HUSL 6309: American Realism

Dr. Shari Goldberg Office JO 4.916 Spring 2011

sgoldberg@utdallas.edu Office hours* M 2:00-3:00 T 1:00-3:45
972-883-4470 T 12:30-1:00 JO 4.312
W 4:45-5:15
*reserve meeting times at <http://tungle.me/sharigoldberg>

Course description
What does it mean to make an "-ism"—a school of writing—out of two concepts that appear fundamental:
the real and the natural? Presumably, fictional writing always maintains some relation to reality and to
nature, but in late nineteenth-century America, these two concepts came to ground a mode of
representation. Our task in this course will be two-fold: we will want to understand how the real and the
natural became literary imperatives in this time period, and we will want to study what reality and nature
mean in a variety of prose texts. Finally, we will have to ask: if those terms have different meanings in
different contexts, then to what extent does fiction produce—rather than reflect—what is real and natural?

Student learning objectives

This course aims to have students:
1. understand reality and nature as concepts defined by context rather than essential fundamental truths.
2. become knowledgeable about key writers and texts from a period of important literary production.
3. learn how to critically evaluate the language of historical texts.
4. develop proficiency in interpretation, analysis, and argument through short and long writing assignments.

Texts
Available from Off-Campus Books on Campbell Road and the on-campus bookstore:
Bill Brown, A Sense of Things: The Object Matter of American Literature (Chicago UP)
Stephen Crane, Crane: Prose and Poetry (Library of America)
Henry James, The Wings of the Dove (Oxford)
Sarah Orne Jewett, Jewett: Novels & Stories (Library of America)
J. Hillis Miller, Literature as Conduct: Speech Acts in Henry James (Fordham UP)
Miles Orvell, The Real Thing: Imitation and Authenticity in American Culture, 1880-1940 (UNC Press)
Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson (Oxford)
Please obtain as well:
Louisa May Alcott, Civil War Hospital Sketches (Dover)
Henry James, The Turn of the Screw (Norton or other)

Readings from other texts will be available via UTD e-reserves, marked with <ER> in the schedule below,
or linked to from my blog <http://goldberggradcourse.edublogs.org>.
Course requirements
Students must:
◇ Act respectfully towards the viewpoints of others—those present in class and those whom we will read.
◇ Be prepared and present in all class sessions. More than two absences may result in failure of the course.
◇ Complete all assignments on their own and on time. Reading is the primary assignment and must be taken
seriously.

Assignments
Every other Tuesday: 500-word analysis of a key passage. Students will be divided into two groups,
A and B. On odd weeks, group A will turn in the analysis and be responsible for contributing substantially
to class discussion; on even weeks, group B will do the same. Here are guidelines for the analysis:
1. Choose a key passage from one of the major texts assigned (one of at least 15 pages). A key passage is
one that brings up or draws out ideas circulating through the text as a whole in a provocative,
deliberate, or otherwise emphatic way. A key passage is the one that you feel you have to understand
in order to "get" the text as a whole. It is the passage I would be most likely to use in a midterm
question. Type up the passage. Do not copy and paste it from the Web.
2. Write a detailed, in-depth analysis of the key passage. First, you'll want to interpret the passage, or
explain what you understand it to say. Then, you'll analyze it by drawing out the nuances and
consequences of what it says. If it says x, you'll ask yourself, what else does it suggest? How does such
a suggestion inform a reading of the text as a whole? How does it offer a new perspective on
conventional ideas or ideas that have been discussed in class previously? Aim to conclude with a
question that would provoke a five- to ten-page paper on the text at hand.
You will be assessed both on your choice of quotation and the quality of your analysis.

4/12: Two- to four-page final paper prospectus, or substantial outline of the work planned to be
undertaken, due. Paper assignments will be distributed in class by the end of February. M.A. students will
be responsible for writing twelve pages and Ph.D. students fifteen.

5/4: Final papers due in my mailbox or office by noon.

Evaluation
Student performance will be evaluated on an A through C- grading scale, with components weighed as
follows:
Bi-weekly written assignments 40%
Contribution to class 25%
Final paper 35%

University Policies
For information about university-wide policies such as academic integrity, grievances, incompletes, disability
services, and plagiarism, please see the provost's Web site: <http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies>.
Schedule of readings and assignments, DUE ON THE DATE LISTED
<ER> indicates that the text is available on e-reserves

1/11 Introduction

1/18 Orvell, The Real Thing, Parts One & Two; Twain, "Awful, Terrible Medieval Romance" <ER>;
A Henry James, "The Real Thing" & "The Real Right Thing" <ER>
1/25
Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson; Matson, "The Text that Wrote Itself" <ER>
B
2/1
Snow day

2/8
Howells, Criticism and Fiction <ER>; Crane, The Monster
A
2/15 Benjamin, "Little History of Photography" & "The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological
B Reproducibility" <ER>; Trachtenberg, "Photography: the Emergence of Keyword" <ER>
2/22
Crane, The Red Badge of Courage; Trachtenberg, "Albums of War" <ER>
A
3/1
Jewett, Country of the Pointed Firs; Brown, A Sense of Things, Introduction & chapters 1 & 2
B
3/8
Brown, A Sense of Things, complete
A
3/14-3/18
SPRING BREAK

3/22
James, The Wings of the Dove, I:I through II:7
B
3/29 James, The Wings of the Dove, complete; James, preface to The Wings of the Dove; Miller,
A chapter 4
4/5
James, The Turn of the Screw, preface to The Turn of the Screw <ER>
B
James, "The Friends of the Friends"; Freud, "The Uncanny"; Gunning, "Phantom Images and
4/12 Modern Manifestations" <ER>
Prospectus due

4/19 NO CLASS

Barthes, "The Discourse of History" & "The Reality Effect" <ER>; Hospital Transports,
4/26 Introduction & chapters I & II <ER> & review in the Atlantic Monthly <ER>; Alcott, Civil War
Hospital Sketches

5/4 Final papers due

This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion. Please see me in the event that its terms become
difficult to meet.