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Reason, Romanticism, & Revolution

April 18, 2017 elizabeth.wasson

This class is part of a sequence of courses in the humanities in Europe which are taught in the Department of English at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. Humanities 101 covers the ancient world, 302 the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and this course the period from roughly 1750 to 1914. The period since 1914 is covered by the last course in the sequence, Humanities 304.

All are designed to be international and interdisciplinary, focusing on literary works outside of the Anglo-American tradition, on philosophy, and on art, architecture, music and–in the case of 304–film. While it helps to have some general historical knowledge of Europe before 1750, none of the other Humanities courses is a prerequisite for this one.

303 is the only one of these courses to have a descriptive subtitle that does more than indicate a period to be discussed. Obviously a course such as this cannot possibly “cover” such rich and varied material; and it has been designed to concentrate on certain crucial themes. What holds the course together is its focus on revolutionary movements and ideas which have had a lasting impact on western civilization and on the world at large. Much that we think of as “modern” began in the 18th and 19th centuries.

“Reason” refers to the French Enlightenment, that movement to use rationalism as a weapon against the forces of repression embodied in the monarchy and the church. Voltaire was the most popular if not the most influential of all the Enlightenment writers, and his Philosophical Dictionary contains lucid and entertaining presentations of all his major ideas. The rationalist tradition also influences later writers studied in this course, including especially Nietzsche and Marx. The rationalists are often associated with classical era music and neoclassical painting, which we will also explore.

“Romanticism” is the label for a literary-philosophical-artistic-musical-political movement which is often seen primarily as a rebellion against the stifling intellectualism and rigid logic of the Enlightenment, but it is much richer than that. It had a rich, multifaceted effect on Europe, more so than any movement since Christianity first swept over the area in the Middle Ages. Unlike the Enlightenment, which was at first confined principally to a few elites, it changed the way ordinary people viewed themselves, their relationships with each other, and their relationship to the natural world. It still largely shapes the way we think and feel today. It was not a simple revolt against reason in favor of emotion–though this stereotype has some truth in it–instead it was a major shift in values. No other movement in the last three centuries has affected so many different aspects of life, spread so widely, nor lasted so long.

Goethe’s Faust is the perfect work for illustrating the multifaceted, often self-contradictory nature of this movement. Reason and passion struggle together, tragedy blends into comedy, and the bounds of literature itself are stretched as a new form struggles to be born.

Much of the most popular music in the traditional concert repertory is still that which was first written in the romantic style. In some way or other, all succeeding styles either build on or react against romanticism. Neo-romanticism is a powerful force in contemporary music, in composers as different as Witold Lutoslawski and Alan Hovhaness. We also be looking at romantic painting.

Any of the works studied in this course could be described as “revolutionary,” but Zola’s Germinal and Marx’s Communist Manifesto are especially helpful in understanding the background to the great socialist revolutions which swept across much of the world in the first half of the 20th century. In contrast, Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground stands as a cry of anguish against socialism, against rationalism, against modernism generally. Dostoyevsky’s powerful case against the notions of progress and utopia still provides major weapons for conservatives and reactionaries today. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring are examples of revolutionary music.

Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra in a sense sums up the entire course. Infused with both rationalism and romanticism, profoundly revolutionary and anti-political at the same time, leaving influences in philosophy, psychology, theater, fiction, art and music in a bewildering variety of directions, Nietzsche’s work continues to be a powerful influence on many thinkers today.

These are some of the movements and creative minds who have made the modern world what it is. They are not buried in history, but alive in the ways we think, feel, and perceive the world around us. By understanding them, we can better understand ourselves.
This is an upper-division class which requires advanced reading and writing skills. To judge whether you can handle the material, try using the online study guide to Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary while you read some of the assigned articles. You may need to reread carefully to extract the meaning from these articles. Students are not expected to be fluent in reading Voltaire at first, but you should be able to figure out his basic points and answer most of the study questions.

If you find the experience intimidating, please note that you are allowed to go back and revise any paper for this class and raise your grade; so even if you have trouble the first time around, you’ll have other chances. The online syllabus

Romanticism

October 12, 2016 elizabeth.wasson

If the Enlightenment was a movement which started among a tiny elite and slowly spread to make its influence felt throughout society, Romanticism was more widespread both in its origins and influence. No other intellectual/artistic movement has had comparable variety, reach, and staying power since the end of the Middle Ages.

Beginning in Germany and England in the 1770s, by the 1820s it had swept through Europe, conquering at last even its most stubborn foe, the French. It traveled quickly to the Western Hemisphere, and in its musical form has triumphed around the globe, so that from London to Boston to Mexico City to Tokyo to Vladivostok to Oslo, the most popular orchestral music in the world is that of the romantic era. After almost a century of being attacked by the academic and professional world of Western formal concert music, the style has reasserted itself as neoromanticism in the concert halls. When John Williams created the sound of the future in Star Wars, it was the sound of 19th-century Romanticism–still the most popular style for epic film soundtracks.

Beginning in the last decades of the 18th century, it transformed poetry, the novel, drama, painting, sculpture, all forms of concert music (especially opera), and ballet. It was deeply connected with the politics of the time, echoing people’s fears, hopes, and aspirations. It was the voice of revolution at the beginning of the 19th century and the voice of the Establishment at the end of it.

This last shift was the result of the triumph of the class which invented, fostered, and adopted as its own the romantic movement: the bourgeoisie. To understand why this should have been so, we need to look more closely at the nature of the style and its origins.

Origins:

Folklore and Popular Art

Some of the earliest stirrings of the Romantic movement are conventionally traced back to the mid-18th-century interest in folklore which arose in Germany–with Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm collecting popular fairy tales and other scholars like Johann Gottfried von Herder studying folk songs–and in England with Joseph Addison and Richard Steele treating old ballads as if they were high poetry. These activities set the tone for one aspect of Romanticism: the belief that products of the uncultivated popular imagination could equal or even surpass those of the educated court poets and composers who had previously monopolized the attentions of scholars and connoisseurs.

Whereas during much of the 17th and 18th centuries learned allusions, complexity and grandiosity were prized, the new romantic taste favored simplicity and naturalness; and these were thought to flow most clearly and abundantly from the “spontaneous” outpourings of the untutored common people. In Germany in particular, the idea of a collective Volk (people) dominated a good deal of thinking about the arts. Rather than paying attention to the individual authors of popular works, these scholars celebrated the anonymous masses who invented and transmuted these works as if from their very souls. All of this fantasizing about the creative folk process reflected precious little knowledge about the actual processes by which songs and stories are created and passed on and created as well an ideology of the essence of the German soul which was to be used to dire effect by the Nazis in the 20th century.

Nationalism

The natural consequence of dwelling on creative folk genius was a good deal of nationalism. French Romantic painting is full of themes relating to the tumultuous political events of the period and later Romantic music often draws its inspiration from national folk musics. Goethe deliberately places German folkloric themes and images on a par with Classical ones in Faust.

Shakespeare

But one of the early effects of this interest in the folk arts seems particularly strange to us moderns: the rise and spread of the reputation of William Shakespeare. Although he is regarded today as the epitome of the great writer, his reputation was at first very different. Shakespeare was a popular playwright who wrote for the commercial theater in London. He was not college-educated, and although his company had the sponsorship of King James, his work was not entirely “respectable.”

Academic critics at first scorned his indiscipline, his rejection of their concepts of drama which were derived in part from ancient Roman and Greek patterns. A good play should not mix comedy with tragedy, not proliferate plots and subplots, not ramble through a wide variety of settings or drag out its story over months or years of dramatic time; but Shakespeare’s plays did all these things. A proper serious drama should always be divided neatly into five acts, but Shakespeare’s plays simply flowed from one scene to the next, with no attention paid to the academic rules of dramatic architecture (the act divisions we are familiar with today were imposed on his plays by editors after his death).

If the English romantics exalted Shakespeare’s works as the greatest of their classics, his effect on the Germans was positively explosive. French classical theater had been the preeminent model for drama in much of Europe; but when the German Romantics began to explore and translate his works, they were overwhelmed. His disregard for the classical rules which they found so confining inspired them. Writers like Friedrich von Schiller and Goethe created their own dramas inspired by Shakespeare. Faust contains many Shakespearean allusions as well as imitating all of the nonclassical qualities enumerated above.

Because Shakespeare was a popular rather than a courtly writer, the Romantics exaggerated his simple origins. In fact he had received an excellent education which, although it fell short of what a university could offer, went far beyond what the typical college student learns today about the classics. In an age drunk on the printing and reading of books he had access to the Greek myths, Roman and English history, tales by Italian humanists and a wide variety of other materials. True, he used translations, digests, and popularizations; but he was no ignoramus.

To the Romantics, however, he was the essence of folk poetry, the ultimate vindication of their faith in spontaneous creativity. Much of the drama of the European 19th century is influenced by him, painters illustrated scenes from his plays, and composers based orchestral tone poems and operas on his narratives.

The Gothic Romance

Another quite distinct contribution to the Romantic movement was the Gothic romance. The first was Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto (1765), set in a haunted castle and containing various mysterious apparitions such as a gigantic mailed fist. This sort of thing was popularized by writers like Ann Radcliffe and M. L. Lewis (The Monk) and eventually spread abroad to influence writers like Eugène Sue (France) and Edgar Allan Poe (the U.S.). Rejecting the Enlightenment ideal of balance and rationalism, readers eagerly sought out the hysterical, mystical, passionate adventures of terrified heroes and heroines in the clutches of frightening, mysterious forces. The modern horror novel and woman’s romance are both descendants of the Gothic romance, as transmuted through such masterworks as Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and her sister Emily’s Wuthering Heights. Another classic Gothic work, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is often cited as a forerunner of modern science fiction.

Medievalism

The Gothic novel embraced the Medieval (“Gothic”) culture so disdained by the early 18th century. Whereas classical art looked back constantly to the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Romantics celebrated for the first time since the Renaissance the wilder aspects of the creativity of Western Europeans from the 12th through the 14th centuries: stained glass in soaring cathedrals, tales of Robin Hood and his merry men, and–above all–the old tales of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. This influence was to spread far beyond the Gothic romance to all artistic forms in Europe, and lives on in the popular fantasy novels of today. Fairies, witches, angels–all the fantastic creatures of the Medieval popular imagination came flooding back into the European arts in the Romantic period (and all are present in Faust).

The longing for “simpler” eras not freighted with the weight of the Classical world gave rise to a new form: the historical novel. Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was by far its most successful practitioner. Although credit for writing the first historical novel should probably go to Madame de Lafayette for her La Princess de Clèves (1678), Scott is generally considered to have developed the form as we know it today. Almost forgotten now, his novels like The Bride of Lammermoor and Ivanhoe nevertheless inspired writers, painters, and composers in Germany, France, Italy, Russia and many other lands.

Emotion

The other influential characteristic of the Gothic romance was its evocation of strong, irrational emotions–particularly horror. Whereas Voltaire and his comrades had abhorred “enthusiasm” and strove to dispel the mists of superstition; the Gothic writers evoked all manner of irrational scenes designed to horrify and amaze. Romantic writers generally also prized the more tender sentiments of affection, sorrow, and romantic longing. In this they were inspired by certain currents contemporaneous with the Enlightenment, in particular the writings of Voltaire’s arch-rival, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Rousseau

Rousseau was a moody, over-sensitive, even paranoid sort of fellow, much given to musing on his own feelings. Like the Englishman Samuel Richardson, he explored in his fiction the agonies of frustrated love–particularly in his sensationally successful novel The New Heloise–and celebrated the peculiar refinement of feeling the English called “sensibility” which we call “sensitivity.” Of all aspects of Romantic fiction, the penchant for tearful sentimental wallowing in the longings and disappointments of frustrated protagonists is most alien to modern audiences. Only in opera and film where the power of music is summoned to reinforce the emotions being evoked can most modern audiences let themselves go entirely, and then only within limits.

The great minds of the 20th century have generally rejected sentimentalism, even defining its essence as false, exaggerated emotion; and we tend to find mawkish or even comical much that the Romantic age prized as moving and beautiful. Yet there was more than cheap self-indulgence and escapism in this fevered emotionalism. Its proponents argued that one could be morally and spiritually uplifted by cultivating a greater sensitivity to feelings. The cultivation of empathy for the sufferings of others could even be a vehicle for social change, as in the works of Charles Dickens. That this emotionalism was sometimes exaggerated or artificial should not obscure the fact that it also contained much that was genuine and inspiring. It is not clear that we have gained so much by prizing in our modern literature attitudes of cynicism, detachment, and ruthlessness.

Of all the emotions celebrated by the Romantics, the most popular was love. Although the great Romantic works often center on terror or rage, the motive force behind these passions is most often a relationship between a pair of lovers. In the classical world love had been more or less identical with sex, the Romans treating it in a particularly cynical manner. The Medieval troubadours had celebrated courtly adultery according to a highly artificial code that little reflected the lives of real men and women while agreeing with physicians that romantic passion was a potentially fatal disease. It was the romantics who first celebrated romantic love as the natural birthright of every human being, the most exalted of human sentiments, and the necessary foundation of a successful marriage. Whether or not one agrees that this change of attitude was a wise one, it must be admitted to have been one of the most influential in the history of the world.

This is not the place to trace the long and complex history of how the transcendent, irrational, self-destructive passion of a Romeo and Juliet came to be considered the birthright of every European citizen; but this conviction which continues to shape much of our thinking about relationships, marriage, and the family found its mature form during the Romantic age. So thoroughly has love become identified with romance that the two are now generally taken as synonyms, disregarding the earlier associations of “romance” with adventure, terror, and mysticism.

Exoticism

Another important aspect of Romanticism is the exotic. Just as Romantics responded to the longing of people for a distant past, so they provided images of distant places. The distances need not be terribly great: Spain was a favorite “exotic” setting for French Romantics, for instance. North Africa and the Middle East provided images of “Asia” to Europeans. Generally anywhere south of the country where one resided was considered more relaxed, more colorful, more sensual.

Such exoticism consisted largely of simple stereotypes endlessly repeated, but the Romantic age was also a period in which Europeans traveled more than ever to examine at first hand the far-off lands of which they had read. Much of this tourism was heavily freighted with the attitudes fostered by European colonialism, which flourished during this period. Most “natives” were depicted as inevitably lazy, unable to govern themselves while those who aspired to European sophistication were often derided as “spoiled.” Many male travelers viewed the women of almost any foreign land one could name as more sexually desirable and available than the women at home, and so they are depicted in fiction, drama, art, and opera.

Just as Scott was the most influential force in popularizing the romantic historical novel, exoticism in literature was inspired more by Lord Byron–especially his Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812-1818)–than by any other single writer. Whereas the Romantic lyric poetry of Coleridge, Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth had a negligible influence outside of their native tongue, the sweep of Byron’s longer poems translated well into other languages and other artistic media.

Romantic exoticism is not always in tension with Romantic nationalism, for often the latter focused on obscure folk traditions which were in themselves exotic to the audiences newly exposed to them. Goethe’s witches were not more familiar to his audience because they were Germanic, unlike, say, the Scottish witches in Macbeth.

Religion

One of the most complex developments during this period is the transformation of religion into a subject for artistic treatment far removed from traditional religious art. The Enlightenment had weakened, but hardly uprooted, established religion in Europe. As time passed, sophisticated writers and artists were less and less likely to be conventionally pious; but during the Romantic era many of them were drawn to religious imagery in the same way they were drawn to Arthurian or other ancient traditions in which they no longer believed. Religion was estheticized, and writers felt free to draw on Biblical themes with the same freedom as their predecessors had drawn on classical mythology, and with as little reverence.

Faust begins and ends in Heaven, has God and the devil as major characters, angels and demons as supporting players, and draws on wide variety of Christian materials, but it is not a Christian play. The Enlightenment had weakened the hold of Christianity over society to the extent that some at least, like Goethe, no longer felt the need to engage in the sort of fierce battles with it Voltaire had fought, but felt instead free to play with it. A comparable attitude can be seen in much of the work of the English Pre-Raphaelite painters who began in mid-century to treat Christian subjects in the context of charmingly “naive” Medievalism.

The mixture of disbelief in and fascination with religion evident in such works illustrates a general principal of intellectual history: artistic and social movements almost never behave like rigid clock pendulums, swinging all the way from one direction to another. A better metaphor for social change is the movement of waves on a beach, in which an early wave is receding while another advances over it, and elements of both become mixed together. For all that many of its features were reactions against the rationalist Enlightenment, Romanticism also incorporated much from the earlier movement, or coexisted with the changes it had brought about.

Individualism

One of the most important developments of this period is the rise in the importance of individualism. Before the 18th Century, few Europeans concerned themselves with discovering their own individual identities. They were what they had been born: nobles, peasants, or merchants. As mercantalism and capitalism gradually transformed Europe, however, it destablized the old patterns. The new industrialists naturally liked to credit themselves for having built their large fortunes and rejected the right of society to regulate and tax their enterprises. Sometimes they tried to fit into the traditional patterns by buying noble titles; but more and more often they developed their own tastes in the arts and created new social and artistic movements alien to the old aristocracy. This process can be seen operating as early as the Renaissance in the Netherlands.

The changing economy not only made individualism attractive to the newly rich, it made possible a free market in the arts in which entrepreneurial painters, composers, and writers could seek out sympathetic audiences to a pay them for their works, no longer confined to handful of Church and aristocratic patrons who largely shared the same values. They could now afford to pursue their individual tastes in a way not possible even in the Renaissance.

It was in the Romantic period–not coincidentally also the period of the industrial revolution–that such concern with individualism became much more widespread. Byron in literature and Beethoven in music are both examples of romantic individualism taken to extremes. But the most influential exemplar of individualism for the 19th century was not a creative artist at all, but a military man: Napoleon Bonaparte. The dramatic way in which he rose to the head of France in the chaotic wake of its bloody revolution, led his army to a series of triumphs in Europe to build a brief but influential Empire, and created new styles, tastes, and even laws with disregard for public opinion fascinated the people of the time. He was both loved and hated; and even fifty years after his death he was still stimulating authors like Dostoyevsky, who saw in him the ultimate corrosive force which celebrated individual striving and freedom at the expense of responsibility and tradition.

We call the reckless character who seeks to remold the world to his own desires with little regard for morality or tradition “Faustian,” after Goethe’s character, but he might as well be called “Napoleonic.”

The modern fascination with self-definition and self-invention, the notion that adolescence is naturally a time of rebellion in which one “finds oneself,” the idea that the best path to faith is through individual choice, the idea that government exists to serve the individuals who have created it: all of these are products of the romantic celebration of the individual at the expense of society and tradition.

Nature

The subject of the relationship of Romanticism to nature is a vast one which can only be touched on here. There has hardly been a time since the earliest antiquity that Europeans did not celebrate nature in some form or other, but the attitudes toward nature common in the Western world today emerged mostly during the Romantic period. The Enlightenment had talked of “natural law” as the source of truth, but such law was manifest in human society and related principally to civic behavior. Unlike the Chinese and Japanese, Europeans had traditionally had little interest in natural landscapes for their own sake. Paintings of rural settings were usually extremely idealized: either well-tended gardens or tidy versions of the Arcadian myth of ancient Greece and Rome.

Here again, Rousseau is an important figure. He loved to go for long walks, climb mountains, and generally “commune with nature.” His last work is called Les Rêveries du promeneur solitaire (Reveries of a Solitary Walker). Europe had become more civilized, safer, and its citizens now felt freer to travel for the simple pleasure of it. Mountain passes and deep woods were no longer merely perilous hazards to be traversed, but awesome views to be enjoyed and pondered. The violence of ocean storms came to be appreciated as an esthetic object in any number of paintings, musical tone poems, and written descriptions, as in the opening of Goethe’s Faust.

None of this had been true of earlier generations, who had tended to view the human and the natural as opposite poles, with the natural sometimes exercising an evil power to degrade and dehumanize those who were to drawn to it. The Romantics, just as they cultivated sensitivity to emotion generally, especially cultivated sensitivity to nature. It came to be felt that to muse by a stream, to view a thundering waterfall or even confront a rolling desert could be morally improving. Much of the nature writing of the 19th century has a religious quality to it absent in any other period. This shift in attitude was to prove extremely powerful and long-lasting, as we see today in the love of Germans, Britons and Americans for wilderness.

It may seem paradoxical that it was just at the moment when the industrial revolution was destroying large tracts of woods and fields and creating an unprecedentedly artificial environment in Europe that this taste arose; but in fact it could probably have arisen in no other time. It is precisely people in urban environments aware of the stark contrast between their daily lives and the existence of the inhabitants of the wild who romanticise nature. They are attracted to it precisely because they are no longer unselfconsciously part of it. Faust, for instance, is powerfully drawn to the moonlit landscape outside his study at the beginning of Goethe’s play largely because he is so discontented with the artificial world of learning in which he has so far lived.

Victorianism

Scholars of English literature are prone to make much of the distinction between the Romantic and Victorian Ages, but for our purposes the latter is best viewed as merely a later stage of the former. The prudish attitudes popularly associated with Queen Victoria’s reign are manifest in Germany and–to a lesser extent–in France as well. Victoria did not create Victorianism, she merely exemplified the temper of the time. But throughout the Victorian period the wild, passionate, erotic, even destructive aspects of Romanticism continue in evidence in all the arts.

Reactions

Like the Enlightenment, Romanticism calls forth numerous counter-movements, like Realism, Impressionism, Neo-classicism, etc.; but like the Enlightenment, it also keeps on going. None of these were entirely to replace the Romantic impulse. Hard-bitten naturalism in fiction and film coexists today with sweeping romanticism; there are large audiences for both. The contemporary vogue for “Victorian” designs is just one of many examples of the frequent revivals of Romantic tastes and styles that have recurred throughout the twentieth century.

Looking back over the list of characteristics discussed above one can readily see that despite the fact that Romanticism was not nearly as coherent a movement as the Enlightenment, and lacked the sort of programmatic aims the latter professed, it was even more successful in changing history–changing the definition of what it means to be human.

More Study Guides for 18th and 19th Century European Classics

Hum 303 Off Campus

April 18, 2017 elizabeth.wasson

Humanities 303
Reason, Romanticism, and Revolution

A WebCT Course
developed by Paul Brians
3 credit hours

Course Information

Course Overview

Note: This course is no longer being offered. This page is being left on the Web so that people interested in designing similar courses can use it for ideas.

Note: Because this is a discussion class in which exchanges between students are crucial, participants should expect to set aside adequate time to do the work consistently. The minimum expected for a 3-credit class at WSU is 9 hours per week, but some students may find they need longer. This is not a “flex-time” course which can be done on your own schedule.

This on-line class is a version of a course offered as part of a sequence of courses in the humanities in Europe which are taught in the Department of English at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. Humanities 101 covers the ancient world, 302 the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and this course the period from roughly 1750 to 1914. The period since 1914 is covered by the last course in the sequence, Humanities 304.

All of the study guides and other materials for this class are available in the online environment WebCT. Be careful to read ahead in the syllabus so you see what assignments are coming up. Don’t wait until the night before the due date. All assignments are due by 8:00 AM Pacific Time on the Monday the week after you are supposed to have done the work, but may be turned in any time previous to that. Students whose online work is consistently late will not pass the course because they are not allowing the other participants to interact with them in the discussions.

Note that in some assignments DDP students are required to write longer minimum contributions to the threaded discussions than Pullman students to substitute for the extra writing on paper that Pullman students do and the in-class discussions they participate in.

Please be aware that although WebCT is not open to the world at large, access is being provided to a few support personnel in the library, DDP and the Center for Teaching and Learning. This warning is required by privacy regulations.

Hardware and Software requirements:

All students must use a browser which supports pop-up windows for the Bridge to work, and the pop-up feature must not be turned off.
Internet Explorer for the Macintosh does not work properly with WebCT. Please use a copy of the current version of Netscape (6 or later) to do your work in WebCT.
To play the music in this course you will need to use a computer with a sound card and good speakers (or headphones). A fast Internet connection will help, though lower-quality, lower-speed music samples are provided for those who must dial up.
To the view the art for this course you will need a color monitor.

Important note: You will want to print this syllabus out for use away from your computer, but note that not everything you need to know is on this page. You must also follow the links which explain the details of individual assignments, while working at a computer. Note that the information on each week’s assignment is also reproduced in the “Information” document in each Bridge assignment page.

Papers are submitted via My DDP at https://distance.wsu.edu/courses/submit.asp. It is your responsibility to log in here and familiarize yourself with the procedure for submitting papers well before the first due date.

Each week’s assignments are due no later than 8:00 AM Pacific Time on Monday (except for the final assignment, which is due on Wednesday of week 16), but you are encouraged to work throughout the week and to post answers to study questions well before the deadline. This is not a class in which you can scramble together a whole week’s work in one long evening just before the due date. Remember that each of these weekly assignments is the equivalent of two daily assignments done by the students on the WSU campus for which they are expected to do a minimum of 9 hours of work. Because this is an online discussion course, it is important that you keep up with the syllabus so you can be exchanging thoughts with other students on the same materials at the same time. Students who fall substantially behind will fail the course. This is very different from the flex-classes you may have previously taken through Distance Degree Programs, where you are free to set your own schedule. Be clear before you begin that you have substantial time available each week to devote to the work in this course. Because DDP students are not present for the in-class discussions and don’t do the same daily writings, they are required to write longer on-line assignments.

All assigned papers (including the research paper‚ both first and revised drafts) must be completed to pass the course.

For this course, there is a cultural event assignment involving art, music, literature, or theater of Europe from the 18th or 19th centuries. Read about this assignment now.

Goals

When you have successfully completed this course, you should:

1. have a general grasp of major trends in Western European art history from the 17^th century to World War I

2. be able to listen with increased understanding to classical music from the same eras

3. understand some of the basic over-arching themes in philosophy and literature of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

4. be able to discuss fairly complex and sophisticated ideas such as are treated in the works assigned

Course Outline

Due January 15
Week 11. Course Overview2. Read “The Enlightenment“, then go to WebCT threaded discussion for “The Enlightenment” and do the assignment.3. Set up your computer now to prepare to do the music assignments as explained below in the Week 3 assignments.Due January 22
Week 2

1. Art Assignment #1 Watch the videotape: “The Art of the Western World, 5: Realms of Light-The Baroque” (Bernini, Cortona, Caravaggio, Borromini, Fischer von Erlach,Velázquez, Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt, etc.). Then go to the to the WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the writing. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Voltaire Assignment #1. Do this assignment only after having read “The Enlightenment” in the “Materials” area. (Read the following articles from Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary: Abbé, Ame, Amour-propre, Athée, athéisme, Beau, beauté, Bien (tout est), Bornes de l’esprit humaine, Catéchisme chinois, Certain, certitude, Chaîne des évenements, Credo and try to answer as many of the study questions in the Study Guide as you can as you go along. Go to WebCT threaded discussion for “Voltaire Assignments” and write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written. Be sure to include an exploration of the “Problem of Evil” site and relate what is there to Voltaire’s writing.

3. Read the “Knowledge or Certainty” Study Guide, watch the videotape, and do the writing assignment in the “Knowledge or Certainty” Bridge threaded discussion. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

4. Choose your research paper topic (read the instructions online and write your choice in WebCT in the threaded discussion titled “Research topic sign-up.”). If someone else has already taken your topic, please choose another. No two students may use the same topic.

Due January 29
Week 3

1. Baroque Music Assignment. Be warned that if you are a Macintosh user, you cannot use Internet Explorer for this assignment. Netscape works fine. Some other browsers like Safari also work. Windows users can use any recent browser. First, if you have not already done so, configure your browser for WSU library access and create your library PIN. The Distance Degree Library Services Web Site can assist you with this. Then go to Griffin and click on “Course Name” and enter “hum 303”, or use the “Course Instructor” button and enter “brians.” The first entry is a set of videotapes for use on campus. Click on the second and then click on “Humanities 303 recordings” and use your PIN and password to access the music for the Introduction to Baroque Music and the assignment on Johann Sebastian Bach. Read the online material, listen to the music, and write your responses in WebCT under “Pachelbel, Vivaldi and Handel” and “Bach.” Write 50 words minimum on each of these two assignments, and then respond to what someone else has written. You need to have a recent version of RealPlayer installed to listen to these assignments.

2. Voltaire Assignment #2 (Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary: have the following articles read: Égalité, Enthousiasme, États, gouvernements, Fanatisme, Foi, Guerre, Liberté de pensée, Préjugés, Secte, Théiste, Tolérance, Tyrannie), using the study guide and taking notes. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for “Voltaire Assignments” and submit your writing. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

3. Research paper proposal and annotated bibliography (Research paper proposal and annotated bibliography due: a paragraph outlining the topic and a list of sources to be used, with comments for each explaining why the sources will be useful to you. Be sure to include all three elements: the proposal itself, the list of sources, and the comments. Submit them to me through My DDP.

Due February 5
Week 4

1. First paper due, on Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary, 600 words, worth 10 points. Design your own topic or choose one of the following, using details from Voltaire which demonstrate your understanding of his writings: freedom, free will and determinism, religion, tolerance, government, relativism. You may argue with him, but only if you present fully all relevant evidence on both sides. You must use material from two or more articles in the Philosophical Dictionary. If you have trouble choosing a topic or are uncertain whether your topic is acceptable, ask for help! Send your paper to me via “My DDP.”

2. Read the page about Romanticism and go to the Romanticism Bridge threaded discussion to write your comments.

3. Goethe Assignment #1: In the Bible, Job: Chapters 1 & 2; Goethe: Faust: Introduction, Prologue in Heaven. Use the Faust study guide. Then contribute to WebCT threaded discussion for “Goethe Assignment #1.” Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due February 12
Week 5

1. View the videotape “The Art of the Western World, 6: An Age of Reason, An Age of Passion” (Antoine Watteau: Departure from Cythera, Robert Adams, François Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, Nicolas Poussin, Jacques Lemercier: Palais-Royal, Charles Perrault: Colonnade of the Louvre, Germain Soufflot: Panthéon, Giambattista Piranesi: drawings of Paestum, Jacques-Louis David: Death of Marat & The Sabine Women, Vignon: La Madeleine, Dominique Ingres: Odalisque, Jean-Antoine Gros, Francisco de Goya: The Horrors of War, Géricault, Eugène Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People, Théodore Géricault: The Raft of the Medusa) Do the writing part of this assignment in Bridge threaded discussion called “Art of the Western World, #6.” Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Mozart & Beethoven Assignment: Listen to the Mozart and Beethoven pieces in the online audio reserves. Do the writing assignment in WebCT threaded discussion called “Mozart & Beethoven.” Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

3. Goethe Assignment #2: Faust: Night, Before the City Gate, both scenes titled “Study,” Witch’s Kitchen. Try to answer as many of the questions in the Faust study guide as you can. Then go to the Goethe Assignment #2 Bridge threaded discussion and write a minimum of 50 words about this assignment. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due February 19
Week 6

1. Do women artists assignment.

2. Goethe Assignment #3: Faust: Street, Evening, Promenade, The Neighbor’s House, Street, Garden, A Garden Bower, Wood and Cave, Gretchen’s Room, Martha’s Garden, At the Well, City Wall (study guide in the “Materials” area). Try to answer as many of the questions in the Faust study guide as you can. Then go to the Goethe Assignment #3 Bridge threaded discussion. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due February 26
Week 7

1. Goethe Assignment #4: (Goethe: Faust: Night: Street in Front of Gretchen’s Door, Cathedral, Walpurgis Night, Dismal Day, The Bible: 1 Kings 21; Goethe: Faust: Night: Open Field, Dungeon, Charming Landscape, Open Country. Try to answer as many of the questions in the Faust study guide as you can. Then go to the Goethe Assignment #4 Bridge threaded discussion and write a minimum of 50 words about this assignment. Then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Do the Romantic Music assignment in the online reserves. Do writing assigned in the “Romantic Music Assignment” threaded discussion.

Due March 5
Week 8

1. Videotape: Verdi: La Traviata. Read the Study Guide for La Traviata and view the tape, taking notes as you watch. This production is best viewed on a large-screen television with good color and sound (preferably hooked to a stereo system, played back on a stereo VCR). Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for La Traviata and do the writing assignment, 100 words minimum. Then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Goethe Assignment #5: Goethe: Faust: Palace, Deep Night, Midnight, Large Outer Court of the Palace, Entombment, Mountain Gorges: Forest, Rock and Desert. Try to answer as many of the questions in the Faust study guide as you can. Then go to the Faust Assignment #5 Bridge threaded discussion and write a minimum of 50 words about this assignment, and then respond to what someone else has written.

3. Read “Realism and Naturalism.” Go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due March 12
Week 9

1. Zola Assignment #1: Germinal: Parts 1-3. Try to answer as many of the questions in the Germinal study guide for these pages as you can. Then go to the Zola Assignment #1 Bridge threaded discussion and write a minimum of 50 words about this assignment and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Paper on Goethe’s Faust, 1200 words. Design your own topic or choose one of the following, remembering that you will be expected to define your topic further, since most of these are very broad: Faust and Mephistopheles , Faust and Gretchen, Thought vs. Action, Religion, Humor, Music, Magic, Classical Mythology. Again, if you have trouble choosing or defining a topic, ask for help. See instructions under “Second paper assignment.”

Due March 19
Week 10

1. Listen to the music by women composers in the online reserves, and do the assigned writing in WebCT under “Women Composers.” Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Zola Assignment #2: Germinal: Parts 4-5. Try to answer as many of the questions in the Germinal study guide for these pages as you can. Then go to the Zola Assignment #2 Bridge threaded discussion and write a minimum of 50 words about this assignment, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due March 26
Week 11

1. Zola Assignment #3: Germinal: Parts 6-7. Using the study guide, read the assigned pages and take notes, trying to answer as many questions as you can. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Read the Impressionist Art study guide. View the videotape: “The Art of the Western World, 7: A Fresh View-Impressionism and Post-Impressionism” (Courbet, Degas, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Whistler, Pissarro, Sargent, Cassatt, Gauguin, Seurat, Van Gogh, Signac, Bernard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Valadon, Cézanne) Go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and write a minimum of 50 words about this assignment, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due April 2
Week 12

1. Read “19th-Century Russian Literature“. Go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground: Afterword, pp. 90-203. Using the study guide, try to answer as many of the questions as you can. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due April 9
Week 13

1. French Impressionist Painting Assignment. Do the assignment and go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Listen to the Impressionist music in the online reserves and write about it in WebCT under “Impressionist Music.” Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

3. The Influence of Nietzsche. Read this page and then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

4. Nietzsche Assignment No. 1 (Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: Translator’s Preface, pp. 9-54, from the beginning through “On the Flies of the Marketplace”). Using the study guide, try to answer as many of the questions as you can. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Try to focus in on specific arguments rather than giving general reactions. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

5. Research paper due, 1200 words minimum. Re-read “Helpful Hints for Writing Class Papers,” particularly checking to make sure you are following proper procedures for citing sources and quoting. Remember, you must cite sources for all facts and ideas, not just words quoted. Submit your paper via My DDP and post a copy in WebCT (click on the “create object” tool and use the “File” tool to post your paper).

6. Some time during the coming week, read at least one of the other research papers that has been posted as a document and make useful comments for improving it, avoiding generalizations, and giving specific suggestions wherever possible. Give this feedback in the “Research Papers” threaded discussion. Avoid giving feedback only on a paper that has already been discussed by someone else. You may make comments on as many papers as you wish, but at least one of them should be a paper that no one else has commented on yet.

Due April 16
Week 14

1. Listen to the 20th century music in the online reserves and write about it in WebCT under “20th C. Music.” Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Nietzsche Assignment No. 2 (Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: pp. 54-79, from “On Chastity through the end of the First Part). Using the study guide, try to answer as many of the questions as you can. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due April 23
Week 15

1. Read “Introduction to 19th-Century Socialism”. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

2. Read Misconceptions, Confusions, and Conflicts Concerning Socialism, Communism, and Capitalism. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

3. Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto, Prologue, Sections 1, 2, & 4. Using the study guide for the Manifesto, try to answer as many of the questions as you can. Then go to WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment and do the assigned writing there. Write 50 words minimum, and then respond to what someone else has written.

Due WEDNESDAY May 2 Week 16
End of semester (note extended deadline)

1. Revised research paper due, if you are revising. Submit your paper using My DDP.

2. Third paper due, on Zola’s Germinal, Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Undergrouund, Nietzche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, or Marx’s Communist Manifesto, 600 words minimum. If you wrote on one of these authors for your research paper, choose a different one to write on for this assignment.

3.Final date for cultural event report. Submit report via “My DDP.”

4. All revised papers due.

Note:
All assigned papers (including both versions of the research paper) must be completed to pass the course.

Feel free to call via the DDP toll-free number (800 222-4978) and leave messages when I am out; but e-mail may reach me more efficiently, though if it’s something we really need to discuss back and forth, you should try phoning first.

Direct phone: 509 335-5689, English Dept. phone: 509 335-2581, FAX: 509 335-2582, email: paulbrians@gmail.com

If I am not in, the phone may be answered by the automated voice mailbox service. Please leave a message including your name and phone number (speaking s-l-o-w-l-y, please).

Resources

Books

Note: Students must use the assigned translations of the books studied in this course. Outdated public-domain translations available on the Web are not adequate substitutes.

If your financial aid is delayed, borrow money if you must to buy the textbooks. You cannot begin the course without the Voltaire in hand; and other books will be unavailable late in the semester. Buy them all as early as possible. Write me immediately if you have any problems securing the textbooks at paulbrians@gmail.com

Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary, translated by Theodore Besterman

Goethe’s Faust, translated by Walter Kaufmann

Zola, Germinal, trans. Pearson (Penguin).

Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground, translated by Andrew R. MacAndrew

Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra, translated by Walter Kaufmann. (Note Penguin also publishes other translations that are not as good–be sure to get the Kaufmann. DO NOT USE the 1892 public-domain translation by Thomas Common.)

Marx & Engels: The Communist Manifesto (International Publishers) Note: Although this edition is very cheap and the study guide is easier to use with the assigned edition, you may substitute any other edition if you wish–there is only one standard translation of the Manifesto. Various online editions are available, including one at http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm.

Online Resources

The Purdue OWL guide to MLA documentation style:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Instructions for doing the research paper assignment:

http://brians.wsu.edu/2016/12/07/research-paper-assignment/

Study Guides for the above books and other resources for the study of works in this course:

Online streaming music: available through . Under “Course Reserves” click on “Course Name” and enter “hum 303.” You will get two hits. Choose the second one: “Humanities 303 Recordings.” Click on that link, then on the assignment you want to do, and log on using your name, WSU ID number prefixed by a zero, and your Griffin PIN. To listen to the music you will need 1) a sound card in your computer, 2) good external speakers or headphones, 3) an up-to-date copy of RealPlayer, with the appropriate plug-in installed in your Web browser. You can download the RealPlayer

Course Work and Grading

Grades

Voltaire paper: 10 points
Faust paper: 20 points
Third paper: 20 points
Research paper: 20 points
Cultural event report: 10 points
Bridge threaded discussion contributions: 20 points
Total: 100 points.

