ENG 494-01
Senior Honors Seminar
TR 9:30-10:45
Dr. Stacey Peebles
Identity, Narrative, and Technology
In this course we will consider the questions, problems, and possibilities surrounding
the idea of identity generally, and American identity in particular, as explored in a
range of contemporary American fictions.
We will pay special attention to the
influence of technology on modern and postmodern writing, as well as to the idea
of narrative as a technology deployed in different ways for different purposes.
We will explore the potential—and the limitations—of various approaches to the
concept of identity with regard to a selection of novels written in the last thirty
years. Those works will include novels by Richard Powers, Don DeLillo, Maxine Hong
Kingston, and Tim O’Brien, as well as scholarly writings by Donna Haraway, Jean
Baudrillard, and others. Selected films will be included to supplement our readings,
such as Blade Runner and I’m Not There. Identity, as a point of focus, should lead
us to further considerations of topics like consciousness, artistic production, war and
trauma, gender and race, and artificial intelligence.
texts
Don DeLillo, White Noise (1985)
Tim O’Brien, In the Lake of the Woods (1994)
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior (1975)
Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2 (1995)
Shelley Jackson, Patchwork Girl (1995; hypertext)
films
I’m Not There (2007)
In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Blade Runner (1982)
Waking Life (2001)
Films will be viewed outside of class, either on your own or at a scheduled
screening. You are responsible for making sure that you have seen the film by the
day that we discuss it in class. I will set up screenings for those of you who would
like to watch the film together (which is recommended, if you don’t have conflicts
with work or other commitments.) These will likely take place in the North Spencer
classroom, NSPN 134.
assignments
Identity report
15%
Criticism report
10%
Quizzes and other writing
20%
Participation
10%
7-10 page final paper
30%
1-2 page response papers (3)
15%
schedule
INTRODUCTION: what is the human?
T Jan 11
introduction: notions of identity, narrative, technology, and their
intersections
Th Jan 13
N. Katherine Hayles, How We Became Posthuman (prologue)
ART: expressive technology
T Jan 18
Oliver Sacks, “The Abyss: Music and Amnesia”
Th Jan 20
I’m Not There
COPIES: and more copies
T Jan 24
Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction”
Th Jan 26
DeLillo, White Noise (Ch. 1-20)
T Feb 1
DeLillo, White Noise (Ch. 21-29)
Th Feb 3
DeLillo, White Noise (Ch. 30-40)
T Feb 8
Jean Baudrillard, “The Precession of Simulacra” and “On Apocalypse
Now” (excerpts)
Clip from Jarhead (in class)
TRAUMA: frames of fragmentation
Th Feb 10
O’Brien, In the Lake of the Woods (Ch. 1-12)
T Feb 15
O’Brien, In the Lake of the Woods (Ch. 13-20)
Th Feb 17
O’Brien, In the Lake of the Woods (Ch. 21-30)
T Feb 22
Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery (excerpts)
Th Feb 24
In the Valley of Elah
T Mar 1
identity presentations
Th Mar 3
identity presentations
T Mar 8
SPRING BREAK
Th Mar 10
SPRING BREAK
MODES OF BEING: gender, race, nationality
T Mar 15
identity presentations
Th Mar 17
Kingston, The Woman Warrior (“No Name Woman” and “White Tigers”)
T Mar 22
Kingston, The Woman Warrior (“Shaman”)
Th Mar 24
Kingston, The Woman Warrior (“At the Western Palace” and “Song for a
Barbarian Reed Pipe”)
T Mar 29
Jackson, Patchwork Girl
Th Mar 31
Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto”
CONSCIOUSNESS: being there
T Apr 5
Blade Runner and David Foster Wallace, “Consider the Lobster”
Th Apr 7
Powers, Galatea 2.2 (pp. 1-79)
T Apr 12
Powers, Galatea 2.2 (pp. 79-157)
Th Apr 14
Powers, Galatea 2.2 (pp. 157-248)
T Apr 19
Powers, Galatea 2.2 (pp. 248-329)
Th Apr 21
Waking Life
T Apr 26
final discussion
ASSIGNMENTS
7-10 page paper
This is the major writing assignment of the semester, and it will be due
approximately one week after classes end, though you may turn it in earlier (precise
due date TBA). Each student will schedule a meeting with me before that time to
go over the paper’s topic and format. This paper will consist of your analysis of one
or more of the works from the course, and you must use at least three secondary
critical sources. These sources will support your argument about the text(s), but this
is not to be structured as a research paper.
The topic is open, although I will
suggest possible topics as we move through the works.
1-2 page response papers
You will write three of these during the course of the semester. At least one of the
response papers must cover one of the films that we view as part of the course.
The others can cover either literature or film. The response papers are due within
one week of the viewing or reading of the work you choose to write about.
A response paper is a concise, thoughtful, and coherent response to some aspect of
the work that you found interesting or compelling. It does not need to be a formal
argument, but should still be well organized and have a clear focus.
criticism report
For this assignment, you will be locating, summarizing, and responding to a scholarly
article on one of the texts we cover in class. Your summary and response will be
written as a short 2-3 page paper.
You will locate an appropriate article using the MLA Bibliography or another
appropriate database and then write a short paper about the article.
Begin by
listing the bibliographic information in proper MLA format. Then summarize what
you feel are the main points of the article, and offer your own reactions to the
argument: what questions does it raise for you? Do you agree with the argument?
Why or why not?
presentation
At various days during the semester that are noted on the class schedule, each
student will give the class a presentation on some aspect of identity.
Each
presentation should last about 10 or 15 minutes, and each presentation should have
some kind of supplemental material.
You can pass out handouts, show us some
images, or do a demonstration of some kind.
You will sign up for a day and a topic. Below is a list of possible topics, but you are
in no way limited to these.
artificial intelligence
identity theft
consciousness
memory
online identity
Freud and/or Lacan, psychoanalytic ideas about identity
slavery
consumerism and advertising
fashion
film and cultural identity
trauma
siblings
genetics
the body/mind connection
conjoined twins
children who are sexually indeterminate
a note on writing
In student writing, as in all writing, I look for coherence, clarity, good organization,
correct grammar and citation format, and an engaging prose style. Several of your
papers for this class will be short, so you will need to get to the point and make it a
good one.
Writing shorter papers can (and should be) more challenging than
writing longer ones.
We will be using MLA citation style, as is the norm in
humanities disciplines, and I will give you a guide on the major citation rules.
We will be talking about basic terms for literary and film analysis, which you may
find helpful in these projects.
As this is an upper-level English class, feel free to
bring to bear other critical or theoretical frames that you have learned in other
classes, and feel free to do so either in papers or discussion. If you have questions
about aspects of analysis, criticism, or theory, this is appropriate fodder for
discussion as well.