English 361g/Fall 2017/Freeman
English 361g (32728): Contemporary Prose (Units: 4)
Fall 2017/Tuesday & Thursday 5-6:30pm/Taper 115
Instructor: Dr. Chris Freeman
Office: Taper 410/Office Hours: 11-12:30 T/Th & by appt.
Contact Info:
English 361g—Contemporary Prose: Better Reading/Better Writing
“I don’t read in order to study the craft; I read because I like to read. . . . Yet there is a learning process going on. Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones.”—Stephen King, On Writing
The Course and Its Goals
Does reading good writing make us better readers and better writers? I believe it does. This is a perfect course for anyone interested in contemporary literature and ideas. We will read—very carefully—and discuss—in close detail—works by novelists, memoirists, journalists, and others. Our primary goals will be to investigate the power and the limitations of words, of language. What can we say in prose? What makes a work “contemporary”? How can analyzing, discussing, and writing about some of the best writing of our time help us improve our own skills as readers and writers?
We will work on several important topics by looking at some of the best writing about those issues and ideas. The topics I’ve chosen—race and self definition; grief and history; social class and Southern cutlure—will give us a range of subjects and authors to interrogate and investiage. Students will do projects on other writers/writing of interest of the past half-century. You will also write two essays, about two of the three thematic parts of the course, as well as a project essay on the author you choose to focus on and a final exam essay. Author choices: anyone whose career flourished since 1970 and who wrote largely in prose. Because of our seminar format, much of your work will be shared with your classmates in a workshop format. Before week five, there will be a more detailed plan with a schedule for each student.
Learning Objectives
Because English 361g is a “Humanistic Inquiry” course, you will
• Reflect on what it means to be an engaged citizen through close study of writing and ideas from the past sixty years;
• Cultivate a critical appreciation for various forms of human expression, including literature, politics, philosophy, and the arts, as well as develop an understanding of the historical and social contexts from which these forms emerge;
• Learn to read and interpret actively and analytically, to think critically and creatively, and to write and speak persuasively;
• Learn to evaluate ideas from multiple perspectives and to formulate informed opinions on complex issues of critical importance in today's global world.
English Department Learning Objectives and Priorities
A student with a major in English should graduate with an appreciation for the relations between representation and the human soul; the relations between words and ideas; and the social utility of a sophisticated understanding of discourse. For general education students, working in courses within the English department should help you hone your reading, writing, discussion, and critical thinking skills. For further details, please consult our website at http://dornsife.usc.edu/engl/undergraduate#English
The Contract
In accepting this syllabus and becoming a member of this class, each student agrees to attend class and to complete all assignments in a timely and serious fashion. You also affirm your commitment to the exploration of ideas in the liberal arts tradition, which is intellectual, creative, and respectful of others in the classroom. Your commitment to the quality and integrity of your work during the semester means that all work you hand in will be your own; that any outside sources will be properly cited; and that your work will be of the highest quality that you can produce. Plagiarism will have severe ramifications, and I will spot-check anything suspicious to ensure against it. If you have any questions about using outside sources, please ask me to help you.
As the instructor, my commitment to you is that I have put considerable thought into developing this course; that I will work hard to invigorate and challenge you during the semester; that I will read your work carefully and with an open mind and will value it and evaluate it accordingly; that I will be prepared for class but that my agenda won’t get in the way of your input; and that I will be available to help you in your writing and thinking about texts and issues we will be actively exploring.
Please note: Your Facebook status between the hours of 5 and 6:30 on T/Th is “IN MY FAVORITE CLASS.” It is rude and annoying to be on FB or otherwise Tweeting, texting, IMing, playing Pokemon Go, or NOT focusing on the work at hand. Out of respect to your classmates and instructor (and to the generous folks who are paying for your education), please silence or turn off your electronic friends/devices and refrain from any behavior not directly related to English 361 during our class time. ALSO, please check your email for messages and updates the evening before class. I will sometimes send you things to read or think about between class meetings; if you miss class, email me for an update.
Texts
Dorothy Allison, Two or Three Things I Know For Sure Penguin Books, 1996 ISBN-10: 0452273404 ISBN-13: 978-0452273405
James Baldwin, I Am Not Your Negro Vintage International, 2017 ISBN-10: 0525434690 ISBN-13: 978-0525434696
Rick Bragg, All Over but the Shoutin’ Vintage, 1998 ISBN-10: 0679774025 ISBN-13: 978-0679774020
Nick Flynn, The Ticking is the Bomb W. W. Norton & Company, 2011 ISBN-10: 039333886X ISBN-13: 978-0393338867
Nick Flynn, The Reenactments W. W. Norton & Company, 2013 ISBN-
10: 0393344355 ISBN-13: 978-0393344356
Alice Walker, The Color Purple Mariner Books, 2003 ISBN-10: 0156028352 ISBN-13: 978-0156028356
Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns Vintage, 2011 ISBN-10: 0679763880 ISBN-13: 978-0679763888
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English 361g/Fall 2017/Freeman
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English 361g/Fall 2017/Freeman
Grading (1000 point scale)
· Writer Project Presentation & Paper (5-7pp; 12-15 minutes) 300 points*
· Critical Essays on Style/Form (2 x 200 each; 5-7 pp) 400 points**
· Take-home final exam (4-6 pp) 200 points
· Class Participation 100 points***
A: 930-1000; A-: 929-895; B+: 894-870; B: 869-830; B-: 829-795; C+: 794-770, etc.
