Spring 2004
Bayou 1439, Tuesdays 7-9:50pm
LITR 5730: “Race” in American Writing
CRCL5031: Cultural Diversity
Dr. Kevin McNamara
Dr. Deepa Reddy
http://home.houston.rr.com/kmcnamara/
http://coursesite.cl.uh.edu/hsh/reddy
Office: B2121-1
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 4:30-6:30pm
Office: B2617-2
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-6:30pm;
Wednesdays 7-8pm
Phone: 281-283-3331
Email: reddy@cl.uh.edu
Phone: 281-283-3387
Email: mcnamara@cl.uh.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES
In this seminar, we will investigate how "race" has functioned in American writing as a discursive category,
with specific implications for the constitution of cultures. That is, we will not attempt to determine whether
or not some objectively existing biogenetic entity called "race" exists, but we will examine the ways in which
the concept of "race" has been defined and deployed in several genres of writing--law, social science, natural
science, fiction, essays, memoirs. We will be less concerned with the question of whether or not races
actually exist than a related question: For what purposes would one wish to deploy a theory of stable racial
difference? We will aim to finish the semester with a better understanding of the relationship of race to
culture once we have explored:
. The history of the concept of "race" and the changes its definition has undergone;
. The rhetorical appeal to "race" as an authority for legal and social policy;
. The conflation of "race" and cultural identity;
. The connection between "race" and citizenship (for instance, the ways in which Americanness has
been synonymous with whiteness).
TEXTS & WHERE TO FIND THEM
1. In the Bookstore (eventually)/ amazon.com/ half.com/ bn.com:
Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson. New York, Bantam 1984
Paul Gilroy, Against Race: Imagining Political Culture Beyond the Color Line. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2000.
2.
On reserve at Neumann Library in both hard and electronic form
3. Websites:
http://home.houston.rr.com/kmcnamara/ OR http://coursesite.cl.uh.edu/hsh/reddy
ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING
Critical analysis papers (5)
Prospectus
Term Paper
Participation
40%
10%
40%
10%
Due Dates
As noted below
March 2
May 11
n/a
NOTE: YOU MUST SUBMIT TWO COPIES OF ALL ASSIGNMENTS
MCNAMARA/REDDY SYLLABUS, SPRING2004
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Critical analysis papers
Each student will write a total of 5 critical analysis papers (minimum 4 pages each) responding to the
readings for the week. The papers are due at the beginning of the class in which the texts are discussed. You
should in no case consider the work of fewer than two different authors in each of these papers. Papers
should be structured according to the following, with emphasis on the final section:
(i) What questions/ concerns are being addressed?
(ii) How are these questions addressed? What are the main lines of argument presented?
(iii) Critical Analysis: What is the significance of these arguments for the constructions/study of race
and culture, or for how we think about them? (Shock and awe are not useful responses.)
Prospectus
All students are required to provide us with a two-page (double-spaced) description of their projects
(primary texts, thesis and anticipated development/support) as well as an annotated bibliography of
secondary sources that indicate how you will be using these in your papers by the seventh class meeting.
You may use your assigned readings as appropriate, but at least 5 entries in your bibliography should not
come from the syllabus.
For the bibliography: 1) devise a search strategy; e.g.: a set of keywords. 2) Perform searches in (as
appropriate) the MLA International Bibliography, America: History and Life, and the Social Sciences Index, all of
which are available through the Library, and on Table 10 of the Reference Historical Abstracts, which is
section, and the catalogues of area libraries.
If you don’t know how to create an Annotated Bibliography, consult:
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill28.htm
Term Paper
Each participant will produce a term paper (10 pages minimum) that combines research and original
interpretation to analyze a logic of racialism or culturalism in one or more texts.
You will want to show how a particular ideology orders the text’s or a character’s world. You may choose
texts that challenge or propose an alternative to the dominant forms of racialist or culturalist discourse
(including texts that propose a culturalist solution to racialist impasses), or texts that think they do but repeat
the logic of racialism with different values.
If you concentrate on racialism, it is not sufficient to demonstrate the presence of characters of different races
or acts of racism. You would not write about the Harlem Renaissance, but about, for example, authors’
attempts to redefine blackness; the racialist content of white critical reception; performances of “blackness”
for white audiences; “passing” and shades of blackness.
If you concentrate on culturalism, you will want to focus on how culture works—or fails to work—as a
mediating concept between race and the individual. You might begin with a description of a culture’s
constituent elements, but would need ultimately to assess the implications of these for the characters, texts or
individuals in question.
