ENLT398 Autobiography
Or,
Contemporary American Memoir
Emily J. Isaacs
Office Hours:
Tuesday: 10-11
Office: Dickson Hall, rm. 460
Classroom: Dickson 170
Email: IsaacsE@mail.montclair.edu
Required Texts/Purchases:
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Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
She’s not There by Jennifer Boylan
Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Color of Water by James McBride
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
Lying by Lauren Slater
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Texts placed on Blackboard and handed out in class.
What:
This course will focus on the contemporary American memoir. Although the memoir is not
a new form, it has in recent years become popular and notorious, adored and maligned.
What is the genre of memoir will be part of the subject of this course. We know that it is
always in the first person, it is always subjective, and it relies on readers’ expectation of
truthfulness for at least parts of its effect. We will look at memoirs as literature and also in
terms of their appeal to mass audiences. How are they received by the masses? By the
academy? What are the possibilities and limitations of the genre for readers? In our
exploration of memoirs and critics’ discussion of the genre we will consider how memoirs
function for readers. How is the memoir different from the novel, if at all? What kinds of
stories are told in memoirs? Whose stories?
This is not a class in writing memoir.
Requirements:
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Attendance, Preparedness, and Participation.
20%
I expect that you will attend class each time we meet and that only very rarely
(maybe once) will you come to class without having completed the reading. At this
point you are all advanced students and so I am sure you are willing and
enthusiastic participants. 1I am expecting that you will all be eager to share your
Do not text-message, surf the web, check your email, or otherwise use technology (old or new) to do
something other than attend to class and the discussion at hand. It’s rude and it bothers me a lot, even if out
of distaste for conflict I pretend to ignore you ignoring me and your classmates.
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ideas, questions, and problems. If for some reason class participation is a particular
problem for you, do see me.
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Reading Journal/Notes
To state the obvious, writing helps thinking. So I’ll ask you to write regularly
in your reading journal. The reading journal is a place for the pleasure of
thinking, but also for notes for papers, and for class discussion. In this journal
you might
 Ask questions of the text
 Write about what is interesting to you, or what doesn’t make sense
 Make a note of a passage that helps you figure out the text, or that
helps you understand a central question that you have about memoirs
 Raises a question for you about the importance of truth and the
truthfulness of the author
 Answer a question that is asked by me, or my one of your classmates
 Make a note about a point you want to be sure to bring up in class
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Short Research Assignment.
10%
Two page papers, single spaced, on assigned topic. These papers will be shared with
the whole class and will provide background for the fiction we will be reading. See
below.
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Mid-Term Essay
20%
At mid-term you will be given an assignment to be completed at home over a few
day period.
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Personal Choice Essay (6-7 pages)
30%
Open topic. From questions raised by me, the class, or through your own reading
and writing, you will propose a topic (which I will review) and write a 7-8 page
paper on the topic of memoir.
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Final Exam
20%
This essay will be in response to a fairly broad question that allows you to discuss a
few of the memoirs we have read.
What I'm Looking for in Your Essays:
Focus (having a main point): When you finish your paper you should be able to
verbalize what the main point of your paper is. You need to either have some
overarching question that you are aiming to answer or have a main argument that
you are supporting. Be careful about writing about a terribly broad subject that you
can't possibly cover in one paper. It might make sense to talk over paper topics with
a classmate before you get too far into it. Discussing your ideas even just a little bit
might steer you in the right direction.
Reflection/Critical Thinking: I'm interested in seeing you analyze, work through, or
discuss the statements you make about the text you are discussing.. I want you to be
reflective—to anticipate and answer the questions which readers might ask you.
One way of thinking about reflection is to imagine that you are answering a series of
questions which start broad and then move in closer as your analysis develops.
Ideally, you will want to reflect and think critically with an awareness of a
theoretical perspective. The critical articles I give you, as well as critical articles
from other courses (particularly Pursuits of English) will be useful.
Development of a line of thought or point: A developed paper is one in which the
main point is substantiated by textual evidence and thoughtful discussion. There
are no exact rules as to the order in which a writer should make an argument our
lead in exploration. However, more effective arguments are generally discussed in
some depth. Importantly, plot summary—re-telling what happened in a given scene
or in the novel as a whole—does not help you develop your point. I also just can’t
stand it. Each point you make should be convincingly and substantially
demonstrated through specific discussion of the text.
Clarity: I am looking for reasonable connections between paragraphs and between
points. Proper use of language, grammar, and mechanics all contribute to the clarity
of your paper, and so are essential.
Revision
I welcome revision work, though your revision must be substantive and thoughtful. I will
raise paper grades if revisions warrant it. I’ll be glad to discuss my revision policy in class
or individually.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
Definition of Plagiarism (from Student Handbook):
“Plagiarism means the use of another’s words as if they were your own, and
the unacknowledged incorporation of those words in one’s own work offered
for credit. The following guidelines for written work will assist the student
in avoiding plagiarism:
a)
General indebtedness for background information an data is
acknowledged by inclusion of a bibliography of all works consulted.
b)
Specific indebtedness for a particular idea, or for a quotation of four
or more words from another text, is acknowledged by footnote
reference to the actual source. Quotations of 4 -5 words or more from
a text are indicated by the use of quotation marks.”
