Instr:                David Southward
Office:              GAR 315,     229-4658
e-mail:              southwd@uwm.edu
Office hours:    by appointment.

Course Information:                      MW   12:30-1:45,                GAR 304

Course Description
 

"The writer's only responsibility," William Faulkner once said, "is to his art.  He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one.  He has a dream.  It anguishes him so much he must get rid of it.  He has no peace until then."  Between 1929 and 1936 Faulkner made peace with his dreams by writing novels that have since become American legends.  Set in the fictional landscape of Yoknapatawpha County, these novels explore the anguish of an American South recovering from the Civil War and slavery; confronting deep-seated racism and misogyny;
and reluctantly letting go of an idealized past.  Faulkner's art ruthlessly probes the Southern psyche, bringing to light its misery as well as its beauty.  His work immerses readers in what is surely the most controversial passage of our national history.

 In this course we will read Faulkner's Depression-era masterpieces with attention to their artistry.  In addition to exploring his cultural themes, we will familiarize ourselves with Faulkner's narrative techniques (his experimental rendering of time and consciousness, elaborate genealogies and frame narratives); discuss the intricate psychology of his characters; grapple with the dense, torrential force of the Faulknerian sentence; and ponder the meaning of each novel's unique form.  Most important, we will ask ourselves how the dreams of this Mississippi storyteller succeed in mesmerizing readers around the world.

Reading
Texts by William Faulkner:
The Sound and the Fury
As I Lay Dying
Light in August
Absalom, Absalom!
 

Course Requirements