Participation
At the very least, you must regularly attend the seminar meetings and think carefully about the week’s
readings. Because we intend to run the class as a seminar, not a lecture, your constructive participation is
very important and will be rewarded.
MCNAMARA/REDDY SYLLABUS, SPRING2004
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COURSE POLICIES
Academic Honesty Policy
As a UHCL student, you are responsible for knowing and observing the University’s standards for academic
honesty, which are set forth in the UHCL Catalog and Section 4.2 of the UHCL Student Handbook (available
online at: http://b3308-adm.cl.uh.edu/PolicyProcedures/studentlife/acadhone.html).
Plagiarism
The most serious breach of academic integrity is handing in others’ work as your own. Any words, phrases,
or sentences taken from another text must be enclosed in quotation marks. Whether you are quoting word for
word or borrowing an idea and putting it in your own words, you must credit your source. You will be given
one warning, and any further instances of plagiarism will be referred to the Dean of Students.
For the mechanics of citation, consult either
. the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, ed. Joseph Gibaldi, 6th ed. (New York: MLA, 2003), on
reserve and in reference at Neumann Library (LB2369 G53 2003), OR
. The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (University of Chicago Press, 2003), on reserve and in reference
at Neumann Library (Z253 .U69 2003).
Absences
We realize that illness or unforeseen crisis can make attendance impossible. We also know that excessive
absences hurt the class as a whole. Class attendance and your participation are important parts of the
educational process in this seminar. Three absences will pass without mention. Additional absences will
lower your final grade.
Please, contact one of us as soon as you possibly can if you are facing a
situation that will result in an inordinate number of absences or an
inability to complete assignments on schedule.
Late Assignments
Late papers depreciate by one-third of a letter grade on the first day of lateness, and an additional third of
a grade for every two additional days, weekends included. Weekly papers are not accepted late. In
fairness to all, extra time will be granted for assignments only in exceptional cases. Should you be unable to
meet a deadline, you must make alternate arrangements to hand in the assignment.
Changes to the Syllabus
The dates on the schedule represent my best estimate of the time we will give each text. Dates will change if
we choose to devote more or less time to one of the readings.
Withdrawal
The last date for drops without penalty is listed in this semester's schedule of classes and on the UHCL web:
http://www.cl.uh.edu/admissions/schedule/spring/Spring2004/Calendar.pdf. You are responsible for
independently verifying that date.
Incompletes
A grade of "I" is granted only when a documented emergency arises late in the semester. An "I" is not an
option for someone who has been behind all semester.
Students with Disabilities
If you have a disability that requires special accommodation, you must:
. talk with the Coordinator of Health Disability Services in Bayou 1402 (x. 2627);
. talk with either one of us and we’ll make all necessary arrangements.
You must do this at the start of the semester, or as soon as possible after the disability is diagnosed during
the semester.
MCNAMARA/REDDY SYLLABUS, SPRING2004
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SCHEDULE OF READINGS
WEEK 1: JANUARY 20
INTRODUCTION
WEEK 2: JANUARY 27
CLASSICS OF RACIALIST DISCOURSE (MCNAMARA)
Alexander Crummell, “The Destined Superiority of the Negro”
Martin R. Delany, from Principia of Ethnology
Madison Grant, from The Passing of the Great Race
W. E. B. DuBois, “The Conservation of Races”
Joseph Le Conte, from The Race Problem in the South
WEEK 3: FEBRUARY 3
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INVENTION OF “CULTURE” (REDDY)
Geertz, Clifford. 1973. "Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture” in The Interpretation of
Cultures. New York: Basic Books. 3-30.
Clifford, James. 1988. “Identity in Mashpee” in The Predicament of Culture. Boston: Harvard University Press.
Appadurai, Arjun. 1988. “Putting hierarchy in its place.” Cultural Anthropology 3 (1): 36-49.
Optional:
Rabinow, Paul. 1986. “Representations are social facts: Modernity and Post-Modernity in Anthropology” in
Writing Culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. Ed. James Clifford and George Marcus. Berkeley:
University of California Press. 234-61.
WEEK 4: FEBRUARY 10
INVENTING THE AMERICAN (MCNAMARA)
Hector St. John Crèvecoeur, Letters of an American Farmer, from Letter II: On the Situation, Feelings, and
Pleasures, of an American Farmer,
---, from Letter III: What Is an American
Frederick Jackson Turner, from "The Significance of the Frontier in American History"
Royall Tyler, The Contrast
WEEK 5: FEBRUARY 17
CULTURE AS CONTACT ZONE (REDDY)
Pratt, Mary Louise. 1992. “Introduction: Criticism in the contact zone” in Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and
transculturation. New York: Routledge. 1-14.
