Talking Back: Intertextuality in Contemporary Fiction
ENG 42D (3 Units)
ENG 142D (5 Units)
Fall 2013
MW 9-10.50
200-015
Prof. A. Staveley
Office Hours: M 1-3/W 11-12 & by appointment other times
460-328
Course Description
How and why do so many contemporary writers create fictions that engage explicitly with literary history by rewriting, revising, or otherwise ‘talking back’ to the canon? Is everything intertextual or are post-WW II intertextual experiments characteristic of historical, cultural, and geopolitical changes unique to the twentieth century? What distinguishes intertextuality as a mode of creative intervention from adaptation or allusion? How does it affect narrative voice, constructions of authorship, character portrayal, political and aesthetic interpretation, and contemporary claims to (or critiques of) fame and canonization? Students will be encouraged to make comparative connections with the contemporary media scene, even as they study in-depth paired novels by E.M. Forster, Howard’s End (1910) and Zadie Smith, On Beauty (2005); Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway (1925) and Michael Cunningham, The Hours (1998); Charlotte Bronte,Jane Eyre(1847) and Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea (1966).
Crucial note about Units
Students may take this course for EITHER 3 units (ENG 42) OR 5 units (ENG 142). The writing load – but not the reading load – will reflect the difference of temporal input. See requirements below. Prospective English majors need to be aware, however, that the department only allows ONE 3-unit course to count toward the English major degree. So, if you are in first or second year, are undeclared, and are taking this course for 3-units, be forewarned that “Talking Back” could certainly count toward your major, but ONLY if you don’t plan on counting any other 3-unit course. If you decide after enrollment to ‘up’ your unit count on Axess to 5-units you MUST complete the change before the Add/Drop deadline (Friday, October 11 at 5pm) and talk to me about what additional writing might be needed at that time.
Requirements
5 units
20% One page reader’s response for each novel (6 total)
25% First Essay (6-8 pages): Close reading with applicable critical framework
35% Final Essay (8-10 pages): Close reading + criticism
20% Participation
3 Units
20% One page reader’s response for one of every two paired novels (3 total)
25% First Essay (3-5 pages): Commentary on intertextual criticism in Course Reader
35% Final Essay (6-8 pages): Close reading with applicable critical framework
20% Participation
Texts
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
E.M. Forster, Howards End
Zadie Smith, On Beauty
Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway
Michael Cunningham, The Hours
Course Reader
Schedule
Week 1
M Sept 23: Introductions
W Sept 25: Jane Eyre to Chapter 12
Week 2
M Sept 30: Jane Eyre (Complete)
W Oct 1: Jane Eyre
Week 3
M Oct 3: Jane Eyre + Course Reader
W Oct 9: Wide Sargasso Sea (Part 1)
Week 4:
M Oct 14: Wide Sargasso Sea (Complete)
W Oct 16: Wide Sargasso Sea
Sat October 19: First Assignment Due by 5pm on CourseWork
Week 5:
M Oct 21: Howards End
W Oct 23: Howards End
Week 6:
M Oct 28: Howards End
W Oct 30: On Beauty (Part I) + Smith Essay on Forster (Reader)
Week 7
M Nov. 4: On Beauty (Complete)
W Nov. 6:On Beauty
Week 8
M Nov 11: Mrs Dalloway + Introduction to Harcourt Edition (Feel free to read the Introduction after reading the novel. There may not be much that can spoil the ‘plot’ of a modernist novel, but there’s enough pre-processed material that you might find your ‘first blush’ reading constrained.)
W Nov 13: Mrs Dalloway
Week 9
M Nov 18 MrsDalloway + Froula (Reader)
W Nov 20 Mrs Dalloway
November 25-29 Thanksgiving Break
Week 10
M Dec 2 The Hours
M evening 7-9 Optional Viewing of the 1998 Academy-Award winning film, The Hours
W Dec 4 The Hours + Conclusion
Sat December 7: Final Assignment Due by 5pm on CourseWork
Important Administrative Information
Participation and Attendance: Active participation—having completed the assigned readings in full and offering informed commentary and inquiry during the seminar—is required. Because of the high grade assignment allotted to participation (20%) more than TWO missed classes will result in a 1/3 drop in your participation grade (an A = A-) with each subsequent SINGLE absence similarly downgraded.
Assignment Deadlines: The paper deadlines are both on Saturdays (October 19 & December 7) at 5pm in order to give you some weekend space to finalize your revisions (and yes, you need to write more than one draft). Paper topics are distributed TWO weeks in advance of the deadline to give you ample time for discussions with me one-on-one, drafting, visiting the Hume Writing Center ( and final editing. Please upload yourfinal copy to Coursework by the deadline. Late papers will be penalized 1/3 grade for each late day. However, I do grant limited extensions given particularly hectic circumstances, but you need to contact me at least two days before the deadline.
Students with Documented Disabilities: Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Professional staff will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is made. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone: 723-1066, URL:
Stanford Honor Code: Stanford’s Honor Code pertains to your work in this course. Please familiarize yourself with its injunctions, especially with respect to the integrity of written work and citation attribution. If you have any questions, please just ask me!