CLS450S/HPR412P – Extreme Literatures Compared
MW 3-4:15pm,
Spring 2003
Dr. Alain-Philippe
Durand
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS
This seminar deals with contemporary novels that
have been the center of public controversy and scandal upon their publication
and/or have become international best sellers. The objective of this
seminar is to decipher the universality of these novels’ style and themes,
the reasons behind their success, and the fierce debates they provoked.
One of the reasons for the international recognition of these works is the
fact that all their authors are often classified as writers of “hip literature,”
that is a literature connected to the contemporary extreme. These
novelists depict a hyper real, often apocalyptic, world progressively invaded
by popular culture, and dominated by electronic devices. The novels’
main characters are irremediably attracted by an increasingly impersonal
environment. These characters become cyborgs, creatures in between
(hyper) reality and fiction, and asexual bodies that depend on machines,
drugs, and pills for their survival.
TEXTS AND FILMS
Abecassis, Jack I. “The Eclipse of Desire: L’Affaire Houellebecq.” MLN 115 (2000):
801-26.**
Augé, Marc. Non-Places. An Introduction
to Supermodernity. 1992. Trans. John Howe. New York:
Verso, 1995.
Baudrillard, Jean. The Perfect Crime. 1995.
Trans. Chris Turner. New York: Verso, 1996.
Beigbeder, Frédéric. £9.99. 2000.
Trans. Adriana Hunter. London: Picador, 2002.*
Caveney, Graham. “Psychodrama: Qu’est-ce que
c’est? ” In Shopping in Space: Essays
on America's Blank Generation Fiction. Eds. Elisabeth Young and
Graham Caveney. New York: Grove P, 1994. 43-74.**
Coupland, Douglas. Microserfs.
New York: HarperCollins, 1995.*
Darrieussecq, Marie. Pig Tales. A Novel of Lust and Transformation.
1996. Trans. Linda Coverdale and Laurie Thompson. New York:
New Press, 1998.*
Ellis, Bret Easton. American Psycho. New York: Vintage,
1991.*
Fox, Gerald, dir. This is Not an Exit: The Fictional
Work of Bret Easton Ellis. First Run Features, 2000.
Freccero, Carla. “Historical Violence, Censorship,
and the Serial Killer: The Case of American Psycho.” Diacritics
27.2 (1997): 44-58.**
Haraway, Donna. Simians, Cyborgs, and
Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge, 1991.
Harron, Mary, dir. American
Psycho. Universal Studios, 2000.
Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Became Posthuman.
Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature and Informatics. Chicago:
The U of Chicago P, 1999.
Houellebecq, Michel. The Elementary Particles. 1998.
Trans. Frank Wynne. New York: Vintage, 2001.*
Irving, John. “Pornography and the New
Puritans.” The New York Times 29 Mar. 1992: section 7, 1.**
Kendall, Lori. “Nerd Nation. Images of nerds
in US Popular Culture.” International Journal of Cultural Studies
2.2 (1999): 260-83.**
McInerney, Jay. Story of My Life.
New York: The Antlantic Monthly P, 1988.*
Morse, Margaret. Virtualities: Television,
Media Art, and Cyberculture. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1998.
Nothomb, Amélie. Fear and Trembling. 1999.
Trans. Adriana Hunter. New York: St Martin’s P, 2002.*
Palahniuk, Chuck. Survivor. New York: Bantam Doubleday,
2000.*
Zaller, Robert. “American Psycho,
American Censorship, and the Dahmer Case.” Revue Française d'études
américaines 57 (1993): 317-25.
*These texts must be purchased at the local bookstores as soon as possible.
Any student who, later in the semester, finds out that the texts are no
longer available at the bookstores will not be excused.
**These articles are
on electronic reserve
You need to enter your name and library
code to have access to the articles. Articles are in the Acrobat format.
You can also check out all these articles at the Reserve desk on the main
floor of the URI library.
METHODOLOGY
Class sessions will be devoted to discussing the
films and the readings. There are several different ways to approach
a film/text in order to find meaning in it. Knowledge about the director/author
is helpful, but is BY NO MEANS the key to understanding a work. For
this reason some information is provided on the authors in class (and in
the assigned readings); but the emphasis in this seminar will be on exchanging
interpretations of texts/films with each other. The forum for exchanging
ideas will consist of a mix of lectures, students’ oral presentations,
full class discussion and small group work and discussions.
GRADE
Class Preparation and Participation 20%
Research Paper 30%
Public Conference 15%
Oral Presentation 15%
Annotated Bibliography 20%
Class Preparation and Participation (20%)
All students are expected to come to class prepared.
This means that each student needs to come to class:
- having read, viewed the assigned work and having thought about it;
- prepared to ask and to answer questions on the assigned work;
- ready to engage in active class discussion, and participate fully in
group discussions and activities. Simply showing up to every class
and on time is expected but is not enough for class participation.
Only frequent and active oral contributions to the class discussions will
count toward the participation grade. Furthermore, a maximum of three
absences (excused or unexcused) is allowed in this course. After
three absences, your participation grade will be significantly lowered
as follows:
Four absences: maximum participation grade of B
Five absences: maximum participation grade of C
Six absences: maximum participation grade of D
Seven or more: 0 on participation
Please let me know in advance when you have to miss class.
Any student who shows up late to class (after roll call at 3pm) will
be allowed in class but will be counted absent. The same rule applies
to students who leave the class before the end of a session. Finally,
the following is not acceptable in this class: coming to class without the
assigned readings; using a cell phone (making or receiving calls); leaving
the classroom at any time during a session. The participation grade
will be significantly lowered for any of the above. This is a demanding
course. You should plan to study a minimum of two hours at home for
each hour spent in class.
