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LITR
5738: Literature
of Space and Exploration University of Houston-Clear Lake Spring 2004, Mondays 7-9:50pm Meeting Room: Bayou 3233 Instructor: Craig White Office: 2529-8 Bayou Phone: 281 283 3380 Office Hours: M 4-6; Th 11-12, 4-5 & by appointment email:
whitec@uhcl.edu Course
webpage: http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5738 Caveat: Data stated and contracts implied in this syllabus may change with minimal notice in fair hearings at class meetings. Texts Edgar Allan Poe, Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket 1838 (Oxford) *
* * Clint Willis, ed. Ice: Stories of Survival from Polar Exploration 1999 (Adrenaline) *
* * Robyn Davidson, Tracks 1980 (Vintage) *
* * Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars 1912 (Del Rey) *
* * Norman Mailer,
Of a Fire on the Moon 1969 (out-of-print) *
* * Mary Doria Russell, The
Sparrow 1996 (Fawcett / Balantine) (Students may substitute another serious novel of
space exploration) Films (excerpts
in class as time permits) The
Day the Earth Stood Still, d.
Robert Wise, 1951 Black
Robe, d. Bruce Beresford,
1991 Student assignments: Take-home midterm essay exam due 1 March; 7-10 pages (20%) Research proposal due via email 22 March Research project (essay or journal) due 23 April (40%) Class leadership, email / web submissions, attendance, general participation (10%) Final exam 10 May, in-class or email (30%) In this disposition, percentages are only approximate and not to be construed mathematically but rather as relative weight. Only letter grades are given (also pluses and minuses). Grades are based on quality of writing, judged in comparison with other students’ work, present and past. Your writing will be criticized in the interest of helping you improve. Criticism does not distinguish organization and style from content. Course
Rationale & Background Evidently “Literature of Space and Exploration” is the only course in the world with its precise title and subject matter. Such unique status may signify eccentricity or opportunity, but the course originates from several valid factors. ·
In order to appeal to aerospace workers
in the Houston Bay Area, the Community Advisory Board for UHCL’s Master’s
Program in Humanities in 2000 recommended a concentration in “Space and
Exploration Studies” including courses in History, Future Studies, Legal
Studies, and Literature. ·
Craig White was recruited as instructor
for the Literature course because his undergraduate “Literature of the
Future” course included adaptable elements like science fiction, and his
scholarship included research on literature and astronomy and papers and
articles in the emerging field of “travel literature.” ·
In recent decades “extra-literary”
genres have grown more prominent in literary scholarship. Specifically, texts of
travel and exploration recover valuable cross-cultural and human-natural
exchanges. In 2001 the International Society for Travel Writing was formed. ·
These developments have led to an
increasing appreciation of these genres’ persistence and productivity. With
support from a devoted reading community and a number of institutes, the
literary genre of exploration has prospered with marginal support from
traditional literary scholarship. Course
Objectives Literature
of Space & Exploration generates opportunities and questions that extend to
a wide range of literary genres and subjects. "Objectives" are
ideas and terms developed and reinforced throughout the semester in lectures,
discussions, presentations, research, and examinations. Objectives
may be covered unequally or inconsistently, and may be added to or revised, but
they always remain "fair game" for students to introduce in discussion
or research. Objective1.
Literature-as-Exploration If
Literature of Space and Exploration is a one-of-a-kind course, then we are
explorers—at least of the armchair variety. This literary territory has been
explored by some scholars but is only now entering college curricula. 1a.
Some manifestations of the Literature-as-Exploration metaphor: ·
Narrative as journey ·
Author as guide (classroom: teacher as
guide or experienced scout) ·
Penetration of land or book; completion
of journey / conclusion of text ·
Correspondence of physical and
psychological journey (Can the "map of unknown territory"
become a metaphor for the explorer's mind?) ·
Recognizing boundaries or limits: ·
Literature: boundaries of genre, taste,
license, power (see The Sublime) ·
Culture or history, boundaries of
nation; charted and uncharted territory; from terra firma to aeronautics; from
totem to taboo. Objective
2. “Literature of Space and Exploration” as Genres Definitions: “Genre” is a type, class, or category of literature. Categorized
with other Literature courses, Literature of Exploration would likely count as
“a genre course” with
“Tragedy,” “Film as Literature,” etc. ·
Despite such courses’ popularity,
genre scholarship as such has a lackluster reputation. Why? ·
Genres may be regarded as elementary
knowledge. ·
Genres impinge on so many other subjects
that one’s findings may evade reduction or specification. (See objectives 4,
7, 8) ·
Any attempt at finality in describing a
genre may ascribe an artificial purity or purity to an evolving entity. ·
According to the taxonomic model of
genre, Literature of Space and Exploration defines and describes its texts as an
identifiable canon sharing certain normative resemblances. ·
More dynamically, the following
provisions can liberate the study of genre: ·
The concept of genre involves a number
of distinct dimensions or facets. ·
One genre often overlaps with another. ·
There are “no pure genres”—or
examples are so few as to prove the rule. Objective
2a. Dimensions of genre 1.
subject matter ·
Genre is identified by an aspect of the
text’s contents or appeal: a detective
novel, a spy novel, a chick
flick, science fiction, Literature of Space
and Exploration. · The subject key may engage any number of resultant conventions or “standard features”; e. g., a spy novel or film often involves scenes of seduction and sabotage or pilfering. Such conventions may be regarded as part of a “contract with the audience.” 2. narrative genre (i. e., genre defined by nature of plot or narrative) ·
Tragedy ·
Comedy ·
Romance (prevalent in Literature of
Space and Exploration) ·
Satire ·
Any combination (e. g., Romantic Comedy,
Tragic Romance) (original
source: Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism, 1957) 3.
