PHIL3200_001:PhilosophyinLiteratureFall2019T/R2–3:20pmEESAT120Instructor:Dr.SamanthaLangsdaleOffice:EESAT320COfficeHours:MW1pm–3pmSamantha.langsdale@unt.eduCourse Description/Objectives: Stories matter.Particularly stories we tell about ourselves. Thiscourse will examine the ways in whichphilosophical themes manifest in literary fiction,as well as how literary works might help us, orchallengeus to thinkmorephilosophically.While

we will cover a range of philosophical topics such as social contract theory andenvironmental justice, this course will also engage with various feministphilosophiesandcriticalracetheoriesthroughout.Theobjectivesofthiscoursearetoaidstudentsincriticallyengagingwithculture;toenablestudentstoidentifyandanalyze philosophical themes in literary texts; to assist students in reading andanalyzingvisualcultureinadditiontophilosophicaltexts;andtoengagestudentsinrelevant and timely debates concerning climate change, gender, race, andenvironmentalresponsibility. CourseMaterials:RequiredTexts:TheFifthSeason(2015)byNKJemisin,Annihilation(2014)byJeffVandermeer,andParableoftheSower(1993)byOctaviaE.Butler.NB:Allofthesetextscontainexplicitmaterialintendedformatureaudiences.Pleasebepreparedforprofanity,apocalypticscenarios,andcontentpertainingtosex,andviolence.The instructor will provide all other reading materials for this course. Thesereadings, as well as other pertinent and helpful information, can be found onCanvas. If you have any issues retrieving the readings, please let the instructorknow.Assessment:Students’gradeswillbedeterminedbyacombinationofattendancerecord,readingquizzes, discussion presentations, Hope in the Dark submissions, a comparisonessay,andashortstory.

• Attendance(10%)Yourregularattendanceismandatoryandwillbeworthtenpercentofyourtotalgrade.PleaseseeAttendancePolicybelowformoredetails.

• Reading Quizzes (15%) Every Tuesday we will begin class with shortreading quizzes designed to assess whether you have in fact done theassigned reading. These quizzes will be five multiple choice/true-falsequestionsandyourquizaveragewillconstitute15%ofyouroverallgrade.

• Discussion Presentations (15%) Each class meeting will focus ondiscussion the day’s assigned reading in conjunction with the relevantphilosophical theme. You and two to three of your classmates will act asdiscussionleadersonanassigneddate.Youmaychoosetoallcollaborateandplan an activity for the class that synthesizes the philosophical materialpresentedwiththereadings,oryoumayeachbringinyourowndiscussionquestion/quotefromthetexttohelpdiscussionalong.Yourpresentationonyourassigneddaywillconstitute15%ofyouroverallgrade.

• Hope in the Dark submissions (15%) Following from Rebecca Solnit’scollectionofessays,eachThursdaywewillspendsometimerecognizingthevariouswayspeoplehaveworkedtoprotecttheenvironment.Youwillsignupforadayonwhichyouwilluploadalinkprior toclassthatconnectstoanarticleorvideo.These linksshouldbeaboutclimateactivismsuccesses.So,forinstance,youmightpostanarticlethatexplainshowcoralfarmingisbeing used to regrow dead reefs. Or maybe you have a video of climateactivists successfully stopping fracking. The link should be posted to theDiscussionboardonCanvas.YouwillalsogiveaBRIEF(3min)summaryofyourlinktotheclassonyourassignedday.

• Comparison Essay (25%) At the end of our unit on Vandermeer’sAnnihilation,wewillspendaweekwatchingthe2018filmofthesamename.Inmanyways,theyhaveabsolutelynothingtodowitheachother!However,both can be read as philosophical texts that pose questions about ourrelationship to the environment, about gender and sexuality, and aboutethics in a posthumanworld. Youwillwrite a 4-5 page paper (1000-1250words) that puts the book and the film into dialogue. Youwill outline thephilosophical themesyouseebeingpresented inbothanddiscusswhethertheyhaveanything incommonand/orwhichyouthink ismoreeffecting interms of making one think about our course themes (i.e. environment,gender, race, sexuality, etc.).The paper should be submitted via CanvasandisDUETuesday11/26by11:59pm.