Written assignments

Threaded discussions

For each of the reading assignments, the study guide in the Bridge contains a series of study questions which I want you to think about. It is your assignment to answer as many of these questions as you can while you read, and to write the assigned amount on each week’s reading in the The Bridge. Cover more than a couple of questions, and make sure you can discuss all parts of that week’s assignment–not just the beginning. Show that you are thinking seriously about these questions. Typically you are asked to write something of your own, then respond to at least one other person. These Bridge assignments are graded pass/fail (I will let you know quickly if you have done an inadequate one). The idea is to promote class discussion online. This is where you will be interacting with the students on the WSU campus as well. When other members of the class ask questions, try to reply to them. You are welcome to keep up the discussions we start here as long as you want, but please remember to be polite. Not everyone has the same views and assumptions. You must miss or fail no more than five of these Bridge discussion assignments to pass the course.

Contributions to the online threaded discussions will be judged by the following criteria:

They must be made in a timely fashion.
They must demonstrate a careful and thoughtful reading of the assigned writings, including the study guides and supplementary critical and historical material.
When discussing fiction or philosophy, they must attempt to answer at least some of the questions in the related study guide (but please don’t write answers to all the study questions; leave some room for other students to contribute). Feel free to develop the discussion in other directions as well, and to relate what we are reading to other relevant topics; but remember that the minimum assignment is to demonstrate that you have read and understood both the assigned selections and the study guide.
When discussing music and art, they should not dwell on what you like or dislike; instead they should express what you have learned by reading, viewing, and listening, and raise questions about the material that can promote further discusssion. Try if you can to relate this material to other material you have studied or experienced. Be sure to identify specific works you are talking about, avoiding vague generalizations.
For each assignment each student is also expected to respond to one or more of the points raised by another student, saying more than “I agree” or “I disagree.” Offer examples, additional arguments, counter-arguments, comparisons, related ideas, do comparisons.
Posts should act as the opening comments in an ongoing discussion, not seeking to close off debate with the last word, but inviting responses. It is perfectly legitimate to ask questions or ask for clarification of points you don’t understand.
Contributions should whenever possible bring in useful comparative material from other readings, films, discussions with other people, etc.

Responses to other students’ posts in the online threaded discussions will be judged by the following criteria:

Students are expected to take part continuously in discussion by making responses over the course of a week, not logging in just once a week to do everything at once. The due dates are final deadlines, but students are encouraged whenever possible to do their work earlier so that others have plenty of time to respond.
You must go beyond merely agreeing or disagreeing to make substantial points.
You must express yourself in civil language, avoiding insults and dismissiveness.
Your posts should contribute to ongoing discussion, helping to develop ideas and themes raised in the original posts. Whenever possible try to tie together different viewpoints or make comparisons.
Reponses should not be made constantly to the same individual or small group. Try to spread responses around. If challenging or difficult posts have been made, try to respond to them rather than choosing easier ones.

Short Papers:

For this course you will be required to write three brief papers. Note the length specified by your course syllabus, which does not include notes or list of sources. Minimum paper lengths are so extremely short in this class that anyone desiring a high grade would be advised to write a somewhat longer one. Any paper shorter than the minimum assigned will receive a 0 for an incomplete assignment. Except for meeting the very low minimum number of words, don’t concentrate on length, but try to make your papers as detailed, well-organized, and interesting as possible. All papers must be typed on a computer and submitted electronically. The regular papers are not necessarily research papers, and it is possible to receive maximum points on a paper without doing research for it, although papers incorporating good library work will normally receive higher grades. Suggested topics are listed on your syllabus. You should choose a topic you are particularly interested in, not try to guess what I want you to write. When I can learn something new from a paper, I am pleased. If you have difficulty thinking of a topic, first read Chapter 1 of Sylvan Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing About Literature, and if you still have problems, see or call me. I am also happy to look over rough drafts and answer questions about proposed topics. In addition, one paper per semester will be a required library research paper incorporating information gathered from scholarly books and articles (not just Web pages and reference books like dictionaries and encyclopedias). Papers must be received by 8:00 AM Pacific Time on the due date. Papers may always be submitted before the due date if you wish. There is no midterm or final examination in this class.

The following elements are taken into consideration when I grade your papers:

All assigned papers must be turned in to pass the course.
You must convince me that you have read and understood the book or story.
You must have something interesting to say about it.
Originality counts–easy, common topics tend to earn lower grades than difficult ones done well.
Significant writing (spelling, punctuation, usage) errors will be marked on each paper before it is returned to you. If there are more than a few you must identify the errors and correct them and turn the paper back in before a grade will be recorded for you.
I look for unified essays on a well-defined topic with a clear title and coherent structure.
I expect you to support your arguments with references to the text, often including quotations appropriately introduced and analyzed (but quote only to make points about the material quoted, not simply for its own sake).
You must do more than merely summarize the plot of the works you have read. See Sylvan Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing About Literature, and my “Helpful Hints” online for more information (consulting this document is mandatory, not optional, and papers will be judged according to how well they follow the guidelines in it).

Grading standards for specific letter grades:

The number of points for each paper is indicated on the syllabus with the paper assignment. For a 10-point paper:

9.5 or above=A	7.8-7.9=C+

9.0-9.4=A	7.3-7.7=C
8.8-8.9=B+	7.0-7.2=C
8.3-8.7=B	6.5-6.9=D
8.0-8.2=B-	anything below 6.5=F

Double these numbers to get the appropriate scale for a 20-point assignment.

A Topics are challenging, often original; papers are well organized, filled with detail, and demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the topic. Examples are chosen from several portions of the work. Opinion papers are carefully argued, with detailed attention being paid to opposing arguments and evidence. Papers receiving an “A” are usually somewhat longer than the minimum assigned, typically a page or so longer, though this all depends on the compactness of your writing style–a paper which is long and diffuse does not result in a higher grade and a very compact, exceptionally well-written paper will occasionally receive an “A.” The writing should be exceptionally clear and generally free of mechanical errors. An “A” is given for exceptional, outstanding work.

B Topics are acceptable, papers well organized, containing some supporting detail, and demonstrate an above-average knowledge of the topic. Examples are chosen from several portions of the work. Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers are carefully argued, with some attention being paid to opposing argument and evidence. Writing is above average, containing only occasional mechanical errors. A “B” is given for above-average work.

C Topics are acceptable, but simple. Paper are poorly organized, containing inadequate detail, demonstrating only partial knowledge of the topic (focusing only on one short passage from a work or some minor aspect of it). Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers contain unsupported assertions and ignore opposing arguments and evidence. Writing is average or below, and mechanical errors are numerous. Paper does not appear to have been proofread carefully. A “C” is given for average work.

D Inappropriately chosen topic does not demonstrate more than a minimal comprehension of the topic. Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers contain unsupported assertions and ignore opposing arguments and evidence. Writing is poor, filled with mechanical errors. Paper does not appear to have been proofread. A “D” is given for barely acceptable work.

F Paper is shorter than the minimum length required. Topic is unacceptable because it does not cover more than an incidental (or unassigned) portion of the work or does not reveal a satisfactory level of knowledge . Generalizations are unsupported with evidence and opinion papers contain unsupported assertions and ignore opposing arguments and evidence. Writing is not of acceptable college-level quality. Paper does not appear to have been proofread. An “F” is given for unsatisfactory work.

Research paper

Research papers will be judged according to the following criteria besides those applied to the short papers:

Coherent, well-defined topic–should be about a narrow aspect of the work under discussion and should not read like a broad encyclopedia article giving an overview.
Thorough research, carefully incorporating sources the professor has approved or suggested you use. Papers neglecting to use sources agreed upon between the professor and the student will be severely graded down unless a justification is provided explaining why the source turned out not to be useful.
Papers must use articles and books from the library. Papers using only Web sites are not acceptable.
Papers must follow MLA citation format.
Papers will be judged on clarity, unity, logic, and readability.
Papers must demonstrate comprehension of the material being studied and ability to discuss it intelligently.

For more details on how to write the research paper for this class, see the page entitled “Research Paper Assignment” in The Bridge (this is not optional: you must read and use this page).

Policy Information

Tips for Collaboration and Netiquette

You are expected to read and make notes on the assigned material, meet deadlines, actively participate in the Bridge discussion activities, and collaborate with fellow class members to achieve the course objectives. Appropriate professional behavior demonstrating respect for classmates and instructors is expected.

Late Policy and Paper Revisions

Since your interaction with your classmates is crucial to this class, any initial posts in any discussion made after the due date for an activity will not be counted for grading purposes. You may always submit work before the deadline if you wish; in fact, you are encouraged to do so, and to later continue a discussion you have begun on time. The deadline is simply the final date by which you must have the week’s work done.

In rare cases involving true emergencies I will give permission to make up work in a threaded discussion, but in that case your contribution to the discussion must consist of answers to all of the study questions in the associated study guide to make up for having failed to contribute to the ongoing discussion. Generally, if you miss a discussion deadline, you just lose the credit associated with that assignment.

You may not make up a paper which you have failed to hand in on time. However, if you do hand in a paper and are dissatisfied with your grade, after consulting with me, you may revise your paper and have your grade raised if it is significantly improved. It is normal to revise the research paper at least once (first drafts very frequently get a “C” or lower. Revisions will be handled on an individual basis, and limits will be set as to the number of revisions allowed and the time allowed to hand them in. Simply substituting phrases that I have suggested to improve your writing does not result in an improved grade. You have to make the sort of substantial changes I suggest in the note I make on your paper.

Papers submitted on time may be later revised for a possible higher grade, but not submitting a paper at all will result in an immediate F in the course.

Incomplete Policy

Incompletes will be granted rarely; only in the case of unexpected dire emergencies. The demands of other work or studies will not be accepted as excuses for requesting an incomplete. Students should confirm that they have plenty of free time during the period covered by the course to work intensively on it.
Students who have substantially finished the course but still have a small amount of work undone when a genuine emergency arises may request an incomplete in writing from the professor.
The request must be made via regular post (snail mail), must be signed and dated by the student, and must explain the reasons behind the request for the incomplete. Timelines for completion will be negotiated.
Requests for Incompletes will be considered only from those students who are achieving a passing grade in the course and who have a small amount of work left to complete.

Academic Integrity

You are expected to uphold the WSU standard of conduct relating to academic integrity. You assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work you submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that your submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be your own work.

Plagiarism is: 1) submitting someone else’s work as your own, 2) copying something from another source without putting it in quotation marks or citing a source (note: you must do both), 3) using an idea from a source without citing the source, even when you do not use the exact words of the source. Any time you use a book, article, or reference tool to get information or ideas which you use in a paper, you must cite it by providing a note stating where you got the information or idea, using MLA parenthetical annotation. No footnotes are used in papers for this class. You do not need to cite material from classroom lectures or discussions. If you are not certain whether you need to cite a source, check with me in advance. See “Helpful Hints” and Barnet (pp. 73-86) for details on how to cite sources. Anyone caught plagiarizing will receive an “F” for the entire course (not just the paper concerned) and be reported to Student Affairs. If you feel you have been unjustly accused of plagiarism, you may appeal to me; and if dissatisfied, to the departmental chair.

Disability Statement

Students with Disabilities: I am committed to providing assistance to help you be successful in this course. Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. Please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC) during the first two weeks of every semester to seek information or to qualify for accommodations. All accommodations MUST be approved through the DRC (Admin Annex Bldg, Rooms 205). Call 509 335 3417 to make an appointment with a disability counselor.

Library Support

All students enrolled in Washington State University distance courses can use the WSU Libraries online databases and receive reference and research assistance from the Distance Degree Library Services (DDLS). You can also borrow books and other circulating material and receive photocopies of journal articles.

Visit the DDLS Web page for library support information, including specific information and resources for select courses (see the list of courses using the drop down menu on the left hand side of the page under “Find Your Course”).

To complete work for this course, you may want to access WSU Library databases.

Go to the DDLS Web site early in the course to configure your browser and establish your PIN. You can use the step-by-step “EZ-Guide” to help you with this process.

The On-line Writing Lab

The OWL is WSU’s On-line Writing Lab. It is an asynchronous service that connects you with a trained WSU Writing tutor who will provide you narrative feedback that will help you to improve your writing. The OWL tutors are trained to respond to the conceptual and structural issues of your writing before they comment on issues of convention and correctness. Expect that the tutor’s comments will primarily be about the focus of your essay, the supporting details you have provided and the organization of those details. Tutors will comment on issues of proofreading, convention and correctness if there are obvious patterns of error, but they will not correct your essay for you. To share a piece of writing on the OWL, go to http://owl.wsu.edu, click on the instruction to Introduce Yourself (login).

E-mail

I will be returning papers and sending out occasional class announcements via e-mail using the WSU system. However, this means that you must have a valid e-mail address that you actually use in the WSU directory, though much important official mail, like library fine notices, is sent out using this system. To make sure you are listed in the directory go to http://www.wsu.edu/ and click “Find People” and search for your name (last name first, no comma).

Then click on “ADDRESS & E-MAIL” on the left-hand side of the page and click on either “Change address or phone” or “Forward my email.” If you want a free WSU e-mail account, click on “Create an e-mail account.”

If you have not received any e-mail from me by the end of the first week of class, that means you are not using e-mail properly for this course and should get in touch with me immediately at paulbrians@gmail.com

Papers will not be graded or returned via DDP. You must use these e-mail procedures to complete the course satisfactorily.

Syllabus for Humanities 303

April 18, 2017 elizabeth.wasson

Spring 2007

Instructor: Paul Brians

All of the study guides and other materials for this class are available in WebCT on the Web at https://webct.wsu.edu/ As soon as possible, you should go to this page and log in using your campus network ID and password and begin your work. Browse through the individual links to individual online readings, and other materials. Note that the dates for off-campus students sometimes differ slightly from on-campus students. The “Assignments” listed in WebCT are arranged to work with the off-campus students. On-campus students need to use the on-campus syllabus to determine when each assignment is due; you cannot rely on the each assignment matching a week of class. Be careful to read ahead in the syllabus so you see what assignments are coming up. Don’t wait until the night before class.

Please be aware that although WebCT is not open to the world at large, access is being provided to a few support personnel in the library and Student Computing Services. This warning is required by privacy regulations.

Note that if you work only from a printed-out version of this syllabus, you will lack many important hyperlinks. Always check the online syllabus when doing your assignments.

You will need to use a computer connected to the Web to read and print out these materials. You can use the various student labs on campus for short periods by paying an hourly fee, but you will be doing so much Web work in this class that it may be worth getting a semester pass. The cheapest access to a lab on campus is the 1-credit pass/fail course, English 300. If you have a wireless laptop, it can be used in several classroom buildings on campus to access the Web, including the library; but you will need to download the VPN software which will allow you to use the campus system.

Students are responsible for reading assignments and for preparing answers to the related on-line study questions before coming to class on the dates noted. Written assignments marked with an asterisk (*) are due on the date next to or above the asterisk. Besides the short papers noted here, you must also attend and report on a cultural event relating to the European 18^th and 19^th centuries. A list of acceptable events will be provided in class.

There will be many students taking this class remotely through the Distance Degree Program. On-campus and off-campus students will read and respond to each other’s work. On-campus students have work due twice a week. Because Pullman students do more assignments and take part in class discussion, less lengthy contributions for some assignments are required for them. Some of the off-campus assignments differ from the on-campus ones.

January

9: Introduction

Before class next time log into WebCT and write a brief description of yourself in the discussion titled “Introductions.” Videotape: The Art of the Western World, 5: Realms of Light—The Baroque [12395] (The Baroque: Bernini, Cortona, Caravaggio, Borromini, Fischer von Erlach,Velázquez, Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt, etc.). View tape in class, take notes, do assigned reading for the next class in WebCT before coming to class.

11: Read the “Course Introduction” Online.

Music: Pachelbel, Vivaldi, Handel. Take notes in class, do assigned writing in WebCT under Week 3: “Baroque Music.”

Read “The Enlightenment” and write at least 50 words about some aspect of the Enlightenment discussed there in the WebCT threaded discussion for this assignment in Week 1.

16: Do this assignment only after having read “The Enlightenment” and done the assigned online writing. Using the on-line Study Guide, then read Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary: have the following articles read and notes taken about them to turn in at the beginning of class, at least 50 words covering more than one or two articles: Abbé, Ame, Amour-propre, Athée, athéisme, Beau, beauté, Bien (tout est, Bornes de l’esprit humaine, Catéchisme chinois, Certain, certitude, Chaîne des évenements, Credo). Before next time, do the assigned on-line writing for Voltaire Reading Assignment #1 in WebCT (in Week 2), and try to answer as many of the study questions in the Study Guide as you can as you go along.

18: Film: Knowledge or Certainty [1617] Before coming to class, read the online study guide; during the film, take notes; after class, do the assigned online writing in WebCT (in Week 2).

23: Music Lecture Videotape #2 [r472]: Bach. Do a second writing assignment in the threaded discussion called “Baroque Music_” in WebCT in Week 3, this time about the music by Bach you’ve heard.

25: Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary: have the following articles read and notes taken about them to turn in at the beginning of class, at least 50 words: Éagalité, Enthousiasme, État, gouvernements, Fanatisime, Foi, Guerre, Liberté de pensée, Préjugés, Secte, Théiste, Tolérance, Tyrannie. Before next time, do the assigned on-line writing for Voltaire Assignment #2 in WebCT in Week 3, and try to answer as many of the study questions in the Study Guide as you can as you go along.

30: Library session, introduction to the research paper.

February

Sign up for library research topics. Be sure to attend. This is not a general library orientation, but a specialized presentation on sources you will need to use for doing this assignment. Look at “Suggested Research Topics for Humanities 303” online before coming to class and tentatively identify two or three topics you would like to work on. You may make up your own topic with my permission. See me first.

Although it is aimed primarily at off-campus students, you will also find much useful information in the Web page “Research Paper Assignment.”

First paper due, on Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary, 600 words. Be sure to read “Helpful Hints for Writing Papers” before beginning this assignment. Design your own topic or choose one of the following, using details from Voltaire which demonstrate your understand of his writings: freedom, free will and determinism, religion, tolerance, government, relativism. You may argue with him, but only if you present fully all relevant evidence on both sides. You must use material from two or more articles. If you have trouble choosing a topic or are uncertain whether your topic is acceptable, ask for help!

1: Read the introduction to Romanticism and do the assigned writing in WebCT in Week 4.

Using the Faust Study Guide, read Job: Chapters 1 & 2; Goethe: Faust: Introduction, Prologue in Heaven. Write notes to turn in, do online writing for Goethe Assignment #1 in WebCT in Week 4.

6: Videotape: The Art of the Western World, 6: An Age of Reason, An Age of Passion [12396] (Antoine Watteau: Departure from Cythera,Robert Adams, François Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, Nicolas Poussin, Jacques Lemercier: Palais-Royal, Charles Perrault: Colonnade of the Louvre, Germain Soufflot: Panthéon, Giambattista Piranesi: drawings of Paestum, Jacques-Louis David: Death of Marat & The Sabine Women, Vignon: La Madeleine, Dominique Ingres: Odalisque, Jean-Antoine Gros, Francisco de Goya: The Horrors of War, Géricault, Eugène Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People, Théodore Géricault: The Raft of the Medusa) Take notes during videotape, do online writing in In WebCT in Week 5.

8: Goethe: Faust: Night, Before the City Gate, both scenes titled “Study.” Write notes to turn in, do online writing for Goethe Assignment #2 in WebCT in Week 5.

13: Music Lecture Videotape #3 [r485]: Mozart, Beethoven. Take notes during presentation, do online writing before next class in In WebCT in Week 5.

Research paper proposal and annotated bibliography due: a paragraph outlining the topic and a list of sources to be used, with comments for each explaining why the sources will be useful to you. Be sure to include all three elements: the proposal itself, the list of sources, and the comments. If you have not already done so, read “The Research Paper.”

15: Goethe: Faust: Witch’s Kitchen, Street, Evening, Promenade, The Neighbor’s House, Street, Garden, A Garden Bower, Wood and Cave, Gretchen’s Room, Martha’s Garden. Write notes to turn in, do online writing for Goethe Assignment #3 in In WebCT in Week 6.

20: Videotape: “The Artist Was a Woman” [VHS 18321]. Take notes during class, do online writing in the “Women Artists__” threaded discussion in In WebCT in Week 6.

22: Goethe: Faust: At the Well, City Wall, Night: Street in Front of Gretchen’s Door, Cathedral, Walpurgis Night, Dismal Day, Night, Open Field. Write notes to turn in, do online writing for Goethe Assignment #4 in WebCT in Week 7.

27: Note: during the next week and a half, you have little homework other than to write your paper on Faust. This is the time that you are expected to use to also read Zola’s Germinal. Because it is a long book, you may want to start reading ahead now and not put it off until the week when it is due.

Goethe: Faust: Dungeon, Charming Landscape, Open Country, Palace, Deep Night, Midnight, Large Outer Court of the Palace, Entombment, Mountain Gorges: Forest, Rock and Desert. Write notes to turn in, do online writing for Goethe Assignment #5 in WebCT in Week 8.

Music Presentation Online on Women Composers. Listen to the music and read the notes on Women Composers on reserve in Griffin for Hum 303 using RealAudio, take notes, and do the assigned online writing in WebCT in Week 10. Have this assignment completed by next time (Oct. 16).

March

1: Before class, read the Study Guide for La Traviata.

Music Lecture Videotape #5 [r521]: Romanticism: Berlioz, DVD: Verdi: La Traviata (beginning). Take notes during presentation, do online writing before next class in WebCT in Weeks 7 & 8.

6: Verdi: La Traviata (conclusion) [11765], beginning.

Women composers presentation. Take notes during presentation, do online writing before next class in WebCT in Week 8.

Second paper due, on Goethe’s Faust, 1200 words. Counts 20 points. Design your own topic or choose one of the following:, remembering that you will be expected to define your topic further, since most of these are very broad: Faust and Mephistopheles , Faust and Gretchen, Thought vs. Action, Religion, Humor, Music, Magic, Classical Mythology. Again, if you have trouble choosing or defing a topic, ask for help.

8: Read “Realism and Naturalism” and do online writing in WebCT in Week 7. Zola: Germinal: Parts 1-3. Use Study Guide and take notes to turn in, do online writing for Zola Assignment #1 in WebCT in Week 8.

20: Zola: Germinal: Parts 4-5. Use Study Guide and take notes to turn in, do online writing for Zola Assignment #2 in WebCT in Week 10.

22: Zola: Germinal: Part 6-7. Use Study Guide and take notes to turn in, do online writing for Zola Assignment #3 in WebCT in Week 11.

27: Read “19^th Century Russian Literature” and do online writing in WebCT in Week 12. Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground: Afterword, pp. 90-123. Take notes using Study Guide, do online writing in the Dostoyevsky threaded discussion in In WebCT in Week 12.

29: Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground: pp. 123-203. Take notes using Study Guide, do online writing, do a second online in the Dostoyevsky threaded discussion n WebCT in Week 12.

April

3: Videotape: The Art of the Western World, 7: A Fresh View: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism [12397] (Courbet, Degas, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Whistler, Pissarro, Sargent, Cassatt, Gauguin, Seurat, Van Gogh, Signac, Bernard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Valadon, Cézanne), Impressionist art slides. Do the assigned writing in In WebCT in Week 13. Research paper due; 1200 words minimum. Re-read “The Research Paper” online and “Helpful HInts for Writing Class Papers,” particularly checking to make sure you are following proper procedures for citing sources and quoting. Remember, you must cite sources for all facts and ideas, not just words quoted. 20 points; required revised version due May 4.

5 Read “The Influence of Nietzsche,” taking notes, do online writing in In WebCT in Week 13. Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: Translator’s Preface, pp. 9- 28. Take notes using Study Guide, do online writing for Nietzsche Assignment #1 in In WebCT in week 13.

10: Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: pp. 28-54. Take notes using Study Guide, do second online writing for Nietzsche Assignment #1 in In WebCT in Week 13.

12: Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: pp. 54-79. Take notes using Study Guide, do online writing for Nietzsche Assignment #2 in In WebCT, Week

Music Videotape Lecture 6 [r559]: Impressionist Music: Debussy & Ravel. Take notes during presentation, do online writing in In WebCT in Week 13.

19: Read Misconceptions, Confusions, and Conflicts Concerning Socialism, Communism, and Capitalism. Take notes, do online writing in In WebCT in Week 15. Read Introduction to 19^th-Century Socialism. Take notes, do online writing in In WebCT in Week 15. Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto: Prologue, Section 1 . Using Study Guide, take notes, do online writing in In WebCT in Week 15.

24: Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto: Sections 2 & 4. Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto: Section 2. Using Study Guide, take notes, do a second online writing in In WebCT in Week 15.

26: Music Lecture 7 [r569]: Early 20^th Century music, Course evaluation. Write about music in In WebCT in Week 14.

May

2 Third paper due, on Zola, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, or Marx, 600 words minimum. Counts 10 points. If you wrote on one of these authors for your research paper, choose a different one to write on for this assignment. Sample topics on Germinal: Women, Changes in the Miners, Sexuality and Nature, The Mine as Monster. Sample topics on Dostoyevsky: The UM’s Assault on the Enlightenment, The Concept of Freedom, Self-Hatred, Fear of Love. Sample topics on Nietzsche (be sure to use more than one passage from the book): Relativism, Freedom, Principal Characteristics of the Overman, Nietzsche and Christianity, Romantic and Enlightenment Aspects. Sample topics on Marx: The Nature of Class Struggle, The Role of the Bourgeoisie in Transforming History, Marx’s Answers to his Critics, Advantages and Disadvantages of Communism as Described in the Manifesto.

Final date for cultural event.

All revised papers due, including revised research paper. You must attach the graded first draft to your research paper when you turn it in.

Textbooks for this course (please do not substitute other editions or translations):

If your financial aid is delayed, borrow money if you must to buy the textbooks. You cannot begin the course without the Voltaire in hand; and other books will be unavailable late in the semester. Buy them all as early as possible. If the Bookie is out, try Crimson and Gray on Bishop Boulevard. Do not substitute other translations for these.

Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary, translated by Theodore Besterman

Goethe’s Faust, translated by Walter Kaufmann

Zola, Germinal, trans. Pearson. Penguin.

Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground, translated by Andrew R. MacAndrew

Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra, translated by Walter Kaufmann. (Note Penguin also publishes other translations that are not as good_ be sure to get the Kaufmann. DO NOT USE the 1892 public-domain translation by Thomas Common.)

Marx & Engels: The Communist Manifesto (International Publishers)

Paul Brians’ Policies Spring 2007

Please read this material carefully and save it.

Office: 202H Avery Hall

Direct phone: 509 335-5689, English Dept. phone: 509 335-2581, FAX: 509 335-2582, email: paulbrians@gmail.com

Home Page: https://brians.wsu.edu/

Common Errors in English: https://brians.wsu.edu/common-errors-in-english-usage/

If I am not in, the phone may be answered by the automated voice mailbox service. Please leave a message including your name and phone number (speaking s-l-o-w-l-y, please).

Study questions:

For each of the reading assignments, the study guide in WebCT contains a series of study questions which I want you to think about. It is your assignment to answer as many of these questions as you can while you read, and to write the assigned amount on each week’s reading in WebCT Cover more than a couple of questions, and make sure you can discuss all parts of that week’s assignment—not just the beginning. Show that you are thinking seriously about these questions. Typically you are asked to write something of your own, then respond to at least one other person. These WebCT assignments are graded pass/fail (I will let you know quickly if you have done an inadequate one). The idea is to promote class discussion online. This is where you will be interacting with off-campus distance-learning students as well. When other members of the class ask questions, try to reply to them. You are welcome to keep up the discussions we start here as long as you want, but please remember to be polite. Not everyone has the same views and assumptions. You must miss or fail no more than five of these Speakeasy discussion assignments to pass the course.

Papers:

For this course you will be required to write a series of brief papers. Note the length specified by your course syllabus, which does not include notes or list of sources. Minimum paper lengths are so extremely short in this class that anyone desiring a high grade would be advised to write a somewhat longer one. Any paper shorter than the minimum assigned will receive a 0 for an incomplete assignment. Except for meeting the very low minimum number of words, don’t concentrate on length, but try to make your papers as detailed, well-organized, and interesting as possible. All papers must be typed on a computer and printed out. If you have trouble with your printer, you may bring in the paper on a disk or send it to me by e-mail attachment. Printer problems are never an excuse for not getting a paper in on time. If you use a typing service, please proofread its work carefully; you are responsible for all errors. The regular papers are not necessarily research papers, and it is possible to receive maximum points on a paper without doing research for it, although papers incorporating good library work will normally receive higher grades. Suggested topics are listed on your syllabus. You should choose a topic you are particularly interested in, not try to guess what I want you to write. When I can learn something new from a paper, I am pleased. If you have trouble thinking of a topic, ask me for help. I am also happy to look over rough drafts and answer questions about proposed topics. In addition, one paper per semester will be a required library research paper incorporating information gathered from scholarly books and articles (not just Web pages and reference books like dictionaries and encyclopedias). For more details on how to write papers for this class, see “Helpful Hints for Writing Class Papers.” For details on how to write the research paper for this class, see the page entitled “Research Paper Assignment. Papers are due at the beginning of class on the day specified in the syllabus. Do not cut class to finish a paper. Papers may always be submitted before the due date if you wish. There is no midterm or final examination in this class.

The following elements are taken into consideration when I grade your papers: 1) You must convince me that you have read and understood the book or story. 2) You must have something interesting to say about it. 3) Originality counts—easy, common topics tend to earn lower grades than difficult ones done well. 4) Significant writing (spelling, punctuation, usage) errors will be marked on each paper before it is returned to you. If there are more than a few you must identify the errors and correct them (by hand, on the same paper, without retyping it) and hand the paper back in before a grade will be recorded for you. 5) I look for unified essays on a well-defined topic with a clear title and coherent structure. 6) I expect you to support your arguments with references to the text, often including quotations appropriately introduced and analyzed (but quote only to make points about the material quoted, not simply for its own sake). 7) You must do more than merely summarize the plot of the works you have read. See my “Helpful Hints” online for more information.

Research papers are especially graded on proper use of sources and coherence. Research papers when first handed in must be the complete product: minimum length, notes, bibliography, etc. If you want to have me look at an incomplete rough draft before the due date, I will be happy to do so. Your research should be complete before the due date for the first draft.

Late Papers:

If you think you have a valid excuse (medical, etc.) for not getting a paper in on time, let me know in advance (phone) if you can. Choosing to work on other classes rather than this one is never an acceptable excuse for handing in a paper late. Because of my make-up policy (see below), it almost always makes more sense to send in even a poorly-done, rushed paper than none at all. Papers sent in late with no excuse will not receive a passing grade. To pass the course you must hand in all assigned papers. Do not assume you will be allowed to hand in work late. Pay careful attention to due dates on the syllabus.

Revised papers:

You may not make up a paper which you have failed to hand in. However, if you do hand in a paper and are dissatisfied with your grade, after consulting with me, you may revise your paper and have your grade raised if it is significantly improved. You are required to revise the research paper at least once. Other revisions will be handled on an individual basis, and limits will be set as to the number of revisions allowed and the time allowed to hand them in. Simply substituting phrases that I have suggested to improve your writing does not result in an improved grade. You have to make the sort of substantial changes I suggest in the note I make on your paper.

Grading Policy:

Again, to pass the course you must complete all papers. The research paper and its revision especially are not optional. Note that you will not receive a letter grade on your research paper until after it has been revised in response to my initial comments on it, especially the final comments written at the bottom of your paper.

Grading of WebCT participation.

Attendance and participation in the course are measured by the contributions you make to in WebCT plus the notes you turn in at the beginning of class. Together the written contributions count as 20% of your grade. Contributions are graded on a pass-fail basis. Assume they have been counted unless I make a response to what you have written saying it is inadequate.

The number of points for each paper is indicated on the syllabus with the paper assignment. For a 10-point paper, 9.5 or above=A, 9.0-9.4=A, 8.8-8.9=B+, 8.3-8.7=B, 8.0-8.2=B-, 7.8-7.9=C+, 7.3-7.7=C, 7.0-7.2=C, 6.5-6.9=D, anything below 6.5=F. Double these numbers to get the appropriate scale for a 20-point assignment.

Voltaire paper: 10 points
Faust paper: 20 points
Third paper: 20 points
Research paper: 20 points
Cultural event report: 10 points
Speakeasy contributions: 20 points
Total: 100 points.

Standards for grading papers:

All assigned papers must be turned in to pass the course.

A Topics are challenging, often original; papers are well organized, filled with detail, and demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the topic. Examples are chosen from several portions of the work. Opinion papers are carefully argued, with detailed attention being paid to opposing arguments and evidence. Papers receiving an “A” are usually somewhat longer than the minimum assigned, typically a page or so longer, though this all depends on the compactness of your writing style—a paper which is long and diffuse does not result in a higher grade and a very compact, exceptionally well-written paper will occasionally receive an “A.” The writing should be exceptionally clear and generally free of mechanical errors. An “A” is given for exceptional, outstanding work.

B Topics are acceptable, papers well organized, containg some supporting detail, and demonstrate an above-average knowledge of the topic. Examples are chosen from several portions of the work. Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers are carefully argued, with some attention being paid to opposing argument and evidence. Writing is above average, containg only occasional mechanical errors. A “B” is given for above-average work.

C Topics are acceptable, but simple. Paper are poorly organized, containg inadequate detail, demonstrating only partial knowledge of the topic (focusing only on one short passage from a work or some minor aspect of it). Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers contain unsupported assertions and ignore opposing arguments and evidence. Writing is average or below, and mechanical errors are numerous. Paper does not appear to have been proofread carefully. A “C” is given for average work.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is: 1) submitting someone else’s work as your own, 2) copying something from another source without putting it in quotation marks or citing a source (note: you must do both), 3) using an idea from a source without citing the source, even when you do not use the exact words of the source. Any time you use a book, article, or reference tool to get information or ideas which you use in a paper, you must cite it by providing a note stating where you got the information or idea, using MLA parenthetical annotation. No footnotes are used in papers for this class. You do not need to cite material from classroom lectures or discussions. If you are not certain whether you need to cite a source, check with me in advance. See “Helpful Hints” and Barnet (pp. 73-86) for details on how to cite sources. Anyone caught plagiarizing will receive an “F” for the entire course (not just the paper concerned) and be reported to Student Affairs. If you feel you have been unjustly accused of plagiarism, you may appeal to me; and if dissatisfied, to the departmental chair.

Cultural Event Assignment:

Humanities 303 students will attend a cultural event relating to the 18^th or 19^th centuries and report on it in a 600-word paper which will be graded like the other papers in the course (worth 10 points). Announcements of qualifying events will be posted in The Birdge. Substitutions may be arranged for students not living near a site where qualifying cultural events are taking place. Let me know as soon as possible what you have decided to do for your cultural event.

Disability Statement

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the instructor during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodations to be unavailable. All accommodations must be approved through the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in Administration Annex 206, 335-3417.

E-mail

I will be sending out occasional class announcements via e-mail using the WSU system. However, this means that you must have a valid e-mail address that you actually use in the WSU directory, though much important official mail, like library fine notices, is sent out using this system. To make sure you are listed in the directory go to http://www.wsu.edu/ and click “Find People,” and search for your name (last name first, no comma).

Then click on “ADDRESS & E-MAIL_” on the left-hand side of the page and click on either “Change your email destination address.” If you want a free WSU e-mail account, create an address in myWSU.

Version of January 2, 2007

All assigned papers (including the research paper—both first and revised drafts) must be completed to pass the course.

Paul Brians Vita

March 10, 2017 elizabeth.wasson

Paul Brians’ Vita

Education (Institutions, degrees, dates)

Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 1968
M.A., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1966
B.A., Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon, 1964
Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California 1960-62

Experience (Positions and Dates)

Assistant Professor of English, 1968-1977
Associate Professor of English, 1977-1988
Professor of English, 1988- 2008
Retired 2008-present

Professional Recognition and Honors

Inducted into The Quarter Century Club of WSU, 1993.
Burlington Northern Award for excellence in teaching, 1992.
“Inquiring Mind” speaker, 1990-92.
Faculty Library Award, 1988.
Member, faculty of World Civilizations 110/111 (a group of twenty faculty members selected from ninety applicants to be trained as teachers for a new world civilizations course).
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” invited address for History Honorary annual banquet, 1984.
“The New Censorship,” invited address for Holland Library Faculty Recognition Award talk, Spring, 1983
“Pornography and the Arts,” invited address for the Art Department Enrichment Series, WSU, March 23, 1971.

Publications

Books

Modern South Asian Literature in English. Greenwood Press, 2003.
Common Errors in English Usage. William, James, 2003. Second Edition, 2008.
Reading About the World, Vols. 1 & 2 (ed.). Third Edition, Harcourt Brace Custom Publishing, 1999.
Reading About the World, Vols. 1 & 2 (ed.). Second edition, American Heritage Custom Publishing, 1996. Contributed translations of the following selections: Anna Comnena: The Alexiad, Emile Zola: Germinal, Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams, Ren/(c) Descartes: The Discourse on Method, Montaigne: Essay on Cannibals, Francois Rabelais: Letter from Gargantua to his son Pantagruel; adapted translations of the following: Angelo Poliziano: Quis Dabit Capiti Meo Aquam (Lament on the Death of Lorenzo di Medici), Marcus Aurelius: Meditations, The Young Woman and Her Five Lovers, from Tales from the Thousand and One Nights.
Reading About the World, Vols. 1 & 2. (ed.) HarperCollins Custom Publishing, 1994.
Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984. Kent State University Press, 1987. [Refereed]
Bawdy Tales from the Courts of Medieval France (trans. & ed.), Harper & Row, 1975. [Refereed]

Other Publications

Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2008.
Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2007.
Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2006
Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2005.

E-Publications

Nuclear Texts & Contexts (1998-1995) created and made available “here“
Study Guide for Ursula LeGuin: The Dispossessed, as a supplement to the e-book version of the novel in the following formats: Acrobat eBook Reader, Microsoft Reader, and Palm Reader, March, 2002.

Web-Based

Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction. Greatly expanded and revised edition of my 1987 book, mounted 2003. Slightly revised and expanded, 2004.
Nuke/Pop (mounted Fall, 1999)
Common Errors in English (first mounted March 1997, extensively revised December 1998, December 1999, minor revisions in 2000, major revisions 2001, major revisions in 2005 and later.)
Annotations for Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, August, 1996. Completed December, 1997, revised 2000.

Newsletter

Nuclear Texts & Contexts, issue #1, Fall, 1988 (edited and wrote most of the issue), issue #2, Spring 1989 (edited and wrote much of the issue), issue #3, Fall, 1989 (became sole editor with this issue, wrote several articles), issue #4, Spring 1990, issue #5, Fall 1990, issue #6, Spring 1991, issue #7, Fall 1991, issue #8, Fall 1992. Resigned editorship with Fall 1992 issue. Published on Web site at http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/ntc/ (2003).

