Reminder--the Anime aesthetic will be our topic for Monday, 2/3
(Reason: feminist/queer theory perspectives most likely will work better with more of the story in view.)
Two things required here:
1. Summarize some major points defining the Anime aesthetic from one or more critical discussions. A range of books is available in the Blackboard Syllabus/Documents section (right after blog link). Napier is best to start with. The Anime and Philosophy book is surprisingly good in parts. The La Marre is more ambitious. The others go pretty far afield but may lead to useful material if you develop a good search term and plug it in. You can also look for your own critical source material via MLA and Academic Premier database searches. Another route is to search books in Google, where you sometimes catch material in Preview.
2. Apply your definition points re Anime and the Anime aesthetic from your research-sources summary to 1Q84 looking at relevant material in the novel up to our current reading at Book III, Chapter 7.
(Addendum
You also might consider some of these standard terms from Japanese aesthetics, working your summary/definitions from research into the terms as well as the broader category Anime. Mono No Aware, Iki, and Moe are likely items for Murakami, though all are interesting to explore.
(I can't guarantee spellings here, but these should catch on searches.)
Yugen--includes subaspects Mono No Aware, Mujo, Okashi. Historical examples: No drama; the Tale of Genji
Kabukimono--encompasses Basara and Furyu. Historical bkgd: Kabuki theater.
Iki--modern trends, emphasis on common people rather than aristocratic milieus..
Moe--"emo" in some respects. Includes the Otaku (male geek) and the Bishoujo (girl he falls for).
Kawaii--"Cuteness." Historical background: The Pillow Book.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Link to Cambridge Intro to Postmodern Fiction Google Books: NB pp. 17-39
Along with Waugh and McHale, pp. 17-39 here will give you material for the Postmodern Novel topic..
Cambridge Intro to Postmodern Fictio
If you can extract main ideas from Waugh, Mc Hale, and this text, you will have plenty.
Try Google Books previews and library holdings for the Waugh and Mc Hale. MLA and Academic Premier searches may turn up articles covering the same ground, so those are another option. At-large web search for Waugh and McHale may catch material as well.
Starting material for Postmodern Novel topic
From the Literature Network blog--this is a good everyday language account just for starters, not a scholarly research source. Note: Patricia Waugh's book is an early account but worth consulting; another early but useful treatment is Brian McHale's book on Postmodern Fiction..
Postmodernism is the philosophy/perspective that calls into question Grand Narratives or the existence of objective truth to give a general overview. Many adherents of postmodernist would probably tell you I am oversimplifying, but I think that broad definition covers it well.
Postmodern fiction is the fiction whose themes reflect the basic tenet that objective truth doesn't exist. It, therefore, tends to take the form of metafiction (fiction about fiction).
Patricia Waugh defines metafiction as “a term given to fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artefact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality” (2). This type of fiction “explores the possible fictionality of the world outside the literary fictional text” (2). In other words, since postmodernism has made the claim that there is no longer any Truth with a capital "T," that the existence of such a transcendental truth has been debunked, everything we can possibly know is a reflection of the culture we live in (even our most sacred truths). What this means for fiction writers is that there is no longer a need to write fiction that deals with transcendental truths. Instead a great deal of postmodern fiction deals with the very art of writing itself and the truth of political situations.
For example, a book that falls into both the Postmodern and metafiction definitions would be Philip Roth's Operation Shylock. The main character is Philip Roth himself who meets up with another man named Philip Roth who is posing as him within Israel to preach Diasporism (for the Jews to leave Europe and return to Israel). The point of this doppleganger is to demonstrate how Philip Roth's own identity is a social construct situated and formulated in a given historical context. Philip Roth just as easily could've been the other Philip Roth. In other words, the author serves as a larger metaphor for the Jewish community. Philip Roth talks about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict in the story and shows how much of a "fiction" that conflict is as well, that both sides are formulating these make believe identities.
