Thomas Rickert
Office: HEAV 303B
Phone: 494-3719
trickert@purdue.edu

Syllabus

Postmodernism and Composition
Spring 2002

Required Texts:
A Postmodern Reader—Natoli and Hutcheon, eds. (PR)
The Postmodern Condition—Lyotard
The History of Sexuality: An Introduction—Foucault
Dissemination—Derrida
Contending with Words—Harkin and Schilb
The Coming Community—Agamben
Empire—Hardt and Negri

Course Packet at CopyMat

Recommended:
The Condition of Postmodernity—Harvey
Postmodern Theory—Best and Kellner

Objectives:
What is postmodernism? This is not quite 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 style? the time period following modernism? late capitalism? the media age? theory inclusive of but extending beyond poststructuralism? (And even here we have a problem, for some postmodern thought suggests no ascertainable referents remain.) Whatever question(s) we pick, we will find that each focus tends to distort or obscure other aspects of the term postmodernism, not to mention that postmodernism and its definitions, characteristics, and theories are unstable at best. 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 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 its postmodern status would be confirmed by 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! temporary autonomous zones!), look at some of postmodernism's greatest hits (Lyotard! Foucault! Butler!), and consider work that is promising for charting out future directions (Negri! Agamben!).

In all this, we will at various points and times consider how composition and rhetoric has utilized and negotiated postmodern theory; reactions have ranged from dismay, caution, and dire predictions of doom to grudging respect, hope, and Dionysian dances on the grave of modernity. Hopefully, you will find a place—or places—to occupy for yourself, and then, in your writing, convey something for your Selves®™  and your Others®™. Lastly, I want to mention that we will frequently want to focus on style. Many of the authors we will read make style an essential element in the "work" of the text—Derrida and Cixous come to mind most obviously—but insofar as postmodernism often 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:
Your primary work for the course will consist of 3 papers of 5-6 pages each. Papers will be turned in a rolling basis three times over the course of the semester. The final paper will be due the Monday of Finals week (4/29). Each paper will discuss at least two of the theoretical approaches we covered—I would recommend not more than three in any one paper. Additionally, I would like you to remain focused on the texts in the class. I'm interested in very close readings of the texts that involve small (or what appear as small at first blush—usually we find that they are anything but) problems and issues. For example: What precisely does Lyotard mean by metanarratives, and why incredulity? What exactly is the source of Faigley's wariness with postmodern theory (or perhaps one should start first with what exactly does Faigley think postmodern theory is, and does his understanding suffice?). What are Jameson's depth models anyway, and why do they matter? What does it really mean to say that the postmodern age is one of surfaces? Just how does the notion of fantasy transform the concept of ideology? And so on. To recap: start small, start simple, start basic, then add complexity and depth through your sophisticated, close readings of the texts. Keep other sources to a minimum.

Note: I would prefer that you discuss your topic with me beforehand.

Late Work: I will accept late work if you discuss the problem with me beforehand, prior to the due date.

A second assignment will be a lit review in a 10-12 minute class presentation (hopefully with handout) of one of the many theory-oriented journals (print and online) that exist; you will be concerned specifically with how postmodernism is dealt with in the journal. Some journals have a specific orientation, some are more broadly conceived; some are specifically about postmodernism or pomo culture, others only touch on such issues. I don't expect you to read deeply from the articles; examining titles, reference matter, and topics, and skimming to obtain a general overview, with a few specifics, will suffice. Listing key, interesting, or oft-cited articles will be useful as well, and you will want to look at such articles more closely. You will also need to look at the editors, the editorial board, statement of journal purpose, school affiliations, oft-published scholars, etc. The goal here is to facilitate knowledge of what is out there for yourself and your fellow graduate students.

The third assignment consists of weekly posts to the course's WWWThreads* website, located here:

http://linnell.english.purdue.edu/cgi-bin/wwwthreads/postlist.pl?Cat=&Board=postmod

You will need to make one post a week. Your post will address the reading(s) for the coming class, taking a concept, issue, conflict, theme, etc. and exploring it in a few paragraphs. Though I would prefer you to remain focused on that week's readings, it may also be necessary for you to address texts from previous weeks. A second possibility will be 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-address an issue. A third possibility is to split your post for that week into two, one as your own thread 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.

