BROAD PURPOSE OF COURSE: A topics course in contemporary literature focusing on major trends in literature and theory since World War II and exploring the relationship of literature, history, and contemporary culture. Content varies, depending on instructor. Students may enroll in this course more than once under different topics. This semester we will be focusing on contemporary American poetry.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course, students will:
examine the aesthetic principles that inform literary production and apply them to the study and analysis of contemporary American poetry;
practice analytical discourse, critical reasoning, and problem-solving through close textual analysis and interpretation of contemporary American poetry;
apply knowledge and experience in literary analysis to new texts by writing thoughtful literary essays;
demonstrate an understanding of the conventions and evolution of contemporary American poetry;
examine the aesthetic and ideological contexts that inform contemporary American poetry;
examine contemporary American poetry from a variety of critical and theoretical perspectives;
conduct appropriate research and synthesize their own original ideas with those advanced by literary critics and other scholars.
TEACHING METHOD: Seminar, workshop, discussion, lecture, small group discussion
GRADING POLICY
Creative responses with reflections (2) 20%
Explication-in-context essay 15%
Contemporary poet project and presentation 20%
Midterm and final exam 25%
Daily assignments and participation 20%
EXPLANATION OF ASSIGNMENTS AND POLICIES
Creative responses with reflections: This semester you’ll complete two creative responses to poems from our class readings. At least one must be an imitation poem, and one can be a creative response of your choice. Some ideas for creative responses include creating a film or visual illustration of the poem, designing a costume, video game, or space related to the poem, or anything else that allows you to interact deeply with the poem and demonstrate your understanding of its meaning and context. You will also complete a two-page reflection in which you explain your choices, your process, and your successes and shortcomings in responding to the poem. You will receive specific assignment sheets detailing the requirements for these responses. All drafts/ stages of the responses must be completed and submitted on time in order to receive credit for the final assignments.
Explication-in-context essay: You will also complete a more traditional essay that closely examines a selection of work by a single poet, in connection with the poet’s influences and cultural context. The essay must be 5 pages typed in standard 12-point font, double-spaced. We’ll discuss textual analysis in class, and you will receive specific assignment sheets detailing the requirements for the essay, which will pass through multiple drafts and receive feedback from me and your classmates. All drafts/ stages of the essay must be completed and submitted on time in order to receive credit for the final assignment.
Poet Project and Presentation: Toward the end of the semester, you will choose one living local poet whose work resonates with you. You will conduct research on this poet, creating a curated selection of the poet’s work and other information. You will write an introduction to the poet, along with a discussion of a selection of the poet’s work in context. You’ll receive a handout with details about the requirements later in the semester. You will also present your work to the class in an oral presentation. All drafts/stages of the project must be completed and submitted on time in order to receive credit for the final assignment.
Midterm and Final Exams: Our midterm and final exams will consist of short answer and essay questions based on the assigned literary texts and the literary terms we cover in class. You’ll be expected to take each in-class exam together with your peers. However, if you have a legitimate (and documented) reason to miss an exam, I will do my best to provide you with reasonable accommodation.
Daily assignments and participation: Class discussion is a major component of this course, and so both attendance and participation are extremely important. I expect you to arrive on time, awake and prepared with your textbook(s), syllabus, paper and pen, and an attentive attitude. Full participation means that you complete reading assignments on time, contribute to class and group discussions, and stay focused on the matter at hand. In addition, we’ll be doing in-class writings and read-alouds based on the assigned readings almost every day. This work cannot be made up, so if you are absent from class you will not get credit for the in-class work that day. Missing more than 2 classes will significantly affect your grade. Missing more than 4 classes for any reason will most likely result in failure of the course. Arriving late, leaving early, or disrupting the class with texting or other inappropriate behavior may also count as an absence at my discretion. If you do miss class, please make sure you check with a classmate to find out what you have missed.
Late Work and Extensions: Work that is late will be penalized one letter grade for each class period that it is late. Work more than three class periods late will not be accepted. If you’re unable to come to class the day an assignment is due, it is your responsibility to make sure that I have the assignment before the start of the class in which it is due. An extension on an assignment may be granted if you have a cause to request one and speak to me at least one week before the assignment is due.
Electronic devices: Electronic devices are often misused in the classroom environment, disrupting not only the learning of the student(s) using them but also the learning of the students around them. In addition, research demonstrates that for most students taking notes on paper is much more effective than taking notes on a laptop or other device. (See our Canvas module for the impact of device use on student learning.) We will often need devices for classroom activities, as well as for accessing course readings and other materials; however, I expect you to remain focused on our classroom activities and to put devices away when we are involved in activities that don’t require them. Please also refrain from texting and other activities not related to our class. If you have a documented reason for requiring a device, I’ll be happy to accommodate you.
Plagiarism: All assignments must be original to the writer and all sources must be cited appropriately. Plagiarism and cheating significantly disrupt the learning community; they are unfair to classmates who work hard to produce original work, and they are also unfair to the guilty students who miss the opportunity to learn what the course is designed to teach. Plagiarism and cheating also make it impossible for me to assess student learning and know that I as a teacher am doing my job effectively. Plagiarizing the work of others (using others’ words OR ideas without giving appropriate credit) will result in penalties ranging from failing the paper/assignment or the course to more severe administrative consequences.All instances of cheating and plagiarism will be referred to the Academic Integrity panel.
Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL): All writing, however strong, can benefit from a careful reader’s response. In addition to feedback from your instructor and your classmates, writing assistance is available from peer tutors in the Center for Teaching and Learning. CTL tutors can help at any stage of the writing process – from getting started to final editing. They can help you figure out an assignment, overcome “writer’s block,” or discover your thesis. Remember, however, that tutors are not allowed to revise or edit students’ papers for them. All changes, revisions, or corrections must be your work.
CLASS SCHEDULE
NOTE:This represents an approximate schedule for the semester; dates and assignments may change depending on the needs of the class. Please check Canvas regularly for any updates.
All readings and page numbers come from our text, The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, unless otherwise noted.
Week 1
Introduction: What is poetry? How do we read it effectively?
Some helpful poetic terms and concepts
Literary ancestors: Dickinson, Whitman, Harper, Dunbar (handouts)
Week 2
Literary ancestors: Modernism, Imagism, Harlem Renaissance (links online)
From Ramazani, Introduction pp. xliii-xlvii
Rhythm and line (reading linked on Canvas)
Week 3
Mid-century Poetics
Ramazani, Introduction pp. xlvii-xlix; Levertov, “Organic Form” (1081-85)
Voice (reading linked on Canvas)
Hayden (52-63); Brooks (140-149); Bishop (15-44: “The Fish,” “Sestina,” “The Armadillo,” “Brazil, January1, 1502,” “In the Waiting Room,” “One Art”); Levertov (247-251); Creeley (325-335), Wright (414-417)
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Proposal for first creative response, including poem mark-up
Week 4
Beat Poets and New York School
Introduction li-lii, O’Hara, “Personism” (1072-74)
Ginsberg (334-358); Waldman (online); O’Hara (361-370), Ashbery (384-408: “Some Trees,” “These Lacustrine Cities,” “Soonest Mended,” “As One Put Drunk,” “Paradoxes and Oxymorons”), Tate (837-842)
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Draft of first creative response, including reflection
Week 5
The Black Arts Movement and heirs
Ramazani, Introduction liv-lv
Baraka “The Myth” (1077-1081); Lorde, “The Master’s Tools” (linked online)
Baraka (632-640), Knight (online), Lorde (615-620), Sanchez (online), Clifton (658-664), Jordan (664-669), Harper (698-705)
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Proposal for second creative response
First creative response due
Week 6
Confessional Poets and Feminisms
Introduction lii-liv; Rich “When We Dead Awaken” (1086-1096)
From, The Feminine Mystique(linked online)
Confessional poets: Lowell (119-140: “Waking in the Blue,” “Memories of West Street and Lepke,” “To Speak of Woe,” “Skunk Hour,” “For the Union Dead,” “Epilogue”), Sexton (431-438), Plath (593-615: “The Colossus,” “Morning Song,” “Daddy,” “Fever 103,” “Cut,” “Poppies,” “Ariel,” “Lady Lazarus,” “Edge”), Rich (456-483: “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, “Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law,” “Diving into the Wreck,” “Power”)
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Draft of second creative response, including mark-up
Week 7
Language poets
Howe (688-697), Hejinian (788-797), Mullen (online)
Midterm exam
Proposal for Explication due
Week 8
Writing to Witness
Ai, Silko (875-887); Soto, Dove, Rios (969-993), Forche (915-919), Anzaldua (online), C.D. Wright (online), Komunyakaa (858-864)
Second creative response due
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Explication poem mark-up(s) and outline of major links and contexts
Week 9
Exploding the Canon
Doty (993-999), Erdrich (1004-1009), Cevantes (1009-1012), Chin (1013-1018), Song (1018-1025), Martinez (1030-1034), Lee (1039-1045)
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Draft of Explication
Weel 10
Recent U.S. Laureates
Gluck (818-826), Merwin (408-414), Levine (422-426), Trethewey (online), Herrera (online), Tracy K. Smith (online), Harjo (947-952), Strand (620-626)
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Beginning the poet project
Explication Due
Week 11
Into the 21stcentury (all linked online)
Allison Hedge Coke, Kazim Ali, Jan Beatty, Ross Gay, Douglas Kearney, Naomi Shihab Nye, Martin Espada, Cornelius Eady, Ada Limon, Eduardo C. Corral
Poetry read-aloud: prepare one poem
Proposal for poet project
Weel 12
Spoken word roots (all linked online)
Danez Smith, Elizabeth Acevedo, Terisa Siagatonu, Regie Cabico, Dominique Christina, Franny Choi, Patricia Smith, Kenneth Carroll, Alix Olson
Poet project: research complete (bring in at least 4 sources) and draft due
Week 13
Young voices (all linked online)
Safia Elhilo, Solmaz Sharif, Ocean Vuong, Natalie Illum, Joel Dias Porter, Javier Zamora, Earl Braggs
Earl Braggs visiting poet: meet in Lee Reception Room!
Complete draft of poet project
Week 14
Poet Project Presentations/ Final exam review
Final Poet Project due
Week 15
Final exam
6. REQUIRED TEXT
Ramazani, Jahan, Richard Ellmann, and Robert O’Clair, eds. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, 3rded. Vol 2. Contemporary Poetry. Norton, 2003.
Other materials will be linked online through Canvas.