david foster wallace, english 67, spring 2005

8/3/2019 David Foster Wallace, English 67, Spring 2005

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/david-foster-wallace-english-67-spring-2005 1/7

INSTRUCTOR INFO Name ~ David, WalIace~Office = C rookshank 101·'Office. Phone ~ 607-8357; CeU Phone= ~~=~ __ = _O ffice H ours ~ Tues .. 4 ,:OO~5 ': :OO,Fh~~ ..e a= ss.6 fJ ;= and by appoin tmen t

,de~) 3-~'~'

.REQUIRED TEXTS, AU these should 'be in paperback at th e' Hu ntle y Books to re:

(1) J. M o oCoetzee, WtJit t .ng!r: lr the Barbarians; ( 2 ) Thomas H a r r i s , The Silence o f the'

Lambs: (3 ) M_~ tt he a.Harvey, P ity the:Bathtub Its Forced Embrace of'the H u m "a " F o rm ;

(4) Tony Hoagland; What Narcissism .Means to M e . AU other readings 'wit be p rovided toyou inXerox handouts. Some of th e Xero xes I may have to m ake myselfat Kinko's, in

'w ' I ich case y o ~ _ . ~ ' 1 1g et to reimburse : 'me, fo r them (t ota l c os t to you.win be .~ $10 ,,0 0).

B,ASIC 'C"OURS,E SJPlE '. T he goals, of this section of E67 are to survey certa in . impor tant

forms ofmodem :li·teratme----4lort stories, novels, poems and. to in troduce you 1,0 some

techniques for achieving ,8 1 critical ap preciatio - of literary art. "Critical appreciation"h '" ' I ! . . . , : " i, t e d ' - " . . . . . .1 1 ' : : 1 " , ' : : - 1 1 1 . . . 'l " 1 1 1 ' : :m 1 J . . . , dmeans a:V1ng:ma r t; S .O :P .lLw l,s tJ c ate .~e a s o n s I.U.r Jl.tUltJJ.g Wl Illa te ve r . i terature you l l B . . e ~ ,OD

being able to articulate: those reasons for other people, especially in writ in g;" V it al fo rcritical appreciation is .he ability to ",. terpret" a piece of literature, which baaically

means coming up with a cogent, interesting account of wha t a,p ie ce oflit means, what

it's trying to do to/for the reader, what technical choices the author's made in order to ' try

to achieve the effects she wants, and so iQn~'~s you can prebab y anticipate, the wholething gets very co c pUcated and . abstract and hard, which is one reason why entire college

depa rtmen ts , a re devoted to stu dy in g an d. in terp re tin g lite ra tu re, Accordingly, part ofE67's raison d rIeIre is to serve as 8,kind of boot camp that helps prepare YO' lW for more

advanced and/or specialized I . " , courses down the line.

CLA~~FO_RMAT English 61 isa seminar. By way of'elucidation, p le ase. look at the

following gloss from.Prof 's E67 s,yUabus: forFall '0.5: "T 'is is a

d iscu ss ion ...ba sed cou rse; it is not a ~.ec !tu rreO U T S ! e . . Wha t w e leam will be d riven p rimari ly

by the, questions, comments, ideas, and energies that you . bring to our discussions, Inother words, w e will leam abou t texts ·.· iYactively engaging them a nd each other in our

re-711'1'!'I 'I '" meetin- 1 1 Z D ' ' i ! : ! ' B I ! I !O ! I I I I A aJ.. . _" ,b~it

- - - ~ ~-. . . . . - - - - - - -~Here '5 , a som ew hat sc.~ ier rift on ' i~~Rre tp : reta tionUf r D u L P'f'of. !s syUahus. f o r on e of 1Hs

pIS Efi7s;

W 'e w ill also, of course, pay g r e a t . attention to , o u r ' O ' W 1 l l acts o'f,~n.terpteltltion.Are we

dooty.pt ing~ tmnsl~)1i .ng·!1 or plMaphrlsin,~' th e te l (J tswe r-ead? DemYitifylng them?

