AML 3041 - American Mourning: Tropes of Mourning in American Literature: Syllabus Fall 2017
AML 3041 – American Mourning: Tropes of Mourning in American Literature (sec. 2442), Fall 2017
Instructor Name: Maurice A. Evers
Course meeting times & locations: MWF 3 – TUR 2333
Office Location and Hours: TUR 4341 M W 4 + by appointment
Course website: Canvas
Instructor Email: mauriceanthony1@ufl.edu
Course Description:
This course explores how mourning the perpetual presence of death and loss—resultant from, for example, wars, epidemics and (un)natural disasters‐has transformed American literature since 1865. We will engage in close readings of our course texts, considering key social, political, cultural, racial, gendered and personal contexts to understand how and why writers use literature to respond to and communicate personal and national grief. We will also attend to the following questions: What does literary mourning look and feel like? What does it reveal to readers about loss, death, and by extension life, in an American context? How has literary mourning changed as modes of mourning respond to historical epochs or various phenomena? Furthermore, drawing on Judith Butler’s insights in Precarious Life: The Power of Mourning we will ask what makes for a grievable (American) life.
Required Texts:
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room
Adrienne Kennedy, Funnyhouse of a Negro
Joan Didion, Play It as It Lays
Claudia Rankine, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely
Danez Smith, Don’t Call Us Dead
Note: All secondary readings will be posted to our Canvas course page. When required texts are available online, I will also provide links to these texts on our Canvas site.
Assignments (see below for Grading Rubric):
Quizzes 150 points
Administered in class and will test your knowledge of the texts. 15 quizzes, 10 points each.
Group Presentations 200 points
Throughout the course, small groups of students will break down selected texts from our weekly assigned materials in presentations for the rest of the class. During the first week of the course, I will group students and together you will choose a text on which you would like to present. In preparing presentations, groups should research the context, author, and content of the text thoroughly as well as analyze its style and contribution to mourning customs in American literature. Groups should organize these findings in a presentation that is detailed and creative. Visual aids and questions to guide class discussion are required. Presentations will begin the second or third week of the course.
Short Paper, 2-3 pages 200 points
In a 2-3 page paper, you will write an argument that addresses a central question or challenge by analyzing 1-2 texts we have discussed in class.
Proposal for Final Paper 75 points
Prior to the final paper, you will write: 1) a proposal (1-2 paragraphs) that includes your topic and research question(s) and your thesis statement; 2) your annotated bibliography (3-4 sources). Writing a proposal requires that you begin researching for your paper so that you can assess available sources and define a topic and research question effectively.
Final Paper, 9-10 pages 275 points
For the final assignment of the course, you will write a 6-8 page paper that analyzes or applies one or more the theories we discuss in the course. We will discuss how to choose a topic and to write a final paper in class. I will also provide resources throughout the semester to help with this process.
Class Participation 100 points
I expect you to participate actively in our discussion and activities during each class period, which means you need to arrive prepared and on time. This class is discussion based, so please keep in mind that students come from diverse backgrounds. Be mindful of your own perspective as you listen and share in class and articulate your point of view respectfully. As you express your ideas, I also expect to engage and use the terminologies of theories we learn throughout the course.
Course Policies:
- 1. You must complete all assignments to receive credit for this course.
- 2. Attendance: Attendance is required. You are considered tardy if you are more than 10 minutes late to class, and 3 tardies count as one absence. You are allowed three absences. For every absence exceeding this, your final grade will drop by one letter grade. If you miss six classes, you will automatically fail the course. Limited exceptions for sickness, death, extreme illness among family members, and natural and physical catastrophes are permitted at my consent. Written proof is and consultation with me are required to excuse any absence.
The University of Florida exempts from this policy only those absences involving university-sponsored events, such as athletics and band, religious holidays, military duty, and court-mandated responsibilities (e.g., jury duty or subpoena). Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this class are consistent with university policies that can be found at https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx
Absences related to university-sponsored events must be discussed with the instructor prior to the date that will be missed. If you are absent due to a scheduled event, you are still responsible for turning assignments in on time.
- 3. Paper Format & Submission: All written assignments should be submitted electronically to Canvas as a Microsoft Word document. Other file types will not be accepted. Final drafts should be polished and presented in a professional manner. All drafts should conform to MLA style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/
- 4. Late Papers/Assignments: No late papers or assignments will be accepted. I may consider extenuating circumstances, but you must contact me at least 48 hours before the assignment is due and provide documentation.
- 5. Paper Maintenance Responsibilities. Keep duplicate copies of all work submitted in this course. Save all returned, graded work until the semester is over.
- 6. Academic Honesty and Definition of Plagiarism. Plagiarism will be reported and will result in an automatic zero for the assignment. Plagiarism violates the Student Honor Code and requires reporting to the Dean of Students. All students must abide by the Student Honor Code: https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/.
