English 352:364—Novel in America Since 1950 Professor Barbara Foley

Spring 2018 Hill 513

MW 10-11:20 bfoley@rutgers.edu
Office Hours: M 4-5:20, W 11:30-1

Required Texts (available at B&N Campus Bookstore):

T. C. Boyle, The Tortilla Curtain (Penguin Paperback)

**ASIN B008AUFCY6 (purchase this edition)
Octavia Butler, The Parable of the Sower (Grand Central Publishing, updated edition)
ISBN-13 978-0446675505
E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime (Random House Trade Paperback)
ISBN-13 978-0812978186
Percival Everett, Erasure (Grey Wolf Press)
ISBN-13 978-1555975999
Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer (Grove Press)
ISBN-13 978-0802124944
Helena Maria Viramontes Under the Feet of Jesus (Plume)
ISBN-13 978-0452273870

In addition, designated as (B), several critical/historical essays will be posted on Blackboard

under Course Documents. These are also required reading for the course.

Course Description:

We shall examine a group of contemporary novels (1975-2015) that grapple with important
issues of our time: the exploitation and alienation of labor; racial and gendered oppression;
migration and ecological devastation; personal selfhood and social identity. The novels range
stylistically from realism to postmodernism, linear narrative to fractured point of view. Students
will be asked to supplement the novels with short critical and historical readings supplied on
Blackboard. The reading list is hefty; students are required to keep up with the assigned texts,
and pop quizzes will be given frequently.

Schedule of Readings

January 17 Introduction to the course; Viramontes

22 Viramontes, Ch. 1 & 2

24 Viramontes, Ch. 3 & 4

29 Viramontes, finish; Moya, “Reading As a Realist” (B)

31 Boyle, Part One, “Arroyo Blanco”

February 5 Boyle, Part Two, “El Tenksgeevee,” Ch. 1-5

7 Boyle, Finish Part Two; Part Three “Socorro,” Ch. 1-3
 12 Boyle, finish; Meyerson, “Tortilla Curtain and the Ecology of Fear” (B)
14 Butler, TBA

19 Butler, TBA
21 Butler, finish

26 Butler, finish; Jerry Phillips, “The Intuition of the Future” (B)

28 review for midterm exam

March 5 midterm exam

7 no class

12 Spring Break
14 Spring Break

19 Nguyen, TBA; paper #1 due

21 Nguyen, TBA

26 Nguyen, TBA
28 Nguyen, finish; “On Writing, Radicalism, and Literary Value” (B)

April 2 Everett, 1-62; Waugh, “Metafiction” (B)

4 Everett, 63-164

9 Everett, 165-220
11 Everett, finish; critical essay TBA

16 Doctorow, Ch. 1-8

18 Doctorow, Ch. 9-15

23 Doctorow, finish
25 Jameson, “Postmodernism: Or, the Cultural Logic of Late
Capitalism” (B)

30 Review for Final Exam

There will be a final exam on the assigned date during Exam Period
Requirements:

(1) Punctual attendance is required; only one unexcused absence is permitted, and late arrival in
class will count for ½ of attendance. All assigned texts, including Blackboard materials, signified
by (B), must be brought to class meetings. Students are responsible for obtaining the assigned
novels on time, as well as for catching up on materials raised in classes they missed.

(2) Students may download course materials onto their computers, but no internet use is
permitted during class. Phones must be turned off; texting is prohibited.

(3) There will be several short-answer pop quizzes, given at the beginning of the class meeting;
these cannot be made up for any reason.

(4) Active participation in class discussion is required.

(5) Students should consult their email regularly for any announcements regarding changes in the
schedule of readings.

Grading policy:

(1) There will be two papers, each counting for 20% of your grade. Suggested topics will be
distributed three weeks before each paper is due; both papers must be at least 2000 words in
length. All papers must be appropriately documented; all secondary sources must be cited. A first
instance of plagiarism will constitute a failing grade on the assignment; a second will lead to
failure in the course and possible disciplinary action. Students should acquaint themselves with
the University rules on plagiarism at http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/. There is no rewrite
option, but students may had in their papers one week early for assessment and revision.

(2) The midterm exam will count for 15% of your grade; the final exam for 25%.

(3) Attendance, quiz grades, and class participation will constitute the remaining 20% of your
grade.