R em ys.tifymg . them ? M ,e. w e: trailing them as, Uterary detectives, Qf t r y l Im t g tlbem in a .

fe.dlerly court? Are we ba"ing them In :Ii~wdsto , reduce 'them t @ t h e : i t r C(Ut5t~~n~parts?

Wllt at i s, at. s m k e . · fo r us in r e ~ W n g : WIMU of i m 3 l g m a t i v e literatere, I r f I J J . d ' w : h a 1 t .socia~and,sol~taI} '=fulncUoDS does w J p e ' r f o n n , 7 '



WRITING ASS,[GNJdENTS" Three Dli\jor essays (5-10 pages each) win be assigned at

in te rv als 'O v er th e sem este r, F or' 'each essay, I'llprovide a , couple of'suggested t-Oldcs,~bu tlsowork (.... d 1 1 ' .~I ",i.. t t, t ,', ffyou can, aiso WOl···· UPI your O'WO, : ' : I l you c 0:; .a l recommenn tnet y ou nonn ce your. o J : n . c 0, .-

me in ad V a n e e ) . You," ll have at le ast ten da y s to do each m 1 1 j or ess ay, and it ) s expected

that these papers w iU represent your very best, mcst careful and con sid ered 'work. I willschedule tim e for' optional conferences before: each essay is due, If you can make a

reasonable case for' ]~~] win :pemi~:you ' to!revise either th e fits~'Of'

the second 'majoressay; the final grade [or that eSSi I lY win then b ecome the average of the initial grade and,;i.L, ," J 'H " oi ' l i A I . ( N " B " ,< t'D ,,- ," .~' !I i d . . - - - - .~ , - - . -. - - . , - . 1.'f " ..the f, , . , ... · ~~" i, . .. .. . ll...· - - jioiL ... *u.e revis ion 51- QU.e . ,_ ' . ,' - ". n,evlseo-es nOI~meanmere Y i ixmg m e LYPos o r C',WUK,eIS mat

'I m arked on 'the first version.)

There 'win also be 111un8JlftO'OOCOO in-class 'writing assignments (ak .a, 'm -ini-

papers) of '1,,-2handwritten pages each . Mini-papers, which 1:wHI . not m ad on mucb,,~ 'win

be graded either S(= "'Sa:ti8faetory'~'_) or U ( a. ~~fisatisfactoI)f~)~ Inorder to qualify for an

S, a mini-paper nill~~st'e written il l class at the 'timei'5, ass igned; 'ther-e is,nc w,ay to make

up a m is se d mim-parper. even. if you have am . excused absence on. t he r ele van t class day,

'NOI' c an ,m in i-p ap ers b e revised fo r credit, A t the term's end, a cempesite grade fa ir a ll

you r mini -p ap ers w ill b e' calculated as foUo-ws:: 10 papers graded, S win result in thenumerieal eq uivalen t o f an A, ~'~';9 1 Ss 'win. =A,-;, 8 ,Ss will ~ ;B~; l' Ss - :: :- '; 6 Ss =B§" and

so, on and so forth.

C10URSE RULES & PROClBDURES

(I) A ttendance at each . class meeting is,req uired , A ll ab sen ce w iU be ex cu sed amy : r n J it t.S

negotiated in advance or there's "8 mec l i caJ em ergenoy, If necessary, you will "b e

permitted o ne free u nex cu sed ab sen ce; each additional uaexe. abs . win lower. Y O U I '

final grade by OID 'e whole number, ~o

(2) 'You are required to do every ISlt iota 0f the reading and, 'W r i t iQ g ' assigned, exactly in

th e' f orma t re ques te d, ,and, it needs to 'be totaUy done by th e time : c la ss st ar ts , There is

no such thing as, 'U faHmg ,3 ~ittlebelUnd" in the course reading; ,either you've d o n e

y our homewo rk or you haven 't, Chronic , la-ck of p repa ra tion (which is e~y to spot)

win lower yom final, g r a de by OD,e' whole number,

1 ( 3 J Even in. 3 J seminar course" it seem s a , little s4Uy to require participation, Some students

who are icrippliln~ly shy:, or who can't aJways formulate their 'best thou.ghts and

