Here is the syllabus.
POE AND HAWTHORNE
The University of Akron 3300:645:401
Summer 2008, Second Session: June 23 to July 26
Olin Hall 362, 9:45AM to 11:15AM
Professor
Jon Miller, Ph.D. 301b Olin Hall, with summer session office hours from 11:30 to 1:30, every day; mjon at uakron edu; x5717.
Course Description
This is a graduate-level seminar in the creative writing, literary criticism, biographies, and historical and literary context of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The course develops some of the specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals working as teachers of literature and professionals working in the fields of scholarly research, writing, and publication. All the research and writing work for this course will culminate in the creation and publicaton of a scholarly edition of important yet out-of-print creative writing by one of Poe and Hawthorne’s most important contemporaries.
Books
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 2004. ISBN 0393972852.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Selected Tales and Sketches. Penguin Classics. New York: Penguin Books, ISBN 014039057X.
Reynolds, Larry J. A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0195124146.
Kennedy, J. Gerald. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0195121503.
Numerous handouts.
Reading Assignments
See reading schedule.
Research, writing, and editing assignments
The class will function as a crack team of scholarly researchers, writers, and (this is important) editors. Each assignment will be discussed in meticulous and mind-clearing detail as it approaches. Here is a quick summary of the six stages that each student must complete: (1) Create etext. (2) Edit a peer’s etext. (3) Write short scholarly paper. (4) Write complete draft of paper, etext, endnotes, and annotated bibliography. (5) Edit a peer’s complete draft. (6) Create final revision of paper, etext, endnotes, and annotated bibliography.
Alacrity
Antebellum Americans admired promptness. It’s that winning mixture of cheerful readiness and quickness of decision and action. I say promptness is an underrated skill needed for professionals of all kinds. Because we are working together on a common project, it is unusually imperative that all students complete their assignments on time. Each class should begin with an encomium to alacrity, and students will receive a grade on the promptness with which they submit their assignments.
Each student must meet seven deadlines for our collaborative project to meet with success. If there are thirteen students in the class, then the students are responsible for 91 critical moments in the gradual progress of our scholarly edition. (And I will have about 100 chances to fail you.) These are long odds, but I am confident that we can meet our common goal by adding promptness to our developing competencies.
Your “alacrity grade” will be a number from 1 to 100. Everyone starts with a grade of 100. Every time you submit an assignment late, your alacrity grade will be lowered by 30 points. There will be no excuses for late work, and there will be no extensions on the deadline. An assignment is only prompt if it is submitted, as directed, by the end of the class period on which it is due. If you have plans to miss a class, you must make arrangements to submit your work electronically with the neccessary promptness.
Attendance and Participation
You can miss one class without penalty, provided that you make arrangements to submit any materials that are needed from you on this date. If you miss four classes, you could fail the course. Please do not be late to class and please do not leave early. Your attendance grade will be the percentage of all classes (less the one “sick day”) that you attend. If you are late to class or leave class early, you could receive credit for attending only half a class. Your participation grade will reflect the quality of participation. All students are expected to pay close attention to class discussion, to contribute to our conversations with an appropriate frequency, and to respect the contributions of other classmates.
Grading
All assignments receive a numeric grade. Weightings will be as follows: First etext 5%, edit peer etext 5%, short paper 15%, first complete draft 15%, edit peer draft 5%, final product 30%, edit proofs 5%, alacrity 10%, attendance and participation 10%. Grades will be awarded as follows: 92.5, A; 90, A-; 87.5, B+; 82.5, B; 80, B-; 77.5, C+; 72.5, C; 70.0, C-; 67.5, D+; 62.5, D; 60, D-; below 60, F.
Reading Schedule
Legend
EAP = Poe, Edgar Allan. The Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 2004. ISBN 0393972852.
NHTS = Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Selected Tales and Sketches. Penguin Classics. New York: Penguin Books, ISBN 014039057X.
HGNH = Reynolds, Larry J. A Historical Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0195124146.
HGEAP = Kennedy, J. Gerald. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0195121503.
Monday, June 23, 2008 (1)
Syllabus. Opening lecture: biographies etc. Receive etext assignment.
–Anonymous, The Buried Alive (tale/sketch), EAP (1821), 759 to 762.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 (2)
Discussion of editions. Receive research & writing assignment.
–J. Gerald Kennedy, Introduction: Poe in Our time (introduction), HGEAP (2001), 3 to 18.
–J. Gerald Kennedy, Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849: A Brief Biography (bio), HGEAP (2001), 19 to 62.
–G.R. Thompson, Edgar Allan Poe: An American Life (bio), EAP (2004), xiii to xlviii.
–J. Gerald Kennedy, Illustrated Chronology (bio), HGEAP (2001), 189 to 208.
–Scott Peeples, Bibliographical Essay: Major Editions and Landmarks of Poe Scholarship (bibliography), HGEAP (2001), 209 to 231.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Tamerlane (poem), EAP (1827), 8 to 14.
–Another reading TBA (handout).
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 (3)
–Michael J. Colacurcio, Introduction (introduction), NHTS (1987), vii to xxxv.
–Larry J. Reynolds, Introduction (introduction), HGNH (2001), 3 to 12.
–Brenda Wineapple, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1804-1864: A Brief Biography (bio), HGNH (2001), 13 to 48.
–Larry J. Reynolds, Illustrated Chronology (bio), HGNH (2001), 165 to 182.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Hollow of the Three Hills (tale/sketch), NHTS (1830), 1 to 6.
–Another reading TBA (handout).
