Course Description and Goals
This
Honors seminar investigates an element that is
currently emerging in contemporary literature across the globe: the
contemporary extreme. Novels of the contemporary extreme are set in a
world
both similar to and different from our own -- a hyperreal, often
apocalyptic
world progressively invaded by popular culture, permeated with
technology, and
dominated by destruction, a reality in which time and space are zones
to be inhabited,
not obstacles to be overcome, and in which the subject is composed of
fragments, dissected by difference, and evacuated by affect. In this
world
violence -- often the most stable element -- operates as ethos.
In the course of
this semester, we will read
contemporary extreme novels from the U.S.,
Europe, and the Middle
East.
We will meet
authors of these works, talk to scholars who write about them, and
investigate
some of the philosophical issues they engage. By the end of this
semester, you
will have acquired the critical and conceptual tools you need to
contribute to
a global discussion about some of the most compelling and timely issues
in
contemporary literature and culture.
Prerequisite: students must have
a 3.2 minimum GPA to enroll in this seminar.
CORPUS
Required Books
Frédéric Beigbeder, Windows
on the World. [2003]. New York: Miramax, 2006.
Orly Castel-Bloom, Dolly City.
London: Loki Books, 1997.
Chris Cleave, Incendiary.
London: Anchor, 2006.
Marie Darrieussecq, Pig Tales. A
Novel of Lust and Transformation. [1996]. New York: The New York
Press, 2003.
Alain-Philippe Durand and Naomi Mandel, eds. Novels of the Contemporary Extreme.
New York: Continuum, 2006.
Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho.
New York: Vintage, 1991.
Michel Houellebecq, The Elementary Particles. [1998].
New York: Vintage, 2001.
Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club.
New York: Norton, 1996.
The students will
dialogue with the following authors on electronic forum:
Chris Cleave, Marie Darrieussecq, Sabine van Wesemael, and
Adia Mendelson-Maoz, among others.
Additional
readings on e-reserve
Films
American
Psycho. Dir. Mary Harron. Universal Pictures, 2000.
Fight Club. Dir.
David Fincher. Twentieth Century Fox, 1999.
METHODOLOGY
Class sessions will
be
devoted to discussing the readings and the films. 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, small group work
and
discussions, and online electronic forum.
GRADE
In Class
Active Oral Participation (15%)
Prospectus for
Research Paper (10%)
Annotated Bibliography
for Research Paper (10%)
Research Paper (35%)
Online Forum (20%)
Public
Oral Presentation (10%)
In Class Active Oral Participation (15%)
All participants 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 one absence (excused or unexcused) is allowed
in this
course. After one absence, your participation grade will be
significantly
lowered as follows:
Two absences: maximum
participation grade of C
Three absences: maximum
participation grade of D
Four or more absences:
0 on participation
Please let us know in
advance when you have to miss class.
Finally, the following
is not acceptable in this class: coming to class without the assigned
readings
(make copies of the assigned pages of the day if needed); using a cell
phone
(making or receiving calls) or a
computer; leaving the classroom at any time during a session (we will
always take a break); The
participation
grade will be significantly lowered for any of the above. This is a
demanding course.
Research
Paper (35%)
Participants will write
one research paper (10-12 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 May 2, 2008 at 5pm. Students may choose any topic and approach of
interest
as long as topic is original and approved in advance by the
instructors. Topic must deal
with at least one of the
novels discussed in class.
Students must schedule a meeting with at least one of the instructors
to discuss their ideas for the paper between March 25th and April 8th.
Students are welcome to discuss various versions
of the papers with the instructors. Nevertheless, absolutely no outside
help is
allowed on the paper. 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;
-spelling and grammar;
-respect of MLA Style.
Late work policy:
The instructors will not
accept any work after the day it is due.
Mark your calendars NOW with the due dates.
