Williams S. Burroughs, The Naked Lunch
Mark Danielewski, House of Leaves
Don DeLillo, The Names
Paul Metcalf, Genoa
Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire
Charles Olson, Selected Writings
Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo
Armand Schwerner, The Tablets
Gertrude Stein, Tender Buttons
William Carlos Williams, Imaginations
- plus Electronic Reserve [ER] and web-based materials

• Attend class, participate in discussion
• Write a weekly response
• Give a presentation
• Create a web site using MIX, due Dec 10. Critical review of at least 3 scholarly sources on one of the course texts. The review must clearly articulate your own theoretical approach and critical evaluation. ~5 pages minimum.

Presentations

Each student will present once, starting with the September 5th class. You must still post a response on the day you present, but the presentation may be an extended version of your response. Presentations should be a minimum of 15 minutes and must include handouts with any pertinent information. Presentations frame the reading, open debate, organize thinking. Presentations lead into the larger discussion of the class. They may approach the work theoretically, historically, or biographically; they may give close attention to particular aspects of the work; they may make fruitful connections to other works in the course. Presentations may adapt modes from responses (see below). You are encouraged to make your presentation the basis of your final project.

Final Projects are here.

• All responses are two pages minimum (500 words). All responses except the first are to be posted to the class message board on MIX, posted prior to class (by midnight Wednesday). Additionally, for all responses except the first, you must reply to one other person's posting.
• First response, Tender Buttons: Give a “reading” of one of the objects/food/rooms. Bring this response to class 8/29 – must be typed/printed.
• Final Response, 12/5: discuss your final project. Respond to one other posting. This response is posted to MIX.
• Responses to all other projects: Part of graduate level work is developing a repertoire of responses and a sophistication with modes of writing. To facilitate this, you will write each response in a different mode. Here are the suggested choices, in no order (pick and choose, just don’t repeat!):

1. Respond to a passage of the text.
2. Respond to the whole text.
3. Language: respond to specific aspects of the text’s language use.
4. Respond theoretically (using the text as a reference point for theoretical considerations; you do not need to actually mention the text)
5. Reader: a reading response of your subjective reactions to the text.
6. Tribute: an imitation of the text – poems, prose, etc., in the spirit of the text.
7. Dialogue: an interview with another student (or someone else) about the text.
8. Research: background response: in-depth research into some background aspect, historical detail, biographical information, etc.
9. Visceral response: rant or rave about the text.
10. Intertext: discuss the work in relation to other literary texts. How is it in dialog with tradition?
11. Materiality: describe the materiality of the text. You focus on the particular edition and material support it presents.
12. Collaboration: write a response with several other students. Try emailing and replying, producing a successively longer text in this way. Or try some other method of collaboration. Collage, rewrite, edit, supplement, etc., with at least one other student. (The response length is still the same, e.g. if 3 students respond, the response is ~6 pages.)

Social Justice Statement

West Virginia University is committed to social justice. I concur with that commitment and expect to maintain a positive learning environment based upon open communication, mutual respect, and non-discrimination. Our University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, disability, veteran status, religion, sexual orientation, color or national origin. Any suggestions as to how to further such a positive and open environment in this class will be appreciated and given serious consideration.

If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation in order to participate in this class, please advise me and make appropriate arrangements with the Office of Disability Services (293-6700).

Making America

EPC Burroughs page; The Ghost of William Burroughs

House of Leaves site; another HOL site

Reed site; another Reed site