FF:AJ17063 North American Travel Writing - Course Information

AJ17063 North American Travel Writing

Extent and Intensity

0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 2 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).

Teacher(s)

Mgr. et Mgr. Kateřina Prajznerová, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek

Timetable of Seminar Groups

AJ17063/A: Tue 11:40–13:15 G31, K. Prajznerová
AJ17063/B: Wed 10:00–11:35 G31, K. Prajznerová

Prerequisites (in Czech)

AJ09999 Qualifying Examination && AJ04003 Intro. to Literary Studies II

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 60 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/60, only registered: 0/60, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/60

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

This course focuses on contemporary travel writing that negotiates the interplay of the cultural and natural geographies and histories of North America. We will examine the formal transmutations of travel writing as a genre, while at the same time interrogating the diversity of the authors’ personal experiences of various (not only) North American places. In particular, the readings all straddle the border between autobiography and travelogue, and they all struggle with the theme of location / dislocation, comprising a mosaic that encapsulates as well as complicates the character of North America. Class sessions will include short lectures, audio-visual learning, student presentations, team work, class discussion, and open-book response papers.

Syllabus

• week 1, Sept. 23 / 24: Introduction to the course and class policies week 2, Sept. 30 / Oct. 1: Walking (RP) Berry, Wendell. “An Entrance to the Woods.” Lopate, ed. 670-79. Hogan, Linda. “Walking.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 102-04. Sanders, Scott Russell. “The Singular First Person.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 383-91. Siegel, Kristi. “Introduction: Travel Writing and Travel Theory.” Issues in Travel Writing: Empire, Spectacle, and Displacement. Ed. Kristi Siegel. New York: Lang, 2002. 1-9. week 3, Oct. 7 / 8: Traveling through Memory (RP) Gayton, Don. “A Schooner of Memory.” Luven, ed. 231-50. Halfe, Louise Bernice. “A Honeycomb of Memory.” Luven, ed. 119-27. Kaplan, Caren. “Questions of Travel: An Introduction.” Questions of Travel: Postmodern Discourses of Displacement. Durham: Duke UP, 1996. 1-26. Schwartz, Mimi. “Memoir? Fiction? Where’s the Line?” Root and Steinberg, eds. 399-404. week 4, Oct. 14 / 15: Retracing the Flow of Water I (RP) Adams, Noah. Far Appalachia: Following the New River North. 2001. New York: Delta, 2002. week 5, Oct. 21 / 22: Retracing the Flow of Water II (RP) Adams, Noah. Far Appalachia: Following the New River North. 2001. New York: Delta, 2002. Lott, Bret. “Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 359-65. Siegel, Kristi, and Toni B. Wulff. “Travel as Spectacle: The Illusion of Knowledge and Sight.” Issues in Travel Writing: Empire, Spectacle, and Displacement. Ed. Kristi Siegel. New York: Lang, 2002. 109-22. week 6, Oct. 28 / 29: no class week 7, Nov. 4 / 5: mid-term review, travelogue due week 8, Nov. 11 / 12: Reporting the Changing Landscape I (RP) Glavin, Terry. This Ragged Place: Travels Across the Landscape. Vancouver: New Star, 1996. week 9, Nov. 18 / 19: Reporting the Changing Landscape II (RP) Glavin, Terry. This Ragged Place: Travels Across the Landscape. Vancouver: New Star, 1996. Lopate, Phillip. “What Happened to the Personal Essay?” Root and Steinberg, eds. 351-58. Yaeger, Patricia. “Introduction: Narrating Space.” The Geography of Identity. Ed. Particia Yaeger. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1996. week 10, Nov. 25 / 26: Mapping a Life (RP) Dykeman, Wilma. Explorations. Newport, TN: Wakestone, 1984. week 11, Dec. 2 / 3: Mapping a Life (RP) Dykeman, Wilma. Explorations. Newport, TN: Wakestone, 1984. Roort, Robert L., Jr. “Collage, Montage, Mosaic, Vignette, Episode, Segment.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 371-82. Steinberg, Michael. “Finding the Inner Story in Memoirs and Personal Essays.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 405-08. week 12, Dec. 9 / 10: Staying Awake Dillard, Annie. “Seeing.” Lopate, ed. 693-706. Paper proposal and annotated bibliography due week 13, Dec. 16 / 17: Conclusion, course evaluations

