Southwest Texas State University

Instructor: Steve Wilson

(There are two class syllabi/course descriptions here: The Beat Generation and Mythology: The Beats & The Origins of American Myth.)

Honors 2391T: The Beat Generation, Spring 1997

Time: 10:00 - 10:50 MWF
Place: Psy 130B
Instructor: Steve Wilson
Office: FH 214
Office Hours: 11:00-12:00 (MTWTHF); 5:00-6:00 (Tue)

Texts:
Notes from the Underground, Dostoyevsky, Dover
The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway, Scribners
The Portable Beat Generation, Watson
On the Road, Kerouac, Viking
The Subterraneans, Kerouac, Grove
Howl and Other Poems, Ginsberg, City Lights
Naked Lunch, Burroughs, Grove
**Books will be used in the order listed.

Course Description: Even though American society changes from moment to moment, it has been a surprise to many to find that the ideas and characters of the 1950s "Beat Generation" continue to maintain a place of both controversy and nostalgia in our culture. Isn't it interesting that a course I taught last spring on New England thinkers--most of whom were seminal influences on the Beats and just as rebellious--attracted only five students, but this course has a waiting list for enrollment? Our course will explore the nature of the Beat Generation, as well as the philosophies it espoused on literature, sociology, sexuality, and the general character of the American culture. Too, we will consider several of the influences on this movement, and reasons why it has remained important in shaping responses to mainstream society in every decade since the 1950s.

Since this is an Honors seminar, I will expect each student to take an active role in the daily discussions on our readings. Be advised that I rarely conduct a "polite" class, and that I've found it very effective to challenge student viewpoints as a means to help us discover the assumptions and ideas underlying what is said during our meetings. Feel comfortable to challenge any ideas I present, as well, since I often say things merely to generate discussion.

It is also important to remember that this is a university course. It goes without saying that a course on the Beats--anti-establishment to the core--must challenge our sense of "academics," but this doesn't mean we have to rely on shoddy thinking as we confront the issues the Beats present. I still expect scholarly, logical thought--even on the most illogical philosophies. I expect creativity, but with sound foundations. Remember that the Beats, far from being uneducated fools, were some of the most well-read writers and thinkers of their time. To be well-read was revolutionary in the American society of the 40s and 50s.

Papers: Students will compose and present to classmates one two-page essay every other week (for a total of six) on a topic relevant to the issues we are discussing at the time. Choose your own topics. I will assign dates for students to write and present their papers. these essays will be read in class on the Monday of each week, and authors should provide copies of their essays for all their classmates and me.

Oral Presentations: In groups of two to be selected by me, you and a classmate will conduct the entire class session once during the term. I expect we will have an oral presentation every two weeks. These presentations should be clever, interesting, relevant to our course, and maintain the participatory nature of our seminars. The following topics are available on a first-come, first-served basis:

Beats and Music
Beats and "Responsibility"
Beats and Homosexuality
Beats and Violence
Beats and "Multiculturalism"
Beats and Literature
Beats and the Visual Arts
Beats and Psychology

Class Project: As a group, our class will create a web page based on the ideas we have considered ruing this course--an interactive report on this semester that will illustrate your knowledge of our topic as well as the character of the Honors courses in general. we will be given training in how to create web pages. The completed page will be judged on its clarity, ability to create interest through ideas and visuals, as well as how it reflects both what we've learned and how that relates to the Beat Generation. Keep this project in mind as you are reading and researching topics for reports and papers. Gather great images we could use, make a note of the addresses of other pages or chat groups on the Beats that are now on the Internet. do this with a spirit of cooperation between you and your classmates.

 

English 3329: Mythology, The Beats and the Origins of American Myth

Mini-Session, May 12-28, 1999; 9-12 M-F.

Instructor: Steve Wilson
Office: Flowers Hall 214
Office Hours: 12-1 Monday through Friday
Phone: 245-3717
E-mail: sw13@swt.edu

Textbooks:
Charters, The Portable Beat Reader
Kerouac, On the Road
Kerouac The Subterraneans
Ginsberg, Howl and Other Poems
Burroughs, Naked Lunch

Course Description: Although the subject matter of this course is on the surface texts by writers identified with the Beat Movement of the 1950s, our actual focus will be on how those authors explored and confronted the mythology of America. By the end of the term, students should have a working knowledge of Beat ideas, American mythology, the methods in which mythology is reinvented in film, and the ways in which mythology is shaped and revised by culture.

Course Structure: If you have not had a mini-session course before, be warned now that we move at a breathless pace--each class meeting is roughly one week of a normal semester. Thus, you should prepare yourself to spend the next two and a half weeks focused on your coursework: plan to read each evening a passage of seventy five pages. Too, plan now for the paper that is due at the end of the mini-session.

Class time will be devoted primarily to discussions over our readings, with some time for watching films and for group work. It is necessary that you come to class having read the assigned readings. I do not lecture, and will reserve a significant portion of your final grade for participation. Moreover, I often use class time to discuss issues raised by our readings rather than the readings themselves; if you haven't read the assignment, you may not understand our discussions.

Examination: There will be two examinations, one at the midway point of mini-session and one on our final examination day. These exams will be in-class essays over topics we have discussed in class.

Essay: Each student will also compose a five-page essay over a topic relevant to the focus of our course. Topics will need to be approved by me (see schedule). Student essays should be typed, double-spaced, grammatically sound and logical. Although I ask for no outside research, students should draw consistently from our course texts to support their ideas. I will not accept late essays for any reason.

Attendance: Students are allowed one absence. Each additional absence (equaling an entire week in a normal semester) will count as a one-letter-grade reduction on a student's final grade.

Grades:
Exams: 30% each
Essay: 20%
Participation: 20%

Tentative Schedule:
(Those listed from "PBR" are included in the Portable Beat Reader.)

May 12: Background, discussion of meanings and development of mythology. Film, The Beat Generation: An American Dream.
May 13: Neal Cassady, "Letter to Jack Kerouac" (PBR); Jack Kerouac, "Letter to Neal Cassady" (PBR); Jack Kerouac, "Spontaneous Prose" (PBR); Jack Kerouac, On the Road, pp. 1-25.
May 14: Kerouac, On the Road, pp. 26-100. Film: Shane.
May 17: Kerouac, On the Road, pp. 101-225.
May 18: Kerouac, On the Road, pp. 226-end.
May 19: Film, Rebel Without a Cause. Review for exam.
May 20: First examination (one hour). Kerouac, The Subterraneans.
May 21: Kerouac, The Subterraneans continued; Wilson "'Buddha Writing'" (provided).
May 24: Ginsberg, Howl and Other Poems.
May 25: Ginsberg, "Kaddish" (PBR); Burroughs, Naked Lunch, pp. 1-75.
May 26: Burroughs, Naked Lunch, pp. 76-150.
May 27: Burroughs, Naked Lunch, pp. 151-225.
May 28: Burroughs, Naked Lunch, remainder. Essays due.
May 31: Holiday.
June 1: Review of topics discussed in course. Final examination (one hour).