Welcome to E314L: Banned Books + Introductions

Welcome to E314L: Banned Books and Novel Ideas!
Section 35190 -- "Censors and Citizens"
TTh 3:30-5:00, FAC 10

Important Links: 

Course Policies

Course Schedule UPDATED

Major Assignment Prompts and Rubrics

Blackboard (https://courses.utexas.edu/)

This Blog (http://314bannedbooks.blogspot.com/) 

Course Twitter (https://twitter.com/E314BannedBooks)

Course Texts: 

For the purposes of this course, in which we focus on close reading -- analysis of language on the level of words, sentences, and paragraphs -- it is strongly recommended that you use the approved editions of the text.

The three books required for this course are available at the UT CO-OP for a total of around $30 new or less used. They are listed below in the order assigned.

1. Voltaire, Candide and Other Stories. Translator: Robert Pearson. Oxford World Classics, 2008. (1759)
ISBN-13: 978-0199535613. About $8 new, or $6 used.

• Candide will be covered from next Tuesday 1/21 through Tuesday 1/30. 
• Repeatedly banned
• This novella (a work with a length between that of a long story and a novel) is originally written in French and translations vary widely. I have selected the Robert Pearson translation because I find it to be the most accessible and rewarding translation for close reading in English.
• Note that editions by other publishers will not have the same words, let alone the same pages. Earlier Oxford editions are acceptable if they are the only ones you can find, but they do have different pagination: 

2. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Dover Thrift Editions, 2005. (1851-52) 

ISBN-13: 978-0486440286. $5 new or about $4 used.

• Uncle Tom's Cabin will be covered from Thursday 2/6 through Thursday 2/27.
• Banned in the southern states as "abolitionist propaganda"
• Other editions cost more and have different pagination. 
• Avoid the Dover Study Edition. It is not the same edition and is more expensive.

NOT THE RIGHT ONE 

3. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man. Vintage, 1995. (1952)

ISBN-13: 978-0679732761. $16 new, $12 used from CO-OP. 

• Invisible Man will be covered after Spring Break from Thursday 3/18 through Thursday 4/17.
• Earlier Vintage editions have different covers but should still have the same pagination. Just make sure that you don't have H.G. Wells's Invisible Man (1897). 
• 2013 banning efforts in North Carolina (and the lifting of the ban)

A free fair-use digital course reader hosted on Google Drive will be cross-linked to this course blog.

Now introduce yourselves:

Reply to the following prompts in a comment: 

Preferred Name: 

Where are you from? 

Classification (Freshman/Sophomore/Junior/Senior): 

Major or Potential Major: 

Other Areas of Study/Interest: 

OPTIONAL BONUS EXTRA-CREDIT ROUND!!!Congratulations! You've been declared King/Queen of the World...

• What/whom do you ban/banish as your first decree?
• Why? And how would you propose to enforce this decree? 
• Bonus points (for real) for a related link.

Assignment Prompts

All Major Assignments and Grading Rubrics

• Post+Presentation Requirements

Scheduled throughout semester starting Thursday, 1/23. Make a 500+ word blog post and give a 5-8 minute presentation with Q&A ~ 10 minutes -- signups will open on Google Docs in class on Tuesday 1/28.

• Close Reading Assignments and Rubrics

Three writing assignments due on Sundays by midnight throughout the semester (#1 by 2/9, #2 by 2/23, #3 by 3/30 ). One full single-spaced page (about 500-700 words). 

• Essay Assignments and Rubrics 

Two essays, 5-7 pages each (double-spaced). Essay #1 due by Sunday 3/9 and Essay #2 due by Sunday 5/4.

Milton's "Areopagetica"

"Areopagitica; A Speech of Mr. John Milton, For the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, To the Parliament of England" (1644)

For class on Thursday 1/16, skim over "Areopagitica." The Milton Reading Room at Dartmouth provides links to a number of Milton's classical and obscure references. 

Be forewarned, this is a dense text in archaic English. It is a more challenging read on the sentence/word level than anything else this semester. For this reason, it's our test case. 

Skim the text, get a sense of its structure, and do what you can to identify Milton's important ideas for now.We'll revisit them later in the semester with sharpened textual analysis skills.

For Thursday:

• Copy and paste at least one key quotation from Milton's speech. 
• Write at least 2-3 sentences explaining the quotation you've chosen.

You may want to do this in a word processing application and then copy your work into a comment. Comments do not save automatically -- you run the risk of losing work-in-progress. 

• Also, prepare to answer at least two out of four reading checkpoint questions on Thursday. 

PREVIEW of first In-Class Reading Checkpoint #1 (for class on Thursday)

Hint: Use CTRL+F or APPLE KEY + F to open a search and find field in your browser window. 

1. To whom is Areopagitica addressed? What is the goal of Milton's speech? 

(Find “for though I should affirme and hold by argument…” & “If ye be thus resolv’d”)

 2. Why is Milton concerned about censors, especially ‘Imprimatur’ (check the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) for clarification)?

Access the OED on http://lib.utexas.edu/ ‐> Click the 'Databases' tab on SCOUT search -> 'O' -> 'OED (Oxford English Dictionary) 

Campus computers automatically sign-in. If you are working elsewhere, you'll need to sign-in to the Library website with your UT EID and password. 

 3. Who are the primary victims of censorship?

(Find "manifest hurt it causes")

4. Using the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) -- see instructions above for question 2 -- discuss the differences between ‘scandalous,’ ‘seditious,’ and ‘libellous.'