AMST3950 Post-9/11 US Culture
Spring 2010
Prof. Stacy Takacs
Office: Main Hall 2221
Office Hours: M,T, 2-4:00 pm; R 4-5 pm
Email: stacy.takacs@okstate.edu
Phone: 918-594-8331
OSU American Studies Website
http://amst.okstate.edu/index.php
Also, catch us on Facebook. Search for American Studies Oklahoma State University.
Course Description:
This course will survey the effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the political
and cultural life of the United States. We will examine the visual presentation of the events
themselves, the discourses used to frame and interpret the attacks, and the history of these
discourses in US popular and political cultures. We will survey cultural responses to 9/11 in a
variety of media from comic books, literature, and films to rap and country music. We will also
examine the cultural presentation of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on television and in film.
We will ask how popular cultural forms have helped individuals make sense of these events.
What themes or issues are foregrounded in the culture and why? How has popular culture
constructed ideal notions of citizenship and patriotism, and what effects have these
constructions had on political and social relations? Finally, how have cultural responses to 9/11
changed as the events have receded in time?
Texts:
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Susan Faludi, The Terror Dream
Jeff Melnick, 9/11 Culture
Art Spiegelman, In The Shadow of No Towers.
A collection of readings available on the D2L. (https://oc.okstate.edu)
Policies:
Participation: Students are expected to attend every class and participate actively in class
discussions, both real and virtual. Participation will comprise 10% of your grade (100 points).
Excessive absence may result in a failing grade for the course. Absences will be excused only for
dire illness and family emergency, both of which must be substantiated by documentation (a Dr's
note, a funeral notice, etc.). If you accumulate more than one unexcused absence, you forfeit the
right to earn extra-credit points.
Active participation means:
 You will have read the materials, watch the films, and completed any writing
assignments, including on-line assignments, before you arrive in class.
 You will bring the day’s reading materials with you to class so you may refer to them.
 You will engage with and respond to your peers during both large and small group
discussions and during on-line assignments.
 You will listen attentively to every speaker and respond respectfully to the ideas of
others both in class and in the virtual venue (about which, see below).
 You will exhibit an effort to apply, extend, & challenge concepts generated in class.
 You will demonstrate your curiosity and willingness to ask questions, advance
comparisons, and make observations.
Short Analytical Essays: You will complete THREE 2-3 page analytical writing assignments
related to primary sources assigned for this class. You will have four chances to complete
this assignment, which means you can skip one of the essays. Each essay will call for you to
critically examine a primary source text in relation to the historical and theoretical readings
assigned in the course. For example, the first assignment will ask you to analyze one of the
newspaper front pages collected in the Time Magazine archive in relation to one or more of
the critical essays assigned for 1/19. Others will focus on 9/11 films, comic books, and
television programs. If you complete all four assignments, I will take the three highest grades.
See the ASSIGNMENTS folder on the D2L for full details. Each essay will be worth 100
points or 10% of your grade; together they will comprise 30% of your grade.
Literary Analysis: You will research and present an in-depth analysis of a work of fiction or
non-fiction that addresses 9/11 or the War on Terrorism. The analysis should use assigned
course materials and outside research to construct a unique interpretation of the text: How
does it construct or respond to the terrorist attacks? What does it suggest about American
culture in the aftermath of 9/11? Essays should be 5-7 pages in length. You will also prepare
a brief oral presentation about your assigned novel for the class (those of you working on the
same text may collaborate on the presentation if you choose). See the ASSIGNMENTS
folder on the D2L for full instructions and a list of possible texts. This essay will be worth 300
points or 30% of your grade; 100 points of that grade will be based on your oral presentation
on 4/27.
Group Projects: There will be TWO group projects for this class. The first will ask you to
contribute to the analysis of a particular film that responds to 9/11 somehow (directly or
through allegory). The second will ask you to analyze documentaries related to the War in
Iraq (either combat documentaries or torture documentaries). In each case, you will discuss
how the assigned film uses composition, sound, and other features of the film medium to
construct a particular point of view on the war. Your analysis should be supplemented with
research into the production and reception history of the film. See the ASSIGNMENTS folder
on the D2L for full instructions. The Group Projects will be worth 150 points each, and
together will comprise 30% of your course grade. Each member of the group will receive the
same grade unless the other members of the group make a case for a higher or lower grade
for one or more members.
Academic Honesty: All work you turn in for this class must be your own work. Incidents of
plagiarism—including the failure to cite your sources properly—will result in a failing grade
for the assignment. Any more egregious violation (turning in someone else's paper as your
own, copying content from the internet, or cheating during an exam, for example) will result in
a failing grade for the course. Consult OSU’s Office of Academic Affairs for more
information on the University's new, more stringent Academic Integrity policy.
Special Needs and Disabilities: Please feel free to contact me with any special needs that you
may have related to a physical or mental disability; I’ll be happy to work with you to
accommodate your needs. NOTE: If you have a disability, physical or otherwise, you must
register with the appropriate liaison in the Student Disability Services Office (103 North Hall;
918-594-8354)
Grading:
Participation
10%
(100 points)
A=90-100%
Short Analyses
30% total
(10% each)
(300 points)
(100 each)
B=80-89%
Literary Analysis
30%
(300 points)
C=70-79%
Group Project 1
15%
(150 points)
D=60-69%
Group Project 2
15%
(150 points)
F=59% or less
Total
100%
(1000 points)
Schedule:
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Readings marked with an Asterisk (*) are available in the "Readings" section of the D2L
website (https://oc.okstate.edu)
Readings highlighted in blue can be viewed on the internet by opening the syllabus on
your computer and clicking on the link. There is also an online version of the reading
schedule you could use.