Articles

“Let’s Clear Something Up,” columns on language usage for Blueprint magazine May-June 2007 (p. 16), June-July 2007 (p.22), and January-February, 2008 (p. 18).
Entries on “Nuclear War,” “Post-Holocaust Societies,” and “The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Lee Guin (1974)” in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, ed. Gary Westfahl. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005.
“Good Words Gone Bad,” by Candace Murphy, Oakland Tribune, October 25, 2005, was based largely on a phone interview with me.
“Multimedia Made Simple, The Hard Way,” World History Connected, Vol. 1, no. 2 (May 2004); an online journal for world history teachers. http://worldhistoryconnected.press.uiuc.edu/1.2/brians.html[Commissioned article with interactive online multimedia examples]
“Classical Turkey,” Washington State Magazine (Fall 2003): 18-19. [Commissioned article with photographs by myself.]
“Annotating The Satanic Verses: An Example of Internet Research and Publication,” Computers and the Humanities 33 (December 1999): 247-264. [Refereed]
“Study Guide for Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz,” SFRA Review no. 242 (October 1999), pp. 6-19.
“Writing English by Ear,” The Editorial Eye, 21:6 (June 1998) pp. 1-4. Solicited by the editor of this newsletter for professional editors and revised by her while I was in Japan. About 60% of the article is as I wrote it. Paid contribution.
“Nuclear Family/Nuclear War,” in Nancy Anisfield, ed. The Nightmare Considered: Critical Essays on Nuclear War Literature. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Press, 1991. (A slightly revised version of the paper originally published in Essays in Language and Literature (Spring 1990).
“Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers: A Commentary and Annotated Bibliography,” in Philip John Davies, ed. Science Fiction, Social Conflict and War. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990. [An earlier, abridged version of this article, without most of the notes and without any of the annotated bibliography, was published as “Nuclear Fiction for Children” in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1988; but I consider this the definitive version of the article.
“Nuclear Family/Nuclear War,” Papers on Language and Literature, 26 (1990): pp. 134-142.
“Atomic Bomb Day” (pp. 32-33) and “Hiroshima Day (pp. 309-311) in Read More About It: An Encyclopedia of Information Sources on Historical Figures and Events. Vol. 3. Ann Arbor: The Pierian Press, 1989 (commissioned).
with Vladimir Gakov: “Nuclear-War Themes in Soviet Science Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography.” Science-Fiction Studies 16(1989): 67-84. (In this collaborative effort, the research was primarily Gakov’s responsibility; but I extensively revised and edited his first draft, and helped shape and write the introduction.) [Refereed]
“Nuclear Fiction for Children,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July/August 1988, pp. 24-27[Commissioned]
“And That Was the Future . . . The World Will End Tomorrow,” Futures, August 1988, pp. 424-433 [Commissioned]
“Red Holocaust: The Atomic Conquest of the West,” Extrapolation, 28 (1987), pp. 319-329.
“SF Summit in Moscow.” Locus, October, 1987. [Refereed]
“Revival of Learning: Science After the Nuclear Holocaust in Science Fiction,” Phoenix from the Ashes: The Literature of the Remade World, ed. Carl Yoke. Greenwood Press, 1987. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War/Post-Nuclear Fiction,” Columbiana (Winter 1987), pp. 31-33
“Nuclear War Fiction Collection at Washington State University, The,” College & Research Libraries News, 48 (March, 1987), pp.115-18.
Resources for the Study of Nuclear War in Fiction,” Science-Fiction Studies, July 1986, 5 pp. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction, 1945-1959,” Science-Fiction Studies, vol. 11, part 3 (1984), pp. 253-263. [Refereed]
“Americans Learn to Love the Bomb,” New York Times, July 17, 1985 (reprinted in the U.S. and abroad through the Times News Service. This article plus two interviews provided the basis for Konrad Ege’s article, “La culture populaire flirte avec la bombe,” Le Monde diplomatique, June 1986.
“The Day They Tested the Rec Room,” (short story) CoEvolution Quarterly (Summer 1981), pp. 116-1234.
“Sexuality and the Opposite Sex: Variations on a Theme by Théophile Gautier and Anais Nin,” Essays in Literature (Spring 1977), pp. 122-137. Edited version printed in Philip K. Jason. The Critical Response to Anis Nin.Westport: Connecticut, 1996. [Refereed]
“Versions of Immortality,” New Venture, 4 (Summer 1976), 1 p.
“Paul Aebischer and the OEGab d’Oliver,’” Romance Notes, Winter 1974, pp. 1-8. [Refereed]

Translations

Anna Comnena: Alexiad (selection on the Crusaders originally published in Reading About the World), reprinted in Brummett, Edgar, Hackett, Jewsbury, Taylor, Bailkey, Lewis, Wallbank, Silverberg: Civilization Past and Present,10^th Edition, Addison Wesley Longman, 2002. Reprinted in the 11^th edition, 2004.
Rene Descartes: selection from Discourse on Method (originally published in Reading About the World), published on a Web site supporting the Houghton Mifflin textbook, Mosaic: Perspectives on Western Civilization, 2001.
Leo Africanus: selection from Description of Africa (originally published in Reading About the World) reprinted in Middle Ages Reference Library (Farmington Hills, Minn.: Gale Research, 2000) in both hard covers and on CD-ROM. Also reprinted in a book containing materials for students to practice advance placement essay writing, published by Social Studies School Service, 2004. Adopted as an Internet History Sourcebook by the Aga Khan Humanities Project, Tajikistan, 2005. Reprinted in High School United States History for the 11^th Grade Level (Pearson Prentice Hall), a set of teaching materials in paper and electronic forms, 2006. Reprinted in The Making of the Modern World (University of Houston, 2006).

Photographs

Photograph from Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, in Seattle Times Sunday travel section, August 10, 2008.
Exhibit of photographs, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections, Washington State University, Spring 2008.
Two photographs (of a Roman street in Turkey and Tudor cottages near Hever Castle) used in a National Geographic Channel documentary on the history of the toilet in the series Everyday Things, Nov. 7 2006.
Photo of roman toilet from Ephesus, printed in an article on the history of toilets, Environmental Building News, February 2004. Reprinted by HPAC Engineering newsletter, 2004. Used in a History Channel documentary called “Modern Marvels: Sewers,” and in a nonprofit educational video for Sacramento, California wastewater treatment plant tours 2005.
Photo of SCUE cyber café reproduced at About.com for an article about cyber cafes, December 2004.

Review Articles

Carpenter, Charles A. Dramatists and the Bomb: American and British Playwrights Confront the Nuclear Age, 1945-1964. Science-Fiction Studies, Vol. 27, pp. 318-319.
Seed, David, ed. Imagining Apocalypse: Studies in Cultural Crisis. Science-Fiction Studies, vol. 27, pp. 364-365.
Sallis, James. Ash of Stars: On the Writing of Samuel R. Delany, Utopian Studies 9 (1998), 312-314.
Bozzetto, Roger, Max Duperray, Alain Chareye-Mejan, eds. Eros: XI Congr/Aes du Cerli (Actes du XI colloque du Cerli, Aix-en-Provence Janvier 1990), Utopian Studies 3(1992):131-133.
Broderick, Mick. Nuclear Movies: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of International Feature Length Films Dealing with Experimentation, Aliens, Terrorism, Holocaust and Other Disaster Scenarios, 1914-1989, IAFA Newsletter, Summer, 1992, pp. 33-34.
Broderick, Mick. Nuclear Movies: A Critical Analysis and Filmography,” SFRA Review, June 1992, pp. 27-28.
Lenz, Millicent. Nuclear Age Literature for Youth,” SFRA Review, April 1992, pp. 32-34.

Bruce Franklin, War Stars: The Superweapon and the American Imagination, for Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (May 1989), pp. 48-51.

“Tom Moylan: Demand the Impossible: Science Fiction and the Utopian Imagination.” Extrapolation Fall 1988, pp. 285-288.
“Rambo’s Relatives,” American Book Review, March/April 1986, 2 pp.
Review of six volumes of nuclear war fiction, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Chicago, IL), March 1986, pp. 50-53.
“Dealing with Nuclear Catastrophe,” Science-Fiction Studies (Montreal, Quebec), July 1986, 2 pp.
Feature review: Newman, John and Michael Unsworth. Future War Novels: An Annotated Bibliography of Works in English Published Since 1946,” Reference Services Review, vol. 13, no. 1 (Ann Arbor, MI), 1985, p. 20.
“The Cretan Glance,” Modernist Studies (June 1982), pp. 245-247.
“Anais Nin: Delta of Venus,” Under the Sign of Pisces: Anais Nin and Her Circle (Columbus, OH) (Winter 1978), 4 pp.
Three books on French surrealism: Yearbook on Comparative and General Literature, 19 (Bloomington, IN, 1970), 4 pp.

Creative Productivity

Poetry Readings

Poetry for Children, 1982.
Contemporary Poetry for Children, 1980.
Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills (for an off-campus group), 1978.
Science Fiction Poetry, 1977.
Medieval and Renaissance Women Poets, 1976, repeated 1977.
Excerpts from Nikos Kazantzakis: The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, 1976,
My translation of Jean Tardieu’s play: The Subway Lovers, 1975.
James Dickey, 1972.
Researched, wrote and read a lengthy poem entitled “ABM ABC” as my contribution to a panel discussion of a proposed antiballistic missile system, University of Idaho, 1969.

Other creative activity based on teaching and research

Transferred numerous photo tours to Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, WSU Library: http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/paul_brians/, Fall 2007.
Transferred CD discography to Holland Library and updated it with many new entries, 2006.
Created photo tour of Spain, Summer 2006, mounted on the World Civlizations site,: http://www.wsu.edu/~wldciv/tours/spain/
Original photos donated to the World Civilizations image repository in the library’s Division of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Fall 2006.
Also created 40-minute video accompanied by music based on Spain photos, summer, 2006.
Began process of transferring video series of lectures on classical music to DVD and editing them into new versions, completed Spring 2005.
Created photo tour of Greece, 2005.
Created photo tour of China, completed 2005
Created online tour of Vienna, Prague, and Budapest based on my own photographs and mounted it on the World Civilizations Web site and donated high-resolution copies to Holland Library’s World Civilizations Image Database, 2004.
Donated hundreds of my photos of China and Greece to the World Civilizations Image Database in Holland Library, 2004.
Created a new, greatly expanded edition of Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, and mounted it on the Web at https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/11/16/nuclear-holocausts-atomic-war-in-fiction/, 2003. Added several entries, 2004.
Created a Web tour of Ireland based on my own photos, focusing on architecture and archaeological sites for the General Education program and mounted it on the World Civilizations site, Summer 2003. Many of the photos have been mounted on a searchable database by Holland Library Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections.
With the aid of a Co-Teach grant, I completed a digitized collection of music from the library’s CDs now being served via streaming mp3 from the library’s audio reserves collection to students in Gen Ed 111, summer 2003. Besides selecting the music, I wrote extensive annotations to help students listen intelligently to the selections.
Scanned and edited my photos from the WSU World Civilizations tour of India and Thailand in 1992-1993, and created a Web site displaying them, and again donated high-resolution copies to the MASC collection.
Converted Humanities 303 from Speakeasy to Bridge format, 2003.
Created and maintain searchable databases on the Web for Anglophone fiction, science fiction, feature films, and compact discs in Holland Library. My filmography has been adopted as the official filmography of the Film Studies Program, linked to their Web site, Fall 2003.
Created a Web tour of Turkey based on my own photos, focussing on architecture and archaeological sites for the General Education program and mounted it on the World Civilizations site, Fall 2002. A larger selection of my photos has been mounted on a searchable database by Holland Library Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections.
Created a history of European classical music 1750-1914, for which I digitized sound samples, researched and annotated them, and mounted the result on the Holland server as streaming audio, Spring 2001.
Created a survey of world music for Gen Ed 110 (World Civilizations to 1500), digitized sound samples, researched and annotated them, and mounted the result on the Holland server as streaming audio, Summer 2001. Created and distributed CD-ROM,Aeos of the source files for use by World Civ faculty.
Selected and annotated the fiction for a display of science fiction in the library atrium during October, 2000.
Wrote a brief essay entitled “‘Postcolonial Literature’: Problems with the Term” and published it on the Web, Fall 1998.
Created a study guide for Arundhati Roy’s novel, The God of Small Things, and published it on the Web, 1998.
Created a Web site concerning ancient Japanese architecture for World Civilizations using my own photographs from a May, 1998 trip, Fall, 1998.
Created numerous on-line resources to teach Humanities 303 as an Extended Degree Programs class, including music and art assignments to be done by distance-learning students, introductions to the Enlightenment, European Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism, 19^th-Century Russian Literature, The Influence of Nietzsche, 19^th-Century Socialism, and “Misconceptions, Confusions, and Conflicts Concerning Socialism, Communism, and Capitalism, ” 1998.
Contributed and annotated several images from my personal photographs in Paris, Greece, Rome, India and Boston to the WSU media collection, 1996.
Created notes for Anglophone Literature course and mounted them on the World Wide Web, 1996.
Created study guides for Love in the Arts and put them on the World Wide Web, 1995.
Converted Hum 303 packet to HTML code and mounted it on the World Wide Web, 1994.
Created detailed study guides to the science fiction taught in English 333, attracting substantial attention from users around the country, 1994.
Created syllabus with linked resources for General Education 110 and mounted it on the Web, 1994-96.
Created supplement to my Nuclear Holocausts bibliography and mounted it on the Web.
Mounted Web version of my article, “Terminator vs. Terminator: Nuclear War as Video Game“.
Electronically published the translations of Lyubov Sirota’s Chernobyl poetry on the Web, adding illustrations from her book and from photographs provided personally by her. Mounted Russian texts of the originals on the Web, (1996).
Conceived of and supervised creation of a multimedia module on the history of writing in the West, 1994.
Created a seven-part series of videotapes tracing the history of European classical music for use in the WHETS version of my Humanities 303 course, Fall 1993.
A multimedia production of Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top,” Fall 1991.
Created incidental music tape for WSU Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet, featuring Renaissance music, Spring 1987, with Paula Elliot.
As a member of the materials subcommittee of the world civilizations planning group, helped create tapes of music to be used in Humanities 110 and 111. Most of the music is from my personal collection.
Created and catalogued collection of Medieval and Renaissance music on compact disc for Humanities courses, 1987.
Reading from The Wind in the Willows, Holland Library, 1985.
Reading of fiction depicting nuclear war, Holland Library, 1985.
Arranged and provided notes for exhibition in Holland Library: “Nuclear Holocausts: Holland Library’s Collection of Fiction Depicting Nuclear War and Its Aftermath,” 1985.
Reading of Joan D. Vinge’s short story “Tin Soldier” at the Gaia Coffeehouse, 1982.
Produced and coordinated series of cable FM broadcasts for English Department, 1982-85.
Produced and coordinated series of cable FM broadcasts for Humanities, 1982.
Organized and moderated program, “The Bomb and the Arts,” for Ground Zero Week, 1982.
Assembled, edited, recorded, and prepared notes for programs of music by women composers and women jazz artists for Women’s Arts Festival.
Assembled and arranged series of science fiction radio tapes for broadcast by library cable FM system.
Designed and created sets of tapes and notes covering the history of music from Gregorian Chant to Stravinsky for use in Humanities courses.

Professional Papers Presented

“Techniques for Mixing Text, Stills, and Clips in Computer-Based Film Lectures,” Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, October 21, 2005.
“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” Science Fiction Research Association, Las Vegas, July 2005.
“The Irrelevance of ‘Postcolonialism’ to South Asian Literature,” South Asian Literature Association, San Diego, December 27, 2003.

Published Conference Papers

“Teaching about Nuclear War through Fiction,” Nuclear War Education: A Survey of Different Perspectives and Resources, ed Robert Ehrlich. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1987. [Refereed]
“Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1945-1982,” Literature and War: Reflections and Refractions, ed. Elizabeth W. Trahan. Monterey Institute of International Studies, 1985. Note: the title assigned to this paper by the editor is incorrect. It should have been “Some Distinguishing Characteristics of Nuclear War Fiction.” [Refereed]

Pedagogical papers and talks

“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” Department of English Colloquium, 2005.
“Teaching Wole Soyinka,” Conference on Wole Soyinka, Central Florida University, February, 2003.
Presentation on creating and maintaining online audio reserves for the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Music Library Association annual meeting, in Pullman, May 2001.
Presentation to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Music Library Association on music resources on the Internet, Seattle Public Library, Spring 1995. This involved extensive research preparing a printed guide for use by the librarians (a copy is in my file).
Joint talk (with Paula Elliot) on the library research project in the World Civilizations course, invited as presenters at a workshop entitled “Colleagues in Education,” dealing with faculty/librarian collaboration, Whitman College, 1992.
“Multimedia in a World Civilizations Course.” A joint lecture/multimedia demonstration (with Phil Scuderi) for “Computers Across the Curriculum: A Conference on Technology in the Freshman Year,” sponsored by the City University of New York, Office of Academic Computing, New York, 1992.
Slide lecture on “Nuclear Chic: Nuclear War Imagery in the Popular Culture.” This slide lecture was given in various forms to twelve audiences during 1989, including four sections of English 101, T.V. Reed’s Introduction to American Studies class, the Math/English/Honors students (and repeated for that group every year annually through 1993), the Unitarian churches of Moscow and Wenatchee, the Common Ministry at WSU, and Relaxicon (a science fiction convention in Moscow). It was also delivered as an invited address at the University of California-SDavis in June, 1989, and at Seattle University in the fall of 1989. In 1990, it was given at the following conferences, for which it was refereed: The International conference for the Fantastic in the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL; The Science Fiction Research Association, San Diego, CA; a Soviet-American conference called “Facing Apocalypse II,” Newport, RI; and the Conference of the Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development, Dayton, OH. It was also delivered as part of the Washington Commission for the Humanities Inquiring Mind series at the WCH annual meeting (Tacoma) and for the Beta Omicron Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha (Seattle). In 1991 it was delivered at a region science fiction convention in Spokane, at a meeting of a community group in Sequim, Washington, at Whitman College, and at Yakima Community College. It was given in 1992 at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, at Edmonds Public Library, at Eastern Washington University, Cheney, for eight visiting faculty members from Far Eastern State University, Vladivostok. In 1997 I toured three German cities giving the presentation, and in the fall of 1999 made a version of it into a Web site called “Nuke Pop.”
“Learning About Nuclear War Through Fiction,” Arizona Honors Academy, Flagstaff, AZ, June 1988 (invited address).
“Nuclear War/Nuclear Families,” Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Spring 1988. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War/Nuclear Families,” Modern Language Association, Winter, 1988. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War Fiction for Children,” Eaton Conference on War and Science Fiction, University of California, Riverside, Spring 1988.
“Teaching a Pilot Section of a Freshman Course in World Civilizations,” Conference on the First Year Experience, Toronto, Fall 1988. [Refereed]
with Paula Elliot: “A Library Biography Project for a World Civilizations Class,” Conference on Faculty-Librarian collaboration, Evergreen State College, Fall 1988. (About 2/3 of this paper was written by Ms. Elliot.)
“Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers,” International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Houston, 1987. [Refereed]
“The Russians and the Nuclear Threat: Teaching About Attitudes Toward Nuclear War Using Recent Fiction,” George Mason University Conference on Nuclear War and Peace Education, 1987. [Refereed]
“Science Fiction and Nuclear Reality,” Seventh World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War,” Moscow, USSR, 1987.
“The Nuclear War Fiction Collection at Washington State University,” Northwestern Popular Culture Association, Tacoma, WA, 1987 (invited).
“Red Holocaust: The Atomic Conquest of the United States in Fiction,” Science Fiction Research Association, San Diego, CA, 1986.
“Women Authors of Nuclear War Fiction,” jointly authored with Jane Winston-Dolan, InterFace ’85, Marietta, GA, 1985. [Refereed]
“The Revival of Learning: Science After the Nuclear Holocaust in Science Fiction,” Fifth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Boca Raton, FL, 1984. [Refereed]
“Samuel R. Delany’s Triton as a Psychological Satire,” Fifth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Boca Raton, FL, 1984. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction, 1945-1959,” League of Women Voters, Moscow, ID, 1984.
“Nuclear War in Fiction: Some Defining Characteristics,” Pullman Unitarian Fellowship, 1984 (invited). Also for Lewiston-Clarkson Ground Zero, 1984.
“Surrealism and Rock,” WSU English Department, 1976.
“Technique in Erotic Fiction,” WSU English Department, 1974.

Professional Service Outside of WSU (consulting, services on boards and panels, editing journals, etc., with year)

Placed “Four Seasons in the Palouse” video on YouTube, Fall 2006, viewed by 129 people by 2/3/07, featured as streaming video on the official WSU video site, Experience WSU, Summer 2006.
Reviewed article for possible publication in Ariel: A Review of International Literature, 2006.
Reviewed article for possible publication in Borderlands, 2006
Paid reviewer of a book manuscript for Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Paid reviewer of a book manuscript for Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
Referee for a proposal for a conference proposal for the Rockefeller Foundation’s Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy, February 2004.
Paid reviewer for Foresight: Modern British Science Fiction, Wesleyan University Press, 2004.
Reviewed manuscript for Mosaic, June 2004.
Paid reviewer of World History Texts: Patterns of World History, for Longman Publishers, August 2004.
Paid reviewer of Understanding the Bible by Stephen Harris, 6^th edtion, for McGraw-Hill, October 2004.
Paid reviewer for John P. McKay, et al.: A History of World Societies, Sixth Edition, 2003.
Paid reviewer for a proposed science fiction reader for St. Martin, Aeos Press, Fall, 2002.
Paid reviewer for proposed postcolonial reader from Houghton-Mifflin, April 2002.
Paid reviewer for From Outer Space to Innerspace, McGraw-Hill, October 1995.
Paid reviewer of Stephen Harris, Understanding the Bible, Mayfield Press, July 1995.
Evaluated manuscript on science fiction and politics for University of Georgia Press, Fall 1994.
Outside tenure reviewer for Joseph Dewey, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, 1992.
Paid reviewer of sixth edition of Sylvan Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing About Literature, HarperCollins, 1991.
Editor, Nuclear Texts & Contexts, 1988-1992.
Editor, Membership Directory, International Society for the Study of Nuclear Texts and Contexts, 1989-1991.
Edited and published Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Bomb: A Bibliography of Literature and the Arts by James R. Bennett and Karen Clark
Consultant to grant proposal on military research, 1987.
Contributed to “Nuclear War: A Teaching Guide, Humanities,” by Philip N. Gilbertson, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, December, 1984.
Sent course syllabi and information about nuclear war research to many professors across the country responding to the Bulletin article, 1985-86.
WCH-funded Symposium on “Liberation Theology,” 1984.
Proposal to WCH, “What the Women’s Movement Means to Ethnic Women: A Current and Historical Perspective,” Consulting Humanist, 1983.
Proposal to Idaho Commission on the Humanities on Early Childhood Education, 1980.
NEH-funded grant for a WSU production of Chinese opera, 1978.
WCH-funded series on teaching religion in the public schools for the WSU Religious Studies Program, 1977.
YWCA-sponsored “Early Childhood Education,” 1976-77.
NEH-funded program on sex education for KSPS TV , 1974.

Committee or Administrative Service at WSU (Committee memberships, offices, with dates)

Faculty Status Committee, 2005-2007.
University Advisory Committee on Computing and Telecommunications, 2006-2007.
Chair, Faculty Senate Academic Integrity Task Force, 2005. Submitted final report 2005.
Represented Graduate School at a doctoral dissertation defense, Department of Economics, 2003.
Participant in the Critical Thinking Project, Summer & Fall, 2003.
Represented Graduate School at a doctoral dissertation defense, Department of Psychology, 2002.
Film Studies Steering Committee, 2001-2008.
Chair, Technology Subcommittee, Film Studies Program, 2001-2008.
Student Publications Board, 2000-2002.
Library Advisory Committee, 1999-2001.
Represented Graduate School at a doctoral dissertation defense, College of Education, 1998.
African Studies Committee, 1992-96.
Coordinating committee to plan events for observing the quincentennial of Columbus’ voyage to the New World, 1992.
CIR subcommittee to establish video standards for the campus network, 1992-1993.
Multimedia Planning Group, 1991-1993.
Nominations committee for Faculty Senate officers, 1990-1992.
Chair, Academic Steering Committee on Computing and Telecommunications, 1989-91.
Member, Academic Steering Committee on Computing and Telecommunications, 1988-89.
Planning Committee of the World Civilizations faculty, 1989-90.
Faculty Senate, 1987-90.
Committee to review applications for summer support for graduate students, for the Associate Vice Provost for Research, 1988.
Helped design and produce a brochure for the Humanities Core Curriculum Project, with Jo Hockenhull and Paula Elliot, Summer 1987.
Selected as teacher of pilot section of Humanities/World Civilizations 110: The New Stone Age to 1500, Fall 1987 and 1988.
Curriculum Committee of the World Civilizations faculty, Spring 1987-1990.
Materials Committee of the World Civilizations faculty, Spring 1987-1990.
NEH Faculty Group (Planning Committee for new NEH-funded World Civilizations courses), 1987.
NEH World Civilizations Advisory Committee, Fall, 1986-88.
Reinstatement Committee, 1984.
Academic Advising Subcommittee (Academic Affairs Committee), 1983-86; Chair, 1984-85.
President, WSU Chapter of AAUP, 1982-83.
Vice-President, WSU Chapter of AAUP, 1981-82
Peace Studies Committee, 1981-1985
Member, Religious Studies Faculty, 1980?-1990.
New Student Orientation, 1970-75.
Freshman-Faculty Weekend, 1968-74.
Coordinator, ASWSU Draft Counseling Center, 1972.
EPC Subcommittee on ROTC, 1969-70.
Coordinator, Humanities courses, 1972-present.

College or Division

Reviewer of Birgitta Ingemanson for promotion in Foreign Languages, 2007.
Reviewer of Prof. Zhin-Min Dong for promotion in Foreign Languages, 2004.
Chair, Committee to review candidates for the Sahlin Excellence in Service Award, 2000 -2002.
Committee to do initial planning for symposium on “Liberal Arts in the New Millennium.”
Represented the College at one meeting of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce committee to plan Millennium observances.
Division Library Committee, 1989-1993.
Committee to review candidates for the Mullen Award, for the Dean of the College of Sciences and Arts, 1988.
Evaluation of Transfer credits for Humanities courses, 1981-present.
Examining students in Summer Honors Reading Program.

Department

Director of Undergraduate Studies, 2004-2008.
Member, Committee on Curriculum and Planning, 2003-2005.
Coordinator, Humanities courses, 1970-2008.
English Department Library Liaison, 2001-2004.
Search committee, Modern British Literature search, Fall 2001-Spring 2002.
Committee to revise departmental evaluation forms, 2000-2001.
MA Exam committee 1999-2000
Mock job interviews with graduate students, Fall 1998.
Chair, search committee for creative writing position, 1998.
*Undergraduate Studies Committee, 1998-present.
Chair, Teaching and Technology Committee, 1996-present.
Member, Teaching and Technology Committee, 2001.
Chair’s Advisory Committee, Spring 1996.
Chair, MA Exam Committee, Fall 1992-Spring 1993.
MA Exam Committee, 1991.
Search committee, Tri-Cities position, 1989.
Editor, English News and Notes, 1989-1992.
Search committee for director of Avery Microcomputer Laboratory.
Undergraduate Studies Committee, 1992.
Library Committee, 1970-?, 1988-1993.
Temporary member of Graduate Studies Committee (replacing Louise Schleiner), Spring, 1988.
Avery Microcomputer Laboratory Policy Committee, 1988-1989.
Graduate Faculty member, 1988-2008.
Chair, Graduate Foreign Language Competency Examination Committee, 1987-2001.
*Preparation and distribution of publicity about the Humanities program, mostly aimed at new students, 1980-present.
Scholarship Committee, 1986-1992.
Committee to Design a New Faculty Evaluation Form, Spring 1975.
Freshman Composition Exemption Examination Committee, 1974-1984.
Committee to review requirements for English majors, 1972.
Committee to form a Chairman’s Advisory Committee.

Other Service at WSU

Public Lectures on Campus on Scholarly Topics

“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” several times for recruiting events 2007-2008.
“Art of the Counter-Culture in the 1960s,” an invited illustrated address associated with the Museum of Art’s exhibition, “Art & Context: the 50s and 60s,” Nov. 2, 2006.
Showing of video based on my photos of Spain, Holland Library, Nov. 6, 2006.
Panel on Wole Soyinka with the author participating, February 3, 2005. Also introduced Soyinka’s poetry reading the same day.
“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” Departmental Colloquium, repeated for Art à la Carte, 2005.
Talk on My Fair Lady and English usage after a performance of the musical at Portland Center Stage, February 27, 2005.
”Architecture from China,” Art a la carte presentation with Trevor Bond, based on my photographs now in the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections World Civilizations database, 2004.
“Research at a Distance,” presentation for Critical Thinking Project series on English 567 course offered via distance learning. February 5, 2004.
Presentation of multimedia samples from my “Love in the Arts” class for WSU Preview, Spring 2000, 2001 & 2002.
“Three Indian Authors: Tagore, Narayan, and Desai” English Department Graduate Program Colloquium, November 28, 2001.
Invited presentation to the Foreign Languages Department on Internet publication and teaching (paid), April 14, 2001.
“Krishna, the Lover, in Art,” Art a la Carte presentation, February, 2001.
Organized and ran Indian film series Fall 2000, with Azfar Hussain. I helped to choose the films, secured them, scheduled them, wrote and distributed almost all of the publicity and trained Azfar in the use of the equipment to show DVDs and VHS tapes.
Three presentations of multimedia samples from my “Love in the Arts” class for New Student Programs, Spring, Summer, and Fall, 1999.
“The Chutneyfication of Literature,” readings from and remarks about recent South Asian literature, Art /* la carte series, Fall 1998.
“Annotating The Satanic Verses: An Example of Internet Research and Publication,” English Department colloquium, Spring 1997.
“Medieval Songs” multimedia presentation with Paula Elliot, for the WSU Foundation Silver Associates, March, 1997.
“Classic American Love Songs,” for the Math-English Honors Competition program, 1996-1997.
“World Civilizations Materials on the World Wide Web,” World Civilizations workshop, August, 1996.
Lecture on Hildegard of Bingen’s poetry as part of a Hildegard symposium sponsored by the History Club, Fall 1994.
Lectures to World Civilizations workshop August, 1994 on African Literature and African art and architecture (the latter using multimedia materials).
Presentation to visiting journalism teachers of relevant resources on the Internet, for the Journalism Department,July 1994 .
Presentation to World Civilization faculty workshop on teaching about the music and poetry of India, August 1993. Also participated in a panel discussion of the experiences of those of us who had gone on the WSU-sponsored trip to India in December 1992-January 1993.
Multimedia lecture on early African civilizations for Residence Life Staff during program “Ticket to Tomorrow: Issues for Understanding the World We Live In,” 1993.
Talk on my project to edit and publish the Chernobyl poems of Liubov Sirota, for visiting faculty members from Far Eastern University, Vladivostok, 1992.
Lecture on the history of Judaism, World Civilizations workshop, 1992.
Lecture on Medieval lyric poetry and music, World Civilizations Workshop, 1991.
Presentation on World Civilization multimedia project, Faculty Day, 1991.
See above, “Professional Papers Presented,” for details of presentations on campus of “Nuclear Chic.”
Talk on nuclear war fiction scholarship to English and Math Scholarship contestants, 1988.
“Strategies for Capturing Student Interest,” part of the Faculty Seminars on Effective Teaching sponsored by the WSU Faculty Development Committee, March 1988.
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction, ” Palouse SANE, CUB noontime series on War and the Arts, September 1987.
University-wide talk on my nuclear war research and trip to the Soviet Union, September, 1987 (invited, sponsored by Department of English).
“An Introduction to Nuclear War in Fiction,” Stevens Hall, 1987.
“Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers,” to English and Math Scholarship contestants, 1987.
Talk on my research on nuclear war fiction, to English and Math Scholarship contestants, 1986.
“Underground Comix,” Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections, Holland Library, 1986.
“The New Censorship: Feminists and Pornography,” Invited address for Library Faculty Award Presentation, 1984.
“Science Fiction and Nuclear War,” (Ground Zero: “The Bomb and the Arts” Symposium, 1982.
“Current Feminist Science Fiction,” Women’s Center, 1978.
“Pornography and Erotic Art,” Sex Information Center Staff, 1979 (twice).
“Feminism and Science Fiction,” 1979.
“Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time,” Women’s Center, 1978.
“Science Fiction and the Idea of the American Frontier,” American Studies Group, 1978.
“Images of Childhood in Art and Literature,” 1976.
“Sex and Sexuality in Literature,” Women’s Art Festival, 1975.
Lectures and debates for the League for the Promotion of Militant Atheism, 1972-74.
“The Oppression of Women in Literature,” 1970.

Guest Lectures to colleagues’ classes

“Writing and Publishing Science Fiction,” for Paula Coomer’s course on writing science fiction and horror, summer, 2005.
South Asian Literature in English and Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Long Journey, presentation to Asia 301, February 2004.
Using multimedia to present music in the classroom, a demonstration involving classic American popular songs for Camille Roman, English 555 seminar, March 2002.
Art on Biblical Themes, for English/Humanities 335, October 29, 2001.
Media lecture on Krishna, god of love, for Virginia Hyde graduate seminar, April 18, 2001.
Art and music on Biblical themes, two lectures for English 335, Fall, 1998.
Presentation of Internet resources for the study of English to English 512, Fall, 1995-1997.
Presentations on “postcolonial” studies to English 512, Fall, 1996 & 1997.
Lecture on the poetry of N/(c)gritude for a minicourse on African studies, Spring 1993.
Lecture on women poets before 1600, for Barbara Harbach’s Women’s Studies class, 1993.
Talk on my project to edit and publish the Chernobyl poems of Liubov Sirota, for Susan-Wyche Smith’s English 198 class, 1992.
Slide lecture on love in art for Deborah Haynes,Aeo art history class, 1992.
See above, “Professional Papers Presented,” for details of presentations on campus of “Nuclear Chic.”
“Feminist Utopias,” Women’s Studies 200: Introduction to Women’s Studies, Spring, 1987.
“Exodus,” English 335, The Bible as Literature, Spring 1987.
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” for the Continuing Education evening course, “Nuclear War: Issues of the Day,” 1985.
“The Aftermath of World War III in Fiction,” Seminar on WWIII, Political Science 322, 1984.
“Women in Science Fiction,” Foreign Lang. 505, Seminar on Images of Women in the Arts, 1984.
“Religion and Nuclear War in Fiction, 1945-1982,” Religious Studies Seminar, 1984.
“Death in Children’s Books,” UNIV 280, 1982.
“Interracial Children’s Books,” Education Seminar, 1981, repeated for Child and Family Studies class, 1982.
“Contemporary Children’s Poetry,” Education Seminar, 1981.
“Emile Zola’s Germinal and Nineteenth-Century Radicalism,” French Civilization, 1980.
“Women in Erotic Art,” Women Artists Fine Arts course, 1979.
“Children’s Picture Books,” two lectures for English 495, 1978.
“Pornography and Erotic Art,” Psychology 230 (Human Sexuality); 8 times.
“Science Fiction and the Idea of the American Frontier,” 1979, Engl/Hist 316.
“Sex in Underground Comix,” 1974, English seminar on Sex in Literature.
“Atheism,” 1974, Philosophy 101.
“Science Fiction,” 1974, English 101.

Computer-oriented service at WSU

Installed self-designed presentations on classical art and architecture on departmental laptops for use by Humanities instructors, 2005-2006.
Set up and trouble-shot the departmental portable computer, Fall 1997.
Helped configure and make sure standards were met for classroom multimedia/computer equipment in Avery, 1997-present.
Proofreading and editing Richard Hooker’s on-line World Civilizations course, 1997.
*World Civilizations home page Web master, 1995-2005.
Gathered numerous resources from the World Wide Web for adding images to the WSU media collection and helped draw up criteria for adding to the collection.
Gathered, downloaded, and printed out large quantities of material relating to Africa for Abdoulaye Saine, chair of the African Studies Committee, 1994.
Gave extensive computer training to Departmental Secretary Nelly Zamora early in the summer of 1994.
Trained WSU News Bureau staff in using the Internet for their work, Spring 1994.
Presented uses of the Internet for humanists at a workshop sponsored by WSU Computing entitled “CIRcling the Globe,” 1992.
Instructed colleagues and departmental secretaries in using e-mail, 1992-1993.
Installed memory upgrade in the computer of the secretary of the Office of General Education, 1993.
Answered numerous trouble-shooting calls, 1986-present.

Other Service at WSU

Regularly requested science fiction, classical music by women and African-Americans, and films on DVD for addition to the MMR collection.
Maintained an informal list of information on “postcolonial” and South Asian literature for local faculty and students.
Donated over a hundred volumes of nuclear war fiction to the WSU library, 2005.
Donated over a hundred underground comic books, alternative newspapers and other ephemera from the 1960s to the WSU library Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, 2005.
Conceived of and helped plan for visit to campus by Nigerian author Wole Soyinka and Soyinka expert Femi Euba, funded, 2003-2004.
Donated over 700 slides of European art and architecture to the Department of Fine Arts slide collection, 2004.
Donated copies of the New York Times Book Review and Locus to the Bookie trade book department, 2000-2004.
Created and maintained Palouse Cultural Events Calendar, the only online source which combined events both on and off campus for Pullman and Moscow, ending Fall 2005.
Donated large collection of classical music and film soundtrack long-playing records and a DVD player to the Music Library, 2003.

Professional Service Outside of WSU

Served on review committee for best graduate student paper contest for the Science Fiction Research Association, 2006-2008, chaired committee 2008.
Donated 366 volumes of nuclear war fiction to the University of Iowa, 2005.