representational genre
(numbers, types, & relations of voices in text) ·
narrator or single voice: lyric, song,
sermon, narrator—addresses audience ·
dialogue or multi-voice: drama, film,
dialogue in novels or memoirs—characters speak to each other ·
narrator + dialogue: novel, epic, film
with narrator, memoir Objective
2b. How do we distinguish fiction from nonfiction? What
markers, appeals, and demands characterize these two fields of prose? (Historically relevant because of hoaxes and fabrications in history
of exploration.) ·
Spectrum of genres, properties aligned
on axis of nonfiction-fiction,
data-narrative, and nature-human representation
Objective
2c. “The Romance of Failure” How
explain the prevalence of the “romance of failure” in the Literature and
History of Exploration? (Far more books are written on the catastrophic,
second-place Scott expedition to Antarctica than on the first-place, successful
expedition led by Amundsen. Apollo 13 is a famous movie; where’s one on Apollo 11?) Objective
2d. Distinguishing Exploration and Travel Literature Travel
literature is our subject’s most closely related genre, and the two genres
will often overlap. What’s the difference between a course on “Literature of Space
and Exploration” and one on “Travel Literature?” ·
Provisional
distinctions: Most travel
literature visits and describes inhabited, “civilized” places that other
travelers may have visited before. Travel is usually not arduous, the traveler
might casually encounter other tourists, and the reader might wish to duplicate
the writer’s experience. ·
Exploration
literature visits and describes uninhabited
places, places presumed to be uninhabited, or civilized places (e. g., Mecca or
another inhabited planet) where no or few travelers have previously visited.
Travel to such places is arduous or prohibited, tourists are unlikely or
unwelcome, and the reader may not expect or want to duplicate the author’s
experience. ·
Provisional
similarities: both travel literature and
exploration literature involve a journey, a change of environments, and the need
to overcome various challenges to comfort, progress, or survival. ·
Another
potential term for exploration genre: “Adventure” Objective
2e Media Electronic
media (film & video) versus print literature History
of media: ·
One rationale for the absence of great
writing on the space program is the latter’s co-development with electronic
media. ·
Correspondingly, a rationale for the
quality and abundance of Literature of Exploration in the 19th and
early 20th centuries is that exploration developed with rising
literacy in the west. (Parallel genre objective: How much does the development
of Exploration Literature parallel that of the novel? Consider early or
proto-novels such as Pilgrim’s Progress
and Robinson Crusoe) Formal
or aesthetic qualities of media: ·
Film and video enjoy general social
prestige in our society, underwritten by “the reality effect.” ·
Film or video appears as an
unimpeachable factual record of what really happens in the physical world of
sight and sound (though people are slowly wising up thanks to the obvious
untruths of “Reality TV”). ·
The physical powers of film and video
entail limits, however, to their intellectual or imaginative range. For
instance, the spatial boundaries of the film or video screen entail a
corresponding shallowness and confinement to what can be seen within a
rectangle. ·
In contrast, print is only words on a
page (or light on a computer screen). Yet “just words” can represent any
sense (not just sight and sound) and abstract ideas—like this one, which will
never make TV! Objective
3. Cultural issues ·
3a.
How much can the drive to explore, risk
danger, and court death be universalized to include all humanity, and how
much is it a feature of the "western
psyche?" ·
3b.
May exploration be linked to issues of Darwinian
evolution and Social Darwinism? (survival as adaptability to change;
exploration as clinical experiment in risk-taking for sake of potential profit).
·
3c.
Can an exploring people see themselves as "explored?"
(Stranger in a Strange Land) What is
the attitude of indigenous or aboriginal people to explorers? ·
3d.
How much is exploration identified with “the
nation” and how much does it explore a world “beyond
nationalism?” (As complementary examples, compare the Cold War nationalism
of the Moon Race to the international government of Antarctica.) Objective
4. Period issues ·
4a.
How much does development
of Exploration literature parallel the rise and diffusion of Romanticism
across the 19th century? (Extend to Victorian era?) How much does the
rise of nationalism correspond to these parallel movements? ·
4b.
How well does the Romantic
idea of "correspondence" between the self and its environment serve
a journey into an unknown environment? ·
4c.
How much do Romantic concepts such as
the Sublime and the Gothic motivate or furnish Space and Exploration
Literature? ·
4d.
Following the heightened dynamics of the
Sublime, how much does Literature of Space and Exploration embody an aesthetics of extremes? ·
4e.
How has the Literature of Space and
Exploration mirrored other major literary
and cultural periods? For example, can the absence of great literature
regarding the Space Program be related to the inwardness, lack of public spirit,
and diffusion of nationalism that generally accompanied Modernism and
Postmodernism in the 20th century? ·
4f.
In contrast, can the comparative
popular vigor of science fiction be attributed to its status as late
Romanticism? Objective
5. Psychological / character(ization) issues. · 5a. How do new worlds change explorers? How do explorers change new worlds? · 5b. How satisfactory is the Romantic insistence on correspondence or correlation between individual and environment, psyche and landscape when one attempts to comprehend the unknown? (Occasionally varied to opposition instead of resemblance, but always a close and important relationship. What if the unknown is genuinely unlike ourselves? How could we know it?) · 5c. What kind of person seeks opportunities to explore and endures the hardships (including close quarters, boredom, dislocation) that accompany adventure? (See also “aesthetics of extremes” above.) Objective
6. Religious issues. ·
6a.
How much does religious language—e. g.,
“mission”—characterize the Literature of Space and Exploration? What
consequences or implications? ·
6b.
In terms of narrative, how much does
religion provide a “world narrative” in which events are made coherent or
symbolic? ·
6c.
