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GoalsThe Caribbean has held a prime place in the Anglo-American literary unconscious at least as far back as Shakespeare’s Tempest. In recompense, perhaps, the Western establishment—in the quincentennial anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas, no less—acknowledged the Caribbean’s own literary achievement by awarding the Nobel Prize for literature to St. Lucian poet and playwright Derek Walcott. (Nine years later, in 2001, the award went to Trinidadian novelist V. S. Naipal.) Some found these gestures “Eurocentric”: what really got Walcott noticed by the Swedish Academy, they suspected, was his book-length poem Omeros, a recasting of Homer’s Odyssey . Naipal, meanwhile, has something of a reputation for pandering to Western dysfunctional stereotypes of the “ Third World.” But even if the Swedes’ laurels were unconsciously narcissistic, North America’s attitude towards the Caribbean is hardly less self-involved. In the American popular imagination, the Caribbean is primarily a cold-weather tourist destination full of remote white-sand beaches, chocolate-skinned bathing beauties, shiny-happy steel drummers, and snappily-dressed waiters bearing trays of rum—and maybe, at a stretch, a few dreadlocked Rastas chanting down “Babylon.” Part of the project of a class like ours, then, is to complicate the cultural identities that have been manufactured for the Caribbean by outfits like the tourism industry. And doing so means, for starters, becoming aware of the ways in which West Indian writers have been working over the past few decades to forge a uniquely Caribbean aesthetic, one that draws upon the oral and scribal traditions of both the European colonial heritage and of other regional legacies—African, South Asian, Amerindian—then mixes and shapes them into something new. It also means giving the nod not just to superstars like Walcott and Naipal, but to the scores of other less well-known wordsmiths and creative artists of the Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora. Since theirs is one of the most important bodies of literature transforming the world’s conception of “English” in this putatively post-colonial era, it absolutely compels the attention of anyone claiming to specialize in English-language literature. WorkThere will be regular occasions when I’ll need to lecture at you, indulge in some show-and-tell, or plant some idea or other in your head. But for the most part, I expect you to be enthusiastic learners who are willing to explore this territory both independently and coöperatively. Here’s one way how: on six occasions of your choice (out of nine opportunities), you’ll send a 400-word-minimum reading response on that week’s principal text(s) to a series of Moodle discussion forums that will be linked from the class web page. I realize that an unhappy combination of user unfamiliarity, Luddite resistance and general fear and loathing sometimes conspire to rob such electronic tools of their full potential for knowledge-pooling and community-building. But this is still one of the best and most convenient ways I know of to help yourself gather your thoughts about a text and begin articulating them. So, um…what exactly do I mean by a “reading response”? Look for a separate, long-winded handout. For now, let me stick to theory and logistics: Whenever you choose to write a response, you must post it no later than 8:00 p.m. on the date specified in the calendar (below), so that people have a fighting chance of digesting it (or at least tasting it) before the next day’s class. (Basic precaution: always compose and save a copy in a word-processing program on your hard disk or flash drive; then cut and paste it into Moodle. You may also want to print a copy to bring with you and refer to in class.) Unless there’s been a system-wide network failure or a documented problem in your computer lab, late responses will count against you in grading. Missing responses may result in a failing grade. Collectively, these responses—which, though informal, should still be thoughtful, not slapdash—will constitute a kind of free-standing conversation, especially if there are follow-up posts later in the week. (I hope some of you will be motivated enough to do so of your own volition, but if you’re stirred by grades, you can guarantee yourself a boost of at least ⅓ of a grade on any given response by writing a follow-up, preferably in response to someone else’s post, of 100 words or more.) Ideally, however, they may also become starting points for in-class discussion. To that end, everyone should try to at least glance at other folks’ posts before class. But a certain portion of you will take special care in your reading: i.e., you’ll begin to put some of the responses in dialogue with each other and imagine how they might suggest an agenda for in-class discussion. To wit: On the three (3) occasions when you’ve chosen not to submit a response, you should formulate a discussion question inspired by your perusal of what others have contributed to the forum, put that question in writing, and come to class ready both to hand it in and (if called upon) to read it out loud. Your query might be triggered by a specific remark in someone’s post; it might bring (parts of) two or more posts into direct dialogue (Cartman said X about topic Y and Kyle, by contrast, said Z; what I’m wondering is…?), or it might reflect a more general synthesis of your reaction to the whole crop of responses. But give your question some heft: it should make explicit reference—at least in passing—to one or more posts, and it should be both pointed and open-ended enough to invite some genuine dialogue. There’s no guarantee that these will get used in class, though it’ll be nice to have ‘em on hand. In some ways, I’m more interested in simply having you put in the care and attention required to cook them up. A class session can be a lot more interesting if you’ve had a chance to read, hash over, and maybe even respond to what other folks are thinking before you all sit down in a room together. While I’ll send official communiqués (schedule changes, afterthoughts or announcements I forgot to make in class, etc.) via the “Updates” page of our class web site (you should monitor this regularly), I’ll sometimes post reading or study questions to the forum to help you get started. You, meanwhile, should feel free to use the forums to carry on spontaneous, informal discussion, even when you’re not doing so for credit—about our assigned texts, about gripes or questions you might have, about something someone did or didn’t say online or in class—during any of the 165 hours per week when our class doesn’t meet. Lively debate, even strong language, is fine by me. Just don’t get personal, and keep a civil tongue. So, to enumerate your basic responsibilities (and how they count towards your final grade) more formally:
TextsSince this is an introductory survey of a rather large field, the reading list will look pretty heavy. There are eight(!) books you should buy at the HSU bookstore or wherever else you can find them.