questions in tbe rap id back ... nd =forth , of 'a group d is cuss ion, a re : n ever th el ee s good;

seriou s students, On the other. bmd:~ as Prof 'poin ts out 8fJp,rO, our class can't

r - e a . U y function if ' there,isn' t student participetion=-it 'win 'become' just m e giving a,

half-assed ad,..lib lecture fo r '9 0 m in utes, 'w b ich (tru st m e) w ill he horrible i n , aU kinds

of w ' a y s ~Ther-e is, the re fo re , a sm all percentage of the final ,g rade thwt, 'w in concern thequantity and qua1lity of 'your participation in class msc,ussiOIl:!t But the truth. is that I'm

, .i':m happy to ~1lSS 3). graded miini-p&per ' W i th . you aJ Iany ~wme~of cO~lSe.

~:i-

- - . S e e 'dr ie F Y 1 : a b o u t 1 n l! 1 ! l r l n e I ' i c :a : lg tade~@<nver , s io~s o n , : p - p - : 3 . - 4 , o f ' t l I . e syUabus,



way more concerned about creating an in-cl ass environment in . which ml lls tuden ts f ee l

totally free to s a . y what they ndnk ; , ask questions, object, cri ti cize , r eq nes tc la rif ic at ion , 'r erum to ' a 'p r ev iou s subject, respond to someon e else' s response, [etc.

Clinieall y shy students, Of' those whose best, most pressing [questions a nd

c ommen ts o cc ur to th em . o nly in private, should do th eir discu ssiag w ith m e solo,outside class. Mfmy scheduled office hours don't work far you, please' call me

so 'that w e can mu,e an appointmem .Ior a,differen't mee tin g time.",(4) Yur three major essays must be eid17 f~ype~tten or ~gh.=qua1i ty ~rin~e,din regu l a r

font. They mus~.be d : o u l b l e - s : : a c e d , Wlth . o n e , . . w . m . c h .ruM _ ns ,a l l MOu n d - md. 8 .. " l ed " ,

They must have an uDlllunibe,f\ed. t iUe "a'c' with _'our h. .., - the oonrse" 'the [ d , a ' t e " a nd

..our ess~y) 5 'title" Y 'OU l t last [[;attn,' and. '~bepage .nrunnber :m llS l a p '~ e a r in , 'I 'e '0 ; ' . el'".

~ n .~ .ome,[' of ..~2 : and o· e·.-:·/ .,: '.'.~" . ,~----:~. -

A D extension on 3l major essay' wiil b~ granted [on ty under truly extraordinary

eire umstsne CS, ' mel only 'ifthe extension. is negotiated, in advance ..(6) Your mini-papers mus.t have your name, the course, and the date' at the top ..No title

nec essa ry , Your h andw ritin g m1 lU : ~ ,b e . eg ib le ; what I cannct read, I mark "U," Peel

free 'E O u se b lo ck : e~p [ita ls " to sk ip e ve ry other line, or I todo 'whatever else you need, to

b do to in o rde r 'r o m a ke Y O 'U f'mini-papers 'maximally easy ~o [ read ,

('J. Part O ' f Y ~ U F grade for w~.t~ 'wo~kwin :?3Ive ·~.odo wii~ your d,oc~ent~s, .

pr~eDtation~"Presentation" ha s t - o do with evidence of care, 0 , . 1 adult competence

in ,written English, and of com passion lor y our reader, 'Your three. major essays,in . particular, must b~[roofre.adl and ,~dited : : [ 0 1 ' obvious typos and 'misspeUing~ basic

--,mars : i n grmnmarlus ue /'I l, unemation ., md so_o:n~You. u e '£Q ta Uy'Pemlritb~~d,o makeneal handwrit ten COfl lect i-ons, on · . ·OUI" ,e8· ':~;, '- '. ions before you hand. ' them,in. .

