English 260-001
Introduction to Poetry: Twentieth Century American Poetry
Instr: Bretl, Beth
Office: CRT 408; 229-6442
e-mail: bretl@uwm.edu
Office hours:
Course Information: T&R; 2:00-3:15pm; AUP 189
Course Description
This course will introduce students to the study of poetry through a close reading of a sampling of twentieth century American poetry. To develop a general context we will explore some of the schools and movements as they developed or were manifest in the U.S. in the twentieth century, including Modernism, Harlem Renaissance, New York School, Black Mountain School, Confessional Poetry, San Francisco Renaissance, and L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E Poetry. Our investigation of poetry will not be restricted, however, to these categorizations. We also will examine contemporary poetry. The goal here will not be to reinforce categorizations but to question in part how and why they are created and to what effect for whom. Students will be reading a variety of poetics statements and cultural documents, as well, to aid in our engagement of questions relevant to the study of poetry: What is poetry? What purpose does poetry serve? What cultural work does poetry do? In what interpretive ways might we approach a poem? How do readers, academies, and poets evaluate poems? As we investigate such questions and look closely at individual poems, issues of prosody will be raised and explored as well.
Required Texts:
Jahan Ramazani et al., eds. Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry
Paul Hoover, ed. Postmodern American Society: A Norton Anthology
Course Packet
Course Requirements:
Reflector posts-students will be posting to the class reflector before class to facilitate course discussion. Responsibility will be divided equally between two assigned groups so students will only be responsible for posting once a week. Students will receive grades for their posts based on the thoughtfulness and thoroughness with which they handle the subject. Students will write two 4-6 page papers, one at midterm and the other during finals. Drafts of the midterm paper will be revised based on instructor feedback, and drafts of the final paper will be workshopped in class.
Grading:
Attendance and participation 30%
Reflector posts 30%
Midterm paper 20%
Final paper 20%
