Syllabus: Fall, 1998

GER 389K: Introduction to Scholarship


Course Designed by J. Swaffar and K. Arens


**= required
*= recommended; at least skim
= good idea to skim or read
·· = assignments


Week 1: August 26

Wed Introduction to the Course: The Profession, Professional Standards, Surviving


PART I: What is the Profession? What Is My Place In It?

Week 2: August 31 & September 2

Mon Institutional Configuration

**John Van Cleve and A. Leslie Willson. Remarks on the Needed Reform of German Studies in the United States. Columbia, SC: Camden House, 1993: passim
**Classen Review of McCarthy and Schneider (copy)
**Graff, "The Scholar in Society," Introduction to Scholarship (II), 343-362
*Gleckner, "A Taxonomy of Colleges and Universities," Academic's Handbook, 3-16
*Schuman, "Small is . . . Different," Academic's Handbook, 17-28
*Burian, "On Being a Political Animal in the Academic Zoo," Academic's Handbook, 65-72
*Pye, "University Governance," Academic's Handbook, 297-314
*Colton, "The Role of the Department in the Groves of Academe," Academic's Handbook, 315-333
*Stewart, "The Academic Community," Academic's Handbook, 334-340
 
Other Visions of German Studies
-German Quarterly, Special Issue: "Germanistik as German Studies: Interdisciplinary Theories and Methods," Vol. 62, # 2 (Spring, 1989)
-Valters Nollensdorfs, "Toward Guidelines for German Studies: A Progress Report." Monatshefte, 78, # 3 (Fall, 1986): 285-296
-
Jürgen Förster, Eva Neuland, Gerhard Rupp, eds. Wozu noch Germanistik? Stuttgart: J.B. Metzler, 1989
-ADFL Bulletin, Special Issue: "Graduate Education and Undergraduate Teaching: Juncture and Disjuncture," 27, No. 3 (Spring 1996)
-Kurt Mueller-Vollmer, "Differenzierung oder Auflösung?: US-Germanistik" (copy)
··ASSIGNMENT: What are the institutional challenges facing German Studies? List at least three, and explain why; may be collected.
 
Wed The Career
**Academic's Handbook, Part III: Academic Employment, 113-178
*Goodwin, "Fads and Fashions on Campus: Interdisciplinarity and Internationalization," Academic's Handbook, 73-80
*Budd, "On Writing Scholarly Articles," Academic's Handbook, 249-262
Vesilind, "The Responsible Conduct of Academic Research," Academic's Handbook, 104-111
Rowson, "The Scholar and the Art of Publishing," 273-285
Campbell, "Effects of the Networked Environment on Publishing and Scholarship," Academic's Handbook, 286-296

Week 3: September 7, 9

Mon Working Smart: An Introduction to the Fields
See Handouts in Assignment Handout
-vita, grants, reading lists, theory bibliography
-assignment structure for rest of semester
··ASSIGNMENT DUE: first draft of CV (see handouts on"Applying for Jobs" [on vitas], "ACTFL Desk Book" [on professional organizations in language teaching], and "Teachers and Students" [on tenure])

PART II:
The Fields -- What Can Be Researched and Taught, and Where

Wed LINGUISTICS, PHILOLOGY
**Lehmann, "Linguistics," Introduction to Scholarship (I), 1-28
**Finegan, "Linguistics," Introduction to Scholarship (II), 3-27
**Baron, "Language, Culture, and Society," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 28-52
··ASSIGNMENT: Explain the "classical" role and projects of the study of linguistics in departments, and list/explain at least three ways that they have changed in the 10 years between the two editions of the textbooks (may be collected).

Week 4: September 14, 16

Mon The How-To: Structural Existence
·Professional Organizations
--Linguistic Society of America
--Society for Germanic Philology (SGP)
--Modern Language Association
--North American Society for the History of the Language Sciences
·Bibliographies:
--Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
--Dissertation Abstracts International
·Journals:
--Language (from the LSA)
--American Journal of Germanic Linguistics and Literatures (AJGLL; from SGP)
--Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics (new)
--Discourse and Society
·Meetings:
--LSA: just after New Year's
--Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference : April
--NAHoLS/ICHolS: every two years; international
--MLA (comparatively few linguistics sections): Dec. 27-30<
··ASSIGNMENT:
1) Go look at issues of at least two of the journals listed above (and note that there may be a "program edition" or a "call for papers" for the annual conventions in some of them); try out at least one of the on-line bibliographies, and see what trouble you have using it, or limits you discover.
2) Have prepared at least three questions about what you think are research difficulties or issues, dominant trends, professional issues, desirable foci.
They may have the form "I get the impression that X is what's going on; yes or no?"
These may be collected.
 
