First-Year Writing Seminar: Writing the Self, FIRST-UG 375
Gallatin -- Fall 2011
M/W 9:30 – 10:45
Professor Robert Huddleston
Office Hours: Mon./Wed. 11:00 – 12:00, 1 Washington Place, Room 431; or by appt.
Email: rh99@nyu.edu
Course Description:
Sylvia Plath writes: “There is no terminus, only suitcases / Out of which the same old self
unfolds like a suit / Bold and shiny, with pockets of wishes, / Notions and tickets, short
circuits and folding mirrors.” Rather than simply telling the truth, autobiography is a
complicated mirage of wish fulfillment and creative self-fashioning often provoked by a
crisis of personal identity and/or in relations with others. As Plath suggests, a life can
never be fully told; its narration is an ongoing journey of self-discovery. In this course,
we consider how writers tell the story of themselves by selecting certain events and
images, how writers use their writing to come to self-awareness, and how they cover up
or omit important facts in the construction of selves. Students will write and revise three
short essays and a longer literary-critical essay.
This course will focus on writing as a process, helping you to discover yourself as a
writer and encouraging you to envision writing as a skill to learn and a craft to be
improved upon. We will explore various stages of the writing process, including free
writing, multiple drafting, revising, editing, and polishing. Finally, there will be a
workshop component to this course, in which students will discuss, critique, and edit each
other’s written work.
Course Requirements and Grades:
PARTICIPATION
Class participation is the first and most important course requirement. It is crucial that
you attend all class sessions, that you come prepared with the written responses, drafts,
readings, and other materials that will be discussed each day, andthat you participate
actively.NOTE: You must purchase the required texts and bring them to class when a
reading is being discussed. Bring printed copies of Blackboard readings.
ABSENCES
If you must be absent for any reason other than a serious illness, please inform me ahead
of timeand please submit all written work that is due before the class begins if you are
not able to attend.The participation of each student is vital to the success of the class as a
whole, and excessive absences (more than 2) will jeopardize your grade.
READING RESPONSES
You will have a response to the reading due almost every week. In general, you are free
to write on a topic of your choice, provided it relates to the reading. You should bring a
hard copy to class for discussion. These responses should be at least one page, typed (and
may be longer). Remember that these responses will help you to participate in our
discussions and to write your papers later on, so they are an important part of your
writing and thinking process. You should keep them all together, as an ongoing discourse
with yourself about the themes of the course. Late responses will not be accepted.
ESSAYS
There will be four graded writing assignments in this course. You will be required to
bring your writing to class at various stages of completion, so please pay close attention
to due dates written on the syllabus. Theliterary-critical essay will include a research
component.
INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS
Each student will be required to scheduleameeting with me during the semester, either
during my office hours or at another time if that is not convenient. Ideally, you should
plan to meet with me early in the semester. You are encouraged to come and see me or
schedule anappointment any time you have a question or concern.
PRESENTATION
Each student will be required to give two 10-minute presentations, one individually and
one with a partner for the Sylvia Plath Forum. A sign-up sheet will be distributed.
GRADE
Your grade will be based on both the quality of your written work and on the quality of
your participation in class discussion and writing workshops activities.
Plagiarism
As a Gallatin student you belong to a community that values honest and open intellectual
inquiry. This depends on mutual respect, responsibility, and integrity. Failure to uphold
these values will be subject to severe sanction, which may include dismissal from the
University. Examples of behaviors that compromise the academic integrity of the Gallatin
School include plagiarism, illicit collaboration, doubling or recycling coursework, and
cheating. Please consult the Gallatin Bulletin or Gallatin website for a full description of
the academic integrity policy.
Required Texts:*
1. St. Augustine, Confessions, Penguin Classics, 2008
2. Dante, La Vita Nuova, Penguin Classics, 2004
3. Dostoevsky, Memoirs from the House of the Dead, Oxford, 2008
4. Allen Ginsberg, Howl and Other Poems, City Lights, 2001
5. Rimbaud, A Season in Hell, Omnidawn, 2007
6. Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, Harper Perennial, 2006
*
Additional readings available on Blackboard. We will also be discussing three films.
These will be placed on reserve at Avery Fisher, and you will be responsible for watching
them on your own.
Sept 7
Introduction
Sept 7
Sept
12
Crisis and Conversion
Read:Augustine, Confessions, bks. I-IV
Write: Response to the reading.
Sept
14
Read: Augustine, Confessions, bks. V-VI
Sept
19
Read: Augustine, Confessions, bks. VII-VIII
Read: Response to the reading
Sept
21
Read:Augustine, Confessions, bk. IX
Write: First Draft of Essay #1 due ***email a
copy to me as an attachment***
Sept
26
Writing Week , Part 1
Assignment: Read and come prepared with
comments on your classmates’ work
Sept
28
Part 2
Read: TBA
Assignment:Second Draft of Essay #1 due
***Bring two copies to class***
Oct 3
Self and Other
Read: Dante, Vita Nuova
***Essay #1 due in class***
Oct 5
Read: Dante, Vita Nuova
Write: Response to the reading
Oct 10
Oct 12
No Class—Columbus Day
Read: Rimbaud, A Season in Hell
Write:First Draft of Essay #2 due ***email a
copy to me as an attachment***
Oct 17
Writing Workshop
Oct 19
Assignment: Read and come prepared with
comments on your classmates’ work
Watch:Total Eclipse (on reserve at Avery
Fisher)
Write: Review of the film.
Oct 24
Read: Dostoevsky, Memoirs, pp. 1-80
***Essay #2 due in class***
Oct 26
Read: Dostoevsky, Memoirs, pp. 81-128
Write: Response to the reading
Oct 31
Read: Dostoevsky, Memoirs, pp. 128-198
Nov 2
Read:Dostoevsky, Memoirs, pp. 199-267,
especially “Akulka’s Husband”
Write: Response to the reading
Nov 7
Read: Dostoevsky, Memoirs, to end.
Watch: Janacek: From the House of the
Dead(on reserve at Avery Fisher)
Read: Susan Sontag, “The Artist as Exemplary
Sufferer” (Blackboard)
Nov 9
Write: First Draft ofEssay #3 due ***email a
copy to me as an attachment***
Nov
14
Nov
16
Writing Week
Assignment: Read and come prepared with
comments on your classmates’ work
Read: TBA
Assignment:Second Draft of Essay #3 due
***Bring two copies to class***
Nov
21
Read: Allen Ginsberg, Howl
***Essay #3 due in class***
Nov
24
Thanksgiving Recess – No
Class
Nov
28
Read:Plath, The Bell Jar
Write: Response to the reading
Nov
30
Read: Plath, The Bell Jar
Write: Submit proposed topic for Plath Forum
Dec 5
Sylvia Plath Open Forum
Dec 7
Assignment: With a partner, prepare and
present a short talk (5-10 min) on a work by or
about Sylvia Plath.
Watch: Sylvia (on reserve at Avery Fisher)
Write:First Draft ofFinalEssay due ***email a
copy to me as an attachment***
Dec 12 Writing Workshop: Final
Essay
Assignment: Read and come prepared with
comments on your classmates’ work.
Dec 14 Wrap up, evals.
***Final Essay Due***