Introduction: 9/11 News Framing I
1/12
View: Footage of 9/11 attacks (CNN, MSNBC); Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s
contribution to 11’09”01
1/19
Read:
9/11 News Framing II
*Reynolds & Barnett, “America Under Attack’: CNN’s Verbal and Visual Framing of
9/11”
*Jack Lule, "Myth and Terror on the Editorial Page"
George Lakoff, “Metaphors of Terror”
Visit: Time Magazine’s Archive of Newspaper Front Pages
1/26
Read:
American Unity (and Its Limits) I: Race and National Identity
Melnick, 9/11 Culture, Chaps. 2, 5
Robert Putnam, “Bowling Together”
Somini Sengupta, “Arabs and Muslims Steer Through an Unsettling Scrutiny”
James E. Garcia, “Arabs, Latinos and the Culture of Hate”
View: Divided We Fall
Analysis 1 Due: Choose one of the front pages in the Time Archive and
analyze
2/2
Read:
American Unity (and Its Limits) II: Gender and National Identity
Faludi, Terror Dream, Introduction + Chaps. 1-3
View: DC911; Third Watch: “After Time”; Rescue Me, “Pilot”
2/9
Read:
A History of Gender and National Identity
Faludi, Terror Dream, Chaps. 5-6, 8 + Epilogue
View: The Searchers
2/16
Read:
Mourning and Memory I
Melnick, 9/11 Culture, Chaps, 3-4 + 6
Tom Junod, “The Falling Man”
A. R. Torres, “The Reluctant Icon” and “9/11 Widow: Do I Really Want the Truth?”
Analysis 2 Due: Choose United 93 or World Trade Center and analyze
2/23
Read:
Mourning and Memory II: Comic Artists Respond
Art Spiegelman, In the Shadow of No Towers
*Kieron Dwyer, “Untitled”
*Steven Siegle, Duncan Touleau, and Aaron Sowd, “Unreal”
*Frank Miller, “I’m Sick of Flags”
*Brian Vaughn, Pete Woods, and Keith Champagne, “For Art’s Sake”
Analysis 3 Due: Choose one of the assigned comics and analyze
3/2
Read:
Mourning and Counter-Memory: Jokes and Conspiracies
Melnick, 9/11 Culture, Chap. 1 (pp. 25-49)
*Stephen Couch and Barbara Wade, “What’s Funny About 9/11?”
*Russell Frank, "September 11 and the Newslore of Vengeance and
Victimization”
Optional: Popular Mechanics debunking of the 9/11 Conspiracy or listen to the
podcast at <http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/911myths/3705191.html>
View: 9/11 Loose Change;
DUE: Topic Proposal For Literary Analysis
3/9
Read:
Framing the War on Terrorism
*Jack Goldstone, “States, Terrorists and the Clash of Civilizations”
*Richard Jackson, “Writing Threat and Danger”
*George W. Bush, “Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American
People”
*John Ashcroft, “Attorney General’s Announcement with Bush and Powell”
Analysis 4 Due: Watch America’s Most Wanted: “Terrorists” and analyze
3/16
Class Cancelled—Spring Break
3/23
Hollywood After 9/11
Anthony Lane, “This Is Not a Movie”
Chris Collin, “Terror Cleansing”
B. Ruby Rich, “Back to the Future”
*David Holloway, “Cinema” <instead use Antonio Sanchez-Escanillo, ”Hollywood
and the Rhetoric of Panic”
Group Presentation 1: Hollywood and 9/11
3/30
War in Afghanistan: Reality Militainment
*Stacy Takacs, “Reality Militainment and the Virtual Citizen Soldier”
*Neil Hickey, “Access Denied”
*Katharine Seelye, “Pentagon Plays Role in Fictional Terror Drama”
View: JAG: “Tribunal”
4/6
War in Iraq: Selling Benevolent Empire
Faludi, Terror Dream, Chapter 7
*George W. Bush, “Graduation Speech at West Point”
*Max Boot, “Doctrine of the Big Enchilada”
*Joseph Nye, “Ill-Suited for Empire”
*Elizabeth Bumiller, “Bush Aides Set Strategy to Sell Policy on Iraq”
View: Militainment Inc.; PBS: “Buying the War”
4/13
War in Iraq: The Grunt’s Eye View
Tony Grajeda, “The Winning And Losing Of Hearts And Minds: Vietnam, Iraq, And
The Claims Of The War Documentary”
Susan Sontag, “Regarding the Torture of Others”
Joanne Bourke, “Torture as Pornography”
Group Presentation 2 (pt.1): Iraq War Combat Documentaries
4/20
Torture and the War on Terror
Charles Krauthammer, “The Truth About Torture”
Michael Kinsley, “Torture for Dummies”
Jane Myer, “Whatever It Takes: The Politics of the Man Behind 24”
*Joel Surnow, “Interview”
Optional Reading: Julia Lesage, “Torture Documentaries”
View: 24, Primetime Torture
Group Presentation 2 (pt.2): Iraq War Torture Documentaries
4/27
9/11 Fiction
Oral Presentation on your Chosen Work of Fiction/Non-Fiction
5/3
Final Draft of Literary Analysis Due