Together these books will take a bite out of your wallet, even though most of them are relatively short. If you’re really strapped for cash, try local and/or online used booksellers, check the library, share a book or two with a friend, or ask me if I have an extra copy to lend you. There are two other texts (one required, one recommended),
which are multimedia anthologies that I’ve put together on the Web. Finally, there’s a Course Reader—a collection ofshort stories, poems, essays—that’s also accessible only via the class web page (not ONCORES). Since much of this is copyrighted material, and since the doctrine of “Fair Use” for academic purposes has come under assault in recent years, you’ll be prompted to enter a username and a password (on the print copy of your syllabus--e-mail if you've mislaid it) to see it. Many of these readings reflect my conviction that it’s important to put imaginative writing into dialogue with other kinds—critical, theoretical, expository—in whose light our primary texts will make a different kind of sense. To that same end, I’ve also drawn up a preliminary list of weblinks to both general reference sources and particular sites related to authors we’re reading. Check all this out on the class web page. MiscellanyGrades: Here’s where the oppressive substructure of my seemingly benign classroom shows through. My letter grades adhere to official guidelines: “A” is reserved for exceptionally, stunningly, well-written, well-spoken and insightful stuff. “B” gets tacked onto the extra-ordinary—work which goes qualitatively beyond mere course requirements. “C” is standard and normal; it meets the minimum requirements in every way. “D” is worthy of credit but substandard, and we all know what “F” means. If you’re taking the class CR/NC, you need the equivalent of a “C” to pass. I don’t expect to give any incompletes. Disabilities : Please let me know of any documented disabilities and recommended accommodations that would promote your success in this class. Plagiarism : I take academic dishonesty very seriously. Passing off part or all of someone else’s work as your own will result—at the very least—in a failing grade for the course. The university definition of and policies regarding academic dishonesty can be found in the HSU catalog. Please be aware that plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty can result in expulsion from the University. Communicating : I’ll read and respond to everything you hand in and put a grade on your formal written work, and I’ll happily meet with you at any time to talk about your progress and prospects. If a personal disaster befalls you in the course of the semester—your home burns down, your computer crashes, a marauding horde carries off your livestock—please let me know! I can direct you to campus resources that may help; at the very least, we can figure out a plan to help you make it through the semester successfully. As for more routine problems: if you’re getting behind in the class, feeling as though you’re not “getting” something, or just having an intangible problem either mild or severe, don’t sit around fretting and cowering: come and talk to me without delay. If you’re not able to make my regular office hours, that doesn’t mean we can’t meet. I’m happy to set up appointments at other times—just stop me after class or send me an email if you’d like to talk one-on-one.CALENDAR
(Caution: Potentially volatile! Subject to change!)
N.B.: There is no final exam in this course, but we will very probably meet one last time during our scheduled exam period, Monday, May 7 from 3:00-4:50, for (more) official unveiling of poetry web pages, course evaluations, last words, tearful goodbyes, and—who knows?—perhaps some jerk chicken with peas & rice. Keep this day and time open. You may begin your final paper once you have completed three (3) reading responses, and you may hand it in any time during the second half of the semester. If you get me a rough draft by April 23d, I’ll gladly read it and give you some feedback in time for you to revise. The absolute, final deadline for this paper is Monday, May 7 at 3:00 p.m. |
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