How much does a religious worldview become
identified with nationalism or with nature? Objective
7. Gender issues. ·
7a.
As with science, exploration’s mostly a
guy thing, but the empirical aspects of exploration and discovery provide a
shield or blinders to questions of gender. (The subject’s sensitivity may
prove its relevance.) ·
7b.
How does female authorship change the
exploration genre? ·
7c.
How prominent, repressed, or displaced is
sexuality? How is gender complicated by male leadership and homosocial teaming? ·
7d.
Standard distinction of gender and sex:
"gender" is one of many codes of cultural conventions associated with
but varying from the sex of an individual; "sex" is biological
equipment and action. Objective
8. Audience issues. ·
8a.
What is the relation between genres and
audiences? What different demands do diverse readers place on a single text? ·
8b.
Can expectations or desires of audiences
determine a genre or field of study? (e. g., readers of travel writing, sf fans,
NASA community at UHCL) ·
8c.
What is the relation between an explorer as
“action hero” and an “armchair reader” avid for vicarious experience and
adventure? How does the text bridge the difference? ·
8d.
Can Literature of Space and Exploration
negotiate the "gender gap" in literary studies? (i. e., "the
feminization of American culture" and numerical dominance of women as
English majors and teachers, the political inclination of literature courses to
highlight gender and other "marginalized perspectives." Background:
non-literary men sometimes appreciate fiction as science fiction.) Risks
& Limits · Historically, exploration missions overestimate what they can accomplish, given their lack of experience or precedent. If something hasn’t been done before, anything might happen! · However, limits to the course soon become apparent: It remains only one semester long. Even within that familiar span, students may become fatigued and distracted and, as on a prolonged voyage, threaten mutiny. · Many books on exploration and science fiction novels concerning new worlds are exceptionally long and dense in technical or cultural data. Especially if such books lack canonical status, students may be willing to invest only so much time in them. (Thus the Ice anthology.) · The lack of precedent perplexes the selection of texts. What is essential to be read? What appears to be the instructor’s whim as opposed to a professional decision? Some Solutions · Students should provide as much friendly feedback as possible concerning reading assignments in terms of their rewarding qualities and their demands on time. · Students should report on other relevant texts beyond the course readings. · Through presentations and discussion, students may determine the course’s directions and emphases. Literature allows more risk and play than actual exploration, so take chances, ask questions, and boldly go . . . . · As far as authority being undermined or threatened, the instructor has made this voyage only once before, learned a lot from the other students then, and would be pleased to learn as much again. However, students may also request more professorial leadership as appropriate. · Previous student assignments posted on the webpage provide another source of knowledge and experience, which this class will provide to the course’s future explorers. Email and webpage contributions This course has a webpage featuring basic information about the course and student models of required assignments. The web address is http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/5738. If convenient, install it as a “favorite” on your web browser for easy access. Each student must make four or five contributions to the webpage through the instructor via email or other electronic means. Required email contributions: 1. Presentation handout 2. Take-home midterm 3. Research proposal 4. Research project 5. Final exam (optional by email or in-class) Email address: Send all emails to whitec@uhcl.edu. Note the "c" at the end of "whitec." If you send the email to "white" only, it goes to the wrong professor. Contents and attachments: Try both of the following · Paste the contents of the appropriate word processing file directly into the email message. · “Attach” your word processing file to an email message. (My computer and most of its programs work off of Microsoft Word 2000. The only word processing program my computer appears unable to translate is Microsoft Works, though Microsoft Word is fine, as are most others. If in doubt, save your word processing file in "Rich Text Format" or a “text only” format.) If you cannot reach me by email, save your file to a 3 & ½ “ floppy disk and give it to me. If you put your name on the disk, I’ll eventually return it to you. Student computer access: Every enrolled student at UHCL is assigned an email account on the university server. For information about receiving your account name and password, call the university help desk at 281 283 2828. Reassurances: You are not graded on your expertise in electronic media but on your intelligence in reading discussing, and writing about literature. I’ve tried similar email exercises for several semesters; a few students encounter a few problems, but, if we don’t give up, these problems always work out. Your course grade will not suffer for mistakes with email and related issues as long as I see you making a fair effort. Descriptions of
Assignments Take-home
midterm essay exam: Due: 1 March (within 72 hrs of class meeting) Length: 7-10 pages (double-spaced equivalent) Submission format: Email to instructor at whitec@uhcl.edu Assignment: Write a complete, unified essay applying a course objective, a part of an objective, or a combination of objectives to Pym and two or more selections from the Ice collection. Other requirements: · Refer to at least one research source discussed in class. Research beyond shared coursework is not required. · Refer to at least one midterm from the 2002 midterms posted on webpage. How the midterm’s like a take-home exam: · Demonstrate familiarity with assigned readings and with themes developed in class lecture and discussion · Topic should relate to course’s main themes and acknowledge relevant contents from lecture or discussion · MLA Documentation may be casual; no “Works Cited” required; page references voluntary How
the midterm’s like an out-of-class paper: · Some range for originality in developing a topic · Responsibility for developing original insights in relation to the course objectives · Midterm does not require coverage of the entire course contents Chief grading criteria: · Overall quality of essay: prose style, insights into texts, ability to bring readings to new life and significance. · Above all, write a unified essay with a strong central thesis that successfully relates the various texts to the thesis and to each other. · If there’s one consistent difference between a good standard essay and an excellent essay for a Literature course, it’s that the best essays compare and contrast the texts to each other, while the rest talk about one text at a time in isolation from one another. Further
