Senior Seminar: Toni Morrison and the Ethics of Reading tonimorrisonpitt.wordpress.com English Literature, 1910 M/W 4:30-5:15pm Cathedral of Learning, G19B Professor Autumn Womack Office Hours: Mondays 3-4 and by appointment, Cathedral of Learning 501M Email: amw202@pitt.edu "One question is who is responsible? Another is can you read?" – Toni Morrison, A Mercy In the opening lines of her 2006 novel A Mercy Toni Morrison issues an ethical demand on her readers; figuring reading and responsibility as mutually constitutive acts, Morrison implicates the reader in the project of making his or her way through the murky landscape of the novel. But how is Morrison asking us to read and what does it mean to read responsibly? How do the formal, aesthetic, and narrative contours of the novel advance a reading practice? Importantly, such questions are not reserved for A Mercy. Throughout Morrison's oeuvre – short fiction, criticism, novels, and a libretto – reading is figured as a particularly political, ethical, and moral act. Throughout the semester we will work through questions of reading, responsibility, form, and aesthetics in relation to Toni Morrison's expansive body of writing. Required Texts Available at University Store on 5th Toni Morrison, Beloved – The Bluest Eye – Home – Jazz – A Mercy – Paradise – "Recitatif" (PDF on coursesite) – The Song of Solomon – Sula Course Requirements Lively Participation (10%): You will all be required to attend each seminar and contribute to discussions, engaging with your classmates as well as the required readings. You should come to class having read the assigned primary texts and secondary texts. In Class Presentation (15%): You will each be responsible for one in-class presentation in which you present a clear argument about the text, pose questions to facilitate the classroom discussion, and put the primary text in conversation with the assigned criticism. Presentations should consist of no more than 10 minutes of framing, followed by discussion. You should be ready to pose 2 or more general questions for class discussion, as well as 2 or more focused questions about particular passages of the novel that you believe serve as important points of evidence. You are required to meet with me two days prior to your presentation to discuss your plan of action and go over your questions. Weekly Blog Posts Due by Monday at Noon (25%): In these online postings you should attempt to capture interesting points for further discussion, while building on each other’s ideas over the course of the term. Each week I will pose a different prompt, which you can find on the home page of the blog. Short Response Paper (15%): This essay will be due one week after your in class presentation. In 4-5 pages you should use textual analysis and close reading to build upon our class discussion, weekly postings, and your own research findings. Thus, you might decide to approach one of the questions that you pose to the class in greater detail, follow a thread that a classmate raised in a post, or highlight a new theme or connection between secondary and primary texts. For this essay you should focus in on the primary and secondary texts, using key passages, quotes, and overarching themes to construct a unique argument. Final Research Essay (35%): In this 12-15 pages essay you should engage with no more than 3 texts by Morrison and at least 3 secondary pieces of criticism (not authored by Morrison), constructing a unique and compelling argument. You will also be required to present your paper topics and preliminary findings during the final class sessions. Final papers will be due one week after the last day of class. Misc: All assignments MUST be typed and formatted according to MLA guidelines (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/) Papers should be turned in on time. Should you need an extension, please discuss it in advance. Non-approved late papers will be graded down 1/3 of a letter grade for each day that they are late. You will be allowed 2 absences throughout the semester (excused or unexcused). After these two absences your final grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter grade for each additional absence. Please notify me in advance if you will be absent because of religious holidays. CALENDAR * *subject to change M Jan 6th NO CLASS W Jan 8th NO CLASS M Jan 13th Introduction: Reading in Morrison/Morrison on Reading Yvette Christianse Toni Morrison: An Ethical Poetics, "Introduction" (available on course site) Toni Morrison "Nobel Lecture" (available on course site) W Jan 15th The Bluest Eye Morrison, “Memory, Creation, Writing” M Jan 20th UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY NO CLASS W Jan 22nd The Bluest Eye *Discussion Posting Begins* M Jan 27th Sula Barbara Johnson, "'Aesthetic' and 'Rapport' in Toni Morrison's Sula" *In Class Presentations Begin* W Jan 29th Sula M Feb 3rd Song of Solomon W Feb 5th Song of Solomon M Feb 10th Song of Solomon W Feb 12 Song of Solomon M Feb 17th Beloved Toni Morrison, "The Site of Memory" W Feb 19th Beloved Heather Love, "Close But Not Deep: Literary Ethics and the Descriptive Turn" M Feb 24th Beloved W Feb 26th Beloved M Mar 3rd Jazz Yvette Christianse "Time Out of Joint: The Temporal Logic of Morrison's Modern Apocalyptics" W Mar 5th Jazz Richard J. Powell, "Art History and Black Memory: Towards a "Blues" Aesthetic M Mar 10th SPRING BREAK/NO CLASS W Mar 12th SPRING BREAK/NO CLASS M Mar 17th Paradise Toni Morrison, "Black Matters" Playing in the Dark W Mar 19th Paradise M Mar 24th Paradise W Mar 26th A Mercy Stephen Best, "On Failing to Make the Past Present", NPR conversation with Toni Morrison M Mar 31st A Mercy W Apr 2nd Home TBD M Apr 7th Home W Apr 9th Final Essay Presentations Mon Apr 14th Final Essay Presentations W Apr 16th Final Thoughts ______________________________________________________________________________ **All electronic devices (phone, blackberry, media players/recorders, etc.) are to be turned off and put away during our class sessions **Plagiarized work will not be tolerated Pitt’s Statement on Academic Integrity: “Cheating/plagiarism will not be tolerated. 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