Professor

LIT 3309: Political Fictions Charles Hatfield Term Fall 2011 Meetings M W 4:00-5:15 p.m.
Course

Contact Information Prof. Charles Hatfield Phone: (972) 883-2780 E-mail: charles.hatfield@utdallas.edu Office: JO 5.516 Hours: After class, and by appointment Course Description It is often said that all texts are politicaleven the ones that aren't about politics. In this course, however, we will study novels that explicitly deal with politics or which were intended to achieve political change. We will also explore some of the different ways in which the relationship between politics and literature has been understood. Readings will include Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, Jack London's The Iron Heel, Graham Greene's The Comedians, and Carlos Fuentes's The Hydra Head. Student Learning Objectives In this course, students will: (1) explore some prominent examples of the political novel; and (2) develop their ability to write, think, and argue about literature and literary criticism. Grades Final grades for this course will be assigned based upon the following work: Reading Quizzes (5) 15% ` Midterm Paper 30% Final Paper 40% Class Participation 15%

Required Texts Fuentes, Carlos. The Hydra Head. New York: Farrar, 1986. ISBN 978-0374515638 Greene, Graham. The Comedians. New York: Penguin, 2005. ISBN 978-0143039198 London, Jack. The Iron Heel. New York: Penguin, 2006. ISBN 978-0143039716 Mailer, Norman. Why Are We in Vietnam? New York: Picador, 2000. ISBN 978-0312265069 Mench, Rigoberta. I, Rigoberta Mench. Trans. Ann Wright. London: Verso, 2010. ISBN 978-1844674183 Naipaul, V.S. Guerrillas. New York: Vintage, 1990. ISBN 978-0679731740 Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Toms Cabin. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. NewYork: Norton, 2010. ISBN 978-0393933994 Trumbo, Dalton. Johnny Got His Gun. New York: Bantam, 1984. ISBN 978-0553274325 West, Nathanael. Miss Lonelyhearts & The Day of the Locust. New York: New Directions, 2009. ISBN 978-0811218221 Library Reserves Beverley, John. The Margin at the Center: On Testimonio (Testimonial Narrative). Modern Fiction Studies 35.1 (1989): 11-28. Howe, Irving. Politics and the Novel. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2002. Poirier, Richard. Norman Mailer. New York: Viking, 1972. Swanson, Philip. The New Novel in Latin America: Politics and Popular Culture After the Boom. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1995. Veitch, Jonathan. American Superrealism: Nathanael West and the Politics of Representation in the 1930s. Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1997. Whalen-Bridge, John. Political Fiction and the American Self. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1998.


Academic Calendar W August 24 M August 29 W August 31 M September 5 W September 7 M September 12 W September 14 M September 19 W September 21 M September 26 W September 28 M October 3 W October 5 Course Introduction Howe, The Idea of the Political Novel (Reserves) Whalen-Bridge, Political Fiction as Impurity in American Literary Criticism (Reserves) NO CLASS (Labor Day) Stowe, Uncle Toms Cabin Stowe, Uncle Toms Cabin Stowe, Uncle Toms Cabin London, The Iron Heel London, The Iron Heel Whalen-Bridge, How to Read a Revolutionary Novel (Reserves) London, The Iron Heel West, The Day of the Locust West, The Day of the Locust Veitch, American Superrealism (Reserves) Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun

M October 10 W October 12 M October 17 W October 19 M October 24 W October 26 M October 31 W November 2 M November 7 W November 9 M November 14 W November 16 M November 21 W November 23 M November 28

Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun Midterm Paper Due in Class Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun Mailer, Why Are We in Vietnam? Mailer, Why Are We in Vietnam? Poirier, Norman Mailer (Reserves) Naipaul, Guerrillas Naipaul, Guerrillas Naipaul, Guerrillas Greene, The Comedians Greene, The Comedians Greene, The Comedians Fuentes, The Hydra Head Fuentes, The Hydra Head Swanson, Carlos Fuentes and La cabeza de la hidra (Reserves) Fuentes, The Hydra Head Mench, I, Rigoberta Mench Mench, I, Rigoberta Mench

 Beverley, The Margin at the Center (Reserves) W November 30 Mench, I, Rigoberta Mench M December 5 Conclusions; Course Evaluations Final Paper Due in Class Course Policies and Expectations Reading Quizzes There will be five unannounced reading quizzes over the course of the semester. These are designed to evaluate the degree to which each student is completing the required readings. Class Participation Attendance is mandatory. Absences are excused for religious holidays, medical reasons, or family emergencies only and require documentation (e.g., a doctor's note or a signed and dated card from a hospital). However, participation obviously implies more than just physical presence: each student is expected to come to class and discuss the required reading in an informed, thoughtful way. Midterm Paper The midterm paper will consist of a critical essay of approximately 1,500 words on an assigned topic related to one or more of the required texts. The topics will be distributed in class at least two weeks before the due date. The midterm is due in class on Monday, October 10. No late papers will be accepted. Final Paper The final paper will consist of a critical essay of approximately 2,500 words on an assigned topic related to one or more of the required texts. The topics will be distributed in class at least two weeks before the due date. The final is due in class on Monday, December 5. No late papers will be accepted. These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor. University policies and procedures relevant to this course can be found at: http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies. 5