This
was the living, breathing website for a remarkable group of
undergraduates
@ SDSU in the summer of 2004. It remains here on the Internet as a
monument
to their rich intellectual labor.
|
Tattooed Souls &
Damaged Psyches in World Cinema and Literature |
William
A. Nericcio | web
portfolio
| bio
| email |
Our
grand summer seminar, our adventure
in intellectual madness, begins with the unspectacular premise that the
human animal is a curious species--two-legged, bipedal, sentient and
prone
to psychological disorder. Evidence for this perhaps unspectacular
contention
will be provided by various aesthetic artifacts including novels,
sequential
art (graphic narrative), documentary films, essays and short
stories. The
men and women we meet in books, films, art etc. are not exactly like
the
ones we meet in elevators, bars, churches, street corners and shopping
malls. These textualized "men" and "women" are more honest, more
troubled,
less in control and utterly MORE interesting. Veils cast aside, these
actors
and actresses reveal themselves to be a splendid cast of deranged and
intoxicatingly
honest informers, revealing the damaged psyches that drive their day to
day existence. Through these creative works, we will come to better
understand
the hidden and obvious psychological tattoos that permanently mark and
determine what the ancients called the soul, what Freud called the
"unconscious"
and what we usually call the human mind. Though technically a "general
education" course and hence, at SDSU at any rate, potentially guilty of
boring even ambitious undergraduates to tears, our class, will aspire
to
greatness. It is open to all students with a curious mind and
a strong
stomach.
DISCLAIMER:
this class deals with ADULT issues and activities. If you are squeamish
about insanity, human sexuality, erotic taboos or if graphic art,
literature
and film leave you weak, angry, disgusted etc., PLEASE drop this class
BEFORE you get the urge to call on your parents and clergy to remove
your
scandalous professor from his job! This is a university-level course
exploring
usually hidden elements of the human psyche: you should EXPECT to be
disturbed
and moved.
Films, screened FREE in-class,
include Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies,
Krystov Kieslowski's
The
Double Life of Veronique, Spike Jonze's Being John
Malkovich,
Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity, Michael
Haneke's The Piano
Teacher and Steven Shainberg's Secretary.
Required books include:
Zarate & Appignanesi's Freud for Beginners,
Gary Greenberg's
Pop-up
Book of Nighmares, Nicholas Blechman's Empire,
A. S. Byatt's
The
Biographer's Tale, John Banville's Eclipse
and GRANTA #71
Shrinks.
NOTE to Comparative Literature
majors, English majors, and even, graduate students: Those of you who
have
already taken e301 and no longer need the GE credits, can take the
class
as an upper-division English or Comparative Literature 499 Special
Study
class (CompLIT499 requires Special Study paperwork that we can fill out
at the first class)--graduate students can sit in on the class, do a
little
extra work and receive English 798 Special Study units.
FACTS | ENGL 301 | The
Psychological Novel | Schedule# 01256 | AH 2132 | 1200-1345 MTWTH |
12-JUL-04
through 20-AUG-04 | Dr. William A. Nericcio | office hours:
T/W 11
to 12noon and by appointment | memo@sdsu.edu
 |
PREPARED
ATTENDANCE |
This
is NOT one of those pathetic, waste-of-time, high school-style classes
where you can skip the readings, bs, forget to go to class, and get a
solid
"C." Members of our "Tattoo parlour" must attend class having done the
reading and be prepared to participate in class discussion; while the
professor
understands that NOT ALL STUDENTS ARE COMFORTABLE contributing to class
discussion, he nevertheless expects his students to exhibit signs of
intellectual
life and to share their curiosity, questions, gripes, and views on a
regular
basis. Undergraduates who know they are going to miss more than three
sessions,
for WHATEVER reason, should look for another summer class. |
ESSAYS,
EXAMS, and QUIZZES |
There
will be two written essay assignnments during our summer semester: the
first essay will be an in-class short essay challenge; the second will
be a 5-8 page researched IMAGINATION CHALLENGE that will make use of at
least TWO published outside scholarly books related to YOUR chosen
subject.
NOTE: WHILE THE PROFESSOR (no tattoos!) WILL PROVIDE PROMPTS FOR THIS
ESSAY,
STUDENTS WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO DEVELOP AND PURSUE THEIR OWN
THESES!!!
There will be a comprehensive, in-class final exam on the final day of
our class, THURSDAY August 19, 2004. As for quizzes and other tests
NOTHING
WILL BE WRITTEN IN STONE; the hotter and more lively the class
discussions
(NOT BY THE SAME THREE PEOPLE), the fewer busywork quizzes and tests. |
PLAGIARISM |
Plagiarism
comes from the Latin word, "plagiarum" which means KIDNAPPING--not a
GOOD
thing. In the university, plagiarism refers to the art and crime of
presenting
other people's work under your own signature--definitely a bad thing.
While
the professor is forbidden by CSU/SDSU code from tattooing the word
LOSER
on the foreheads of guilty students, he can promise that felonious
students
will be remanded to the state-authorized SDSU
executioners. |
OFFICE
HOURS |
My
office hours are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11 to 12 and by
appointment.
Contrary to legends passed around by legions of SDSU undergraduate
doofi
(plural for doofus), "office hours" are not time periods set aside for
students to "suck up" to professors in need of worship.
Office hours
are times set aside by scholars for students in need of class
assistance,
etc. The University of Wisconsin, Madison, has a great
handbook for
undergraduates by undergraduates that addresses the mysteries of
"office
hours." Take a peek. |
GRADING
BREAKDOWN--CORRECTED! |
40%
Attendance | Quizzes | In-Class Assignments
30%
Essays
27%
Exams
3% Attitude | Ganas | Chutzpah |
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