Course Texts

Required: editions and prices listed on CUNYFirst and available via the GC Bookstore

Susan Choi, My Education

Zadie Smith, On Beauty

Michael Thomas, Man Gone Down

John Williams, Stoner

Additional required reading can be found in the “Content” section of our course’s

Blackboard site. Please print out or have it easily accessible on your device.

Optional: editions and prices listed on CUNYFirst

            Philip Roth, The Human Stain

            Julie Schumacher, Dear Committee Members

 Course Calendar

 Jan 28              Welcome

Reading due    Jeffrey Williams “An Emerging Field”; Barthes, “An Introduction”; Edemariam, “Who’s Afraid”; Porter, “More Thoughts on Graduate School”; Heidebrink-Bruno, “Syllabus as Manifesto”; Felski, “After Suspicion”; Elbow, “The Believing and Doubting Game”; Boggs and Mitchell, “Critical University Studies and the Crisis Consensus”; Hayot, from The Elements of Academic Style

Writing due     Introductions

Feb 4              

Reading due    Week one readings; Williams, “Teach the University”

Writing due     First monthly writing: letters posted to Discussion Board

 Feb 11            

Reading due    Thomas, Man Gone Down through pg. 115; Buurma and Heffernan, “The Classroom in the Canon”

Writing due

Facilitator

 Feb 18             No Classes, President’s Day

Reading due    Man Gone Down; Joseph, from Debt to Society, “Accounting”

 Feb 25

Reading due    Man Gone Down, finished; Wilder, from Ebony and Ivy, ch 8; Nelson; from

Commons Democracy, “Introduction”

Writing due     Second monthly writing

Facilitator      

Mar 4             

Reading due    Same as last week; Williams, Stoner

Writing due

Facilitator

 Mar 11           

Reading due    Stoner, finished; Guest speaker text choice

Writing due

Facilitator

 Mar 18           

Reading due    Smith, On Beauty, Guest speaker text choice

Writing due

Facilitator

 Mar 25           

Reading due    On Beauty, Guest speaker text choice

Writing due     Third monthly writing

Facilitator

 Ap 1                

Reading due    On Beauty, finished; Guest speaker text choice

Writing due

Facilitator

 Ap 8

Reading due    Choi, My Education; week one readings

Writing due

Facilitator

 Ap 15  

Reading due    My Education, finished; week four readings

Writing due

Facilitator

 Ap 22               No Classes, Spring Break

Reading due    Student Choice

 Ap 29  

Reading due    Student choice (texts not read or texts from outside this course)

Writing due     Final monthly writing

Facilitator      

 May 6

Reading due    Student choice

Writing due     drafts of final project

Workshop

 May 13            Last class of the term

Workshop

 May 20            Last day to turn in final projects over email