Off-Campus Lectures

Common Errors in English Usage, Wordstock, Portland, Oregon, November 11, 2007.
“Turning Web Writing into Printed Publications,” workshop at Wordstock, Portland, Oregon, November 11, 2007.
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, invited public lecture for the Fishtrap Center, Enterprise, Oregon, February 21, 2006, repeated for King County Library System, Shoreline, Washington, Fall 2007.
Nuke/Pop slide lecture, Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, Seattle, August 6, 2004 (paid).
Readings from Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, for the Pullman Historical Club, 1999. (Paid).
Formal debate with Douglas Wilson at the University of Idaho on the subject, Resolved: “Belief in God is necessary for a valid ethics,” Fall 1999.
Invited talk and debate about Christian fundamentalism at St. Andrew, Aeos College, Moscow, Idaho, Fall 1999.
Presentation on Rushdie research for students being recruited at Vancouver, via WHETS, Spring 1998.
Talk on the flood narrative as part of the Moscow Public Library,Aeos Community Enrichment Program discussion series on Genesis, Fall 1997.
Five presentations at the 28th annual Amerikastudientagung, Bonn, Germany (workshop for German high school teachers of American studies, invited and paid for by the American Information Service, Department of State):
May 8, 1997: Presentation of the film Blade Runner
May 9, 1997: “Future Visions: A Survey of American Science Fiction.”
May 9 & 10, 1997: “Teaching Science Fiction” workshops
May 10, 1997: “Blade Runner: The Book and the Movie”
May 11, 1997: “Nuclear Chic: Images of Nuclear War in American Culture” at the James F. Byrnes Institute, Stuttgart (invited and paid for by the Institute)
May 14, 1997: “Nuclear Chic: Images of Nuclear War in American Culture” at the Carl Schurz Haus, Freiberg (invited and paid for by the Haus).
For a group touring Provence, a lecture/reading on troubadour poetry, June, 1996 (paid).
For a group touring classical Greek sites, on the Arcadian ideal in European culture, and a two talks about and performance of brief excerpts from the Oresteia of Aeschylus, May 1993.
For a community study group, a lecture on Nigerian author Wole Soyinka, 1993.
“Children’s Nuclear War Fiction,” Seattle University, 1989.
“Learning About Nuclear War Through Fiction,” Seattle University, 1989.
“How to Argue with Christians,” Student Humanist Association, University of Idaho, 1989.
“Bible Abuse: The Misuse of the Bible.” Student Humanist Association, University of Idaho, 1989.
“Teaching a Pilot Section of World Civilizations,” Danforth Scholars Group, February 1988.
“Science Fiction and the Future of Government,” invited address at a Washington State 4-H conference on constitutional futures, Olympia, February 1988.
Talk on my research and trip to the USSR to Social Concerns Group, at University of Idaho, 1987.
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” two talks at Pullman High School, 1987.
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” Eastern Washington University, Spokane Higher Education Center, 1987.
“Recent Nuclear War Fiction,” Lewis and Clark College library noon lecture series, 1987.
“The Best Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers,” Young Readers Group, Public Library, 1987.
“Atheism and Humanism,” Moscow High School, 1976-1987.
“Teaching About Utopias/Dystopias,” Society for Utopian Studies, Monterey, CA, 1986.
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction,” Moscow Science Fiction Convention, 1985.
“Beautiful Books for Preschoolers,” Cooperative Daycare Center, 1982.
“Books for Children of Single Parents,” Palouse Area Singles Group, 1978.
“Nonfiction Books for Preschoolers,” Community Day Care School staff, 1978.
“Pornography and Erotic Art,” for the Palouse Area Singles Group, 1978.
“The Western Background to Racism,” symposium on Racism and the Public Schools, 1978.
“Pornography, Obscenity and Privacy,” symposium on privacy, Pacific Lutheran University, 1978.
“Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time,” for the Common Ministry, 1978.
“Atheism,” formal debate with Professor Nicholas Gier, Philosophy Department, University of Idaho, 1973.

Off-Campus Presentations and Websites

Slightly revised WSU/Palouse photo tour, 2005-2006.
Added a number of regional photographic tours to my WSU/Palouse Web site, 2003-4.
Conducted a small workshop for teachers on using science fiction in the classroom, Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, Seattle, August 7, 2004 (paid).
Created a Web tour of WSU and the Palouse aimed especially at orienting new graduate students and faculty to the area, August, 2002, at http://users.pullman.com/brians/index.html.
Interview on the protests against the World Trade Organization for Web-based radio station in New Orleans, 1999.
“Current Changes in the U.S.S.R.: A Recent Visitor’s View,” panel of Russians and Americans discussing nuclear war, sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility, Spokane, Sacred Heart Hospital Auditorium.
“Women: Planning for the Future” (Facilitator), Northwest Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference, Moscow, Idaho, 1979.
“Sex in Science Fiction” (chair and speaker), Moscow Science Fiction Convention, 1979.
“The Radical Teacher,” Conference on English Education, Portland, Oregon, 1971.

Radio and Television Appearances

Radio interview about Common Errors in English Usage on Youth Radio, KPFT Houston, August 14, 2009.
Radio panel with author David Guterson about Snow Falling on Cedars, BBC World Book Club, February 7, 2009.
Radio interview about Common Errors in English Usage on The Lionel Show, Air America, December 18, 2008.
Panelist on World Book Club interview with Wole Soyinka, BBC radio, May 2007.
Radio interview about “Mr. Gradgrind’s Literal Answers to Rhetorical Questions, by Scott Simon for the National Public Radio Show Weekend Edition Saturday, Fall, 2007.
Radio interview about nuclear war in films: “Nuclear Disarmament: An Impossible Dream?” interviewed by Margot Adler for the National Public Radio show Justice Talking, October 9, 2006.
Radio interview about English errors on “Wordmaster,” Voice of America, August 23, 2005.
Radio interview about “Common Errors in English”, KUOW, Seattle, April 26, 2004.
Radio interview on Stanislaw Lem,Aeos Solaris and the Tarkovsky and Soderbergh film versions of it, broadcast January 25, 2003, Radio Free Europe (translated into Russian).
Radio interview on Common Errors, Nashville Public Radio. 2002.
Radio interview on nuclear war fiction, KXLY, Seattle, 1988
Radio interview on nuclear war fiction, KXL, Portland, 1988
Appeared in a Soviet documentary about the Seventh IPPNW Congress broadcast in the Soviet Union, 1987.
Radio interview on trip to Russia, KXLY, Spokane, 1987.
Radio interview on trip to Russia and research, KPBX, Spokane, 1987.
Radio interviews on current trends in nuclear war fiction on KIRO (Seattle), KING (Seattle), 1985; KRPL (Moscow, ID), KXLY (Spokane), 1984
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” segment on”Grassroots Journal,” KWSU-TV, 1984
Produced programs for women’s music program on Polish composer Graznia Bacewicz and Ella Fitzgerald, KZUU-FM, 1982
Produced and hosted weekly show, “Radio’s Golden Age,” KZUU-FM, 1982-1984.
“Children’s Picture Books,” KWSU-TV, Pullman, WA, 1978.
“The Pagan Origins of Christmas,” KUID-FM, 1975.
Panel on sex education, KSPS-TV, Spokane, 1974.
Debate with Nicholas Gier on Theism vs. Atheism on KUID-FM, 1973.
Panel discussion of a new Idaho obscenity statute, KUID-TV, 1973.
“The New Pornography,” interview, KUID-FM, Moscow, ID, 1973.

Articles about my work

(many others not yet listed here)

“Speaking of English,” by Peter Monaghan, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 28, 2004, p. A6 & A8.

Miscellaneous Service

Donated large collection of nuclear war fiction to Holland Library, Fall 2007.
Donated a collection of science fiction by women authors to Holland Library, Fall 2006.
Exhibit of international Disney Comic books at Neill Public Library, Summer, 2006.
Exhibit of international Floaty Pens at Brain Education Library, Fall 2006.
Created a photo calendar of my regional photographs and posted it for free downloading on my personal Website, 2005.
Supplied photos of the McConnell Mansion in Moscow for a presentation by Kathleen Ryan of Design North to the Latah County Historical Society, July, 2005.
Supplied photo of Japan for Asia Program poster, WSU, 2005.
Identified and contributed music for presentation by Birgitta Ingemanson for the rededication of Thompson Hall, September 23, 2000.
Donated a large collection of comic books and other ephemera relating to nuclear war to Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in Holland/New Library, 2000.
Donated over 1,000 underground comic books, underground newspapers, and other ,Aeo60s-related items to Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in Holland/New Library, 2000.
Consulted with representatives of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension Service about distance learning via the Web.
Coached soprano Karen Wicklund on the pronunciation of words in Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky for a concert, Spring 1995.
Spoke on career planning at New Faculty Orientation, Fall 1993.
Selected and prepared color photocopies and captions from slides in my collection of popular culture nuclear weapons imagery for a touring exhibit entitled “Yes, In My Back Yard?” curated by Helen Slade, opening in Richland, Washington, February 4-27, 1992. Exhibit traveled to WSU, Spring 1996.
*Acting, from 1990 to the present, as agent and editor for Liubov Sirota, a poet living now in Kiev, who was injured by the Chernobyl explosion. I have arranged for her poems about the disaster to be translated and published and solicited from Dr. Adolph Harash of Moscow State University an introduction, which I also had translated. Selections were read to music on the National Public Radio program Terra Infirma on April 1, 1992; the poem “Radiophobia” was published in the August 5, 1992 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association; one other poem was published in New York Quarterly, all the poems and a revised version of the introduction appeared in Calyx , Winter 1992/1993, and in Selections on Words and Healing edited by Sue Brannan Walker & Rosaly Demaios Roffman (Mobile, Alabama: Negative Capability Press). The article by Dr. Harash has also appeared in the Canadian magazine Woman’s World. I continue to communicate with Sirota from time to time. One poem was reprinted in a Calyx Books anthology of women, Aeos poetry, 2002.
In late 1999 I edited, annotated, and added to the site pictures from the abandoned city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl reactor by Lyubov Sirota’s son Sasha. During January 2001, edited more pictures by Lyubov Sirota herself, with her annotations translated by Birgitta Ingemanson.
Advised Professor Yuri Mironetz of Far Eastern University, Vladivostok, on how to design and teach a course in science fiction (the first to be offered in Russia), 1992. Supplied Prof. Mironetz with numerous books and articles to aid him in his teaching. The course was successfully given Spring, 1993.
Compiled and edited an anthology of literature for use in World Civilizations (Gen Ed 110), consisting of mostly lyric poetry from many cultures, with an introductory teacher’s guide written by myself. Reproduced by the General Education Office and distributed to 110 instructors at the World Civilizations workshop, Summer, 1992.

Community Service

Member, film committee, Kenworthy Film Society, 2002-2007. I recommended many of the films shown at this nonprofit theater.
Computer Services for Pullman NOW and Palouse SANE, 1980s.
Membership Secretary, Pullman NOW, 1986-89.
Secretary, Washington State Conference of AAUP, 1983-84; reelected for 1984-86.
“Why It Is in the Interests of Whites to Combat Racism,” talk, Pullman, YWCA, 1983.
Speaker for NOW on Awareness Week Panel: “How can abortion be made as unnecessary as possible?” 1983
Judge, Pullman Chapter of NOW, essay context, 1983.
Secretary, Pullman Chapter of the National Organization for Women, 1982-83.
“The Causes and Prevention of War,” address, Whitman College, 1980.
Training draft counselors for the Walla Walla Society of Friends, 1980.
Panel discussion on draft registration, Whitman College, 1980.
Talks on the draft to various campus and community groups, workshops and training sessions, 1980.
Class on “Religious Themes in Science Fiction,” with Rev. Roger Pettenger, Common Ministry, 1977.
Free University class on children’s picture books, taught six times, 1977-82
Annual lecture on “Atheism and Humanism” to world history classes at Moscow High School, Moscow, ID, 1976-1988.
Coordinator, Community Free University, 1970-present.
Leader of various classes in the CFU, including two dealing with literature: “Intimacy” and “Contemporary Utopias”, 1969-1971.
Author of a draft counseling column for the Daily Evergreen, 1970-73.
Draft counseling, 1968-1980.

Chapter VII: The Angel Azraeel

February 24, 2017 elizabeth.wasson

Plot Summary for Chapter VII

This is by far the most eventful chapter in the novel, and the one in which readers are most likely to get lost. The Saladin/Gibreel plot resumes as the former meditates on his two unrequited loves: for London and for Pamela, both of whom have betrayed him. He calls on his wife, now pregnant by Jumpy Joshi, and says he wants to move back into his home, although he seems to have fallen out of love with her. Back in his room at the Shaandaar Cafe, he watches television and muses on various forms of transformation and hybridism which relate to his own transmutation and fantasizes about the sexy teenaged Mishal Sufyan. The first-person demonic narrator of the novel makes one of his brief appearances at the bottom of p. 408 [top of 423]. The guilty Jumpy coerces Pamela into taking Saladin home. The pair is involved in protests against the arrest of Uhuru Simba for the Granny Ripper Murders. Saladin goes with them to a protest meeting where an encounter with Mishal makes him feel doomed. Jumpy mentions Gibreel to him. After hearing evangelist Eugene Dumsday denounce evolution on the radio, he realizes that his personal evolution is not finished.

A heat wave has hit London. At a bizarre party hosted by film maker S. S. Sisodia, Saladin meets Gibreel again. He starts out to attack him, furious at the latter’s having abandoned him back when the police came to Rosa Diamond’s house; but enraged by the beautiful Alleluia Cone, he more effectively avenges himself accidentally by blurting out the news of his wife’s unfaithfulness, unaware of the effect this will have on Gibreel, who is extremely prone to jealousy. Gibreel insanely assaults Jumpy Joshi, whom he fears is lusting after Allie.

Allie, driven to distraction by Gibreel’s jealousy, invites Saladin to stay with her and the sedated Gibreel in Scotland. The two lovers are bound in an intensely sexual but destructive relationship which makes Saladin more than ever determined to take his revenge on Gibreel, whom he takes to the Shaandaar Café, where they encounter drunken racists. On the way back to Allie’s flat Saladin plants the seeds of his campaign against Gibreel’s sanity by telling him of the jealous Strindberg. He begins to use his talent for imitating many voices to make obscene and threatening phone calls to both Allie and Gibreel, and he succeeds in breaking the couple up.

Gibreel, now driven completely insane, is suffering under the delusion that he is the destroyer angel Azraeel, whose job is to blow the Last Trumpet and end the world. A riot involving both Blacks and Asians breaks out when–after Uhuru Simba dies in police custody–it is made clear that he was not the Granny Ripper. Gibreel is in his element in this apocalyptic uprising. It is not always clear in what follows how much is Gibreel’s insanity and how much is fantastic reality: but he experiences himself as capable of blowing streams of fire out of his trumpet to incinerate various people, including a group of pimps whom he associates with the inhabitants of the Jahilian brothel in his dream. On a realistic level, the ensuing fires are probably just the result of the rioting that has broken out around him. Jumpy Joshi and Pamela die when the Brickhall Community Relations Council building is torched either by Saladin, or by the police. When Saladin returns to the Shaandaar Café he finds it ablaze as well, and plunges in to try to rescue the Sufyan family, but instead he is rescued by Gibreel. As an ambulance takes the two men away, Gibreel lapses back into madness and dreams the next chapter.

Notes for Chapter VII

Azraeel
Azraeel, or more commonly “Izra’il” is the principal angel of death in Islam (Netton: Text, p. 35).

Page 397

[411]

love, the refractory bird of Meilhac and Halévy’s libretto for Carmen
The first lines of the Habañera in Act I of Georges Bizet’s 1857 opera Carmen are “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle / Que nulle ne peut apprivoiser” (“Love is a rebellious bird which nothing can tame”). The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novel by Prosper Mérimée. Rushdie’s erudition let him down here, however; for the words to the Habañerawere in fact written by Bizet himself (The Lyric Opera Companion, 67).

Khayyám FitzGerald’s adjectiveless Bird of Time (which has but a little way to fly, and lo! is on the Wing)
Edward Fitzgerald’s very loose “translation” of the Rubáiyát by Persian poet Omar Khayyam is a classic of English romantic poetry, and contains these lines in its seventh stanza:

The Bird of Time has but a little way
To flutter–and the Bird is on the wing.

a letter written by Henry James, Sr, to his sons
The passage here quoted comes in fact from Henry James, Sr.’s book, Substance and Shadow (1866), p. 75. It is quoted in William James’ introduction to his father’s writings, collected in the volume entitled The Literary Remains of the Late Henry James (1884) but is not presented by him as a letter. The passage is most readily available in Matthiessen (156). David Windsor points out that Rushdie evidently encountered the passage as the epigraph to José Donoso’s novel, The Obscene Bird of Night where the quotation is (mis-) attributed thus: “Henry James Sr., writing to his sons Henry and William.” This isn’t the only mistake Donoso makes: a comma gets misplaced, and a number of elisions are made as well of the quote that William James uses. But William himself is misquoting his father: in Substance and Shadow the sentences are in a different order, and there’s a bit that William puts in that isn’t there in the original. So Rushdie has to be quoting the misquote (Donoso’s) of the misquote (of William’s) of Henry James. Donoso’s novel tells of a horribly deformed son (called “Boy”) born to an important politician, who sets him up on a remote family estate where, but for one person, all of the people will be “freaks of nature,” so that he will never grow up feeling abnormal. The one “undeformed person” (who is also writing the story of “Boy”) is thus the one “freak” that will further reinforce Boy’s “normality.”

Bright Elusive Butterfly
Bob Lind’s recording of his song “Elusive Butterfly,” was an international hit in 1966. The last line of each stanza is “I chased the bright elusive butterfly of love.”

Skinnerian-android
From B. F. Skinner (b.1904), developer of experimental behavioral psychology, which focusses on responses to stimuli. The B. F. Skinner Foundation.

Page 398

[412]

Othello . . . Shylock
Two Shakespeare characters; the first the Black protagonist of the play by the same name, the second the villainous Jew in The Merchant of Venice. The reference to Othello being worth the entire output of the rest of dramatic literature is a likely nod to Thomas Babington Macaulay’s famous quote that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.”

the Bengali writer, Nirad Chaudhuri
Bengali by birth, writes in English; author of a genial travel book based on his broadcasts for the BBC entitled A Passage to England.

Civis Britannicus sum
I am a British citizen, in Latin to suggest the colonial’s allegiance to the empire.

the Golden Bough
Sir James Frazer’s The Golden Bough, first published in 1890, grew through many editions into a massive survey of world mythologies intended to demonstrate an underlying pattern which he first discerned in the legend of the Priest of Diana at the temple of Nemi, who could only gain that post by slaying his predecessor.

[413]

Goan
Goa is a former Portuguese colony on the southwest coast of India. Indian claimed it from the Portuguese in 1961. Information about Goa.

Page 399

hospitality . . . the Buster Keaton movie of that name
Keaton’s 1923 comedy is actually called Our Hospitality. The hapless Keaton finds he is the guest of a family which has carried on a deadly feud with his own family for generations. As good southerners, their sense of hospitality forbids them from killing him while he is actually in their home, so much of the film consists of their efforts to get him to leave and his frantic efforts to prolong his stay.

Ho Chi Minh to cook in its hotel kitchens?
The future Vietnamese leader did in his youth in fact work in the Carlton Hotel as a dishwasher and cake maker.

huddled-masses
Allusion to the Emma Lazarus verses (entitled “The New Colossus”) on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Text of the poem and background information about it.

are-you-now-have-you-ever-been
Applicants for immigration, among others, are frequently asked to sign forms asking whether they are now or have ever been members of the Nazi or Communist Parties.

Ho Chi Minh
Leader of the communist National Liberation Front during the Vietnam War. The Ho Chi Minh Reference Archive?

McCarran-Walter Act
A law which for decades forbid those with radical political views entry into the United States.

Karl Marx
Marx lived and worked for many years in London.

NatWest tower
Also known as Tower 42, opened 1981 and was then the tallest building in London. From the air the roof looks like the logo of NatWest bank. It has since been overshadowed by a raft of high-rise developments in the City of London.

Zindabad
Long live (Urdu & Farsi), meaning the same thing as “Viva.”

Briefly summarize what Saladin admires about England and what Pamela objects to about it.

Page 401

[415]

Niccolò Machiavelli
Author of Il Principe (The Prince, 1513), a pragmatic and ruthless guide for the Medici, who ruled Florence during the Renaissance. The revisionist view that The Princeis a satire rather than a set of serious proposals has become fashionable in recent years. The Discorsi are The Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius (1513-21). The text of The Prince.

Labyrinth
1986 film directed by Jim Henson and involving Muppet characters of his creation. More information about the film.

[416]

Legend
A 1985 film directed by Ridley Scott in which demons seek to annihilate unicorns. More information about the film.

Howard the Duck
A 1986 satire on superheroes which cost millions because of its special effects but was a spectacular flop at the box office. More information about the film.

Page 402

Not since Dr. Strangelove.
The mad scientist in the film by that name (played by Peter Sellers) has an unruly arm which keeps giving the Nazi salute, and which ends by strangling him. The character is a satire on the way in which the U.S. Army adopted a number of scientists who had worked for the Nazis in developing German rockets so that they could help develop the American missile program. More information on the film.

Stephen Potter’s amusing little books
Potter popularized the concept of One-upmanship in his best-selling book by that title (London: Hart-Davis, 1952) and in several sequels. When one has gained an advantage over someone else one is said to be “one up.” To be at a disadvantage, hence, is to be “one down.”

denied him at least thrice
Alluding to the Apostle Peter’s three-fold denial of Christ (Matthew 26:69-75).

Page 403

[417]

entine, Milligan, and Sellers
Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, and Peter Sellers were the stars of the long-running BBC radio comedy series, The Goon Show. See below, p. 406 [417], “the Goons.”

Page 404

[418]

a short-story
Rushdie claims to have made this story up himself.

[419]

Sunt lacrimae rerum
They are tears for misfortune. From Virgil’s Aeneid, Book 1, line 462 (Latin). (See Verstraete 333.) The John Dryden translation of the Aeneid.

Page 405

[419]

Procrustean bed
In Greek mythology Procrustes laid out travelers on his bed, stretching them until they fit (if they were too short) or cutting off the parts that extended (if they were too tall).

Mutilasians
Pun on mutant (mutilated?) Asians; alluding to the tendency of popular culture to create Asian villains.

[420]

lycanthropy
Werewolves.

‘I Sing the Body Eclectic’
Punning on the title of a poem by Walt Whitman: “I Sing the Body Electric.” Text of Whitman’s poem.

What is the common theme running through this paragraph and the following one?

Page 406

chimera
See above, note to p. 301 [311]. All the following examples are to some extent artificial blends which Saladin judges failures.

the names of the two trees
According to p. 299 [309], they were laburnum and broom.

Esperanto-like vacuity of much modern art
Esperanto is an artificial language designed to be an easy-to-learn international communications medium. Aside from the fact that its roots are entirely European, it has never been very widely adopted and is therefore a failure at communicating, as is much modern art. More about Esperanto.

Coca-Colonization
An expression which uses the spread of Coca-Cola to almost all the corners of the earth as a symbol of the exportation of cheap and tasteless American (or Western) culture.

[421]

‘the Goons’
See Bentine, Milligan, and Sellers above, on p. 403 [421].

Page 407

Shree 420
See note on p. 5 on “My shoes are Japanese.” This film contains some of the most popular of Indian film songs.

Parker-Knoll
The British firm of Parker Knoll makes luxurious modern furniture.

[422]

Why does Saladin’s agent compare him to Dracula?

Page 408

crazed homosexual Irishmen stuffing babies’ mouths with earth
Perhaps alluding to the scandal surrounding the mass grave of babies borne by unwed mothers at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home. Although the full extent of the scandal didn’t emerge until 2014, the first bodies were discovered in 1975. For details, see the Wikipedia article.

‘Why demons, when man himself is a demon?’ the Nobel laureate Singer’s ‘last demon’ asked from his attic in Tishevitz
In Isaac Bashevis’ story “The Last Demon,” he portrays a demon who has been sent to plague an obscure Polish town inhabited entirely by Jews. He finds himself stranded there for eternity when the Nazis destroy the entire population in the Holocaust. Information about Singer at the Nobel Prize site.

man is angelic . . . the Leonardo Cartoon
The Leonardo da Vinci cartoon is a large, elaborate drawing he made for a never completed painting of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus with St. Anne and the infant John the Baptist. Though the children have cherubic smiles, neither one is literally an angel. A reproduction of the cartoon.

Page 410

[424]

Mughlai
In the north Indian Muslim tradition.

pack it in
Shut up.

Discuss Pamela and Jumpy’s differing reactions to Saladin.

Page 411

[425]

Why do you think Jumpy has the same dream that Saladin used to have? (See above, p. 400 [414].)

Page 412

[426] Ascot
Scene of a famous horse race called “the Royal Meeting” attended each June by royalty and nobility, decked out in high fashion.

Page 413

[427] The black man who changed his name to Mr X and sued the News of the World for libel
London tabloids like the sensational News of the World are prone to label someone involved in a scandal and whom they hesitate to name in person “Mr. X” because British libel law restricts publishers much more than it does in the U.S. Black Muslims used to substitute “X” for the family names which their ancestors inherited from their slavemasters. See note above on Bilal X, p. 207 [213].

Brickhall Friends Meeting House
The “Religious Society of Friends,” popularly referred to as “Quakers,” have “meeting houses” instead of churches.

Page 414

[428] the young Stokeley Carmichael
Radical leader of the the U.S. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, later of the Black Power movement; born in Trinidad–another immigrant.

Walcott Roberts
Perhaps named in tribute to the famous Black Caribbean Nobel-Prize-winning poet Derek Walcott.

the World Service
The BBC’s foreign broadcasting service, whose announcers are famed for their cultivated “proper” accents.

Leviathan
Biblical name for a whale or mythical sea monster, associated with apocalyptic prophecies (see, for instance, Isaiah 27:1).

we shall ourselves be changed . . .We have been made again .
Phrases with vaguely religious connotations, the first perhaps alluding to Paul’s comment on resurrection, “We shall all be changed” (I Corinthians 15:51-52) and the second to the Christian concept of being “born again” (that is, saved).

hewers of the dead wood and the gardeners of the new
Reversing the connotations of the phrase “hewers of wood and drawers of water,” which refers in the Bible to slaves (See Joshua 9:21)

Page 415

[429]

Nkosi sikelel’ i Afrika
” God Bless Africa,” Xhosa hymn, used by the Transkei and some other African countries as a national anthem. The first verse was written by Enoch Sontonga in 1897. Often sung at rallies to support South African blacks. Text and recordings of the hymn.

What is it that Saladin objects to about this rally at the end of the full paragraph on this page? What do you think of his objection?

[430]

I Pity the Poor Immigrant
This Bob Dylan song contains such lines as “that man who with his fingers cheats and who lies with every breath” and “who falls in love with wealth itself and turns his back on me.” Complete lyrics. More information about Bob Dylan.

Page 416

[430]

a blazing fire in the center of her forehead
Forecasting the disastrous fire on p. 466 [481].

bun in the oven
Britishism for “pregnant.”

[431]

Mephisto
Brilliant Hungarian film (1981) based on a novel by Klaus Mann.

Page 417

–Who art thou, then?
–Part of that Power, not understood,
Which always wills the Bad, and always works the Good.

The demonic Mephistopheles offers this definition of his role to Faust in Goethe’s play (Part I, lines 1345, 1348-1349), arguing the ambiguity of good and evil. It is also the epigraph of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, The Master and Margarita, which Rushdie has identified as an important inspiration for The Satanic Verses (see below, p. 457 [472], Petersson 288).

Gondwanaland . . . Laurasia
Names assigned by paleogeologists to the early protocontinents which, according to the theory of continental drift, broke apart millions of years to form today’s continents. The theory given here of the origin of the Himalayas is widely accepted. Note that in a sense India itself is an immigrant to South Asia. More information on the theory.

Page 418

Fair Winds
This punning store name alludes to the saying “’tis an ill wind wind that blows nobody good.” Rushdie is not the first to link this saying to wind instruments. It is a common joke among musicians that the oboe is an “ill wind that nobody blows good.”

Ave atque vale
“Hail and farewell;” from Catullus’ Ode 101, line 10. The text of the poem.

phoney peace
Reversing the phrase “phony war” used to label the long pause in the winter of 1939-1940 between Hitler’s conquest of Poland and his invasion of France. Many observers felt that a war which would spread widely was unlikely, and denigrated what they viewed as war hysteria with this term.

Page 421

[435]

Friend!
Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend. The title satirizes the tendency of musicals to shorten the titles of literary works, so that, for instance, the musical version of Dickens’ Oliver Twist became simply Oliver!

Jeremy Bentham
The name of an English pragmatic philosopher (1748-1832), not usually associated with entertainment.

Page 422

[436]

the Stucconia of the Veneerings
The Veneerings are a pretentious newly wealthy couple in Our Mutual Friend. Their name suggests a veneer of elegance above a crass reality. Stucconia is their mansion, whose name suggests a structure built of cheap stucco rather than noble stone.

Gaffer Hexam
A ghoulish figure in the novel who makes his living dragging drowned bodies from the Thames and robbing them.

dry-ice pea-souper
When coal was widely used in London, the city was plagued with notoriously thick smogs which were said to be “as thick as pea soup.” Such a fog is here recreated for the stage with dry ice.

[437]

London Bridge Which Is Of Stone
The first paragraph of Our Mutual Friend introduces Gaffer Hexam as follows:

In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames between Southwark Bridge, which is of iron, and London Bridge, which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in.

Icequeen Cone
The pun on “icecream cone” must have been in Rushdie’s mind much earlier, when he first began referring to her as the “ice queen.”

Page 423

[437]

a Curiosity Shop
Alludes to the title of a Dickens novel: The Old Curiosity Shop.

Page 424

[438]

Ours is a Copious Language
These lines are a verse arrangement of a passage from Our Mutual Friend. Martine Dutheil notes that in the original context “the fatuous Podsnap condescends to a Frenchman who is at pains to make sense of the conversation. Instead of engaging with his questions, Podsnap keeps correcting his pronunciation: : ‘”Our language,’ said Mr. Podsnap, with a gracious consciousness of always being right, “is Difficult. Ours is a Copious language, and Trying to Strangers. I will not Pursue my Questions.”‘” Clearly Rushdie is plucking a passage about British insularity in regard to foreigners out of this very English novel (Dutheil 77).

Rex-Harrisonian speech-song
The brilliant actor Rex Harrison was no singer, but he developed his own manner of talking his way through songs when he starred as Professor Higgins in the musical My Fair Lady.

mongoose to her cobra
Mongeese are valued in India for their ability to attack and kill deadly cobras unscathed.

[439]

What follows is tragedy.
Margareta Petersson suggests that this passage echoes a similar passage in Apuleius’ Golden Ass: “Readers are warned that what follows is tragedy not comedy, and that they must read it in a suitably grave frame of mind” (Apuleius 239, Petersson 334).

in which clowns re-enact what was first done by heroes and by kings
Alludes to the opening lines of ” The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” by Karl Marx: “Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.”

Page 425

[440]

mutton dressed as lamb
An older woman dressed to look younger.

Page 426

[441]

neo-Procrustean
See above, note on Procrustean bed, for p. 405 [419].

Page 427

altered states
Allusion to the title of the 1980 film in which the main character is transmuted into a violent beast.

[442]

intentionalist fallacy
In literary criticism, the phrase “intentional fallacy” refers to the view that a work’s meaning should be judged by its author’s intentions. A short definition.

Page 428

[443] I follow him to serve my turn upon him
A quotation from the villainous Iago in Act I, Scene 1, line 42 of Shakespeare’s Othello, explaining that the former serves the latter only so he can work his revenge upon him.

Page 429

Fury-haunted
The bird-women who punished those who commmitted certain crimes; their most noted victim was Orestes.

[444]

Oresteian imagination
Orestes returned from exile to kill his mother and her lover for betraying and murdering his father, dramatized in Aeschylus’ The Eumenides. A translation of the play.

quixotic
Like that of the very vulnerable would-be knight, Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

Shabash, mubarak
Well done, congratulations (Urdu & Persian).

Page 430

That is no lady
Variation on the old joke: “Who was that lady I saw you with last night?” “That was no lady; that was my wife!”

What effect does Saladin’s revelation about his wife’s pregnancy have on Gibreel?

[445]

that bridge Which Is Of Iron
See note, above, on p. 422 [437] on London Bridge Which Is Of Stone.

Page 431

[446]

Hadrian’s Wall
A wall built to defend Roman Britain from invading northern tribes.

the old elopers’ haven Gretna Green
Gretna Green used to be famous throughout England as the first town across the border in Scotland in which one could be married without the delays required elsewhere; hence it was a popular destination for eloping couples.

Lockerbie
Scottish town, seemingly mentioned at random, but by coincidence the site several months after the novel was published of the Pan Am 103 explosion (see above, p. 4).

Page 432

[447]

character isn’t destiny any more
The saying “character is destiny” is attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus.

Discuss the disagreement between Allie and her mother over modern history.

Page 433

Persepolis
The ancient capital of Persia (modern Iran). Black and white photographs of Persepolis.

[448]

woz ear
Cockney version of “was here.”

Page 434

[449]

bas
Hindi for “enough” used as a command or exclamation.

some rakshasa kind of demon
The Rakashas (Sanskrit), ruled over by Ravana, have the power to change their shape into those of animals and monsters.

bilkul
Completely (Hindi).

Page 435

Captain Ahab
The obsessed captain who hunts Moby Dick in Herman Melville’s novel and is ultimately destroyed by the great white whale. The text of the novel.

trimmer Ishmael
Ishmael is the narrator of Moby Dick, and is the sole survivor of the shipwreck which ends Ahab’s quest. A “trimmer” is one who refuses to take sides, who trims his sails to suit the winds of popular opinion.

[450]

the Grand Panjandrum
A pompous official, from a 1755 story by Samuel Foote.

Page 438

[453]

bhai-bhai!
Brother and brother (Hindi).

Page 439

a Crusoe-city marooned on the island of its past, and trying, with the help of a Man-Friday underclasss, to keep up appearances
In Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe the shipwrecked mariner tries to recreate his civilization in miniature, using as his servant the marooned native he calls “Friday.” The British are now marooned on their own island home, and the natives of their former colonies have come to live and work, often at menial jobs. The Defoe novel is a favorite object of allusions by postcolonial anglophone writers. The text of the novel.

[454]

Covent Garden
Formerly a famous outdoor produce market, now specializing in handicrafts and souvenirs. History of Covent Garden.

yoni
Vagina (Sanskrit). The traditional female counterpart to the male lingam(see below, p. 517 [531]).

Potemkin
Sergei Eisenstein’s revolutionary 1925 film, The Battleship Potemkin about the 1905 Russian revolution, highly innovative and widely admired.

Kane
Orson Welles‘ Citizen Kane (1941), also much admired for its innovative camera techniques.

Otto e Mezzo
The original Italian title of 8 1/2, the autobiographical film by Federico Fellini (1863). More about the film.

The Seven Samurai
Akira Kurosawa’s influential 1954 film.

Alphaville
See above, p. 4.

El Angel Exterminador
Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel (1962). Note that each of these films was made by a director from a different country.

Page 440

Mother India
A spectacular 1957 film about rural poverty directed by Mehboob Khan. Rushdie says of the film that it was

the big attempt to make a kind of Gone With the Wind myth of the nation, and took the biggest movie star in India at the time, Nargis, and asked her, basically, to impersonate the nation. And the nation was invented a village woman who triumphed over horrible hardships. At the beginning of the film, she has two children, and her husband is working in the fields and a boulder rolls down the hillside and crushes his hands. And she is required, therefore, to take over the male role, to run the family, to work in the fields and so on, and there is the usual run of wicked land owners. She has a good son and a bad son. There is quite an interestingly suppressed incest theme. Some of this crops up in The Moor’s Last Sigh. Anyway, the point about Mother India is that it had a success on a scale that is almost unimaginable. It became a sort of gigantic event in the history of the country, and it did become a kind of nation-building.

Rushdie goes on to comment on Nargis’ later career:

. . . after she played Mother India it’s as if she couldn’t get rid of the part. She had been so stamped with that part that not only was it difficult for other people to see her differently, it became difficult for her to see herself differently. So she started pontificating, and there’s an extraordinary passage which is recorded in the biography of Satyajit Ray, in which Nargis lays into him and says that his films are terrible, because they are anti-nationalist. And the reason they are anti-nationalist is because they show “negative aspects” of India. Whereas she, in her films, always tried to concentrate on the positive aspects. I think this passage is very illuminating. It indicates how Ray was never really popular in India, and the way in which the people who had been involved in Bombay cinema’s sentimentalisation of the national ideal were actually quite hostile to that kind of art cinema–they thought it was negative.

Rushdie: “Interview,” pp. 53-54.

Mr India
A science-fictional 1987 thriller directed by Shekhar Kapoor, starring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Amrish Puri.

Shree Charsawbees
Shree 420 (Hindi). See note on p. 5 on “My shoes are Japanese.”

Ray
Satyajit Ray, director of The World of Apu and other fine Indian films not widely appreciated in his homeland. See Rushdie’s “Homage to Satyajit Ray.” Information on Satyajit Ray.

Mrinal Sen
A Bengali filmmaker whose 1969 feature Bhuvan Shome was widely viewed as harbinger of a “new cinema movement,” featuring low-budget, serious films.

Aravindan
Art film director from Kerala.

Ghatak
Ritwik Ghatak is a distinguished Bengali director.

aubergines
Eggplants.

sikh kababs
Skewered roasted meat.

seth
Member of a subcaste of businessmen stereotyped as greedy.

Page 441

[456]

Strindberg
August Strindberg, Swedish playwright (1849-1912). More on Strindberg.

Page 442
Harriet Bosse
Married to the notoriously jealous and misogynistic Strindberg 1901-1904.

Dream
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Cliff Richard
Hugely popular British pop star of English ancestry, but born in India. See Nazareth, p. 170.

Page 443

[458]

How does the anonymous caller know the intimate details of Allie’s body and preferences in lovemaking?

Page 444

[459]

something demonic
Suggesting that these, too, are Satanic verses.

Page 446

[460]

Knickernacker
“Knickers” are panties and a “knacker” is a person who slaughters worn-out horses to sell them for dog food; so this invented word has an aggressive sexual connotation.

Page 447

[462] Glory of the Coming of the Lord
Allusion to the apocalyptic opening line of Julia Ward Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord./He has trampled out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” (These lines allude to a passage at the beginning of Isaiah 5 in which God’s coming judgment is compared to the crushing of grapes.)

Fleet-Street diarists
Popular newspaper columnists. Most London newspapers used to have their offices on Fleet Street.

Page 448

[463]

trumpet Azraeel
The legendary trumpet to be blown by the archangel Gabriel at the end of the world.

Page 449

[464]

It appeared that Dr Simba . . .
This account satirizes the tradition of police murdering radical captives in prison, then claiming they died either through highly improbable accidents or by committing suicide.

Why do you suppose that Rushdie has chosen to have Gibreel go on his apocalytpic mission just as the reaction to this incident breaks out? How are the two actions connected with each other?

Page 450

[465]

John Kingsley Read
Leader of the neo-Fascist National Party, Read was tried in 1978 under the 1965 race relations act for incitement to racial hatred when he reacted to the murder of a young Southall Asian boy by saying “one down, a million to go.” A sensation was created when the judge at his trial instructed the jury to find him innocent. A motion calling for the judge’s removal from the bench was signed by 100 Labor Party members (See “Judge Defends Racial Slurs”). Rushdie first referred in print to this episode in his essay ” The New Empire within Britain” in 1982.

rainbow press
Red refers to the red color of many tabloid papers’ mastheads (hence called “redtops”), yellow for “yellow journalism,” blue alluding to “blue movies” (dated slang for pornographic films, and thus to the papers’ emphasis on sex scandals. Green, jealousy perhaps, or maybe referring to green as synonymous with being ill.

Qazhafi
One of several possible spellings in English of the name of Libya’s former ruler, Muammar Khaddafi.

Khomeni
The Ayatollah is here alluded to by name, a fact ignored by most of those who have discussed the Rushdie controversy. See “ Freethought Traditions in the Islamic World” for a discussion of this topic.

Louis Farrakhan
The vituperative Black supremacist American leader. All three of these figures are the sort of extremists that the “moderate” press would call on a radical to repudiate.

