English 600:
Introduction to Graduate Studies
email: jtthomas@mail.sdsu.edu
Class Meetings: Tuesday 7:00-9:40; HH-210
Office: AL-255
Contact: jtthomas@mail.sdsu.edu
Office Hours: Wed: 2:00-3:00PM & Thursdays:
10:00-12:00PM
(& by appointment)
!!!! IMPORTANT: Online Schedule !!!!
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In this course we will explore theoretical & critical practices, both common and esoteric, that inform the enterprise of our discipline, English Studies. Our explorations will not be chronological, but, instead, will be guided thematically, as we move from meta-discussions of classroom & disciplinary practices (via Strickland, Eagleton, and others), to larger questions of ideology and ideological reproduction (Althusser), to the analysis of signs & systems of signs (largely Barthes, but also Saussure), and then on to postmodernity itself, the image (in terms of the Situationist "Spectacular Society," Baudrillard's "Simulacra," & even literal visual images), sexuality and gender (Foucault, Butler, Haraway, & Delany), race, and, at last, back to the question of what makes our discipline a discipline. Ours is not a survey course, nor does it attempt "coverage"--that is, a march through some list of "canonical" or "major" theorists or theoretical schools or camps. Rather, it's a somewhat idiosyncratic semester-long journey into theoretical and disciplinary territories important to scholars in our discipline. |
REQUIRED TEXTS
Roland Barthes, Mythologies
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Later Printing edition (January 1, 1972)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374521506
ISBN-13: 978-0374521509
$14.00Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation (The Body, In Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism)
Publisher: University of Michigan Press (February 15, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0472065211
ISBN-13: 978-0472065219
$15.95Guy Debord , Society of the Spectacle
Publisher: Black & Red (June 1, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0934868077
ISBN-13: 978-0934868075
$8.00Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction (Paperback)
Publisher: Vintage (April 14, 1990)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679724699
ISBN-13: 978-0679724698
$14.00Falling into Theory: Conflicting Views on Reading Literature (Paperback)
by David H. Richter
Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's; Second Edition edition (December 24, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312201567
ISBN-13: 978-0312201562
$34.00
Late Work:
Work will be turned in on the date due or not at all. We all have schedules, and it is imperative that we keep to them. However, I am not completely draconian. In extreme cases I may accept late work, but don't count on it.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is taking someone else's words, idea, or argument and claiming it as your own. Don't do it unless you have a interesting and rigorous intellectual or aesthetical reason. Cite all your sources unless you discuss your appropriation with me first. Instances of plagiarism designed to avoid intellectual work will earn you an F for the course, and, in egregious cases, may result in expulsion from the university. Please familiarize yourself with SDSU plagiarism policies, discussed in your handbook. Throughout the syllabus and my links page are links to many useful web sources. Do not take the words or ideas from any of these sources without providing the appropriate citations unless, again, you discuss your aims with me first.
Assignments/Grade Distribution:
Participation: 25%
Critical Question: 15 %
Midterm Take Home Exam (Essay): 25%
Final Take Home Exam (Essay): 35%Participation: (25%)
I want you to come to class with something to say. In addition to researching the authors, think about when the books or essays were published, reacquaint yourself with historical context that surrounds the work, its reception, etc. Make connections between the content of this course and others you have taken, and apply whatever theoretical, philosophical, or pedagogical rubrics you feel are appropriate (check out the literature, poetry, and theory links on my webpage. And use print sources as well: the library is a wonderful place).
Absences will count against your final grade, especially as this is a once a week class. One absence is the same as missing an entire week of class. Keep that in mind, and miss as few classes as possible.
Critical Question (15%)
Your critical questions will engage the week's readings, framing them in the context of and in connection to previous readings. Your questions will be about a paragraph long, and facilitate the discussion of an idea or problem or claim found in the readings. They are always due on or before the Monday evening before the class meeting in which we discuss the readings inspiring your question.Midterm Take Home Exam : (25%)
Toward the middle of the semester I will supply you with a prompt that you will respond to in the form of a five to six page essay (1,250-1,500 words).
Final Paper: (35%)
Similar to the midterm, your final essay will be a response to a prompt, asking you to think about the various authors we've read in a systematic way. The essay will be around ten to twelve pages (2500-3000 words).