T 5-7:30, Bliss Hall 114
Dr. Jean Graham
graham@tcnj.edu
(609)771-3233
Office hours T 4:00-4:50, F 2:00-4:00, and by appointment (Bliss Hall 225). I am not available for appointments on Mondays.
Coronavirus update: from 3/24 through the end of the spring semester, classes will be held in Canvas; office hours and advising will be held via email (or Google Chat during scheduled office hours). I will check my office phone for voicemail daily.
Addendum to the syllabus, 3/24:
1. Nobody signed up for this. Not for the sickness, not for social distancing, not for the sudden end of our collective lives on campus. Not for online learning, not for teaching remotely, not for learning from home, not for adapting to new technologies, not for varied access to learning materials.
2. The humane option is the best option. We are going to prioritize supporting one another as humans. We are going to prioritize simple solutions that make sense for most. We are going to prioritize sharing resources and communicating clearly.
3. We cannot just do the same thing online. Some assignments and expectations are no longer possible.
Adapted from Prof. Brandon Bayne, UNC (Chapel Hill)
Margaret Atwood defines dystopia/utopia as a genre based on “blueprints of concocted societies . . . either ‘this is where you do not wish to live’ or ‘maybe things would be better this way.’” Whether the novel is Atwood’s own The Handmaid’s Tale or Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, this genre is written by idealists critiquing their own societies and offering suggestions for a better way. We will start with several utopias from the 1970s, such as Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and Joanna Russ’s The Female Man, and work our way forward to some of the latest dystopias.
Contacting Me: If you cannot see me during scheduled office hours, feel free to email me (graham@tcnj.edu), call my office (609-771-3233) or talk to me before or after class to arrange an appointment at another time. You may also leave a message in my box in Bliss 124, the mail room of the English department. Email is generally the best way to contact me between classes, but please be aware that I receive many emails each day, and that I tend to check email less frequently in the evening and on weekends. If you haven’t heard back from me within a reasonable amount of time–24 hours on weekdays– feel free to send me another message, especially if you think you may have accidentally emailed the wrong Dr. Graham. (There are three of us at TCNJ, in three different departments.)
Policies and Procedures:
Absences, Attendance, and Late Work: In exceptional circumstances such as illness, please contact me immediately ( graham@tcnj.edu). Such notification does not necessarily guarantee that absences will be excused. Please note that if a medical or personal emergency will keep you away from campus from an extended period, you should contact the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies. (See TCNJ’s attendance and absence policies in the Policy Manual: link) It is never really possible to recapture the dynamics and flow of information for a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone), but if you positively must miss a class, I expect you to find out from a peer what you missed and to come fully prepared to the next class meeting.
Unless the circumstances are both compelling and documented, each essay or other assignment submitted later than the beginning of class on the due date will be marked down a full 10% of the maximum potential grade; on each subsequent day at that time (including days TCNJ is closed), the grade will go down another 10%. Each weekend counts as one day, not two. In other words, if the utopia essay is submitted 1 minute late according to Canvas or 23 hours and 59 minutes late, it is penalized 20 points. At a certain point, without acceptable documentation, the assignment can earn no points. Even an assignment that earns no points must be submitted prior to any assignment that builds on it; such scaffolding will be specified in the prompt (in Canvas).
Unless you provide acceptable documentation of a compelling reason for the absence (see TCNJ’s absence policy), no presentation may be given late. Note that TCNJ’s attendance policy states that “the student has the responsibility to initiate arrangements for makeup work.” If a day of religious observation or similarly compelling planned absence interferes with an assignment, I will be glad to discuss an earlier due date if given advance notice. Also note that TCNJ holds students responsible for “avoid[ing] outside conflicts (if possible).”
Academic Integrity: You are expected to provide a list of works cited for each paper, using the latest MLA format, to acknowledge information from course textbooks and Canvas, as well as sources of images for presentations. Plagiarism is the appropriation of the words, images, music, and/or ideas of others. It is intellectual theft, and a serious infraction of the college’s Academic Integrity Policy (in the Policy Manual) as well as the laws of our nation. In accordance with the policy, plagiarism and all other suspected violations of the Academic Integrity Policy will be reported.