options: You may treat one or two texts in more detail than the others. Though you should concentrate on the texts mentioned above, feel free to refer to other texts, including poems presented by students. In-class
announcement of midterm topic and texts: At the 23 February meeting, you will be expected to announce your midterm topic, the objective(s) and probable texts involved, and your plans for developing the essay. Your final product may vary considerably from what you announce. Research Project Research
proposal Due: by email within 72 hours of 22 March Length: 3-4 paragraphs Research
Project Due: by email within 72 hours of 23 April Length: variable (see below) Weight: 40% of final grade. Students
have a choice of three options for their research projects. ·
Option 1 is a traditional 12-15 page analytic / research essay relevant to the course. ·
Option 2 is a 15-20 page journal of research
and reflections concerning a variety of materials relevant to the course. · Option 3 is an approximately 20-30 page creative writing endeavor (fiction, drama, or poetry); of these 20 or so pages, about 10 pages should consist of a critical commentary (introduction, afterword, or both) concerning the creative work, its aims, models (i. e., research into comparable efforts by other writers), plus self-evaluation. All options will be graded by similar criteria, including depth and expertise in research, and quality of writing, including readability and interest. Research proposal (due around 22 March, ungraded): Email 3 or 4 paragraphs plus or minus any outlines or bibliographies. Indicate which option—(1) essay; (2) journal; (3) creative—you're choosing. End your proposal by asking me a question or questions about your topic or your plan of action. · If the essay option (1), describe the topic you are planning or pondering. Indicate which texts you’ll use. You may mention two or three topics if you’re still trying to make up your mind. List the primary text(s) you intend to work with. Explain the source of your interest, why the topic is significant, and what you hope to find out through your research. Describe any reading or research you have already done and how useful it has been. · If the journal option (2), survey the range of possible contents or subjects that you may cover, plus any unifying theme or direction for the journal. Refer to categories listed in Option 2 (journal) requirements, but don’t hesitate to go beyond these categories. · If you’re uncertain about which option or feel stuck between two topics, simply explain the situation. · If the creative option (3), offer as much detail as possible about your content, the status of any drafts, your purposes or interests, the themes, issues, or conflicts to be represented, etc. · You may change your option or topic as your research and writing progress. If the change is "natural" and still falls generally within the description of your original proposal, you do not need to submit another proposal. If, however, you change your option or topic completely, please submit another proposal. · For any option, conclude by asking the instructor at least one question about your topic, possible sources for research, or the writing of your research project. · Email or otherwise transmit an electronic version of your proposal to me at whitec@uhcl.edu. · Research report proposals & replies will be posted on the course webpage, but if you want me to wait for a later version of your proposal to post, just say so. · If you want to confer about your possible topic before submitting a proposal, feel free to confer with me in person, by phone, or by email. · More details on each option follow below. Response
to Paper Proposal · The instructor will email you a reaction okaying the proposal and / or making any necessary suggestions. · You are welcome to continue going back and forth with the instructor on email until you are satisfied with your direction. · Student does not receive a letter grade for the proposal, only a “yes” or instructions for receiving a yes. Students will not lose credit for problems in reaching a topic as long as they are working to resolve these problems. · The only way you can start getting into trouble over the proposal is if you simply don’t offer very much to work with, especially after prompts from instructor. An example of a really bad proposal is one sentence starting with “I’m thinking about” and ending with “doing something about Poe,” then asking, “What do you think?” In these cases, a bad grade won’t be recorded, but the deep hole the student has dug will be remembered. Notes regarding the paper proposal may appear on the Final Grade Report. Description
of Research Options: Option 1: analytic / research essay · This option involves a more or less standard graduate “research paper" in which the student analyzes a literary text or texts with the help of secondary research. · The topic is open to any type of literary analysis, but it must have some relevance to the course. That is, a member of the class reading your essay would be able to recognize the relevance of the text or your major themes. · Students may continue to develop topics they began in the midterm. The central ideas are expected to demonstrate further development and research. · Possible topics: tracing in a text, or comparing and contrasting in more than one text, the development of a theme, image, symbol, figure, usage of language, character type, plot pattern, or conflict. · As another path to choosing a subject, review course objectives. You are not expected to duplicate ideas developed in lecture and discussion as you would for an exam, but you may use them as background or as reference points. · In terms of primary texts, you may choose a text from beyond this course, but if you use more than one primary text, at least one should be from the course readings. ·
More options on primary texts: Consider
incorporating films (both fictional and documentary) or videos, especially in
discussion of outer-space nonfiction. A possible topic would be a comparison of The