Research Paper (30%)
Students will write one research paper (12-15 pages
of text not including bibliography and notes), typed, double-spaced, size
of letter 12, Times New Roman or similar, MLA Style). The paper is due
no later than Wednesday, May 7 at 5pm. Students may choose any topic
and approach of interest as long as topic is original and approved in advance
by the instructor (no later than April 28). Topic must deal with
at least one of the novels discussed in class. Students are welcome
to discuss various versions of the papers with the instructor. Nevertheless,
absolutely no outside help is allowed on the paper. The French novels
read in this seminar are available in the French original upon request.
A handout including guidelines on how to write a research paper will be
distributed in class. The grade will be based on:
-originality and relevance of topic;
-content, quality of analysis;
-style and organization.
Late work policy: The instructor will not accept any work after
the day it is due. Mark your calendars NOW with the paper due date.
Public Conference (15%)
All participants will give a 15 minute oral presentation
of their paper on Wednesday, May 14 at 3-6pm. This conference will
be announced on campus and open to the general public. The grade will
be based on:
-content and knowledge of the material;
-quality of analysis;
-style and organization of presentation.
Oral Presentation (15%)
All participants will give one in-class oral presentation
and will lead a discussion on one of the authors and novels read in the
seminar. In fifteen minutes, students will give a brief biography
of the novelist and will present, in their own words, the novelist’s work
and style. They will end with a series of questions to launch the discussion.
The grade will be based on:
-content and knowledge of the material;
-quality of analysis;
-style and organization of presentation.
Annotated Bibliography (20%)
Participants will complete and turn in on April
16 one annotated bibliography (ten entries, typed, double-spaced, MLA style)
using resources such as Lexis-Nexis, International MLA Bibliography, and
others. Students will turn in copies of the entries along with their
annotated bibliography. Students will be assigned a specific author
whose novel started a controversy upon publication: Bret Easton Ellis’ American
Psycho, Michel Houellebecq’s The Elementary Particles, Marie Darrieussecq’s
Pig Tales, Chuck Palahniuk’s Survivor, and Frédéric Beigbeder’s
£9.99. The grade will be based on:
-relevance of selected entries;
-quality of interpretation;
-style and organization (including appropriate use of MLA style).
PLAGIARISM
Basically, plagiarism is using other's work as
if it was yours. You may not realize it, but certain practices lead
others to conclude that other's works are your own. Here are some
of these practices:
1.Using someone's exact words and not putting quotation marks around
them, which means the reader has no way of understanding this is not the
work of the author.
2.Using someone's work and not attributing the source.
3.Paraphrasing so closely (same order of sentences, same order of paragraphs,
same order of sections ), with merely a word substituted here and there.
This indicates that the work is really still someone else's. The intellectual
work of re-thinking the meaning wasn't done. This is true even if
the source is given.
4.Cut 'N Paste: Using parts of several people's work, which some think
is original - Not!The sum of sentences from other authors doesn't make
the combination original. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this
course. Any case of plagiarism will be forwarded to the Dean's Office.
If you have any doubt, please check with the instructor.
Source
PROGRAM
JANUARY
22 Presentation and introduction
27 Excerpts of: Marc Augé, Non-Places;
Jean Baudrillard,
The Perfect Crime
29 Excerpts of: Donna Haraway,
Simians, Cyborgs, and Women; Margaret Morse, Virtualities: Television,
Media Art, and Cyberculture; N. Katherine Hayles,
How We Became Posthuman
FEBRUARY
3 Jay McInerney, Story of My Life
5 Jay McInerney, Story of My Life
10 Graham Caveney, “Psychodrama: Qu’est-ce que c’est?
” and/or James Whitlark and Wendell Aycock, “Cultural/Familial Estrangement:
Self-Exile and Self-Destruction in Jay McInerney’s Novels.” RESERVE
12 Bret Easton
Ellis, American Psycho
17 Holiday (Washington’s Birthday)
18 Gerald Fox, This Not an Exit: The Fictional
Work of Bret Easton Ellis. IN CLASS
19 Bret Easton
Ellis, American Psycho
24 Mary Harron, American Psycho IN CLASS
26 Mary Harron,
American Psycho IN CLASS
MARCH
3 Carla Freccero, “Historical
Violence, Censorship, and the Serial Killer: The Case of American Psycho,”
John Irving, “Pornography
and the New Puritans,” RESERVE and Robert Zaller, “American Psycho, American Censorship,
and the Dahmer Case”
5 NO CLASS
Spring Break 8-16 March
17 Douglas Coupland, Microserfs
19 Guest Speaker: Dr. Naomi Mandel, Assistant Professor of
English, URI
24 Douglas Coupland, Microserfs and Lori Kendall, “Nerd Nation. Images
of nerds in US Popular Culture” RESERVE
Last day to drop is March 25
26 Marie
Darrieussecq, Pig Tales
31 Marie
Darrieussecq, Pig Tales
APRIL
2 Amélie Nothomb,
Fear and Trembling
7 Amélie Nothomb,
Fear and Trembling
9 Michel Houellebecq,
The Elementary Particles
14 Michel Houellebecq,
The Elementary Particles
16 Jack Abecassis, “The Eclipse of Desire: L’Affaire
Houellebecq” RESERVE // Annotated Bibliography
21 Chuck Palahniuk,
Survivor
23 Chuck Palahniuk, Survivor
28 Frédéric
Beigbeder, £9.99 // Deadline For Paper Topic
30 Frédéric Beigbeder, £9.99
MAY
5 Conclusions and Synthesis
Research Paper due no later than Wednesday, May 7 at 5pm.
Public Conference on Wednesday, May 14 at 3-6pm.
CLS450S/HPR412P
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