Syllabus (2012)

English 243

Jay Clayton, Vanderbilt University

Week 1 (Jan 9-13)	Week 2 (Jan 18-20)	Week 3 (Jan 23-27)	Week 4 (Jan 30-Feb 3)
Week 5 (Feb 6-10)	Week 6 (Feb 13-17)	Week 7 (Feb 20-24)	Week 8 (Feb 27-Mar 2)
(Spring Break Mar 5-9)	Week 9 (Mar 12-16)	Week 10 (Mar 19-23)	Week 11 (Mar 26-30)
Week 12 (Apr 2-6)	Week 13 (Apr 9-13)	Week 14 (Apr 16-20)	Conclusion (Apr 23)
Procedures, Requirements, and Grading Policy

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Week 1 (January 9-13)

• Monday: Introduction
• Wednesday: View online: “Cracking the Code of Life” (2 hour PBS special, Nova [2002])
  • Resource: National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) Educational Resources
• Friday: Nancy Kress, Beaker’s Dozen (1998): “Sex Education” (OAK)

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Week 2 (January 18-20)

• Monday (no class)
• Wednesday: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World. Complete first half of the novel
  • Resource: Background for studying Brave New World
• Friday: Aldous Huxley, Brave New World. Finish the novel

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Week 3 (January 23-27)

• Monday: Gattaca (1997), Andrew Niccol, dir.  Screening Sunday night, 7:00 pm, in 015 Buttrick (basement room, reached either by the elevator or by the ramp behind Buttrick).
• Wednesday: Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
• Friday: Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go

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Week 4 (January 30-February 3)

• Monday: Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
• Tuesday: Movie screening of The Island (015 Buttrick at 8:00 pm)
• Wednesday:  The Island (2005), Michael Bay, dir.
• Friday: Martha Nussbaum, “Little C” (OAK)

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Week 5 (February 6-10)

• Monday:  Andrea Barrett, Ship Fever (1996), “The Behavior of Hawkweeds,” pp. 11-33
• Wednesday: Andrea Barrett, Ship Fever, “Rare Bird,” pp. 59-79
• Friday: Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, Ch. 10 (online text). Use any edition that reprints Darwin’s final revisions (1860 or later)
  • Resource: Brief discussion of Darwin’s discoveries on the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle by Ralph E. Taggart, Professor of Plant Biology, Michigan State University
  • Resource: A good collection of online secondary sources
• Topics for Paper 1

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Week 6 (February 13-17)

• Monday: Andrea Barrett, Ship Fever, “Soroche,” pp. 80-102
• Wednesday: Watch Master and Commander (2003)
• Friday: Andrea Barrett, Ship Fever, “Birds with No Feet,” pp. 103-22

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Week 7 (February 20-24)

• Monday: Read first half of H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896)
• Wednesday: H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau(1896)
  • First paper due. Name the file you post to OAK: “Lastname , Firstname – paper 1.” Post through SafeAssign in the Assignments module.
• Friday: H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896) and Mark Greene, et al., “Moral Issues of Human-Non-Human Primate Neural Grafting” (Science 309 [July 2005]: 385-6)

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Week 8 (February 27-March 2)

• Monday: David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
• Wednesday: David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
• Friday: David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Spring Break (March 5-9)

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Week 9 (March 12-16)

• Monday (class rescheduled): David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
• Wednesday: James D. Watson, The Double Helix
• Friday: James D. Watson, The Double Helix

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Week 10 (March 19-23)

• Monday: Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
• Wednesday: Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
• Friday: Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake

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Week 11 (March 26-30)

• Monday: Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
• Wednesday: Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood (2009)
• Friday: Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood (2009)

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Week 12 (April 2-6)

• Monday: Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood (2009)
• Wednesday: Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood (2009)
• Friday: Richard Powers, Generosity

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Week 13 (April 9-13)

• Monday: Richard Powers, Generosity
• Wednesday: Richard Powers, Generosity
• Friday: Ian McEwan, Saturday (2005)

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Week 14 (April 16-20)

• Monday: McEwan, Saturday (2005)
• Wednesday: Ian McEwan, Saturday (2005)
• Friday: Ian McEwan, Saturday (2005)

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Conclusion (April 23)

• Monday: Presentations of digital media projects.  Bring a CD or send me the link to the project by email.
• Second paper, research paper, or final version of project due, 4:00 p.m.  Name the file you post to OAK: “Lastname , Firstname – paper 1.” Post through SafeAssign in the Assignments module.

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Procedures and Requirments

• Option 1: Two 5-page papers. Each paper will count for 20% of the semester’s grade.
• Option 2: Collaborative digital media project. The project will count for 40% of the semester’s grade.
• Option 3: Research paper (15-20 pages) – 40% of the semester’s grade.
• Regular reading quizzes will constitute 20% of the grade.
• Nine required blog posts will count for 27% of the grade.
• Discussion: 13% of the grade