Right Stuff as prose and as film. · In terms of research, you must incorporate references to at least four secondary and background sources--that is, your research sources must include both secondary and background types of research; the distinction will be explained. · Follow MLA style for documentation and mechanics. · Length: 12-15 pages + Works Cited · Research Requirements: One or two primary sources; at least 4 secondary and background sources (distinction explained below). At least two secondary sources should be "print" in origin--i. e., not originating as internet postings. Option 2: journal Length: Approximately 15-20 pages, though longer submissions are acceptable. Content: Specific suggestions are given below, but overall the journal should demonstrate that you have, however briefly or tentatively, initiated research in several related subjects. Quality: Be careful not to let the label of "journal" make you lazy. All your writings should be readable and interesting, and none should look like first drafts. Purpose: Students will extend their range of knowledge or familiarity with the field of Space and Exploration Literature or a related subject area. In brief, the journal might answer the questions, "What do I want to know about this field of study, where do I find this knowledge, what have I learned, and how might I use this knowledge?" Warning: Quality & Coherence of journal submissions If you choose the journal option, you are not choosing an option that involves less work than the traditional research paper option. You are expected to do just as much work and your writing will be judged by similar standards. A journal provides opportunities for variety in learning, but rather than regarding the journal as a “data dump,” students should look for opportunities to organize their diverse findings into larger themes. The final grade will be determined largely on the “whole reading experience” of your journal for the instructor, who is reading your journal not as a reference work but from beginning to end. Therefore you as the author need to emphasize continuity or transitions between parts, sharing a larger insight or convergence of knowledge with your reader. The introduction and conclusion provide the primary foci at which you should generalize on your learning, but connections, comparisons, and contrasts between the parts of your journal are also expected. I may not be able to emphasize enough the importance of writing your journal as a readable, focused, organized, coherent text. Journal-writing students who have been displeased with grades have often reacted, “I didn’t know that you would grade so strongly on the connections between parts.” To gain a better sense of expectations regarding your journal, review some of the journals posted online. Most of them are successful samples, so you should be able to observe the efforts by their authors to organize the diverse parts into a cogent whole. What’s the difference between the essay (option 1) and journal (option 2)? · An essay emphasizes and develops your insights and opinions about a text or set of texts, or it applies a “reading or interpretive methodology” to text(s). · A journal emphasizes knowledge you have gathered. Often, instead of being focused on a text, this knowledge concerns a movement or figure or genre in literary history. The essay happens “in” the texts; the journal stands somewhat outside. · Both the essay and the journal are read as unified explorations of a subject. Some possible subject areas: · The NASA archives at UHCL’s Neumann Library · literature concerning desert exploration (Thesiger, Abbey, Lawrence of Arabia) · travel literature; travel journalism · science fiction (many sub-topics) · Report on firsthand accounts of trips to the moon (i. e., books or articles authored or co-authored by astronauts) · literature of exploration and nature writing · literature by and about an important explorer (Nansen, Amundsen, Captain Cook, Amelia Earhart, Sir Richard Burton) · exploration and travel literature concerning a particular geographical area · spouses or families of great travelers (Nansen, Byrds, Sir and Lady Burton) · children’s literature on outer space · literature associated with NASA missions · literature of the Russian space program? · Many other possibilities. Follow your curiosity or inspiration. Also consider choosing a “research review” that relates to a possible journal topic. · Go to the International Society of Travel Writers on the course “Research” webpage and survey the materials there for inspiration. Required and optional journal elements, with possible page limits: (The optional elements may be added to and varied as your research develops.) Except
for the introduction and conclusion, no elements are absolutely required. Do not
use this list as a comprehensive checklist. · Introduction (required): 1-2 pages summarizing purpose and organization of journal. (optional elements follow) · Background or foundational report on your subject. (3-4 pages) If you’re doing literature by and about an explorer, a historical & literary biography would be appropriate, based on background and/or secondary sources, with a primary and secondary bibliography. · Review of at least three secondary sources, however broadly or specifically focused. These articles might pertain to texts, authors, geographical areas, or theoretical concerns. (At least one page each. Head report with bibliographic citation, followed by a review of the scholar’s argument, evidence, and usefulness.) (At least 3 pages; these sources should be from printed materials, not the Web.) · Brief history the exploration of a particular geographical area or outer-space domain, including a bibliography. (The bibliography may be embedded in the text of this review.) (3 pages) · Review of one or more websites relevant to your subject. Review contents, accuracy, usefulness. (1-2 pages each) · Reviews of films or videos relevant to your topic, especially for outer-space nonfiction. · Other possible items may be mentioned as the semester progresses. Also consider combining categories. The journal is necessarily a "loose" form, so let your findings dictate your organization. · Make suggestions about possible contents for a journal. If you review the journals posted for the 2002 course or for other courses on my coursesite, you’ll see an impressive range of possibilities. · Conclusion (required): 1-2 pages summarizing what you have learned, what you would do next if you continued your research, how it might be applied. Explanation of Research Terms Primary texts. In research writing for literature, primary texts are usually works of fiction, poetry, or drama, though other genres may be similarly analyzed. Background and secondary research. You are required to refer directly to at least three background and secondary sources, though your mix of these three may vary, and of course you may refer to more than three. Background sources refer to handbooks, encyclopedias, and companions to literature that provide basic generic, biographical, or historical information. For purposes of Literature, these books are generally shelved in the PR and PS sections of the Reference section of the library. Secondary sources refer to critical articles about particular authors or texts. (When you write your analytic / research paper, you are creating a secondary source.) These may take the form of articles or books. Articles may be found in journals or in bound collections of essays. Secondary books may be found on the regular shelves of the library. To find secondary sources, perform a database search on the MLA or Social Sciences or Humanities directories in the Reference section of the library--the reference librarians will help you. Documentation style: MLA style (parenthetical documentation + Works Cited page, as described in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 4th or 5th edition. Other mechanical issues: A cover sheet is not necessary. Option
