Reflection: “Narrative Temporalities” syllabus
The first thing to say about this syllabus is that while it was more fun in nature (we watched The Simpsons and read Calvin and Hobbes!), and we did some interesting and somewhat useful work in terms of approaching the general topic through various media (long and short fiction, poetry, film, drama, television, and the comic), the course was less successful in that it did not approach a study of narrative through a pressing cultural or social concern such as climate change, or a study of feminism, or resource extraction and Indigenous land rights, for instance. This is not to say that one must incorporate a topic relevant to the current moment into any course, or that a study of narrative in texts and media about time is not always somewhat relevant to our mortal condition, but in this particular class too much room was left for indulging certain aspects such as time travel, which I feel made the course less poignant. I can only blame myself for getting over-excited about time travel “texts” during syllabus planning.
That being said, since the course seemed to successfully incorporate a variety of media in its examination, and since a number of relevant contemporary topics were discussed as a function of the specific material throughout the semester, it also presents some distinctly useful qualities. Peripheral topics such as the difference between fantasy and science fiction, a unit on YA literature, a brief study of different satires, or the examination of different genres and media themselves were all a part of the learning process: despite the seemingly specific focus, the students were actually exposed to many relevant aspects of the study of literature. The danger of this is that it threatened to overwhelm students with too many areas of focus, but since we kept the main goal on narrative and time, their exposure to too many ideas was dampened a bit. Moreover, one of the key components of this course was to present particular selections through an intertextual lens, as elements such as Chris Marker’s La Jetée / The Jetty and Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys, Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys and Rian Johnson’s Looper, H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine and Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance, and Wright’s A Scientific Romance and Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Tithonus” were paired against each other to engage in a richer analysis of the media. Ultimately, I think that the success of the course is that it has potential for providing first-year English students with a variety of lenses into the study of literature and its various “texts,” and culminates with a serious study of a contemporary novel that also does the same within its own narrative—featuring a time traveling anthropologist who must piece together the outcome of the 500 years since his own time through scraps of letters, public notices, graffiti, plaques, monuments, DVDs, coins, and the like. The course, much like Wright’s A Scientific Romance, is very much interested in challenging different forms and conventions, while preparing students for further study by exposing them to many tropes and trends within the analysis of literature.
ENGL 122 A04: Texts and Contexts
“It’s About Time! Narrative Temporalities in Literature”
Fall 2014
M W F 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Instructor: Conrad Scott
Course outline and objectives
This course introduces students to post-secondary studies in English by focusing on the specific literary theme of the temporal in a select group of related texts from short fiction, poetry, drama, and novels to film. The course will enable students to explore this particular subject in depth as well as a broad range of materials and to develop a rich sense of contexts or intellectual landscapes that give shape to both literature and culture and our study of it. Please note, materials, themes, topics, and genres vary among instructors even though approaches to texts and the skills necessary to read them maintain some form of consistency. A minimum of 30% of class time will be devoted to writing instruction. This instruction can take many forms, including graded written assignments, informal writing exercises, writing workshops, free-writing exercises, stylistic analysis, peer editing, multiple drafts, and ungraded writing. Students will be required to write two essays, which will be marked and formally graded. During the course students will write at least 3000 words.
Required Texts
L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time.
Pratchett, Terry. Thief of Time.
Stoppard, Tom. Arcadia.
Wells, H.G. The Time Machine.
Wright, Ronald. A Scientific Romance.
English 122 A04 Coursepack.
Assignments
Essay 1 (1000 words)
The first major assignment of the semester, Essay 1 will be a short essay demonstrating a student’s ability thus far to analyze a given piece of literature in terms of a relevant cultural context. A draft of this essay will be handed in for a writing workshop prior to the due date of the essay itself. Students are to submit the draft along with the final copy of the essay.
Essay 2 (1500 words)
Besides the final exam, Essay 2 is the most important assignment of the semester, and thus reflects the student’s improvement over the period of the course. Students are expected to have applied learning from comments on their marked Essay 1, in-class Inkshed assignments, and Quizzes towards their development of Essay 2, which will be written first as an in-class essay, then expanded towards the final printed, take-home product. A draft of this essay will also be peer edited and submitted along with the final copy of the essay.
