The Pen and the Sword: Representations of the Heroic


Brian W. Gastle	
ENGL E110.081
Memorial 319			
MWF 1:30-2:20
X6597

			COURSE DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES
	We will explore and examine representations of heroes classical 
and modern, focusing primarily on what "heroic" means and how that 
category has changed.  For example, could Beowulf cleave Indiana Jones 
from his nave to his chops?  What happens when a woman is holding the 
sword or wielding the pen?  In what ways does Martin Luther King or other 
"non-violent" activists fit our idea of the heroic?  This class is first 
and foremost a "critical reading and writing" class.  I expect you to 
come to class not only having read the material but having also spent 
some modicum of time and energy thinking about the material, especially 
in light of what we have discussed previously in the semester.

				TEXTS

Beowulf: A Norton Critical Edition	Tolkien, J.R.R. Fellowship of the Ring
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Dispossessed.		---. The Hobbit
Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz		---. The Return of the King
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight			---. The Tolkien Reader

Photocopy Package:
	Campbell, Joseph. "The Monomyth"
	King, M.L. Jr. "Letter from Birmingham City Jail"
	Le Guin, Ursula K. "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction"
	---. "Is Gender Necessary"
	---. "Heroes"
	---. "Myth and Archetype in Science Fiction" 
	---. "Prospects for Women in Writing
	---. "Why Americans are Afraid of Dragons"
	Russ, Joanna. "What Can A Heroine Do? or Why Women Can't Write"
	Spenser, Edmund. from Faerie Queene III
	Woolf, Virginia. from "A Room of One's Own"


				REQUIREMENTS

	First Essay (@ 4-6 pgs)............................	15%
	Second Essay (@ 4-6 pgs)........................	20%
	Third Essay (@ 5-8 pgs)...........................	25%
	1 Research Project (@ 7-12 pgs)..................	30%
	Discussion, Quizzes, etc. .........................	10%

	The grade you receive in this class will be based primarily upon 
the quality of the essays that you write.  But that grade may be affected 
by other factors such as class participation, unscheduled assignments and 
quizzes.
	You will have ample opportunity to edit and revise drafts of your 
papers through both peer editing sessions and individual consultation 
with me.  Therefore, unless there are extenuating circumstances of epic 
proportions, I will not accept rewrites of previously graded papers.
	In order to pass the class you must turn in all assignments.  
Note the logic of that phrase; turning in all the assignments does not 
guarantee a passing grade, but you will most certainly not pass if you 
fail to turn in an assignment.
	All assignments are due at the beginning of each due-date class.  
I reserve the right to penalize late papers, usually reducing the grade 
2/3 per day late.  Please do not sacrifice class time for last minute 
revisions.
	All assignments must be typed or word-processed.


				SCHEDULE

	(subject to change at your whim or mine)
September
Fri	 1	Introduction & Diagnostic Essay

Mon	 5	NO CLASS - Labor Day


1. HERO AND SOCIETY

In this first section of the course we will attempt to produce working 
definitions of terms such as "hero" and "heroic."  We will come to these 
terms both through theoretical discussions and through literature 
attempting to portray these issues.

Wed	 7	"I want a Hero, an uncommon want. . ."
		Read: Beowulf

Fri	 9	The "Heroic Culture"
		Read: Beowulf

Mon	12	Heroic Archetypes
		Read: Campbell "The Monomyth"

Wed	14	Writing About Writing Within The Profession
		Read: Tolkien "The Monster and the Critics"

Fri	16	Writing About Writing "Without" The Profession
		Read: Le Guin "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction"

Mon	19	Cultural Differences
		Read: Le Guin The Dispossessed

Wed	21	Can Heroes Survive?
		Read: The Dispossessed

Fri	28	How Universal Is All This Anyway?
		Read: Le Guin "Myth and Archetype in Science Fiction"

Mon	26	Peer Editing of Paper #1

Wed	28	Conferences of Paper #1

Fri	30	Continued Conferences?


2. WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

This second section of the course will be devoted to how relationships 
are figured in discussions of the heroic.  Discussions will often 
therefore be devoted, more so than usual, to how the heroic is gendered.

October
Mon	 3	The "Romance Hero" And The Arthurian Tradition
		PAPER #1 DUE
		Read: SGGK

Wed	 5	Is This For Real?
		Read: SGGK


Fri	 7	Must They Really Bash In All Those Heads?
		Read: Le Guin "Heroes" 

Mon	10	Gender And Hero--Or Is That Heroine?
		Read: Russ "What Can a Heroine Do? or Why Women Can't Write"

Wed	12	"I Know What I Am--I'm A Man; I'm A Man, And So Is Lola"
		Read: from FQ III.i-iii

Fri	14	Watch Where You're Pointing That Thing--It Might Go Off
		Read: from FQ III.xi-xii

Mon	17	Peer Edit of Paper #2

Wed	19	Conference on Paper #2

Fri	21	What Does "Writing" Mean?
		Film: "Roger and Me"


3. HEROES WRITING

This third section of the course will examine those writers for whom it 
was heroic merely to write or witness.  We will explore the extent to 
which literary representations of the heroic can be distinguished from an 
author's own life.