Scheduled
Meetings With Dr. Durand & Dr. Mandel
Prospectus
for Research Paper (10%)
Students
will turn in a prospectus for research paper on April 22, 2008. The
prospectus
is a brief (1-2 pages) description of your formal paper. It should
include the
following information:
1)
The
text or texts you plan to discuss.
2)
Some
of the central themes you plan to examine or scenes you plan to analyze.
3)
The
arguments or terms developed in the course of the semester that you
plan to
utilize.
4)
A
question that writing the paper is designed to help you answer
(otherwise known
as your thesis statement).
Annotated
Bibliography for Research Paper (10%)
Participants will write
an annotated bibliography (10 sources, 150/200 words per source, typed,
MLA
style) using resources at the URI Library such as International MLA
Bibliography, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, JSTOR, Project Muse, etc.
While
electronic databases allowing access to printed scholarly articles are
acceptable, absolutely no secondary sources from the Internet (such as,
but not
limited to, Wikipedia entries or web sites dedicated to authors, etc.)
will be
accepted. The bibliography will present secondary sources useful to the
writing
of the research paper.
The grade will be based on:
-pertinence of selected
sources for research paper’s topic;
-number and origin of
selected sources;
-quality of
interpretation;
-style and organization
(including the use of MLA style);
-spelling and grammar.
Online Forum (20%)
Students will animate a public online
electronic
forum. In addition, students will have the opportunity to dialogue with
the
following novelists and scholars who confirmed their participation to
the
online electronic forum: Chris Cleave, Marie Darrieussecq,
Alain-Philippe
Durand, Adia Mendelson-Maoz, Naomi Mandel, and Sabine van Wesemael. On the first day of class, students
will be divided in four groups of
5-6 (see below). Each group will be responsible for animating the forum
on two
different weeks. Each group member will send at least one contribution
(minimum
of 200 words) to the forum no later than 24 hours before class (Mondays
at
4pm). These contributions may
be questions, comments, answers/reactions to
the readings and discussions. They will help us to prepare, to
complement, and
to enrich class discussions. Finally,
each student will publish on the forum, no later than April 22, 2008, a
summary
(200-300 words) of his/her research paper.
The
grade will be based
on:
-content, quality of
postings;
-frequency and length
of postings;
-spelling and grammar.
Forum
Link: http://www.network54.com/Forum/597226/
How to Read and to Post Messages
to the Forum:
- Connect
to the
link above;
-
Click
on topic
you want to comment on. For instance, for the first week, click on
“Frederic
Beigbeder’s Windows on the
World”;
-
Click on
“Respond to this message”;
-
Enter your
name, a title, and then type in your message (the email address is
facultative,
if you do not want everyone in the world to know your email address, do
not
enter it);
-
When you are
done, click on “preview” to revise everything;
-
When you are
ready, click on “respond”;
-
Please note
that this is a moderated forum. Your
post will not show up until we approve the message.
Group 1 (Beigbeder &
Houellebecq): Patricia
Matthews,
Danielle Cerullo, James McGee,
Audrey Ruskowski, Jessica Watson, Matthew Kimberlin
Group 2 (Ellis & readings on
violence and
ethics): Mary Smith,
Sarah Payne, Kristin MacDougall, Erin Shea, Nicole St Jean, Catherine
Collazzo
Group 3 (Darrieussecq &
Castel-Bloom): Jenna
Hanlon, Sarah
Hanselman, Elyssa Litchfield, Nicholas O'Brien, Narkiss
Pressburger, Megan Coral
Group 4 (Palahniuk & Cleave):
Astrid Drew, Shannon Marks, Stephanie Bramley, Laura
Gifford, Meredith Renfree
Oral
Presentation (10%)
Each participant to the
seminar will give a 5 minute oral presentation based on his/her
research paper
during the public roundtable discussion “Novels of the Contemporary
Extreme”
which will take place on campus. The grade will be based on:
-originality and
relevance of topic;
-content, quality of
analysis;
-oral expression and
connection with the audience.
