Too Late...

If you do a little research online, you will find many entries under the category "Should I Go To Graduate School." They are alternately despairing and comical. Ok, so you're already in grad school. LOL!!!

This, however, is my favorite example of the genre "Should I Go," not least because it deals in ambivalence:

http://avidly.lareviewofbooks.org/2012/11/13/love-in-the-ruins-or-should-i-go-to-grad-school/

In the words of Peter Coviello:

"And then, one day, you encounter something that is outsized and terrible, that devours ardor at the root, and will not be dislodged by even the most venerated of the objects that have for so long nourished you. Language itself, no matter how conceptually rich or steeped in the history of your dearest affections, will seem like the thinnest and most friable of scrims between you and horror. And I promise you, though you may not recognize it at the time, the voices of the people calling you back to a scene of language-making you once inhabited, and back to a self trained in patient discriminations and in the wringing of clarities from messy indistinction – they won’t cure you, these voices, alas. But they will act as a testament and a reminder. You will need both."

Assignment: Primary Text

Hi everyone,

As promised, here is your first assignment!

1) For our first class meeting, Tues Oct 7, I would like you to pick a PRIMARY TEXT to work with this quarter. This text must be one that you are already familiar and comfortable with, but not something you love. Even though many of you may be working on film, visual, or digital texts, for our purposes this text should be a literary text. The text can be from your proposed field of study, but doesn't have to be. This text may be a novel, a poem, drama, etc -- but it must be a complete work -- not a portion of a novel, etc.

2)  On our course blog, post the title and author(s) of your selection, AND a short blurb about the text from a reputable source. For example, a published review, commentary, or brief critical analysis about the text. Yes, you may also use an authoritative digital/internet source for your blurb, even  wikipedia as long as you deem the description reputable: use your digital research skillz. You must research and find this blurb -- do not write it yourself. 

3) I want to stress again that you should be comfortable with the primary text you choose, but not totally wedded to it -- many of our writing assignments will ask you to think about your primary text in relation to and/or against the various essays and articles we will be reading each week. That is, you will have to think about your primary text in different, even contradictory ways over the course of the quarter.

4) In addition, for our first class meeting please read Best, Stephen "On Failing..."; Dillon, Elizabeth "The Secret..."; Jameson, Fredric, "The Cultural Logic..."; and Watson, Nicholas, "Desire...". All are available on SmartSite. And be ready to discuss them Tues!

5) I'll be adding all of you as contributors on the blog asap, as soon as I figure it out...for now, get started on your own research. See you soon!

Best, 

--DM

 

Welcome to Grad School!

Hi everyone,
I've just created our ENL 200 course site and want to alert you that this is the first time I've used a blog for course assignments, so please bear with me! 21st century here I come! Later today I will be posting our primary work assignment for next week (and the quarter in general), so watch this space.

For now, I'd like to welcome you to your first quarter in grad school with this advice:

http://m.chronicle.com/article/Welcome-to-Graduate-School/148775/

I look forward to meeting you next Tuesday.

Best,
--DM