Wed ··PRACTICUM: LINGUISTICS BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT DRAFT DUE


Week 5: September 21, 23

Mon APPLIED LINGUISTICS, COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC, TEACHING/PEDAGOGY
**Kramsch, "Language Acquisition and Language Learning," Introduction to Scholarship (II), 53-76
**Lunsford, "Rhetoric and Composition," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 77-100
··ASSIGNMENT: Explain where applied linguistics and composition studies fits into departments, especially with respect to linguistics/philology and area studies. (May be collected)
 
Wed The How-To: Structural Existence
·Professional Organizations:
--American Association for Teachers of German
--American Association for Applied Linguistics
--American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages
--Council on College Composition and Communication
--TESOL
--Modern Language Association
·Bibliographies:
-- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
--ERIC
--Education Index
--PsychLit
--Dissertation Abstracts International
·Journals:
--TESOL Quarterly
--Modern Language Journal
--Studies in Second Language Acquisition
--FLAnnals
--Unterrichtspraxis
·Meetings:
--ACTFL: November
--AATG: usually November
--CCCC: late spring
 
··ASSIGNMENT:
1) Go look at issues of at least two of the journals listed above (and note that there may be a "program edition" or a "call for papers" for the annual conventions in some of them); try out at least one of the on-line bibliographies, and see what trouble you have using it, or limits you discover.
2) Have prepared at least three questions about what you think are research difficulties or issues, dominant trends, professional issues, desirable foci. They may have the form "I get the impression that X is what's going on; yes or no?"
These may be collected.

Week 6: September 28, 30

Mon **PRACTICUM: APPLIED LINGUISTICS BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT DUE

Wed LITERARY STUDIES: CLASSICAL AND CANONICAL

**Lipking, "Literary Criticism," Introduction to Scholarship (I), 79-97
**Hernandi, "Literary Theory," Introduction to Scholarship (I), 98-115
**Scholes, "Canonicity and Textuality," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 138-158
**Marshall, Literary Interpretation," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 159-182
**Culler, "Literary Theory," Introduction to Scholarship (II), 201-235
··ASSIGNMENT: Explain the "classical" role and projects of the study of literature in departments, and list/explain at least three ways that they have changed in the 10 years between the two editions of the textbooks (may be collected).

Week 7: October 5, 7

Mon The How-To: Structural Existence
·Journals:
--Monatshefte
--German Quarterly
--Germanic Review
--Modern Austrian Literature
--German Studies Review
·Bibliographies:
--Modern Language Association
--Arts and Humanities Index
-OCLC
-Books in Print/Verzeichnis lieferbarer Bücher
·Professional Organizations:
--Modern Language Association
--German Studies Association
--American Association of Teachers of German
--Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies
--Women in German
NOTE: almost every period, major scholar, or movement has its own specialty organization, with its own journal -- see list at back of September PMLA of "allied organizations" for a partial listing
·Meetings:
--GSA: October
--Medieval Studies Association: in Kalamazoo, each spring
--AATG: November
--Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies: April
--MLA: 27-30 December
--REGIONAL MLAs:
-South Central MLA (TEXAS): October
-South Atlantic MLA
-Rocky Mountain MLA
-Midwest MLA
-Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association
-Northeast MLA
··ASSIGNMENT:
1) Go look at issues of at least two of the journals listed above (and note that there may be a "program edition" or a "call for papers" for the annual conventions in some of them); try out at least one of the on-line bibliographies, and see what trouble you have using it, or limits you discover.
2) Have prepared at least three questions about what you think are research difficulties or issues, dominant trends, professional issues, desirable foci. They may have the form "I get the impression that X is what's going on; yes or no?"
These may be collected.
 
Wed **PRACTICUM: LITERARY STUDIES BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT DUE


Week 8: October 12, 14

Mon HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL STUDIES: NEW LITERARY SCHOLARSHIP (or packaging of it)
**Tanselle, "Textual Scholarship," Introduction to Scholarship (I), 29-52
**Greetham, "Textual Scholarship," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 103-137
**Lewalski, "Historical Scholarhip," Introduction to Scholarship (I), 53-78
**Patterson, "Historical Scholarship," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 183-200
**Schor, "Feminist and Gender Studies, Intro. to Scholarship (II), 262-287
**Gates, "'Ethnic and Minority' Studies," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 288-302
**Allen, "'Border' Studies," Introduction to Scholarship (II), 303-319
··ASSIGNMENT: Explain how historical and textual scholarship used to be integrated into departments, and what the addition of newer fields of humanistic scholarship do to the areas (as you saw them in last week's readings). List/explain/speculate about at least three ways that they have changed departments and will change them in the future (may be collected).
 