You are, 0' welcom e' 'to contact me with. questions about proofreading, grammar

, ki ... d diti B thsage, etc., as you ,n~~WOf' llg on revt slng an- Iff' ..tmg your essays, ut papers ata p p e a r sloppy, s e m H i ' & e r 8 J l t . e ; l 'or ' m c u , h e r e . n t w i l l be heavily penalized, a n d in s e v e r e

cases you~II b e required to resu bm it a sanitized 'version in o rd er to reeei vie any e red i tfor (he essay at all,

(8) Please buy a large, roomy pocket folder that's just for this class so that you can. keep

a.Uyour in-class writing, mini ...ap ers, essays, and X erox handouts, in . o n e [o rg an iz ed

p lace, D on't lose o r r ,discar-d , any th ]na fo r th is c ou rse , Yo u're required to b rin g a llrelevant materials 'with you to each class session; p lus" mt rt he .'term' s end, ]'ll want to

r ev iew ' a ll your graded work, and there win be a penalty if you can't produce it .

WEIO··H T i ,: r n' - D ' E " iI "" iI : ir D "! Ii ; Al l r ' lI ; , ;J I " 'A 1;;.T T S C : ' 0 · - : ·C' ''C"TJ,;.1Ji .A 11' GRAD 'E ''Cl 1i l 15~QJ' Es ..., 1 So.l '. . . . • . . . , J . ! . . J I :! > [ .· •. 1 ' , • . J L Jl:!I'UVJLLL.",t"lJ.~ J L . . ' Ir r.ll~riL .....[ :,' ..~. ... - JY ssa 'y .ll - . ·7!i1!; .. sa y ' £= ,..·iv;

Essay 3 =' 30%; Mini-Paper Co~pos:ite, = ,20%; ,Attendan'ce, preparatioe, quality of class,.., • !I" , 1 .. r' ,. . 2 - ' 0 0.1'participation, presentanons, improvement, ,8 ac:n,ty 0 carriage, etc, - ,...' ,In.,

(FY]: For reasons of p recision, [ grade with numerals, and dec ima ls instead. ofle tte rs a nd o pe ra to rs, The seale and equivalents go like tl1.~.s:

13 = .A + = Mind-'blowingly good.12 =A = = Extreme ly g oo d11 =. A - ~ Very good,

10 =B+ =,Good.

'9 =B=High-average,



8 , =83 =:: Lew-average.7 = C·+ :=Noticeably subpar' ..

6C"'S" lob_ '= e e v e r e y 15 0 . c : , p a r . ,

j) 4~1, .2:_.Direly p oor= -w e need. te talk,

o =No eredit.)

S cb .ed ule o f Assignnlents,,(liiJ' '8 : , T ' - h ' . ' , . ~ ' " i : ; " X - nl -- .4 ::. --- ~ ..",.- ' X ' " - - - - ~ h ' - . - . - 11 . , · · t )\_ £ "!I.,' I" I" . , e ,p re .lt tX ~ ,. '" r-e l!!.e l's w a . · · · · , e ro x a:nUOUI'.,'

Th 2,0 'Jan (a) Read d o c umen t X : ' · : · - 3 ' , 1 ; I " I i~ m - prising I U R , : e a · 'd-r~''t'IiO''~Sto rv n "F a ble '~ T 'IId ' .. . .1~"II, .~ ~! . '.~ I ~ '_ u._ - .- ~ - ,_. l j ~U' l ," l i .1I iI . !~ "~" .JJ.ll,.IJ,!O ~ . U.& ,J . , _ ' AJ", '. tMA' _ UJ~!I!

Maueh ''lII'I!'H 'I' C" I'iiFf'1!..s A ppoi ntm ' , Q ' I ; ' I i t ' ' r , I j 1 ' S ' ·grift" ! lf 1" t" 1: l1 , "' , th ~ , G ri '· · " i m m - ~ t. i : i i lG :o d f a th e r -D "' e l O l , t h : , - '!!!Ii' ' C " ' " . - , & I - gg ~6"J.A;liJl.l, 1 < 1 ' ..I..II"",·, .-'.. U ..1. ·.·"......u LILli, .. ~ I U " " '" '~ . , " "" ', ,__ _ : _ ~ .' . , . _ _ ' - - "- ~ ~ ~ . v ·Jl.w I W ....Q.' i ! ! " ' . . u_,n~