A postmodernist wouldn't say the starvation and lack of supplies the Palestinian's suffer is fake, nor would he say that the Holocaust that the Jews suffered was fake either. The book deals with these elements throughout, but it does poke fun at the identities that formulate around these real events. There is one Palestinian character, George Zaid, for example who is a Palestinian intellectual who was trained in America and suddenly return to the Palestinian Territory and hate the Israelis and the larger Jewish public in a way he never did while living most of his life in America, positing the artificialness of his identity. This figure obviously pokes fun at famous Palestinian intellectual Edward Said.
Likewise, Ziad tells Roth the character, "the conspiracy against you in the Jewish press began at the beginning and has barely let up to this day, a smear campaign the likes of which has befallen no Jewish writer since Spinoza. Do I exaggerate?" (OS 136). Roth is thinking about his entire body of work up to this point within his story and how it relates to his life as a Jew and how the crazy events of his life reflect his work.
Basically postmodern fiction calls "truth" and "reality" and "grand narratives" we tell ourselves into question. All metafiction is pretty much Postmodern fiction, however not all Postmodern fiction need be metafiction. Fight Club for example doesn't really deal to much with the nature of writing and art (it does a little bit in very subtle ways), so it isn't really metafiction. But it is postmodern because it calls truths about masculinity into question.
How is this different from other fictional periods? For the most part 19th century fiction is about something, it has truths to reveal through the fiction. It isn't critiquing notions of truth, but rather is revealing to us the truth.
Postmodernism is the philosophy/perspective that calls into question Grand Narratives or the existence of objective truth to give a general overview. Many adherents of postmodernist would probably tell you I am oversimplifying, but I think that broad definition covers it well.
Postmodern fiction is the fiction whose themes reflect the basic tenet that objective truth doesn't exist. It, therefore, tends to take the form of metafiction (fiction about fiction).
Patricia Waugh defines metafiction as “a term given to fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artefact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality” (2). This type of fiction “explores the possible fictionality of the world outside the literary fictional text” (2). In other words, since postmodernism has made the claim that there is no longer any Truth with a capital "T," that the existence of such a transcendental truth has been debunked, everything we can possibly know is a reflection of the culture we live in (even our most sacred truths). What this means for fiction writers is that there is no longer a need to write fiction that deals with transcendental truths. Instead a great deal of postmodern fiction deals with the very art of writing itself and the truth of political situations.
For example, a book that falls into both the Postmodern and metafiction definitions would be Philip Roth's Operation Shylock. The main character is Philip Roth himself who meets up with another man named Philip Roth who is posing as him within Israel to preach Diasporism (for the Jews to leave Europe and return to Israel). The point of this doppleganger is to demonstrate how Philip Roth's own identity is a social construct situated and formulated in a given historical context. Philip Roth just as easily could've been the other Philip Roth. In other words, the author serves as a larger metaphor for the Jewish community. Philip Roth talks about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict in the story and shows how much of a "fiction" that conflict is as well, that both sides are formulating these make believe identities.
A postmodernist wouldn't say the starvation and lack of supplies the Palestinian's suffer is fake, nor would he say that the Holocaust that the Jews suffered was fake either. The book deals with these elements throughout, but it does poke fun at the identities that formulate around these real events. There is one Palestinian character, George Zaid, for example who is a Palestinian intellectual who was trained in America and suddenly return to the Palestinian Territory and hate the Israelis and the larger Jewish public in a way he never did while living most of his life in America, positing the artificialness of his identity. This figure obviously pokes fun at famous Palestinian intellectual Edward Said.
Likewise, Ziad tells Roth the character, "the conspiracy against you in the Jewish press began at the beginning and has barely let up to this day, a smear campaign the likes of which has befallen no Jewish writer since Spinoza. Do I exaggerate?" (OS 136). Roth is thinking about his entire body of work up to this point within his story and how it relates to his life as a Jew and how the crazy events of his life reflect his work.
Basically postmodern fiction calls "truth" and "reality" and "grand narratives" we tell ourselves into question. All metafiction is pretty much Postmodern fiction, however not all Postmodern fiction need be metafiction. Fight Club for example doesn't really deal to much with the nature of writing and art (it does a little bit in very subtle ways), so it isn't really metafiction. But it is postmodern because it calls truths about masculinity into question.