[466]

Inspector Kinch
The name is probably an allusion to the nickname of Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce‘s Ulysses. On p. 455 [470] we learn that his first name is Stephen.

Page 453

[468]

Crowds began to gather
The riots which follow are based on the black riots in several British cities in 1980-1981 and 1985. See Solomos, pp. 175-233.

Page 454

[469]

testudo
A military formation invented by the ancient Romans, in which a mass of men covered themselves with their shields to form a solid roof, resembling a turtle (Latin testudo).

Page 455

[470]

pint
Pint of bitters=beer.

not by a long chalk
Americans say instead, “not by a long shot.”

Page 456

[471]

Billy the Kid, Ned Kelly
See note for p. 262 [272]. All of the outlaws mentioned in this passage had something of a reputation as popular heroes.

Butch Cassidy
Founder with Harry Longbaugh (“the Sundance Kid”) of the Wild Bunch, which robbed banks and trains in the 1890s in the Rocky Mountains. More on Butch Cassidy. More on the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

James brothers
Jesse and Frank James robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains in the decades following the Civil War. More about Jesse James.

Captain Moonlight
In the nineteenth century this term referred to rural gangs that often robbed and burned English farms in Ireland. They were popularly regarded as resistance fighters, and thus this reference is much more closely related to anticolonialism than the others. “Captain Moonlight” is also included by James Joyce in the “Cyclops” chapter of Ulysses in a long list of famous heroes and heroines (Comerford, p. 45).

Kelly gang
The gang led by Australian Ned Kelly (see above, p. 263 [272]).

Page 457

[472]

Gibreel who walks down the streets of London, trying to understand the will of god.
Rushdie provides his own comment on the scene which follows:

It should . . . be said that the two books that were most influential on the shape this novel took do not include the Qur’an. One was William Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the classic meditation on the interpenetration of good and evil; the other The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, the great Russian lyrical and comical novel, in which the Devil descends upon Moscow and wreaks havoc upon the corrupt, materialist, decadent inhabitants and turns out, by the end, not to be such a bad chap after all.”

(“In Good Faith” 403). See Radha Balasubramanian, “The Similarities between Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita and Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.”

Page 458

[473]

what is to be done?
Title of a number of important Russian works, most famously a 1902 pamphlet by Lenin about the organization of revolution. Like Lenin, Gibreel is contemplating his own violent plan for redemption (Kuortti).

twinkling Irish host
Most likely Terry Wogan, avery popular talk show host in UK in 1980s-90s.

Page 459

[474]

Airstrip One
The name George Orwell gave England in his nightmarish novel, Nineteen-Eighty-Four.Information about George Orwell.

Mahagonny
Brecht and Weill’s decadent American city, see above, p. 3.

Alphaville
See above, p. 4.

Babylondon
Babylon crossed with London; see above, p. 4.

[475]

Queen Boudicca
Queen of the English tribe the Iceni; led a revolt against the Romans in Britain and sacked several cities, including London. More often spelled Boadicea. Refers to the legend that Boudicca lies buried beneath the platforms of King’s Cross station.

Goodsway
King’s Cross in the 1980s was a well-known red light area area (since cleaned up considerably).

Page 460

[475]

pussies-galore
Prostitutes, but alluding to character of that name played by Honor Blackman in the James Bond film Goldfinger.

Who do you say that I am?
Jesus’ query to his disciples in Mark 8:29. Compare with the refrain, “What kind of an idea are you?”

Page 461

[476]

genie of the lamp
The spirit that inhabited Aladdin’s lamp in The Thousand and One Nights.

the Roc
See above, note on p. 117 [119].

‘Isandhlwana’, ‘Rorke’s Drift’
On January 22, 1879, the Zulus attacked and annihilated a British force in the South African village of Isandhlwana inflicting one of the greatest defeats on Britain in modern history. Later that same day, 4,000 Zulus who had failed to arrive in time for the first battle turned on the nearby mission station of Rorke’s Drift and assailed it in waves in a battle that lasted for many hours. The heroic defense of the station by a handful of British troops is celebrated in the 1964 film Zulu (featuring, among others, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi as his own ancestor), which probably brought the battle to Rushdie’s attention. The film is interesting as a post-colonial document since it portrays the Zulus (definitely “worthy enemies”) as almost unimaginably brave and extremely intelligent, their defeat being made possible only by the fact that they had few rifles. But Rushdie’s white residents have chosen these names for their apartment buildings as symbols of white resistance to black encroachment. The 1979 film Zulu Dawn depicts the battle of Isandhlwana. Compare with American “Remember the Alamo!” Account of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift. Anglo Zulu War Historical Society

Mandela
Nelson Mandela, long-imprisoned member of the African National Party of South Africa, symbol of resistance to apartheid. Mandela’s freedom and election to the presidency occurred after the publication of the novel.

Toussaint l’Ouverture
Black leader of the successful Haitian revolution during the French Revolution. More information about Toussaint l’Ouverture.

Page 462

[477]

chimeras
See above, p. 406 [420].

a river the colour of blood
Fulfilling Enoch Powell’s prophecy, cited earlier, Chapter 3, p. 462 [477].

Page 463

[478]

there he blows!
The traditional cry of the whaler upon spotting a spouting whale–“There she blows!” is here punningly used to refer to the blowing of the apocalyptic last trumpet. Gayatri Spivak notes that Gibreel’s patronymic, Ismail Najmuddin, contains a reference to the Biblical figure called “Ishamel,” which is also the name of the narrator of Moby Dick (47).

Page 464

[479]

‘most horrid, malicious, bloody flames’
From Samuel Pepys’ description of the Great Fire of London, September 2, 1666: “When we could endure no more upon the water, we to a little alehouse on the Bankside over against the Three Cranes, and there stayed till it was dark almost and saw the fire grow; and as it grow darker, appered more and more, and in Corners and upon steeples and between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the City, in a most horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flame of an ordinary fire” (Pepys).

Why is the style of the Communications Relations Council significant?

own goal
In soccer (English “football”), when a player inadvertantly puts the ball into his own team’s goal. The police are suggesting that the victims have blown themselves up by accident in trying to carry out a terrorist bombing.

Page 465

What do the narrator’s questions imply about the fire at the CRC?

Page 466

[481]

‘I look down towards his feet,’ Othello said of Iago, ‘but that’s a fable.’
Shakespeare: Othello V:ii:286. Othello says this just after learning that he has been tricked into jealously killing his wife by the villainous Iago. He means that he thinks Iago must be a devil, so he looks at his feet to see whether he has demonic cloven hooves. But he dismisses this test for a grimmer one when in the next line he says “If that thou be’st a devil, I cannot kill thee,” and stabs him shortly before killing himself.

Page 468

[483]

like the red sea
See above, p. 236 [242], and the next chapter, “The Parting of the Arabian Sea.”

fire . . . smoke
The fleeing Hebrews were led by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day (Exodus 13: 21-22). Compare to the Hijab in the preceeding chapter. See note above, on p. 376 [388].

Page 469

[484]

The Ten Commandments
The 1956 film uses spectacular special effects to depict the flight of the Hebrews from Egypt, including the parting of the Red Sea and the death of all the first-born Egyptian children. Gibreel is beginning the dream constituted by the next chapter.

Next chapter
Back to Table of Contents

Chapter V: A City Visible but Unseen

February 15, 2017 elizabeth.wasson

Plot outline for Chapter V

Back in contemporary London, the guilt-ridden Jumpy Joshi takes the goatlike Saladin Chamcha back to his apartment above the Shaandaar Café, dominated by Hind, the wife of Muhammad Sufyan. (The name of the cafe means something like “splendid” or “glorious.”) This Hind is not as lascivious as the one in the “satanic verses” plot, but she is almost as fierce. She has two teenaged daughters–Mishal and Anahita–who will become fascinated with the strange man/devil that Saladin has become. We pause in the plot to learn more about the family and its interrelationships. Hind muses on the disgusting weirdness that is London.

A dream provides details of Saladin’s escape from the “hospital.” He phones his old work partner, Mimi Mamoulian, only to find that he has lost his job. He briefly encounters the name of Billy Battuta, who will figure prominently in the novel later. His old boss, Hal Valance, explains why his television series has been cancelled. He is enraged to learn that Gibreel is alive, and–far from helping him out in any way–is claiming he missed Flight 420 and seems to be engaged into making his “satanic verses” dreams into a movie. Meanwhile his wife has become pregnant by Jumpy. Everything seems to be conspiring against Saladin; and, battered into submission by fate, he loses his supernatural qualities after a visit to the bizarre Hot Wax nightclub. A subplot involves a series of gruesome murders of old women for which the black militant leader Uhuru Simba is arrested.

The next section returns to the story of Allie Cone, detailing her childhood and young adulthood. Her reunion was Gibreel is passionate, but it will be spoiled by his insane jealousy. Again haunted by Rekha Merchant, a deranged Gibreel tries to confront London in his angelic persona, but he is instead knocked down by the car of film producer S. S. Sisodia, who returns him to Allie and signs him up to make a series of films as the archangel of his dreams. Again he tries to leave Allie, but a riot during a public appearance lands him back again, defeated, at Allie’s doorstep. At the end of the chapter we learn that a most uncharacteristic heat wave has broken out in London.

Notes to Chapter V

Page 241

[249]

A City Visible but Unseen

Rushdie says of this chapter title:

it seemed to me at that point that [the London Indian community] really was unseen. It was there and nobody knew it was there. And I was very struck by how often, when one would talk to white English people about what was going on, you could actually take them to these streets and point to these phenomena, and they would somehow still reject this information.

Rushdie: “Interview,” p. 68.

Page 243

[251] Once I’m an owl
A quotation from Apuleius’ The Golden Ass, Book III, Chapter 16 in which the main character, trying to persuade a sorceress to transform him into an owl seeks reassurance that he can resume his own shape. He is instead changed into an ass, and can only be changed back into his human form again by praying to the goddess Isis.

hajis
People who have gone on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca (Arabic). See above, note on p. 235 [242].

VCR addicts
Rushdie, like many Indians and Pakistanis calls videotapes “VCRs” instead of “videos.” Videotapes of Indian films, particularly musicals, were a staple of emigre entertainment.

in Dhaka . . . when Bangladesh was merely an East Wing
Before it seceded in the bloody war of 1971, the territory now known as Bangladesh constituted the isolated East Wing of Pakistan. Its capital is more commonly spelled “Dacca.” Information about Bangladesh.

Why does Mr. Sufyan refer to himself as an emigrant rather than as an immigrant?

Lucius Apuleius of Madaura
Author of the famous Latin 2nd century satirical classic, The Golden Ass. Apuleius was in fact not from Morocco (Verstraete 328-329). See above, note on p. 243 [251].

Page 244

[252]

satyrs
Proverbially lustful half-men, half goats.

Isis
Originally an Egyptian fertility goddess, she had been transformed in Apuleius’ time into the center of a mystery cult and was usually called “Sarapis.” The story of Apuleius’ transformation by Isis.

begum sahiba
Honored wife/lady (Hindi, Urdu).

[253]

Wing Chun
The name of a Chinese Kung Fu style associated with a woman named Yim Wing Chun. It is traditionally considered a woman’s form of fighting though it is very popular among men as well.

Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (1940-1973) was the star of many kung fu movies. Note how cross-cultural this reference is: an Indian immigrant emulating a Chinese hero using the skills taught her by an Indian instructor. Lee himself was an immigrant, having been born in San Francisco, moved to Hong Kong, educated at the University of Washington and moved back to the U.S. His early death stimulated a cult surrounding his memory which is reflected in the girls’ pajamas. More information about Bruce Lee.

Page 245

the new Madonna
The singer Madonna Louise Veronica Cicone, born 1958.

the Perfumed Garden
A title for Heaven: orig. Gulistan.

[254]

Bibhutibhushan Banerji
Distinguished author of the Apu Trilogy, memorably made into films by Satyajit Ray (see below, p. 440 [454]).

Tagore
See above, note on. p. 228 [235].

Rig-Veda
One of the oldest Sanskrit Hindu devotional texts. Excerpts: Creation hymn from the Rig Veda.

Quran-Sharif
The Noble Qur’an. See Mecca sharif, above, p. 235 [242].

military accounts of Julius Caesar
Caesar’s De Bello Gallico (Gallic Wars) are an account of his own campaigns in what is now France and Germany, and were the beginning text for generations of Latin students.

Revelations of St. John the Divine
The apocalyptic last book of the Christian Bible.

Page 246

dosas
Lentil crepes (Hindi). Also called “dosais.”

uttapams
Thick pancakes of lentil and rice flours containing onions and chilies.

tola
A very small unit of weight: .41 ounces or 11.677 grams (Hindi).

Page 248

[256]

Yukè
A pun on U.K. (United Kingdom) and some other word?

Gitanjali
A book of Bengali songs by Tagore (see above, p. 228 [235]), published in 1914?

Eclogues
Poems idealizing country life, by the Roman 1st century BC poet, Virgil. Translation of the Eclogues.

Othello
Shakespeare’s play, named after the Moor who is its leading character. The text of the play.

[257]

chaat
Narrowly, a combination of diced fruit and vegetables in a hot and sour dressing, sometimes including meat or shrimp; more broadly, any sort of snack food. Chaat recipes.

gulab jamans
Fried cheese pastry balls soaked in syrup, a classic Indian sweet, more often spelled “gulab jamun.”

Jalebis
See above, note on p. 184 [190].

Page 249

barfi
See above, note on p. 184 [190].

Page 250

[258]

genuine McCoy
The usual expression is “the real McCoy,” said of anything genuine and derived from the whiskey smuggled into the U.S. during Prohibition by Captain Bill McCoy.

sharif
See note on London shareef above, p. 156 [160].

haramzadi
Female bastard.

girls killed for dowry
In recent years there has been widespread publicity about cases in which young brides were killed because their families did not deliver large enough doweries. Some Indians consider the phenomenon rare and unduly exaggerated in the press, but others maintain it is a serious problem. Articles from Journal of South Asia Women Studies:
Enrica Garzilli: “Stridhana: To Have and To Have Not”.
Himendra B. Thakur: Practical Steps Towards Saving the Lives of 25,000 Potential Victims Of Dowry and Bride-burning in India in the Next Four Years.
Subhadra Chaturvedi: “Whether Inheritance to Women is a Viable Solution of Dowry Problem in India?”.

Page 251

[259]

accepted the notion of mutation in extremis
Citing an obscure passage in Charles Darwin’s writings which would lead him to agree in at least some cases with his opponent Lamarck (see above, p. 5[6]).

What is the point of Sufyan’s musings of Darwin?

Page 252

[260]

Omens, shinings, ghoulies, nightmares on Elm Street
These refer to horror film titles (The Omen[1976], The Shining [1980)], Ghoulies [1985] and Nightmare on Elm Street [1984] and its sequels).

Der Steppenwolf
This 1927 novel by Hermann Hesse, first translated into English in 1965 has been a favorite of mystics and bohemians.

[261]

unauthorized intra-vaginal inspections
Carried out by immigration officials in Britain, looking for smuggled contraband.

Depo-Provera scandals
In 1973 it was revealed in Congressional hearings that numerous poor African-American women had been injected with the experimental contraceptive Depo-Provera despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration had not approved its use, citing concerns about possible side-effects, including cancer. The women were not warned that there was any risk. The drug was approved for use in Great Britain and in many poor countries. Its advocates argued that this simple-to-use contraceptive which could be injected once every three months was ideal for controlling the population explosion among poor, uneducated women. This argument was widely viewed as racist.
Details about Depo-Provera.

unauthorized post-partum sterilizations
Instances of sterilizing minority women without their permission immediately after they had given birth are well documented.
Beth Cooper Benajamin: “Sterilization Abuse: A Brief History”.

Third World drug-dumping
Medicines considered unsafe in their own countries are exported from the industrialized nations to poorer countries where they are freely sold.

Page 253

p
Pence, penny, cent.

yakhni
A kind of spicy stew. Recipe for yakhni pulau.

[262]

the complex unpredictability of tabla improvisations
Performances on the classical Indian drum involve improvisations based on extremely complex rhythms. Introduction to Indian drum rythms, including audio demonstration MIDI format.

Page 254

[262]

Jahannum
The Muslim Hell.

Gehenna
The Jewish Hell.

Muspellheim
The Norse Hell.

juggernauts
Though the word now means any unstoppable monstrous thing, the name has Indian origins, being the cart bearing the image of Lord Jagannath, an incarnation of Krishna, beneath whose wheels fervent worshippers used to throw themselves to be crushed to death. By extension, any large, unstoppable movement or thing. More information on Lord Jagannath.

Page 255

[264]

Hubshees
Blacks.

Page 256

bloody but unbowed
From William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus” (1888):

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud:
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

(lines 5-8).
More information about Henley and the full text of the poem.

What sorts of thoughts are troubling Saladin?

Page 258

[267]

masala dosa
Spicy stuffed pancakes made of lentil flour. Recipe for Masala Dosa. See also dosai.

bangers
Traditional British breakfast sausage.

Page 259

Bangladesh
Seceded in a bloody war from Pakistan in 1971. See above, p. 243 [251].

as the pips went
In the British telephone system, when one is phoning from a pay phone and the time paid for in advance expires, a number of warning beeps (“pips”) are sounded to alert the user to insert more coins or be cut off.

the man doing find-the-lady
The classic card trick better known as “three card Monte.” Details.

Page 260

[269]

Battuta’s Travels
Ibn Battuta was a Medieval Muslim traveler to Asia and Africa whose wanderings took him much farther afield than Europe’s Marco Polo. More about the travels of Ibn Battuta.

Page 261

love of brown sugar
White men’s erotic attraction toward brown-skinned women, seen as exotic.

[270] Yassir Arafat meets the Begins
An unlikely meeting at the time this novel was written: Arafat was leader of the Palestinian Liberation Front, devoted foes of Menachem Begin, former Premier of Israel, intransigently opposed to the Palestinians.

Finnegan’s Wake
James Joyce‘s last novel, written in a densely punning dialect of his own creation, drawing on many mythologies. Joyce’s fondness for puns and other wordplay is clearly influential on Rushdie’s style.

Flatland
Refers to Edwin Abbott’s geometrical fantasy novel: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884), which depicts a two-dimensional world.

Page 262

she was still protesting too much
When Hamlet has a group of traveling actors portray a scene rather like he murder of his father, the Queen comments on the protestations of loyalty expressed by the wife in the play, ironically (and revealingly): “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” (Act III, scene 2, l. 221).

Vinod Khanna
Vinod Khanna, muscular Bollywood action hero, born 1947. A list of his films., Mentioned again on p. 350 [361].

Sri Devi
Female Indian movie star. More about Sridevi.

Bradford
A city with a large Muslim population. It was here that The Satanic Verses was burned by protesters in one of the seminal acts of the “Rushdie affair.” More about Bradford from the point of view of the city government.

Page 263

[272]

Dick Turpin
Famous British highwayman. Information about Dick Turpin.

Ned Kelly
Famous Australian outlaw. More on Ned Kelly.

Phoolan Devi
A woman bandit-leader who, after years of violence and 23 murders, was much romanticized in the Indian press; but when she surrendered to the police, she was revealed to be more militant and less glamorous than had been supposed. A film based on her life, entitled Bandit Queen, was made by Shekhar Kapoor, over her vehement objections. She ran unsuccessfully for office in 1991 and successfully in 1996. She was assassinated in 2001.

William Bonney
American outlaw, Billy the Kid. More information on the outlaw.

also a Kid
Baby goats are called kids too, of course.

bob’s your uncle.
A common British expression of uncertain derivation used at the end of a list meaning something like “and there you are.”

This place makes a packet, dunnit?
This place makes a bundle, doesn’t it?

Page 264

[273]

La lutte continue
“The struggle continues:” slogan of several revolutionary movements.

Hal Valance
A valance is a decorative flounce over a window which performs no particular function but looks pretty. The name indicates Hal’s superficial and useless contributions to the world as an advertising executive: mere window-dressing. A catalog of Valances.

Page 265

[274]

advice given by Deep Throat to Bob Woodward: Follow the money
“Deep Throat” (referring to the notorious pornographic film by that name) was the code name assigned to the main informant of the Washington Postreporters who uncovered much of the Watergate scandal by tracking the handling of money used by Nixon’s staff to buy silence. The part was played in the film version by Hal Holbrook. The Bob Woodward/Carl Bernstein book on the scandal, and the movie based on it, was called All the President’s Men. More information on the movie.

wasted
Excessively thin.

Page 266

White Tower
A fashionable Franco-Greek restaurant at 1 Percy Street in London’s West End. Details about The White Tower.

Orson Welles
The famous actor/director who became enormously fat in later years.

Maurice Chevalier
French musical performer and actor in both French and American films.

[275]

Mrs Torture
A satire on Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Commentators have noted that it is ironic that after Rushdie far more pointedly satirized British racism than Muhammad’s preaching it was the British government which protected him from Islamic extremists.

midatlantic-accented
An accent calculated to be neither precisely British nor precisely American, but somewhere in between.

Mary Wells
Mary Wells made her reputation in advertising in 1965 by creating a highly-successful image makeover for Braniff Airlines which involved painting its airplanes in seven different colors (yellow, orange, turquoise, beige, ochre and two shades of blue–but not pink). See “Braniff Refuels on Razzle-Dazzle,” p. 110. For more on Wells’ campaign see Loomis 114-117.

David Ogilvy for his eyepatch
In the sixties the David Ogilvy agency (for which Rushdie briefly worked) created a highly successful advertising campaign promoting Hathaway shirts worn by a male model with a black patch over one eye.

Jerry della Femina
When della Femina was asked by executives at the Bates advertising agency to suggest ideas for an ad campaign for Panasonic he jokingly suggested “From those wonderful folks who gave you Pearl Harbor.” He thought highly enough of this anti-Asian crack to make it the title of his 1970 volume of humorous reflections on the ad business (della Femina 103). Since the slogan was never really a part of della Femina’s “work” in advertising, one may assume that Rushdie is recalling it for its xenophobic thrust.

bums
American “asses.”

Valance in the Blofeld role and 007 nowhere on the scene
Refers to a James Bond villain. Information on Blofield.

Page 267

[276]

Dr Uhuru Simba
Ironically combines the Swahili slogan “Uhuru!” (freedom) with a word for “lion” associated with Tarzan films.

Brown Uncle Tom
A complex reference to the legendarily submissive slave in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Thomas Hughes’ Tom Brown’s School Days (1857) set at Rugby, the British public (private) school which Rushdie himself attended. Rugby School page. See also below, p. 292 [301].

Page 268

Teuton
German.

quiff
A tuft of hair standing up in front.

Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian-born body-builder and action-movie star. Another immigrant. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s home page.

quantel
A computer-imaging firm. The new figure is a latex model whose image is computer processed. The Quantel home page.

Rutger Hauer
This Dutch-born actor played the menacing Roy Batty in Blade Runner. Pictures of Roy Batty.

shiksa
Insulting Yiddish term for a gentile woman. Often spelled shikse.

How have the Black protests against the Aliens Show backfired?

Page 269

[278]

rosbif, boudin Yorkshire, choux de bruxelles
Ironically French labels for typically boring English foods: roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, brussels sprouts.

nymphet
Term invented by Vladimir Nabakov in Lolita to describe a highly attractive preadolescent girl. Study guide for Lolita.

Page 270

[279]

like a goat to the slaughter
The usual phrase is “like a lamb to the slaughter,” from Isaiah 53:7 or “as a lamb to the slaughter” from Jeremiah 53:7.

Page 271

Tini bénché achén! . . . Farishta bénché achén
He’s alive. Farishta (Gibreel) is alive.

Ciné-Blitz
See above, note on Blitz, p. 13.

[280]

michelins sticking out between her sari and her choli
See above, p. 60. Traditional Indian dress for women includes a short bodice called a choli which leaves some bare flesh below the breasts and above the waist.

Lambrakis . . . Z
Dr. Gregory Lambrakis was a popular leftist parliamentary deputy in the Greek government who was assassinated on May 22, 1963 in a plot by extreme right terrorists (who eventually seized power in 1967 and began a reign of repression and terror). He was widely viewed as a martyr, and protestors wrote the letter “Z” on walls, meaning zei, “he lives.” His story was told in a novel entitled Z by Vassilis Vassilikos in 1966; and the novel was in turn made into a major film by Constantine Costa Gavras in 1969. Interview with the director.

Page 272

Billy Battuta
See note above, p. 260 on Battuta’s travels.

[281]

The Message
A reverent but inept 1976 film, originally released as Al-Risalah (English, Mohammed, the Messenger of God, ) depicting the life of Muhammad, fiercely attacked by devout Muslims, who object to any pictorial depiction of the Prophet. As Rushdie notes, the film avoided ever actually putting the Prophet on the screen. This passage clearly reflects Rushdie’s consciousness that the story he was about to tell would strike some as blasphemous.

Page 273
Why is Saladin so furious with Gibreel?

Page 274

[283] Struwelpeter
Struwwelpeter (the usual spelling) is a wildly naughty boy who features in verse stories by nineteenth-century German children’s author Heinrich Hoffmann. Mimi has presumably taken on the name as a joke. Struwwelpeter stories.

Page 275

It was so, it was not
A standard opening phrase in Indian fantastic stories, often used by Rushdie; equivalent in function to the European “Once upon a time” but emphasizing the equivocal nature of the narrative it introduces.

[284]

baggy salwar pantaloons
Typically voluminous women’s trousers.

bottled djinn
This pun on the Arabic word for “genie” and “gin” (both found in bottles) is also repeatedly used in Midnight’s Children.

Elephant Man illness
Neurofibromatosis, from the circus name of its most famous victim, Joseph Carey (John) Merrick (1862-1850). A 1974 play about Merrick called The Elephant Man was produced in 1979, and a movie by the same title appeared in 1980. Teacher’s guide to The Elephant Man. Information on the film.

Page 276

Big Eid
Muslim holiday commemorating Abraham’s near-sacrifice of Ishmael (in Jewish and Christian traditions, Isaac), called “big” to distinguish it from the “little” Eid which ends Ramadan. Information about Big Eid.

[285]

mullah
In Islam, the spiritual head of a mosque.

Lucretius . . . Ovid
In a passage from De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things, Book V, lines 670-671) (See Verstraete 231-232). the first century BC philosopher poet Lucretius suggests that life may have evolved. His contemporary Ovid’s Metamorphoses retell the classic Greco-Roman myths focusing on the magical transformations that people and gods undergo into new forms. The passage quoted is from Book 15, lines 169-172 (Verstraaete 331). Book V of De Rerum Natura.

Page 277

[286]

cuckold’s horns
In the Renaissance and later cuckolds–men whose wives are unfaithful to them–were said to wear horns.

passionate intensity
Alludes to Yeats’ 1920 poem “The Second Coming,” lines 6-8:

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Page 278

pot and kettle
An old expression applied to those who criticize people when they are guilty of the same fault to a greater degree compares them to a pot calling a kettle black.

mote and beam
In Matthew 7:3 Jesus similarly criticizes those who judge others by saying that they object to the “mote” (dust speck) in another person’s eye when thy have a “beam” (plank) in their own.

the David Carradine character in the old Kung Fu programmes
Refers to a popular but odd 1970s television series (revived in 1992) featuring a Zen Buddhist monk wandering the Wild West, seeking peace but forever forced to do battle with evil.

Notting Hill
Where Rushdie himself used to live.

lower thumb
Penis.

Page 280

[289]

Freemasonry
The Freemasons is a fraternal organization that in its early years combined rationalism with mysticism.

obeah
Caribbean name for a kind of black magic rooted in African tradition. More information on obeah.

witchfinding . . . Matthew Hopkins
See note above on p. 182, on Matthew Hopkins. Martine Dutheil points out that Rushdie is deliberately associating with the English superstitious practices which they normally attribute scornfully only to their former colonial subjects (Dutheil 107, fn. 24).

Gloriana
Name used by Renaissance poets to refer to Queen Elizabeth I. When she spoke, people listened.

New Broomstick Needed to Sweep Out Witches
This would seem to be the title of an article written by or about Pamela rather than a real book.

Page 281

[290]

her hair had gone snow-white
Like Ayesha in the Titlipur plot (see p. 225).

Page 282

[291]

mutey
Monstrous mutant, usually the result of exposure to radiation; more commonly “mute.”

yellowbrick lane
Alludes to the Yellow Brick Road in The Wizard of Oz, which leads to the Emerald City, and Brick Lane in London, where many Asians live, and which is transformed into Brickhall in the novel (see below, note on Brickhall, p. 283.)

Page 283

[292]

he pronounced no sentences
Pun: didn’t announce sentences of criminals/didn’t speak.

Kurus and Pandavas
The two families (cousins) whose war is the principal subject of the Mahabharata
.

Mahabharata
The classic epic which is a central text of Hinduism.

Mahavilayet
Great foreign country. See Vilayet, above, p. 4.

National Front
A racist, anti-immigrant British political organization.

murder of the Jamaican, Ulysses E. Lee
(perhaps incongruously combining the names of the opposing chief generals in the American Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee.)

The Brickhall Three
“Brickhall” is a blending of the names of two Asian neighborhoods in London, Brick Lane and Southhall (Seminck 8). Information about Brick Lane.Protests against the trial of groups of defendants often refer to them by number, i. e. “The Chicago Seven.” The example Rushdie probably had in mind was the “Guildford Four,” imprisoned by the British for a series of 1974 pub bombings after one Gerry Conlon was tortured into confessing. After many appeals, the four were finally vindicated and released. The case was a long-running scandal, described in Gerry Conlon’s Proved Innocent (London: Penguin, 1990). The book was made into a successful film entitled In the Name of the Father (1993). Information about the film.

Page 284

Jatinder Singh Mehta
This allusion to a tavern murder is meant to be typical but is not based on an event involving anyone by this specific name (personal communication from Salman Rushdie).

[293]

bhangra beat
The popular dance music of London’s Indian and Pakistani youth, derived from traditional Punjabi dances originally performed at weddings and other celebrations.

Page 285

[294]

Jamme Masjid
A mosque in Brick Lane, formerly a Jewish synagogue and a Christian church, reflecting the changing population in the neighborhood. Named after the famous 17th-century Jama, Jami or Juma Masjid in Delhi which is mentioned on p. 519. Information about the Jama Masjid.

Huguenots’ Calvinist church
Calvinism was founded in Switzerland and the Huguenots were French, so even this earliest incarnation of the building was doubly immigrant-based.

Page 286

[295]

Sympathy for the Devil
A classically apocalyptic rock song by the Rolling Stones, from their Beggar’s Banquet album. The lyrics of the song.

Eat the Heinz Fifty-Seven.
For years the Heinz Foods Company advertised that it made 57 varieties of canned foods. This parodies the various slogans calling for freeing a certain number of prisoners. Information on the H.J. Heinz Company.

Pleasechu meechu . . . hopeyu guessma nayym
Phonetic rendering of Mick Jagger’s refrain in Sympathy for the Devil: “Pleased to meet you . . . Hope you guess my name.”

[296]

CRC
Community Relations Council.

What social tensions are reflected in the transformations that London is undergoing?

Page 287

‘This isn’t what I wanted. This is not what I meant, at all.’
From T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” (Note by Martine Dutheil.)

Page 288

[297]

the heart, for obvious reasons, in the mouth
“To have one’s heart in one’s mouth” is a common expression for being terrified.

das Ich
The self, the term which is rendered as “ego” in English translations of Freud.

Page 289

[298]

I am . . . that I am.
See above, p. 182.

Submission
See note above, on p. 125.

What does Saladin mean by these two lines?

baron-samedi
In voodoo, Baron Samedi is host of the dead. Information on Baron Samedi.

Page 291

[300]

Club Hot Wax
A three-way pun: hot wax means currently popular music (records were formerly made from molded wax masters), a common method of removing body hair, and the custom of literally melting wax figurines depicted below. Rushdie may well have been inspired by reading in Antonia Fraser’s life of Charles II (a person whose life we know he was interested in–see p. 340) of an anti-Catholic celebration held in London on November 17, 1679. In a self-conscious replacement of the traditional Guy Fawkes’ Day ceremony (see below, note on p. 293), wax figures of the pope, attendant devils and nuns (the latter labelled as courtesans) were displayed and the figure of the pope was ceremoniously burned in a huge bonfire (Fraser 384-385).

Blak-An-Tan
Aside from its obvious racial associations, the name is the term assigned by the Irish independence movement to the occupying British soldiers based on their uniforms: “the Black and Tans.”

[301]Pinkwalla
“Pinkwalla” would translate into English as “Pinkman.” The name and character were almost certainly inspired by Jamaican albino dub star Yellowman, as suggested by Nabeel Zuberi in Sounds English: Transnational Popular Music (p. 200). (Kuortti.) Given Rushdie’s subject, it is logical for him to havbe changed the DJ from an albino of African descent to one of South Asian heritage. There are many people of South Asian heritage in parts of the West Indies, particularly in Trinidad.

Page 292

White black man
The character of an Albino DJ seems likely to have been inspired by Yellowman, a popular albino Jamaican musician of the 1980s. More information.

Hamza-nama cloth
See above, p. 69.

Mary Seacole
A black woman who also cared for the troops in the Crimean War, but didn’t gain the same fame as Florence Nightingale, popularly known as “The lady with the lamp.” Mary Seacole bio.

Abdul Karim, aka The Munshi, whom Queen Victoria sought to promote, but who was done down by colour-barring ministers
Abdul Karim served as Victoria’s tutor (“munshi”) in Hindi and personal confidante for many years; but many of her advisors considered him a security risk and tried to discourage the relationship (Moorhouse, pp. 120-121). The Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.

black clown of Septimius Severus
According to the highly unreliable Historia Augusta (written in late antiquity), when Severus (born in North Africa and Emperor of Rome 146-211 AD) encountered a black man widely reputed to be a buffoon, he was not amused, but considered the meeting an ill omen. He urged his priests to consult the organs of a sacrificial animal, which they also found to be black. Not long after, he died. There are some grounds for believing that Severus himself may have been black. See also note on the Triumphal Arch of Septimus Severus, on p. 38.

Bust of Septimus Severus in the Granet Museum, Aix-en-Provence. Photo by Paul Brians.

Grace Jones
Black model and singer popular in the eighties. She may be referred to as a slave because of her album Slave to the Rhythm (1985).

Ukawsaw Groniosaw
He wrote an account of his life in slavery, published in 1774, entitled A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, Written by Himself. Text of the Narrative.

Ignatius Sancho
Ignatius Sancho’s 1782 book is Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African. London: J. Nichols, 1782. New ed. by Vincent Carretta. London: Penguin, 1998. Available electronically at docsouth.unc.edu/neh/sancho1/sancho1.html

how-we-make-contribution-since-de-Rome-Occupation
The claim is being made that immigrants have been making contributions to English civilization since the Romans colonized it in the 1st century CE.

Mosley, Powell, Edward Long, all the local avatars of Legree
Racist British politicans. For Enoch Powell, see above, p. 186. “Avatar” is the Hindu term for an incarnation. Simon Legree is the slave-owning villain of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. See above, p. 267 [276].

Page 293

[302]

hell’s kitchen
Alluding to the popular name of an area on the West Side of Manhattan dominated by gangs and crime in the later 19th century. More about Hell’s Kitchen.

Maggie-maggie-maggie . . . Burn-burn-burn
A play on the chant “Maggie Maggie Maggie, out out out” commonly heard in left-wing demonstrations in the 1980s. Margaret Thatcher is being melted in effigy.

the guy
On November 5 English children celebrate the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up the houses of Parliament by burning in effigy the chief criminal, Guy Fawkes. They go from house to house asking for “a penny for the Guy” to finance the creation of the effigy.

Pinkwalla’s comment “The fire this time,” alludes to James Baldwin’s 1963 book The Fire Next Time.

obeah
See above, note for p. 280 [289].

Sewsunker
Alluding to Sewsunker “Papwa” Sewgolum, a “colored” South African championship golfer of South Asian descent who was given his trophy outdoors in the rain because he was excluded from the clubhouse on account of his race.

Page 294

Topsy and Legree
The innocent slave girl and the villainous slaveowner of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. See above, p. 267 [276] & 292 [301].

[304] melted like tigers into butter
Alluding to Little Black Sambo, a children’s book extremely popular until objections against the racist associations aroused by the illustrations and character names led to its fall from favor. In it, the hero cleverly climbs a tree to escape two tigers and allows them to chase each other until they melt into butter which he proceeds to take home to his mother to serve on pancakes. Though most readers imagined the story as set in Africa, tigers do not live there, though they do live in India.

Page 295

[305] Cho Oyu
The name is Tibetan, probably meaning “Goddess of the Turquoise.” Photo and information about Cho Oyu.

Shangri-La
A magical kingdom in the Himalayas where no one grows old, described in James Hilton’s Lost Horizons.

Picabia
This artist experimented with cubism, dadaism, and surrealism; see p. 297 [307].

How does Otto Cone’s philosophy reflect themes in the novel?

Page 296

[306]

Father Christmas
British name for Santa Claus.

Mao
Chi Premier Mao Tse Tung. Under his rule the Chinese brutally invaded and occupied Tibet. Materials from the Tibet Support Group.

[307]

In the beginning was the word
The famous opening line of the book of John.

Page 297

kreplach
Jewish noodle dish. Cheese kreplach recipe.

pearl without price
Precious jewel worth sacrificing all else for, from Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13:45-46; a strikingly Christian allusion from the assimilationist Jewish Otto.

“stuffed monkey”
In 1920 Picabia glued a toy monkey onto a piece of cardboard and labelled it “Portrait de Cézanne, Portrait de Rembrandt, Portrait de Renoir, Natures mortes.” (Barràs 202, 229).

Jarry’s Ubu Roi
Alfred Jarry wrote a series of plays, including this one (Ubu the King) about a vile-tempered, crude tyrant. He was hailed by the surrealists as a genius.

[308]

Polish literature . . . Herbert . . . Milosz . . .Baranczak
Zbigniew Herbert, Czeslaw Mislosz, Stanislaw Baranczak.

mid-off
In cricket, the mid-off (short for mid-wicket off) stands on the off-side, at the other end of the pitch from the batter, near the bowler. He is there mainly to stop the off-drive from the batsman (a shot played straight down the wicket), as well as to assist in catching the throws from other fielders to the bowlers end in case of attempted runouts (David Windsor).

Widow of Windsor!
A term used by Rudyard Kipling to refer to Queen Victoria after the death of Prince Albert. British monarchs live in Windsor Castle. Victoria made something of a career out of being a widow.

pantomime member
British pantomimes are satirical dramatic productions, usually produced at Christmas. They are not pantomimes in the American sense at all, including as they do dialogue. The equivalent expression would be “cartoon member.”

Page 298

tsimmis
Traditional Jewish stew.

London W-two
W2 is the postal code of Paddington, where they live.