Tzu's "Independence," "Plot," ~'711eShort .s.tory~nand 'Updike,i ls '~A&' P.~~ b ) Readdocumen t Xa D ' 'R ' 1 1 " ' , . . . - - - - - '~ - ':;'-'~'Th R · · c k i . . 'H - " " . W··'·" .. '~ '" ) ' R ' ad d . . . . - - t X · : - '5 · 'ocumem_ , -'ii'I' . ~.L raw.renoo S .e,oc, 'In,g''', .one ._Inner, . \. . t r _ e uocmnen I·· "

" - h i _.L " "',' ,'. ~ ,'.', _,-" H ' . ; - ' 1 ' 1 1 [ ' lili'Th:?"'.; s'~," '" ' l I ' m - _ n,','" --~'·,~'k.-~ ,-A!",' ,·.....1 . -," k , . idW uen comprrses o S S . _ . " e zenra .I I !O~ .J "CJjJ j ,et ! ' some ploU!) ' em onar remar .s, anTaUent 's "No One's a Mys,tery.\U

T 2 'C J (,.) R d d' ' X , ' ' ' ' ' 6 ' . ' . . IUiiIJi"·' f "V '" ~ '~ '. d F 'Urn '~ ' i l i A n_.~_.J-an" ...... . ,ea " d o c um en t ' 0" oo,mpn sIng' 'l'-OU:lt '0 . . .•u ~w an.·. . .·-3)U < . ,er ' s ';". :Nose

f or Emily ," (b) Read document: ,X7 , Lynda. Lloyd's "Poor Boy," (c) 'Read docum en t X 8~1 1 " - - , - " . . v: ' - , ' d - " , u · G · · ·· · · liI!~ ( " d " ) " , R : · · · . . . I d ' , , ' , ' . " ' . ·· t X / - - 9 ' Am"', 'H " ' . . i ~ A ' " ' ' - R ', , " D '" " l ' l ~ , ~ ~"aIDal.ca n . . ln .C 3 ! l S ·. . . lr!t-, ,~, c- o c u m e n " , - _ _ c . '~ ' - ' y ..om ' c s s · -e : fb. ·· 0 ..

T I l 2 7 - ' J -" ' . -C. C ' : . ) . . . R ' . , " , . . , ; : 1 d - ..-- --.- itX ·'_ ' "O ' ~ r I i · C '-.i ! . . . . . _ . - " " . . ~ ~ . ( b ' - ' J ' " R ' . . . .. .3 d ' . . . . - . . t ', X l ' ~I '.' - - - •.• - ., ., _ " . lIt I II Cau. .o cumen tz ',,- 1 l.U U,3.C ,-er ,. . ' _" '" . ,.Ci1U, OClUD.en .. ' . w . , c o m _ _ p n s l D g

"Characterization," W'e lt y "s i ~ (W b :yI L ive at the ,P"O~, , '~a4 B&;"(~ "~FCWltw'8148tkeF:H

(e) R ' .ad . d e ' . - t X ' ' ' ' 1 2 - ' ' T ' - - ' B " - . ' 1 1 1 " " r C O :, - d L - s., - - ,~-, 'S ' · t P .·ete s b . " ( d ') ' R · ., . . . . I

~. ,c_

'e .. '\ o~~wnenlIr t ~ ,

om,"lSSe.ll.l is ·.·0' .. nfCS lO .~." " '.' CfSll.['g.:_"J ~ "e au

d -- --- --' X ' " 1 ' 3 ' , Am S - -'b n" - , u C ' - ' ] 1 H 1 ' ~ I "ocumentx ,~, , • YJl . S .. :8, ..r e 1 J . . .