I expect honesty from you. I expect that the work in will always be your own, and that you
will never copy sentences, phrases, paragraphs or whole essays from any other person’s
work, for that is plagiarism. Plagiarism is dishonest, and against both University policy and
my own. If you are found to have plagiarized you will fail the class and be reported to the
dean’s office.
Schedule
Note: We will discuss the reading on the day that it is listed. Make sure you look ahead in
the syllabus so that you can keep up with the reading as we will move at different rates at
different times.
Wednesday, September 3
Introduction to Course
Critical reception vs. popular reception
“Act One: Guilty As Charged” from “Life After Death” This American Life, Episode
359. Darin Strauss.
Monday, September 8
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
Wednesday, September 10
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
SRA1: Grealy (Katie DeVito)
SRA2: Popular reception of book (Brittany Tobjy)
Monday, September 15
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
SRA3: Critical reception of book (John Vorsteg)
Critical Reading – Patricia Hampl, “Memory and Imagination,” in I could Tell You
Stories. On Google Scholar; direct link through Bb.
Wednesday, September 17
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
SRA4: Patchett (Adrianne Moe)
Monday, September 22
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
SRA5: Popular reception of book (Marybeth Obrycki)
SRA6: Critical reception of book (Jessica Lozak)
Wednesday, September 24
Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
Monday, September 29
“Hijacked By Grief,” by Suellen Grealy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/aug/07/biography.features.
Wednesday, October 1
The Color of Water by James McBride
SRA7: McBride (Jackie Ragueso)
Monday, October 6
The Color of Water by James McBride
SRA8: Popular reception of book
SRA9: Critical reception of book
Wednesday, October 8
The Color of Water by James McBride
Monday, October 13
Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
SRA10: Danticat (Josh Sunarso)
Wednesday, October 15
Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
SRA11: Popular reception of the book
SRA12: Critical reception of the book
Monday, October 20
Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
Critical Reading on Bb: “Problems of Memory and Factuality in Recent
Holocaust Memoirs:Wilkomirski/Wiesel:” by Susan Rubin Suleiman
Wednesday, October 22
Draft of midterm due – 3-4 pages.
Monday, October 27
She’s not There by Jennifer Boylan
SRA13: Boylan (Lisa Escolano)
Wednesday, October 29
Class Canceled
Papers due – in my mailbox on the 4th floor. By 4:00 pm
Monday, November 3
She’s not There by Jennifer Boylan
SRA14: Critical reception of the book (Justine Burke)
SRA15: Popular reception of the book (Tiffany Moallern)
Choice Essay Proposals Due
Wednesday, November 5
She’s not There by Jennifer Boylan
“Reading Spaces” by Nancy Miller.
Monday, November 10
She’s not There by Jennifer Boylan
Wednesday, November 12
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
SRA16: Burroughs (Maureen Grimaldi)
Monday, November 17
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Choice Essay Drafts Due for Peer Review
SRA17: Critical reception of the book (Kerin Kupyn)
SRA18: Popular reception of the book (Kelly Franco)
Wednesday, November 19
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Critical Reading: “Reading Spaces” by Nancy Miller (on Bb)
Monday, November 24
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Wednesday, November 26
Class Cancelled – Thanksgiving!
But, if you want me to read a draft of your paper, email it to me today.
Monday, December 1
Lying by Lauren Slater
SRA20: Critical reception of the book (Lauren Uschmann)
SRA21: Popular reception of the book (Shante McGlone-Burgess)
Wednesday, December 3
Lying by Lauren Slater
Choice Essay Final Draft Due
Monday, December 8
Lying by Lauren Slater
Final exam: due on exam day.
Final Exam Paper Question: Spend a few hours drafting the start of a memoir and then
write a short essay, 3-4 pages, about what if anything you gained from the experience.
Essentially this is my question for you: Does your understanding of the genre shift as you
take on the author role? How? You can take on any aspect of memoir that we have
discussed this semester and take it under review. I don’t expect you to have one answer.
Short Research Assignment
Isaacs/ENLT398/fa08
For this class I would like to gather your collective research skills to create for ourselves
research reports on relevant topics will be useful to all of us as we read and discuss the
memoirs. There are 21 “SRAs” on your syllabus – one for each of you.
Assignment:
1.
Choose a topic from the list.
2.
Research your topic and write a 2 page (single-spaced) summary of your findings.
The goal of this paper is to present information and some analysis. I don’t expect
you to be able to write anything like a definitive treatise. As you research and read
make choices about what you think is interesting and might be relevant to our class.
3.
How much to do? Please, do not spend more than a couple of hours on the research.
You only need to consult a couple of sources. (Do list these sources—in appropriate
MLA form--at the bottom so that we can see where you got your information.) What
sources you use – public internet sites or academic articles – depends on what kind
of assignment you’ve taken on.
4.
As far as the writing goes, this is not a typical paper. You are not making an
argument, necessarily, and you certainly (for this one time) are not expected to have
original ideas. Your goal is to provide interesting information for your classmates to
read and so you therefore need to organize and write it for your audience.
5.
Turn in assignment 48 hours before it is due so that I can post it on Bb for your
classmates to read. Simply send me an email with a word attachment.
6.
Submit your file to me two ways: as a hard copy and via email as a word document
(in class on the day we meet).