ENGL 200 A: Reading Literary Forms

ENGL 200 A

Reading Literary Forms:
Narratives of Empire

Autumn 2022

Instructor: Alex McCauley, apmccau@uw.edu
Class Location: SMI 405, MTWTh 9:30 – 10:20 am

Office hours / Office location: PDL B31, MW, 1 – 2 pm

Course Description

Narratives of empire - already, an ambiguity in the title that reflects the ambiguity of this course. In it, we will read novels and short stories about empire. Some of these accounts are from the nineteenth century, some are contemporary fictions that return to history with a fresh set of eyes.

These texts are examples we can also use to consider the relationship between literature and history. It seems wrong to say that a novel or story or work of art is detached from the period in which it was produced. That approach risks separating art from politics. But it also seems wrong to say that a narrative is simply an excrescence of its own time. That approach is just a way of avoiding the hard work of attending to specifics. 

That’s all very abstract. Part of the value of reading prose fiction (or narrative in general) is the ability to bring together specifics and abstraction. That’s also the task of interpretation.

So this class is also about narratives of empire, because we'll have to grapple along the way with basic questions about what an empire is and what it does. That said, you don't need to arrive to the class with any special understanding of either literature or empire. It's enough to be curious. 

Reading itself is work, and there will be plenty of it here: three novels and some shorter pieces. But the work you'll be graded on will largely be your writing. There are no quizzes or exams.

Texts

• Esi Edugyan - Washington Black (ISBN 978-0-525-56324-2)
• Jose Rizal - El Filibusterismo (ISBN 978-0-14-310639-5)
• Margaret Killjoy - A Country of Ghosts (ISBN 978-1-84935-448-6)
• Other readings available online

Course Assignments and Assessment

Paragraph Essay: At the end of the second week, you’ll submit a one-paragraph essay on one of the first four readings.

Interpretive Essays: You’ll write interpretive essays in response to each of the three novels. Interpretation can look like a lot of different things, but the point is to work with detail, analyze carefully, and risk being wrong.

These essays will not necessarily be strict literary analysis from start to finish, but we’ll talk about that more when the time comes.

Response Papers: In the weeks that essays aren’t due, you’ll submit brief papers in response to the week’s reading. There’s five total, with one entry per week on a day of your choice. Responses should be submitted prior to the class period in which the reading is assigned. You can skip one, or do all 5 with the final one for extra credit (.04 added to final grade). These are graded purely on completion.

You’ll have a chance to revise the Edugyan and Rizal essays, if you want, and the revised grade replaces the original grade.

Grading criteria will be described in each assignment prompt, but all grades will be on a 4.0 scale.

Grading breakdown:          Edugyan essay                                               24%
                                             Rizal essay                                                      20%
                                             Killjoy essay                                                   20%
                                             Response Papers                                          16%
                                             Paragraph essay                                           10%
                                             Participation                                                  10%

Not all of us care to speak to a room full of strangers, no matter how friendly they are, and there are other ways to contribute. Participation for this course means things like turning assignments in on time, peer review sessions, and small-group discussion.

Assignment Schedule

Weeks 3, 4, 6, 8, 10:                   Short Responses                                                          Before Class
Week 2:                                           Paragraph                                                                      10/7
Week 5:                                           Edugyan Essay                                                             10/28
Week 9:                                           Rizal Essay                                                                    11/23
Finals Week:                                 Killjoy Essay                                                                 12/14

Week 1 - NO CLASS - McCauley at Conference

Week 2
10/3 – Viet Than Nguyen, “Book Banning”
10/4 – Said, Culture and Imperialism
10/5 – Trollope, “Miss Sarah Jack”
10/6 – Edugyan, Pt. 1, 1-4 (1-34)

Week 3
10/10 – Edugyan, Pt. 1, 5-8 (35-73)
10/11 – Edugyan, Pt. 1, 9-12 (74-119)
10/12 – Wallace, Malay Archipelago
10/13 – Edugyan, Pt. 2, 1-3 (120-153)

Week 4
10/17 – Edugyan, Pt. 2, 4-5 (154-178)
10/18 – Edugyan, Pt. 2, 6-7 (179-199)
10/19 – Edugyan, Pt. 3, 1-5 (200-231)
10/20 – Edugyan, Pt. 3, 6-10 (232-270)

