ENG 312 Topics in British Literature: Multicultural British Writers

Thursday evenings, 6 pm ˆ 9:30 pm, Peterson 107

& Saturday, July 23, 9-5 pm, Peterson 103

Instructor: Elizabeth Watzke, PhD.

Email: ewatzke@linfield.edu

This course satisfies 3 credits in the Images and Arts area of the

Linfield Curriculum and completes the Global Diversity requirement for all undergraduate degrees at Linfield College.

Course Description:

Until sight converges from more than one angle, the world looks as flat as a postcard. The rewards of having two eyes are practical, they keep us from bumping into chairs and enable us to judge the speed of approaching cars. But the final reward is the deepened view of the world itself. -Huston Smith (from At the Root of this Longing, Carol Flinders, 236)

In this course we will study the work of contemporary British

Multicultural Writers, specifically women who inherit the paradoxes of„multicultural identity,‰ crossing historical borders of geography,

nation, ethnicity, language, race, and gender roles. These writers in

particular focus on the contemporary experience of inheriting the

historical legacy of colonialism. As citizens of countries once colonized by Great Britain, they and their ancestors and descendents constantly engage with the nightmares and dreams of immigrant family histories; the relationships between individuals and their traditional communities; and the challenges of understanding and synthesizing cultural differences. Other subjects arising from our discussions will most likely include changing gender and family relationships, conflicts within and across cultures and generations, relations to and responsibilities for the past; redefining concepts of identity, and the roots of global interconnections and conflicts.

Required Texts: The following texts are required reading for this class.

Failure to obtain and read these texts will result in failure of this

course. They are available at the Linfield bookstore, Powells,

Amazon.com, and other local bookstores and libraries. We will also read a few essays by Salman Rushdie.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (Norton Critical Edition). Edited by

Judith L. Raiskin. NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999. ISBN 0-393-96012-9 (pbk.). You must have this edition of this book.

Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. NY: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1975. ISBN, 0-671-64657-5 (pbk.).

Brick Lane by Monica Ali. NY: Scribner, 2003. ISBN 0-7432-4331-5 (pbk).

White Teeth by Zadie Smith. NY: Vintage International/Random House,

2000. ISBN 0-375-70386-1 (pbk).

Assignments/% of grade:

Participation (10%): Read all assigned material and arrive prepared to

refer to it on the day it is assigned. Be present (alert, attentive,

thoughtful) and contribute consistently and respectfully to class

discussions. Do all exploratory writing assignments and homework> questions, both in-class and take-home; if necessary these can be replaced by quizzes. Do these BEFORE class begins, not during class.

Absences:

0-2, no effect on your grade; 3-6, your grade goes down one letter; more than 6, you fail. You are responsible for finding out what work you missed and for handing it in the next class period, and for keeping up with the reading. Lateness: consistently being late to class will affect your participation grade; please let me know of any extenuating circumstances. I will also distribute a participation evaluation during the term.

Two Essays (20% each): Two formal essays based on our reading. One essay may choose one book and write about a specific thesis in relation to the book, or analyze a critical essay about the book Wide Sargasso Sea and propose an alternative reading; the second essay should be a comparison of some element of two books (two characters, how two books explore a similar theme, how two writers use a particular writing technique, etc.). Topics to be negotiated with me during the term. These essays will be typed, double spaced, 5-7 pages each.

Research Presentation (20%) and Paper (30%): You will give a

presentation on a specific topic relevant to a book we are discussing.

Use at least FIVE sources and a VARIETY of sources (Internet, books,

interviews, articles). The presentation will include:

1. an ORAL PRESENTATION of your findings to the class;

2. a ONE PAGE HANDOUT for the class (Xerox copies) highlighting major

points of your topic.

3. a PAPER (with IN-TEXT CITATIONS and a separate WORKS CITED page in MLA format) summarizing your research, your findings (7-10 pages). I will give you a handout on the format to follow for the research paper.

It may be possible to work in small groups; please see me if you want to do this. The presentation is due on the second day of book discussion; the paper may be handed in either on that day, or at the beginning of the following class period.

WRITING NOTES: We will spend some class time setting up the papers and addressing academic standards. I encourage you to utilize your

exploratory writings as a springboard for the essays. Exploratory

writings are 2-3 pages, handwritten is fine. These are freewritings for

you to explore your thoughts and ideas based on questions prompted by the readings. (Exp. Writing option: if you have a serious resistance to one of the prompts, you can always write a reading response: Write an evaluation of your response to the book- what do you think of the situations & characters? What parts struck you the most and why? What did you feel as you read? What is your understanding of the situations in the text? Can you relate to what you read in any way, can you make any personal connections? You can exercise this option for ONE of the Exp. Writing topics if you like).

LATENESS: under dire circumstances, I will grant one week extensions for papers. Papers two weeks late: grade will go down one letter to be

applied to consecutive weeks late; more than four weeks is not acceptable.

PLAGIARISM: Academic work is evaluated on the assumption that the work presented is the student's own, unless designated otherwise. Anything less is unacceptable and is considered academically dishonest. Students guilty of such acts are subject to disciplinary action; I consider plagiarism as grounds for failure of this course (see the Linfield College Catalog for further information). My definition of plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following: using the ideas, data, or language of another without specific and proper acknowledgement; misrepresenting another's work (paper, report, lab work, research, article, etc.) as one's own original creation and handing it in for an assignment; using one paper to satisfy the requirements in more than one class; using someone else's ideas without attribution; failing to cite a reference or to use quotation marks where appropriate; trying to pass off someone else's work as your

own; and other similar behaviors. Please ask me if you have any questions about plagiarism, especially regarding paraphrasing, and please see me if you feel any under any pressure to plagiarize.

WRITING CENTER: The Writing Center is available to help you with drafts, editing, and other perils of the writing process. Their email is:

pdx-writing@linfield.edu and they are located in Peterson Hall, Student

Club Room, Level One, between the phones and the copier; please contact them to make an appointment for any help with your

writing/reading/studying needs.

CONFERENCES: Please don't hesitate to set up a conference time with me at any point in the term if you want explicit feedback on your writing.

ADA Statement: Students with documented disabilities who may need

accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first week of the term.

Course Schedule: Reading assignments due are listed next to the date they are due at the beginning of class, as are essay and presentation

requirements; I will give Exp. Writing topics the week before they are

due. THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

JUNE 16 Course Introduction. View film, questions.

23 Wide Sargasso Sea, first read the following selections: 115-119; from Letters, 138-145; Essays, 148-156. Then read the text of Wide Sargasso Sea, pgs. 3 - 112.

30 Wide Sargasso Sea, read the critical essays by Spivak (240-247), and Drake (193-206) IN THAT ORDER. PRESENTATION (Creole Obeah/Voodoo).

JULY 7 Heat and Dust, pgs. 1-94.14 Heat and Dust, 94-end. PRESENTATION (History of British Colonization & Indian Independence). Please begin to read Brick Lane, by 7/23 you should have read up to page 227 (Chapters 1 ˆ 12).

21 View film; discuss Rushdie handouts (dist. 7/14). ESSAY ONE DUE.

Saturday, 7/23 Brick Lane, pgs. 1-227 (Chapters 1 ˆ 12).

Ø PRESENTATION (Partition of India).

Ø

28 Brick Lane, pgs. 228 ˆ end. (Chapters 13 ˆ 21).

>

> AUGUST

4 White Teeth, pgs. 1-217, Archie & Samad.

11 White Teeth, pgs. 221-339, Irie.

18 White Teeth, pgs. 340-448 (end). ESSAY TWO DUE.