Library Assignment (300-500 words)
The Library Assignment is to write a précis (essentially, an analytical summary) of a critical article written about one of the course texts (specific text to be assigned). This assignment allows students to a) engage in basic library research, b) familiarize themselves with the writing styles of published articles, and c) put their analytical and writing skills into practice on a smaller scale before the writing of Essay 1. Please submit a printed copy of the article with your Library Assignment.
Inksheds
The in-class Inkshed assignments will give students an opportunity to freewrite about a given piece of literature, thus helping to develop their analytic and writing skills in an environment where the focus is less on formal writing rules and more on the development of a short argument.
Reading Quizzes
To help evaluate students’ developing analytic skills, as well as prepare students for the final exam, 5 short reading quizzes will be given in class. A student’s overall quiz grade will be determined through an average of the best 4 quizzes out of 5.
Distribution of Grades
Essay 1 (1000 words) 20%
Essay 2 (1500 words) 30% (In-class portion 10%, Final copy 20%)
Library Assignment (300-500 words) 7.5%
Inkshed assignments 5%
Reading Quizzes 15%
Essay Drafts for Peer Editing 7.5% (3.75 % each)
Attendance/Participation 15% (Being present and prepared for class by reading and thinking about texts; discussing texts; listening respectfully to others and responding)
The Term Grade will be converted to a grade point value and multiplied by 70% to determine the final weighting of term work for the course as a whole. The Final Examination will comprise the remaining 30% of the final course grade. Term Grade (70%) + Final Exam (30%) = 100%. Your final grade will combine the course work and the final exam.
Class Schedule of Readings and Assignments
(please note that the schedule may be subject to minor change as the class requires)
Week 1
Wed. Sept. 3 Introduction
Fri. Sept. 5 J. G. Ballard’s “The Garden of Time” (Coursepack)
Week 2
Mon. Sept. 8 Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time
Wed. Sept. 10 Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time (continued)
Fri. Sept. 12 Library Assignment (research day): no class
Week 3:
Mon. Sept. 15 Writing Workshop: Essays, MLA format
Quiz 1, in-class
Library Assignment due in class
Wed. Sept. 17 Connie Willis’s “Fire Watch” (Coursepack)
Fri. Sept. 19 Peer Editing Workshop. Draft of Essay 1 due in class.
Week 4:
Mon. Sept. 22 watch Shane Carruth’s Primer in class
A printed copy of Essay 1 is due at the beginning of class. Please include your Draft.
Wed. Sept. 24 Shane Carruth’s Primer (continued)
Fri. Sept. 26 excerpt from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban pp. 283-305 (Coursepack)
Week 5:
Mon. Sept. 29 Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time
Wed. Oct. 1 Terry Pratchett’s Thief of Time (continued)
Fri. Oct. 3 Tracy K. Smith’s “My god, it’s full of stars” (Coursepack)
Quiz 2, in class
Week 6
Mon. Oct. 6 Eden Robinson’s “Terminal Avenue” (Coursepack)
Wed. Oct. 8 Richard Van Camp’s “On the Wings of this Prayer” (Coursepack)
Fri. Oct. 10 excerpt from Sherman Alexie’s Flight (Coursepack)
Week 7
Mon. Oct. 13 (no class)
Wed. Oct. 15 Robert A. Heinlein’s “All You Zombies”
Quiz 3, in class
Fri. Oct. 17 watch Chris Marker’s La Jetée / The Jetty in class
Week 8
Mon. Oct. 20 watch Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys in class
Wed. Oct. 22 Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys (continued)
Fri. Oct. 24 Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys (continued)
Week 9
Mon. Oct. 27 Writing Workshop: In-Class essay (Draft 1 of Essay 2)
Wed. Oct. 29 Bill Watterson’s “cardboard box” sequence from Calvin and Hobbes (Coursepack)
Fri. Oct. 31 watch The Simpsons’ episode 6 season 6, “Treehouse of Horror V: Time and Punishment” in class
Week 10:
Mon. Nov. 3 Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia
Wed. Nov. 5 Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (continued)
Quiz 4, in class
Fri. Nov. 7 Peer Editing Workshop. Draft of Essay 2 due in class.
Week 11:
Mon. Nov. 10 (no class)
Wed. Nov. 12 watch Rian Johnson’s Looper in class
A printed copy of Essay 2 is due at the beginning of class. Please include your Draft.
