RECENT HANDOUTS
- Reading for the Problem: O'Connor on Her Own Fiction (01/26) - Note: instructions only; copies of O'Connor's essay available only from my office door (PH 385)
- Making Sense of Academic-Level Arguments: Ockshorn on "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" (02/09)
IMPORTANT DATES
Formal Papers
- Paper 1: Thu, Jan 26
- Paper 2: Thu, Mar 01
- Paper 3 (Final Project, Part I): Week of Apr 03
- Paper 4 (Final Project, Part II): Week of Apr 17
- Paper 5 (Final Project, Part III): Due Fri, Apr 27
Other Important Dates
- Last day to drop or withdraw without a grade: Jan 25
- Spring Break: Mar 05-11
- Last day to withdraw with a grade of "W": Mar 23
- Final class session: Tue, Apr 24
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
I may make minor changes in our schedule; but I will always alert you to any changes at least one week in advance.
Abbreviations for Book Titles:
TS = They Say / I Say
Freud = Civilization and Its Discontents
WEEK 1 (Jan 12)
Session 1 (Tue, 12 Jan)
- Introduction to Academic Writing: Analyzing Arguments - Williams and White on the Huck Finn Controversy
WEEK 2 (Jan 17-19)
Session 2 (Tue, 17 Jan)
Session 3 (Thu, 19 Jan)
WEEK 3 (Jan 24-26)
Session 4 (Tue, 24 Jan)
- The N-Word and O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
- Paper 1 - Example
- Criteria for Paper 1; or, How to Get a Decent Grade
Session 5 (Thu, 26 Jan)
- TBA
WEEK 4 (Jan 31 - Feb 02)
Session 6 (Tue, 31 Jan)
- No Class - Individual Conferences
Session 7 (Thu, 02 Feb)
- No Class - Individual Conferences
UNIT II: INTELECTUAL DEBATES: TWO CONTROVERSIES ON THE NATURE OF VIOLENCE
Now that we have a better understanding of the basics of academic-level argument, we will sharpen our analytical and critical tools by turning or attention to the argumentative strategies of several writers involved in two controversies regarding the nature of violence.
WEEK 5 (Feb 07-09)
Session 8 (Feb 07)
Session 9 (Feb 09)
WEEK 6 (Feb 15-17)
Session 10 (Tue, 15 Feb)
- W. S. Doxey, "A Dissenting Opinion of Flannery O'Connor's 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'" (photocopy)
- K. G. Ochshorn, "A Cloak of Grace: Contradictions in 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find'" (photocopy)
Session 11 (Thu, 17 Feb)
- M. Jones, "A Good Man's Predicament" (photocopy)
- TS, Ch. 4
WEEK 7 (Feb 22-24)
Session 12 (Tue, 22 Feb)
- John Dewey, "Force, Violence, and Law" (photocopy)
- E. Garver, "What Violence Is" (photocopy)
Session 13 (Thu, 24 Feb)
- J. Betz, "Violence: Garver's Definition and a Deweyan Correction" (photocopy)
- TS, Chps. 5-7
WEEK 8 (Mar 01-03)
Session 14 (Tue, 01 Mar)
- V. Bufacchi, "Two Concepts of Violence" (photocopy)
Session 15 (Thu, 03 Mar)
- Paper 2, In-Class Essay
SPRING BREAK (Mar 07-13)
UNIT III: MAKING SENSE OF LONGER WORKS: FREUD'S CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS
Up to this point in the semester, we have limited ourselves to articles and other short pieces. Now we will turn to a longer work, one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents. Although the content of this book is fascinating, we will be more interested in Freud's style of argumentation, including how he refashions the main problem that concerns him in this book: the tension we often experience from having to conform to the rules of society.
WEEK 9 (Mar 15-17)
Session 16 (Tue, 15 Mar)
- Freud, Introduction
Session 17 (Thu, 17 Mar)
- Freud, Ch. 1
WEEK 10 (Mar 22-24)
Session 18 (Tue, 22 Mar)
- Freud, Ch. 2
Session 19 (Thu, 24 Mar)
- Freud, Ch. 3
WEEK 11 (Mar 29-31)
Session 20 (Tue, 29 Mar)
- Freud, Ch. 4
Session 21 (Mar 31)
- Freud, Ch. 5
WEEK 12 (Apr 05-07)
Session 22 (Tue, 05 Apr)
- Freud, Ch. 6
- Project, Part I
Session 23 (Thu, 07 Apr)
- No Class – Individual Conferences
WEEK 13 (Apr 12-14)
Session 24 (Tue, 12 Apr)
- Freud, Ch. 8
Session 25 (Thu, 14 Apr)
- TS, Chps. 8-10
WEEK 14 (Apr 19-21)
Session 26 (Tue, 19 Apr)
- No Class - Individual Conferences
Session 27 (Thu, 21 Apr)
- No Class - Individual Conferences
WEEK 15 (Apr 26)
Session 27 (Thu, 26 Apr) - Last Day of Class
- No Class - Individual Conferences
