English 440
Seminar in Theory: Cultural Categories
Professor Stephen Brauer
Fall 2007
TTh 3:10-4:30
Phone: 385-8168; Email: sbrauer@sjfc.edu
Office: Basil 111
Office Hours: TTh 9:00-11:00
Introduction
What is the function of literature? Should it educate and edify us? Entertain us?
Some combination of these? How we answer these, as writers and as readers, reveals
something about how we think about culture, literature, and the practice of reading. In
this course we will explore what the critic Andreas Huyssen calls the perceived “Great
Divide” between the highbrow and the lowbrow. How and why do we distinguish
between what we see as “art” and what we see as “trash” or merely “commercial”? On
what criteria do we base our judgment? Do we read a “serious” novel in the same way as
we do something that we might just consider beach or airplane reading? Do we conceive
of great works of art as inherently different from those that are more popular and
commercial? How much of a divide is actually there between them, and how much does
one borrow from the other? What do we make of the “in-between” – what critics have
called the middlebrow? What is its function?
Through the readings, we will consider the ways in which cultural categories have
developed over the last 150 years or so and how critics have responded to those
categories. We will also look at many primary texts and consider how and where they fit
within the cultural hierarchy, and whether the notion of a hierarchy changes how we read
and even approach a text. Through this course, students will recognize how scholars
offer distinct critical perspectives on texts that reveal their own thinking about the
function of texts – whether those texts are highbrow, middlebrow, or lowbrow – and how
those critical perspectives on those individual texts and on those cultural categories have
evolved dramatically over time.
These are the specific learning outcomes to which I will direct our efforts:
1) Students will be able to define cultural categories and to construct an argument
about the position of a text within a cultural hierarchy.
2) Students will be able to analyze multiple critical perspectives on a text.
3) Students will be able to utilize appropriate critical and theoretical perspectives
within their own argument.
4) Students will be able to articulate a critical argument about a text through
appropriate oral communication.
5) Students will be able to implement research and writing strategies to develop a
well-reasoned research paper.
Required Texts
Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express
Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
There will also be a number of essays that will be available through our Blackboard site.
Be sure to keep up to date on this site.
Course Requirements
Graded Assignments – There will be three shorter papers, an in-class presentation, and an
extended research paper.
Reading Assignments – Read the texts and come to class with ideas about what you’ve
read. Preparation will count toward your grade and, in a class of this size, it’s pretty easy
to tell who is prepared and who isn’t. Let me know any time that you are struggling with
the material.
Participation in Class Discussions – Although there will be times that I lay out historical
and cultural contexts for the texts, this course is a discussion-based class. Your
participation is key. The success of discussions will rely upon your preparation, your
ability to listen to others, and your willingness and desire to participate.
Absences – Four unexcused absences will result in a failing grade. If you cannot make it
please get a note from a doctor or nurse.
Other Issues
Grading – Your final grade will be 10% Text Preparation and Class Participation, 35%
Short Papers, 15% Presentation, 40% Research Paper.
Plagiarism – Plagiarism is a very serious offense, and one I will handle with the utmost
gravity. Plagiarism is the unauthorized, undocumented use of another person’s words or
ideas – and it is a violation of college guidelines. Plagiarism will certainly result in a
zero for that written assignment, may result in failing the course, and, in some cases, may
result in suspension or expulsion from the college. Be absolutely sure to cite any sources
that you use in a writing assignment and to include a Works Cited List for those sources.
Disabilities – Students with documented learning, physical, or emotional
disabilities/conditions should identify themselves to me after the first class so that we can
accommodate your needs.
Schedule of Assignments
September 4 – Introductions.
September 6 – R. Gordon Kelly, “Literature and the Historian”
September 11 – Jonathan Culler, “Beyond Interpretation”
September 13 – M.H. Abrams, “How to Do Things with Texts”
September 18 – Stanley Fish, “Is There a Text in This Class?”
September 20 – First Paper due.
September 25 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Ch. I-XVIII)
September 27 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Ch. XIX-XXVIII)
October 2 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Ch. XXIX-XLV)
October 4 – Historical criticism of UTC (p. 459-494)
October 9 – Modern criticism of UTC (p. 495-542)
October 11 – Modern criticism of UTC (p. 542-584)
October 16 – Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express
October 18– Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express. Paper on UTC due.
October 23 – Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
October 25– Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon
October 30 – Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49
November 1 – Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49
November 6 – Critical Review of Christie or Hammett due.
November 8 – Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn
November 13 – Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn
November 15 – Annotated Bibliography for Final Project due.
November 20 – Preparation for Final Project.
November 22 – THANKSGIVING BREAK
November 27 – Presentations
November 29 – Presentations
December 4 – Presentations
December 6 – Presentations
Research Paper due during Exam week.
Criteria for Grading
Grade: A
1. The student offers a focused and unusually perceptive argument, supported by
relevant and accurate evidence, and acknowledges other possible interpretations
of the material while making a persuasive case for his/her own interpretation. The
writing is clear and correct, the organization is logical and coherent, and the
diction is sophisticated and appropriate for the topic.
Grade: B
1. The student offers a focused argument, supported by relevant and accurate evidence,
and acknowledges and addresses other possible interpretations of the material.
2. Problems with organization at times obscure the argument.
3. Errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation interfere with the clarity of the
writing.
Grade: C
1. The student offers an argument, but supporting evidence is
·Missing
·Not applicable
·Not sufficiently specific
·Obscured by errors in language and usage
2. The student offers an argument that address the topic, but it is too general or obvious
3. The student offers an argument that address the topic, but the supporting evidence is
not convincing or clearly organized, and transitions between ideas (both within
and between paragraphs) are missing
Grade: D
1. The student merely summarizes or describes a topic or question without offering an
argument
2. The student offers an argument, but one that does not address the topic or question
3. The essay is difficult to read due to errors in language and usage
Grade: F
1. The student has made serious factual errors
2. The student completely ignores the topic or question
3. The essay is incomprehensible owing to errors in language and usage
4. The essay is academically dishonest
Assignments –
Short opening paper: What is the function of reading? Consider reading practices and
questions in the context of the theorists and critics we’ve read in the opening two weeks.
2-3 pages.
Paper on UTC: Construct an argument about the novel in the context of the different
critical perspectives/write an analysis of the critical reception of the novel. 5-6 pages.
Critical review of Hammett/Christie: Trace the critical reception of the novel from its
publication to the present and summarize the nature of that reception. Four sources, 5-6
pages.
Annotated Bibliography – 5 sources, with 1-2 paragraphs of analysis of each source.
Novelists to choose from:
Margery Allingham
John Dickson Carr
Raymond Chandler
Agatha Christie
Carroll John Daly
Dashiell Hammett
Michael Innes
Ronald Knox
Ellery Queen
Dorothy Sayers
Rex Stout
S. S. Van Dine