Narrating the Nation (Fall 2007)

History 367/English 386:
Narrating the Nation: Historical and Literary Approaches to Nationalism
Fall 2007

Anuradha Needham (English) x 58571 [Rice 128]
Office hours: Tues & Thurs, 1:00-3:00 PM, and by appointment]

Steven Volk (History) x58522 [Rice 309]
Office hours: Mon 11-Noon; Wed 10-11; Thurs 1:30-2:30, and by appointment]

Class meets: Tu/Th 9:35-10:50 in King 339

Narrating the Nation is an interdisciplinary, intensive seminar which offers an analysis of the narratives through which nationalisms -- both official and alternative -- acquire (or are denied) credibility and authority. This discussion-centered class will examine the nationalisms of Latin America, with particular reference to Chile, and South Asia, with particular reference to India and Pakistan. Narrative theor(ies) as deployed in and by the disciplines of History and English literary studies provide the overarching critical methodologies for interdisciplinary analysis. Our concern in this course is both thematic and methodological -- particularly as concerns epistemological challenges of History and literary criticism and the manner in which each can be made to push the other to greater insights.The course is offered for four hours of credit (two in History; two in English). You will be expected to keep up with a large amount of reading, and to attend class regularly. Attendance will be taken and unexcused absences noted. As students in a seminar, you will be expected to engage actively in class discussions. You should speak to one of the instructors if you find that there is some constraint to your active participation and engagement with the materials and the class members.

Kahlo on the Borderline

Frida Kahlo, "Self-Portrait on the Borderline" (1932); Manuel and Maria Reyero Collection, New York

COURSE FORMAT: Some of the classes will be led by the instructors, and some by the students in groups of 5 or 6. Except for a few introductory sections (at the beginning, and at the start of each section), the course will run as a discussion class. All students will be assigned to small study/presentation groups at the beginning of each section (i.e., the beginning of the course, and right after Fall Break). These groups will serve as study groups and will also be assigned specific weeks in which to lead the discussion. Each group will lead class discussion twice, once in the first half of the semester, once in the second. Each student in the group will be expected to turn in a short reflection paper (1-2 pages) at the start of the week in which their group is leading the discussion.

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: As noted above, you will be required to keep up with the reading and to attend class regularly. There are six writing assignments in the semester, three in each half: (a) two substantial papers (12-15 pages), due on October 30 and December 13, in which you engage with one or more of the major themes discussed during each half of the semester, (b) 1 short essay (2-3 pages) following the general presentation of the theoretical arguments, in which you will briefly describe and/or analyze the central argument or arguments in one or more of the introductory readings, due on September 14, and (c) two 1-2 page reflection papers due during the weeks (one each half of the semester) in which your group is leading the discussion. These 1-2 papers should center on whatever point of discussion from the reading you wish to bring to the table, and must be submitted on the day your group leads the discussion. With regard to the other papers, you can request an extension; however, papers turned in late without the permission of one of the instructors will be penalized with your grade decreased one step (e.g., from a B+ to a B) for each day it is late. You are welcome, although not required, to show either or both of us rough drafts of your paper, but you must do so a few days in advance of the due date of the paper. Your final grade will be determined by the following formula:

HONOR CODE: In this course, as in all others, you are expected to adhere to the spirit and letter of the Honor Code and to sign the Honor Code on all work that you turn in. ("I affirm that I have adhered to the Honor Code in this assignment.") Please refer to the American Historical Association's definition of plagiarism for further information.

A note on readings: Readings will be available in one of three forms: (1) As a book which is recommended for purchase. A copy of all these books will be on reserve at the library, and you can also get extra copies through Ohio LINK, if you choose not to purchase them. The books are available at the bookstore, and can also be purchased in cheaper used editions through Amazon.com or other on-line booksellers; (2) in Electronic Reserves (ERes). You can get to ERes by clicking on the link. We will give you the password prior to the start of classes -- all ERes readings will be found under the HIST367 listing; and (3) in Blackboard: Course Documents. If you can't find what you're looking for, make sure you are looking in the right place, and then ask us if you still can't find it.

Sep. 6,11: Questions of Methodology and Epistemology: Historians, Cultural Critics, and the Production and Organization of Knowledge (Discussions led by Anu and Steve)

FIRST SHORT ESSAY DUE ON SEPTEMBER 14 [NOTE: THERE IS NO CLASS ON SEPTEMBER 13; TURN IN PAPERS TO ANU NEEDHAM'S OFFICE BY 4:30 ON FRIDAY, SEPT. 14; IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO TURN YOUR PAPER IN BY SEPT 14 BECAUSE OF THE OBSERVANCE OF ROSH HASHANAH , YOU WILL BE GRANTED AN EXTENSION UNTIL MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18]

Sept 18, 20: The Self-Made (Patriarchal) Nation: Gender and Chile in the 19th Century (Steve will lead discussion)

Sept 25, 27: Tales of Progress, Tales of Exclusion: Writing the Nation's History from the Subaltern Perspective (Steve will lead discussion)

Oct. 2, 4: Progressive Teleology: Salvador Allende and the Popular Unity Government (Group 1 will lead discussion)

Oct. 9, 11: Isabel Allende and the Matriarchal Nation (Group 3 will lead discussion)

Oct. 16, 18: The Nation as Disaster: History Confronts Literature after the Coup (Group 4 will lead discussion)

Nov. 6, 8, 13: (Re-)writing (histories of) India (Anu will lead discussion on Nov. 6; Group 1 students will lead discussion on Nov. 8 and 13)

SECOND MAJOR ESSAY DUE: THURSDAY, DEC. 13. Turn in papers to Steve's office (Rice 309). NOTE: No papers will be accepted after December 19 (either with or without an extension) unless you have been approved for an Incomplete in the course.