*Each student will select a writer from the past fifty or so years to focus on, leading toward a 5-7 page essay (due ONE WEEK after presentation) and a 12-15 minute presentation.
**Each student will submit two essays (5-7 pp. each) on a self-generated topic based on one or more of the major texts of this course; essays will focus on reactions/responses to part one and part two of the course. Your final exam essay will focus on part three. Topics will be worked out in consultation with the instructor. NOTE: It is likely that you will not have a significant portion of your grade by mid-term.
***Missing THREE or more classes will result in forfeiting all 100 points in this category. This course will operate as a seminar/workshop, so your vital, active engagement is critical to your own success and to the success of the course.
Course Schedule (subject to change as needed)
ONE: Race, Place, & the Self—Wilkerson, Walker, & Baldwin
“Over the course of six decades, some six million black southerners left the land of their forefathers and fanned out across the country for an uncertain existence in nearly every other corner of America.”
-Isabel Wilkerson
“The story of the Negro in America is the story of America, and it is not a pretty story.”
-James Baldwin
“I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering bout the big things and asking bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love.”
-Alice Walker
Week One
T (8/22): Introduction to course and the material; syllabus; background on Wilkerson, Walker, and Baldwin
Th (8/24): begin Wilkerson
Week Two
T (8/29): continue Wilkerson
Th (8/31): continue Wilkerson; discuss author projects
Week Three
T (9/5): continue Wilkerson; begin Walker
Th (9/7): finish Wilkerson; continue Walker
Week Four
T (9/12): finish Walker; begin Baldwin
Th (9/14): continue Baldwin and watch part of “I Am Not Your Negro”; discuss essay one
Week Five
T (9/19): continue screening and Baldwin; make selections on author projects
Th (9/21): Finish Baldwin; wrap unit one
TWO: The White Working Class South: Bragg and Allison
“The only thing poverty does is grind down your nerve endings to a point that you can work harder and stoop lower than most people are willing to. It chips away a person's dreams to the point that the hopelessness shows through, and the dreamer accepts that hard work and borrowed houses are all this life will ever be.”-Rick Bragg
“I was born trash in a land where the people all believe themselves natural aristocrats.”
-Dorothy Allison
Week Six
T (9/26): Bragg
Th (9/28): continue Bragg; essay on part one due
Week Seven
T (10/3): continue Bragg
Th (10/5): wrap up discussion on Bragg
Week Eight
T (10/10): begin Allison; Allison interview (Youtube)
Th (10/12): continue Allison; discuss unit two essays
Week Nine
T (10/17): continue Allison
Th (10/19): wrap up Bragg and Allison
Three: Case Study—Nick Flynn/Author Projects
“It’s the way I walk through the world, carrying that fear, that the beloved will go, will die, and that I will be the one to blame.”-Nick Flynn
“My friend asked me if it had been cathartic, to write my memoir. . . . No, I answered—how was it for you to read it? Aristotle, in his Poetics, never promised catharsis for the makers of art, only for the audience.”-Nick Flynn
Week Ten
T (10/24): begin Ticking
Th (10/26): continue Ticking; essay on part two due
Week Eleven
T (10/31): continue Ticking; watch Being Flynn (Paul Weitz, 2012) on your own
Th (11/2): finish Ticking
Week Twelve
T (11/7): begin The Reenactments; two author presentations per day from here to end; essay due one week after presentation
Th (11/9): continue Reenactments; presentations continue
Week Thirteen
T (11/14): continue Flynn; presentations continue
Th (11/16): presentations continue
Week Fourteen
T (11/21): continue Flynn; presentations continue
No class Thursday (Thanksgiving)
Week Fifteen
T (11/28): finish Flynn; presentations continue; final exam assignment given (due by email to in WORD by 5pm on 12/12: name file 361finallastname.doc)
Th (11/30): finish presentations; final discussion; course evalutions
Statement on Academic Conduct and Support Systems
Academic Conduct
Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Section 11, Behavior Violating University Standards (see https://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-and-appropriate-sanctions). Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific misconduct (at http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct).
Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity (see http://equity.usc.edu) or to the Department of Public Safety (see http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online-forms/contact-us). This is important for the safety whole USC community.
Another member of the university community – such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member – can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men provides 24/7 confidential support (see http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm), and the sexual assault resource center webpage describes reporting options and other resources (see ).
Support Systems
A number of USC’s schools provide support for students who need help with scholarly writing. Check with your advisor or program staff to find out more. Students whose primary language is not English should check with the American Language Institute which sponsors courses and workshops specifically for international graduate students (see http://dornsife.usc.edu/ali). The Office of Disability Services and Programs provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange the relevant accommodations (see http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.html). If an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible, USC Emergency Information will provide safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued by means of blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technology (see http://emergency.usc.edu/).
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