PLAGIARISM
Basically,
plagiarism is using other’s work as if it were 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
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. According
to section 8.27.17 of the Faculty Senate regulations, we will
forward any case of plagiarism to the Dean’s Office. If you have
any doubt,
please check with the instructors.
Source
Disabilities
If you have
a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accomodations,
please contact us within the first two weeks of class. For further
assistance, please contact the staff at:
Disabilities
Services for Students (in the Office of Student Life)
330
Memorial Union
Tel: 401-874-2098
Web Site
Counseling Center
217 Roosevelt Hall
Tel: 401-874-2288
Web Site
PROGRAM
January
29
Introduction
February
5
Frédéric
Beigbeder, Windows
on the World
Durand
and Mandel, “Introduction”
ELECTRONIC
RESERVE
Durand, “Beyond the Extreme”
ELECTRONIC
RESERVE
(Lecture &
Introduction: A-P
Durand)
12
Bret Easton
Ellis, American Psycho
(Lecture & Introduction: N.
Mandel)
Mandel, “Right Here in Nowheres”
ELECTRONIC
RESERVE
19
Marie
Darrieussecq,
Pig Tales; Susan Bordo. Unbearable
Weight: Feminism, Western
Culture, and the Body.
(EXCERPTS ON ELECTRONIC
RESERVE)
(Lecture & Introduction: A-P
Durand)
26
Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
(Lecture & Introduction: N. Mandel
& guest speaker: John Hodgkins)
March
4 Screening
of Fight Club
(139 minutes)
11
Michel Houellebecq, The Elementary
Particles
(Lecture
& Introduction: A-P
Durand)
Van Wesemael, “MH: A Fin de Siècle
for the 20th
Century” ELECTRONIC
RESERVE -
Participation of Sabine van
Wesemael to the online forum
Spring Break:
March 17-23
25
Readings in preparation to public
colloquium on violence and ethics: Hannah Arendt's On Violence (Part II, pages
35-56); Alain Badiou's Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of
Evil (pages 1-57); Flannery O'Connor's
"A Good Man is Hard to
Find;" Jeffrey Nelaon's Alterity
Politics (pages 1-17, 165-72) ELECTRONIC RESERVE
April
1
Public
Colloquium at 4-6:45pm:
“Violence and Ethics.” Featuring: Marco
Abel, U of Nebraska, "Violence, Affect,
Ethics:
Thinking the Ethics of Violence as the Violence of Ethics;" Stephen
Barber, U of Rhode Island, "The
Violence of
Badiou's Ethics;" and Galen
Johnson, U of Rhode Island, "Playing With Fire: On the Dialectics
of
Violence in Hannah Arendt and Flannery O'Connor."
Colloquium sponsored by: Honors Program, Dept. of
English, French
and Francophone
Studies,
Comparative
Literature, Center for the Humanities, and the John Hazen White
Sr. Center for Ethics and Public
Service.
8
Orly Castel-Bloom, Dolly City
(Lecture
& Introduction: N.
Mandel)
Mendelson-Maoz, “On Human Parts”
ELECTRONIC
RESERVE
Participation of
Adia Mendelson-Maoz to the online forum.
Annotated
Bibliography for research paper due today
15
Chris Cleave, Incendiary
Guest Speaker and Lecturer:
Chris Cleave
Writer in
Residence at URI for the
entire week: Chris Cleave
Chris Cleave's
visit at URI is sponsored by: URI
Honors Program, URI Center for Humanities, URI College of Arts and Sciences,
and by the URI Feinstein Providence
Campus.
22
Meta
Session
Prospectus for
research paper due today
29 Public roundtable
discussion on
“Novels of the Contemporary Extreme” featuring seminar participants.
Roundtable sponsored by:
Honors Program, Dept. of English, French and
Francophone Studies, Comparative Literature, and the John Hazen White Sr.
Center for Ethics and Public Service.
Research paper due on May 2, 2008 at
5pm.