Sept. 6	J.M. Coetzee, "The Novel Today," Upstream 6:1 (Summer 1988) (1988).	ERes
Sept. 6	Alun Munslow, "Introduction," The New History (London: Pearson Longman, 2003), pp. 1-23.	ERes
Sept. 6	David William Cohen, "The Production of History," in The Combing of History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), pp. 1-23.	ERes
Sept. 6	David W. Price, "Making the Truth: History, Fiction, and Philosophy," in History Made, History Imagined. Contemporary Literature, Poiesis, and the Past (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1999), pp. 19-47.	ERes
Sept. 11	Ranajit Guha, "The Small Voice of History," Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society IX (1996), pp. 1-12.	ERes
Sept. 11	Gyanendra Pandey, "The Prose of Otherness," Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society VIII (1994): 188-221.	Blackboard: Course Documents

Sept 18	Alberto Blest Gana, Martín Rivas, Jaime Concha, intro., Tess O'Dwyer, trans. (NY: Oxford), 2004. [Spanish version: Martín Rivas (Buenos Aires : Editorial Andina), 1969.] Read approximately half the book.	Book
Sept 20	Martín Rivas - finish book.

Sept. 25	Florencia Mallon, Courage Tastes of Blood: The Mapuche Community of Nicolás Ailío and the Chilean State, 1906-2001 (Durham: Duke, 2005), 1-135.	Book
Sept. 27	Finish discussion of Mallon

Oct. 9	Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (NY: Bantam), 1986. [Spanish version: La casa de los espíritus (New York: Rayo : HarperLibros) 2001] [Read Chapters 1-5]	Book
Oct. 11	The House of the Spirits, Chapter 6 - end.

Oct. 16	Roberto Bolaño, By Night in Chile, trans. Chris Andrews (New York: New Directions), 2003. [Spanish version: Nocturno de Chile (Barcelona : Editorial Anagrama), 2000.]	Book
Oct. 18	Martin Mullins, "The Effects of State Violence on National Identity: The Fate of Chilean Historical Narratives Post 1973," in Will Fowler and Peter Lambert, eds, Political Violence and the Construction of National Identity in Latin America (NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), pp. 167-185.	ERes

Oct. 2	Régis Debray, "Introduction," in The Chilean Revolution. Conversations with Allende (NY: Vintage, 1971), pp. 13-57.	ERes
Oct. 2	Salvador Allende, "The Purpose of Our Victory. Inaugural address in the National Stadium, Santiago, 5 November 1970," in Chile's Road to Socialism, ed. Joan E. Garces, trans. J. Darling (Harmondsworth, Baltimore: Penguin, 1973), pp. 52-68.	ERes
Oct. 2	Pablo Neruda, "Canto General," in Canto General, trans. Jack Schmitt (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991), 213-235. [Spanish version: Canto general (Madrid : Cátedra), 1990]	ERes
Oct. 2	Francisco Domínguez, "Violence, the Left, and the Creation of Un Nuevo Chile," in Will Fowler and Peter Lambert, eds, Political Violence and the Construction of National Identity in Latin America (NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), pp. 149-166.	ERes

Oct. 30	M.K. Gandhi, Indian Home Rule (Hind Swaraj).	ERes
Nov. 1	Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1946), Pages to be assigned.	ERes

Nov 6, 8, 13	Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children (NY: Vintage), 2006;"'Errata': or Unreliable Narration in Midnight's Children," and "The Riddle of Midnight, India, August 1987," in Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism, 1981-1991 (London: Granta, 1991), pp. 22-33.	Book
Recommended (not required) as background	Anuradha Dingwaney Needham, "Re-playing the Indian Subcontinent: Salman Rushdie's Methods of Critique," Using the Master's Tools (NY: St. Martin's Press, 2000), Ch. 2.	ERes
Recommended (not required) as background	Fredric Jameson, "Third World Literature in the Age of Multinational Capitalism," Social Text 15 (Fall 1986): 65-88.	Blackboard: Course Documents

Nov. 15	From Alok Bhalla, ed. and trans., Stories about the Partition of India (Harper Collins-India, 1999): S.H. Vatsayan, "Getting Even"; Bhisham Sahni, "The Train Has Reached Amritsar"; Shaikh Ayyaz, "Neighbours"; Ismat Chughtai, "The Shepherd" and "Roots"; Mohan Rakesh, "The Claim."	Blackboard: Course Documents
Nov. 15	From Mushirul Hasan, ed, India Partitioned: The Other Face of Freedom (Dehli: Lotus Collection, 1995): "The Book of Divine Knowledge," and the following poems: Amrita Pritam, "I Say Unto Waris Shah," and Faiz Ahmad Faiz, "The Morning of Freedom: August 1947."	Blackboard: Course Documents
Nov. 20	From Alok Bhalla, ed. and trans., Stories about the Partition of India (Harper Collins-India, 1999): The following stories and poems by Saadat Hasan Manto: "Cold Meat," "Compassion and Sorry," "Open It," "Toba Tek Singh."	Blackboard: Course Documents
Nov. 20	Saadat Hasan Manto, "The Return," and "The Dutiful Daughter," in Kingdom's End and Other Stories (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1989.	Blackboard: Course Documents
Nov. 20	Saadat Hasan Manto, "Jinnah Sahib," from Mottled Dawn: Fifty Sketches and Stories of Partition (New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1997).	Blackboard: Course Documents

Dec. 11	Amitav Ghosh, The Shadow Lines (South Asia Books), 1998. Begin.	Book
Dec. 13	The Shadow Lines, finish.