel Presentation10%
Reading Journal10%
Quizzes 5%
Participation 5%
100%
A 93-100 points; A/B 88-92; B 83-87; B/C 78-82; C 72-77; D 63-71; F 62 and below.
GPA scale: A = 4; A/B = 3.5; B = 3; B/C = 2.5; C = 2; D = 1; F is 0.
Daily Schedule—subject to change
Week One
W 1/14Course Introduction
F 1/16African American Literature
Alice Walker, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens”
Week Two
M 1/19Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—No Class
W 1/21Toi Derricotte, “A Note On My Son’s Face”; Lucille Clifton, “at the cemetery . . .”; Alison Joseph, “On Being Told I Don’t Speak Like a Black Person”
F 1/23Edwidge Danticat, “We Are Ugly, But We Are Here”
Week Three
M 1/26Toni Cade Bambara, “The Lesson”
W 1/28Toni Morrison, Beloved Part One
F 1/30Morrison, Beloved Part Two
Week Four
Mon 2/2Beloved Part Three
W 2/4Panel Presentation
F 2/6Native American Literature
Paula Gunn Allen, “Where I Come From Is Like This”
Week Five
M 2/9Leslie Marmon Silko, “Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective”
W 2/11Leslie Silko, “Yellow Woman”
F 2/13Louise Erdrich, Tracks chapters 1-4
Week Six
M 2/16Erdrich, Tracks chapters 5 and 6
W 2/18Finish Tracks
F 2/20Joy Harjo, “She Had Some Horses”; Linda Hogan, “The History of Red”
Week Seven
M 2/23Panel Presentation
W 2/25Take Home Mid-Term Exam
F 2/27Latina Literature
Judith Ortiz Cofer, “The Myth of the Latin Woman: / I Just Met a Girl Named
Maria”
Week Eight
M 3/2Gloria Anzaldua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”
W 3/4Linda Chavez, “Demystifying Multiculturalism”
F 3/6Dr. Yoli Carter, Department of Education
Week Nine
M 3/9Panel Presentation
W 3/11No Class: Professor away at conference
F 3/13No Class: Professor away at conference
Week TenSpring Break
Week Eleven
M 3/23Latina Poetry: selections TBA
W 3/25Sandra Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creekand Other Stories Parts 1 & 2
F 3/27Cisneros, Woman Hollering Creek, Part 3 through “Eyes of Zapata”
Week Twelve
M 3/30Finish Cisneros
W 4/1Writing Workshop
F 4/3Paper Due
Week Thirteen
M 4/6Asian American Literature
Elizabeth Wong, “The Struggle to Be an All-American Girl”
W 4/8Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”
F 4/10Good Friday—no class
Week Fourteen
M 4/13Cathy Song, “Girl Powdering Her Neck”; Nellie Wong, “Grandmother’s Song”;
Kimoto Hahn, “When You Leave”
W 4/15Maxine Hong Kingston, Woman Warrior—“No Name Woman” and “White Tigers”
F 4/17Kingston, Woman Warrior, “Shaman”
Week Fifteen
M 4/20FinishWoman Warrior, “At the Western Palace” and “A Song for a Barbarian Reed
Pipe”
W 4/22Hisaye Yamamoto, selections from Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories
F 4/24Film: Passing Poston
Week Sixteen
M 4/27Panel Presentation
W 4/29Paper Conferences – No Class
F 5/1Paper Conferences – No Class
Week Seventeen
M 5/4Paper Presentations
W 5/6Paper Presentations