T ~~1 Feb, (a) R ead docum ent X l4 l" "Setting,' 'M-Itead doctllR_t X 35 # lack Tmv'OIll

i

Jii.-Te:BaU4a jR;B:~(c) Read document X 16~ "Tone and . S ty le .,'~ (d) Read document ,Xl?,H· '. '. ,-' , : I ' ! H A : " CI' . w " , ' , .- , 1 1 1 L" i ' rrl ..:t·..... . i I pl 1

.' '!II (" 'J ' n ..._... . 1 i d'...-- ~--,'-~4 1 X '" 1 1 8 ' D . " . J ' bn . :II.etnlnpay s .'.. , . • e,af i1t l ' .< e - 'I . l - - - - - 'I ~ , 1 L ~ - , l j a e e . , ',e ~ •. oc .mn ' ~n t . I. ~ , em .s -0 sons

"Emergency," {e) Read document X19,.Ann Beattie's "Janus."

T h 3 ':p. 'L i'\ 'R . . ..J d' 1 - ,t X l - ' " 0 " '~~·T........ ,~!II ( b ' ) 0, . . . . . 41 1 ·. .1 . .. .· - - .' -- "-'i+ X l"- 1 T h - ~ ' - . D i

•. ' h : t. .~ . .. . ~ C u '" '4..,ll}-,e~. oC'WIlen ....'·..1, il 'U ,n .y ~ . ..'. ~ e ilU uocutnen~, .., ,'. Dmas .ISC. S

"Displaying the Flag, ",(c) Read document X22" J o r- ge Lu is Borges's "Funes the

Memorious. n(d ) Read . document Xl3, L isa B lau sh ild 's "L ov e L ette r to My Rapist. n( ) R '" - d · . l · · · · . -'41 v.....ii S · · ' . ' L ' . 1id i i i , . , " " - O - " IA S : · - 1 n, e _ . e a · uOCU1]),e:nt.. ~ ... ,c,anI. IpSjl.Jt=' S .....u~,ou.e

T~~8 Feb~ (a) R ead do cum ent X25~';Theme~~"b) Read d ocumen t X 26 " '''T hem ,e.''

(c) Read. document X2 7, Flannery O'Connor's ~~AGoodMan is Hard ' t o . Find," (d) Read

document .X28~Georg e S aund em" s " Isa be lle ..'!' (e) R ead document X29" RaymondC arver s ~C ath ed ral, ~ ~,



Th., ~0 Feb, (ill) Read document X30,. comprising "Symbol' and Steinbeck' s ~The

Chrysanthemums." (b) Read document X3l" Aimee Bender's "The Girl in the Flammab e

Skirt." (c) Read Document X32; Rohl,ey Wilson JI,'ts, "Tbe Apple," ESSAY 1 TOPICS

DISTRIB;UTED.

M I D T E ' R M 'j' " ' B R E ' : A.V'- I l__ ':~"', ~!":" ,~~

T ' 1 -5 - ' F t... « . ) . ' R ' - ' a d ' . :' d , - - - _ . . . - ·t X " " 1' ] ' . . , . " . "H e p..".." ' f ' - 'V " ~ . ' g o o " S t ".'1' .' . eu. a .. ··e·.. 'ocunleo_c . '~" ', )"oo,mpnsln,g .:ow O ln" 0 ···.·lew·. ..pes a _ 'ory ,

~·Writing Assignment," and. 3. samp le stu den t essay on. 'POV in"Cathedral, ,t (b) Read

document .X34,t comprising "Recognizing S:ymbols,U 1l "Wr i t ing Assignment," and a

I tud·· r I - . , . . ' - nnb 1'~.. s , i I i , " ' I j " L o · C - ~ ' t " " ! I : ~ · - the - _ .- . ·t1i ' ( ' 1 ' ) R-' . .. ...;1 d -- t X35samp ,e , s . ' . enL e,ssay on ,sym-o ls.m In .1,u,e' ..... J,iLI, ysan emums, .,c eaa oocumen . -:"a sam ple student essay 00 "i'ARose for Emily, ~I'

Th., 17 Feb, (a) R:ead document X36~ comprising "Analysis" and the various subsections

of'oCInterpretatio.n~"[i(b) Read docum ent :X 37.; "Making LtBetter: Revising Your Essay ..'"

T~~2'2 Feb, (,a) Read, document X3,St '+ cr it ic al App roac ,h es . '" (b) .Read docum ent X 39r.