Wed CROSSING DISCIPLINES AND LANGUAGES
**PMLA Forum on Interdisciplinary Studies, 111, # 2 (March 1996)
**Bathric, "Cultural Studies," Introduction to Scholarship (II), 320-340
**Gunn, "Interdisciplinary Studies," Intro. to Scholarship (II), 239-261
*Lefevere, Translating Literature (translation as particularly suitable as an approach for small languages)

Week 9: October 19, 21

Mon The How-To: Structural Existence
·Journals:
--German Politics and Society
--German Studies Review
--New German Critique
--Argument
--NOTE: area studies journals are in OTHER disciplines, not German; e.g.
Hypatia (women and philosophy)
American Imago (psychoanalytic approaches to culture and lit.)
Central European History
Wide Angle (film studies)
Signs (feminism)
Comparative Literature
·Bibliographies:
--Historical Abstracts
--Nexis/Lexis
--Philosopher's Index
--Arts and Humanities Index
--ArtsIndex
·Professional Organizations:
--Modern Language Association
--German Studies Association
--American Association of Teachers of German
--Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies
--Netherlandic Studies Association
--League for Yiddish
·Meetings:
--GSA: October
--Kalamazoo: Medieval Studies
--Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies: April
··ASSIGNMENT:
1) Go look at issues of at least two of the journals listed above (and note that there may be a "program edition" or a "call for papers" for the annual conventions in some of them); try out at least one of the on-line bibliographies, and see what trouble you have using it, or limits you discover.
2) Have prepared at least three questions about what you think are research difficulties or issues, dominant trends, professional issues, desirable foci. They may have the form "I get the impression that X is what's going on; yes or no?"
These may be collected.
 
Wed **PRACTICUM: CULTURAL STUDIES BIBLIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT DUE


Week 10: October 26, 28

Mon From research to professional writing and activities
Class Discussion:
--surviving the profession
--how to do a précis: an introduction to theory
··CV Assignment, Part II due
--redo CV according to comments
--turn in a time-line sketch of your professional development over the next 4-5 years, designed to make your CV look like you could be hired by the time you're one on the job market. Include issues from the handout on CV like:
-what funding you expect
-which professional organization you will join (when and why)
-what journals you should be following, and why
-what is your optimal exam schedule for dept. requirements
-schedule of scholarships/fellowships/exchanges will you apply for
-which conference(s) you will try to give papers at (and when)
-what service activities are appropriate for professional profile
··Bibliography take-home test passed out

PART III:

THEORY AS BASIS FOR SETTING UP ARGUMENTATION--INTRODUCTION TO SCHOLARLY ANALYSIS AND WRITING

NOTE: Page references with no further identification are from Adams and Searle, eds. Critical Theory Since 1965; "copy" is on reserve in Schoch Reading Gallery; all interpretation assignments use Kleist's Bettelweib von Locarno, which you have in a handout.

Wed Geistesgeschichte and Positivism

Positivism
**Wilhelm Scherer, "H. Hettner's Literaturgeschichte" (copy = Zmegac, Methoden)
---, "Zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache" (copy = Zmegac, Methoden)
---, "Die neue Generation" (copy = Zmegac, Methoden)
*Manon Maren-Griesebach, "Positivistische Methode" (copy)
Klaus Laermann, "Was ist literaturwissenschaftlichicher Positivismus" (copy = Zmegac, Kritik)
 
Geistesgeschichte
**H. A. Korff, "Goethezeit und Ideengeschichte" (copy)
*Manon Maren-Griesebach, "Geistesgeschichtliche Methode" (copy)
*Rudolf Unger, "Literaturgeschichte und Geistesgeschichte" (copy = Zmegac, Methoden)
Emil Staiger, "Von der Aufgabe und den Gegenständen der Literaturwissenschaft" (copy = Zmegac, Methoden)
Karl Riha, "Literaturwissenschaft als Geistesgeschichte" (copy = Zmegac, Kritik)
Wilhelm Dilthey, "Allgemeine Sätze über den Zusammenhang der Geisteswissenschaften" (copy)
··ASSIGNMENT: define the data, method, and goals of each school of interpretation (e.g., what it looks at, how, and why)

Week 11: November 2, 4

Mon Class project: sample interpretations in each school's style
*see Staiger on "Bettelweib" (copy)
··ASSIGNMENT: Precis due (see handout: 1 essay + interp. of "Bettelweib")
 
Wed Text-Intrinsic Criticism, or "strong reading" (New Criticism, Formalism, and Phenomenology/Hermeneutics)
New Criticism
**W.K. Wimsatt & Monroe C. Beardsley, "The Intentional Fallacy," "The Affective Fallacy," (Adams, ed., copy, 944-959)
T.S. Eliot, "Tradition and the Individual Talent" (Adams, ed., copy, 760-766)
 
