English 795.00
Introduction to
Literary Scholarship
Professor David
Richter
Fall 2003
Thursdays, 2:00
to 4:00 pm
Syllabus
This course
takes up questions both practical and theoretical about what it means to do scholarship
in the discipline of "English." Theoretically, we consider what it
means to study a national language and literature that has become global in its
reach; we examine the boundaries of the discipline, how it intersects with but
also is differentiated from other disciplines and interdisciplinary fields; we
consider how varied theories of language, text, narrative, poetics, author,
psyche, society, culture, history, identity, politics (etc.) define, in
sometimes complementary but also sometimes contradictory ways, the discipline.
Practically, we take up the question of how we define objects of inquiry within
"English" studies, how we research such topics, how we identify the
main debates currently circulating around them, how we develop new knowledge -
in sum, we consider nitty-gritty questions crucial to pursuing graduate and
professional work in literary scholarship.
The course
follows four main lines of inquiry, examining: 1) archival and bibliographical
work, 2) concepts of textuality, 3)
theoretical approaches and 4) the historical, institutional context of the
discipline.
Requirements:
Students
will make several brief in-class presentations and complete a final project
that takes up textual, archival/bibliographical, historical/institutional, and/or
theoretical questions. A significant aspect of the course will be a student's
individual work toward that final project – for which see below.
Required Texts:
James L. Harner, Literary Research Guide: A Guide to Reference Sources for the Study of Literatures in English and Related Topics. Fourth Edition. New York: MLA, 2002. ISBN: 0873529839
David H. Richter, ed. Falling into Theory:
Conflicting Views on Reading Literature.
Second Edition. Boston: Bedford
Books, 2000. ISBN: 0312201567
Recommended
Texts:
Gerald
Graff, Professing Literature: An Institutional History (UChicagoPr,
1989).
David C.
Greetham, Textual Scholarship: An Introduction (Garland, 1994).
Jerome J.
McGann, A Critique of Modern Textual Criticism (UVirginiaPr, 1992).
Tentative Schedule
September 4:
Introduction to the course. Doing
English... joining the conversation… finding your own voice. Organizational session.
September
11: Research methods I – Libraries.
Reference tools at Mina Rees and other academic libraries—how and why to
use them. Class will meet in Mina Rees.
September
18: Research methods II – Archives – a field trip. Meet at the Fales Collection at NYU; Elmer Holmes Bobst Library,
Third Floor, 70 Washington Square South, New York, New York 10012. Our host will be Marvin Taylor. Using archival materials; finding your own
archive.
September
25: Research methods III – the World Wide Web, delights and pitfalls. E-texts and hypertext archives. Please see
and explore linked websites at http://qcpages.qc.edu/ENGLISH/Staff/richter/web1.htm
. Oral reports on research methods.
October 2:
Texts I: What is a Text? Traditional
textual scholarship and analytical bibliography. Traditional editing and its issues. Reading: W.W. Greg, “The Rationale of Copy Text.” Greetham, Textual Scholarship,
Introduction and Chapter 9.
Illustrative problems in the editing of Shakespeare.
October 9:
Texts II: Issues and problems. Copy
text vs. genetic reconstruction of authorial intention: Gabler vs. Kidd in the
1984 edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Readings TBA, but see Charles
Rossman’s presentation of the issues at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/4233
; see also http://www.nybooks.com/articles/4179;
and http://www.nybooks.com/articles/4087
.
October 16:
Texts III: Postmodern editing theory and its critics. Readings: Jerome McGann, A Critique of Modern Textual
Criticism; G. Thomas Tanselle, “Historicism and Critical Editing” from Studies
in Bibliography (1986), available on the WWW at: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-sb?id=sibv039&images=bsuva/sb/images&data=/texts/english/bibliog/SB&tag=public&part=1&division=div
October 23:
Texts IV: Hypertext and Internet Archives revisited. Reading: Jerome McGann, “The Rationale of Hypertext,” on the WWW
at http://www.iath.virginia.edu/public/jjm2f/rationale.html . Oral reports on
textuality.
October 30:
Theory I: Contemporary literary theory and the modes of literary reading. Readings: Falling into Theory part
III.
November 6:Theory II: The
same subject continued. Reading theory
and unpacking theoretical discourse.
Reading: Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, “Introduction” to Volume I of Ranajit Guha, Subaltern Studies. Reports on theory.
November 13:
Theory III: Theory in practice: the rhetoric of literary discourse. Readings, all on The Merchant of Venice: (1) Marchitello,
Howard. "(Dis)Embodied
Letters and The Merchant of Venice: Writing, Editing, History." ELH,
62:2 (1995 Summer), pp. 237-65. (2) Downing, Crystal. "Close(d)
Readings of Shakespeare: Re-Covering Self-Reflexivity in the Classroom." College
Literature, 29:2 (2002 Spring), pp. 115-23. (3) Weisberg,
Richard H. "Antonio's
Legalistic Cruelty: Interdisciplinarity and 'The Merchant of Venice'." College
Literature, 25:1 (1998 Winter), pp. 12-20. (4) Adelman,
Janet. "Her
Father's Blood: Race, Conversion, and Nation in The Merchant of Venice." Representations,
81 (2003 Winter), pp. 4-30.
November 20:
Theory IV: The literary canon in theory and practice. Historicizing the canon wars.
Readings: Falling into Theory, Part II.
November 27:
Thanksgiving Day – No Classes.
December 4:
Doing English I: History of a genteel
profession. Readings: Falling into
Theory, Introduction and Part I.
December 11:
Doing English II: Political and economic pressures on academia. Readings: TBA.
December 18:
Conclusions, final presentations.
Final
Projects with calendars for due dates for assignment elements: (This will give
you intermediate dates to shoot for---there is plenty of leeway during the term
but stay in touch and let me know when problems come up, and what those
problems are.)
(1) The Mini-Edition
Part I:
Critical “Appreciation” and Preliminary Bibliography: September 18.
Part II: Enumerative
Bibliography of Primary Sources: September 25
Part III: Enumerative
Bibliography of Secondary Sources: October 9
Part IV:
Textual History and Textual Analysis: October 16
Part V: Edition
and Annotation: October 30
Part VI: Reception
by Contemporaries and Near-Contemporaries: November 6
Part VII: Reception
Today: November 20
First draft
of complete mini-edition due November 27
(2) The Dissertation Prospectus
Part I:
Analyzing the conversation in your field: September 18
Part II:
Preliminary bibliography of the major critical texts in your field: September
25
Part III: Developing
a critical question: October 9
Part IV: Critical
voice: October 16
Part V:
Bibliographical essay on primary sources: October 30
Part VI:
Bibliographical essay on secondary
sources: November 13
Part VII:
Draft of Annotated Bibliography: November 20
First Draft
of Completed Prospectus: November 27
(3)
Alternatives