酷兒小說

This graduate seminar aims at introducing students to some significant queer literary works before the consolidation of the modern discourse of sexuality in the early twentieth century. Instead of reading texts in chronological order and falling for the seeming security of linear progress, we will begin with two canonical texts—E. M. Forster's Maurice (1971; written in 1913-1914) and Djuna Barnes's Nightwood (1936)—in order to navigate literary representations of sexuality against the backdrop of medical, criminal, and juridical discourses of sexuality. Then, we will study some less known texts in nineteenth-century America—Julia Ward Howe's Hermaphrodite (2004; written in the late 1840s), the anonymous short story "The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman" (1857), and Charles Warren Stoddard's "A South-Sea Idyl" (1869), among others—in order to explore literary representations of the intersex, romantic friendship, and various notions of queerness. To orient ourselves in the literary history of sexuality, we will also discuss readings by various critics.

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Policies Participation I will start class on time and make public announcements. If you are late, you miss important information at your own risk. If you have to be absent, please let me know in advance and use the Students Leave System. Legitimate leaves will exempt you from the deduction of participation grade. Undocumented and unexcused leaves will affect your participation grade. Response Papers You need to post four or six times of your questions and/or observations (50-150 words, not including quotations) on Dropbox ideally 24 hours before class in weeks 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 12. We will have four Dropbox files on the four required texts. If you are leading class discussion (see "Oral Presentations" below), you need to turn in four response papers, each for a different Dropbox file. If you do not lead any class discussion, you need to turn in six response papers, and there should be at least one for each Dropbox file. In the latter case, the original allocated percentage of your oral presentation will enter your response papers and final assignment presentation. Although Dropbox indicates authorship, I might edit your sentences. To make sure that we know who asks certain questions or makes certain observations, please write down your English/Chinese name in the beginning of your responses. The response papers are risk-free exercises: as long as you post responses on Dropbox in a timely manner, you will get your points. I will, however, dock a few points if you (1) miss page number(s) when you cite or paraphrase passages, (2) pay little attention to your writing (for example, turn in a response paper riddled with grammatical errors), (3) ask vague questions or simply repeat others' questions, or (4) often submit your responses belatedly. There must be specific quoted or paraphrased passages in each response paper. Introduce your chosen passages with a proper topic or context, and end your response with a brief analysis or relevant questions. Oral Presentations Some students have the chance of leading one time of class discussion. During class discussion, please highlight the questions or observations in people's response papers or the main arguments and crucial passages in critical essays. Near the end of this semester, all students also have to present their final assignments. Each student will have 10 minutes for individual PowerPoint presentations, followed by a brief Q&A session. Final Assignments Graduate students and those who are interested in going to graduate school are encouraged to turn in a final paper (8-10 pages, double-spaced) that conducts a close reading of one of our main texts. A brief literature review (how other people read the specific text) is required. If they deal mainly with theory, they may submit a final project (8-10 pages, double-spaced) instead, specifying the relation between theory and the text at issue. Both assignments need the works-cited list. Other students are encouraged to turn in a MOST project proposal (https://www.most.gov.tw/folksonomy/list/2af9ad9a-1f47-450d-b5a1-2cb43de8290c?l=ch) or submit two reflection essays (each 3-4 pages, double-spaced) on two of our required texts. If they choose to write reflection essays, they need to turn in the first one by week 8 and the second on by week 15.

Attendance and Class Participation: 20% Response Papers: 30% Oral Presentations: 20% Final Assignment: 30%

Barnes, Djuna. (1936) 2006. Nightwood. New York: New Directions. Forster, E. M. 1971. Maurice. New York: W. W. Norton. Howe, Julia Ward. 2004. The Hermaphrodite. Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press. Looby, Christopher, ed. 2017. "The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman" and Other Queer Nineteenth-Century Short Stories. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press. Please order the required texts online or lend texts from libraries. Due to the pandemic, it may take more than one month before your books arrive. Once I have the roster in late May or early June, I will send a group message. I will not order books for you; instead, you may contact one another. On certain websites, the shipping fee could be much reduced if your order reaches a certain amount of money. You may use other editions in class, but using the same edition will facilitate our class discussion. Other required readings (critical essays) will be available online.

地點

HC409

時間

Office Hours: T. 14:00-16:00 or by appt.

聯絡方式

chku@nycu.edu.tw Tel: 03-5712121, ext. 58117