• Short Story (20%) Sartreargues, “onemustwrite forone’sage...But thatdoesnotmeanthatonehastolockoneselfupinit.Towriteforone’sageisnottoreflectitpassively;itistowanttomaintainitorchangeit,thustogobeyondittowardsthefuture”(243).Likethetextswearereading,youwillcomposea short story thatboth reflects the climate crisis “ofourage,”butwhichalsospeculatesonthewayswecouldchangeorgobeyondourpresentcircumstances.Followinganin-classwritingworkshop,andusingthestoriesinOctavia’sBrood(Imarishaetal.2015)asamodel,youwillcomposeashort

story of 3-5 pages that engages the themes of our course (environmentaljustice,race,gender,sexuality,posthumanism,etc.)inawaythatbothspeakstoourownreality,andthatenvisionschange,astorythatmovesbeyondourage. Your story will be submitted on our final exam day, Thursday12/12.

GradingPolicy:Thiscourseisgradedaccordingtotherequirementsspecifiedandweightedbelow.A=90%+B=80-89%C=70-79%D=60-69%F=0-59%AttendancePolicy:You are required to regularly attend lectures. However, you are allowedTHREEunexcused absences for whatever life throws your way (illness, broken alarm,hangover, existential crises, etc.). After those three absences, every subsequentabsencewill result in the loss of ten points from an overall total of 100 (i.e. oneabsenceafter the initial threedropsyou from100 to90; twoadditional absencesdrops you from 100 to 80). If you are required to miss class due to a UNTfunction,orbecauseofareligiousholiday,pleasenotifymeINADVANCE.Ifyoumissclass,YOUANDYOUALONE,areresponsibleforfindingoutwhatyoumissed.ADAStatement:TheUniversityofNorthTexasisonrecordasbeingcommittedtoboththespiritandletter of federal equal opportunity legislation; referencePublic Law92-112–TheRehabilitationActof1973asamended.Withthepassageofnewfederallegislationentitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of theRehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with thesameopportunitiesenjoyedbyallcitizens.TheOfficeofDisabilityAccommodationislocatedinSuite321oftheUniversityUnionBuildingandcanbereachedat(940)565 4323 and TTY (940) 369 8652 or through the Website athttp://www.unt.edu/oda/index.htmlIfyourequireanyspecialaccommodation,pleasecontactmeso thatwecanworktogethertoensureyoursuccessinthisclass.AcademicIntegrity:“Academicintegrityemanatesfromaculturethatembracesthecorevaluesoftrustand honesty necessary for full learning to occur. As a student-centered publicresearch university, the University of North Texas promotes the integrity of the

learning process by establishing and enforcing academic standards. Academicdishonesty breaches themutual trust necessary in an academic environment andunderminesallscholarship”.ForafulllookattheUNTPolicyforAcademicIntegrity,see https://policy.unt.edu/sites/default/files/untpolicy/pdf/7-Student_Affairs-Academic_Integrity.pdfIf you are caught cheating on a quiz or test, you will receive an F for thatassignment.Similarly,ifyouplagiarizeyourpaper,youwillreceiveanF.Thismayresultinyourfailingtheclass.ClassroomPolicies&StudentConduct:StudentsmustberespectfuloftheInstructor,theTA,andtheirfellowstudents.Anybehaviorwhichisdeemedracist,sexist,ableistorbigotedwillnotbetolerated.Formore on appropriate conduct, seehttp://deanofstudents.unt.edu/sites/default/files/code_of_student_conduct.pdfIpreferno laptops inclass.However,ifyoufeelyoulearnbestwiththeuseofalaptoportabletIwouldaskthatyousitnearthebackoftheroomsoastoreducedistractiontothosearoundyou.AlsobeawarethatIwillrandomlyaskyoutoturnyourscreenaroundsothatIcanseewhatyou’reupto.YouareNOTpermittedtouseCELLPHONESatANYTIME!Late/MissedAssignments:Ifyouareunabletoattendclassduringtheexams,youmustnotifymeASAP inorder toarrangea re-take.Youwillnotbeallowed tore-take quizzes or exams for reasons other than illness, UNT functions, or religiousholidays.Ifyousubmityouressayafterthedeadline,youwilllosealettergradeforeveryschooldaythatpasses.Add/DropScheduleforFall2019:http://registrar.unt.edu/registration/fall-add-dropClassSchedule:Week Topic Reading

Week 1

Aug. 27

Aug. 29

Introduction Course Description/Syllabus What is literature? How does philosophy relate?

