BIS 490C (LN 8544)

Senior Seminar:

Postmodern American Literature

David S. Goldstein, Ph.D.

Office: UW1-137

Office hours: Tuesdays 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.;
Thursdays 11:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.; and by appt.

Postmodernism has altered radically the way we think about previously unquestioned ideas and forces such as text, race, gender, language, authority--and literature--even reality and truth. This course will explore how postmodern theory complicates each of these concepts, focusing specifically on contemporary American literature and its place in American society. If postmodernism, postcolonialism, deconstruction, and multiculturalism are relatively new ways of conceptualizing life and its artistic representations, to what are they alternatives (i.e., what are their antecedents), and to where do they lead us?

This seminar course will demand much of you in terms of both coursework and willingness to take the "red pill" (a reference to The Matrix). In return, you will discover the cutting edge of contemporary cultural criticism. You will leave behind the blue-pill, sleepwalking zombies around you who float lazily down the mainstream, blissfully unaware that their world is constructed by others.  Moreover, postmodern literature itself is typically playful and fun! I hope that this course will be, too.  That depends upon you.

Students who have taken BLS/BIS 300 plus advanced courses involving textual analysis and writing (i.e., 300- or 400-level courses in literature or other courses involving the study of written texts) probably will feel well-prepared for this course, which is designed especially for American Studies and Culture, Literature, and the Arts students but any IAS senior who has been admitted can succeed.

Course texts (available in the UWB Bookstore [save your receipts for a patronage refund] and in library reserve/reference). Note: Click here <http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/> and click on the "UW Bothell" link to order books online. Enter the course line number (shown at the top of this page) for "UW SLN Code" (leave other spaces blank) and hit 'enter.' All items have been ordered; contact the bookstore if some materials are not listed.

• REQUIRED: DeLillo, Don. White Noise. 1985. New York: Penguin, 1999 (ISBN 0140283307)
• REQUIRED: Geyh, Paula, Fred G. Leebron, and Andrew Levy, eds. Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology. New York: Norton, 1997. (ISBN 039331698X)
• REQUIRED: Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. 1965. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. (ISBN 0060931671)
• REQUIRED: Reynolds, Nedra. Portfolio Keeping: A Guide for Students. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. (ISBN 0312191510)

Grading: Your grade will be based on these assignments, which are described on separate pages online (links will be activated when ready):

A note about grades: I know that students often need to juggle school, work, family, and other obligations. I never second-guess students' priorities, and I never think less of students who choose to devote more time and effort to one of these other obligations rather than to an assignment or the course as a whole. I respect the maturity of students who establish their priorities, make difficult choices, and accept the consequences of those decisions. Also, remember that your grade is based solely on my professional assessment of the quantity and quality of your work, not on your effort or on my opinion of you as an individual.

Final Course Grade Scale:

3.4-4.0: "Late draft" of both papers	2.9-3.3: One "late draft" and one "medium draft"	2.3-2.8: One "late draft" and one "early draft," or two "medium drafts"
1.7-2.2: One "medium draft" and one "early draft"	0.7-1.6: Two "early drafts"	0.0-0.6 Less than two "early drafts" (insufficient quality and quantity of work for passing grade)

The final grade within each category will be determined by the learning portfolio grade (check-plus, check, or check-minus), research presentation grade (check-plus, check, or check-minus), and class contribution grade (A, B, C, D, or E). Please see the document, "Assessment of Student Writing" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/WritingAssess.html> for explanations of "late," "middle," and "early" drafts. See below for information about contribution.

These grades assume the satisfactory completion of a senior seminar portfolio self-assessment. Students who do not submit a satisfactory senior seminar portfolio self-assessment by the last class meeting will receive a grade one half-point below what they otherwise would have earned for the course.

Nota bene: Students must earn a 2.5 or higher in this course in order to meet the Senior Seminar requirement. See <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/IAS/degrees/BLS/requirements.html#graduate> for details.

For an explanation of the University of Washington grading system, see <http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html>.

Schedule (readings listed by author; names in bold refer to novels listed above; author names followed by an asterisk are listed below under "Additional Readings List"):

*Additional readings list :

• Associated Students of UWB. "Maintaining Academic Integrity." Online at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Integrity.html>. ONLINE ONLY. NOT AVAILABLE IN LIBRARY RESERVES. Read by Oct. 5.
• Bérubé, Michael. "Teaching Postmodern Fiction Without Being Sure That the Genre Exists." Chronicle of Higher Education 11 (19 May 2000). Online at <http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i37/37b00401.htm>. ONLINE ONLY. NOT AVAILABLE IN LIBRARY RESERVES. Read by Dec. 9.

This schedule is subject to change. The most current schedule will always be posted here <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/BIS490Syl.html> for your reference, and changes will be announced in class, by e-mail, or both. This course has no final examination. Instead, final evaluation will be based principally on a learning portfolio.

Keep a copy of all submitted work. No extra credit or paper re-writes will be permitted except as noted, but I will gladly assist you with your work. In-class exercises cannot be made up for any reason because the group interaction is irreproducible. (See below for information on contribution.)

In accordance with University policy, I give Incompletes only if you are passing the course and attending class to within two weeks of the end of the quarter, and then only in extenuating circumstances that can be proven.

I will do my best to accommodate all documented disabilities (physical, learning, cognitive, or other). See <http://www.bothell.washington.edu/students/dss/index.html> for information.

I am very strict about deadlines, for two reasons: (1) I have very limited grading time, and late papers make it hard for me to return graded papers in a timely manner; and (2) I want everyone to have exactly the same amount of work time for the sake of fairness. Please do not put me in the position of trying to decide arbitrarily how late is "late." Take responsibility for submitting work when it is due, not ten minutes, two hours, or a day later. (Note that many assignments are due electronically on days and at times when we are not meeting in class.) Rest assured that everyone is being treated equally. Late assignments will be accepted only in extenuating circumstances that could not have been anticipated, and only as specified; disincentives will apply as specified.

IMPORTANT: I insist on academic integrity. You are responsible for understanding all aspects of University regulations regarding academic integrity. Breaches of academic integrity, including but not limited to cheating (e.g., copying another person's work or obtaining examination answers in a dishonest manner) and plagiarism (i.e., using another person's words or ideas without proper acknowledgment), whether intentional or accidental, will result in a zero for the assignment or examination; additional sanctions may be imposed by the University administration. Note that American rules regarding plagiarism might differ markedly from those in other countries. You can find more information in the University Handbook and in the document, "Avoiding Academic Misconduct" <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Integrity.html>. I will help you any way I can so you can succeed while maintaining academic integrity. I truly want you to do well. Visit my office hours often!

About class communication:

Please carefully read the "Class Communication" document at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Communication.html>, which I consider to be part of this syllabus.

About contribution:

Please carefully read the "Class Contribution" document at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Partic.html>, which I consider to be part of this syllabus.

Be considerate of your instructors and classmates. Please turn off cell phones, pagers, and watch alarms before entering a classroom. Also, be aware that entering a classroom after class has started distracts your instructor and your classmates. If you must do it, please try to enter through a back door, if possible. That probably will distract your instructor (for which you should later apologize), but at least it will reduce the disruption you cause your classmates.

If you need to drop: You and I both invest a significant amount of time and effort having you in this course, so it is unfortunate when students do not complete a course that they began, especially a course in which other students were denied entry. Sometimes, however, students need to drop a course for good reasons. If that should become the case, I ask, as a favor, that you send me an e-mail message notifying me. Of course, I hope everyone who starts the course can complete it, so your work and time and mine are put to good use!

Welcome to the course!

This page last updated November 22, 2004.

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