Literature

• Yaeger, Patricia. “Introduction: Narrating Space.” The Geography of Identity. Ed. Particia Yaeger. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1996.
• Berry, Wendell. “An Entrance to the Woods.” Lopate, ed. 670-79.
• Kaplan, Caren. “Questions of Travel: An Introduction.” Questions of Travel: Postmodern Discourses of Displacement. Durham: Duke UP, 1996. 1-26.
• Lopate, Phillip, ed. The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present. 1994. New York: Anchor, 1995.
• Luven, Lynne Van. Going Some Place. Regina: Coteau, 2000.
• Schwartz, Mimi. “Memoir? Fiction? Where’s the Line?” Root and Steinberg, eds. 399-404.
• Glavin, Terry. This Ragged Place: Travels Across the Landscape. Vancouver: New Star, 1996.
• Siegel, Kristi, and Toni B. Wulff. “Travel as Spectacle: The Illusion of Knowledge and Sight.” Issues in Travel Writing: Empire, Spectacle, and Displacement. Ed. Kristi Siegel. New York: Lang, 2002. 109-22.
• Dykeman, Wilma. Explorations. Newport, TN: Wakestone, 1984.
• Steinberg, Michael. “Finding the Inner Story in Memoirs and Personal Essays.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 405-08.
• Sanders, Scott Russell. “The Singular First Person.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 383-91.
• Hogan, Linda. “Walking.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 102-04.
• Roort, Robert L., Jr. “Collage, Montage, Mosaic, Vignette, Episode, Segment.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 371-82.
• Siegel, Kristi. “Introduction: Travel Writing and Travel Theory.” Issues in Travel Writing: Empire, Spectacle, and Displacement. Ed. Kristi Siegel. New York: Lang, 2002. 1-9.
• Adams, Noah. Far Appalachia: Following the New River North. 2001. New York: Delta, 2002.
• Dillard, Annie. “Seeing.” Lopate, ed. 693-706.
• Halfe, Louise Bernice. “A Honeycomb of Memory.” Luven, ed. 119-27.
• Lott, Bret. “Toward a Definition of Creative Nonfiction.” Root and Steinberg, eds. 359-65.
• Root, Robert L., Jr., and Michael Steinberg, eds. The Fourth Genre: Contemporary Writers of / on Creative Nonfiction. New York: Pearson, 2005.
• Lopate, Phillip. “What Happened to the Personal Essay?” Root and Steinberg, eds. 351-58.
• Gayton, Don. “A Schooner of Memory.” Luven, ed. 231-50.