Mon	24	How Hard Can It Be?  The dream of equality (if all people 
			are equal, who are the heroes?)
			PAPER #2 DUE
		Read: M.L.K. JR. "Letter From Birmingham City Jail"

Wed	26	Is Survival Heroic?
		Read: Primo Levi Survival in Auschwitz

Fri	28	Is Death Heroic?
		Read: Primo Levi Survival in Auschwitz

Mon	31	Counter-Culture Then And Now
		Read: Virginia Woolf "A Room of One's Own"

November

Wed	 2	"Bourgeois This And Bourgeois That"
		Read: Virginia Woolf "A Room of One's Own"

Fri	 4	Writing, Rewriting, And Gendered Conscience
		Read: Le Guin "Is Gender Necessary? Redux"
		---. " Prospects for Women Writing"

Mon	 7	Conferences on paper #3



4. THE GENERIC HERO

This fourth and final section of the course will be devoted to exploring 
the heroic figure within one specific genre--namely fantasy.  We will 
discuss how this genre has developed in the twentieth century and how 
that development has affected the heroic figure.

Wed	 9	Researching the Research Paper

Fri	11	Fantasy: Theory And Practice
		Read: Tolkien "Tree and Leaf" & "Leaf by Niggle"

Mon	14	First Research Paper Conferences: Options and possible references
		PAPER #3 DUE AT CONFERENCE TIME

Wed	16	"Hurry Up Please, Its Time"
		Read: The Hobbit

Fri	18	Big Swords and Little People
		Read: The Hobbit

Mon	21	Second Research Paper Conference: Thesis outline; several 
			scholarly references & copies; preferably 
			a working draft.

Wed	23	NO CLASS - Thanksgiving

Fri	25	NO CLASS - Thanksgiving

Mon	28	Who's The Hero Anyway?
		Read: The Fellowship of the Ring & The Return of the King
		WARNING!! 800 pages 

Wed	30	What's So Heroic About. . .?
		Read: The Fellowship of the Ring & The Return of the King
December
Fri	 2	How Have Things Changed?
		Read: The Fellowship of the Ring & The Return of the King

Mon	 5	Not Her Again!
		Read: Le Guin. "Why Americans are Afraid of Dragons"

Wed	 7	Research Paper Due


			ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

	Any work you submit must be your own; in addition, any words, 
ideas, or data that you borrow from another person(s) and include in your 
work must be properly documented.  Failure to do either of these things 
is considered plagiarism. . . . I encourage you to acquaint yourself . . 
.with the University's policy on Academic Dishonesty (in the Student 
Guide to Policies).

I hope to have some fun in this class, but this is one area in which you 
will fail to find me complacent or humorous.  I find academic dishonesty 
not only professionally appalling but personally insulting as well.  
Please see me if you have any questions regarding documentation or 
reference material.

		
			UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER

Please feel free to avail yourself of the Writing Center (015 Memorial 
Hall 831-1168).  The Writing Center provides individual consultation to 
students wishing to become better writers and editors of their own work.  
They will not write your paper for you, but they most certainly will 
offer various kinds of advice for rewriting your work and developing your 
argument more fully.  Appointments are advisable (call or stop by).


			PHOTOCOPY PACKAGE CONTENTS

PAGES

1-24	  Campbell, Joseph. "The Monomyth." Hero With a Thousand Faces.  
		Princeton: Princeton UP, 1968. 3-51.

25-32	  King, M.L. Jr. "Letter from Birmingham City Jail." The Dolphin 
		Reader. Ed. Douglas Hunt and Carolyn Perry. 3rd ed. 
		Princeton: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. 295-308.

33-38	  Le Guin, Ursula K. "Is Gender Necessary? Redux." Dancing at the 
		Edge of the World: Thoughts on 	Words, Women, Places. 
		Philadelphia: Harper & row, 1990. 7-16.

39-43	  ---. "Some Thoughts on Narrative." Dancing at the Edge of the 
		World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places. 
		Philadelphia: Harper & row, 1990. 37-45.

44-47	  ---. "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction." Dancing at the Edge 
		of the World: Thoughts on Words, Women, Places. 
		Philadelphia: Harper & row, 1990. 165-70.

47-49	  ---. "Heroes" Dancing at the Edge of the World: Thoughts on 
		Words, Women, Places. Philadelphia: Harper & row, 
		1990. 171-75.

50-51	  ---. "Prospects for Women in Writing." Dancing at the Edge of 
		the World: Thoughts on Words, 	Women, Places. 
		Philadelphia: Harper & row, 1990. 176-78.

52-55	  ---. "Why Americans are Afraid of Dragons." Language of the 
		Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction. Ed. 
		Susan Wood. New York: Perigee Books, 1979. 52-55.

56-60	  ---. "Myth and Archetype in Science Fiction"  Language of the 
		Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction. Ed. 
		Susan Wood. New York: Perigee Books, 1979. 56-60.

61-66	  Russ, Joanna. "What Can A Heroine Do? or Why Women Can't Write."


67-100	  Spenser, Edmund. Faerie Queene III.i-iii,xi-xii. Edmund 
		Spenser's Poetry: Authoritative Texts and 			
		Criticism. Ed. Hugh Maclean. New York: Norton, 1968. 197-350.

101-114   Woolf, Virginia. from "A Room of One's Own." Ways of Reading: 
		An Anthology for Writers. Ed David Bartholomae and Anthony 
		Petrosky. 3rd ed. Boston: St. Martin's P., 1993. 731-762.