By Thursday: “Writing for One’s Age,” by Sartre on Canvas and “Introduction” by Imarisha (C) Over the weekend: “Climate Change Fictions in Context” by Mehnert (C)

Week 2

Sept. 3

Sept. 5

Climate, Race & Gender Race & Gender Climate change

By Tues: 1-41 in The Fifth Season (TFS) By Thurs: 42-83 in TFS Over the weekend: Two essays by Solnit on Canvas

Week 3

Sept. 10

Sept. 12

Social Contract Theory SCT & Gender SCT & Race Hope in the Dark #1

By Tues: 84-115 in TFS and “Contracting In” by Pateman (C) By Thurs: 116-151 in TFS and “Overview” by Mills (C)

Week 4 Sept. 17 Sept. 19

Race & Gender Posthuman blackness Environment and race Hope in the Dark #2

By Tues: 152-190 in TFS and “Introduction” by Lillvis (C) By Thurs: 191-231 in TFS and “Repairing the Broken Earth” by Iles (C)

Week 5 Sept. 24 Sept. 26

Motherhood & Tragedy Black motherhood Tragedy & ecophobia Hope in the Dark #3

By Tues: 232-276 in TFS and “Black Women” by Collins (C) By Thurs: 277-331 in TFS and “Painful Material Realities” by Estok (C)

Week 6

Oct. 1 Oct. 3

Queer Theory Intro to queer theory Queer utopias Hope in the Dark #4

By Tues: 332-bottom of 372 in TFS and “Introduction” by Giffney (C) By Thurs: 372-412 and “Queering the coming race” by Douglas Kilgore (C)

Week 7

Oct. 8 Oct. 10

Transition Wrap-up TFS Start Annihilation Hope in the Dark #5

By Tues: 413-end of TFS and “From the Seen to the Told” by Fuston-White (C) By Thurs: 1-35 in Annihilation (A) and “Introduction” by Marran (C)

Week 8

Ecocriticism

By Tues: 37-middle of 76 (A) and

Oct.15 Oct. 17

Beyond human Posthuman Hope in the Dark #6

“Literature without us” by Marran (C) By Thurs: 76-119 (A) and “Introduction” by Alaimo (C)

Week 9

Oct. 22 Oct. 24

Ecocriticism Pleasure and Ethics Rethinking the age Hope in the Dark #7

By Tues: 121-top of 143 (A) and “This is about pleasure” by Alaimo (C) By Thurs: 143-end (A) and “Tentacular Thinking” by Haraway (C)

Week 10

Oct. 29 Oct. 31

Film Week Annihilation Annihilation

Take notes and begin working on your comparison essay

Week 11

Nov. 5

Nov. 7

Black History & SciFi African-American history Posthumanism Hope in the Dark #8

By Tues: 1-46 in Parable of the Sower (PS) and “Octavia Butler’s” by Allen (C) By Thurs: 47-85 in PS and “Posthuman” by Lillvis (C)

Week 12

Nov. 12

Nov. 14

Spirituality & Disability Spirituality Disability Hope in the Dark #9

By Tues: 86-125 in PS and “Spirits that Matter” by Rigby (C) By Thurs: 126-166 in PS and “The Future” by Schalk (C)

Week 13

Nov. 19 Nov. 21

Dystopia/Utopia Dystopia/Utopia Balance Hope in the Dark #10

By Tues: 167-213 in PS and “Dystopian Future” by Thaler (C) By Thurs: 214-257 (PS) and “Balance?” by Harris (C)

Week 14

Nov. 26

Nov. 28

Race, Gender & EcoCrit Wrap up PS No Class

Comparison Essay DUE by 11/26 at 11:59pm By Tues: 258-293 By Thurs: 294-end

Week 15

Dec. 3

Dec. 5

Short Story Workshop Guest lecture w/ Dr. Martin Story Workshop

By Tues: Begin looking through Octavia’s Brood and brainstorming story ideas

Week 16

Dec. 12

Final Exam Week Submit Short Stories in class

Thursday, 1:30–3:30pm

ReadingList

Sartre,JP(1988)“WhatisLiterature?”andOtherEssays.HarvardUniversityPress,pp.239–245.Mehnert,Antonia(2016)“ClimateChangeFictionsinContext:Socio-Politics,EnvironmentalDiscourseandLiterature,”ClimateChangeFictions:RepresentationsofGlobalWarminginAmericanLiterature.PalgraveMacmillan.Imarisha,Walidah;brown,adriennemaree;Thomas,ShereeRenee(eds.)(2015)Octavia’sBrood:ScienceFictionStoriesfromSocialJusticeMovements.AKPress.(availabletoreadthroughUNTLibrary).TheFifthSeasonMills,Charles(1997)“Overview,”TheRacialContract.CornellUniversityPress.Pateman,Carol(1988)“ContractingIn,”TheSexualContract.StanfordUniversityPress.Lillvis,Kristen(2017)“Introduction,”PosthumanBlacknessandtheBlackFemaleImagination.TheUniversityofGeorgiaPress.

