Revised Syllabus for End of Semester

SEXUALITY, CLASS, AND CONTEMPORARY IDENTITY

December 1 All Over But the Shoutin’ (to page 107). OPTIONAL: Excerpts from Harry Crews, Childhood: Biography of a Place; Dorothy Allison, Two or Three Things I Know for Sure (performance piece) and “River of Names” (all on Blackboard)

December 3 All Over But the Shoutin’ (to 200)

December 8 Last Day of Classes

Concluding Thoughts and Observations; Final Exam

Preparation; All Over But the Shoutin’ (to end)

December 9 Dead Day. Graduate papers due in my mailbox by 5pm.

Interview with Ross McElwee in Vice

For a irreverent take on Ross McElwee's work, read this interview he did with Vice magazine.

Article in NY Times

In this Sunday's New York Times Book Review, there was a review of Ben Yagoda's new book entitled Memoir: A History. Please read the review, as it raises and addresses questions central to this course. It is available here.

Ross McElwee: Sherman's March (1986)

As we prepare to start watching and discussing Ross McElwee's 1986 film Sherman's March on Tuesday, please prepare my checking out the following websites.

Ross McElwee's homepage.

Some background on McElwee from the PBS Frontline website, including a great interview with him here.

A brief review of Sherman's March here.

And, finally, an article from MovieMaker here.

Lillian Smith's Killers of the Dream

Dear class,

Blogging this week will be suspended, as I want you to work on your papers (due Thursday!). Remember to finish Killers of the Dream for Thursday's class.

I will have meeting times available on Monday and Wednesday. An assignment sheet is on my office door (it circulated in class on Thursday).

Comments on Lillian Smith's Killers of the Dream

Born and raised in the deep South, Lillian Smith lived most of her adult life with her companion Paula Snelling on a mountain top in North Georgia, where they ran a summer girl’s camp, published a literary magazine called South Today, and spoke out brilliantly and often on the problems of race, gender, and class in the South. In 1944 Smith published her most famous work of fiction, Strange Fruit, a novel dealing with the effects of segregation on both races in a small southern town. In 1949 Lillian Smith wrote perhaps her finest work, Killers of the Dream, in which she asked a probing and provocative question, "Why has the white man dreamed so fabulous a dream of freedom and human dignity, and again and again tried to kill his own dream?"

Some biographical information on Lillian Smith and some background on Killers of the Dream can be found here, here, and here. How is this book similar to The Making of a Southerner? How is it stylistically and analytically different? What do you make of what you've read so far?

The Making of a Southerner (1947) + Extra Credit Opportunity

Class,

Please focus on studying for the midterm (Thursday) this week. There will be no blog posting until next Tuesday. 

Do, however, make sure you finish reading The Making of a Southerner; it is likely there will be a question on the midterm about it.  Come prepared to discuss the ending of Du Pre Lumpkin's autobiography tomorrow.

Also, note the following extra credit opportunity this Tuesday (October 27) at RZ's at the U of A Union. The following message is from Michelle Miesse, the current UA Coffeehouse Chair. 

There is an AMAZING slam coming up this Tuesday in RZ's at 7 pm.  It's featuring the Elephant Engine High Dive Revival Tour (long name...), which consists of five poets: Buddy Wakefield (2-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion), Anis Mojgani (2-time IWPS Champ), Derrick Brown (IWPS Champ and opening act for Cold War Kids and The White Stripes), Shira Erlichman (Pushkart Prize Nominee and amazing person/poet), and Mindy Nettifee (Published writer and fantastic poet).  Three of these people have performed at the university before, so here's a chance to see them again!  This group is truly amazing.  They will do group pieces, poetry to song, and lots of silly things!  I saw them perform last year and it was awe-inspiring.  This is probably Arkansas' only chance to see this group of poets on stage all at once...and it's FREE!