ENGL 4890: Senior Seminar: Literature as Political Commentary
Fall 2007	Course Code 1384

Dr. Sherry Linkon
235 DeBartolo Hall
330-941-1951 or 330-941-2977
sllinkon@ysu.edu
Office hours:
T/Th 11 – 12
W 1-4
Course description:
Literature is often influenced by its cultural context, but many writers and literary texts also influence society.  Through stories, poems, plays, and essays, writers make arguments about political issues.  Harriett Beecher Stowe is credited with having started the Civil War with her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  Upton Sinclair inspired food safety legislation with The Jungle.  Poets have written passionate and critical commentaries on America’s wars, economic and racial justice, woman suffrage, and much more.  I define “politics” broadly, because in most cases literature is not about things like who gets elected or the machinations of Congress but about social issues that are shaped by public policy.  Literature reflects and comments on politics by telling stories about social issues.  This semester, we’ll use several examples of literary commentaries as tools to consider the relationship between literature and society and to help us think about why literature matters.

Senior Seminar also fulfills YSU’s general education requirement as a capstone course.  It will provide you the opportunity to synthesize your prior learning about how to study literature and to develop a major research project of your own.  During the semester, we’ll discuss and apply the “core ideas” of literary studies, and you will complete an individual research project on a text, writer, or issue of your choice.  

What You Can Get from This Course (course goals):
This course gives you an opportunity to deepen and polish your understanding of core ideas about literature and literary study.  I divide these into “content” and “strategic” knowledge, or to put it another way “what you know” and “what you know how to do.”  

Content Knowledge:
Writers and readers are strongly influenced by their cultures, including the political issues of the time
For some authors, writing is a form of political engagement 
Literature sometimes influences society, including politics
Because politics are often present in texts even when writers don’t intend their work as commentary, we may gain insight into literature by reading through a political lens

Strategic Knowledge:
Primary and secondary research help us understand literary texts, and primary research, especially, is crucial to analyzing literature as political commentary
Research should inform the interpretation, presentation, and teaching of literary texts
Teaching and writing about literature can also be political 

Texts:
Rose Terry Cooke, “Mrs. Flint’s Married Experience” and “Rachel’s Refusal” (in WebCT)
Rebecca Harding Davis, Life in the Iron Mills (Bedford Critical Edition)
Carolyn Forche, “The Colonel,” “On the Poetry of Witness,” excerpt from interview with Bill Moyers (in WebCT)
Tony Kushner, Angels in America
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (Viking Critical Edition)

Assignments:
Over the course of the semester, you will study a text, writer, or issue and create two finished products about your topic: a traditional research paper and a piece of public writing (which you may do individually or collaboratively).  You have several options for the public piece: a teaching unit for a secondary or college course, a website, a mini-documentary film (using video or powerpoint, or simply a well-annotated script), a presentation using powerpoint, or an editorial.  

Along the way, you’ll write 3 papers that will help you develop your understanding of your topic: an informal response essay, an essay on the historical and political context of the text or texts you’re studying, and an essay on the existing body of critical work about those texts.  

AssignmentDue DateValueResponse/reflection essay September 1810%Contextual essayOctober 1110%Critical debates review essay November 610%Academic paper draftNovember 1510%Academic paper November 2740%Public pieceDecember 1120%

Course Schedule

DateThemes/TasksWhat to read BEFORE you come to class 8/30Why does literature matter?9/4In what ways can literature be political?  Carolyn Forche, “The Colonel” and related comments (posted in WebCT)9/6Reading through a political lensCooke short stories9/11Researchable questionsDavis, “Life in the Iron Mills”9/13Group work dayBackground materials on Davis, selected by your working group9/18Group presentations on Davis9/20Strategies and tools for exploring contextRead the texts you’ve chosen9/25Read The Grapes of Wrath9/27Steinbeck in contextRead essays by Taylor and McWilliams, pp. 457 - 48910/2What the critics sayRead “Editor’s Introduction” to criticism of The Grapes of Wrath, pp. 547 - 56110/4Making sense of literary criticismRead assigned essay, TBA10/9Critical articles as modelsRead 2 of the critical essays in the Viking edition10/11Context essays due
Planning your own research10/16Individual conferences10/18Individual conferences10/23Politics as contentRead Angels in America10/25Optional:  film screening10/30The politics of form and genre11/1Review of MLA format – bring to class the guidelines you reviewedRead instructions for MLA in-text citation and works cited in a standard handbook or online writing lab11/6Critical review essays due11/8Strategies for planning an academic paper11/13Elements of academic styleRead guidelines for writing about literature11/15Academic paper drafts due – distribute electronically to your working group11/20Going public – why & how?11/22THANKSGIVING11/27Public working groups meet11/29Small group meetings w/ Sherry12/4Small group meetings w/ Sherry12/6Small group presentations 