Assessment:
Your grade will be determined on a 100 point scale. The percentages break down like this:

Papers (3)               20% each = 60%
Presentation           20%
Weekly Posts         20% total

Attendance
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 to arrange such accommodations

Tentative Schedule of Event-Scenes and Inscrutable Distractions:
Week 1 (1/9): Introjections

Week 2 (1/16): Incredulity Toward Lyotard?

  •         Lyotard-The Postmodern Condition
  •         Benhabib-"Feminism and the Question of Postmodernism"

Week 3 (1/23): PoMo's Greatest Hits!

  •         Barthes-"Death of the Author"
  •         Derrida-"Structure, Sign, and Play" (PR)
  •         Deleuze and Guattari-"Rhizome" from A Thousand Plateaus
  •         Haraway-"Situated Knowledges"
  •         Baudrillard-"Precession of Simulacra" (PR)
  •         Flax-excerpts from Thinking Fragements (PR)

Week 4 (1/30): PoMo's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: The Mappings

  •         Huyssen-"Mapping the Postmodern" (PR)
  •         Jameson-"The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism" (PR)
  •         Hutcheon-"Beginning to Theorize the Postmodern" (PR)
  •         Habermas-"Modernity versus Postmodernity" (PR)
  •         Faigley-"Introduction" from Fragments of Rationality
  •         Hassan-"Toward a concept of Postmodernism" (PR)

Week 5 (2/6): Foucault Talks To Us "Other Victorians"

  •         Foucault-History of Sexuality
  •         Wolfenstein-"Michel Foucault and Psycho-Marxism"

Week 6 (2/13): Derrida Puts Down The Poison Pen

  •         Derrida-Dissemination ("Plato's Pharmacy"; "Outwork" is recommended)
  •         Neel-"Closing the Pharmacy" from Plato, Derrida, and Writing

Week 7 (2/20): Big Others and Psycho-Hybrids

  •         Althusser-"Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses"
  •         Lacan-"The Mirror Stage" and "Subversion of the Subject" from Ecrits
  •         Zizek-"The Seven Veils of Fantasy" from The Plague of Fantasies
  •         Copjec-"The Orthopedic Subject" from Read My Desire
  •         Grosz-"A Thousand Tiny Sexes"

Week 8 (2/27): This Writing Which Is Not One: Écriture Féminine

  •         Irigaray-excerpts (Chs. 1, 3, 6, 8) from Je, Tu, Nous
  •         Kristeva-"Women's Time"
  •         Cixous-"Laugh of the Medusa"; "Castration or Decapitation"
  •         Clara Juncker-"Writing (with) Cixous"

Week 9 (3/6): Otherings: Races, Genders, Orientations

  •         Butler-"The Lesbian Phallus" from Bodies That Matter
  •         hooks-"Postmodern Blackness" (PR)
  •         Spivak-"Can the Subaltern Speak?"
  •         Fuss-"The Risk of Essence" from Essentially Speaking
  •         Baker-"Hybridity, the Rap Race, and Pedagogy for the 1990s" (PR)
  •         West-"Black Culture and Postmodernism" (PR)

Week 10 (3/13): Spring Break!

Week 11 (3/20): Science/Fictions

  •         Bear-"Blood Music"
  •         Tiptree-"The Girl Who Was Plugged In"
  •         Ellison-"The Deathbird"
  •         Morrow-"Arms and the Woman"
  •         Borges-"Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote"
  •         Butler-"Bloodchild"

Week 12 (3/27): Thirdings, And Beyond

  •         Bey-"Temporary Autonomous Zones" (online)
  •         Pefanis-"Theories of the Third Order" from Heterology and the Postmodern
  •         Bataille-"The Solar Anus"
  •         Ballif-"Writing the Third-Sophistic Cyborg"
  •         Frueh-excerpts from Erotic Faculties
  •         Sirc-"Godless Composition, Tortured Writing"
  •         Halberstam-"Introduction to Masculinity without Men" from Female Masculinity

Week 13 (4/3): Contending with PoMo

  •         Harkin and Schilb-Contending with Words

Week 14 (4/10): Being Whatever Being: Or, Community Without Autonomous Free Agents

  •         Agamben-The Coming Community
  •         Davis-"'Addicted to Love': Or, Toward an Inessential Solidarity"

Week 15 (4/17): The Empire Strikes Back!

  •         Hardt and Negri-Empire

Week 16 (4/24): Wrap-Ups And Re-beginnings

  •         Empire, fini