3: creative writing manuscript This option is intended (but not required) primarily for graduate students pursuing the creative writing concentration. Students may plan and develop a creative manuscript in fiction, drama, and poetry whose content is relevant to the course themes of Exploration and Space. Length: 20-30 pages (maybe a little less if poetry involved?) Components: While the bulk of this option may be a creative manuscript, approximately 10 pages should consist of a critical commentary (introduction, afterword, or both) concerning the creative work, its aims, models (i. e., research into comparable efforts by other writers), plus self-evaluation. Possible
genres or subjects: · Travel Writing, Adventure Writing · Science Fiction · Poetic or novelistic re-creation of an actual event · Make a suggestion! Warning: The inclusion of a creative writing option in this course should not be interpreted as setting a precedent for inclusion of creative writing options in other “text-based courses” in the UHCL Literature program. This option is permitted in this text-based course only because of the partly “non-literary” or “extra-literary” status of its genre and subject. Student
Leadership: Class presentations & responses Each student will make at least one formal class presentation in the form of a “research review” and will also serve as an informal “discussion-starter” on one or more other occasions. The purposes of these presentations are to develop the class’s seminar style and to give students practice in high-level presentations. (The purpose is not to relieve the professor of his assigned work; the easiest class is one where I just show up and talk for three hours.) Presentation assignments will be decided partly by student preference and partly by chance; student preferences are not guaranteed. On the opening class day (26 January), students may indicate preferences on an ID card. Volunteers will be solicited for the presentations on 2 February. Students may email revised requests by noon on Thursday, 28 January. On Friday, 29 January, I will email a draft of the presentation schedule to the class. Following any corrections, I will distribute print copies of the schedule on 2 February. If a conflict rises with an assignment date, please try to work out a change with a fellow student, then notify instructor. End
all presentations / Begin discussions with a Question(s) · It is required that both formal and informal presentations end with a question to begin discussion. · If you don’t ask a question to conclude your discussion, I will ask you a question, to wit: “Why don’t you ask a question?” · Your question should not be something feeble or formulaic like, “What do you think?” or “Do you see what I’m trying to say?” Base your question on your presentation, perhaps identifying a problem you faced in developing your point, or highlighting a sensitive issue your presentation raises. Ask for help! · Sometimes students will just sit there, so you might have an extra question ready. Sometimes they’ll want to discuss something besides what you asked, which is okay. Sometimes you have to keep asking and trying different angles until you get a response. Sometimes you simply have to wait a little. · Student comments should be directed to the presenter, not the instructor, though some variance is natural. “Silent
Grade” for presentations, responses, etc. You are graded for the quality of your work in presentations, responses, general class participation, and email contributions, but this grade is not announced until the end of the semester in your “Final Grade Report” (see below). The reason for the “silent grade” is to avoid unproductive behavior such as second-guessing, comparing grades, competing to each other’s detriment, or performing to the teacher. Altogether the presentations are a cooperative exercise on the part of the class, so it’s better to keep grading out of sight. However, since some students would otherwise work less, the leverage of a grade is necessary. Formal Presentation &
Submission: Research Review Each student will report at least one Research Review to the class, providing a handout that will be posted on the course webpage. General
Rules for Research Reviews: 1. 10-15 minute time limit. (Beyond 10 minutes, you’re mostly talking to yourself. Try to make your major points as quickly and forcefully as possible. For the last few minutes, reinforce your major points and lead into discussion.) 2. If a presentation on your research topic was made in the previous class, you must make reference to the webpage summary of that presentation. 3.
Handout required: see
webpage for models. 4. End Presentation & begin discussion with a question. The purpose of your presentation is not only to share your research and insights but also to stimulate a seminar discussion, which the presenter leads. The best way to begin a discussion is by asking a question. Brief description of research review presentation / handout: The presenter will
compose and distribute copies of a 1-2 page handout summarizing the research.
This handout will outline the following elements, which the presenter will
orally review with the class. ·
Bibliographic
citation of source(s) (MLA style, with any
necessary variations or improvisations) ·
If
an individual article, overall thesis or major point ·
Organization
of argument or research ·
Highlights
of research, including one or more quotations ·
References
to any
previous course webpage submissions on
same topic ·
Application
of findings to reading assignment. You might go to a particular page or two of
the assignment to illustrate some aspect of the research, or you might correlate
the research and the readings more broadly. You might range beyond the night’s
reading assignments if your citation of an earlier reading assignment is
self-explanatory. ·
Ask
question & lead discussion. Question
should follow your presentation or its implications. This question could ask for
the class’s help in comprehending or applying some aspect of the research or
the text to which it’s applied. Or you might raise a broader theoretical
question about Literature of Exploration rising from the research. · Email instructor electronic copy of presentation handout. (Revised versions are welcome.) Informal presentations: Discussion-Starters These “informal”
presentations are briefer than the formal research reviews: they require less
preparation and no handout or webpage submission. “Discussion-Starter”
for reading assignment · Identify idea, theme, problem, or issue in the reading assignment. Ideally, relate this idea to a course objective, but not required. · Direct class (page numbers) to one or two brief passages and read selections, briefly commenting on application to opening theme or idea. · (The order of the first two steps may be reversed.) · Ask a question to begin discussion. The question should follow from your reading, but it may also appeal more broadly to the challenges that the text may present to the class. It may also refer to other class readings. · Lead discussion. · No requirements for written summary or email / webpage posting. “Reader-Discussion
