WINTER 2000
This information effective for Winter 2000.
Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.
WINTER 2000
This information effective for Winter 2000.
Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.
Prof. Kirsten Silva Gruesz
http://www2.ucsc.edu/people/ksgruesz
MWF 9:30-10:40 + discussion sections
The title of the course refers to reading poetry, but we will be concerned more broadly with experiencing it. We will focus less on what poetry "means" than on what it does: what needs and desires does poetry fulfill in its writers and readers? When does it leave the static page and become something performed, ritually memorized, alive? What is the dividing line between poetry and prose, poetry and song, "good" poetry and doggerel? How does cultural conditioning affect the way one defines and values poetry?
Our readings will range far and wide, from ancient oral traditions to the visual, kinetic performance poetry of the present day, and will include a number of non-English works in translation. Since even contemporary poetry is highly intertextualˆ meaning that it makes reference to other works before itˆ we will take seriously the need to understand traditional verse forms and the best-known works in the canon as well.
The Norton Introduction to Poetry, plus 1-2 other books to be announced. We will also make substantial use of Web resources on poetry.
1. Consistent attendance and participation.
2. Informal journal entries submitted weekly, either by email or hard copy, to the section leader, to be used to spark discussion.
3. In the third week of class, there will be an in-class exam on poetic terms and prosody. Students who do not get a passing grade (65%) on this exam will have to repeat it until they pass it successfully in order to pass the course.
4. One formal essay, 4-5 pages, which must be revised after an initial draft.
5. A final exam. By petitioning the section leader, you may be allowed to substitute a 6-8-page paper for the exam if you wish.
Further information and a final syllabus will be available in December on the professor's website: www2.ucsc.edu/people/ksgruesz.
Instructor: Gildas Hamel
email: gweltaz@cats.ucsc.edu
Information for this course can be found at:
http://www2.ucsc.edu/people/gweltaz/biblelit/index.html