Estok,Simon(2014)“PainfulMaterialRealities,Tragedy,Ecophobia,”MaterialEcocriticism,eds.SerenellaIovinoandSerpilOppermann.IndianaUniversityPress.Collins,PatriciaHill(2000)“BlackWomenandMotherhood,”BlackFeministThought:Knowledge,Consciousness,andthePoliticsofEmpowerment.Routledge.Giffney,Noreen(2009)“Introduction:The‘q’Word,”TheAshgateResearchCompaniontoQueerTheory,eds.NoreenGiffneyandMichaelO’Rourke.AshgatePublishing.DouglasKilgore,DeWitt(2008)“QueeringtheComingRace?AUtopianHistoricalImperative,”QueerUniverses:SexualitiesinScienceFiction,eds.WendyGayPearson,VeronicaHollingerandJoanGordon.LiverpoolUniversityPress.Iles,Alastair(2019)“RepairingtheBrokenEarth:NKJemisinonraceandenvironmentintransitions,”ElemSciAnth,vol.7,no.26,pp.1–25.Fuston-White,Jeanne(2002)“‘FromtheSeentotheTold’:TheConstructionofSubjectivityinToniMorrison’s‘Beloved’,”AfricanAmericanReview,vol.36,no.3,pp.461–473.AnnihilationMarran,Christine(2017)“Introduction,”EcologyWithoutCulture:AestheticsforaToxicWorld.UniversityofMinnesotaPress.(availableasaneBookviatheLibrary)___________________________“LiteratureWithoutUs,”EcologyWithoutCulture:AestheticsforaToxicWorld.UniversityofMinnesotaPress.(availableasaneBookviatheLibrary)**readuntil“TheLastWilderness”**Alaimo,Stacy(2016)“Introduction:DwellingintheDissolve,”Exposed:EnvironmentalPleasuresandPoliticsinPosthumanTimes.UniversityofMinnesotaPress.________________________”ThisisaboutPleasure:AnEthicsofInhabiting,”Exposed:EnvironmentalPleasuresandPoliticsinPosthumanTimes.UniversityofMinnesotaPress.Haraway,Donna(2016)“TentacularThinking:Anthropocene,Capitalocene,Chthulucene,”StayingwiththeTrouble:MakingKinintheChthulucene.DukeUniversityPress(availableasaneBookviatheLibrary).ParableoftheSower

Allen,MarleneD.(2009)“OctaviaButler’sParableNovelsandthe‘Boomerang’ofAfricanAmericanHistory,”Callaloo32,no.4,pp.1353–65.Lillvis,Kristen(2017)“PosthumanMultipleConsciousnessinOctaviaE.Butler’sScienceFiction,”PosthumanBlacknessandtheBlackFemaleImagination.UniversityofGeorgiaPress.Rigby,Kate(2014)“SpiritsThatMatter:PathwaystowardaRematerializationofReligionandSpirituality,”MaterialEcocriticism,eds.SerenellaIovinoandSerpilOppermann.IndianaUniversityPress,pp.283–290.Schalk,Sami(2018)“TheFutureofBodyminds,BodymindsoftheFuture,”BodymindsReimagined:(Dis)ability,Race,andGenderinBlackWomen’sSpeculativeFiction.DukeUniversityPress.Thaler,Ingrid(2010)“DystopianFutureandUtopianVision:SurvivingApocalypseinOctaviaE.Butler’sParableoftheSower(1993),”BlackAtlanticSpeculativeFictions:OctaviaE.Butler,JewelleGomez,andNaloHopkinson.Routledge.Harris,Trudier(2001)“Balance?OctaviaE.Butler’sParableoftheSower,”Saints,Sinners,Saviors:StrongBlackWomeninAfricanAmericanLiterature.Palgrave.