English 3627.01: Topics in Literature
Literature Goes to Hell
Or
Sympathy for the Devil
CLAS 247
T/Th: 9:30-10:45
“. . . and so who are you, after all?”
“I am part of the power
which forever wills evil
and forever works good.”
Goethe, Faust
Professor: Dr. Gregory Colón Semenza
Office: 232 CLAS
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 11-12:30
Phone: 486-4762
Email: semenza@uconn.edu
Course Description:
This course explores literary renderings of hell and underworld figures, especially Satan, and analyzes the social, psychological, and philosophical functions of hell and devils within particular literary works and actual historical contexts. We will spend a good deal of time pondering the gradual transformation of the concept of hell, from an external, absolute physical space into a relative, internal condition. What psychological, social, and artistic functions has the concept of hell performed throughout history and especially in our literature? What might the gradual internalization of hell (as well as the occasional reemergence of absolutist definitions of evil) teach us about our own position in this larger intellectual and social history?
Texts:
(please use editions ordered for class)
Bible (handouts)
Lewis, The Monk
Ovid, Metamorphoses (handouts)
Twain, The Mysterious Stranger
Dante, Inferno
James, Turn of the Screw
Marlowe, Dr. Faustus
Rice, Memnoch the Devil
Milton, Paradise Lost
Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound
Pullman, His Dark Materials (trilogy)
The Book of Job (Mitchell trans.)
Rilke, “Orpheus, Hermes, Eurydice” (handout)
Virgil, The Aeneid (handout)
Polanski, Rosemary’s Baby (film)
Homer, The Odyssey (handout)
Scorsese, The Last Temptation of Christ (film)
Requirements:
Class Grade (Preparation, Participation, Attendance)*
15%
8-10 Reading Quizzes
25%
Take-Home Midterm Paper
20%
Film review
20%
Final Exam
20%
*The professor does not take kindly to excessive absences. Because your understanding and engagement of the material depends on your presence in our class, I will take absences seriously. More than two, for any reason, is inexcusable. Furthermore, excessive absences will affect your quiz and exam grades since the latter will test skills we will develop in class. Preparation includes completing homework and in-class assignments, and having read the texts to be discussed in class. Please make it a point to turn off your cell phone before class begins.
Office Hours:
Office Hours will be held in 232 CLAS during the following times: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 11:00 and 12:30. I urge each of you to take advantage of the opportunity to introduce yourself to me, to ask any questions you may have, to discuss future or current assignments, or to seek private instruction on specific problems with which you might be wrestling. I like students, I love teaching, and I promise that I don’t bite (even though I’m told I look rather mean). There is a too often unrecognized but undeniable correlation between students who tend to use office hours and students who tend to be successful in college. I also encourage professional communication through email.
Plagiarism:
It goes without saying that you are responsible for citing any words or ideas that you borrow. Using material from the so-called Internet Paper Warehouses constitutes a form of plagiarism as serious as using someone else’s paper (and is easy to discover). Plagiarism demonstrates contempt for your instructor, peers, and the purposes of liberal education. If you are caught plagiarizing, you will automatically fail the course for violation of the student code and be referred to the dean of students for judicial affairs. If you are uncertain as to what constitutes plagiarism, please consult the English Department’s policies guide or see me outside of class.
Quizzes:
Quizzes are designed to test your basic reading comprehension skills; they are not designed to trick you. My sense is that you will do absolutely fine as long as you read each day’s assignment carefully. A typical question might look like this: Why doesn’t Romeo receive the Friar’s letter in Mantua? Easy, right? Please note that missed quizzes cannot be made up unless you can show me an official University excuse for your absence (i.e., official athletic event, serious illness, etc.). Everyone may automatically drop one quiz grade. If you take all of the quizzes, you may drop one additional quiz grade. To dissuade lateness, I will give most quizzes in the first five minutes of class; I will not repeat question #1 of a quiz after I’ve moved on to question #2. Please be here on time.
Papers (including midterm and film review):
Goal: Your primary goal is to offer a clear, concise argument (claim and basis) about the
text that you are analyzing, and to back up that argument with evidence, quotations, examples, etc. Noting the often subtle distinction between analysis and summary is key to your success. The goal is not to explain what a book is about or how it is put together
(summary)—rather, the goal should be to contribute something new or original to our understanding of the text. Remember that more is less in such a short assignment. Go deeply into one issue rather than shallowly into multiple issues. Dissect.