Chanukah
The Jewish festival of lights, also spelled Hanukkah, celebrated in December. Information about Hanukkah.

imitation of life
The 1959 remake of a 1934 film based on a Fannie Hurst novel by the same name, in which the light-skinned daughter of a black woman “passes” for white. Lana Turner stars as an ambitious actress. Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson performs in a bit part. More information on the film.

lift-shaft
British for “elevator shaft.” Yet another suicide by jumping.

survivor of the camps
The Nazi death camps.

[309]

Cecil Beaton
Famous British fashion photographer. He designed costumes for stage and film productions, winning an Oscar for his costume designs for the 1964 film of My Fair Lady. Information about Beaton. A photograph of Audrey Hepburn in one of the award-winning costumes.

Page 299

chimeran graft
Blend of two different plants.

puddings
Desserts.

Gurdjieffian mystics
Mystics influenced by the Russian Georgy S. Gurdjieff (1872?-1949), himself influenced by Indian thought. George Baker’s Gurdjieff in America.

[310]

gift of tongues
The miraculous ability to speak foreign languages (tongues), often manifested as the recitation of apparent nonsense syllables. The classic instance of this phenomenon is the first Pentecost (Acts 2:1-15). More information about speaking in tongues.

p-a-c-h-y
Elephants are pachyderms.

Page 300

Moscow Road
A fashionable street northwest of Kensington Gardens.

elephant joke
There was a vogue for elephant jokes in the fifties. The most famous: “Where does an elephant sit down?” Answer: “Anywhere he wants.”

In what ways are both Gibreel and Allie made to feel they are outsiders in England?

Page 301

[311]

chimera
In mythology, a beast made up of the parts of various animals. The theme of hybridization and transplantation refers to Gibreel’s own immigrant status, of course.

[312]

Singer Brothers dybbukery
Her mother interprets Allie’s obsession with Gibreel in Jewish terms. Isaac Bashevis Singer featured a dybbuk (in Jewish folklore, a demonic spirit which can take possession of a human body) in his novel Satan in Goray , where it behaved much like an incubus, a creature which has wild sex with sleeping women. Visions of similar creatures haunt Jegor, a character in The Family Carnovsky, by I. B. Singer’s older brother, Israel Joseph Singer.

Page 302

L’Argent du Poche
“Small Change,” a 1976 François Truffaut film about a group of schoolboys.

Page 303

[313]

land’s attempt to metamorphose into sky
Reflects the recurrent theme of metamorphosis.

they were there
When the New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, who had been the first to climb Mount Everest in 1953 (with the Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay), was asked why he climbed mountains, he replied, “Because they are there.” The sherpas are a people who live in the Himalayas and who make much of their living from helping mountain climbers. More information about Hillary.

Namche Bazar
One of the last villages in Nepal in which mountain climbers stop for supplies before attempting to climb Mt. Everest. Information on Namche Bazar.

Page 304

[315]

Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell
William Blake’s mystical work combines traditional biblical elements with an enthusiastic celebration of eroticism as a vehicle of spiritual revelation. Like some other romantic poets, he considers the demonic realm depicted in Milton’s Paradise Lost to be not a source of wickedness, but of creative and regenerative energy suppressed by Christianity’s traditional obsession with virginity and chastity. He argues for a reunion of the polarities traditionally radically split off from each other by Christian dualism, as in this passage from p. 3: “Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence. From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil. Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active spring from Energy.” Compare Blake’s approach to good and evil with that of Rushdie, who blends demonic and angelic characteristics in his two protagonists.

The lust of the goat is the bounty of God
This saying is characteristic of the many unorthodox “Proverbs of Hell” (see p. 8 of The Marriage of Heaven & Hell) praising the whole-hearted enjoyment of life, such as “The road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom” and “He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.” Goats are traditionally associated with carefree natural sexuality through their connection with satyrs, but are symbols of the damned in Christianity (See Matthew 25:32-33). This ambiguity is much played with throughout the novel. Text of the Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

Additional note by Martine Dutheil:
Among the “Proverbs of Hell,” some are strikingly relevant to Rushdie’s artistic project, such as “Drive your cart and your plough over the bones of the dead” (as an image of postcolonial writing’s relation to Western culture); “Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion” (which anticipates the “brothel” sections in Rushdie’s novel); “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough” and, even more significant for Blake and Rushdie’s vision of art, “Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth”.

The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire at the end of six thousand years is true
17th-Century Irish Archbishop James Ussher (here spelled “Usher”) famously calculated the date of creation, based on biblical chronology, at 4004 BC, and predicted the end of the world in 1996, as referred to on p. 305 [315]. This passage occurs at the top of p. 14 of The Marriage of Heaven & Hell. This statement is followed by these words: “For the cherub with his flaming sword is hereby commanded to leave his guard at tree of life, and when he does, the whole creation will be consumed, and appear infinite and holy whereas it now appears finite & corrupt.” There then follows the phrase quoted at the top of p. 305 [315]: “This will come to pass by an improvement of sensual enjoyment.”

What are the main themes of the section during which Gibreel examines Allie’s copy of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell?

Page 305

I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite organical perception; but my senses discover’d the infinite in every thing.
This sentence is actually the second on p. 12 of The Marriage of Heaven & Hell, earlier than the preceding passage quoted by Rushdie. It occurs just before the passage quoted on p. 338 [348].

the Regenerated Man
The image described is on p. 21 of William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise. . . .
This is the first line of p. 21 of The Marriage of Heaven & Hell.

golden chain-mail Rabanne
Alluding to one of the bizarre clothing designs of Paco Rabanne.

Page 306

[316]
World’s End
Probably a fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, though there are several places in England with this name. More information.

crashpad
“Crashpad” was a hippie term used in the sixties to refer to an apartment or house (“pad”) where homeless young people could live–“crash”–for free.

sugar-lump
LSD was commonly distributed in sugar cubes in its early days.

no shortage of brain cells
It was widely reported in the sixties that taking LSD destroyed brain cells.

trying, in the idiom of the day, to fly
Because being drugged was called “getting high,” there were many allusions to flying in hippie drug slang. Elena’s suicide is linked through this term to the other deaths by falling in the novel.

[317]

virgin queen
One of the titles of Queen Elizabeth I, who never married.

virgo intacta
Intact virgin.

Page 307

‘ACID BATH’
She drowned while high on LSD (“acid”), but in various industrial processes metals are dipped into a literal “acid bath.”

Page 308

[318]

parachute silk
Allie has bedsheets made of recycled parachutes, making an apt symbol of arrival for a man who has plummeted from the sky.

Page 309

What are the Allie’s main characteristics, and how do they sometimes cause conflict in her life?

Page 310

[320] isn’t it?
Typical Anglo-Indian expression, meaning “aren’t there?”

Page 311

[321]

Luzhin
Main character in Vladimir Nabokov’s novel dealing with chess, Zashchita Luzhina (The Defense).

[322]

Marinetti
Filippo Tommasso Marinetti (1876-1944), leader of the Italian Futurist art movement, attracted to machinery and speed, aligned with Fascism. More information on Futurism.

kathputli
Hindi for marionettes.

Page 312

one-off
Unique item, or here, event.

[323]

Guantanamera
Popular Cuban song by Jose Marti, associated with the Castro revolution. The original Spanish Lyrics, with melody.

best minds of my generation
(opening of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. (1956). The poem begins:

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night. . . .

Allie is mocking the pretensions of young men who claim to be revolutionaries but exploit women. Allen Ginsberg Writes about Howl

Page 313

Discuss Allie’s contention that truth has fled to the mountains. What do you think she means? Note that her father explains a related theory on the next page. Do you agree with her? Explain.

Page 314

[324]

O but he’s dead, and at the bottom of the sea.
This sounds intriguingly like a line from an Elizabethan play, but is in fact entirely Rushdie’s own invention (personal communication from Salman Rushdie).

locus classicus
Originally, classic passage in a literary work; here, classic place.

Page 315

[325]

the Angel of the Recitation
The Angel Gabriel is said to have dictated the Qur’an to Muhammad.

now that Shaitan had fallen
In Islam, Shaitan is a Jinn, cast down from heaven for refusing to fall down before Adam. In Jewish and Christian belief Satan is said to have been an Angel, cast down from Heaven for rebelling against God.

[326]

as Iago warned, doth mock the meat it feeds on
From Shakespeare’s Othello III: iii lines 165-167: O. beware, my lord of jealousy; / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on. . . .” The line suggests that jealousy destroys those who harbor it, devouring them.

Page 316

like Brutus, all murder and dignity. . . . The picture of an honourable man
Refers to Antony’s funeral oration in Act III, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, where he ironically calls the assassinsóincluding Marcus Junius Brutus, one of Caesar’s closest associatesó”honourable men.”

wpb
Wastepaper basket.

one day men shall fly
Leonardo da Vinci, now mainly famous for paintings like the Mona Lisa, spent a great deal of time and ingenuity trying to design a flying machine.

Page 317

[327]

Yoji Kuri
His darkly comic films are more influenced by Western cartoons than most Japanese animation. Titles in English include “Vanish” and “Manga.”

Page 318

[328]

for Blake’s Isaiah, God had simply been an immanence, an incorporeal indignation
Alluding to The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Plate 12:

The Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel dined with me, and I asked them how they dared so roundly to assert. that God spake to them; and whether they did not think at the time, that they would be misunderstood, & so be the cause of imposition.Isaiah answr’d. I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite organical perception; but my senses discovr’d the infinite in every thing, and as I was then perswaded, & remain confirm’d; that the voice of honest indignation is the voice of God, I cared not for consequences but wrote.

[329]

a man of about the same age as himself
Gayatri Spivak notes that the following description resembles Rushdie himself

(48).

Ooparvala . . . ‘The Fellow Upstairs.’
God.

Neechayvala, the Guy from Underneath
The Devil.

Page 319

[330]

masala movie
Melodramatic Indian film, see note on “exotic spices” p. 166 [171].

Page 320

‘Ad or Thamoud
Two tribes mentioned in the Qur’an as having rejected prophets from God; ancient mighty peoples who vanished through wickedness. For further information, see Haykal 31.

Page 321

[331]

the thirteenth-century German Monk Richalmus
This crochety monk was obsessed with demons, blaming them for all of the petty irritants that surrounded him in his Liber Revelationum de Insidiis et Versutiis Daemonum Adversus Homines, first printed by Bernard Pez in his Thesaurus Anecdotorum Novisisimus (Wittenberg?: Philippi, Martini & Joannis Veith, 1721-29), vol. 1, part 2, columns 373-472.

Semjaza and Azazel
Identified in the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch, Chapters 6-9, as wicked leaders of the angels (“sons of God”) mentioned in the passage from Genesis 6:4 cited immediately below. The Book of Enoch. Azazel is also identified in Leviticus 16:6-10 as a spirit to whom a sacrificial goat must be offered by driving it into the wilderness. This ritual sacrifice is part of the famous “scapegoat” ritual often alluded to but seldom understood. Azazel is sometimes interpreted as a demon who lives in the desert.

lusting after the daughters of men
Genesis 6: 4, tells of the Nephilim, mighty offspring of “the sons of God” mating with “the daughters of men.”

the Prophet, on whose name be peace
The ritually orthodox way to refer to Muhammad.

In what way does Gibreel compare himself with Muhammad?

Page 322

[332]

a part of town once known . . .
London’s Soho district.

[333]

ka
An ancient Egyptian term for the soul (strictly speaking one part of the soul in their belief system). Also a Sanskrit term often used to refer to an unnamed divine source of being, literally “who.”

Page 323

Janab
Honorific title like “sahib.”

[334]

O, children of Adam
This passage comes from the Qur’an, Sura 7, verse 27. The context insists on God’s goodness as contrasted with Shaitan’s wickedness.

Jahweh
One rendering of the sacred name of God in Judaism, also often spelled “Yahweh.”

Deutero-Isaiah
“Second Isaiah,” the name assigned to the presumed author of Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah. He is said to have lived long after the writer of the first thirty-nine chapters. His work, completed toward the end of the exile of the Jews in Babylon, would have been added to the book in order to update it. The very use of this term reflects modern Biblical scholarship appealing to a skeptic like Rushdie.

Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it?
Amos 3:6. This and the following citations make the point that God was depicted at first as a source of evil as well as good, and that Satan was only gradually differentiated from him. The dualism characteristic of later religions like Islam is seen as a “pretty recent fabrication.”

What relevance does this discussion of the relationship between good and evil have to the rest of the novel?

Page 324

Ithuriel
In Milton’s Paradise Lost,Book IV, Ithuriel’s golden spear transformed Satan from his disguise as a toad back into his original form (Joel Kuortti).

Zephon had found the adversary squat like a toad
by Eve’s ear in Eden, using his wiles

to reach
The organs of her fancy, and with them forge
Illusions as he list, phantasms and dreams.

From John Milton: Paradise Lost, Book IV, lines 800-803, a passage which links demonic temptation and the imagination in a way that fits the context.

Lives there who loves his pain?
This and the following lines are from Paradise Lost, Book IV, lines 888-890, in which Satan replies to Gabriel, who has reproached him for rebelling against God, by saying anyone would want to escape from Hell.

felo de se
Suicide.

Page 326

[336]

seize the day
This traditional expression, meaning “do it now,” comes from the Latin carpe diem (Horace: Odes, I:21, line 8).

pukka
Racially pure. Hindi for “real/genuine,” adopted into Cockney slang as a synonym for “excellent/first-rate.”

[337]

Levantine
From the Levant: the Middle East.

Page 327

Wildernesse
The Wildernesse Golf Club is located in Sevenoaks, Kent, southwest of London.

Iblis
From Greek diabolos, “the slanderer;” name of the rebel angel/devil in the Qur’an.

Tchu Tché Tchin Tchow.
Gibreel is trying to remember Chamcha’s name; but this succession of syllables might be a veiled allusion to a British musical comedy entitled Chu Chin Chow, produced for the stage in 1916 (script by Oscar Ashe, music by Frederic Norton), and filmed twice (in 1923 and 1934). A great success in its original staging, the production was a spectacular musical based on a much older pantomime (see above, p. 297 [308]) telling the story of Ali Baba and Forty Thieves. The musical remained popular enough to receive a production on ice under the same title in 1953. Rushdie may have encountered it second-hand, by way of a mention in the 1958 movie version of Auntie Mame in which the title character reminiscences about having performed a song by that title on the stage. But if Rushdie did know the original source, the Arabian Nights’ setting of the tale might have attracted his attention; and the fact that the lead thief, named Abu Hassan in the play, was also called by the very Chinese-sounding name of “Chu Chin Chow” illustrates the kind of ignorant orientalizing that Europeans have long engaged in, and to which Rushdie frequently alludes in the novel. (Sources: Dimmitt 279, Sharp 179, 1136, Enciclopedia 170, Times 9, Variety, Wearing 656-657. See note on thirty-nine stone urns below, p. 377 [389].

[338]

Wren’s dome
The massive dome of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, designed by Christopher Wren.

Page 328

Underground
Subway.

the Council
Local British government body.

swing them by their necks
The French Revolutionaries hung the hated aristocrats from the Parisian lampposts.

Recite
The first word of Gibreel’s revelation to Muhammed (Surah 96).

Orphia Phillips
As the following lines make clear, she is the sister of Hyacinth Phillips, whom Saladin met on p. 169 [170].

[339]

I cyaan believe I doin this
Orphia, Uriah and Rochelle all speak Caribbean dialect.

Page 330

[341]

sure as eggsis
Abbreviation of a British colloquialism, “eggs is eggs,” perhaps a pun on the alegebraic expression of equivalence: “X is X.”

obeah
See above, note for p. 280.

Page 331

mashin up
In Caribbean dialects “mash up” is used to describe the creation of all sorts of damage–here, for “crumpling,” and below, “mash up” means “wreck.”

[342]

dabba . . . dabbawalla
See note above, on p. 18, on dabbas.

travelling mat
See above, note on p. 108 [111].

Page 332

[343]

pour encourager les autres
“To encourage the others,” a famous sarcastic remark from Voltaire’s Candide. At the end of Chapter 23 of that novel, the protagonist happens upon the execution of of an English admiral, accused of cowardice for not having approached the enemy sufficiently closely. Candide objects that his French opponent must have been equally guilty, but his informant casually remarks, “That’s undeniable, but in this country it’s a good thing to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others.” This is Voltaire’s satire on the execution of Admiral John Byng, which he had tried unsuccessfully to prevent in 1757. The passage in the original French. The entire novel in both French and English.

something straaange in the neighbourhood
The children are playing at being Ghostbusters, quoting the refrain of the title song from the 1984 film by that name: “If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!” More information about Ghostbusters.

gulag
Acronym for the prison camps of the Soviet Union.

fairy-queen
One of the many titles associated with Queen Elizabeth I, but here probably an anti-gay insult.

Page 333

Bachchas
Children (Hindi).

rude rhymes
“Rude” is a much stronger term in Britain than in the U.S. Do these count as Satanic Verses?

[344]

redeeming the city like something left in a pawnshop
The Judeo-Christian tradition of a redeemer (Hebrew goël) is a figure who pays the amount due in order to liberate whoever or whatever has been condemned. In Christian theology Christ is the sacrificial lamb who, echoing the Passover lamb of the Jews, dies to free his followers from sin and damnation. Thus the use of the term “redeem” to refer to liberating an item left at a pawnshop is historically accurate, if irreverent.

calm-calm
In Indian dialect, adjectives are sometimes repeated thus to emphasize them. Other examples are “big-big” (p. 68 [69]) and “bad-bad” (p. 334 [344]).

Page 334

three-little-words
“Three Little Words” is the title of a popular song written in 1930 for an Amos and Andy film, Check and Double Check, by Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar. The words are, of course, “I love you.” Instead, Gibreel replies with another, very unsatisfactory, three words.

tamasha
Show, circus, celebration (from the name for a very popular form of bawdy Indian folk theater).

[345]

harmonium
Box-like portable organ somewhat like an accordion introduced into India by Christian missionaries and widely adopted for the playing of traditional Indian music.

The gazals of Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz (1914-1978), born in what is now Pakistan, was one of South Asia’s most distinguished and influential modern poets. Much of his Urdu poetry was Marxist-inspired political poetry in support of the poor. In his acknowledgements, Rushdie cites Mahmood Jamal as the source of this translation, slightly emended by himself. For gazals, see note on p. 3.

the fifties classic Mughal-e-Azam
(Dir. K. Asif, starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, & Madhubala, 1960) A spectacular historical fantasy in which the son of the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great falls in love with a dancing girl. More details about the film.

Cleopatra’s Needle
An Egyptian obelisk, now located on the Victoria Embankment by the Thames. It has nothing to do with Cleopatra, having been created about 1500 BC. Pictures and more information.

Page 335

[346]

There is no God but God.
See note above, on p. 105 [108].

Page 336

[347]

In the pages that follow, try to decide how literally we are to take Gibreel’s transformation. Does he actually change, or is the transformation only in his mind? Explain.

mala’ikah . . . malak
The former is the plural, the latter the singular term for “angel” in Arabic.

as the Quran clearly states
From the Qur’an Sura 18 (“The Cave”), verse 50. Iblis, a rebellious spirit, refuses the commandment to bow down to Adam and is damned, becoming Shaitan, or Satan. See also Qur’an, Sura 2 (“The Cow”), verse 34 and Sura 17 (“The Night Journey, Children of Israel”), verse 61.

Wilt thou place in the earth such as make mischief in it and shed blood?
Qu’ran Sura 2, verse 30. When God announces his intention of creating humanity, the angels reply with what the narrator implies is justified skepticism.

Page 337

colossus-style
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Colossus of Rhodes, a hundred-foot-high statue of Helios, stood in the harbor of Rhodes.

[348]

I’m papa partial to a titi tipple; mamadam, my caca card
S. S. Sisodia’s stammer produces a variety of obscene and fairly obvious puns.

to a degree
British colloquialism for “to a great degree.”

iscreen
The British call auto windshields “windscreens,” so Gibreel is literally “on the screen.”

Page 338

What is the point of the story about the man who believed he was Napoleon?

Blake again, Allie thought.
The quotation that follows is taken from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: p. 12. See notes on p. 304 [315]. The point of Blake’s dialogue is that inspired revelation is genuine, though not limited to biblical prophets. Allie is mentally countering her mother’s skepticism about Gibreel.

[349]

plug him in
Electroshock therapy, once widely used to treat schizophrenia, was accused of tranquillizing patients by destroying part of their brains and turning them into zombies. An anti-electroshock page. Pro-electroshock information.

Page 339

early bath
As opposed to an “early grave.” “Taking an early bath” is a euphemism in British sport for being “sent-off,” that is, dispatched from the playing arena for an act of foul play. It is a phrase associated with soccer and rugby (although more with working-class rugby league, than the middle-class, Rugby School associated, rugby union). As the players indulge in a communal bath post-match (ghastly as that sounds), a player sent-off before the end of the game takes a bath before everyone else. It was popularized (invented?) by the late BBC sports commentator Eddie Waring and, to be honest, Allie’s mother would more probably have heard the phrase on television, rather than read it in the sports pages, as Allie believes (Paul Harmer).

Page 340

[350]

Charles II’s terror after his Restoration, of being sent “on his travels” again
After Charles I was executed and the British monarchy was abolished on January 30, 1649 by Puritan revolutionaries, his son, Charles II, was forced to roam from court to court on the Continent, seeking refuge and income from various foreign governments. Although he was often portrayed as a careless playboy, there were many times of hardship and anxiety during this period. After Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell’s death in 1658, Charles was invited home and the monarchy reestablished, an event known as “The Restoration.” Although not all historians agree, Antonia Fraser maintains in her popular biography of the king that he was fearful and depressed at many points in his life, especially toward its end. She recounts that he told an Englishman living in Brussels, “I am weary of travelling, and am resolved to go abroad no more. But when I am dead and gone, I know what my brother may do: I am much afraid that when he comes to wear the crown he will be obliged to travel again. And yet I will take care to leave my kingdoms to him in peace. . . . (Fraser441) The theme of Charles II as an exile is one more example of the English being depicted in this novel as outsiders, foreigners, exiles.

Lives there who loves his pain?
See above, note to p. 324 [334].

the Beckettian formula, Not I. He.
The text of Samuel Beckett’s 1972 play Not I, contains this passage: “…and she found herself in the–…what?..who?..no!..she!” However, Rushdie probably meant only “Not I” to be the “Beckettian formula,” in which case he is simply referring to the title of the play (Beckett 73).

[351]

gota
Gold lace used in Indian clothing.

‘These are exalted females whose intercession is to be desired’
From the Satanic Verses.

Mr Hyde
The evil alter-ego in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. The entire novel.

Page 341

[352]

bhel-puri
Deep-fried pancakes made of lentil noodles and puffed rice.

raitas
Vegetables cooked in milk curds or yogurt. Recipes for raitas.

khir
Rice pudding. Recipe for khir.

sivayyan
Thin noodles, cooked with milk, sugar, raisins and almonds, especially by Muslims in Northern India and Pakistan.

Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti, the world’s most popular operatic tenor.

lassi
Thick yogurt drink which can be made either sweet or salty. Here is one recipe. Here is another.

Vanessa
[Redgrave], the British actress. See above, note on “Trotskyist actresses, p. 49 [50]. More information about Redgrave.

Amitabh
Amitabh Bacchan, the most famous male Indian movie star. More information on Amitabh.

Dustin
[Hoffman], the American actor.

Sridevi
See note above, on p. 262 [270].

Christopher Reeve
Star of the Superman films. More information on Reeve.

soosoo
Childish term for “penis” (Hindi), just as “tata” is a childish name in English for breasts, and “pipi” for urination.

Page 342

he had made a string of ‘quality’ pictures on microscopic budgets
Sisodia is based on Ismail Merchant, who with his partner James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala has made such films as A Room With a View, paying his actors more with prestige than cash.

Charulata
Not the name of an actress, but of the starring role in a film by the same name, directed in 1964 by Satyajit Ray, and better known in English as The Lonely Wife. The film starred Madhabi Mukherjee as Charulata, a neglected wife who falls in love with her brother-in-law. More information on the film.

Ocean of the Streams of Story
Compare with the title of Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories. This is an allusion to the Kashmiri classic Kathasaritsagara, the “Ocean of Stories” by Somadeva.

[353]

Hong Kong-based kung-phooey producer Run Run Shaw
The Shaw studio has been responsible for an immense number of low-budget kung fu movies. See note on p. 24 [25].

Page 343

The trouble with the Engenglish . . .
This is one of the most commonly quoted passages in the novel. Explain its meaning.

[354]

Ché Ché Chamber of Horrors
Madame Tussaud’s “Chamber of Horrors” is a famous wax museum in London, featuring among other grisly scenes the crimes of Jack the Ripper, whose career “the Granny ripper’s” deeds are modeled on. Sisodia’s stammer alludes to the Cuban revolutionary and companion of Fidel Castro, Ché Guevara (1928-1967) More information on the Chamber of Horrors. Pictures from “Chamber of Horrors.” More information on Ché Guevara.

mad barbers
Refers to Sweeney Todd, the legendary barber who was said to have killed many of his customers and made them into meat pie filling. Todd is often compared to the real historical serial murderer, Jack the Ripper, whose name is alluded to in the character of the “Granny Ripper” in this novel. The Todd legend was made famous in modern times by Stephen Sondheim in his 1979 musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by . Synopsis of the plot of the musical.

etc. etc. etera
“Etc.” is of course the conventional written abbreviation for “et cetera,” but Rushdie turns it into a stammer.

Page 344

crores
See note above above, on p. 63 [64].

funtoosh
Supposedly a nonsense word used for the title of 1956 Bollywood film, later apparently developed as slang for a carefree person.

Page 346

[356]

Pagal Khana
Insane asylum.

A star is reborn.
Allusion to A Star Is Born, a classic 1937 film about a self-destructive movie star, remade in 1954 and 1976. More information about the film.

[357]

Christ-image on the Turin Shroud
A famous “miraculous” picture of Christ mysteriously impressed on a cloth said to have been wrapped around his dead body. The shroud’s reputation was severely damaged shortly before the publication of The Satanic Verses when traces of a typical Medieval paint were detected on it.

St. Lucia
A small island in the Caribbean chiefly known as the birthplace of poet Derek Walcott.

Page 347

That Berlin Wall . . . might well be more rapidly rebuilt.
The Berlin wall was torn down November 9 1989, more than a year after the publication of the novel. More about the Berlin Wall.

Page 348

[359] Boniek
Probably an allusion to the name of Zbigniew Boniek, Polish-born player of the popular Turin soccer team, Juventus–another immigrant.

Frankenstein and geeps
Dr. Frankenstein in Mary Shelly’s 1818 novel creates a monster out of parts from various bodies. Rushdie is here pairing his deed with an experiment carried about by Cambridge scientists in which they combined genetic material from a goat and a sheep embryo to produce a chimera which they called a “geep” (Time February 27, 1984, p. 71). For the scientific details, see Fehilly.

Page 349

[360]

Dark Star
Punning on the astronomical term explained in the note for p. 61.

Page 350

Filmmela
Film gala? Joel Kuortti suggests that perhaps the term puns on the name of Philomela, who in Greek mythology was raped by Tereus and had her tongue cut out in an attempt to prevent her reporting the crime.

[361]

burqa
All-enveloping veil worn by conservative Muslim women, reaching to the ground.

the ‘disco diwané set’
“Disco diwané” means literally “mad about disco,” and was the title of a Hindi disco record of the late 70s by the London-based singer Nazia Hasan. Used here to refer to “Westernized” Indians.

Mithun
Mithun Chakravarti, a popular male actor in both Hindi and Bengali films. A list of his films.

Kimi
Kimi Katkar, Bollywood actress.

Jayapradha
Another actress, sometimes spelled “Jayaprada” or “Jaya Pradha.” Elected to the Indian parliament in 1996. Pictures and information of Jayapradha.

Rekha
Major Bollywood star in the 80s. Information and photos of Rekha.

Vinod
See note above, on p. 262.

Dharmendra
Another Bollywood action hero. Pictures and bio of Dharmendra.

Sridevi
See note above, on p. 262 [270].

[362]

a voice crying in the wilderness
Maslama is presenting himself as John the Baptist to Gibreel’s Jesus, quoting Matthew 3:2-3, which in turn quotes Isaiah 40:3-4. He is a sort of demonic prophet.

Page 352

[363]

Pandemonium
In Milton’s Paradise Lost, the capital of Hell; by extension any place in which evil is concentrated.

Page 353

I’m back!
Spoken first with a less ominous meaning on p. 351 [362]. This line was memorably uttered by the seemingly indestructible demonic Jack Nicholson character in The Shining (1980).

tcha
In Hindi, tea is called chai. More information about chai.

Shah
The former dictator of Iran, overthrown by the Islamic revolution, used the title. Gibreel is trying to remember Chamcha’s name.

Shatchacha
Popular dance, usually spelled either “cha-cha” or “cha-cha-cha.” More information about the cha-cha.

[364]

The native is an oppressed person whose permanent dream is to become the persecutor
Franz Fanon, Caribbean psychiatrist who worked in the Algerian revolution and radical theorist, from The Wretched of the Earth, Chapter 1 (“Concerning Violence”), p. 52 of the American translation.

Chichi? Sasa?
Nicknames for Chamcha and Saladin.

My other, my love . . .
(from a song, poem?) Suggested: “Mere Humdrum, mere dost,” a poem by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

Page 354

that Tree
See Genesis 2:9.

a different Tree
Qur’an 7:20.

apples were not specified
The fruit hanging from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not specified in Genesis either; but came to be considered apples in the Middle Ages, though the influence of a pun on malum meaning either “evil” or “apple.”

the Death-Tree
The tree of forbidden fruit which brought damnation (spiritual death) into the world is often compared by Medieval Christian thinkers to the cross, which bore the fruit of life in the form of Christ’s sacrifice. In Genesis 2:9 and 3:22 there is mention of a mysterious “tree of life,” which apparently could have overcome physical death had Adam and Even eaten of it. Gibreel is arguing that the Qur’anic tree, though called “the Tree of Immortality,” comparing it to the second Biblical tree, functions more like the first, as “slayer of men’s souls.”

[365]

morality-fearing God
Since in Genesis God forbade Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he may be thought of as fearing morality. Indeed, Genesis 3:11 can be interpreted as reflecting his displeasure in Adam’s having developed a sense of shame. The ambiguities present in this section of Genesis have fascinated many thinkers, and are naturally of great interest to Gibreel, who is out to invert many traditional religious beliefs.

Abracadabra! Hocus Pocus!
Although both of these are magician’s incantations, the first is associated with traditional alchemy and an attempt to perform actual magic, whereas the second is associated with fraud and deceit.

juggernaut
See note above, on “juggernauts,” p. 254 [262].

Page 355

coir
Fiber made from coconut husks, used for making rope.

Next chapter
Back to Table of Contents

Humanities 303 Syllabus Spring 2008

December 7, 2016 elizabeth.wasson

Instructor: Paul Brians

Office: Avery 202H

Office hours: 9:30-10:30 daily (I’m also in much of the rest of the time)

Phone (try this before e-mailing): 335-5689

Appointments: 335-7124

E-mail: paulbrians@gmail.com

Textbooks for this course (please do not substitute other editions or translations):

* Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary, translated by Theodore Besterman

* Goethe’s Faust, translated by Walter Kaufmann

* Zola, Germinal, trans. Collier

* Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground, translated by Andrew R. MacAndrew

* Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra, translated by Walter Kaufmann. (Note Penguin also publishes other translations that are not as good—be sure to get the Kaufmann. DO NOT USE the 1892 public-domain translation by Thomas Common.

* Marx & Engels: The Communist Manifesto (Penguin) (1998). Other editions are OK, but their page numbers won’t match up with those in the study guide.

Online Resources:

* Home Page

* Common Errors in English

Course Overview

All of the study guides and other materials for this class are available on the Web, linked from the online version this document. Be careful to read ahead in the syllabus so you see what assignments are coming up. Don’t wait until the night before class. Note that if you work only from a printed-out version of this syllabus, you will lack many important hyperlinks. Always check the online syllabus when doing your assignments.

Students are responsible for reading assignments and for preparing answers to the related on-line study questions before coming to class on the dates noted. Written assignments marked with an asterisk (*) are due on the date next to or above the asterisk. Besides the short papers noted here, you must also attend and report on a cultural event relating to the European 18th and 19th centuries. A list of acceptable events will be provided.

Course Goals

When you have successfully completed this course, you should:

* have a general grasp of major trends in Western European art history from the 17th century to World War I.

* be able to listen with increased understanding to classical music from the same eras.

* understand some of the basic over-arching themes in philosophy and literature of the 18th and 19th centuries.

* be able to discuss fairly complex and sophisticated ideas such as are treated in the works assigned.

Course Outline

The following syllabus provides a concise outline of the course topics and requirements by week. January

8: Introduction; video: The Art of the Western World, 5: Realms of Light—The Baroque [12395] (The Baroque: Bernini, Cortona, Caravaggio, Borromini, Fischer von Erlach,Velazquez, Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt, etc.).

View video in class, take notes.

10: Read the “Course Introduction”

Music: Pachelbel, Vivaldi, Handel. Write something about one or more of the pieces of music and turn it in at the end of class. Do not “review” the music, saying whether it is good or bad; analyze it or report on what you have learned.

Read “The Enlightenment” online and write at least 50 words about some aspect of the Enlightenment to be turned in at the beginning of class.

15: Do this assignment only after having read “The Enlightenment” and done the assigned writing. Using the on-line Study Guide, then read Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary: have the following articles read and notes taken about them to turn in at the beginning of class, at least 50 words covering more than one or two articles: Abbe, Ame, Amour-propre, Athee, atheisme, Beau, beaute, Bien (tout est, Bornes de l’esprit humaine, Catechisme chinois, Certain, certitude, Chaine des evenements, Credo). As you read, also mentally try to find the answers to as many of the study questions in the Study Guide as you can.

17: Film: Knowledge or Certainty [1617] Before coming to class, read the online study guide; during the film, take notes; at the end of class, turn in a brief written response to the film addressing something in its contents, at least 50 words. Do not “review” the film; discuss its ideas.

22: Music Lecture Video #2 [r472]: Bach. Do assigned writing in class—at least 50 words—and turn it in at the end of class.

24: Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary: have the following articles read and notes taken about them to turn in at the beginning of class, at least 50 words: Egalite, Enthousiasme, Etat, gouvernements, Fanatisime, Foi, Guerre, Liberte de pensee, Prejuges, Secte, Theiste, Tolerance, Tyrannie. Using the online study guide, write answers to some of the study questions, at least 50 words total.

29: Library session, introduction to the research paper.

Sign up for library research topics. Be sure to attend. This is not a general library orientation, but a specialized presentation on sources you will need to use for doing this assignment. Look at “Suggested Research Topics for Humanities 303” online before coming to class and tentatively identify two or three topics you would like to work on. You may make up your own topic with my permission. See me first.

Although it is aimed primarily at off-campus students, you will also find much useful information in the Web page “Research Paper Assignment”.

* First paper due, on Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary, 600 words. Be sure to read “Helpful Hints for Writing Papers” before beginning this assignment. Design your own topic or choose one of the following, using details from Voltaire which demonstrate your understand of his writings: freedom, free will and determinism, religion, tolerance, government, relativism. You may argue with him, but only if you present fully all relevant evidence on both sides. You must use material from two or more articles. If you have trouble choosing a topic or are uncertain whether your topic is acceptable, ask for help!

31: Read the Introduction to Romanticism at http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/romanticism.html and write 50 words about the information and ideas on that page to turn in at the beginning of class.

Using the online Faust Study Guide, read Job: Chapters 1 & 2; Goethe: Faust: Introduction, Prologue in Heaven. Write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in.

February

5: Video: The Art of the Western World, 6: An Age of Reason, An Age of Passion [12396] (Antoine Watteau: Departure from Cythera, Robert Adams, Francois Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, Nicolas Poussin, Jacques Lemercier: Palais-Royal, Charles Perrault: Colonnade of the Louvre, Germain Soufflot: Pantheon, Giambattista Piranesi: drawings of Paestum, Jacques-Louis David: Death of Marat & The Sabine Women, Vignon: La Madeleine, Dominique Ingres: Odalisque, Jean-Antoine Gros, Francisco de Goya: The Horrors of War, Gericault, Eugene Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People, Theodore Gericault: The Raft of the Medusa) Take notes during videotape, turn in 50 words about the art at the end of class.

7: Goethe: Faust: Night, Before the City Gate, both scenes titled “Study.” Using the online study guide write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginning of class.

12: Music Lecture Video #3 [r485]: Mozart, Beethoven. Take notes during presentation, turn in 50 words on the music at the end of class.

Research paper proposal and annotated bibliography due: a paragraph outlining the topic and a list of sources to be used, with comments for each explaining why the sources will be useful to you. Be sure to include all three elements: the proposal itself, the list of sources, and the comments. If you have not already done so, read “The Research Paper” online at http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/research.html.

14: Goethe: Faust: Witch’s Kitchen, Street, Evening, Promenade, The Neighbor’s House, Street, Garden, A Garden Bower, Wood and Cave, Gretchen’s Room, Martha’s Garden. Use study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in.

19: Video: “The Artist Was a Woman” [VHS 18321]. Take notes during presentation, turn in 50 words on the music at the end of class.

21: Goethe: Faust: At the Well, City Wall, Night: Street in Front of Gretchen’s Door, Cathedral, Walpurgis Night, Dismal Day, Night, Open Field. Using the study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in.

26: Note: during the next week and a half, you have little homework other than to write your paper on Faust. This is the time that you are expected to use to also read Zola’s Germinal. Because it is a long book, you may want to start reading ahead now and not put it off until the week when it is due.

Goethe: Faust: Dungeon, Charming Landscape, Open Country, Palace, Deep Night, Midnight, Large Outer Court of the Palace, Entombment, Mountain Gorges: Forest, Rock and Desert. Using the online study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in.

28: Before class, read the online Study Guide for La Traviata.

Music Lecture Video #5 [r521]: Romanticism: Berlioz, DVD: Verdi: La Traviata, beginning, turn in 50 words on the opera and another 50 words on the other music at the end of class.

March

4: Verdi: La Traviata (conclusion) [11765], turn in 50 words on the opera at the end of class.

6:. Women Composers. Listen to presentation, turn in 50 words about the music at the end of class.

* Second paper due, on Goethe’s Faust, 1200 words. Counts 20 points. Design your own topic or choose one of the following:, remembering that you will be expected to define your topic further, since most of these are very broad: Faust and Mephistopheles, Faust and Gretchen, Thought vs. Action, Religion, Humor, Music, Magic, Classical Mythology. Again, if you have trouble choosing or defining a topic, ask for help.

18: Read “Realism and Naturalism” and turn in 50 words about it at the beginning of class.

Zola: Germinal: Parts 1-3. Use Study Guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginning of class.

20: Zola: Germinal: Parts 4-6. Use Study Guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginnning of class.

25: Zola: Germinal: Part 7. Use Study Guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginnning of class. Video: Mary Cassatt [14390]. Write 50 words in class about the video, to be turned in at the end of class.

27: Read “19th Century Russian Literature” and write 50 words about it to be turned in at the beginning of class.

Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground: Part One. Use the study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginning of class.