Accommodations: Anyone requiring special adaptations or accommodations will benefit from contacting the Accessibility Resource Center: link. If you require special assistance, I will make every effort to accommodate your needs and to create an environment where your special abilities will be respected. Please note that recording a class must be approved in advance by the instructor or the Accessibility Resource Center, and that all students must be made aware that the class is being recorded. (See the Policy Manual.)
Diversity and Inclusion: In this class, we will make an effort to read materials from and about a diverse group of fiction writers, but limits still exist on this diversity. I acknowledge that it is possible that there may be both overt and covert biases in the material. Please contact me (in person or electronically) or submit anonymous feedback at the end of the semester if you have any suggestions to improve the quality of the course materials.
Furthermore, I would like to create a learning environment for my students that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives and experiences, and honors your identities (including race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability). To help accomplish this:
If you have a name and/or set of pronouns that differ from those that appear in your official TCNJ records, please let me know!
If you feel like your performance in the class is being affected by your experiences outside of class, please don’t hesitate to come and talk with me. I want to be a resource for you. You can also submit anonymous feedback by placing a note in my physical mailbox (which will lead to an invitation to a conversation about the best way to address your concerns). If you prefer to speak with someone outside of the course, here are some resources that may be helpful:
1.To request help if you are in crisis or for someone else about whom you are concerned
2. To report discrimination or harassment that you have experienced or that you have witnessed toward someone else. A Bias Response Team and new online reporting option will be announced this semester. In the meantime, should you witness a bias incident, be targeted in a bias incident or otherwise have knowledge of a violation of the Student Conduct Code, we strongly encourage you to immediately report these incidents to the Office of Student Conduct by phone – 609-771-2787, email conduct@tcnj.edu, submit a report at conduct.tcnj.edu, or in person at Brower Student Center, Room 220.
3. To request counseling or psychological services
Like many people, I am still in the process of learning about diverse perspectives and identities. If something was said in class (by anyone) that made you feel uncomfortable, please talk to me about it. (Again, anonymous feedback is always an option.)
As a participant in course discussions, you should also strive to honor the diversity of your classmates.
Electronics: For this class, you must be able to use Canvas, and you must read your TCNJ email regularly. If you need assistance with either, please let me know during the first week of class. Bookmark our website and Canvas on your computer. I will be updating both periodically, posting assignments, resources, and other information. You will not receive paper copies of course materials; if you wish to have paper copies, you will have to print them out yourself. Grades and attendance will be recorded in Canvas. (N.B. Attendance does not enter into the final grade.) Use of electronic devices is prohibited in the classroom except to refer to a reading online (see the schedule below); otherwise, using such devices distracts the user and is rude to others. (Please note that studies suggest that students learn better when taking notes by hand: link.)
Submission of Assignments: Unless otherwise stated on this syllabus, on the date listed on the syllabus for each assignment, a copy is due in Canvas before class. Using Canvas will give us both a record of your work, including the date and time of submission. To save paper and ink, no paper copy is due of any final assignment.
Weather Cancellations: If class is cancelled due to inclement weather but we still have power, please check your email prior to class time to see whether and how we will hold class in Canvas. The same holds true for office hours.
Required texts (available at the college bookstore):
Adams, John Joseph, editor, Brave New Worlds, 2nd edition.
Alderman, Naomi, The Power.
Atwood, Margaret, The Handmaid’s Tale.
El Akkad, Omar, American War.
Ishiguro, Kazuo, Never Let Me Go.
Jemison, N. K., The Fifth Season.
Le Guin, Ursula, The Dispossessed.
Moore, Alan, and David Lloyd, V for Vendetta.
Russ, Joanna, The Female Man.
Shteyngart, Gary, Super Sad True Love Story.
Yuknavitch, Lidia, The Book of Joan.