Example:
A summary paper might be set up in the following way:
In King Lear, Shakespeare tells the powerful tale of a man who splits up his land among his three daughters. He asks each one to tell him how much she loves him. The first one answers . . . etc.
An analysis, on the other hand, might be set up like this:
King Lear suggests that human love and compassion is the only life affirming force structuring our universe (claim).
The remainder of your paper would focus on supporting this claim through textual examples, close-reading, and quotations.
Whereas the first paper merely traces or summarizes the content of the play, the second offers a commentary on the play’s argument, message, or significance. One is descriptive. The other is argumentative.
You should expect to begin this class at a certain level of expertise and to leave it at a more advanced one; you should not be surprised, therefore, to receive extensive, critical feedback on your first few written assignments. The idea is to provide you with the information you will need to make changes and to become a better writer. See also the handout on Writing Guidelines and take it seriously.
Film Review:
Although your film review is officially due on the last day of classes, you may choose to get it done and turn it in much earlier. You may write on any of the three films we will be viewing as a class (The Omen, Rosemary’s Baby, or The Last Temptation of Christ) or any of the following films: Dogma, The Exorcist, Pleasantville, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (directed by Francis Ford Coppola), The Devil’s Advocate, Hellraiser, Angel Heart. Please note that you will be quizzed and tested only on the three films we will highlight in class. More information on the review is forthcoming.
Midterm Paper: Information forthcoming in late September.
Final Exam: Information forthcoming towards end of semester.
Schedule:
Tuesday
Aug. 31
Introduction to course; The Dionysian Principle and History of the Devil: Background Lecture #1
Thursday
Sept. 2
Introduction continued; The Old Testament: Genesis: 1-3; Book of Job
Tuesday
Sept. 7
The Roots of the Satanic: Gospel of Truth (HO); Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound
Thursday
Sept. 9
The Roots of Hell: excerpts from Ovid’s Metamorphoses: The Rape of Persephone/Proserpine, Orpheus and Eurydice; excerpts from Virgil’s The Aeneid; excerpts from Homer’s The Odyssey; Rilke: “Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes”
Tuesday
Sept. 14
The New Testament and Apocrypha: Background Lecture #2; Dante, The Inferno: 27-102
Thursday
Sept. 16
Dante, The Inferno: 103-196
Tuesday
Sept. 21
Dante, The Inferno: 197-288
Thursday
Sept 28
Marlowe, Dr. Faustus: Acts 1-3
Tuesday
Sept. 30
Marlowe, Dr. Faustus: Acts 4-5
Thursday
Sept. 30
Milton, Paradise Lost: Books 1-4
Tuesday
Oct. 5
Milton, Paradise Lost: Books 5-8
Thursday
Oct. 7
Milton, Paradise Lost: Books 9-12
Tuesday
Oct. 12
Midterm Paper Due; Lewis, The Monk: 1-104
Thursday
Oct. 14
Lewis, The Monk: 104-203
Tuesday
Oct. 19
Lewis, The Monk: 203-293
Thursday
Oct. 21
Lewis, The Monk: 293-363
Tuesday
Oct. 26
Twain, The Mysterious Stranger
Thursday
Oct. 28
James, Turn of the Screw: pp. 1-48
Tuesday
Nov. 2
James, Turn of the Screw: 49-85
Thursday
Nov. 4
Rice, Memnoch the Devil: pp. 1-160
Tuesday
Nov. 9
Rice, Memnoch the Devil: pp. 161-314
Thursday
Nov. 11
Rice, Memnoch the Devil: 315-434
Tuesday
Nov. 16
Film Review due; Discussion of Films; Read Pullman, The Golden Compass, 1-178.
Thursday
Nov. 18
Pullman, The Golden Compass, 179-351.
Tuesday
Nov. 23
Thanksgiving Recess: No Classes
Thursday
Nov. 25
Thanksgiving Recess: No Classes
Tuesday
Nov. 30
Pullman, The Subtle Knife, 1-146.
Thursday
Dec. 2
Pullman, The Subtle Knife, 147-288.
Tuesday
Dec. 7
Pullman, The Amber Spyglass, 1-225.
Thursday
Dec. 9
Pullman, The Amber Spyglass, 226-465.
Final Exam Time and Location TBA
Film Schedule:
(You are free to rent these films on your own. Even if you have seen Rosemary’s Baby 43 times, I recommend that you watch it again since you should be viewing these films within the context of our class discussions and readings, and you will be tested on them accordingly). I will show the films in room CLAS 105 at 6 PM on the following dates:
Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ: Oct. 20
Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby: Nov. 3