ENGL327 - The Prose Poem and the Politics of Genre

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Academic Year 2005/2006

The Prose Poem and the Politics of Genre
ENGL 327 SP

The prose poem challenges the very notion of genre-but what are the implications of this challenge and how does it reframe the perceived disciplinary limits of literature itself? With its western beginnings in 19th-century France, its development in modernist Europe and its resurgence in 1960s-70s America, the prose poem's history is intertwined with discourses of social and aesthetic change. While our focus in this course will be literary analysis, we will also examine the politics - aesthetic and otherwise - surrounding the prose poem's emergence as a genre. Discussion will extend into interdisciplinary hybrid works such as Theresa Cha's DICTEE and Lisa Robertson's XECLOGUE.

MAJOR READINGS

Readings will include (but not be limited to):
Charles Baudelaire, PARIS SPLEEN
Rimbaud, ILLUMINATIONS
Walt Whitman, SPECIMEN DAYS
Gertrude Stein, TENDER BUTTONS
John Ashbery, THREE POEMS
Rosmarie Waldrop, REPRODUCTION OF PROFILES
Ron Silliman, THE NEW SENTENCE
Lisa Robertson, XECLOGUE
Theresa Cha, DICTEE

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Students will submit a series of brief response papers, a 7-page midterm essay, and a 10-page final essay. Each student will also give a brief oral presentation.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Regular class attendance and participation are essential. This course fulfills the research option requirement for English honors candidates.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL Grading Mode: Graded

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Willis,Elizabeth

Times: .M.W... 02:40PM-04:00PM; Location: FISK412;

Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 19)

SR. major: 7 Jr. major: 6

SR. non-major: 3 Jr. non-major: 3 SO: X FR: X

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal: Writing

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-30-2006