WELCOME!

Hi, everyone -- welcome to Core 3107.  Here's the syllabus:

CORE 3107 EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN

FALL 2013  TUES/THURS 2:30

INSTRUCTOR:  PROF. RICHARD HORWICH

OFFICE HOURS:  TUES 3:45-4:45  THURS 1:30-2:30 in 2312B

REQUIRED TEXTS:  AVAILABLE AT SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY

Shakespeare, Hamlet (any edition)

Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (Dover)

Conrad, Heart of Darkness (Dover)

Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (Scribner)
Nabokov, Lolita

Coursepak, which will contain excerpts from Renaisance poetry, Romantic poetry, and modern short stories, available at Far Better Copy Center, 43 Hillel Place.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The meanings of “the modern” overlap and encroach on each other:  the “early modern period” (another name for the Renaissance), the “modern world” as the term is popularly understood, and Modernism as an artistic movement (including modern architecture, modern painting, and experimental modernist literature, as distinct from its successor, Postmodernism) all refer back to the same phenomenon, though it takes on different forms depending on whether it is viewed artistically, historically, culturally.

What is common to them all, and what will provide our primary focus, is the emergence of the self – of subjectivity and individualism, which has been the catalyst for the secularization of Western culture, the growth of colonialism and revolution, the emergence of new ideologies of class, race and gender and new theories of psychology, and the reshaping of literary structures, techniques and viewpoints.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

To develop the ability to understand and analyze literary texts;

To learn to appreciate literarly complexity, ambiguity, paradox and symbolism;

To learn to identify literary styles in the context of historical periods;

To develop understanding of interrelation of language, culture, and society;

To be able to reason, think critically, evaluate, use evidence, and make judgments  
To be able to write clearly and imaginatively, in a variety of forms and for a variety of purposes and audiences.

OUTCOMES

Students are encouraged to think, write, and speak cogently and analytically.  Equally important is your ability to relate the texts you will read to the world that produced them and your ability to understand the nature of their language and structure and to practice various critical approaches to them.  You will write two essays (worth 20% and 30% of your final grade), of increasing length and complexity, and  you will be encouraged, and graded (10%), on your ability, to participate in clasroom discussion.  (I will lecture as little as possible, despite the relatively large enrollment.) In addition, there will be a midterm exam (worth 15) and an essay-based final exam (worth 25%).

OTHER REQUIREMENTS, SUGGESTIONS AND REMINDERS

Attendance is mandatory.  After the third unexcused absence, you will receive
 a deduction on your final grade.  Class will start promptly at 2:30; three
latenesses = one absence.

Always read the current text before we begin discussing it, and bring it to class.

All assignments and homework must be computer-generated in Times New Roman 12 pt. font. 

There will be unannounced spot quizzes to encourage you to keep up with your reading.

If you can, you should submit all assignments as MW Word documents by
emailing them to me at  richard.horwich@gmail.com; I will grade them using “track changes”
and send them back to you. If you cannot, print them and submit them in the usual manner.

Find a “buddy” in the class, whom you can contact by phone or email, and with whom you can study and discuss course materials.