GST 218: The Kafkaesque

Final Activities

swindham — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:06:20 +0000

My office hours. Open office hours Tuesday 2-4. Any other time Tuesday or Wednesday: email or call for appointment; leave a message if I don’t answer the phone.

Exam period, Thursday 14 May 11:30-2:30. During the exam period, you’ll create a collage-style representation of your semester projects and how they relate to our definition of the Kafkaesque. Make sure to read the grading rubric.

What you’ll need to prepare: Your contribution to the collage will be an image (or two, in rare instances three) that captures a/the main point of your paper. The image should be at least 4×4 inches, and no more than 8×8 inches. To accompany the image, write an explanation of around 250 words that explains how the image represents the Kafkaesque elements in your work… or more accurately, how the image represents the way your work relates to the Kafkaesque. The image will go onto the collage, and the explanation will (probably) go into a binder, like in a museum.

Final essay due Friday 15 May 8:00AM. Send it to me by email. The grading rubric is in the syllabus. Extensions possible with sufficient reason, but ask me sooner rather than later.

Assignment for Friday 8 May

swindham — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:17:07 +0000

Drafts due by 8:00AM. Just email them to me; no print copy necessary this time.

I anticipate you’ll need 6-10 pages single spaced to achieve your aims. Grading rubric is in the syllabus and reproduced at right, under “semester projects stage 5.” A progress report (optional!) is linked there as well.

No class today. Open office hours 8-10. Office hours rest of day by appointment; call x5841 or send email to arrange a time.

Assignment for Wednesday 6 May

swindham — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:34:45 +0000

Writing day. Today we’ll continue moving from the works-in-progress stage to full draft stage. Come to class prepared to write and to ask me questions.

The draft of your semester project will be due Friday at 8AM. See the link at right for guidelines and grading criteria.

If you didn’t get feedback on your stage 4 work on Monday or Tuesday, you’ll get it today. (You don’t need the feedback to get started assembling your rough draft.)

Assignment for Monday 4 May

swindham — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:58:08 +0000

Writing day. This week we’ll move from the works-in-progress stage to full draft stage. Come to class prepared to write and to ask me questions.

The draft of your semester project will be due Friday at 8AM. See the link at right for guidelines and grading criteria.

You’ll get feedback on your stage 4 work today or Wednesday. Meantime, you can get started on the rough draft — some of that work won’t be affected by my comments on your stage 4 documents.

Assignment for Friday 1 May

swindham — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:45:52 +0000

Stage 4 works-in-progress due at 5PM. We’ll have another writing day today, so bring your laptops — and any questions for me. Your work will be due (by email) by 5PM today. Your focus for today should be on wrapping up stage 3 revisions and completing stage 4 work.

Make sure to see the guidelines, model, and grading rubric posted at right.

Assignment for Wednesday 29 April

swindham — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:30:16 +0000

Writing day for works-in-progress stage 4. Meet in our classroom prepared to write — and to discuss with me problematic areas of your previous work. Your focus during class should be making revisions to the work you’ve done so far.

See the link at right for guidelines and a model. Remember to bring your laptop, or check one out at Media Services (ground floor of Belk library).

This works-in-progress document will be due at the end of class Friday.

Assignment for Monday 27 April

swindham — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:43:44 +0000

Read the following portions of No Towers: “The Comic Supplement” (essay after comic 10), last page (old newspaper with recent headlines superimposed), and cover (front and back). Common themes: trauma and its repetition/recurrence; the presence of the past; conflation of 9/11 and its aftermath (Afghanistan, Iraq); structure of temporality.

Journal posting. Topic: Try to locate an example of one of the common themes I list above — or another theme, if you prefer — and decide whether that specific example is Kafkaesque. If you like, you can also refer to comics 1-10 or the old comics in plates I – VII.

Assignment for Friday 24 April

swindham — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:04:37 +0000

Read No Towers, comics 9 & 10. As you read, think about the focus of our class discussion on Wednesday: how Spiegelman assembles words and images to make his political commentary. Are there holes/flaws in his approach?

Journal posting. Topic: Pick one or two elements from one (or both) of these comics. Compare to our definition of the Kafkaesque. Is what you find in No Towers justifiably Kafkaesque? In class, we’ll try to consider how/whether the answer to this question ties into the “presence of the past” and the ability of trauma to be represented in images.

Assignment for Wednesday 22 April

swindham — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:21:45 +0000

Here are my notes in preparation for today’s class.

Read No Towers, comics 7 & 8. As you read, think about “the presence of the past,” i.e. how past events (especially traumatic ones) insert themselves into the present. Along with that, consider how traumatic events present themselves as images in Spiegelman’s world.

Note: in comic 7, you see upside-down characters. Turn to plate III (second half of book) for an analogue. And see plate VII for an analogue of comic 8.

Journal posting. These are hard comics, and so is today’s question. Let’s see what you can do with it! Topic: Explain Spiegelman’s political commentary. How does he put that commentary together, i.e. how does he assemble words and images in order to critique the American government? Is there a connection between your answer to this question and the “presence of the past”? between that and the ability of trauma to be represented in images?

Assignment for Monday 20 April

swindham — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:00:15 +0000

Here are my notes in preparation for today’s class.

Read No Towers, comics 5 & 6. The reading load for Friday was too heavy, so we’ll slow down this week. As you read, think about some of the issues we raised in class:

the chaotic, non-linear layout
mix of past and present (i.e. interlacing temporalities)
trauma as a constantly-present event that never fades into the background

Journal posting, option 1. Topic: How is time represented in these two comics? Are there interlacing temporalities here? Think about this quote from comic 4: “Amazing how time flies while it stands still.” Does that quote apply to comics 5 & 6?

Journal posting, option 2. Topic: Is the layout in comics 5 & 6 as chaotic as the first four comics? How does it compare?

Journal posting, option 3. Topic: Name something that strikes you, commands your attention. Describe it, and describe its effects on you as a reader (i.e. how you react and why).