Week 5
10/24 – Edugyan, Pt. 3, 11-12 (271-285)
10/25 – Edugyan, Pt. 4, 1-5 (286 -318)
10/26 – Edugyan, Pt. 4, 6-12 (319-355)
10/27 – Edugyan, Pt. 4, 13-17 (356-384)

Week 6
10/31 – Russell, “Reeling for the Empire”
11/1 – Eliot, “Brother Jacob,” Ch. 1
11/2 – Essay Workshop
11/3 – Eliot, “Brother Jacob,” Ch. 2-3

 Week 7
11/7 – Rizal, Ch. 1-5 (1-41)
11/8 – Rizal, Ch. 6-10 (42-78)
11/9 – Rizal, 11-12 (79-100)
11/10 – Rizal, Ch. 13-14 (101-123)

Week 8
11/14 – Rizal, Ch. 15-18 (124-156)
11/15 – Rizal, Ch. 19-21 (157-187)
11/16 – Rizal, Ch. 22-24 (188-219)
11/17 – Rizal, Ch. 25-29 (220-257)

Week 9
11/21 – Rizal, Ch. 30-34 (258-291)
11/22 – Rizal, Ch. 35-end (292 -328)
11/23 – Essay Planning
11/24 – Thanksgiving – No Class

Week 10
11/28 – Killjoy, Ch. 1-5 (1-50)
11/29 – Killjoy, Ch. 6-9 (51-101)
11/30 – Essay Workshop
12/1 – Killjoy, Ch. 10-12 (102-137)

Week 11
12/5 – Killjoy, Ch. 13-15 (138-171)
12/6 – Killjoy, Ch. 16 – Afterword (172-212)
12/7 – Essay Prep
12/8 – Final Things

Extra Credit

There is an open invitation to forward me notes from our daily discussion to receive extra credit. The purpose is to create a resource for anyone who can’t make it to class that day. Sometimes there’s good reasons to skip, like if you’re sick. It’s good to help each other out in those situations. For one day of notes, I’ll add 0.04 to your final grade; for two days, 0.1. You don’t need to let me know ahead of time, although that makes it easier. Please submit the notes in a file either through Canvas message or directly to my e-mail so that I can post them under the weekly module for everyone to access. You can include your name or leave it anonymous, and your individual extra credit for note-taking maxes out at two submissions. 

Course Policies

Please don’t come to class if you feel sick. It’s helpful to let me know, but sometimes drafting a message is more work than it’s worth when you’re sick. But it would help to let me know if being sick means missing multiple class sessions.

Students are required to follow the University’s COVID-19 Face Covering Policy at all times when on-site at the University, including any posted requirements in specific buildings or spaces. If a student refuses to comply with the policy, the student can be sent home (to an on or off-campus residence). Student Conduct offices are available for consultations on potential violations of student conduct if needed. University personnel who have concerns that a student or group of students are not complying with this policy should speak with their supervisor, a representative of the academic unit, or report it to the Environmental Health & Safety Department.

You have a life, other classes, hobbies, jobs, pandemonium, and various external obligations. Sometimes, even after hard work, a paper doesn’t come together in time. In acknowledgement of these realities, I will accept one late essay per student over of the course of the quarter. If you plan to make use of this policy, mail me prior to the time the assignment is due. This automatically shifts the due date by three days (including weekends)—no questions asked, no explanations necessary. All other assignments must be turned in on time. Turning in more than one assignment late will result in deductions to your participation grade.

Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is presenting someone else's ideas or writing as your own. In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people's thoughts and writing--as long as you cite them. As a matter of policy, any student found to have plagiarized any piece of writing in this class will be immediately reported to the College of Arts and Sciences for review.

If you find yourself tempted by plagiarism, save us all a headache and send me a message instead.

If you have any concerns about the course or your instructor, please see the instructor about these concerns as soon as possible. If you are not comfortable talking with the instructor or not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies: Jesse Oak Taylor, jot8@uw.edu. If, after speaking with the Director, you are still not satisfied with the response you receive, you may contact English Department Chair Anis Bawarshi, (206) 543-2690.

If you need accommodation of any sort, please let me know so that I can work with the UW Disability Resources for Students Office (DRS) to provide what you require. This syllabus is available in large print, as are other class materials. More information about accommodation may be found at http://www.washington.edu/students/drs/ (Links to an external site.).

In other words, if you have a relationship to learning that I should be aware of – let me know.

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Faculty Syllabus Guidelines and Resources. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form available at https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/ (Links to an external site.).