Clifford, James. 1997. “Museums as contact zones” in Routes: Travel and Translation in the late twentieth century
Cambridge: Harvard. 188-219.
From: Clifford, James. 1994. “Diasporas” in Cultural Anthropology 9/3, pp. 302-338.
WEEK 6: FEBRUARY 24
DISPLACING THE INDIAN (MCNAMARA)
William Cullen Bryant, “The Prairies”
Crèvecoeur, Letters of an American Farmer, from Letter XII: Distresses of a Frontier Man
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, from Query XI: A description of the Indians established in
that state?
Supreme Court of the United States, from Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and from Worcester v. Georgia
MCNAMARA/REDDY SYLLABUS, SPRING2004
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WEEK 7: MARCH 2
LOCATING THE AFRICAN (MCNAMARA)
Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, from Query XIV: The administration of justice and description of the
laws?
---, from Query XVIII: The particular customs and manners that may happen to be received in that state?
---, Letter to Benjamin Banneker 30 Aug. 1791
---, Letter to Marquis de Condorcet 30 Aug. 1791
Herman Melville, "Benito Cereno"
Supreme Court of the United States, from Dred Scott v. Sandford
WEEK 8: MARCH 9
CASTE INTO RACE (REDDY)
Dirks, Nicholas B. 1992. “Castes of mind.” Representations 37 (Winter): 56-78.
Berreman, Gerald D. 1960. “Caste in India and the United States.” American Journal of Sociology 66 (2): 120-27.
Deepa S. Reddy, “The Ethnicity of Caste.” Unpublished ms.
WEEK 9: MARCH 16
SPRING BREAK
WEEK 10: MARCH 23
CHRIST, WHAT A MESS! (MCNAMARA)
Supreme Court of the United States, Plessy v. Ferguson
Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson
Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. v. Bhagat Singh Thind
WEEK 11: MARCH 30
CULTURE TURNS MULTICULTURAL (REDDY)
Turner, Terence. 1993. “Anthropology and multiculturalism: What is Anthropology that Multiculturalists
should be mindful of?” Cultural Anthropology 8 (4): 411-429.
Okin, Susan Moller. 2002. “Multiculturalism and Feminism: no simple question, no simple answers.”
Unpublished ms.
WEEK 12: APRIL 6
CRITIQUES OF IDENTITY POLITICS (REDDY)
bell hooks. 1991. “Postmodern Blackness” in Postmodern Culture 1/1.
Ford, Richard T. 2002. “Beyond “Difference”.” In Left Legalism/Left Critique. Ed. Wendy Brown and Janet
Halley. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp. 38-79.
Ignatieff, Michael. 1998. “Identity Parades” in Prospect (April, Issue 29).
WEEK 13: APRIL 13
WHO DID YOU SAY YOU ARE? (MCNAMARA & REDDY)
Christopher Newfield and Avery Gordon, “White Philosophy” in Critical Inquiry 20 (Summer 1994). Pp. 737757
Walter Benn Michaels, “The No Drop Rule” in Critical Inquiry 20 (Summer 1994). Pp. 758-769.
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit of Louisiana, Jane Doe v. State of Louisiana
Chakrabarty, Dipesh. 2002. “The Governmental roots of modern ethnicity” in Habitations of modernity: Essays
in the wake of subaltern studies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 80-97.
MCNAMARA/REDDY SYLLABUS, SPRING2004
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WEEK 14: APRIL 20
CHRIST, WHAT A GLOBAL MESS! (REDDY)
Tomlinson, John. 1999. Chapter 1 of Globalization and Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp. 1-31.
Geertz, Clifford. 1999. “"The pinch of destiny": Religion as experience, meaning, identity, power.” Raritan. 18
(3): 1-19.
Chua, Amy. 2002. “Two Faces of Globalization: A World on the Edge” in The Wilson Quarterly 26/4 (Autumn
2002) pp. 62-77.
Cowen, Tyler. 2002. “Two Faces of Globalization: The Fate of Culture” in The Wilson Quarterly 26/4 (Autumn
2002) pp. 78-84.
WEEK 15: APRIL 27
(MCNAMARA & REDDY)
From: Paul Gilroy. 2000. Against Race: Imagining Political Culture Beyond the Color Line. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
WEEK 16: MAY 4
(MCNAMARA & REDDY)
From: Paul Gilroy. 2000. Against Race: Imagining Political Culture Beyond the Color Line. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
WEEK 17: MAY 11
FINAL PAPERS DUE
MCNAMARA/REDDY SYLLABUS, SPRING2004
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