Leader” & “respondent” for in-class poetry · The Reader and Respondent are both required to read the poem ahead of time and to review and report on any previous presentation summary for the poem on the course webpage. · Reader briefly previews idea, theme, problem, or issue relevant to course in poem. Ideally, relate this idea to a course objective. You may provide some brief biography of the poet but not enough to become distracting. Concentrate on the poem itself. · Refer to any previous LITR 5738 webpage summary concerning poem. (This can happen in introduction or discussion.) · Reader reads poem aloud. Look up words and practice pronunciations. (Ask for help beforehand.) Read with feeling & comprehension. · Reader is welcome to offer a brief interpretation of the poem, but above all and as soon as possible begin discussion by asking a question. · Reader leads discussion, calling on class members and responding to comments. Students should initially attempt to answer the leader's question, but they may raise other issues. Students should direct their comments to the discussion leader. The instructor will join the discussion, but students should react as if he were another student. · Respondent: The “respondent” is responsible for having read the assigned poem before class, for reviewing any LITR 5738 web postings on the poem, and for having some interpretations in mind. When the presenter asks the question for discussion, the respondent should not “jump in” immediately but should watch to see how or if discussion develops. The respondent may speak for a minute or two at once or may make a few briefer remarks during discussion. The respondent should not bail out of his or her duties by shrugging that “They’ve already said it.” Occasionally the discussion runs in such a direction that the respondent is forgotten—not to worry. Single biggest aid to a good discussion: Start the discussion as soon as possible after reading the poem. After hearing and sharing the poem, the class is ready to jump in and discuss. Usually the only discussions that "die" are the ones where the students have to wait too long to start talking. Final
Exam Assignment Format:
You may take your final exam either
in-class using paper and ink during the final exam period (10 May,
7-9:50pm) or by email before midnight on 10 May. The
schedule for email testing is more flexible, but email students shouldn’t
spend more than 2 hours and 50 minutes writing their exam. Both types of exam
are open-book and open-notebook. Assignment: Write an essay on the Literature of Space read in class since the midterm. Text requirements: Student must refer to A Princess of Mars, Of a Fire on the Moon, and The Sparrow. (Students may substitute The Gods of Mars for A Princess of Mars and/or their alternative science fiction text of extraterrestrial exploration in place of The Sparrow.) Brief references to other texts beyond the course are welcome. Possible
options for emphasis: · As with the midterm, develop a course objective, part of an objective, or a combination of objectives and apply them to an analysis of the texts. · Develop a genre analysis based on the question, Is there a “Literature of Space?” Or, What are the difficulties and possibilities for a Literature of Space? · Relevant to Objective 2b, align the three texts on the Fiction-Nonfiction spectrum and analyze by means of comparison and contrast. · Students may propose relevant alternatives in the final class meeting on 3 May. Final Grade Report (emailed from instructor to
student) Final grades will be submitted to the registrar according to the usual procedures. Students may check their final grades by calling the university’s EASE line. However, I will email each student a tally of grades. This message should be accurate, but it will be “unofficial” in that none of its information aside from the final grade will be recorded or supported by the university registrar. The message will appear thus: LITR 5738: Literature of Space and Exploration, UHCL, spring 2004 STUDENT NAME Contact information Absences: Midterm: Research proposal: Research project grade: Grade for class leadership, email participation, attendance, etc.: Final exam: Course grade: COURSE POLICIES Attendance policy: You are expected to attend every scheduled class meeting. You may take one free cut. Attendance may not be taken systematically, but if you miss more than one meeting, you start jeopardizing your status in the course. If you miss more than two classes (especially early), you are encouraged to drop. Partial absences also count negatively. Even with medical or other emergency excuses, a high number of absences (full or partial) will result in a lower or failing grade. If shockingly absent, return and make contact (281 283 3380) or leave message ASAP. More than one absence affects final grades. You are always welcome to discuss your standing in the course. Class participation: Students' participation is judged less on quantity than on quality and appropriateness to the topic under discussion and the point being pursued. Final course grades may be affected by inappropriate student participation. Such inappropriate participation obviously includes offensive or distasteful remarks and persistent chatting while class is in progress. It may also include interruptions of lecture or discussion with irrelevant or untimely comments or questions. It may also include long-winded "life stories" of limited relevance to the course or interest to the students. Academic Honesty Policy: Please refer to the catalog for the Academic Honesty Policy (2003-2004 Catalog, pp. 72-75). Plagiarism—that is, using research without citations—will result in a grade penalty or failure of the course. Copying someone else's test leads to heavy losses of credit for the test and the course in general. Refer to the UHCL catalogue for further details regarding expectations and potential penalties. Disabilities: If you have a disability and need a special accommodation, consult first with the Health Center and then discuss the accommodation with me. Incompletes:
A grade of "I" is given only in cases of documented emergency late in
the semester. An Incomplete Grade
Contract must be completed. Make-up exam policy: Ask way in advance for times before the regular exam. Professor has the right to refuse accommodations requested on short notice. Spring 2004 Meeting, Reading, & Presentation Schedule Monday, 26 January: Introduction ********** Monday, 2 February: Instructor’s
question: What genres constitute Literature
of Exploration, and how can these genres be differentiated? Primary Reading Assignment: Read the following selections from Ice, which are arranged provisionally under the following genre headings. (These headings may be multiplied or differed with.) journal: George W. De Long, from The Voyage of the Jeannette, 157-170; David L. Brainard, from Six Came Back, 237-256 memoir: Richard E. Byrd, from Alone, 137-156; history: Nancy Mitford, "A Bad Time," 43-58 (This essay introduces the Scott expedition, which appears in later readings from Ice.) contemporary essay / travel writing: Barry Lopez, from Arctic Dreams, 171-194 Discussion-starter(s):
