Thomas Rickert
Office: Heav 303B
English 626 (Spring
2004)
Office Phone: 494-3719
Postmodernism
and Composition
Office Hours: W: 1:00-2:30; Th: 10:30-12:00
Email: <trickert@purdue.edu>
English Office Phone: 494-3740
Postmodernism and Composition
Syllabus
Required Texts:
A Postmodern Reader—Natoli
and Hutcheon, eds. (PR)
The Postmodern Condition—Lyotard
The History of Sexuality: An
Introduction—Foucault
Changing the Subject of English
Class—Alcorn
Breaking Up at Totality—
Moment of Compexity—
Course
Packet at CopyMat
Recommended:
The Condition of Postmodernity—
Postmodern Theory—Best and Kellner
Postmodernism, Or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism—Jameson
Postmodern Geography—Soja
Three Steps on the Ladder of
Writing—Cixous
Rhetoric and Reality—
Rereading the Sophists—Jarratt
Negation, Subjectity,
and The History of Rhetoric—Vitanza
Recommended background:
Phenomenology of Mind—Hegel
Course in General Linguistics—de Sassure
Being and Time & On the Way to Language—Heidegger
Beyond Good and Evil, Twilight of the Idols, & Genealogy
of Morals—Nietzsche
Dialectic of Enlightenment—Horkheimer
and Adorno
Ecrits—Lacan
(esp. “Subversion of the Subject”)
The Second Sex—de Beauvoir
Visions of Excess—Bataille
Speculum of the Other Woman—Irigaray
Philosophy and the Mirror of
Nature—Rorty
The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions—Kuhn
Tractatus Logico Philosophicus—Wittgenstein
Orientalism—Said
Introduction
to Of Grammatology (Derrida)—Spivak
Learning from Las Vegas—Venturi
et al
Structural Anthropology—Levi-Strauss
Objectives:
What
is postmodernism? This is not an easy question to answer. First, we need to
ascertain what we are talking about, or, more precisely, what sort of referent
we have in mind for the term: an architectural movment?
the time period following modernism? late capitalism? the media age? the informatization of the Western
world? theory inclusive of but extending beyond poststructuralism? All these and more have been included in
definitions of postmodernism. And, whatever question we pick, we will find
that in focusing on one we tend to distort or obscure other aspects of the
term. Additionally, postmodernism and its definitions, characteristics, and
theories are unstable at best. Ultimately, we have to say that the question
concerning postmodernism is far from settled, and, given the ubiquity of the
term (if not of "post"-ing itself), the
sense of fait accompli that surrounds
it combined with its nebulous (at best) meaning is grounds for many to dismiss
it as useless, deceptive, or worse.
It
could be claimed of this course that, if we were to fulfill the ownmost possibility of postmodernism, the questions concerning
it would be endlessly deferred and left open, and the course’s own postmodern
status would be confirmed by its de-referentialized
roaming. However, academic programs typically frown on such shenanigans, so
we will do our best to wade through a good variety of the disparate theories
and claims made about postmodernism, looking for some common threads, traces,
and moves. We will cover many of the key debates and terms (metanarratives!
écriture féminine! anti-foundationalism!),
look at some of postmodernism's greatest hits (Lyotard!
Foucault! Haraway!), and consider work that is promising for charting
out future directions (Negri!
In
all this, we will at various points and times consider how composition and
rhetoric has utilized, resisted, or negotiated postmodern theory. Reactions
to postmodernism in the field have ranged from dismay, caution, or dire predictions
of doom to grudging respect, hope, or Dionysian dances on the grave of modernity.
Hopefully, you will find a place—or places—to occupy for yourself, and then,
in your writing, find ways to convey something of this blue buzzing complexity
for your Selves®™ and your Others®™. Lastly, I want to mention that
postmodernism is often concerned with style. Many of the authors we will read
make style an essential element in the "work" of the text—Derrida,
Cixous, Vitanza, and Davis come to mind—but insofar
as postmodernism has affinities with rhetoric, style in general is an issue.
In your papers, it may be profitable for you to examine the role of style,
if not experiment with style in your writing.
Assignments:
In-Class Papers: Three one-page papers (legal
size, single-spaced), to be read aloud in class on the due date. The first
half of the papers will be a summary of the previous weeks' readings; the
second will be either a) a discussion of these readings, highlighting a central
issue or concern, which should, as often as possible, include b) a consideration
of how the readings have changed or challenged our conceptions of writing,
rhetoric, pedagogy, and education. In other words, it is not enough simply
to develop a working understanding of the various postmodern theories we read;
instead, you need to develop a larger contextual understanding of the theories
and issues involved. This further means that I am not interested in matters
of simple agreement or disagreement. It is always, as they say, more complex
than that.
Final Paper: This course requires a final
summation paper; it asks you to present your understanding of what postmodernism
is, conflicted as that answer may be. You should highlight key themes, focus
on contested issues, assess continuing problems, and chart the impact of postmodernism
on rhetoric and composition. The final paper will be 15 pages. You might consider
it less of an essay and more of a take-home final, for I will be looking for
comprehensive coverage and understanding of the material we have read, and
I will be grading them rigorously. Note: keep in mind that the Preliminary
Exam includes a question on postmodernism. You should consider the final paper
as part of your preparations for it.
