Syllabus

Booklist (texts at Prairie Lights Bookstore)

Baraka	The LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka Reader
Bernstein	A Poetics
Butler	Precarious Life
Hayles	Writing Machines
Mullen	Recyclopedia (order used through Amazon)
Nelson	Oxford Anthology of Modern American Poetry
Nowak	Shut Up Shut Down
Spahr	this connection of everything with lungs
Spahr	The Transformation

Expectations:

Attendance: Because this is a graduate readings course, continuous and intense participation are essential to its success. Solid preparation and regular attendance are, therefore, crucial to your success in the course. Everyone is expected to read carefully, post responses to the reading on the discussion page, and come ready to engage with the other members of the course. Please view the College's policy on attendance, available here. More than three unexcused absences will torpedo your grade in the course.

Written and oral assignments: To keep the class rolling and your own work relevant, all assignments must be turned in promptly. If you have a medical emergency, let me know right away. Otherwise, all work is due on the scheduled date.

Assignments:

Galleries: Working in pairs, each of you will be responsible for generating a gallery of webpages or a 3-5 page print packet to serve as an initial overview of a segment of our reading. After discussing the materials involved and the field they represent with your collaborator, prepare 1) a short overview of the topic including relevant historical events, aesthetic issues, and ethical crises; 2) a brief summary of writers and critics involved; 3) a short annotated bibliography of crucial materials; 4) a set of sample statements or quotations. The goal of this assignment is pedagogical: think of yourself as introducing a unit in a class you are teaching. The challenges here are: How effectively and imaginatively can you present these materials to your classmates? What resources will they need to deepen and/or expand their grasp of the issues involved? On the day your gallery is due, I will ask you to prepare a short (5 minute) presentation of it for the class.
Imitations: Because these materials tend to enact rather than represent their meanings, imitation is frequently the best way to come to terms with them. Thus, at several points in the term, you'll be asked to compose an imitation and a short passage of process you went through in creating your imitation.
Response to critical essays:

a. oral response: In the course of the semester, each of you will be responsible for introducing one of the assigned critical readings. Since everyone in the class will have read the essay, your task will not be to summarize its content but to give a succinct (1-3 sentence) summation of its central thesis and to formulate a series of questions about its argument, theoretical assumptions, and/or critical methodology.

b. written response: In addition to reading the critical essays assigned for the class, each of you will be assigned one additional supplemental essay on the topic of your choice. You will write a one-page response to that essay, summarizing and evaluating its argument, and distribute copies of your response to the class on the assigned day.
Primary Research: This assignment will give you practice doing primary research and help prepare you to write your final paper. After selecting some aspect of alternative poetics that interests you, you will find and engage a number of primary sources (e.g., manifestos, works of visual art, material artifacts, etc.) relating to your topic. Detailed instructions to follow. Due: April 3rd.
Conference Paper: Drawing on your work throughout the semester, you will write a paper of approximately 10-15 pages that would be suitable for presentation at MMLA, MLA, Modernist Studies Association, or the Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. A more detailed description of this assignment will follow. Prospectus: April 15. Paper: May 6.
Conference: During exam week, we will hold a conference of our own for ourselves and any interested others with panels, introductions, responses, discussion, and, not least, refreshments.

Date	Description
ongoing	galleries
ongoing	imitations
ongoing	response to critical essays
April 3	primary research exercise
April 15	prospectus for critical paper
May 6	critical paper & abstract
Exam Week	conference presentation

Academic Policies:

This course is governed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This means that class policies on matters such as requirements, grading, and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline must receive approval of the CLAS Dean. All courses in the English Department employ plus-minus grading.

Policy on Academic Fraud

Plagiarism and any other activities that result in a student presenting work that is not his or her own are academic fraud. Academic fraud is reported to the departmental DEO and then to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Services in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who deals with academic fraud according to these guidelines: www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtm

Procedures for Student Complaints

A student who has a complaint against any member of the college's teaching staff is responsible for following the procedures described in the Student Academic Handbook. Students who wish to make suggestions or register complaints should first visit with the instructor, then with the Director of Graduate Studies, and, if a complaint remains unresolved, then with the departmental DEO. All complaints must be made within six months of the incident. www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/ix.shtml#5

Accommodation for students with disabilities

A student seeking academic accommodations first must register with Student Disability Services and then meet with a SDS counselor who determines eligibility for services. A student approved for accommodations should meet privately with the course instructor to arrange particular accommodations. For a detailed description of the process, see www.uiowa.edu/~sds/

Understanding Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Visit www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/ for definitions, assistance, and the full policy.

Reacting Safely to Severe Weather

The University of Iowa Operations Manual section 16.14 outlines appropriate responses to a tornado (i) or to a similar crisis. If a tornado or other severe weather is indicated by the UI outdoor warning system, members of the class should seek shelter in rooms and corridors in the innermost part of a building at the lowest level, staying clear of windows, corridors with windows, or large free-standing expanses such as auditoriums and cafeterias. The class will resume, if possible, after the UI outdoor warning system announces that the severe weather threat has ended.