Syllabus (MA)

7/30/2019 Syllabus (MA)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/syllabus-ma 1/3

William Faulkner

ENGL 784

Instructor: Jeff Allred

Class Meetings: T 5:30-7:20, 819 HE

Office Hours: TF 10-11am and by appointment in HW 1237

Contact me: 212.772.5170 or [email protected] Blog Site: http://faulknerhunter.wordpress.com

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the semester, students who have successfully completed the course will:

Have a broad understanding of Faulkner’s life and work, with a special focus on the formal

properties of his fiction and the arc of his writerly development from the 1920s to the 40s.

Gain a context for the aesthetics and politics of Faulkner’s work, for example, its relationship to

other examples of the modernist novel, its engagement with issues of race, gender, and

sexuality, and its engagement with the history of the South in the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Hone their writing skills and especially close reading/analytic skills in careful engagement withformally difficult prose.

Learn to engage an audience of peers as well as a broader public orally and in writing, using

web-based platforms such as WordPress and wikis.

Course Schedule (**besides the novels, all readings are available via the web in .pdf)

date readings writing

Week 1 Introduction to Faulkner’s life and work

9/3 Introduction, requirements, assignments and thumbnail of The Sound

and the Fury

Optional reading: Malcolm Cowley, introduction to Portable Faulkner

(1949)

Week 2-3 The Sound and the Fury

9/10 TSAF: I-II: “Benjy”& “Quentin”

Faulkner, “Introduction to TSAF”

Blog post #1

9/17 TSAF III-IV: “Jason” and “Dilsey”

Carolyn Porter, from William Faulkner , ch 1 (39-54, rest

optional)

Blog post #2

Week 4-5 As I Lay Dying

9/24 AILD Blog post #310/1 AILD Medium wiki #1

Week 6-8 Light in August

10/8 LIA, 1-7 Blog post #4

10/15 No class: holiday

10/22 LIA, chs 8-20

10/29 LIA, finish Medium wiki #2

Wk 9-11 Absalom, Absalom!

11/5 AA, chs 1-3 Blog post #5

11/12 AA chs 4-6



11/19 AA, finish Term paper pros

Wk 12-14 Go Down, Moses

11/26 “Was,” “Pantaloon in Black,” “The Fire and the Hearth” Blog post #6

12/3 “The Old People,” “The Bear”

12/10 “Delta Autumn,” “Go Down, Moses” Long paper/wik

Responsibilities:

Six blog posts of 400-800 words + informal commenting on others’ posts Brief, informal in class presentation

At least three short and two medium entries in our Yoknapedia (encyclopedic wiki site)

Long Yoknapedia entry or research paper on a topic of your own devising based on original research

(10-12 pp.)

Regular attendance and participation in all discussions

Grading:

I will give detailed guidelines for the blog posts, exam, and encyclopedia entries separately. Your

grade will be calculated as follows: blogging (25%); presentation (10%); encyclopedia entries (25%);

term paper (30%), participation (10%).

A FEW GENERAL POLICIES:

a) regarding plagiarism

Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g. plagiarism, cheating on examinations,

obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses

against the values of intellectual honesty. The college is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on

Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College

Integrity Procedures.

b) regarding students with disabilities

In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of theRehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational parity and

accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. It is

recommended that all students with documented disabilities (Emotional, Medical, Physical and/or

Learning) consult the Office of Accessibility located in Room 1124 East to secure necessary academic

accommodations. For further information and assistance please call (212-772-4857) /TTY (212-650-

3230).

c) regarding attendance and participation

I do take attendance and expect you in class each day. Failure to attend will significantly impact your

grade; more than four unexcused absences will result in a failing grade. I’m a reasonable person, so

always get in touch via email in advance if you need to miss class. I become less reasonable with

excuses that come after the fact. Nor is being there enough: you have to come prepared to put away

the phones and distractions and engage the texts rigorously. I will embarrass you if you are texting or

otherwise engaging in distracted/distracting behavior.

d) regarding technology

We will use three major web resources in this course: a course blog, a course wiki, and the course

Blackboard site. I plan to use Bb only for its gradebook function; we will use the blog to share informal

responses to texts and for any announcements from me about the course; finally, we will use the wiki

to build a free and open resource for readers of Faulkner called Yoknapedia: as its name suggests, it



will be a Wikipedia-like encyclopedia to help readers navigate Faulkner’s fictional world. We will also

use email for communication. It is therefore a basic requirement for you to have a functioning Hunter

email account and to check it frequently. I also strongly prefer that you use your Hunter email address

for all course-related correspondence: getting email from your personal accounts, with handles like

numbnutz34 or darealcontenda (both real examples), creates spam filter problems and is just plain

embarrassing.

Books:[available at Shakes and Co. (939 Lexington Avenue); all other texts are available via blog site]

The Sound and the Fury

As I Lay Dying

Light in August

Absalom, Absalom!

Go Down, Moses

** all above titles are Faulkner’s novels (duh); if you shop around, make sure to get the Vintage

editions “corrected” by Noel Polk to ensure correct pagination.

Documents

Syllabus (MA)