ENG 522 – Major Figures in American Literature
This semester ENG 522 will be devoted entirely to the writings of Philip Roth. If you just casually glance through any library’s holdings or search online at Amazon.com, you’ll quickly find that taking on Roth’s work is quite a formidable task. He has published 26 books of fiction and nonfiction, and the criticism surrounding his novels is becoming more and more staggering. In order for us to begin getting a grasp on Philip Roth’s literary career, we will undergo a series of readings, discussions, and writings, so it is imperative to keep up with the work and understand all of the assignments.
Weekly
Reading/Discussion Assignments
Primary Texts
There will be a lot of reading for this course, and it’s important that you pace yourself throughout the semester. Some books, such as Portnoy’s Complaint and The Ghost Writer, are smaller- to middle-sized novels, while others (and as fate—and Roth—would have it, most of those are his later novels) weigh in at around 400 pages. In addition to the individual novels, we’ll also be reading a number of uncollected short stories, interviews, and essays by Roth (many of which make up Reading Myself and Others). Most of these are listed on the course syllabus, but there may be others that I will throw in as we go along. On several occasions Roth has lamented in interviews that people just don’t read books like they used to. Let’s prove him wrong this semester, and with a vengeance!
Secondary Texts
In addition to the many novels, stories, and essays by Roth, we’ll also be reading a series of critical works devoted to his work. To this end, I have created a critical reading list for the course, comprised of a variety of book chapters and journal essays. For every book that we read for class, each student will need to read one or two of the secondary sources from my list. The week before we begin discussing a book, we will go through the bibliographic list and decide who is to read what. For three of the books—Goodbye, Columbus, Portnoy’s Complaint, and The Ghost Writer—I’ve divided the ample criticism into “primary” and “secondary” sections, and everyone will have to read one essay from each list. For all of the other novels (especially with the larger ones), only one critical essay will be required reading. The idea behind these readings is to introduce you to one or two critical essays on all of the books we read, so that when you come to class not only will you be prepared to discuss your own take on the novel, but also at least one critic’s reading of the book. I know that this is adding bulk to an already hefty reading list, but I’ll explain the cruelty of this schedule during the first week of class (HINT: it has something to do with graduate school and your training as serious scholars).
Class Discussions
Beginning with Week 3 (Portnoy’s Complaint) each member of class will sign up to give an informal
half-hour introduction to the texts for that week. This introduction should highlight a
significant aspect or problem of the assigned novels/stories and serve as a
springboard for our class discussion. In
preparing for this assignment, students should look over several of the
secondary readings for their particular week of discussion and then see me the
week before the class so that we can mull over possible topics. This will militate against any undue anxiety,
duplicate talks, and general chaos. To
get the ball rolling, I’ll provide the first introductory discussion during
Week 2 (Goodbye,
Individual Conferences, Prospectus, Conference Presentations, and Course Paper
After Spring Break, probably around Weeks 11-12, students will meet with me individually to discuss their paper and conference topics. The latter should be an abbreviated version of the former, as if you were going to give a paper at a conference in preparing for a longer journal-length writing project. Any topic for your paper/presentation is fair game, as long as it has something to do with Philip Roth’s writings. You can focus on one of the novels/stories that we’re reading this semester, or you can choose to write on a novel that we’re not reading. You can limit yourself to just one work by Roth or you can compare/contrast more than one, or even do a comparative study with another (and appropriate) writer/text. One of the purposes behind the individual conference is to make sure you have a clear direction and don’t choose an unwieldy or highly questionable topic.
Prospectus
During Week 13, you should bring to class a one to two-page prospectus describing your paper topic, including a list of bibliographical sources you’ll be drawing upon. In addition to the one you’re to give to me, you should bring enough copies for everyone in class. Over the following two weeks we will discuss and comment on each class member’s essay topic and offer insightful and helpful suggestions. A community of scholars!
Conference Presentation
During the last weeks of class (Week 16 and Exam Week) everyone will formally present their research topic in a conference-like format. The presentations should be MLA style. You will read a fifteen-minute paper (about 7 or so double-spaced pages) and field questions for five minutes. I’ll try to schedule the order of the presentations according to your topic preferences, but if this becomes too difficult we’ll decide the order by lot. There will be no formal dress required of this presentation; nonetheless, rotten fruit- and unusual projectile-throwing will be strictly forbidden.
Course Papers
Final papers will be due during Exam Week, although I encourage everyone to get them in sooner if possible (that helps me, and since I’m the professor, that’s a good thing for you to keep in mind). The papers should follow the guidelines of the MLA Style Manual, 2nd edition (or if you have the latest edition of the MLA Handbook, that should work as well). Along with the paper you should include a sample cover letter to a journal that you think would be an appropriate market for your paper. As many of you may know, I always hesitate to assign a particular page length or source count for a graduate-level assignment of this sort. Really, papers should be as long as they need to be. However, you should shoot for an average journal-length, approximately 5000 words. It would be a good idea to consult the MLA Directory of Periodicals (you can find this online as one of the EBSCO databases our library subscribes to) and see what kind of length your target journal recommends.