Don Juan: Transformations of a Legend
English/Comparative Literature 382

Mr. Pierce and lecturers Fall 1998

Texts:

Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Don Juan. www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7086/donjuan.htm.

Mandel, Oscar, ed. The Theatre of Don Juan: A Collection of Plays and Views, 1630-1963. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1963.

Shaw, Bernard. Man and Superman. New York: Penguin, 1946.

Assignments:

Sept. 2 Introduction

Sept. 9 Tirso de Molina, The Playboy of Seville, Mandel, pp. 37-99

Sept. 14 Tirso cont.

Sept. 16 Moliere, Don Juan, Mandel, pp. 110-63 (link for French-language version)

Sept. 21, 23 Moliere cont.

Sept. 28, Oct. 5 Mozart, Don Giovanni, Mandel, pp. 278-315; classes in Bibbins 223, Syvan Suskin

Oct. 7, 12 Mozart cont.

Oct. 12 Paper due

Oct. 14 Don Juan and Don Pietro, Mandel, pp. 255-77; journal due

Oct. 26 Byron, Don Juan, Dedication and Canto I (Internet link)

Oct. 28 Byron, Don Juan, Canto II (Internet link)

Nov. 2 George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman

Nov. 4 Shaw, Epistle Dedicatory

Nov. 9, 11 Shaw cont.

Nov. 16, 18, 23 Group presentations

Nov. 30 The Silence of the Lambs, Pat Day presentation

Dec. 2 The Silence of the Lambs cont.; paper due

Dec. 7 Don Juan di Marco

Dec. 9 Don Juan di Marco cont.; journal due

Course Requirements:

Attendance and participation in class, including group reports 25%

Maintenance of journal 25%

Two papers, 5-7 pages each 50%

THE JOURNAL

Each student should keep a journal with the following components:

´For each reading or viewing assignment: a couple of paragraphs of comments and questions based on your reactions immediately after completing the text. You should always include at least one question that you would like to bring up in class.

´For each lecture: notes with marginal annotations--your questions and comments.

´For each discussion: your class notes and comments.

I recommend that you use either a loose-leaf or a bound notebook for your journal. I will ask you to turn it in twice, once at the end of class October 14 and once December 9. The journal may be partly or wholly handwritten, but do try to make it as readable as possible, though your notes in class will probably be less so than the rest. What I am asking you to do is to stop and reflect after each course activity, that is, after reading a text, hearing a lecture, and participating in discussion. Then get some of your thoughts down on paper.

THE PAPERS

For each of the papers I would like you to develop and expand on one of the ideas touched on in your journal in relation to one of the texts we study, or you may compare something in two texts. (The two papers should concentrate on different texts from each other.) The primary focus should be critical, though you may bring in scholarly, historical, and other material if it is relevant. For each paper I want you to read at least one piece of criticism (an article, chapter of a book, or whatever) and to include it in a bibliography, whether or not you have occasion to refer to it in your own text. Each paper should be roughly five to seven typed, double-spaced pages in length. You may print front and back.

CLASS PARTICIPATION

The first requirement is of course attendance at both lectures and discussions. If you are ill or have another unavoidable conflict, I do not require a dean's excuse, but please let me know if you are going to be absent for more than one class. Do try to take occasional part in discussion even if that is hard for you. Remember that questions are just as valuable a contribution as statements and that there is nothing wrong with being confused about something and revealing that in class, as long as you have made a genuine effort to understand.

There will be several group reports; I will ask small groups of you to work on a specific topic or project and then report to the class as a whole. The reports should include some presentation but may also involve asking for response from the rest of the class. Each group is responsible for preparing its presentation in advance, which includes planning to fit into the time available.

Reserve List:

Mandel, Oscar, ed. The Theatre of Don Juan: A Collection of Plays and Views, 1630-1963. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1963.

McGann, Jerome J. Don Juan in Context. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976.

Miller, Jonathan, ed. Don Giovanni: Myths of Seduction and Betrayal. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.

Rank, Otto. The Don Juan Legend. Trans. David G. Winter. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975.

Smeed, J. W. Don Juan: Variations on a Theme. London: Routledge, 1990.

Weinstein, Leo. The Metamorphoses of Don Juan. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1959.