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. Students suspected of violating the University of
Pittsburgh Policy on Academic Integrity, noted below from the February 1974, Senate
Committee on Tenure and Academic Freedom reported to the Senate Council, will be required to
participate in the outlined procedural process as initiated by the instructor. A minimum sanction
of a zero score for the quiz or exam will be imposed.”
English Department Policy on Plagiarism: Plagiarism occurs when you do one or more of the
following in a paper:
1) You quote directly from a source without using quotation marks and adequately
acknowledging the source. “Sources” include books, magazines, newspapers, journal articles,
Web pages, lectures, notes, letters, movies, musical lyrics. In some cases, even a single word, if
it’s distinctive, constitutes plagiarism if not properly attributed with quotation marks and some
sort of citation.
2) You paraphrase a source without acknowledging it.
3) You paraphrase too closely to the original (substituting synonyms for some of the original
words), even if you do acknowledge the source.
4) You use someone else’s idea, argument, interpretation, facts or supporting evidence without
indicating your dependence on it (with a footnote or textual citation), even if you modify or
elaborate the idea or argument.
5) You fabricate a source or quotation to give the appearance of having done required research.
6) You turn in someone else’s work, in whatever form, as your own.
If a resolution cannot be reached between the instructor and student, a meeting will be scheduled
with the student, instructor and department chair (or his/her representative) for a final attempt at
an informal resolution. If this meeting does not result in a mutually agreeable outcome, the
instructor will file a written statement of charges with the Associate Chair who will forward a
copy to the appropriate FAS dean. For more information, see “Student Obligations and
Adjudication,” University Policy 02-03-03, http://www.pitt.edu/~provost/aistudcode1.html
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any essential elements or functions of a program. Students requesting reasonable
accommodations must do so by registering with Disability Resources and Services in a timely
manner. Students shall also be required to provide documentation of their disability that 1) meets
the University of Pittsburgh’s established guidelines for documentation of a disability, and 2)
demonstrates or documents how their disability functionally impacts their participation in
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