Syllabus EN209: Radical Decade U.S. Literature of the 1960s Professor Glynis Carr Spring Semester 1999 Office: 207C Vaughan Literature Building Office Hours: M,W,F 11-12:00. And by appointment. Phone: 570-3118 (Office) 523-7486 (Home, not after 7 PM) 570-1553 (Myrna Treston, Secretary)

Links to Related Sites and Suggestions for Further Reading. Under Construction.

Summary of Course Objectives: To read widely in U.S. literature associated with the 1960s countercultures. To learn the intellectual, historical, and biographical backgrounds necessary to understand the literature of the period. To understand the genres, forms, conventions, and other special uses of language in literature of the 1960s. To understand the influence of race, class, and gender on literary production and interpretation. To evaluate the decade's literary and cultural legacy to the 1990s. To practice the skills of critical reading, research, expository writing, and intelligent discussion.

The class format will be a combination of lecture and discussion. Typically, I will lecture on Mondays and we will discuss on Wednesdays and Fridays. We will view one or two documentary films and (possibly) a film adaptation of one of the literary works. We will not discuss every reading assignment in class, nor will lectures recapitulate the readings. In other words, reading and class attendance do not substitute for one another. Students are expected to come to class having done the reading and prepared to contribute to discussion.

1. The first exercise is for you to produce a "Working Bibliography" of literary criticism about some aspect of 60s literature. Your bibliography can focus on a particular text or texts, a theme, a contextual issue, or some formal aspect of the literature. The bibliography should include both primary and secondary sources. The purpose of this exercise is to sharpen your library skills.
2. "Critics in Conflict," the second exercise, consists of reading the sources you identified in #1 above until you find at least two critics who disagree about some issue. You will then analyze the disagreement and explain the position you take in the dispute. The purpose of this exercise is to develop your analytical skills by considering how literary critics construct their arguments and provide evidence for the claims they make about what literature means.

• Please do see me in my office, whether or not you are experiencing difficulty with the course. I will be there during regularly scheduled office hours for students wishing to drop in. To make an appointment, see me after class or use the telephone.
• The calendar will be adjusted to accomodate Jewish students who plan to celebrate the traditional holidays; see me if you need to be excused from class.
• Students with disabilities will be accomodated. Students who need disability-related classroom accomodations are encouraged to make an appointment to see me as soon as possible.
• Attendance is required. If you are ill or have another type of excused absence, contact the dean's office.
• Journals may NOT be handed in late. Otherwise, late work will be accepted, but will be graded down.
• Papers must be typed. Use double-spacing and leave ample margins for my comments. Use regular bond: use neither "onion skin" nor heavy, stationary-quality paper.
• Plagiarism (using someone else's ideas or words as your own) is a serious offense at Bucknell University. Papers suspected of being plagiarized will not be graded; cases of plagiarism and other species of academic misconduct will be handed over to the appropriate university officials.
• Grades will not be discussed for 24 hours after students receive them. This "cooling off" period provides students the opportunity to reflect on the assignment and my comments, as well as to determine exactly what they want from a conference with me.

Schedule of Readings and Activities: