English 210-01: LITERATURE AND THE ARTS
Spring 2010
T/TR 2:00-3:15 PM
MHRA 1214
Instructor: Cameron Golden
Office Hours: T/TR 12:30-1:45 PM, 3:15-3:45 and by appointment
Office: McIver 115
Phone: 334-9846
E-mail: c_golden@uncg.edu
Course Description: Students will read and write about works of prose and poetry from diverse cultural
traditions, analyzing the context, aims and methods of literary expression.
We will look closely at 4 different moments in the 20 th Century: the dawn of Modernism, the Harlem
Renaissance, the movement into Postmodernism, and the movement out of Postmodernism into … well,
something else. For each of these moments, we will examine not only the literature that defined these eras,
but also other art forms that were influenced by the same factors: The Visual Arts, Music, Architecture,
Dance, and Film. We will look at these four time periods as not as isolated movements but reactions and
responses to what came before, and as a class we will try to come to some conclusions about the
interconnected nature of Literature and the Arts.
Texts:
Paul Auster, The New York Trilogy, Penguin Classics, 2006, ISBN # 0143039830
Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated, Harper Perennial Paperback, 2003, ISBN # 0060529709
Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, Scribner Paperback, ISBN # 0743297334
Nella Larsen, Passing, Penguin Paperback, ISBN # 0141180250
Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49, Harper Perennial paperback, ISBN # 0061849928
Student Learning Goals: At the completion of this course, students will be able to …
--Identify and understand varied characteristics of literature
--Apply techniques of literary analysis to texts
--Use literary study to develop sills in careful reading and clear writing
--Demonstrate understanding of the diverse social and historical contexts in which literary texts have been
written and interpreted
REQUIREMENTS/POLICIES
Academic Integrity: Students are expected to be familiar with UNCG’s Academic Integrity Policy:
“Academic integrity is founded upon and encompasses the following five values: honesty, trust, fairness,
respect, and responsibility. Violations include, for example, cheating, plagiarism, misuse of academic
resources, falsification, and facilitating academic dishonesty. If knowledge is to be gained and properly
evaluated, it must be pursued under conditions free from dishonesty. Deceit and misrepresentations are
incompatible with the fundamental activity of this academic institution and shall not be tolerated.” To
ensure that you understand the university’s policy on academic integrity, review the guidelines and list of
violations at <http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu>. I expect you to abide by the Academic Integrity Policy.
If you hand in work that is not your own, you will be given a “0” on the assignment.
Attendance: This course cannot succeed without your involvement; regular attendance and participation
will be critical to your success in this class. You may miss 3 classes with no penalty. After that, your grade
will begin to drop by one half-letter grade per missed class. If you miss 6 classes, you will fail the class.
Late work/Missed work: I will not accept work that is turned in late. There will be no makeup quizzes or
tests if you miss a quiz or test.
Grades: Your grade will be based on the following percentages:
Midterm—25%
Quizzes—25%
Short presentation—10%
Participation—10%
Final exam—30%
Midterm/Final exam: Both the midterm and the final will consist of a combination of identifications, short
answer questions and essay questions.
Quizzes: I will give periodic quizzes to make sure that you are keeping up with the reading. If you have
done a careful job on the reading assignments, you will have no problem doing well on the quizzes. I may
give periodic pop quizzes throughout the semester.
Participation: Discussion will be a large part of our classroom activities. While I understand that this is a
large class, I do expect that each student will make an effort to participate in class discussions.
Short presentations: Each student will be responsible for a 5-minute presentation on an artist from one of
the periods we will be studying. You may work alone or with a partner on this presentation. You will hand
in a 2-3 page paper to me on the day you present that is a write-up of the information you present to the
class.
Disability Services: Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to see me about
accommodations as soon as possible. If you believe you could benefit from such accommodations, you
must first register with the Office of Disability Services on campus before such accommodations can
be made. The office is located on the second floor of the Elliott University Center (EUC) in Suite 215,
and the office is open 8am to 5pm, Monday - Friday. Telephone: 334-5440; e-mail: ods@uncg.edu.
Email policy: Please use email judiciously and respectfully. I will not be checking email over the weekend.
If you would like to discuss your grade, please schedule a conference with me.
Electronic equipment: Cell phones may not be used during class and no text messaging or web surfing is
allowed during class. If I see you using these devices during class, I will ask you to leave class and you will
be counted as absent that day. Laptops may be used in class only to take notes pertaining to our discussion
or to view documents on our Blackboard site. Any student who uses a laptop for any non-classroom
activity during class time will not be allowed to use a laptop in class again. To be perfectly clear: one
violation means no laptop use.
Course Schedule
Week 1--Introduction
Tuesday January19: introduction to the class
Thursday January 21: construction of 20th century timeline (on Blackboard)
Week 2--Modernism
Tuesday January 26: “The Waste Land” (on Blackboard); discussion of Architecture
Thursday January 28: poems by Pound, HD (on Blackboard); Dance (videos and links on Blackboard)
Week 3--Modernism
Tuesday January 22: Art (essay and links on Blackboard)
Thursday January 24: Film--“Un Chien Andalou” and “Meshes of the Afternoon”
Week 4--Modernism
Tuesday February 2: The Sun Also Rises; Quiz #1
Thursday February 4: The Sun Also Rises; Quiz #2
Week 5: Modernism into Harlem renaissance
Tuesday February 9: transitional moments (from Left Bank Salon to the Cotton Club); music (files on
Blackboard)
Thursday February 11: poetry--Hughes, McKay, Cullen (on Blackboard)
Week 6—Harlem Renaissance
Tuesday February 16: painting (essay and links on Blackboard)
Thursday February 18: music, Fire! (link on Blackboard)
Week 7—Harlem Renaissance
Tuesday February 23: Passing; Quiz #3
Thursday February 25: Passing; Quiz #4
Week 8—Harlem Renaissance
Tuesday March 2: essay (on Blackboard) and midterm review
Thursday March 4: Midterm
Week 9
Tuesday March 9: Spring Break!!
Thursday March 11: Spring Break!!
Week 10--Postmodernism
Tuesday March 16: Art and Architecture (links and essays on Blackboard)
Thursday March 18: music and film; “The Limey”
Week 11--Postmodernism
Tuesday March 23: The Crying of Lot 49; Quiz #5
Thursday March 25: The Crying of Lot 49; Quiz #6
Week 12--Postmodernism
Tuesday March 30: music and dance (videos and essays on Blackboard)
Thursday April 1: The New York Trilogy—“City of Glass”; Quiz #7
Week 13--Postmodernism
Tuesday April 6: NYT—“Ghosts”; Quiz #8
Thursday April 8: NYT—“The Locked Room”; Quiz #9
Week 14—Post-Postmodernism
Tuesday April 13: “Et Tu, Babe” (excerpt on Blackboard)
Thursday April 15: “The Waste Land”—hypertext (link on Blackboard)
Week 15—Post-Postmodernism
Tuesday April 20: Everything is Illuminated; Quiz #10
Thursday April 22: Everything is Illuminated; Quiz #11
Week 16--Review
Tuesday April 27: presentations
Thursday April 29: presentations and review for final
Final Exam: Thursday May 6th 3:30 PM