| English 536: Contemporary Native American Fiction | |
|
|
Goals. This course surveys prose writing—mainly long fiction—by Native Americans in the 20th century. That may seem a rather remedial project for a graduate-level course in English, but I think we’re all aware of the holes in our undergraduate training that might necessitate undertaking such a project here. And anyway, there’s a time-honored cover for situations like these, tailor-made to cloak our elementary aims in a mantle of intellectual respectability: the “proseminar,” an intensive reading course designed to let you to achieve some breadth (and possibly even some depth) in a field you’ve hitherto neglected. What we’ll do here, then, is read and discuss a whole slew of works that represent and in some sense define the “tradition” of Native American fiction written in English that has evolved over the past hundred years or so. We’ll become acquainted with many, though not all, of the major figures of the contemporary scene, including several of the more provocative critics and theorists. And we’ll gain an appreciation of concerns common to much of their work—most notably, perhaps, how one can imaginatively negotiate the vexed questions of (racial and ethnic) identity prompted by a history of colonialism and a hegemonic Western modernity. Texts. Here are the particulars of the slew, available at the HSU bookstore. If you buy them new, the total cost is something obscene on the order of $250; I encourage you to scour local independent booksellers or the Internet for cheaper copies. The following texts are required:
The remainder are highly recommended, the final two particularly for those who have opted to write a seminar paper in lieu of midterm and final exams (see "Work," below):
Additional readings—critical essays and so on—are available in an online course reader on our class web page. When I add anything else, I’ll try to give you at least one week’s advance notice. Work. Of course, the period encompassed by the books we’re taking up represents only a blip on the radar-screen of Native American verbal expression, and from one point of view it’s deeply misguided of us to expect to understand contemporary works of imaginative literature without at least some rudimentary knowledge both of earlier narrative and poetic traditions and of the particular historical circumstances out of which the newer traditions arose. When reading House Made of Dawn, for example, it would be helpful to know something about Pueblo cosmology and religion. For Cogewea, an understanding of federal “Indian” policy (extermination, removal, the creation of the reservation system) in the 19th century would be pertinent. A passing acquaintance with the Indian Allotment (“Dawes") Act of 1887 and its subsequent amendments, as well as the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, would be useful for understanding Sundown and The Surrounded. Familiarity with the figure of the Trickster (not to mention both the BIA and AIM) would enhance one’s appreciation of Gerald Vizenor’s Bearheart. And so on. On the “General Reference” page of our class website, I’ve provided links to a few reference sources that you should freely explore in order to begin filling gaps in your knowledge. But if you really want to do justice to any of these topics, you’ll have to go farther afield on your own. In the spirit of collective knowledge-building, I encourage you to let the rest of us in on any expertise you might already have, and/or on any other valuable resources (books, videos, magazine or journal articles, websites) you might discover on topics of relevance to the books we’re studying. Normally in a proseminar, there is no term paper required, only (at most) a midterm and a final exam, and perhaps some other, shorter, informal assignments along the way. In this course, however, you may in fact write a modified term paper (details to follow)—or you may opt to write take-home midterm and final exams, supplemented by a short annotated bibliographic assignment, instead. Regardless of your choice of culminating assignment, I’ll be asking all of you for something more regular and informal, as well: a series of eight (8) reading “memos” of at least 500 words each, which may gather some of your responses to the week’s assignments in unfiltered but not raw form, and should address some particular problem(s) or area(s) of interest that you’ve encountered in your reading. These memos may be exploratory rather than conclusive, raising questions rather than settling them; still, they should have a point and a shape. You should post them, no later than one full day before class convenes, to the “Moodle” discussion forums that I will open, though you may also send a follow-up post of 100-200 words within two days after our class meeting. You should also feel free to exploit the discussion forums as a medium for starting and continuing conversations during any of the 165 hours of the week when our class does not meet. Meanwhile, I may also use our class Moodle page for posting sundry announcements and afterthoughts, so check it regularly. Grades. Oh yeah…those. Here’s where the oppressive substructure of this seemingly benign classroom shows through. I’m increasingly neo-conservative on this subject: “A” is reserved for stunningly well-written, insightful, top-drawer stuff. “B” is extra-ordinary—qualitatively above average. Yet although it’s not written down anywhere, it’s generally accepted that “B” work at the graduate level, while perfectly acceptable, is nevertheless middling. If I give you a “C” as a graduate student, I’m being equivocal; i.e., I’m signaling that while your work technically meets the minimum passing requirements, it’s not entirely up to snuff. You must complete all assignments to pass the course.
I’ll read and respond to your written work, and I’ll be happy to discuss your progress and prospects at any time. If you’re having any sort of problem, vague or specific, don’t sit and stew about it: come and talk to me without delay. CALENDAR Meeting 1 (Aug. 20). Introductions, bureaucratic housekeeping. Permission to narrate: what’s postcolonial about Native American Literature. Introduction: The Watershed. The Groundwork: 20th-century Precursors. The Rest of the Renaissance. NAL, the NG. Slouching Towards the Apocalypse: A New Native American
Epic. “So-called Native American fiction
(if there is such a thing).” We may meet December 10 for final housekeeping—and possibly for food, drink, and fellowship. The take-home midterm, for those who choose to sit it, will be distributed on Oct. 1 and due on Oct. 8; the final, given on Dec. 3 and due on Dec. 10. (The annotated bibliography, unrelated to the exams but also required for those taking that option, may be completed at any point in the semester.) Those choosing to write the term paper may begin it as early as mid-September or as late as mid-October, depending; it will be due on Dec. 10. |