How is this different from other fictional periods? For the most part 19th century fiction is about something, it has truths to reveal through the fiction. It isn't critiquing notions of truth, but rather is revealing to us the truth.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
English 402 Syllabus
Spring 2014
English 402-01 Literature Capstone: Major
Work
Murakami’s 1Q84
Dr.
Gerald Majer Coop 1 (building below the Exchange, in the Meditation Center)
Office
and Voice Mail: 443-334-2467
Office
Hours: w 1:30-2:30; TTH 1:40-2:40; and by appointment
Course Description
Explores the aesthetic, cultural, and/or historical reasons
for a text's valuation as a major work of art. Students select their own
criteria for evaluating the text's status and integrate critical theory and
secondary sources into their final analysis.
Course Objectives
Upon
completion of this course, students will have demonstrated the ability to
solve
a problem that requires the student to contribute to creating the context for the problem, to define the
problem, and to effect its solution,
synthesize suitable sources for a specific problem and a
specific audience
write with integrity and authority in the style and to the
standards of selected
professional or creative genres
produce a
compelling message with highly credible supporting material and effective
delivery techniques
negotiate the complex interaction of textual values,
personal values, and the values of
others in order to solve a problem
apply academic preparation to professional and cultural
experiences beyond the classroom
evaluate
academic and career choices based on self-determined goals and on a personal
assessment of knowledge, skills, and interest.
Course Work Requirements:
50%
For your final project, 20 pp. (6000
words or equivalent), a sustained critical article on Murakami’s 1Q84.
25%
12 500 word (minimum) reading/research
summaries and syntheses exploring topics, to be presented in class sessions as
designated. In the first half, these
will be on assigned topics; in the second, they will be focused on your final project
topic.
15 %
Class participation and contributions.
10%
A public reading/presentation of your
critical article, 20 minutes in length.
Class Policy:
* If you expect to miss class meetings,
you should not be in this class because the heart of it is the ongoing process
of cross-fertilization of ideas and inspirations among members of the seminar
group. It’s all about collaboration,
critique, and support, and that means everybody being involved consistently.
*Because it is the capstone piece, your final
project must be fully completed to pass this course.
Text:
Murakami, Haruki. 1Q84. (Vintage PB, 2013).
Weekly Assignments (see
Schedule below):
All readings must be completed on time for the
assigned session (earning participation/contribution points).
For each session until midterm, all students
must present to the seminar a 500 words minimum summary/synthesis on the
assigned Research Topic for the session.
For each session after midterm, all students must present to the seminar
500 words minimum summary/synthesis on the individual Final Project Research
Topic
English 403-01 Schedule
1/13
Discussion of 1Q84 to Book II, Chapter 13: Techniques, Elements, Themes.
Overview of assignments and research
topics.
1/20 Holiday (Reading: Book II, Chapters 13-18).
1/27
Discussion of 1Q84, Book II, Chapters 13-24.
Research Topics (2; do both): 1. 1Q84 Critical Reception. 2. 1Q84
and Genre/the Postmodern Novel.
2/3 Discussion of 1Q84, Book III, Chapters 1-7.
Research Topic: 1Q84 in Feminist or Queer Studies perspective.
2/10 Discussion of 1Q84, Book III, Chapters 7-13.
Research Topic: 1Q84 and Slipstream Fiction and/or New Fabulism.
2/17
Discussion of 1Q84, Book III, Chapters 13-19.
Research Topic: 1Q84 and the Anime Aesthetic/
“Animism.”
“Animism.”
2/24 Discussion of 1Q84, Book III, Chapters 19-25.
Research Topic: 1Q84 and the Representation of Postmodern Japan.
3/3 Discussion of 1Q84, Book III, Chapters 25-31 (finish).
Research Topic: 1Q84 and Popular Culture; or, 1Q84
and George Orwell’s 1984.
3/10 Spring break
3/17 Seminar
research presentations.
3/24 Seminar research presentations.
3/31 Seminar research presentations.
4/7 Seminar research presentations.
4/14 Seminar research presentations.
4/21 Presentations of Student Papers.
4/28-Finals Week;
4/30 Final project due in my email in word.doc file attachment.
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