Poetry: John Keats (1795-1821), “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer” (1816) Reader
/ discussion leader: Respondent:
Research (all class reads): Larzer Ziff, “Arctic Exploration and the Romance of Failure,” Raritan (2003) 23.2: 58-79. Discussion-starter(s):
Music: The Pentangle, “Lord Franklin” ********** Monday, 9 February: begin Poe, Pym genre: novel, fantasy, science fiction, gothic Instructor’s question: In what ways does historic or empirical reality impinge on Poe's fiction? How does Poe try to make fiction appear to be fact? How does fiction betray itself as fiction? Discussion-starter(s):
Research (all class reads): William E. Lenz, "Poe's Arthur Gordon Pym and the Narrative Techniques of Antarctic Gothic." CEA Critic (Spring / Summer 1991): 30-38. Discussion-starter(s):
Research review: A. Alvarez, "Ice Capades" (review of several books on polar exploration) New York Review of Books (9 August 2001): 14-17. Reviewer: ********** Monday, 16 February: Primary Reading Assignment: conclude Poe, Pym; selections from Ice concerning the Scott Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13: Apsley Cherry-Garrard, from The Worst Journey in the World, 59-100; Robert Falcon Scott, from Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals, 101-118. Discussion-starter(s):
Instructor’s
question: How
does Poe develop an “aesthetics of extremes?” How much do the styles of
Cherry-Garrard and Scott both develop yet defer such extremes? Research review: I. S. MacLaren, "Exploration/Travel Literature and the Evolution of the Author" International Journal of Canadian Studies 5 (1992): 39-68, esp. 39-43. Reviewer: Research (all class reads): A. Alvarez, "A Magnificent Failure" (review of The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard), New York Review of Books (26 June 1997): 23-26. (handout) Discussion-starter(s):
Poetry:
William Cowper (1731-1800), "On the Ice Islands
Seen Floating in the German Ocean" (1799) Reader
/ discussion leader: Respondent:
********** Monday, 23 February: discuss midterm topics Instructor’s
question: How do
different genres change the representation of the exploration experience? Primary Reading Assignment: continue selections from Ice concerning the Scott Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13: Cultural studies: Francis Spufford, from I May Be Some Time, 285-326 Interview: Charles Neider, from Beyond Cape Horn, 327-344 Novel: Beryl Bainbridge, from The Birthday Boys, 345-368 Discussion-starter(s):
Poetry: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), “Ulysses” (1833, 1842) Reader
/ discussion leader: Respondent:
Music: Cream, “Tales of Brave Ulysses” (w. Eric Clapton) ********** Monday, 1 March: Take-home midterm due within 72 hours of class meeting Reading assignment: Tracks part 1 (through page 115) Discussion-starter(s):
Instructor’s questions: How does the personal nature of the explorers’ quest change the journey and the text? ********** Monday, 8 March: Primary Reading Assignment: complete Track –parts 2, 3, 4; through page 254 Discussion-starter(s):
Research review: Robyn Davidson, "Against Travel Writing" Granta 72 (winter 2000): 247-54. Reviewer: Poetry: Percy Shelley (1792-1822), “Ozymandias” (1818) Reader
/ discussion leader: Respondent:
********** Monday, 15 March: spring break—no meeting ********** Monday,
22 March:
Princess of Mars Primary Reading Assignment: A Princess of Mars (complete) Discussion-starter(s):
Deadline:
research proposal due within 72 hours of class Research (all class reads): Fred G. See, "'Writing so as not to die': Edgar Rice Burroughs and the West Beyond the West." Melus 11.4 (Winter 1984): 59-72. Discussion-starter(s):
Poetry: Billy Collins (1941-), "Man in Space" (1995) Reader
/ discussion leader: Respondent:
Research review: Report on Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Gods of Mars (sequel to A Princess of Mars). Include some critical reaction, perhaps from online reviews. Reviewer: Research review: Report on science fiction / fantasy as genre(s). Reviewer: ********** Monday, 29 March: Of a Fire on the Moon, pp. 3-49 (Part I. Aquarius. 1. A Loss of Ego. 2. The Psychology of Astronauts.) Discussion-starter(s):
Deadline: If you intend to read a science fiction text of extraterrestrial exploration besides The Sparrow, you need to announce it in class on this day. Otherwise you agree to read The Sparrow. Research review:
review of Joseph Tabbi, “Mailer’s
Psychology of Machines.” Postmodern Sublime. Ithaca NY: Cornell UP,
1995; other critical selections on Mailer’s Of a Fire on the Moon (copies
available from instructor) Reviewer: Poetry: Craig Raine (1944-), "A Martian Sends a Postcard Home" (1979) Reader
/ discussion leader: ********** Monday, 5 April: Of a Fire on the Moon, pp. 50-131, 155-209 (Part I. Aquarius. 3. Some Origins of the Fire. 4. The Greatest Week. . . . Part II. Apollo. 1. The Psychology of Machines) Discussion-starter(s):
********** Monday, 12 April: Of a Fire on the Moon, pp. 343-458. (Part II. Apollo. 6. The Ride Down. 7. A Sleep on the Moon. Part III. The Age of Aquarius. 1. The Hanging of the Highwayman. 2. “The World is Bigger Infinitely.) Discussion-starter(s):
Research review: Ronald Weber, "The View from Space: Notes on Space Exploration and Recent Writing" Georgia Review 33 (1979): 280-296. Reviewer: Poetry: W. H. Auden (1907-1973), "Moon Landing" (August 1969), Selected Poems: New Edition, ed. Edward Mendelson (NY: Vintage, 1979), 294-5. (Neumann Library PR 6001 / .U4 / A17 / 1979) Reader
/ discussion leader: Respondent:
********** Monday, 19 April: The Sparrow, pp. 1-100 (chapters 1-11) Discussion-starter(s):
Supplementary reading: Letters of Columbus (handout) Discussion-starter(s):
********** Monday, 26 April: The Sparrow, pp. 101-277 (chapters 12-24) Discussion-starter(s):
Research: Reports by readers who read science fiction text on extraterrestrial exploration instead of The Sparrow (Does not count as formal Research Review) Research review: review of web reviews of The Sparrow and Children of God (consult with instructor for copies) Reviewer: ********** Monday, 3 May: Research project due within 72 hours of class meeting. The Sparrow, pp. 278-405 (chapters 25-32) + review backmatter including “Reader’s Guide” Discussion-starter(s):
Research review: Report on Children of God (sequel to The Sparrow) Reviewer: ********** Monday, 10 May: final exam (in-class or email; see above) Possible titles for science fiction texts on extraterrestrial exploration instead of The Sparrow (to be volunteered for on 29 March and reported on 26 April)
(Thanks to UHCL reference librarian William Boatman for helping compile this list. The UHCL library holds only some of these titles, but William said he has some personal copies he could make available on extended reserve, or go through Inter-Library Loan.) |