John Barth's "Lost in the Funhouse.' t ( c) Read document X40,. John Gardner' s "Moral

C · n · ~ C 1 · · · " ' : m 'U E ' S · · :· " A . " · Y : 1 1 D ; 'U E I - . .Ll _ a~ I! • _ . ' . _ r • 1.."_.

Th . 2 '·4 . F e -b ' ( a ) R ·.~ . . . . . . . -1 t . . .. cum ent X4'1 _"Rp·....ding " II " · .. . n · · O ' ·Stories and 'N"ov·e l~ :n (b) R'ead up! I , _ _ 1 ,"" ", .!Ifw1iIU u.u. __ .. ._ J I ' . I t ' - \.iilUl. ~ ,~ V~£ ..g~lJ _ _ ._ ''"""~. ._ .'. ..... ! _ •

'to C hap ter 1.3 in Harris's S ilence o f the Lam bs"

Th : 1 M·:·,.. h ·F."·,'!' h (l:~'--. ·.F+l.·'L ..L_,• ~ . . . . .r u r - e - , I WlIS' ~I ·enc,e ~I ~t,~e.amUl ,.

T,~8 M ar-ch Read up to Chapter m~,C o e t z e e , : I ' s Wait , i ,ng, fo ' rthe Barbarians.

Th., '10March Read up to Chapter IV in Waiti1l;g fo r ,th'e Barbarian 's ' . ESSAY 2 TOPICS

DISTRIBUTED.

Th., 24 March Readdocumeot X42; tCavafy~s "" 'Wai t ing {or the Barbarians." ESSAY 2

DUE

T 2·9 M '. h (-):..R' - ad d . .. . . 't o X4' '3" ' ; ~ · W h · . if,' - Pc - -h r. In ~ '!I ib " . ) . R · · · . .. . , p o · . . . ; I d ...... t X 4 4 '~ . :. a r . ,c .. , a . -ic a .. · ,o c ume n , . .. ~ . :_ '.,_ :a!L lS '. oeu.,._ I'e ;. ~ o cum en~ _ , ,

"Bntranees." (e) Read document. X4S, James Cummins's "The Brother,'!" and come !.o

class with a good paraphrase of'the poem. '

Th., 3 . 1 . March Read document X46, comprising ITone' ' and, "Speaker,"



T,.~5 April t{a,)Read document X47~,comprising '~~W'onJsnd Their Order" an d 'part of

"Connotation and.Allusion." (b) Read docum ent X 48" part of'~Imagery~H(c) Read

d oc ume nt. X 49 , P hilip ' Larkin's uHigh Windows" '~

Th., 7 April Read document:X50- "Rhythm."

T+ ,12 April (a) Read document: XS'I, ~

Form."(b) Read

d oc um e n t ,X 52 ;Elizabeth

Bishop' s "Sestina. U

Th 14 ,A . , ·1 (a) R e " " " . .. .d " ,- _ , . i f . X t : : 3 ; j,:L I'L , , " , .. ". , , 'f tW fT ' -" H -" gland' ' ' ' 'Sad. , I" \: -P fL .a: ,,',mJ ecumemx Jl,~,Ule opemng ' P m " 0 rony oag ; S .

AnthropoJ.ogists.~" (0) Read Part I (up to p, 23) of Hoagland's What Narcissism Means to

u«

T +, 1 9 A p ir il Finish W h a t Narcissism Means to Me. ..

Th., 21 April (a) Read document XS4·~ ,Maxine Kumin's o U , W : o o d c h u c k s , n,(b) Read

document X55, a sample student essay on "Woodcb.uciks.~' (c) Read document X56,Sharon Olds"s 'the Victims, ' (d) Read document XS7, a s8mpl:lestudent essay on "TheV ictim s," E SSAY :3 TO·PJC 'SDilSTRlBUTED,

T., 26 April Read Part 1(up to p, 1 .3) 0fMatthea. Harvey's Pity the Bathtub Its Forced. '

Em brace o f the , Hu man . Fo,r tn . .

