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AMERICAN PROSE FICTION BETWEEN 1950 AND 2010

(AN33000BA05/AN3300OMA)

Time and Venue:

Tuesday 10.00-11.40 MBlg.54

Instructor: Csató Péter

Office: Room 108/2 (ext. 23092)

E-mail:

Office hours:

Tuesday 16.00-17.00

Wednesday 16.00-17.00

Course description

The course is offered for third-year BA students and aims to familiarize them with an array of representative texts of American prose fiction written between 1950 and 2010.The ordinary survey-character will be offset by operating with a specific thematic focus on the changing outlook of cultural and ethical paradigms emerging in the wake of postmodern theories of culture and subjectivity. Each literary text on the agenda can be interpreted from the vantage point of the recognition that neither cultural identity nor ethical commitment is an essential given, but a product of various socially-constructed discursive practices.

Requirements for a grade

Participation and attendance (15%)

Active participation in class discussion is essential, and will have a mighty influence on one’s final grade. Participation can take several forms, though. When, for instance, you feel you have lost an opportunity to express your views in class, or something escaped your comprehension, I am happy to consult anyone in my office hours. You are also welcome to submit short response papers when you think we passed by a certain aspect of a work you would have found important to discuss. Regular class attendance is required: more than three absences will result in “no grade” for the course. Furthermore, if you happen to miss a class, you are expected to submit a short response paper (quasi reader’s journal) on the reading scheduled for the particular class you missed.

Graded assignments

End-term test (35%)

The course will conclude with an end-term test intended to measure the students’ comprehension and mastery of the material covered through the semester.

Final assignment (50%)

A written assignment of an essay of 2500 words, which involves critical reflection on one or more of the texts discussed, using relevant criticism and theoretical framework. The aim of the assignment is to improve your skills in reading and understanding both literary texts and critical material in a reflective manner. Both the choice of the topic and the critical texts to be used will be coordinated in close cooperation with the instructor.

SCHEDULE

Week 1– Orientation

Week 2

J.D Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

Week 3

Thomas Pynchon: “Entropy” (1961)

Week 4

Rudolfo Anaya: Bless Me, Ultima (1972)

Week 5

Raymond Carver: “A Serious Talk”

Ann Beattie: “In the White Night”

Bobbie Ann Mason: “Nancy Culpepper”

Week 6

Raymond Federman: Smiles on Washington Square (1985)

Week 7 – NATIONAL HOLIDAY: NO CLASS

Week 8 – CONSULTATION WEEK: NO CLASS

Week 9

Bret Easton Ellis: Less Than Zero (1985) AND Imperial Bedrooms (2010)

Week 10

Paul Auster: City of Glass from The New York Trilogy (1986) + graphic novel version

Week 11

Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club (1996)

Week 12

Toni Morrison: Love (2003)

Week 13

Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007)

Week 14 – End-term test