GRADING SCALE
Class performance 100
Discussion leading 100
Utopia essay: 200
First paragraph: 50
Final essay 500
Symposium 50
Total possible: 1000
Your course grade will be calculated as follows: 93% and above = A, 90-92% = A-, 87-89% = B+, 83-86% = B, 80-82% = B-, 77-79% = C+, 73-76% = C, 70-72% = C-, 67-69% = D+, 63-66% = D, 62% and below = F
Assignments
Class performance. You are expected to read the assignments with enough care and thought to be able to participate productively in class discussions. You should at all times be ready and eager to voice your questions, doubts, and points of confusion as well as your conclusions and insights. Although attendance is not graded at TCNJ, please note that it is impossible to participate unless you are both physically and mentally present for the entire class period; therefore, absences, tardiness, leaving class early, and/or taking frequent or long breaks will adversely affect your participation grade in the course. Keep in mind that productive participation includes participating in a way that encourages the participation of others.
Discussion leading. Each student will lead discussion on a novel, part of a novel, short story, or set of short stories, preparing questions designed to elicit about 40 minutes of conversation.
Essays and first paragraph. The prompts will be in Canvas and will be discussed in class.
Symposium. The course will end with all students presenting conference-paper versions of their final papers. Your time limit will depend on the number of students enrolled. Adaptation: post in Canvas (on the discussion board, for everyone to read) a 500-word-maximum abstract of your final essay. Optional: post video or audio of yourself reading the abstract.
Schedule of Readings and Assignments
Introductions: Utopia and Dystopia
Jan 28 Read (in Canvas) the excerpt from Michael Robertson’s The Last Utopians and Rokheya Shekhawat Hossain, “Sultana’s Dream.” Then read the following: Lois Gould, “X: A Fabulous Child’s Story” (in Canvas, and here is an animated version: link); Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” (in Brave New Worlds); Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” (in Brave New Worlds); and N. K. Jemison, “The Ones Who Stay and Fight” (in Canvas). Which societies might you consider utopian (like Hossain’s), which the reverse (dystopian)? Are any ambiguous? In class, you will sign up for your date to lead discussion.
Feb 4 Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed
Feb 11 Joanna Russ, The Female Man
Feb 18 Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V for Vendetta; Neil Gaiman and Bryan Talbot, “From Homogenous to Honey” (in Brave New Worlds); from Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History (in Canvas)
Feb 25 Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Mar 3 Utopia essay due. [See Canvas for the prompt.] Harlan Ellison, “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”; Philip K. Dick, “The Minority Report”; Kurt Vonnegut Jr., “Harrison Bergeron” (all in Brave New Worlds); Octavia Butler, “Bloodchild” (in Canvas)
Mar 10 Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
Mar 17 Spring Break
3/24 and 3/31 classes will be held in Canvas
Mar 24 Gary Shteyngart, Super Sad True Love Story
Mar 31 N. K. Jemison, The Fifth Season
Apr 7 Omar El Akkad, American War
Apr 14 Naomi Alderman, The Power (through page 180)
Apr 21 Naomi Alderman, The Power (completion)
Apr 28 draft first paragraph of the final essay is due. From Brave New Worlds: J. G. Ballard, “Billennium,” Carrie Vaughn, “Amaryllis,” and Paolo Bacigalupi, “Pop Squad”; Caitlin Kiernan, “The Pearl Diver” and Geoff Ryman, “Dead Space for the Unexpected”; in Canvas: James Tiptree, Jr., “And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side”
May 5 from Brave New Worlds: Orson Scott Card, “Geriatric Ward,” Jeremiah Tolbert, “Arties Aren’t Stupid,” and Vylar Kaftan, “Civilization”; in Canvas: Tatyana Tolstaya, “The Slynx,” David D. Levine, “Firewall” (with Ray Kurzweil’s “The Six Epochs” to explain singularity), Eileen Gunn, “Application for Asylum,” and Yoon Ha Lee, “Welcome to Triumph Band.”
May 12 Symposium; final essay due [See Canvas for the prompts.] Symposium adaptation: post in Canvas (on the discussion board, for everyone to read) a 500-word-maximum abstract of your final essay. Optional: also post video or audio of yourself reading the abstract.