April

1: Dostoyevsky: Notes from Underground: Part Two. Use the study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginning of class..

3: Videotape: The Art of the Western World, 7: A Fresh View Impressionism and Post-Impressionism [12397] (Courbet, Degas, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Whistler, Pissarro, Sargent, Cassatt, Gauguin, Seurat, Van Gogh, Signac, Bernard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Valadon, Cezanne), Impressionist art show. Write 50 words about the presentations to be turned in at the end of class.

* Research paper due. 20 points; required revised version due April 29.

8: Read “The Influence of Nietzsche,” taking notes, write 50 words about this page to turn in at the beginning of class.

Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: Translator’s Preface, beginning through “On the Three Metamorphoses.” Use study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginning of class.

10: Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On the Teachers of Virtue” through “On the Flies of the Marketplace.” Use study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginning of class.

15: Nietzsche: Thus Spoke Zarathustra: “On Chastity” through through the end of the First Part (“On the Gift-Giving Virtue.” Use study guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in at the beginning of class..

Music Videotape Lecture 6 [r559]: Impressionist Music: Debussy & Ravel. Turn in 50 words on the music at the end of class.

17: Read “Misconceptions, Confusions, and Conflicts Concerning Socialism, Communism, and Capitalism” online. Turn in 50 words about it at the beginning of class.

Read “Introduction to 19th-Century Socialism” online. Turn in 50 words about it at the beginning of class.

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto: Prologue, Section 1 . Use Study Guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in.

22: Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto: Sections 2 & 4. Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto: Section 2. Use Study Guide, write 50 words answering some of the study questions to turn in.

24: Music Video Lecture 7 [r569]: Early 20th Century music.

29: * Third paper due, on Zola, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, or Marx, 1200 words minimum. Counts 10 points. If you wrote on one of these authors for your research paper, choose a different one to write on for this assignment. Sample topics on Germinal: Women, Changes in the Miners, Sexuality and Nature, The Mine as Monster. Sample topics on Dostoyevsky: The UM’s Assault on the Enlightenment, The Concept of Freedom, Self-Hatred, Fear of Love. Sample topics on Nietzsche (be sure to use more than one passage from the book): Relativism, Freedom, Principal Characteristics of the Overman, Nietzsche and Christianity, Romantic and Enlightenment Aspects. Sample topics on Marx: The Nature of Class Struggle, The Role of the Bourgeoisie in Transforming History, Marx’s Answers to his Critics, Advantages and Disadvantages of Communism as Described in the Manifesto.

* Final date for cultural event report.

* All revised papers due, including revised research paper.

Course Work

Papers:

If you have trouble with your printer, you may bring in the paper on a disk or removeable drive or send it to me by e-mail attachment. Printer problems are never an excuse for not getting a paper in on time.

Regular papers are not necessarily research papers, and it is possible to receive maximum points on a paper without doing research for it, although papers incorporating good library work will normally receive higher grades. Suggested topics are listed on your syllabus. You should choose a topic you are particularly interested in, not try to guess what I want you to write. When I can learn something new from a paper, I am pleased. If you have difficulty thinking of a topic, see or call me. I am also happy to look over rough drafts and answer questions about proposed topics. In addition, one paper per semester will be a required library research paper incorporating information gathered from scholarly books and articles (not just Web pages and reference books like dictionaries and encyclopedias). For more details on how to write papers for this class, see “Helpful Hints for Writing Class Papers.” For details on how to write the research paper for this class, see the page entitled “Research Paper Assignment“.

Papers are due at the beginning of class on the day specified in the syllabus. Do not cut class to finish a paper. Papers may always be submitted before the due date if you wish. There is no midterm or final examination in this class.

The following elements are taken into consideration when I grade your papers: 1) You must convince me that you have read and understood the material involved. 2) You must have something interesting to say about it. 3) Originality counts—easy, common topics tend to earn lower grades than difficult ones done well. 4) Significant writing (spelling, punctuation, usage) errors will be marked on each paper before it is returned to you. If there are more than a few you must identify the errors and correct them (by hand, on the same paper, without retyping it) and hand the paper back in before a grade will be recorded for you. 5) I look for unified essays on a well-defined topic with a clear title and coherent structure. 6) I expect you to support your arguments with references to the text, often including quotations appropriately introduced and analyzed (but quote only to make points about the material quoted, not simply for its own sake). 7) You must do more than merely summarize the plot of the works you have read. See “Helpful Hints for Writing Class Papers” for more information.

Late Papers:

If you think you have a valid excuse (medical, etc.) for not getting a paper in on time, let me know in advance (phone) if you can. Choosing to work on other classes rather than this one is never an acceptable excuse for handing in a paper late. Because of my make-up policy (see below), it almost always makes more sense to send in even a poorly-done, rushed paper than none at all. Papers sent in late with no excuse will not receive a passing grade. To pass the course you must hand in all assigned papers. Do not assume you will be allowed to hand in work late. Pay careful attention to due dates on the syllabus.

Revised Papers:

You may not make up a paper which you have failed to hand in. However, if you do hand in a paper and are dissatisfied with your grade, after consulting with me, you may revise your paper and have your grade raised if it is significantly improved. You are required the revise the research paper once unless your first draft earns an A. Other revisions will be handled on an individual basis, and limits will be set as to the number of revisions allowed and the time allowed to hand them in. Simply substituting phrases that I have suggested to improve your writing does not result in an improved grade. You have to make the sort of substantial changes I suggest in the note I make at the end of your paper.

Cultural Event Assignment:

Humanities 303 students will attend a cultural event relating to the 18th or 19th centuries and report on it in a 600-word paper which will be graded like the other papers in the course (worth 10 points).

Announcements of qualifying events will be posted online. If you want to attend an appropriate event elsewhere during Spring break, check it out with me in advance.

Study Questions:

For each of the reading assignments, the study guide online contains a series of study questions which I want you to think about. It is your assignment to mentally answer as many of these questions as you can while you read, and to write at least 50 words answering some of them to turn in at the beginning of the class in which we discuss the assignment. When an assignment that you are to write a number of words, it means that is the lower limit. You can always write more.

Make sure you can discuss all parts of each week’s assignment—not just the beginning. Show that you are thinking seriously about these questions. These study question assignments are graded pass/fail (I will let you know quickly if you have done an inadequate one). You must miss or fail no more than five of these Speakeasy discussion assignments to pass the course.

Exams:

There is no midterm or final examination in this class.

E-mails:

I will be sending out occasional class announcements via e-mail using the WSU system. However, this means that you must have a valid e-mail address that you actually use listed in the WSU directory. To make sure you are listed in the directory go to http://www.wsu.edu/and click “People,” and search for your name (last name first, no comma). If the Email field is blank or lists an address other than the one you actually use, you need to log into “myWSU” and create an account.

If you do not wish to use your wsu.edu address to read your mail, set up mail forwarding in “myWSU“to forward your official mail to whatever e-mail address you prefer.

Grading

Again, to pass the course you must complete all papers. The research paper especially is not optional. Note that you will not receive a letter grade on your research paper until after it has been revised in response to my initial comments on it.

Grading of daily writings

Attendance and participation in the course are measured by the notes you turn in at the beginning of class. Together the written contributions count as 20% of your grade. Contributions are graded on a pass-fail basis. Assume they have been counted unless I make a response to what you have written saying it is inadequate.

Course Work Points Percent of Final Grade

Voltaire paper 10 10%

Faust paper 20 20%

Third paper 20 20%

Research paper 20 20%

Cultural event report 10 10%

Daily Writings 20 20%

TOTALS 100 100%

Grade Points Grade Points

A 9.5 or above C 7.3–7.7

A– 9.0–9.4 C– 7.0–7.2

B+ 8.8–8.9 D 6.5–6.9

B 8.3–8.7 F 6.5 & Below

B– 8.0–8.2

C+ 7.8–7.9

Standards for grading papers:

All assigned papers must be turned in to pass the course.

Topics are challenging, often original; papers are well organized, filled with detail, and demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the topic. Examples are chosen from several portions of the work. Opinion papers are carefully argued, with detailed attention being paid to opposing arguments and evidence. Papers receiving an “A” are usually somewhat longer than the minimum assigned, typically a page or so longer, though this all depends on the compactness of your writing style—a paper which is long and diffuse does not result in a higher grade and a very compact, exceptionally well-written paper will occasionally receive an “A.” The writing should be exceptionally clear and generally free of mechanical errors.

Topics are acceptable, papers well organized, containing some supporting detail, and demonstrate an above-average knowledge of the topic. Examples are chosen from several portions of the work. Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers are carefully argued, with some attention being paid to opposing argument and evidence. Writing is above average, containing only occasional mechanical errors. A “B” is given for above-average work.

Topics are acceptable, but simple. Paper are poorly organized, containing inadequate detail, demonstrating only partial knowledge of the topic (focusing only on one short passage from a work or some minor aspect of it). Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers contain unsupported assertions and ignore opposing arguments and evidence. Writing is average or below, and mechanical errors are numerous. Paper does not appear to have been proofread carefully. A “C” is given for average work.

Inappropriately chosen topic does not demonstrate more than a minimal comprehension of the topic. Papers are at least the minimum length assigned. Opinion papers contain unsupported assertions and ignore opposing arguments and evidence. Writing is poor, filled with mechanical errors. Paper does not appear to have been proofread. A “D” is given for barely acceptable work.

Paper is shorter than the minimum length required. Topic is unacceptable because it does not cover more than an incidental (or unassigned) portion of the work or does not reveal a satisfactory level of knowledge . Generalizations are unsupported with evidence and opinion papers contain unsupported assertions and ignore opposing arguments and evidence. Writing is not of acceptable college-level quality. Paper does not appear to have been proofread. An “F” is given for unsatisfactory work.

Statement on Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC). All accommodations MUST be approved through the DRC (Admin Annex Bldg, Room 205). Please stop by or call 509-335-3417 to make an appointment with a disability specialist.

Academic Integrity

As an institution of higher education, Washington State University is committed to principles of truth and academic honesty. All members of the University community share the responsibility for maintaining and supporting these principles. When a student enrolls in Washington State University, the student assumes an obligation to pursue academic endeavors in a manner consistent with the standards of academic integrity adopted by the University. To maintain the academic integrity of the community, the University cannot tolerate acts of academic dishonesty including any forms of cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication. Washington State University reserves the right and the power to discipline or to exclude students who engage in academic dishonesty.

Anyone plagiarising in this class will fail the course and be reported to student conduct.

Posted by Paul Brians January 5, 2008.

Research Paper Assignment

December 7, 2016 elizabeth.wasson

The Assignment

Of necessity, the instructions for this assignment are somewhat vague. Each student will have to explore different resources and will need to develop an individual approach to the subject. The goal is a brief but detailed exploration of some narrowly defined aspect of the Humanities during the period stretching from the Enlightenment to World War I. These instructions are aimed mainly at distance-learning students, but local students in Pullman should also find much of them useful. The students working in Pullman who can spend time in the library there have a number of advantages in working on the literary and philosophical topics. Distance-learning students can request journal articles and books by e-mail from the library. For information on how to use WSU’s library remotely, see the Distance Degree Library Services page. The DDLS librarians should be able to help you find materials you can use if you phone them at (800) 435-5832.

Note that this is not an Internet-based research assignment. You are expected to use the resources of the WSU libraries, both books and journals. The “request this item” button in Griffin will lead you to a page where you can request items from WSU to be mailed to you. If you have access to a large public library like Seattle Public or a good academic library attached to a college, you may use that with permission from me; but do not try to rely on small local libraries. They will not have the kinds of specialized materials you are expected to use in your research.

It is crucial that you be in constant contact with me about what you are doing, what you are trying, what is working and what is not. I want to have e-mail from you at least every couple of weeks about how your research is going. Any time you run into a problem or have a question, drop me a line at paulbrians@gmail.com. Do not put this assignment off until near the due date–you will certainly not be able to do a satisfactory job at the last moment.

Suggested research paper topics for which you will probably need a large library:

Voltaire’s Philosophical Dictionary: its composition and reception in the 18^th century.
Voltaire’s thought and reputation and the French Revolution.
Voltaire and deism.
The relationship of Baroque music or art to the political structures of the age of Absolutism.
Émile Zola and art.
Romanticism and the French Revolution.
The relationship between Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra and Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Influences of
Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra on the 20^th century.
Nietzsche’s relationship to the enlightenment, to the romantic movement.

More general topics which can be done from anywhere
(must be chosen from the artists and musicians listed on the syllabus or in assignments for this course)

Any topic dealing with Goethe’s Faust.
Any topic dealing with Zola’s Germinal.
Any topic dealing with Notes from Underground.
The influence of an artist or musician on others. The history of a particular movement in art or music.
The influence of a literary work on a work of art or piece of music.
The reflection of historical events in a piece of art or music.
Other topics relating to art or music, but avoid strictly biographical papers which simply retell the individual’s life without examining his or her works. Many students enjoy working on operas.

There is a list of opera videotapes you can borrow from WSU’s MMS at it’s new webpage.Look up information about the opera that interests you to make sure it was written between 1700 and 1914–the period covered by this course. Then call the DDP librarian at (800) 435-5832 for help in checking out your opera.

All papers on art and music must examine individual works of art and music the writer has seen reproductions of or heard recordings of and describe how they look and sound. Do not treat operas as if they were plays, paying attention only to plot and dialogue.

Steps in doing the assignment

Select your topic and have it approved by me.
Do some background work to find sources and submit an annotated bibliography (a list of sources, with an explanation attached to each one of why it should be useful).
Do your research USING THE WSU LIBRARY.
Write your paper and turn it in.
After I have marked it up, you must revise your paper following my suggestions to improve your grade

See the syllabus for due dates.

Good reference works to check for information
(Note: “Dictionaries” are often actually encyclopedias in disguise.)

For art
The Dictionary of Art
Art Index

For literature
The Humanities Index
Dictionary of Literary Biography
Oxford Companion to French Literature
Oxford Companion to English Literature
Oxford Companion to German Literature

Especially useful are the following massive sets published by Gale Research. If you are lucky enough to find a library that has them, be warned that they are tricky to use. You can also ask Distance Degree Library Services (DDPlib@wsu.edu or (800) 435-5832 ) to help you use the copies that are on the WSU campus and photocopy and send you the relevant pages. Ask a librarian to show you how. Which set you use is determined by the death date of the author on whom you are doing research. Zola died in the early 20^th century, so for information on him you have to look in the third set.

Literature Criticism 1400-1800
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism
(Note the inconsistency in this title, “literary,” not “literature” like the others.)

For Music

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (available online through Griffin)
Music Index
New Grove Dictionary of Opera

For Philosophy
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Philosopher’s Index
The Humanities Index (availablee online through Griffin)

If a library lacks one of these, ask a librarian to show you something similar.

Tips:

Begin by looking up your topic in the Encyclopedia Britannica, available through the WSU Libraries pages here. Note bibliographic citations at the end of the articles you read; these may be sources you’ll want to track down. Other computer-based encyclopedias like Encarta are inadequate for the kind of research you will be doing.

Go to WSU Libraries. This is a huge and powerful database (which may also be available online or on CD-ROM at a library near you), but it needs some care in using it. Many other libraries have bound, printed volumes of this as well. Here are some tips:

Don’t use the MLA bibliography to look for articles about Voltaire or Nietzsche. It is best for literature, not philosophy (see “For Philosophy,” above).

After you do your intial search, you can use the “limit search” button to restrict the search to articles and books in English unless you are fluent in some relevant foreign language. Or, alternatively, when you first enter MLA, you can click on the button marked “Advanced Search” and narrow the search to English before you start.

Entries are given ten at a time. To see the next ten, click on the “Next Page” button.

Ignore references to dissertations. You do not have easy access to these and they are usually not considered authoritative sources.

Using the on-line version, copy and paste the bibliographic data into a word processing document to save you time. You can reformat it later.

Do not assume that all these books and articles are available in the WSU library; but you may well be able to get some of them through Summit.

In the case of journal articles you want from WSU note that many of the online databases such as Project Muse go back only a few years–you will need to search the last 25 or 30 years for many of these topics.

Similarly, if the item you are seeking is actually a chapter in a book rather than in a journal, search for the title of the book it appeared in, not the author or title of the chapter.

In the case of books, use the Griffin Catalog at http://www.systems.wsu.edu/griffin/wsugate.htm to search for the author or title. If you have only a subject, but no author or title yet, note that often a keyword search is more effective than a subject start to get started. For instance, to find the English translation of the source of Bizet’s Carmen you need to use “Carmen” and “Merimee” as keywords (you would have read in Grove or the Britannica that Prosper Merimée wrote the original novel).

The MLA Bibliography online covers articles published since 1963, and in the earlier years, many interesting journals were not indexed. But you can read the bibliographies of the articles and books you find here to discover what the classic earlier works are which discuss your topic.

Do not stop at the first few hits. Not all the information you find will be useful. You need to do some background reading on your subject to get a sense of which sources might be helpful. This is the reason for checking the encyclopedia first, before starting your MLA search.

Finally, local students find your materials in the library, and DDP students use the “Request This Item” button in Griffin.

To begin your library research, start at the DDLS website http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/electric/library/, in the left-hand frame, click on “Article Indexes/Full Text & More,” then on “General & Multidisciplinary.” There are several databases on this page that may be helpful to you, depending on your topic:

1. ArticleFirst (request articles from DDLS)

2. JSTOR (full-text)

3. Oxford English Dictionary (full-text)

4. WorldCat (request items from Interlibrary Loan, or DDLS)

At the bottom of the “General & Multidisciplinary” page, you will find another link to “Humanities” resources. Click on that link, and you will find the following databases which may be useful:

1. Art Abstracts (request articles from DDLS)

2. Arts & Humanities Search (request articles from DDLS)

3. Grove Dictionary of Art (full-text)

4. Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians (full-text)

5. International Index to Music Periodicals (request articles from DDLS)

6. MLA (request articles from DDLS)

7. Project Muse (full-text)

8. ProQuest Direct (many full-text)

Beware of sources dating back before 1950; most of them are out of date. Normally I will not accept such sources. If you are unclear on how to access any citations you find in the above databases, contact DDLS. (DDPlib@wsu.edu or 1-800-435-5832)

Another service available through Griffin is WorldCat via FirstSearch. Start at the usual Gateway page and click on “Article Indexes/Full Text & More,” then on “General & Multidisciplinary,” then on “FirstSearch.” If you can’t figure out how to create and use login ID and password, ask a librarian. DDP students write Extended Degree Library Services at DDPlib@wsu.edu or phone (800) 435-5832. Once inside FirstSearch, click on the first “Database Areas” link: “Arts & Humanities. Then, under “General Databases,” click on “WorldCat.” This database will give you mostly books, not articles. Some of them may be very old. Beware of sources dating back before 1950. Most of them are out of date. By clicking on “Limit Search” you can limit your search to books dating 1950-1999, or any other two years you want, and while you’re at it, limit the language to English. FirstSearch may tell you whether the book is in the WSU library; but you may also be able to borrow a book we don’t own from another library near you or through the Interlibrary Loan service of your local library. This latter option, however, can be a very slow process, so you need to plan weeks in advance if you want to try it.

A faster alternative is Summit, a free interlibrary loan service for certain Washington and Oregon libraries only. This can be especially valuable if the only copy of a book you need is checked out from WSU. If you do not find what you want in Griffin, click the green “Search Summit” button. Again, ask your librarian if you have questions.

In looking for books, the obvious place to start is Griffin itself. Remember: you cannot search for article titles or authors within Griffin, only for the titles of journals which contain such articles. The natural temptation is to search by subject, but this is usually a mistake unless you know the precise wording of the Library of Congress description of the subject you are looking for. Instead, use “keyword” searching to type in terms that are associated with your subject.

ProQuest, also available through Griffin, is good for doing research on current events, but is rather poor for the kinds of subjects you will be studying in this class. Because ProQuest only goes back to the mid-1980s it is missing many important and useful articles that are included in the MLA bibliography. In addition, MLA contains books as well as articles while ProQuest is confined to articles only. Its only advantage over MLA is that you may be able to view articles you find either as a whole or in part on your computer screen, without having to wait for them to be sent by the library. Give it a try, but don’t spend a lot of time trying to do serious research there. Librarians will be able to give you advice about which databases are most appropriate for your subject.

Searching the Web

The Web is good for pictures, dates, and basic information; but it should not provide the main sources for your paper. Papers based mostly or entirely on Web research will not receive passing grades. Here are some tips on Web searching to get you started. Serious scholarship on the humanities in Europe during the 18^th and 19^th centuries is spotty at best online. However, there are some extremely valuable sources out there. Here are some tips to guide you as you search.

Be flexible about trying different search terms. This bit of advice applies to all kinds of searches, not just on the Web. If you are searching for Voltaire’s influence on the French Revolution, you will probably also want to look separately for sites dealing with Voltaire and sites on the history of the French Revolution. You might also look for the terms “enlightenment” and “revolution” together.

Google is now the premier search engine because it gives better results for most searches, by finding first the sites to which most other sites have linked. The upshot is that pages that others have found useful bounce immediately to the top of Google’s hit list. Try typing in “influence of the enlightenment on the french revolution” (between quotation marks) in Google and you’ll find a ton of papers on this topic other students have written. Be cautious about using them as sources–they aren’t necessarily experts, but you can certainly get ideas here. Just don’t copy them. Remember, I can find these sources just as easily as you can.

Here’s an important tip. The first time I tried this, I mistyped “enlightenment” as “enlightnement,” and found only five pages whose authors had made the same typing error–all of them useless. If you get an unexpectedly small number of hits, check your spelling.

Asking an Expert

Sometimes the easiest way to find a good Web page is to ask someone knowledgeable; but how do you find such a person?

The obvious answer, is TRY ME! In fact, part of this assignment involves me or a librarian giving you suggestions about what sources to look at. You are absolutely expected to follow up on these suggestions. Papers which turn out weak because suggestions were ignored will receive a failing grade. For instance, anyone who is interested in writing about Voltaire and the French Revolution is always told by me to look at an old but excellent source: volumes 7-10 of Will Durant’s The Story of Civilization. These are big fat volumes, so may look forbidding; but a few minutes spent with their indexes will teach you more about your topic than many hours of Internet searching (and they’re wonderfully readable). They also have the great advantage of being in just about any library, even small local ones. But the only way you are likely to hear about these books is from me. Asking for help is not “cheating”; it’s one of the main skills we are trying to teach you.

Doing your research

Step 1: Gathering and selecting information

One of the secrets of a good research paper is gathering much more information than you will actually use at the end. You want to avoid at all cost writing a paper on sources you don’t understand. Let’s look back at an article I once found on “The Influence of the Enlightenment on the French Revolution” at the Mining Co. (now defunct). Looking more closely, I found that it refers us to arguments by Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine about the French Revolution. (I also note that the author was not particularly skilled in spelling and punctuation; I wouldn’t want to copy his errors.) In fact, this was a page from a course in which students were reading articles by these two authors. The names are vaguely familiar, but if you look their names up in the encylopedia you’ll discover that the first was an Englishman and the second an American. Therefore these people may have analyzed the French Revolution; but they were not themselves French, or involved in the Revolution directly. We may decide not to use them, because they tell us more about what non-French contemporaries thought about the Revolution than what modern historians think about it. Encyclopedias are great resources for giving us background information to help explain what we are reading.

Suppose you had used Griffin to look for books whose titles included the words “French Revolution” and found Roger Lawrence Williams’ The French Revolution of 1870-1871. But because you have done background reading on the revolution in the encyclopedia, you realize that this book can’t possibly refer to the 1789 revolution. In fact, there were several “French revolutions” of which only the 1789 one is usually referred to as the French Revolution. You have to know enough about your topic to reject irrelevant sources like this.

Step 2: Evaluating information

Judging authoritativeness

If you find a book in a scholarly library or in the pages of a scholarly journal, it has probably gone through one or more screening processes to ensure that it has some degree of authority and reliability. However, anyone can publish anything on the Web, which is filled with amateurish, biased, fraudulent and satirical pages which can damage your paper if you depend on them. How do you decide whether a Web source you’ve found is from a trustworthy source?

Trust brand names. Articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica may not be perfect, but they come from respectable sources.
Look for scholarly authorship. Is the author a specialist in the field working for a famous or distinguished university?
Do other people frequently refer to this source as authoritative? Check bibliographies.
Has it been selected by some thoughtful scholarly group such as the people who run The English Server at the University of Washington (http://eserver.org/) or created by a well-known institution such as the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (http://www.metmuseum.org/)?

Judging Comprehensibility

Use a source only if you understand it. Of course you can increase your comprehension by using dictionaries and encyclopedias; but, if even after trying that, much of what you are reading remains obscure to you, move on to another source you can better understand. Trying to use a source which the student author has not understood is a fatal flaw of many research papers.

Judging relevance

Not every item you find by using a key word or subject search will really be relevant to your topic. You need to define the topic of your paper yourself, not let it be defined by a dumb search engine. This almost always means learning more about a topic than you will be able to use directly in your paper. Be ruthless about throwing away irrelevant material.

Detecting bias

Suppose you had found the site called “The French Revolution” which seemed pretty well organized and straightforward. But as you read through it you note numerous Biblical quotations and much discussion of religious issues. You slowly realize that the author of this site has a very definite point of view: he is a conservative Christian attacking the ideas of the Enlightenment as expressed in the French Revolution. You may or may not agree with him, but you need to judge his words in the light of that information and compare what he says with what other historians say. You may also realize that this is mostly a lecture outline and that you would have to attend his course to get the real substance of his arguments. Don’t let yourself be “captured” by a single source.

Getting help

If you are having trouble deciding whether a source you have found is useful, share it with me and let me advise you. Constant communication with the teacher is an essential tool of doing good research. Don’t flounder on your own. If the source is a Web page, send me the URL at brians@wsu.edu.

For help with the WSU library, write Extended Degree Library Services at DDP@wsu.edu or phone them at (800) 435-5832.

Step 3: Taking notes

Photocopiers and Web browsers have made the gathering and reproduction of raw data much easier; you can even use recent versions of Microsoft Word to open a Web page directly and save it as a document. However, this is not note-taking. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting down on the night before a paper is due to that pile of photocopies and books you gathered weeks ago, only to find that most of it is irrelevant junk and that you desperately need other materials. Spend a good long time in the library or on the Web looking closely at the resources you find to decide whether they are worth copying, checking out, or otherwise reproducing them. A highlighter can be a useful tool in marking important passages (just don’t use one on a library book!), but ultimately you’ll need some real notes. The old file-card system still works well; but if you’re comfortable at a computer you’ll find that organizing your notes in a database or the outline view of your word processing software will work even better. Make sure that every note is securely tagged as coming from a specific source with a complete bibliographic citation (author, title, etc.)

Once you have a good many notes, begin to sort them into groups by topic. Try various arrangments, and a structure for your paper should slowly emerge.

Step 4: Organizing your paper

Always begin with at least an informal outline. Don’t just start writing without any notion of where you are headed.

Create some logical order for your paper. A chronological order may explain how some idea developed. A geographical order may relate a topic across national boundaries.

Digest your sources and use them for your own purposes. A summary of an article followed by another summary of a different article, and so on, is not a paper. It is just a set of notes. You need to compare sources, often referring to two different ones in the same paragraph or even sentence.

Avoid making your big points first and then trailing off into minor ones. Structure your paper to lead up to a strong conclusion.

Step 5: Making Citations

For this class, you will use the Modern Language Association format, which is explained in Arthur C. Banks’ helpful “Guide for Writing Research Papers.” Pay close attention to the section on “Parenthetical Documentation.” Do not substitute APA style, in which only last name of the author and the date of the article are given. This does not work in the humanities. Page numbers are crucial.

Cite only sources you actually use; use only sources you cite.

Call your list of sources “Sources Cited,” not “Bibliography.” A bibliography is a much more ambitious and thorough project than what you will be doing for this paper.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

Cite a source not only when you quote from it, but when you paraphrase from it or draw ideas from it. Failure to do so is plagiarism, and can incur severe penalties (typically, failing the course).

Always introduce your sources by name; don’t just start quoting them. For instance: “Jessica L. Rabbit argues in her article on Los Angeles history that . . . (98).” Note when you mention the author of an article or book in this way, you need not repeat it in the parenthetical citation. Later citations from the same source do not always need introduction if they occur soon after the original one, so you can just cite the source as follows: “(Rabbit 72).”

For information on how to cite Web sources, see this Web page.

Avoiding plagiarism

Computers make it easy to copy. Don’t be tempted. Computers also make it easy to track down the sources of copied information. I am ruthless with plagiarists. Persons caught plagiarizing material in their papers will not be allowed to revise for a better grade. All cases of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course and a report to Student Conduct.

Other helpful documents

Be sure to check out these before you write your paper:

MANDATORY: Helpful Hints for Writing Class Papers

OPTIONAL BUT EXTREMELY USEFUL: Common Errors in English

These contain directions for avoiding my pet peeves.

Length

The minimum length for this assignment (see syllabus) is very, very short for a research paper. Unless your writing is wonderfully concise, you will need to write more. If you cannot stretch your material to this minimum you don’t have enough material or–more likely–aren’t examining it closely enough. Believe it or not, the chief reason people run out of things to say is that they have defined their topics too broadly. A narrow, tightly-focused topic will allow you to get specific and dig into the finer shades of the topic, and finding enough to write about will be no problem. Avoid vague generalizations.

If your paper reads like an encyclopedia article, giving an overview of a person’s entire career, it is too broad. You need to focus on a narrow subject within the general work of the writer, artist, philosopher, or musician. You should not write at all about their birth, childhood, and education unless they are strictly relevant to your topic.

If you are writing about one of the books we study in this class, your paper needs to go well beyond the ideas and facts presented in the relevant study guide. You are supposed to become something of an expert in your subject, and come up with new information and ideas not already discussed in class.

Revising your paper

Almost all the papers in this course should be revised at least once. That is part of the point of the class, teaching you how to write better. Be sure to incorporate suggestions that are made, particularly broad, general ones like “this section lacks focus–concentrate on a single topic.” Merely cleaning up typos and spelling errors is not revision–it’s proofreading, and will not improve your grade.

Be careful about trying to solve problems by simply moving chunks of text around. Usually you have to do some actual rewriting to improve a paper. When a paragraph is moved, it often needs to be adjusted somewhat to fit within its new environment. If I ask you to develop a section further, do not simply cut it out. You get no increase in grade for simply making the specific spelling and grammatical changes I suggest; you have to do actual rewriting for that.

Seeking help

The point of this assignment is not to fling you in the sea of knowledge and stand by to see if you can avoid the sharks; it is to teach you something more about how to do research in the humanities and write about it. You get no credit for struggling silently on your own. Again, please use the resources available to you: For questions about this assignment, ask me. Keep asking me questions and sending me ideas. If you find yourself tempted to tell someone else “I don’t know what he wants,” it means you need to ask me more questions. For help with the WSU library, ask the DDP librarian at DDPlib@wsu.edu or phone them at (800) 435-5832. If you need help with your writing, try the WSU Online Writing Lab at http://owl.wsu.edu/. You can send them drafts of your paper and they will help guide you through the process of revising it. You can even arrange to “chat” with a writing tutor in a chat room about your work. Take advantage of this terrific resource.

Step 6: Submitting your paper

Pullman students will hand in printed copy in person, but for DDP students, unlike most of your weekly writing assignments, which can be pasted into the forms in the Bridge, you need to send formally formatted papers through “My DDP.” This method is simple and works quite well, but write or phone DDP if you have any questions about how to use it. Be aware that papers submitted through My DDP may take up to a full working day to reach me.

I can open documents created by any version of Microsoft Word and many other word processors. If you are using Word Perfect, or some other word processor, let me know. I can open most of them, but there are a few I can’t.

I can also open any document that has been saved as HTML or in Rich Text Format (RTF).

Revising your paper

Your first draft will be marked up and commented on, but not assigned a letter grade. You will receive credit and a grade for for this paper only after having revised it. Fixing typos and other small slips according to my suggestions is mandatory, but not an important way to improve your grade. The only way to get a good grade is to follow the suggestions spelled out at the very end of your paper, which may call for more research, narrowing of topic, or reorganization of your paper. Note that this revision is mandatory, and that it must be done in order to pass the course.

Created by Paul Brians, July 2, 1998

Revised May 10, 2005

Paul Brians Vita

December 5, 2016 elizabeth.wasson

Education (Institutions, degrees, dates)

Ph.D., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 1968
M.A., Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 1966
B.A., Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon, 1964
Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California 1960-62

Experience (Positions and Dates)

Assistant Professor of English, 1968-1977
Associate Professor of English, 1977-1988
Professor of English, 1988- 2008
Retired 2008-present

Professional Recognition and Honors

Inducted into The Quarter Century Club of WSU, 1993.
Burlington Northern Award for excellence in teaching, 1992.
“Inquiring Mind” speaker, 1990-92.
Faculty Library Award, 1988.
Member, faculty of World Civilizations 110/111 (a group of twenty faculty members selected from ninety applicants to be trained as teachers for a new world civilizations course).
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” invited address for History Honorary annual banquet, 1984.
“The New Censorship,” invited address for Holland Library Faculty Recognition Award talk, Spring, 1983
“Pornography and the Arts,” invited address for the Art Department Enrichment Series, WSU, March 23, 1971.

Publications

Books

Modern South Asian Literature in English. Greenwood Press, 2003.
Common Errors in English Usage. William, James, 2003. Second Edition, 2008.
Reading About the World, Vols. 1 & 2 (ed.). Third Edition, Harcourt Brace Custom Publishing, 1999.
Reading About the World, Vols. 1 & 2 (ed.). Second edition, American Heritage Custom Publishing, 1996. Contributed translations of the following selections: Anna Comnena: The Alexiad, Emile Zola: Germinal, Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams, Ren/(c) Descartes: The Discourse on Method, Montaigne: Essay on Cannibals, Francois Rabelais: Letter from Gargantua to his son Pantagruel; adapted translations of the following: Angelo Poliziano: Quis Dabit Capiti Meo Aquam (Lament on the Death of Lorenzo di Medici), Marcus Aurelius: Meditations, The Young Woman and Her Five Lovers, from Tales from the Thousand and One Nights.
Reading About the World, Vols. 1 & 2. (ed.) HarperCollins Custom Publishing, 1994.
Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984. Kent State University Press, 1987. [Refereed]
Bawdy Tales from the Courts of Medieval France (trans. & ed.), Harper & Row, 1975. [Refereed]

Other Publications

Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2008.
Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2007.
Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2006
Common Errors in English Usage Daily Boxed Calendar. Wilsonville, OR: William, James, 2005.

E-Publications

Nuclear Texts & Contexts (1998-1995) created and made available “here“
Study Guide for Ursula LeGuin: The Dispossessed, as a supplement to the e-book version of the novel in the following formats: Acrobat eBook Reader, Microsoft Reader, and Palm Reader, March, 2002.

Web-Based

Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction. Greatly expanded and revised edition of my 1987 book, mounted 2003. Slightly revised and expanded, 2004.
Nuke/Pop (mounted Fall, 1999)
Common Errors in English (first mounted March 1997, extensively revised December 1998, December 1999, minor revisions in 2000, major revisions 2001, major revisions in 2005 and later.)
Annotations for Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, August, 1996. Completed December, 1997, revised 2000.

Newsletter

Nuclear Texts & Contexts, issue #1, Fall, 1988 (edited and wrote most of the issue), issue #2, Spring 1989 (edited and wrote much of the issue), issue #3, Fall, 1989 (became sole editor with this issue, wrote several articles), issue #4, Spring 1990, issue #5, Fall 1990, issue #6, Spring 1991, issue #7, Fall 1991, issue #8, Fall 1992. Resigned editorship with Fall 1992 issue. Published on Web site at http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/ntc/ (2003).

Articles

“Let’s Clear Something Up,” columns on language usage for Blueprint magazine May-June 2007 (p. 16), June-July 2007 (p.22), and January-February, 2008 (p. 18).
Entries on “Nuclear War,” “Post-Holocaust Societies,” and “The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K. Lee Guin (1974)” in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, ed. Gary Westfahl. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005.
“Good Words Gone Bad,” by Candace Murphy, Oakland Tribune, October 25, 2005, was based largely on a phone interview with me.
“Multimedia Made Simple, The Hard Way,” World History Connected, Vol. 1, no. 2 (May 2004); an online journal for world history teachers. http://worldhistoryconnected.press.uiuc.edu/1.2/brians.html[Commissioned article with interactive online multimedia examples]
“Classical Turkey,” Washington State Magazine (Fall 2003): 18-19. [Commissioned article with photographs by myself.]
“Annotating The Satanic Verses: An Example of Internet Research and Publication,” Computers and the Humanities 33 (December 1999): 247-264. [Refereed]
“Study Guide for Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz,” SFRA Review no. 242 (October 1999), pp. 6-19.
“Writing English by Ear,” The Editorial Eye, 21:6 (June 1998) pp. 1-4. Solicited by the editor of this newsletter for professional editors and revised by her while I was in Japan. About 60% of the article is as I wrote it. Paid contribution.
“Nuclear Family/Nuclear War,” in Nancy Anisfield, ed. The Nightmare Considered: Critical Essays on Nuclear War Literature. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Press, 1991. (A slightly revised version of the paper originally published in Essays in Language and Literature (Spring 1990).
“Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers: A Commentary and Annotated Bibliography,” in Philip John Davies, ed. Science Fiction, Social Conflict and War. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1990. [An earlier, abridged version of this article, without most of the notes and without any of the annotated bibliography, was published as “Nuclear Fiction for Children” in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1988; but I consider this the definitive version of the article.
“Nuclear Family/Nuclear War,” Papers on Language and Literature, 26 (1990): pp. 134-142.
“Atomic Bomb Day” (pp. 32-33) and “Hiroshima Day (pp. 309-311) in Read More About It: An Encyclopedia of Information Sources on Historical Figures and Events. Vol. 3. Ann Arbor: The Pierian Press, 1989 (commissioned).
with Vladimir Gakov: “Nuclear-War Themes in Soviet Science Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography.” Science-Fiction Studies 16(1989): 67-84. (In this collaborative effort, the research was primarily Gakov’s responsibility; but I extensively revised and edited his first draft, and helped shape and write the introduction.) [Refereed]
“Nuclear Fiction for Children,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, July/August 1988, pp. 24-27[Commissioned]
“And That Was the Future . . . The World Will End Tomorrow,” Futures, August 1988, pp. 424-433 [Commissioned]
“Red Holocaust: The Atomic Conquest of the West,” Extrapolation, 28 (1987), pp. 319-329.
“SF Summit in Moscow.” Locus, October, 1987. [Refereed]
“Revival of Learning: Science After the Nuclear Holocaust in Science Fiction,” Phoenix from the Ashes: The Literature of the Remade World, ed. Carl Yoke. Greenwood Press, 1987. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War/Post-Nuclear Fiction,” Columbiana (Winter 1987), pp. 31-33
“Nuclear War Fiction Collection at Washington State University, The,” College & Research Libraries News, 48 (March, 1987), pp.115-18.
Resources for the Study of Nuclear War in Fiction,” Science-Fiction Studies, July 1986, 5 pp. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction, 1945-1959,” Science-Fiction Studies, vol. 11, part 3 (1984), pp. 253-263. [Refereed]
“Americans Learn to Love the Bomb,” New York Times, July 17, 1985 (reprinted in the U.S. and abroad through the Times News Service. This article plus two interviews provided the basis for Konrad Ege’s article, “La culture populaire flirte avec la bombe,” Le Monde diplomatique, June 1986.
“The Day They Tested the Rec Room,” (short story) CoEvolution Quarterly (Summer 1981), pp. 116-1234.
“Sexuality and the Opposite Sex: Variations on a Theme by Théophile Gautier and Anais Nin,” Essays in Literature (Spring 1977), pp. 122-137. Edited version printed in Philip K. Jason. The Critical Response to Anis Nin.Westport: Connecticut, 1996. [Refereed]
“Versions of Immortality,” New Venture, 4 (Summer 1976), 1 p.
“Paul Aebischer and the OEGab d’Oliver,'” Romance Notes, Winter 1974, pp. 1-8. [Refereed]

Translations

Anna Comnena: Alexiad (selection on the Crusaders originally published in Reading About the World), reprinted in Brummett, Edgar, Hackett, Jewsbury, Taylor, Bailkey, Lewis, Wallbank, Silverberg: Civilization Past and Present,10^th Edition, Addison Wesley Longman, 2002. Reprinted in the 11^th edition, 2004.
Rene Descartes: selection from Discourse on Method (originally published in Reading About the World), published on a Web site supporting the Houghton Mifflin textbook, Mosaic: Perspectives on Western Civilization, 2001.
Leo Africanus: selection from Description of Africa (originally published in Reading About the World) reprinted in Middle Ages Reference Library (Farmington Hills, Minn.: Gale Research, 2000) in both hard covers and on CD-ROM. Also reprinted in a book containing materials for students to practice advance placement essay writing, published by Social Studies School Service, 2004. Adopted as an Internet History Sourcebook by the Aga Khan Humanities Project, Tajikistan, 2005. Reprinted in High School United States History for the 11^th Grade Level (Pearson Prentice Hall), a set of teaching materials in paper and electronic forms, 2006. Reprinted in The Making of the Modern World (University of Houston, 2006).

