Schedule
26 August
Introduction to the Discipline and the Department
Reading
Semenza, "The Culture of a Graduate Program" (18-38)
Jeffrey Williams, "Institutionally Speaking" (1-9) [BB]
Louise Mowder, "Time Out of Mind: Graduate Students in the Institution of English" (229-240) [BB]
2 September
Graduate Study: The Basics
Discussion of first week in program/classes
Discussion of readings
MA vs. PhD
Success rather than survival
Discussion of student reading practices
Reading
Semenza, "Organization and Time Management" (54-75)
Semenza, "The Graduate Seminar" (76-89)
McComiskey, "Introduction" (McComiskey 1-66)
9 September
Literary Study: How and Why
Discussion of readings
Past and future: How did you get here? Where are you going?
Rhet/Comp with guest speaker Carl Herndl
Discussion of students' academic interests and intellectual development
Reading
Scholes, "No Dog Would Go on Living Like This" (37-58)
Scholes, "Assignment One: My Life in Theory" (29-36)
Semenza, "The Structure of Your Graduate Career: An Ideal Plan" (39-53)
Lauer, "Rhetoric and Composition" (McComiskey 106-52)
16 September
History of the Discipline, Part I
From classics to literature in American universities
English in the service of colonialism
Why study literature?
Discussion of approaches to class preparation
Reading
Graff (1-118)
Arnold, from Culture and Anarchy [BB]
Macaulay, "Minute on Indian Education" [BB]
23 September
History of the Discipline, Part II
The evolution of modern literary study
Share/Discuss intellectual autobiographies
Reading
Graff (121-262)
Scholes, "The Rise of English in Two American Colleges" (1-28)
30 September
Scholarly Research 101
Introduction to MLA International Bibliography
How to evaluate scholarship
Discussion of academic journals
7 October
The Contours of the Canon: Texts and Contexts
How and why do we study literature today?
Reading
Scholes, "A Flock of Cultures: A Trivial Proposal" (103-27)
Taylor, "Literature and Literary Criticism" (McComiskey 199-222)
Elias, "Critical Theory and Cultural Studies" (McComiskey 223-74)
14 October
The Contours of the Canon: Texts and Contexts (Continued)
Balancing scholarship and teaching
Discussion of midterm self-assessments
Reading
Davidson, "Humanities 2.0: Promise, Perils, Predictions" (707-17) [BB]
Semenza, "Teaching" (116-48)
Felski, "From Literary Theory to Critical Method" (108-16) [BB]
Scholes, "What is Becoming an English Teacher?" (69-86)
21 October
The Lay of the Land: Mapping Fields of Study
Discussion of discoveries
What are the current scholarly trends in your area of specialization?
Looking ahead to exams, theses, and dissertations
Creative Writing with guest speaker Rita Ciresi
Reading
Semenza, "Exams" (149-66)
Haake, "Creative Writing" (McComiskey 153-98)
28 October
The Scholarly Process: From Research to Writing
Introduction to USF research resources
Basics of MLA-style documentation
The pitfalls of plagiarism
Discussion of approaches to research
Reading
Semenza, "The Seminar Paper" (90-115)
Scholes, "So Happy a Skill" (87-102)
4 November
Finding the Right Scholarly Project
Discussion of databases
11 November
Veteran's Day Holiday: No Class Meeting
18 November
The Academic Support Network
Progress reports on Assignment 4 (Due 2 December)
Progress reports on Assignment 5 (Due 9 December)
Academic Advising with guest speaker Laura Runge
Discussion of mentoring
25 November
Thanksgiving Holiday--No Class Meeeting
2 December
The Really Big Picture: Dissertation and Job Market
Progress reports on Assignment 5 (Due 9 Dec.)
The semester in review
The next steps on the road to MA and PhD
Reading
Semenza, "Attending Conferences" (195-213)
Semenza, "Publishing" (214-37)
Semenza, "The Dissertation" (167-94)
Semenza, "The Job Market" (255-81)