Fri. Nov. 14 Rian Johnson’s Looper (continued)
Week 12:
Mon. Nov. 17 Rian Johnson’s Looper (continued)
Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Tithonus” (Coursepack)
Wed. Nov. 19 H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine
Fri. Nov. 21 H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine (continued)
Quiz 5, in class
Week 13:
Mon. Nov. 24 Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance
Wed. Nov. 26 Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance (continued)
Fri. Nov. 28 Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance (continued)
Week 14
Mon. Dec. 1 Exam Review
Wed. Dec. 3 Exam Review
Thurs. Dec. 11 FINAL EXAM 9 am-11 am in HC 1-7
ESSAY 1
Department of English, University of Alberta
English 122 A04
Instructor: Conrad Scott
Essay 1 due Sept. 22, 2014
20% of Term Grade
A draft of Essay 1 is due in class on Sept. 19, 2014 (3.75% of Term Grade).
Please hand the edited copy of your draft in with the final copy of your essay on Sept. 22.
Develop an essay of approximately 1000 words on one of the following topics. Develop your own thesis in relation to your chosen question. The essay should be in MLA format:
a) Discuss narrative point of view using Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and Connie Willis’s “Fire Watch.” How does the temporal influence these narrative voices? What is at stake, time-wise, for the characters who narrate? How are these considerations important to the nature of each story?
b) Characters who experience time and / or space in “non-conventional” manners are often aided, affected, or defined by outside sources, such as artefacts, machines, methods, etc. Using two of J.G. Ballard’s “The Garden of Time,” Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, or Connie Willis’s “Fire Watch,” analyze the role of the outside source as a part of each story. What is the relationship between the affected character and the outside source, and why is that relationship essential? How does that external factor help change the character or direct the narrative arc?
c) Both J.G. Ballard’s “The Garden of Time” and Connie Willis’s “Fire Watch” demonstrate a nostalgia for yesterday, or the past. Using these two stories, analyze this nostalgia as a factor in conceiving particular understandings of time. How does differentiating between a “past” and “present” setting structure our conception of the temporal, and construct a set of “rules” for what can occur in a given narrative, as far-fetched as it might seem to our day-to-day sense of reality?
With your chosen topic in mind, focus your essay on making a specific argument that incorporates analysis of the texts. Develop a clear thesis and support it with cited evidence as your argue your points. You do not have much room to make your argument and support it, so write clearly and concisely. Grades will be awarded for content as well as attention to grammar, language, syntax, etc.
You are not required to cite or consult secondary sources; this is not a research essay and your argument should be developed and made on your own. Please see me ahead of time if you feel the need to support your argument with outside sources; in either case you must adhere to MLA guidelines. This essay assignment must be your original work: see the guidelines on Plagiarism for further information.
ESSAY 2
Department of English, University of Alberta
English 122 A04
Instructor: Conrad Scott
Essay 2 due Nov. 12, 2014
20% of Term Grade
A first draft of Essay 2 will be written in class on Oct. 27. You may bring in your prepared notes and course materials. (10% of Term Grade)
A (printed) second draft of Essay 2 is due in class on Nov. 7, 2014 (3.75% of Term Grade).
Please hand the edited copies of your drafts in with the final copy of your essay on Nov. 12.
Develop an essay of approximately 1500 words on one of the following topics. Develop your own thesis in relation to your chosen question. The essay should be in MLA format:
a) Discuss the implications of form / format / medium in Chris Marker’s The Jetty (La Jetée) and Bill Waterson’s “cardboard box” sequence from the Calvin and Hobbes books. What is fundamentally unique / different about stories told in “frames” / still images? What does the relationship between the audience and each “text” add to a critical understanding of each piece? How is the temporal implicated? How is narrative implicated?
b) Both Eden Robinson’s “Terminal Avenue” and Richard Van Camp’s “On the Wings of This Prayer” imply that in the future, human relationships with the natural world are tense. Writing your essay from an ecocritical perspective, analyse those potential future relationships with the environment. Do not forget to implicate the present world in your discussion: how do the narratives relate their dystopian futures to the world of the “present”? What is the importance of time in these stories?
c) In the excerpt from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione literally turns back time in an effort to “change” the nature of events. Choosing two of the excerpt from Rowling, the excerpt from Sherman Alexie’s Flight, and Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys, discuss this desire to change the details of a timeline. What do the “texts” say about the im/permanence of time? What do they say about the nature of human existence / experience?