- 7. Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center (352-392-8565, dso.ufl.edu/drc/), which will provide appropriate documentation to give the instructor.
- 8. For information on UF Grading policies, see: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx
- 9. Course Evaluations. Toward the end of the semester, you will receive email messages asking you to go online and evaluate this course: https://evaluations.ufl.edu/evals/Default.aspx
- 10. Students who face difficulties completing the course or who are in need of counseling or urgent help may call the on-campus Counseling and Wellness Center (352) 392-1575, or contact them online: http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc/Default.aspx
- 11. Classroom behavior and netiquette: Disrespectful behavior is unprofessional; it will result in dismissal, and accordingly absence, from the class. Additionally, emails to me must follow professional protocols of subject, grammar, and tone—including proper salutations and signature. Remember that all emails sent through our UFL accounts are Public Records (Florida Statutes, Chapter 119).
- 12. UF’s policy on Harassment: UF provides an educational and working environment that is free from sex discrimination and sexual harassment for its students, staff, and faculty: http://hr.ufl.edu/manager-resources/recruitment-staffing/institutional-equity-diversity/resources/harassment/
Tentative Schedule of Classes, Readings, and Assignments
Note: All readings and assignments must be completed before class on the day they are listed
Week 1: January 8 – 12
Mon: Class Introduction: Syllabus Review; Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib “Ode to Prince” (In-class viewing/discussion)
Wed: Introduction: Theories of Mourning; David Kennedy, “The Work of Mourning”
Fri: Jahan Ramazani, “Nationalism, Transnationalism and Poetry of Mourning”
Week 2: January 15 – 19
Mon: No Class — M.L.K. Jr. Day
Wed: Ramazani, “Can Poetry Console a Grieving Public?”
Fri: Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”
Week 3: January 22 — 26
Mon: Whitman wrap-up
Wed: Kate Chopin, The Awakening—Chapters 1-13
Fri: Chopin continued—Chapters 14-26
Week 4: January 29 — February 2
Mon: Chopin wrap-up—Chapters 27-39
Wed: T.S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”
Fri: Eliot continued, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
Week 5: February 5 — 9
Mon: Eliot wrap-up
Wed: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby—Chapter 1-3
Fri: Fitzgerald continued—Chapters 4-6
Week 6: February 12 — 16
Mon: Fitzgerald wrap-up—Chapters 7-9
Wed: Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman—Act One
Fri: Miller continued—Act Two & Requiem
Week 7: February 19 — 23
Mon: Miller wrap-up
Wed: SHORT PAPER WORKSHOP
Fri: SHORT PAPER DUE
Week 8: February 26 — March 2
Mon: James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room—Part One: Chapters 1-3
Wed: Baldwin continued—Part Two: Chapters 1-3
Fri: Baldwin wrap-up—Part Two: Chapters 4-5
Week 9: March 5 — 9 (Spring Break)
Mon: NO CLASS
Wed: NO CLASS
Fri: NO CLASS
Week 10: March 12 — 16
Mon: TIME’s 100 Photos Documentary Short The Body of Emmett Till (In-class viewing/discussion)
Wed: Gwendolyn Brooks, “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi. Meanwhile, a Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon” & “The Last Quatrain of Emmett Till”
Fri: Fred Moten, “Black Mo’nin’”
Week 11: March 19 — 23
Mon: Adrienne Kennedy, Funnyhouse of a Negro & “On the Writing of Funnyhouse of a Negro”
Wed: Kennedy discussion continued
Fri: Kennedy wrap-up
Week 12: March 26 — 30
Mon: Joan Didion, Play It as It Lays—Maria + Chapters 1-28
Wed: Didion continued—Chapters 29-57
Fri: NO CLASS — ACLA; PROPOSAL FOR FINAL PAPER DUE
Week 13: April 2 — 6
Mon: Didion wrap-up—Chapters 58-84
Wed: Judith Butler, “Violence, Mourning, Politics”
Fri: Butler wrap-up
Week 14: April 9 — 13
Mon: Claudia Rankine, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely—pages 1-46
Wed: Rankine continued—pages 47-100
Fri: Rankine wrap-up—pages 101-131
Week 15: April 16 — 20
Mon: Danez Smith, Don’t Call Us Dead—pages 1-30
Wed: Smith continued—pages 31-54
Fri: Smith wrap-up—pages 55-85
Week 16: April 23 — 25
Mon: Media Watch assignment—Bring to class a link to/example of a recent news or pop culture item that plays out mourning
Wed: FINAL PAPER DUE
Grading/Assessment Rubric:
A 93-100% B 83-86.9% C 73-76.9% D 63-66.9%
A- 90-92.9% B- 80-82.9% C- 70-72.9% D- 60-62.9%
B+ 87-89.9% C+ 77-79.9% D+ 67-69.9% E 0-59.9%