Phenomenology
*Martin Heidegger, "Hölderlin and the Essence of Poetry," 757-765
Roman Ingarden, "Phenomenological Aesthetics," 184-197
Edmund Husserl, "Phenomenology," 657-663
Manon Maren-Griesebach, "Phenomenologische Methode" (copy)
 
Formalism and Prague School
**Jan Mukarovsky, "Standard Language and Poetic Language," (Adams, ed., copy, 975-982)
Boris Eichenbaum, "Theory of the 'Formal Method'," (Adams, ed., copy, 800-816)
Mikhail M. Bakhtin, "Discourse in the Novel," 664-678
··ASSIGNMENT: define the data, method, and goals of each school of interpretation (e.g., what it looks at, how, and why)

Week 12: November 9, 11

Mon Class project: sample interpretations in each school's style
··ASSIGNMENT: Precis due (see handout: 1 essay + interp. of "Bettelweib")
 
Wed Linguistic Approaches (Speech Act, Structuralism/Semiotics)
Linguistics
**Ferdinand de Saussure, "Course in General Linguistics," 645-656
Benjamin Lee Whorf, "The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language," 709-723
Noam Chomsky, "Aspects of the Theory of Syntax," 37-58
*---, "Managua Lectures 1 & 2" (copy)
 
Speech Act Theory
**J.L. Austin, "How to Do Things with Words," 832-838
John R. Searle, "What Is a Speech Act?," 59-69
 
Structuralism/Semiotics
*Y. Lotman & B.A. Uspensky, "On the Semiotic Mechanism of Culture," 408-422
Claude Lévi-Strauss, "The Structural Study of Myth," 808-822
··ASSIGNMENT: define the data, method, and goals of each school of interpretation (e.g., especially how a linguistic theory prescribes a text analysis)

Week 13: November 16, 18

Mon Class project: sample interpretations in each school's style
*see Arens on "Bettelweib" (copy)
··ASSIGNMENT: Precis due (see handout: 1 essay + interp. of "Bettelweib")
 
Wed Marxist-Derived Criticisms (Reception Theory through Poststructuralism, Deconstruction, and the Yale Critics)
Frankfurt School and other Marxisms
**Walter Benjamin, "Theses on the Philosophy of History," 679-685
Georg Lukács, "Art and Objective Truth," 789-807
Theodor Adorno, "Aesthetic Theory," 231-237
Max Horkheimer, "The Social Function of Philosophy," 686-696
Louis Althusser, "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses," 238-250
SED, "Aktuelle Aufgaben der Germanistik" (Zmegac, Methoden)
 
Reception Theory
**Hans Robert Jauss, "Paradigmawechsel in der Literaturwissenschaft" (Zmegac, Methoden)
Hans Robert Jauss, "Literary History as a Challenge to L. Theory," 163-183
Wolfgang Iser, "The Repertoire," 359-380

Week 14: November 23, 25

Mon Post-Structuralism and Deconstruction
Jacques Derrida, "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences," "Of Grammatology,"
*---,"Difference," 79-136
Michel Foucault, "What is an Author?," "Discourse on Language," 137-162
Geoffrey H. Hartman, "Literary Commentary as Literature," 344-358
J. Hillis Miller, "The Critic as Host," 450-468
··ASSIGNMENT: define the data, method, and goals of each school of interpretation (e.g., what it looks at, how, and why)
 
Wed Class project: sample interpretations in each school's style
··ASSIGNMENT: Precis due (see handout: 1 essay + interp. of "Bettelweib")

Week 15: November 30, December 2

Mon On Identity Construction (personal, national, marginal, feminist)
Psychoanalytic Criticism
**Jacques Lacan, "The Mirror Stage,"
---, "The Agency of the Letter," 733-756
Sigmund Freud, "Creative Writers and Daydreaming" (Adams, ed., copy, 711-716)
Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari, "Anti-Oedipus," 283-307
 
Post-Colonial and National-Identity Criticism
**Homi K. Bhabha, "DissemiNation" (copy)
Edward W. Said, "Secular Criticism," 604-622
 
Feminisms
*Sandra M. Gilbert, "Literary Paternity," 485-496
Lillian S. Robinson, "Treason Our Text," 571-582
*Hélène Cixous, "The Laugh of the Medusa," 308-320
Julia Kristeva, "Women's Time," 469-484
··ASSIGNMENT: define the data, method, and goals of each school of interpretation (e.g., what kind of identity it looks at, how, and why)
 
Wed Class project: sample interpretations in each school's style
··ASSIGNMENT: Precis due (see handout: 1 essay + interp. of "Bettelweib")

FINAL EXAMINATION: as on official schedule--may be written on computer