______________________________________________________________________________
With your chosen topic in mind, focus your essay on making a specific argument that incorporates analysis of the texts. Develop a clear thesis and support it with cited evidence as your argue your points. You do not have much room to make your argument and support it, so write clearly and concisely. Grades will be awarded for content as well as attention to grammar, language, syntax, etc.
You are not required to cite or consult secondary sources; this is not a research essay and your argument should be developed and made on your own. Please see me ahead of time if you feel the need to support your argument with outside sources; in either case you must adhere to MLA guidelines. This essay assignment must be your original work: see the guidelines on Plagiarism for further information.
*I also re-ran a version of the above course in the subsequent semester; below are the two essay assignments.*
ESSAY 1
Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta
English 122 B04
Instructor: Conrad Scott
Essay 1 due Jan. 26, 2015
20% of Term Grade
A draft of Essay 1 is due in class on Jan. 23, 2015 (3.75% of Term Grade).
Please hand the edited copy of your draft in with the final copy of your essay on Jan. 26.
Develop an essay of approximately 1000 words on one of the following topics. Develop your own thesis in relation to your chosen question. The essay should be in MLA format:
a) Characters who experience time and / or space in “non-conventional” manners are often aided, affected, or defined by something outside of themselves, such as artefacts, machines, methods, etc. Analyzing Shane Carruth’s Primer and Connie Willis’s “Fire Watch,” discuss these outside influences as a part of each narrative.
b) Both Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and Connie Willis’s “Fire Watch” demonstrate a nostalgia for yesterday, or the past. Using these two stories, analyze this nostalgia as a factor in conceiving particular understandings of time.
With your chosen topic in mind, focus your essay on making a specific argument that incorporates analysis of the texts. Develop a clear thesis and support it with cited evidence as your argue your points. You do not have much room to make your argument and support it, so write clearly and concisely. Grades will be awarded for content as well as attention to grammar, language, syntax, etc.
You are not required to cite or consult secondary sources; this is not a research essay and your argument should be developed and made on your own. Please see me ahead of time if you feel the need to support your argument with outside sources; in either case you must adhere to MLA guidelines. This essay assignment must be your original work: see the guidelines on Plagiarism for further information.
ESSAY 2
Department of English, University of Alberta
English 122 B04
Instructor: Conrad Scott
Essay 2 due Mar. 23, 2015
30% of Term Grade
A draft of Essay 2 is due in class on Mar. 20, 2015 (3.75% of Term Grade).
Please hand the edited copy of your draft in with the final copy of your essay on Mar. 23.
Develop an essay of approximately 1500 words on one of the following topics. Develop your own thesis in relation to your chosen question. The essay should be in MLA format:
a) Both Eden Robinson’s “Terminal Avenue” and Richard Van Camp’s “On the Wings of This Prayer” imply that, in the future, human relationships with the natural world are tense. Writing your essay from an ecocritical perspective, analyse one of these stories alongside the same themes in Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance: focus your essay on the potential future relationships with the environment, implicating the present world in your discussion.
b) Both Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys and Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance threaten the future of humanity with the outbreak of “plagues”. Analyze both film and text from this perspective, making sure to pay attention to such areas as how information about each pandemic is gleaned (by the focal characters), which given peripheral topics develop, and what role the pandemics have in the larger narratives.
______________________________________________________________________________
With your chosen topic in mind, focus your essay on making a specific argument that incorporates analysis of the texts. Develop a clear thesis and support it with cited evidence as your argue your points, backing your argument up through reference to at least two critical secondary sources. Since each essay question relates to Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance, you may wish to use your research for the Library Assignment as a starting point. You do not have much room to make your argument and support it, so write clearly and concisely. Grades will be awarded for content as well as attention to grammar, language, syntax, etc.
This is a research essay but your argument should be developed and made on your own. You must adhere to MLA guidelines. This essay assignment must be your original work: see the guidelines on Plagiarism for further information.
Conrad Scott, University of Alberta
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