Th 2 - 8 ~ ' A ' · " " il R '" d ' d o e n t X " - S - : : , 8 " 1 'r t! 'W b - ' - t " I i, .. , IT ' tt ', ,,,,,,;i, ..-?';;"II ",p'n" "·00, ,acumen ..,'_'_" "" II! JilljI ,L.rJ I. ,CIliU.,UJ:.~;,.

T ., 3 'M ay ,ESSAY 3 ,DU E.



,En&i l ish 6LS,ection 02, Spring "05,

'Cav;e' l ;zt Emptor Page

In the interes ts offull and up-ft -onl disclosure , here are some re asons, why a student mightplausibly decide' not to remain enrolled in this secsion of'Bnglish 67:

(1) Your instructor i s ,no t a professional. liteeary sc ho la r ..In fact, though my jo b

title at the college says. "Professor of English," I am not a professor" because I do nothave 8! PIl.D ~

(2) 'Y ou r instructor has '~augh:tntra lit courses, b e fo re , 'but not 'for several years~and never before.at a,college this selective ..The upshot is t ha t there may be a certain

pedagogical clunkiness abou 'this section of English 67, You 'win, in , effect, 'b e helping

me learn how' to 'leach thiis class, The level of our discussions may have to be adjusted up,

or down, depending on.how well-prepared :you guys are and how Quickly you catch on to

the concepts and terihniques,of'l,c.iose reading," Certain approaches :might tum out to be awaste of time, There may be abrupt changes, in the 8yl1lbus~Extra work 'may beadded.

Let me, say that again: E xtra, w ork may be added.(3) Some. other s ec tions , o fE67 also survey literary nonfiction. and drama, In here,

we'll be working only on fiction and poetry.

(4) Your instructor has high standards for the written. 'work you tum in, Take

another close look at Course Rules. It Procedures Items 4 and 7 on page 3 of the syllabus"

] know that 'many professors. say this kind ofhard-ass stuff at the beginning of the tennbut don't actuallymean it or enforce it as,the course wears 00. I~however, do mean it,

and 1 .willenfcroe it-feel free:to v'erifythis 'with students who 've taken other classes

wit me, If you 'want to improve your ' academic writing and a re willin_g to put extra time

and effort into, i i i " I am a, good teacher to have. But if you're used 10 ' 'w hip ping off papersthe night before they 're due, running them quickly through the computer's S p elleheeker ,

handing them in full cfhigh-acheol errors and sentences that 'make 'DO sense; and, baving

the professor accept them "because 'the ideas are good" or something" please be informedthat I draw no distinction 'between (he quality (d~'one's ideas and the quality of those

ideas; verbal. expression, and that] will n ot accep t: sloppy, rough-deaftish, or sem ili erate

college writing, Again, I sm absolutely not kidding" [fyouwen't or can't devote

significant time and attention to' your written work, I. urge you to drop B67-02 and save us

both a lot of grief.

(5),For a total 3 . 3 , 2 , recorded students since 1991, t h e . average term grade tthat yominstructor's given ha s been an 8,4.3!~which is roughly' midway' between a B and a B-.

(Again, see the numerical-grade-scale FY] Io n pp, 3-4,) Battin,g: major problems in a,s...."den·"s atte -dan - - __ g1l'g;~ on or" ' _ ' U ' 1 \ ' o i H e n - En 0'1" h I no t all that d 1 · f f i ' cuh j,,n - etLU.!_ , . _ 1 1 1 , - , '~ _ ' .. . ..n " c:e, :P re pb .J :.W U l. 'U ' '- ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' i& , - I ' ! . < , " " ' " I f : : ! ] ,S, UD.: '_ IL,' , 1 ; . l- _ ~ _ .' " 1 ' I i P . ' , Wg .a"B" -range g ra de from , W l l l A ' " ' ' - range grades are reserved for work that. is,truly exceptional in

some w 'ay (s)=p lease know this. in advance, Know a lso · th at"~C"'-rangeg ra de s a re not atall impossible with me, though any student w ho appears to 'be' beaded for a final grade S.1w iH b e inform ed early of that fact and urged to avail themselves of extra help,

david foster wallace, english 67, spring 2005

Documents