Themes and Types in Literature (LIT 2932): Fall 2006

LIT 2932-80105 | Themes and Types in Literature: "The Morality of Fairy Tales:
The Grimm Brothers, Andersen, and The Magic Kingdom" | MWF 1:00-1:50

Mary Baron

LIT 2932-80106 | Themes and Types in Literature:
"Immigrant Narratives and American Identities" | MWF 1:00-1:50

Tru Leverette

Many accounts of our nation's history highlight the fact that the United States is a country founded by immigrants. And currently there is much public and political discourse about immigration, given Congressional debates about guest worker programs and border security. This course will explore what it means to be an American today through contemporary narratives—both fictional and non-fictional—that detail immigrant experiences. We will focus less on historical ideas of nation-building by immigrants in favor of discussions that delve into how our nation is currently shaped by discourses of immigration and how American identities are constructed through contemporary immigrant narratives.

LIT 2932-80107 | Themes and Types in Literature: "The Quest" | MWF 2:00-2:50

Nancy Levine

Joseph Campbell calls the pattern that fuels stories of the quest "the monomyth." A character takes a journey into the African veldt, the forest, a city—or, like Luke Skywalker, into outer space. The act of leaving home is a symbolic first step toward self-awareness. The journey itself is a test of spirit. Not all the characters make it home; those who do are changed for life. Using the formula—departure/initiation/return—we will discuss short stories and novels that exemplify the quest themes of peril, self-at-risk encounters with otherness, and urgent spiritual pursuits

LIT 2932-80110 | Themes and Types in Literature: "Wild Encounters:
Uncaging the Beast in Modern Literature and Film" | TR 9:25-10:40

Bart Welling

Why do "trained" wild animals turn on their human masters? Why do good pets go bad? What happens when humans give expression to "the beast within"? Our airwaves and movie houses in the U. S. have long been full of sensationalistic or simply trivial answers to problems like these. Meanwhile, generations of writers, filmmakers, and theorists have been dealing with animal behavior, human/animal interactions, and questions of human/animal identity in ways that challenge our most fundamental assumptions about who we are, what—or who—"they" are, and how "we" ought to be treating "them." In this class we will not just encounter some of the most famous "beasts" in modern literature and film, from Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' yearling to Jaws to James Dickey's nightmarish backwoodsmen in Deliverance, but will frame our encounters with them by means of critical engagement with leading animal rights philosophers, biologists, ecocritics and ecofeminists, and other participants in the growing field of what might be called animal studies. Instead of advocating a particular political agenda, our goal will be to create an open and informed dialogue about the functions animals and "beastliness" serve in modern culture, and, more broadly, about the roles literature and film can play in helping humankind make sense of its place in a world full of other life forms. Primary texts: Erica Fudge, Animal (Reaktion); Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (online selections); Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling (Scribner); Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea (Scribner); James Dickey, Deliverance (Delta); Linda Hogan, Power (Norton).

LIT 2932-80112 | Themes and Types in Literature: "Wild Encounters:
Uncaging the Beast in Modern Literature and Film" | TR 10:50-12:05

Bart Welling

Why do "trained" wild animals turn on their human masters? Why do good pets go bad? What happens when humans give expression to "the beast within"? Our airwaves and movie houses in the U. S. have long been full of sensationalistic or simply trivial answers to problems like these. Meanwhile, generations of writers, filmmakers, and theorists have been dealing with animal behavior, human/animal interactions, and questions of human/animal identity in ways that challenge our most fundamental assumptions about who we are, what—or who—"they" are, and how "we" ought to be treating "them." In this class we will not just encounter some of the most famous "beasts" in modern literature and film, from Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' yearling to Jaws to James Dickey's nightmarish backwoodsmen in Deliverance, but will frame our encounters with them by means of critical engagement with leading animal rights philosophers, biologists, ecocritics and ecofeminists, and other participants in the growing field of what might be called animal studies. Instead of advocating a particular political agenda, our goal will be to create an open and informed dialogue about the functions animals and "beastliness" serve in modern culture, and, more broadly, about the roles literature and film can play in helping humankind make sense of its place in a world full of other life forms. Primary texts: Erica Fudge, Animal (Reaktion); Herman Melville, Moby-Dick (online selections); Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling (Scribner); Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea (Scribner); James Dickey, Deliverance (Delta); Linda Hogan, Power (Norton).

LIT 2932-80114 | Themes and Types in Literature: "Putting it into Words:
Writing Ideas into Form and Meaning" | TR 12:15-1:30

Clark Lunberry

In this class, we will work with a variety of materials, from fictional stories to non-fiction essays. Our focus will be upon (1) the author's created point of view, (2) the specific prose style employed, and (3) the intended meanings and messages to be found in the writing. The many challenging readings will be the starting-off point for your own extended essays. There will be considerable time spent in the careful, step-by-step crafting of your writing and on the development of a clear, concise and creative scholarly prose.