Assessment methods

Class sessions will include short lectures, audio-visual learning, student presentations, team work, class discussion, and open-book response papers. Assessment: For full credit: Class participation 10% Open-book response papers 30% Oral presentation / travelogue 20% Paper proposal and annotated bib. 10% Final research paper 30% For partial credit: Class participation 30% Open-book response papers 70% Assignment Guidelines Participation You are expected to attend all class sessions, to have read the assigned readings for each week, and actively participate in class discussion. If you must miss a class, please let me know in advance or e-mail me an explanation soon afterwards. Open-book response papers Purpose: to read critically, notice details, make connections, return to key passages, gain a deeper appreciation of the assigned texts, take notes and gradually build up a course portfolio, clearly formulate one’s own thoughts in writing, get personalized feedback from the instructor, be prepared to participate in class discussion, practice writing about cultural studies topics in preparation for the state exam Form: you can answer one of the three questions suggested by me or write on a topic/issue of your choice, ideally, you will also come up with a creative title for your mini-essay Content: no research, “only” your own creative / critical thoughts, discoveries and opinions based on the primary reading(s), analytic mini-essays rather than records of personal impressions, narrow focus (particular themes, images, narrative techniques, characters, relationships, issues, contexts, and so on) Style: clear argumentation, logical organization (introduction, main body, conclusion), a coherent paragraph written in complete sentences, integrated citations, academic language Due dates: at the end of class on Sept. 30 / Oct. 1, Oct. 7 / 8, Oct. 14 / 15, Oct. 21 / 22, Nov. 11 / 12, Nov. 18 / 19, Nov. 25 / 26, Dec. 2 / 3 Oral presentation (optional) Purpose: to orally yet clearly articulate complex arguments, use a variety of audiovisual aids, lead a discussion, respond to comments Form: fifteen minutes of being in charge of the class, written outline (including a title) and bibliography, additional materials pertinent to the topic (optional) Content: your own creative / critical thoughts and discoveries and opinions based on the primary reading and supported by/in dialogue with two or three secondary sources (you may use the supplementary essays) Style: easy to follow argumentation, logical organization (preview, introduction of the thesis and secondary sources, main points, supporting evidence, conclusion, discussion), appropriate pacing, variety of presentation strategies (textual examples and audiovisual aids), interaction with the audience (eye-contact, gestures, rhetorical questions, check-up questions, discussion questions), use of spoken discourse markers (pauses, repetitions and restatements, sign posting and transitions, short sentences, simple words, loud voice, clear articulation), you may refer to your notes occasionally but do not read Due date: If you choose to give a presentation, please sign up for a week of your choice at the beginning of the semester. Drop a hard copy of your outline into the essay box or e-mail it to 68450@mail.muni.cz by noon on the preceding Monday. Travelogue (optional) Purpose: to get a chance to take a trip and record your impressions or to remember a journey and write about it Form: three pages of written text, MLA format, title, visual elements may be included Content: open (but somehow related to the course) Style: Can be more personal and / or informal than is usual in academic discourse Due date: If you choose to write a travelogue, please turn in a hard copy at the end of class on Nov. 4 / 5. Paper proposal and annotated bibliography Purpose: to organize your materials and your ideas in preparation for the first research paper, to receive feedback on your research before you start writing Form: title, a full paragraph or a detailed outline, an annotated list of sources, MLA format, double-spaced Content: a concise introduction to your topic, a list of your research questions, a preliminary version of your main argument, an outline of structure, a list of the primary as well as secondary sources you have consulted so far and plan to integrate into your paper, a five-sentence summary of each source highlighting why it is useful to you Style: precise, academic language, careful and complete bibliographic information Due date: at the end of class on Dec. 9 / 10 Final research paper Purpose: to examine some aspect of North American travel writing that interests you, to develop your ideas with the help of a variety of sources, to formulate an argument and support it by convincing evidence, to pursue a research project over the course of the semester which will develop into a short first paper and then get reworked into a longer final paper. Content: preferably, your paper will focus on one (or two or three) of the works we have studied. You may also discuss an author whose work we have not looked at but who is in some way connected to the issues we have covered. I especially welcome interdisciplinary perspectives that in some way connect culture and travel. You are encouraged to draw on the themes that emerged (and re-emerged) in class discussions, in your response papers, and/or your presentation / travelogue. Form: five to six pages (excluding the works cited page), MLA format, use endnotes or footnotes only for informative/explanatory notes Style: strong argument, clear organization, coherent paragraphs, integrated citations and references, academic language Due date: drop a hard copy of the final research paper into the essay box by noon on Wednesday, January 7 (1st re-sit Jan. 21, 2nd re-sit Feb. 4)

Language of instruction

English

Further Comments

The course is taught each semester.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
  
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