Weekly Posts: Lastly, this course requires
weekly posts to the course's WWWThreads* website,
located here:
http://linnell.english.purdue.edu/cgi-bin/wwwthreads/postlist.pl?Cat=&Board=engl626sp04
You
will need to make “one” post a week. There are a variety of ways you can fulfill
this Threads commitment. First, your post should address the reading(s) for
the coming class, taking a concept, issue, conflict, theme, etc. and exploring
it. Length should be a minimum of two paragraphs. Though I would prefer you
to remain focused on that week's readings, it may be useful to address texts
from previous weeks. A second possibility is a response to someone else's
post. It is preferable that you address a post concurrent with that week's
readings, but again it may be useful to return to older posts to re-visit
an issue. A third possibility is to split your post for that week into two
shorter ones, or to make one your own and one as a response. Only one post
a week is required, but further postings beyond the minimum are of course
quite welcome—especially responses to others. I add that the goal of this
assignment is to foster sustained intellectual inquiry and exchange, and I
will expect you to treat others with respect, regardless of the possible level
of disagreement. Please visit the site several times a week so that you stay
current with the discussions.
*WWWThreads is a web-based forum that allows a user to post,
edit, reply and delete messages. It also lets someone use HTML and images.
The forum can be accessed via a web browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer,
etc.) at the site I give above. Before someone can post, s/he will initially
have to register as a "User" and log-in each time thereafter.
Late Work: Papers to be read aloud will
not be excused. If you miss the due date, you will be docked a letter grade
(unless I excuse your absence beforehand) and required to read your work the
following week.
Assessment:
Your
grade will be determined on a 100 point scale. The percentages break down
like this:
Papers
(3) 20% each = 60%
Final
paper 20%
Weekly
Posts 20%
All
assignments are required to complete the course. This includes a minimum of
16 posts to WWWThreads.
Attendance:
Although
I will give brief lectures regularly, this class is not a lecture course;
accordingly, your attendance and participation is crucial not only for you
personally, but for everyone in the class. I will expect you not to miss class.
However, if a problem does arise that requires your absence,
please discuss the matter with me beforehand to see if arrangements can be
made.
Disability:
If
you have a disability that requires special accommodations, please see me
privately within the first week of class.
Planned
Note: PR = The Postmodern Reader
Week 1 (1/15): Introjections
Week 2 (1/22): Modernism Redux
Habermas-"Modernity versus Postmodernity" (PR)
Gray-"Enlightenment’s Wake"
Nietzsche-"On Truth and Lies in an Extramoral
Sense"
Kant-"Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment?"
Harvey-"Modernity and Modernism"
Week 3 (1/29): PoMo's Greatest Hits!
Derrida-"Structure, Sign, and Play" (PR)
Jameson-excerpts from Postmodernism
(PR)
Baudrillard-"Precession of Simulacra"
(PR)
Cixous-"Laugh of the Medusa"
Kristeva-"Women's Time"
Week 4 (2/5): PoMo's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Barthes-"Death of the Author"
Hutcheon-"Beginning to Theorize
the Postmodern" (PR)
Derrida-"Différance"
Bauman-“Postmodernity”
(PR)
Rorty-“The Contingency of Language”
Recommended: Huyssen-"Mapping
the Postmodern" (PR)
Week 5 (2/12): Paper #1
Deleuze and Guattari-“Rhizome”
Week 6 (2/19): Incredulity toward
Lyotard
Lyotard-The Postmodern Condition
Vitanza-“Three Countertheses”
Week 7 (2/26): Power, Power
Everywhere…
Foucault-The History of
Sexuality
Mucklebauer-“Through Foucault’s Resistance”
Week 8 (3/4): Paper #2
Deleuze-“Control and Becoming” + “The
Society of Control”
Week 9 (3/11): Otherings: Races, Genders, Re-Codings
Haraway-"Situated Knowledges"
hooks-"Postmodern Blackness"
(PR)
Spivak-"Can the Subaltern Speak?"
West-"Black Culture and
Postmodernism" (PR)
Worsham-“Writing against Writing”
Recommended: Baker-"Hybridity,
the Rap Race, and Pedagogy for the 1990s" (PR)
Week 10 (3/18): Spring Break!
Zizek-“The Seven Veils of Fantasy”
Copjec-“The Orthopedic Subject”
Week 11 (3/22): Towards a Psycho-Pedagogy
(CCCC-No Class)
Alcorn-Changing
the Subject in English Class
Week 12 (4/1): Contending with
PoMo
Faigley-excerpts from Fragments of Rationality
Ballif-“Writing the Third-Sophistic
Cyborg”
Sirc-“English Composition as a Happening
II”
Hawhee-“Kairotic Encounters”
Week 13 (4/8): Paper #3
Deleuze-“He Stuttered”
Week 14 (4/15): And I Say “Ha
ha ha ha
ha ha ha,
Ho ho ho ho ho ho
ho…”
Davis-Breaking Up at Totality
C.Taylor-“Heidegger, Language, and Ecology”
Week 15 (4/22): Foundation(s)
and Empire
Hardt and Negri-“Postmodernism”
and “Capitalist Sovereignty”
Eckford-Prossor and Clifford-“Language
Obscures Social Change”
Bernard-Donals-“Composition in an
Anti-Foundational World”
Dobrin and Weisser-“Ecology
and Composition”
Rose-“Control”
Recommended: Hassan-“From Postmodernism
to Postmodernity”
Week 16 (4/29): It’s a Complex
World!
M.Taylor-The Moment
of Complexity
Syverson-“Introduction” from The Wealth of Reality: An Ecology of Composition