Required Texts:
Emily Dickinson, The Complete Poems (Little Brown)
Henry James, Tales (Norton>
Henry James, Portrait of a Lady (Signet)
Henry James, The Turn of the Screw (Bedford Case Study)
Purpose of the Course:
to explore major works by Emily Dickinson and Henry James, individually
and in juxtaposition. Each artist will be studied in a chronological
sequence. The course will emphasize close readings of individual texts;
students will be expected to demonstrate the sustained imaginative awareness
each of these authors requires. Dickinson and James both lend themselves to
rich and varied interpretation. I encourage each of you to actively develop
your own sensibility in responding to each artist.
Course Schedule:
August 21: Introduction to the course
August 23: Dickinson miscellany
August 28: HJ, "Daisy Miller" (plus pp.
368, 383, 442, 443)
August 30: ED, poems 1-150 (l4, 47, 49,
54, 67, 73, 75, 76, 80, 85, 92, 124, 135, 138)
Sept. 4: HJ, The Portrait of a
Lady, chapters 1-10
Sept. 6: Portrait, chapters
11-22
Sept. 11: Portrait, chapters 23-33;
short paper due
Sept. 13: Portrait, chapters 34-45
Extra-credit events:
Sept. 12: Lucy
Grealy, Autobiography of a Face,
Regents Hall, 7 pm;
Sept. 13: Robert
Rosenblum, Picasso and Old Master Portraiture, Greaves
Concert Hall, 12:15 pm
Sept. 18: Finish Portrait, chapters
46-55
Sept. 20: ED, poems 151-300 (152, 162,
165, 175, 185, 190, l99, 210, 241, 249, 258, 280)
Sept. 25: ED, poems 30l-400 (303, 305,
315, 318, 322, 324, 327, 339, 341, 375, 377, 384, 389, 392)
Sept. 27: ED, poems 401-525 (419, 421,
429, 431, 435, 441, 442, 449, 452, 465, 494, 501, 502, 510)
Oct. 2: ED, poems 526-650 (528, 536,
538, 547, 579, 600, 605, 613, 617, 641, 642)
Oct. 4: MID-TERM EXAM
Oct. 9: HJ, "The Art of Fiction," ED,
poems on poetry (224, 250, 320, 326, 406, 431, 441, 462, 448, 449, 454,
505, 528, 605, 617, 945)
Oct. 11: "The Real Thing" (plus 364,
379, 472) and "The Middle Years" (plus 366, 380)
Oct. 16: No class -- fall break
Oct. 18: Group work on ED
mini-anthologies
Oct. 23: Topic due, formal paper; ED,
poems 651-800 (663, 664, 670, 671, 677, 701, 709, 719, 744, 745, 754, 773, 777,
789, 798, plus 512)
Oct. 25: ED, poems 801-950 (809, 825,
832, 837, 843, 861, 875, 883, 894, 898, 910, 915, 916, 925, 937, 945)
Oct. 30: HJ, The Turn of the Screw,
parts 1-12
Nov. 1: The Turn of the Screw,
parts 13-24
Nov. 6: Turn of the Screw, "Preface,"
"Critical History," Reports on Perspectives
Nov. 8: ED, poems 951-1100 (951, 958,
969, 970, 974, 976, 983, 986, 1047, 1051, l057, 1063, 1069, 1071, 1072, l079,
l080, l084, l087, l095, l099)
Nov. 13: ED, poems 1101-1300 (1127,
1129, 1135, 1173, 1179, 1199, 1219, 1220, 1223, 1225, 1243, 1263, 1278, 1299)
Nov. 15: ED, poems 1301-1420 (1304,
1307, 1312, 1330, 1332, 1339, 1349, 1354, 1392, 1398, 1400, 1412,
1420)
Nov. 20: HJ, "The Beast in the
Jungle" (plus 367, 381, 481); ED, poems 1421-1450 (1422,
1438, 1445, 1446)
Nov. 22: Thanksgiving -- No Class
Nov. 27: Formal paper/presentation due;
Short reports or enactments; ED, poems 1450-25 (1461, 1463, 1474, 1501, 1504,
1518)
Nov. 29: HJ, "The Jolly Corner" (plus
368, 383, 487); ED, poems 1521-1600 (1526, 1531, 1535, 1540, 1551, 1585, 1590,
1598, plus 1273)
Dec. 4: ED, poems 1600-1775 (1605,
1607, 1609, 1622, 1624, 1641, 1666, 1670, 1672, 1677, 1690, 1698, 1711, 1731,
1755, 1760, 1763, #754)
Dec. 6: Group presentations: ED
mini-anthologies
Dec. 11: FINAL EXAM (1:00-3:00 p.m.)
Grades:
The final grade will be based on the short Portrait paper
(10%), the mid-term exam (20%), the final exam (20%), the formal
paper/presentation(25%), the critical perspective and mini-anthology
presentations (15%), andclass participation (10%).
--the Portrait paper will be relatively short and informal (it may be handwritten); instructions will be provided when we begin the novel.
--the formal paper/presentation will require each student to make a detailed exploration of a topic relating to one or both artists. Your exploration may take the form of a written research paper or of a creative artistic response to one or both artists. Suggested length for written papers: 8-10 pages, typed and double-spaced. Due date for one-paragraph description of topic: October 23. Due date for paper/presentation: November 27. Further details concerning this requirement will be provided shortly after the first exam.
--the critical perspective presentation on November 6 will consist of group reports on different critical approaches to The Turn of the Screw, as represented by the essays in our Bedford Case Study edition. Groups will be formed on October 30.
--the mini-anthology presentations on December 6 will be made by groups of 3-4 students. Each group will be responsible for distributing its list of the 15-20 most important ED poems and for explaining the criteria by which the selection was made.The list should identify each poem by first line and Johnson number and should briefly summarize the criteria used. Groups will have the full class period on October 18 to begin making their plans.
--the grade for class participation will be based on response papers (impromptu in-class responses to the material assigned for a particular day), contributions to class discussion, and attendance (required for this course).
--extra credit events: the September 12 lecture by Lucy Grealy, author of Autobiography of a Face, will relate in quite obvious and interesting ways to both the poetry of Dickinson ("The Soul has bandaged moments") and the prose of James (The Portrait of a Lady). So will the September 13 lecture by Robert Rosenblum on Picasso's portraits of (mostly) female faces, entitled "The Art of Reincarnation." Grealy and Picasso, like Dickinson and James, are both deeply interested in how past artists help us to live in our own bodies. All four figures have unique insights into how the portrait, especially of a female face, is a deeply contested area in our internal, as well as our external, lives. If you attend either lecture, you may write an extra credit report commenting on how you feel that it does, or does not, relate to issues in our course.
--optional journal for extra credit: students who wish to keep a running journal in response to the readings in this course can submit it to me for credit (a) on the day of the mid-term exam and (b) on the last day of class.
Class Procedures:
Attendance, preparation, and involvement are expected
and required. Missed exams cannot be made up unless you contact me in person
or by phone on or before the due date (messages can be left at 572-5416 or
261-7031). The same policy applies to the due dates for the
Portrait paper, the Formal Paper/Presentation, and the critical
perspective and mini-anthology presentations. The penalty for plagiarism in
written work for this course is failure in the assignment and/or the course.