Thursday, June 26, 2008 (4)
Etext due.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mrs. Hutchinson (tale/sketch), NHTS (1830), 14 to 21.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Fairy-Land version 2 (poem), EAP (1831), 45 to 45.
–Edgar Allan Poe, To Helen (poem), EAP (1831), 47 to 47.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Israfel (poem), EAP (1831), 48 to 48.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Letter to B--- [Preface to Poems] (essay), EAP (1831), 588 to 593.
–Another reading TBA (handout).
Friday, June 27, 2008 (5)
–Edgar Allan Poe, Metzengerstein (tale/sketch), EAP (1832), 81 to 89.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, My Kinsman, Major Molineux (tale/sketch), NHTS (1832), 29 to 50.
–Another reading TBA (handout).
Monday, June 30, 2008 (6)
Edited peer etext due.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Roger Malvin's Burial (tale/sketch), NHTS (1832), 51 to 73.
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Coliseum (poem), EAP (1833), 53 to 55.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Ms. Found in a Bottle (tale/sketch), EAP (1833), 106 to 115.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 (7)
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Folio Club (essay), EAP (1834), 595 to 596.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Some Passages in the Life of a Lion (tale/sketch), EAP (1835), 128 to 133.
–Edgar Allan Poe, King Pest (tale/sketch), EAP (1835), 148 to 159.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Gray Champion (tale/sketch), NHTS (1835), 124 to 132.
–Another reading TBA (handout).
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 (8)
Short paper due.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Wakefield (tale/sketch), NHTS (1835), 149 to 158.
–Edgar Allan Poe, To Thomas W. White (letter), EAP (1835), 596 to 598.
–Edgar Allan Poe, from Theodore S. Fay (review), EAP (1835), 598 to 600.
Thursday, July 3, 2008 (9)
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Minister's Black Veil (tale/sketch), NHTS (1836), 185 to 199.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sunday at Home (tale/sketch), NHTS (1837), 200 to 207.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Ligeia (tale/sketch), EAP (1838), 159 to 173.
–Edgar Allan Poe, How to Write a Blackwood Article: A Predicament (tale/sketch), EAP (1838), 173 to 190.
–Another reading TBA (handout).
Monday, July 7, 2008 (10)
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Night Sketches (tale/sketch), NHTS (1838), 225 to 231.
–Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream within a Dream (poem), EAP (1839), 70 to 70.
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher (tale/sketch), EAP (1839), 199 to 216.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 (11)
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Man of the Crowd (tale/sketch), EAP (1840), 232 to 239.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Preface to Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque (essay), EAP (1840), 620 to 621.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Prospectus of The Penn Magazine (prospectus), EAP (1840), 621 to 623.
–Edgar Allan Poe, To William E. Burton (letter), EAP (1840), 623 to 623.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 (12)
Complete draft due.
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Murders in the Rue Morgue (tale/sketch), EAP (1841), 239 to 266.
–Edgar Allan Poe, A Descent into the Maelstrom (tale/sketch), EAP (1841), 266 to 279.
Thursday, July 10, 2008 (13)
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, From His Letters and Journals (journal writing), BR (1841), 231 to 240.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, From His Letters and Journals (journal writing), BR (1841), 242 to 244.
–Edgar Allan Poe, from Edward Lytton Bulwer (review), EAP (1841), 624 to 626.
–Edgar Allan Poe, from Lambert A. Wilmer (review), EAP (1841), 626 to 632.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne part 1 (review), EAP (1842), 643 to 644.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne part 2 (review), EAP (1842), 645 to 650.
Friday, July 11, 2008 – no class
Monday, July 14, 2008 (14)
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart (tale/sketch), EAP (1843), 316 to 321.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Birth-mark (tale/sketch), NHTS (1843), 259 to 278.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent (tale/sketch), NHTS (1843), 279 to 294.
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Purloined Letter (tale/sketch), EAP (1844), 367 to 382.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 (15)
Final project due.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Artist of the Beautiful (tale/sketch), NHTS (1844), 358 to 385.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 (16)
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rappaccini's Daughter (tale/sketch), NHTS (1844), 386 to 420.
Thursday, July 17, 2008 (17)
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven (poem), EAP (1845), 57 to 61.
Friday, July 18, 2008 (18)
Proofs due.
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar (tale/sketch), EAP (1845), 407 to 414.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Preface to The Raven and Other Poems (essay), EAP (1845), 675 to 675.
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado (tale/sketch), EAP (1846), 415 to 421.
Monday, July 21, 2008 (19)
–Edgar Allan Poe, The Philosophy of Composition (criticism), EAP (1846), 675 to 684.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne (review), EAP (1847), 685 to 693.
–Edgar Allan Poe, Hop-Frog; or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs (tale/sketch), EAP (1849), 421 to 428.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 (20)
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ethan Brand (tale/sketch), NHTS (1850), 421 to 440.
–Nathaniel Hawthorne, from his American Notebooks (journal writing), BR (1850), 245 to 257.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 (21)
–Edgar Allan Poe, from The Poetic Principle (criticism), EAP (1850), 698 to 704.
–George R. Graham, from The Late Edgar Allan Poe (biography), EAP (1850), 710 to 712.
Thursday, July 24, 2008 (22)
–Charles Baudelaire, from Edgar Allan Poe (biography), EAP (1852), 712 to 715.
–Walt Whitman, from Edgar Poe's Significance (criticism), EAP (1880), 715 to 716.
–Terence Whalen, Poe and the American Publishing Industry (criticism), HGEAP (2001), 63 to 94.
Friday, July 25, 2008 (23)
Books arrive.
Course evaluations.
== end of document
