University of Texas at Arlington (ENGL 2303)
University of Kansas (ENGL 209)
Course Description
In the very first scenes of the Cohen Brother’s movie Fargo, viewers are told a lie: “This story is true.” And this statement, of course, isn’t the first time a writer has conflated “story truth” and “historical truth.” In fact, Oscar Wilde once said, “The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.” In this course, we’ll ask ourselves if he was correct—and we’ll examine potential complications that arise when historical events become literature. What happens, for instance, when writers mythologize a specific period, movement, or person? When does this act cross the line into propaganda? Conversely, what problems occur when writers give voice to a historical person who has obtained iconic status in our society? And why, after all, would the Cohen brothers want to begin their movie by telling us it’s true?
To answer these questions, we will think critically about the social and historical contexts of specific works, and we’ll analyze the sometimes volatile reactions generated by them. By examining works from various literary movements and genres, ranging from realistic accounts of history to post-modern re-interpretations of the historical record, students will be asked to grapple with political and cultural questions about literature, history, and why the storyteller often matters as much as the story itself.
Possible texts: E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime; Toni Morrison, Beloved; Laura Moriarty, The Chaperone; William Styron, The Confessions of Nat Turner; Andrew Hudgins, After the Lost War: A Narrative; various short stories and poems.
Learning Objectives
- To encourage students to see that literary studies matter and to foster enjoyment of literature
- To help students recognize that literature is in dialogue with complex cultural and historical contexts
- To develop students’ ability to read critically
- To develop students’ skills of writing and expression, particularly with respect to analysis of literary texts
How I Teach
In this course, I try to engage students by showing them how works of literature aren’t static and solitary, but are instead writers’ reactions to and attempt to engage with their world, both as it is and how it has been. We begin by looking at approaches writers take to using historical research in their works, from realistic, carefully researched novels and narrative poems, such as The Chaperone (Moriarty) or After the Lost War (Hudgins), to novels that see history more as a story in-and-of-itself, a tale to be shaped and changed at will, as in the case of Doctorow’s Ragtime. We also look at other strategies, such as how and why Toni Morrison would be inspired to use the tragic story of Margaret Garner as a catalyst for Beloved, but not dependent on its details. In doing so, we consider larger questions, such as how a novel like Gone with the Wind, through its mythologizing of the “Lost Cause” narrative, can have such a far-ranging effect on society.
Having weighed the decisions writers are often forced to grapple with, I then ask students to consider the works as cultural artifacts themselves. Here, I typically use William Styron’s novel The Confessions of Nat Turner to explore not only the story, but how it was received by audiences in the late 1960’s. This allows me to introduce students to important elements such as the Black Arts Movement and to ask them to consider how and why we, as a society, react to artistic works. In doing so, we move from exploring how literature is made into questioning its cultural role in society.
Joshua Canipe 