Photographs

Photograph from Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, in Seattle Times Sunday travel section, August 10, 2008.
Exhibit of photographs, Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections, Washington State University, Spring 2008.
Two photographs (of a Roman street in Turkey and Tudor cottages near Hever Castle) used in a National Geographic Channel documentary on the history of the toilet in the series Everyday Things, Nov. 7 2006.
Photo of roman toilet from Ephesus, printed in an article on the history of toilets, Environmental Building News, February 2004. Reprinted by HPAC Engineering newsletter, 2004. Used in a History Channel documentary called “Modern Marvels: Sewers,” and in a nonprofit educational video for Sacramento, California wastewater treatment plant tours 2005.
Photo of SCUE cyber café reproduced at About.com for an article about cyber cafes, December 2004.

Review Articles

Carpenter, Charles A. Dramatists and the Bomb: American and British Playwrights Confront the Nuclear Age, 1945-1964. Science-Fiction Studies, Vol. 27, pp. 318-319.
Seed, David, ed. Imagining Apocalypse: Studies in Cultural Crisis. Science-Fiction Studies, vol. 27, pp. 364-365.
Sallis, James. Ash of Stars: On the Writing of Samuel R. Delany, Utopian Studies 9 (1998), 312-314.
Bozzetto, Roger, Max Duperray, Alain Chareye-Mejan, eds. Eros: XI Congr/Aes du Cerli (Actes du XI colloque du Cerli, Aix-en-Provence Janvier 1990), Utopian Studies 3(1992):131-133.
Broderick, Mick. Nuclear Movies: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of International Feature Length Films Dealing with Experimentation, Aliens, Terrorism, Holocaust and Other Disaster Scenarios, 1914-1989, IAFA Newsletter, Summer, 1992, pp. 33-34.
Broderick, Mick. Nuclear Movies: A Critical Analysis and Filmography,” SFRA Review, June 1992, pp. 27-28.
Lenz, Millicent. Nuclear Age Literature for Youth,” SFRA Review, April 1992, pp. 32-34.

Bruce Franklin, War Stars: The Superweapon and the American Imagination, for Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (May 1989), pp. 48-51.

“Tom Moylan: Demand the Impossible: Science Fiction and the Utopian Imagination.” Extrapolation Fall 1988, pp. 285-288.
“Rambo’s Relatives,” American Book Review, March/April 1986, 2 pp.
Review of six volumes of nuclear war fiction, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Chicago, IL), March 1986, pp. 50-53.
“Dealing with Nuclear Catastrophe,” Science-Fiction Studies (Montreal, Quebec), July 1986, 2 pp.
Feature review: Newman, John and Michael Unsworth. Future War Novels: An Annotated Bibliography of Works in English Published Since 1946,” Reference Services Review, vol. 13, no. 1 (Ann Arbor, MI), 1985, p. 20.
“The Cretan Glance,” Modernist Studies (June 1982), pp. 245-247.
“Anais Nin: Delta of Venus,” Under the Sign of Pisces: Anais Nin and Her Circle (Columbus, OH) (Winter 1978), 4 pp.
Three books on French surrealism: Yearbook on Comparative and General Literature, 19 (Bloomington, IN, 1970), 4 pp.

Creative Productivity

Poetry Readings

Poetry for Children, 1982.
Contemporary Poetry for Children, 1980.
Sex, Dope, and Cheap Thrills (for an off-campus group), 1978.
Science Fiction Poetry, 1977.
Medieval and Renaissance Women Poets, 1976, repeated 1977.
Excerpts from Nikos Kazantzakis: The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, 1976,
My translation of Jean Tardieu’s play: The Subway Lovers, 1975.
James Dickey, 1972.
Researched, wrote and read a lengthy poem entitled “ABM ABC” as my contribution to a panel discussion of a proposed antiballistic missile system, University of Idaho, 1969.

Other creative activity based on teaching and research

Transferred numerous photo tours to Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, WSU Library: http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/paul_brians/, Fall 2007.
Transferred CD discography to Holland Library and updated it with many new entries, 2006.
Created photo tour of Spain, Summer 2006, mounted on the World Civlizations site,: http://www.wsu.edu/~wldciv/tours/spain/
Original photos donated to the World Civilizations image repository in the library’s Division of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Fall 2006.
Also created 40-minute video accompanied by music based on Spain photos, summer, 2006.
Began process of transferring video series of lectures on classical music to DVD and editing them into new versions, completed Spring 2005.
Created photo tour of Greece, 2005.
Created photo tour of China, completed 2005
Created online tour of Vienna, Prague, and Budapest based on my own photographs and mounted it on the World Civilizations Web site and donated high-resolution copies to Holland Library’s World Civilizations Image Database, 2004.
Donated hundreds of my photos of China and Greece to the World Civilizations Image Database in Holland Library, 2004.
Created a new, greatly expanded edition of Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, and mounted it on the Web at https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/11/16/nuclear-holocausts-atomic-war-in-fiction/, 2003. Added several entries, 2004.
Created a Web tour of Ireland based on my own photos, focusing on architecture and archaeological sites for the General Education program and mounted it on the World Civilizations site, Summer 2003. Many of the photos have been mounted on a searchable database by Holland Library Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections.
With the aid of a Co-Teach grant, I completed a digitized collection of music from the library’s CDs now being served via streaming mp3 from the library’s audio reserves collection to students in Gen Ed 111, summer 2003. Besides selecting the music, I wrote extensive annotations to help students listen intelligently to the selections.
Scanned and edited my photos from the WSU World Civilizations tour of India and Thailand in 1992-1993, and created a Web site displaying them, and again donated high-resolution copies to the MASC collection.
Converted Humanities 303 from Speakeasy to Bridge format, 2003.
Created and maintain searchable databases on the Web for Anglophone fiction, science fiction, feature films, and compact discs in Holland Library. My filmography has been adopted as the official filmography of the Film Studies Program, linked to their Web site, Fall 2003.
Created a Web tour of Turkey based on my own photos, focussing on architecture and archaeological sites for the General Education program and mounted it on the World Civilizations site, Fall 2002. A larger selection of my photos has been mounted on a searchable database by Holland Library Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections.
Created a history of European classical music 1750-1914, for which I digitized sound samples, researched and annotated them, and mounted the result on the Holland server as streaming audio, Spring 2001.
Created a survey of world music for Gen Ed 110 (World Civilizations to 1500), digitized sound samples, researched and annotated them, and mounted the result on the Holland server as streaming audio, Summer 2001. Created and distributed CD-ROM,Aeos of the source files for use by World Civ faculty.
Selected and annotated the fiction for a display of science fiction in the library atrium during October, 2000.
Wrote a brief essay entitled “‘Postcolonial Literature’: Problems with the Term” and published it on the Web, Fall 1998.
Created a study guide for Arundhati Roy’s novel, The God of Small Things, and published it on the Web, 1998.
Created a Web site concerning ancient Japanese architecture for World Civilizations using my own photographs from a May, 1998 trip, Fall, 1998.
Created numerous on-line resources to teach Humanities 303 as an Extended Degree Programs class, including music and art assignments to be done by distance-learning students, introductions to the Enlightenment, European Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism, 19^th-Century Russian Literature, The Influence of Nietzsche, 19^th-Century Socialism, and “Misconceptions, Confusions, and Conflicts Concerning Socialism, Communism, and Capitalism, ” 1998.
Contributed and annotated several images from my personal photographs in Paris, Greece, Rome, India and Boston to the WSU media collection, 1996.
Created notes for Anglophone Literature course and mounted them on the World Wide Web, 1996.
Created study guides for Love in the Arts and put them on the World Wide Web, 1995.
Converted Hum 303 packet to HTML code and mounted it on the World Wide Web, 1994.
Created detailed study guides to the science fiction taught in English 333, attracting substantial attention from users around the country, 1994.
Created syllabus with linked resources for General Education 110 and mounted it on the Web, 1994-96.
Created supplement to my Nuclear Holocausts bibliography and mounted it on the Web.
Mounted Web version of my article, “Terminator vs. Terminator: Nuclear War as Video Game“.
Electronically published the translations of Lyubov Sirota’s Chernobyl poetry on the Web, adding illustrations from her book and from photographs provided personally by her. Mounted Russian texts of the originals on the Web, (1996).
Conceived of and supervised creation of a multimedia module on the history of writing in the West, 1994.
Created a seven-part series of videotapes tracing the history of European classical music for use in the WHETS version of my Humanities 303 course, Fall 1993.
A multimedia production of Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top,” Fall 1991.
Created incidental music tape for WSU Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet, featuring Renaissance music, Spring 1987, with Paula Elliot.
As a member of the materials subcommittee of the world civilizations planning group, helped create tapes of music to be used in Humanities 110 and 111. Most of the music is from my personal collection.
Created and catalogued collection of Medieval and Renaissance music on compact disc for Humanities courses, 1987.
Reading from The Wind in the Willows, Holland Library, 1985.
Reading of fiction depicting nuclear war, Holland Library, 1985.
Arranged and provided notes for exhibition in Holland Library: “Nuclear Holocausts: Holland Library’s Collection of Fiction Depicting Nuclear War and Its Aftermath,” 1985.
Reading of Joan D. Vinge’s short story “Tin Soldier” at the Gaia Coffeehouse, 1982.
Produced and coordinated series of cable FM broadcasts for English Department, 1982-85.
Produced and coordinated series of cable FM broadcasts for Humanities, 1982.
Organized and moderated program, “The Bomb and the Arts,” for Ground Zero Week, 1982.
Assembled, edited, recorded, and prepared notes for programs of music by women composers and women jazz artists for Women’s Arts Festival.
Assembled and arranged series of science fiction radio tapes for broadcast by library cable FM system.
Designed and created sets of tapes and notes covering the history of music from Gregorian Chant to Stravinsky for use in Humanities courses.

Professional Papers Presented

“Techniques for Mixing Text, Stills, and Clips in Computer-Based Film Lectures,” Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, October 21, 2005.
“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” Science Fiction Research Association, Las Vegas, July 2005.
“The Irrelevance of ‘Postcolonialism’ to South Asian Literature,” South Asian Literature Association, San Diego, December 27, 2003.

Published Conference Papers

“Teaching about Nuclear War through Fiction,” Nuclear War Education: A Survey of Different Perspectives and Resources, ed Robert Ehrlich. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1987. [Refereed]
“Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1945-1982,” Literature and War: Reflections and Refractions, ed. Elizabeth W. Trahan. Monterey Institute of International Studies, 1985. Note: the title assigned to this paper by the editor is incorrect. It should have been “Some Distinguishing Characteristics of Nuclear War Fiction.” [Refereed]

Pedagogical papers and talks

“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” Department of English Colloquium, 2005.
“Teaching Wole Soyinka,” Conference on Wole Soyinka, Central Florida University, February, 2003.
Presentation on creating and maintaining online audio reserves for the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Music Library Association annual meeting, in Pullman, May 2001.
Presentation to the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Music Library Association on music resources on the Internet, Seattle Public Library, Spring 1995. This involved extensive research preparing a printed guide for use by the librarians (a copy is in my file).
Joint talk (with Paula Elliot) on the library research project in the World Civilizations course, invited as presenters at a workshop entitled “Colleagues in Education,” dealing with faculty/librarian collaboration, Whitman College, 1992.
“Multimedia in a World Civilizations Course.” A joint lecture/multimedia demonstration (with Phil Scuderi) for “Computers Across the Curriculum: A Conference on Technology in the Freshman Year,” sponsored by the City University of New York, Office of Academic Computing, New York, 1992.
Slide lecture on “Nuclear Chic: Nuclear War Imagery in the Popular Culture.” This slide lecture was given in various forms to twelve audiences during 1989, including four sections of English 101, T.V. Reed’s Introduction to American Studies class, the Math/English/Honors students (and repeated for that group every year annually through 1993), the Unitarian churches of Moscow and Wenatchee, the Common Ministry at WSU, and Relaxicon (a science fiction convention in Moscow). It was also delivered as an invited address at the University of California-SDavis in June, 1989, and at Seattle University in the fall of 1989. In 1990, it was given at the following conferences, for which it was refereed: The International conference for the Fantastic in the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, FL; The Science Fiction Research Association, San Diego, CA; a Soviet-American conference called “Facing Apocalypse II,” Newport, RI; and the Conference of the Consortium on Peace Research, Education, and Development, Dayton, OH. It was also delivered as part of the Washington Commission for the Humanities Inquiring Mind series at the WCH annual meeting (Tacoma) and for the Beta Omicron Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha (Seattle). In 1991 it was delivered at a region science fiction convention in Spokane, at a meeting of a community group in Sequim, Washington, at Whitman College, and at Yakima Community College. It was given in 1992 at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, at Edmonds Public Library, at Eastern Washington University, Cheney, for eight visiting faculty members from Far Eastern State University, Vladivostok. In 1997 I toured three German cities giving the presentation, and in the fall of 1999 made a version of it into a Web site called “Nuke Pop.”
“Learning About Nuclear War Through Fiction,” Arizona Honors Academy, Flagstaff, AZ, June 1988 (invited address).
“Nuclear War/Nuclear Families,” Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Spring 1988. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War/Nuclear Families,” Modern Language Association, Winter, 1988. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War Fiction for Children,” Eaton Conference on War and Science Fiction, University of California, Riverside, Spring 1988.
“Teaching a Pilot Section of a Freshman Course in World Civilizations,” Conference on the First Year Experience, Toronto, Fall 1988. [Refereed]
with Paula Elliot: “A Library Biography Project for a World Civilizations Class,” Conference on Faculty-Librarian collaboration, Evergreen State College, Fall 1988. (About 2/3 of this paper was written by Ms. Elliot.)
“Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers,” International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Houston, 1987. [Refereed]
“The Russians and the Nuclear Threat: Teaching About Attitudes Toward Nuclear War Using Recent Fiction,” George Mason University Conference on Nuclear War and Peace Education, 1987. [Refereed]
“Science Fiction and Nuclear Reality,” Seventh World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War,” Moscow, USSR, 1987.
“The Nuclear War Fiction Collection at Washington State University,” Northwestern Popular Culture Association, Tacoma, WA, 1987 (invited).
“Red Holocaust: The Atomic Conquest of the United States in Fiction,” Science Fiction Research Association, San Diego, CA, 1986.
“Women Authors of Nuclear War Fiction,” jointly authored with Jane Winston-Dolan, InterFace ’85, Marietta, GA, 1985. [Refereed]
“The Revival of Learning: Science After the Nuclear Holocaust in Science Fiction,” Fifth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Boca Raton, FL, 1984. [Refereed]
“Samuel R. Delany’s Triton as a Psychological Satire,” Fifth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Boca Raton, FL, 1984. [Refereed]
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction, 1945-1959,” League of Women Voters, Moscow, ID, 1984.
“Nuclear War in Fiction: Some Defining Characteristics,” Pullman Unitarian Fellowship, 1984 (invited). Also for Lewiston-Clarkson Ground Zero, 1984.
“Surrealism and Rock,” WSU English Department, 1976.
“Technique in Erotic Fiction,” WSU English Department, 1974.

Professional Service Outside of WSU (consulting, services on boards and panels, editing journals, etc., with year)

Placed “Four Seasons in the Palouse” video on YouTube, Fall 2006, viewed by 129 people by 2/3/07, featured as streaming video on the official WSU video site, Experience WSU, Summer 2006.
Reviewed article for possible publication in Ariel: A Review of International Literature, 2006.
Reviewed article for possible publication in Borderlands, 2006
Paid reviewer of a book manuscript for Houghton Mifflin, 2006.
Paid reviewer of a book manuscript for Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
Referee for a proposal for a conference proposal for the Rockefeller Foundation’s Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy, February 2004.
Paid reviewer for Foresight: Modern British Science Fiction, Wesleyan University Press, 2004.
Reviewed manuscript for Mosaic, June 2004.
Paid reviewer of World History Texts: Patterns of World History, for Longman Publishers, August 2004.
Paid reviewer of Understanding the Bible by Stephen Harris, 6^th edtion, for McGraw-Hill, October 2004.
Paid reviewer for John P. McKay, et al.: A History of World Societies, Sixth Edition, 2003.
Paid reviewer for a proposed science fiction reader for St. Martin, Aeos Press, Fall, 2002.
Paid reviewer for proposed postcolonial reader from Houghton-Mifflin, April 2002.
Paid reviewer for From Outer Space to Innerspace, McGraw-Hill, October 1995.
Paid reviewer of Stephen Harris, Understanding the Bible, Mayfield Press, July 1995.
Evaluated manuscript on science fiction and politics for University of Georgia Press, Fall 1994.
Outside tenure reviewer for Joseph Dewey, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, 1992.
Paid reviewer of sixth edition of Sylvan Barnet’s A Short Guide to Writing About Literature, HarperCollins, 1991.
Editor, Nuclear Texts & Contexts, 1988-1992.
Editor, Membership Directory, International Society for the Study of Nuclear Texts and Contexts, 1989-1991.
Edited and published Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the Bomb: A Bibliography of Literature and the Arts by James R. Bennett and Karen Clark
Consultant to grant proposal on military research, 1987.
Contributed to “Nuclear War: A Teaching Guide, Humanities,” by Philip N. Gilbertson, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, December, 1984.
Sent course syllabi and information about nuclear war research to many professors across the country responding to the Bulletin article, 1985-86.
WCH-funded Symposium on “Liberation Theology,” 1984.
Proposal to WCH, “What the Women’s Movement Means to Ethnic Women: A Current and Historical Perspective,” Consulting Humanist, 1983.
Proposal to Idaho Commission on the Humanities on Early Childhood Education, 1980.
NEH-funded grant for a WSU production of Chinese opera, 1978.
WCH-funded series on teaching religion in the public schools for the WSU Religious Studies Program, 1977.
YWCA-sponsored “Early Childhood Education,” 1976-77.
NEH-funded program on sex education for KSPS TV , 1974.

Committee or Administrative Service at WSU (Committee memberships, offices, with dates)

Faculty Status Committee, 2005-2007.
University Advisory Committee on Computing and Telecommunications, 2006-2007.
Chair, Faculty Senate Academic Integrity Task Force, 2005. Submitted final report 2005.
Represented Graduate School at a doctoral dissertation defense, Department of Economics, 2003.
Participant in the Critical Thinking Project, Summer & Fall, 2003.
Represented Graduate School at a doctoral dissertation defense, Department of Psychology, 2002.
Film Studies Steering Committee, 2001-2008.
Chair, Technology Subcommittee, Film Studies Program, 2001-2008.
Student Publications Board, 2000-2002.
Library Advisory Committee, 1999-2001.
Represented Graduate School at a doctoral dissertation defense, College of Education, 1998.
African Studies Committee, 1992-96.
Coordinating committee to plan events for observing the quincentennial of Columbus’ voyage to the New World, 1992.
CIR subcommittee to establish video standards for the campus network, 1992-1993.
Multimedia Planning Group, 1991-1993.
Nominations committee for Faculty Senate officers, 1990-1992.
Chair, Academic Steering Committee on Computing and Telecommunications, 1989-91.
Member, Academic Steering Committee on Computing and Telecommunications, 1988-89.
Planning Committee of the World Civilizations faculty, 1989-90.
Faculty Senate, 1987-90.
Committee to review applications for summer support for graduate students, for the Associate Vice Provost for Research, 1988.
Helped design and produce a brochure for the Humanities Core Curriculum Project, with Jo Hockenhull and Paula Elliot, Summer 1987.
Selected as teacher of pilot section of Humanities/World Civilizations 110: The New Stone Age to 1500, Fall 1987 and 1988.
Curriculum Committee of the World Civilizations faculty, Spring 1987-1990.
Materials Committee of the World Civilizations faculty, Spring 1987-1990.
NEH Faculty Group (Planning Committee for new NEH-funded World Civilizations courses), 1987.
NEH World Civilizations Advisory Committee, Fall, 1986-88.
Reinstatement Committee, 1984.
Academic Advising Subcommittee (Academic Affairs Committee), 1983-86; Chair, 1984-85.
President, WSU Chapter of AAUP, 1982-83.
Vice-President, WSU Chapter of AAUP, 1981-82
Peace Studies Committee, 1981-1985
Member, Religious Studies Faculty, 1980?-1990.
New Student Orientation, 1970-75.
Freshman-Faculty Weekend, 1968-74.
Coordinator, ASWSU Draft Counseling Center, 1972.
EPC Subcommittee on ROTC, 1969-70.
Coordinator, Humanities courses, 1972-present.

College or Division

Reviewer of Birgitta Ingemanson for promotion in Foreign Languages, 2007.
Reviewer of Prof. Zhin-Min Dong for promotion in Foreign Languages, 2004.
Chair, Committee to review candidates for the Sahlin Excellence in Service Award, 2000 -2002.
Committee to do initial planning for symposium on “Liberal Arts in the New Millennium.”
Represented the College at one meeting of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce committee to plan Millennium observances.
Division Library Committee, 1989-1993.
Committee to review candidates for the Mullen Award, for the Dean of the College of Sciences and Arts, 1988.
Evaluation of Transfer credits for Humanities courses, 1981-present.
Examining students in Summer Honors Reading Program.

Department

Director of Undergraduate Studies, 2004-2008.
Member, Committee on Curriculum and Planning, 2003-2005.
Coordinator, Humanities courses, 1970-2008.
English Department Library Liaison, 2001-2004.
Search committee, Modern British Literature search, Fall 2001-Spring 2002.
Committee to revise departmental evaluation forms, 2000-2001.
MA Exam committee 1999-2000
Mock job interviews with graduate students, Fall 1998.
Chair, search committee for creative writing position, 1998.
*Undergraduate Studies Committee, 1998-present.
Chair, Teaching and Technology Committee, 1996-present.
Member, Teaching and Technology Committee, 2001.
Chair’s Advisory Committee, Spring 1996.
Chair, MA Exam Committee, Fall 1992-Spring 1993.
MA Exam Committee, 1991.
Search committee, Tri-Cities position, 1989.
Editor, English News and Notes, 1989-1992.
Search committee for director of Avery Microcomputer Laboratory.
Undergraduate Studies Committee, 1992.
Library Committee, 1970-?, 1988-1993.
Temporary member of Graduate Studies Committee (replacing Louise Schleiner), Spring, 1988.
Avery Microcomputer Laboratory Policy Committee, 1988-1989.
Graduate Faculty member, 1988-2008.
Chair, Graduate Foreign Language Competency Examination Committee, 1987-2001.
*Preparation and distribution of publicity about the Humanities program, mostly aimed at new students, 1980-present.
Scholarship Committee, 1986-1992.
Committee to Design a New Faculty Evaluation Form, Spring 1975.
Freshman Composition Exemption Examination Committee, 1974-1984.
Committee to review requirements for English majors, 1972.
Committee to form a Chairman’s Advisory Committee.

Other Service at WSU

Public Lectures on Campus on Scholarly Topics

“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” several times for recruiting events 2007-2008.
“Art of the Counter-Culture in the 1960s,” an invited illustrated address associated with the Museum of Art’s exhibition, “Art & Context: the 50s and 60s,” Nov. 2, 2006.
Showing of video based on my photos of Spain, Holland Library, Nov. 6, 2006.
Panel on Wole Soyinka with the author participating, February 3, 2005. Also introduced Soyinka’s poetry reading the same day.
“The Roots of Star Wars, or Why Princess Leia Fights Like a Girl,” Departmental Colloquium, repeated for Art à la Carte, 2005.
Talk on My Fair Lady and English usage after a performance of the musical at Portland Center Stage, February 27, 2005.
”Architecture from China,” Art a la carte presentation with Trevor Bond, based on my photographs now in the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections World Civilizations database, 2004.
“Research at a Distance,” presentation for Critical Thinking Project series on English 567 course offered via distance learning. February 5, 2004.
Presentation of multimedia samples from my “Love in the Arts” class for WSU Preview, Spring 2000, 2001 & 2002.
“Three Indian Authors: Tagore, Narayan, and Desai” English Department Graduate Program Colloquium, November 28, 2001.
Invited presentation to the Foreign Languages Department on Internet publication and teaching (paid), April 14, 2001.
“Krishna, the Lover, in Art,” Art a la Carte presentation, February, 2001.
Organized and ran Indian film series Fall 2000, with Azfar Hussain. I helped to choose the films, secured them, scheduled them, wrote and distributed almost all of the publicity and trained Azfar in the use of the equipment to show DVDs and VHS tapes.
Three presentations of multimedia samples from my “Love in the Arts” class for New Student Programs, Spring, Summer, and Fall, 1999.
“The Chutneyfication of Literature,” readings from and remarks about recent South Asian literature, Art /* la carte series, Fall 1998.
“Annotating The Satanic Verses: An Example of Internet Research and Publication,” English Department colloquium, Spring 1997.
“Medieval Songs” multimedia presentation with Paula Elliot, for the WSU Foundation Silver Associates, March, 1997.
“Classic American Love Songs,” for the Math-English Honors Competition program, 1996-1997.
“World Civilizations Materials on the World Wide Web,” World Civilizations workshop, August, 1996.
Lecture on Hildegard of Bingen’s poetry as part of a Hildegard symposium sponsored by the History Club, Fall 1994.
Lectures to World Civilizations workshop August, 1994 on African Literature and African art and architecture (the latter using multimedia materials).
Presentation to visiting journalism teachers of relevant resources on the Internet, for the Journalism Department,July 1994 .
Presentation to World Civilization faculty workshop on teaching about the music and poetry of India, August 1993. Also participated in a panel discussion of the experiences of those of us who had gone on the WSU-sponsored trip to India in December 1992-January 1993.
Multimedia lecture on early African civilizations for Residence Life Staff during program “Ticket to Tomorrow: Issues for Understanding the World We Live In,” 1993.
Talk on my project to edit and publish the Chernobyl poems of Liubov Sirota, for visiting faculty members from Far Eastern University, Vladivostok, 1992.
Lecture on the history of Judaism, World Civilizations workshop, 1992.
Lecture on Medieval lyric poetry and music, World Civilizations Workshop, 1991.
Presentation on World Civilization multimedia project, Faculty Day, 1991.
See above, “Professional Papers Presented,” for details of presentations on campus of “Nuclear Chic.”
Talk on nuclear war fiction scholarship to English and Math Scholarship contestants, 1988.
“Strategies for Capturing Student Interest,” part of the Faculty Seminars on Effective Teaching sponsored by the WSU Faculty Development Committee, March 1988.
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction, ” Palouse SANE, CUB noontime series on War and the Arts, September 1987.
University-wide talk on my nuclear war research and trip to the Soviet Union, September, 1987 (invited, sponsored by Department of English).
“An Introduction to Nuclear War in Fiction,” Stevens Hall, 1987.
“Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers,” to English and Math Scholarship contestants, 1987.
Talk on my research on nuclear war fiction, to English and Math Scholarship contestants, 1986.
“Underground Comix,” Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections, Holland Library, 1986.
“The New Censorship: Feminists and Pornography,” Invited address for Library Faculty Award Presentation, 1984.
“Science Fiction and Nuclear War,” (Ground Zero: “The Bomb and the Arts” Symposium, 1982.
“Current Feminist Science Fiction,” Women’s Center, 1978.
“Pornography and Erotic Art,” Sex Information Center Staff, 1979 (twice).
“Feminism and Science Fiction,” 1979.
“Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time,” Women’s Center, 1978.
“Science Fiction and the Idea of the American Frontier,” American Studies Group, 1978.
“Images of Childhood in Art and Literature,” 1976.
“Sex and Sexuality in Literature,” Women’s Art Festival, 1975.
Lectures and debates for the League for the Promotion of Militant Atheism, 1972-74.
“The Oppression of Women in Literature,” 1970.

Guest Lectures to colleagues’ classes

“Writing and Publishing Science Fiction,” for Paula Coomer’s course on writing science fiction and horror, summer, 2005.
South Asian Literature in English and Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Long Journey, presentation to Asia 301, February 2004.
Using multimedia to present music in the classroom, a demonstration involving classic American popular songs for Camille Roman, English 555 seminar, March 2002.
Art on Biblical Themes, for English/Humanities 335, October 29, 2001.
Media lecture on Krishna, god of love, for Virginia Hyde graduate seminar, April 18, 2001.
Art and music on Biblical themes, two lectures for English 335, Fall, 1998.
Presentation of Internet resources for the study of English to English 512, Fall, 1995-1997.
Presentations on “postcolonial” studies to English 512, Fall, 1996 & 1997.
Lecture on the poetry of N/(c)gritude for a minicourse on African studies, Spring 1993.
Lecture on women poets before 1600, for Barbara Harbach’s Women’s Studies class, 1993.
Talk on my project to edit and publish the Chernobyl poems of Liubov Sirota, for Susan-Wyche Smith’s English 198 class, 1992.
Slide lecture on love in art for Deborah Haynes,Aeo art history class, 1992.
See above, “Professional Papers Presented,” for details of presentations on campus of “Nuclear Chic.”
“Feminist Utopias,” Women’s Studies 200: Introduction to Women’s Studies, Spring, 1987.
“Exodus,” English 335, The Bible as Literature, Spring 1987.
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” for the Continuing Education evening course, “Nuclear War: Issues of the Day,” 1985.
“The Aftermath of World War III in Fiction,” Seminar on WWIII, Political Science 322, 1984.
“Women in Science Fiction,” Foreign Lang. 505, Seminar on Images of Women in the Arts, 1984.
“Religion and Nuclear War in Fiction, 1945-1982,” Religious Studies Seminar, 1984.
“Death in Children’s Books,” UNIV 280, 1982.
“Interracial Children’s Books,” Education Seminar, 1981, repeated for Child and Family Studies class, 1982.
“Contemporary Children’s Poetry,” Education Seminar, 1981.
“Emile Zola’s Germinal and Nineteenth-Century Radicalism,” French Civilization, 1980.
“Women in Erotic Art,” Women Artists Fine Arts course, 1979.
“Children’s Picture Books,” two lectures for English 495, 1978.
“Pornography and Erotic Art,” Psychology 230 (Human Sexuality); 8 times.
“Science Fiction and the Idea of the American Frontier,” 1979, Engl/Hist 316.
“Sex in Underground Comix,” 1974, English seminar on Sex in Literature.
“Atheism,” 1974, Philosophy 101.
“Science Fiction,” 1974, English 101.

Computer-oriented service at WSU

Installed self-designed presentations on classical art and architecture on departmental laptops for use by Humanities instructors, 2005-2006.
Set up and trouble-shot the departmental portable computer, Fall 1997.
Helped configure and make sure standards were met for classroom multimedia/computer equipment in Avery, 1997-present.
Proofreading and editing Richard Hooker’s on-line World Civilizations course, 1997.
*World Civilizations home page Web master, 1995-2005.
Gathered numerous resources from the World Wide Web for adding images to the WSU media collection and helped draw up criteria for adding to the collection.
Gathered, downloaded, and printed out large quantities of material relating to Africa for Abdoulaye Saine, chair of the African Studies Committee, 1994.
Gave extensive computer training to Departmental Secretary Nelly Zamora early in the summer of 1994.
Trained WSU News Bureau staff in using the Internet for their work, Spring 1994.
Presented uses of the Internet for humanists at a workshop sponsored by WSU Computing entitled “CIRcling the Globe,” 1992.
Instructed colleagues and departmental secretaries in using e-mail, 1992-1993.
Installed memory upgrade in the computer of the secretary of the Office of General Education, 1993.
Answered numerous trouble-shooting calls, 1986-present.

Other Service at WSU

Regularly requested science fiction, classical music by women and African-Americans, and films on DVD for addition to the MMR collection.
Maintained an informal list of information on “postcolonial” and South Asian literature for local faculty and students.
Donated over a hundred volumes of nuclear war fiction to the WSU library, 2005.
Donated over a hundred underground comic books, alternative newspapers and other ephemera from the 1960s to the WSU library Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, 2005.
Conceived of and helped plan for visit to campus by Nigerian author Wole Soyinka and Soyinka expert Femi Euba, funded, 2003-2004.
Donated over 700 slides of European art and architecture to the Department of Fine Arts slide collection, 2004.
Donated copies of the New York Times Book Review and Locus to the Bookie trade book department, 2000-2004.
Created and maintained Palouse Cultural Events Calendar, the only online source which combined events both on and off campus for Pullman and Moscow, ending Fall 2005.
Donated large collection of classical music and film soundtrack long-playing records and a DVD player to the Music Library, 2003.

Professional Service Outside of WSU

Served on review committee for best graduate student paper contest for the Science Fiction Research Association, 2006-2008, chaired committee 2008.
Donated 366 volumes of nuclear war fiction to the University of Iowa, 2005.

Off-Campus Lectures

Common Errors in English Usage, Wordstock, Portland, Oregon, November 11, 2007.
“Turning Web Writing into Printed Publications,” workshop at Wordstock, Portland, Oregon, November 11, 2007.
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, invited public lecture for the Fishtrap Center, Enterprise, Oregon, February 21, 2006, repeated for King County Library System, Shoreline, Washington, Fall 2007.
Nuke/Pop slide lecture, Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, Seattle, August 6, 2004 (paid).
Readings from Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, for the Pullman Historical Club, 1999. (Paid).
Formal debate with Douglas Wilson at the University of Idaho on the subject, Resolved: “Belief in God is necessary for a valid ethics,” Fall 1999.
Invited talk and debate about Christian fundamentalism at St. Andrew, Aeos College, Moscow, Idaho, Fall 1999.
Presentation on Rushdie research for students being recruited at Vancouver, via WHETS, Spring 1998.
Talk on the flood narrative as part of the Moscow Public Library,Aeos Community Enrichment Program discussion series on Genesis, Fall 1997.
Five presentations at the 28th annual Amerikastudientagung, Bonn, Germany (workshop for German high school teachers of American studies, invited and paid for by the American Information Service, Department of State):
May 8, 1997: Presentation of the film Blade Runner
May 9, 1997: “Future Visions: A Survey of American Science Fiction.”
May 9 & 10, 1997: “Teaching Science Fiction” workshops
May 10, 1997: “Blade Runner: The Book and the Movie”
May 11, 1997: “Nuclear Chic: Images of Nuclear War in American Culture” at the James F. Byrnes Institute, Stuttgart (invited and paid for by the Institute)
May 14, 1997: “Nuclear Chic: Images of Nuclear War in American Culture” at the Carl Schurz Haus, Freiberg (invited and paid for by the Haus).
For a group touring Provence, a lecture/reading on troubadour poetry, June, 1996 (paid).
For a group touring classical Greek sites, on the Arcadian ideal in European culture, and a two talks about and performance of brief excerpts from the Oresteia of Aeschylus, May 1993.
For a community study group, a lecture on Nigerian author Wole Soyinka, 1993.
“Children’s Nuclear War Fiction,” Seattle University, 1989.
“Learning About Nuclear War Through Fiction,” Seattle University, 1989.
“How to Argue with Christians,” Student Humanist Association, University of Idaho, 1989.
“Bible Abuse: The Misuse of the Bible.” Student Humanist Association, University of Idaho, 1989.
“Teaching a Pilot Section of World Civilizations,” Danforth Scholars Group, February 1988.
“Science Fiction and the Future of Government,” invited address at a Washington State 4-H conference on constitutional futures, Olympia, February 1988.
Talk on my research and trip to the USSR to Social Concerns Group, at University of Idaho, 1987.
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” two talks at Pullman High School, 1987.
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” Eastern Washington University, Spokane Higher Education Center, 1987.
“Recent Nuclear War Fiction,” Lewis and Clark College library noon lecture series, 1987.
“The Best Nuclear War Fiction for Young Readers,” Young Readers Group, Public Library, 1987.
“Atheism and Humanism,” Moscow High School, 1976-1987.
“Teaching About Utopias/Dystopias,” Society for Utopian Studies, Monterey, CA, 1986.
“Nuclear War in Science Fiction,” Moscow Science Fiction Convention, 1985.
“Beautiful Books for Preschoolers,” Cooperative Daycare Center, 1982.
“Books for Children of Single Parents,” Palouse Area Singles Group, 1978.
“Nonfiction Books for Preschoolers,” Community Day Care School staff, 1978.
“Pornography and Erotic Art,” for the Palouse Area Singles Group, 1978.
“The Western Background to Racism,” symposium on Racism and the Public Schools, 1978.
“Pornography, Obscenity and Privacy,” symposium on privacy, Pacific Lutheran University, 1978.
“Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time,” for the Common Ministry, 1978.
“Atheism,” formal debate with Professor Nicholas Gier, Philosophy Department, University of Idaho, 1973.

Off-Campus Presentations and Websites

Slightly revised WSU/Palouse photo tour, 2005-2006.
Added a number of regional photographic tours to my WSU/Palouse Web site, 2003-4.
Conducted a small workshop for teachers on using science fiction in the classroom, Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, Seattle, August 7, 2004 (paid).
Created a Web tour of WSU and the Palouse aimed especially at orienting new graduate students and faculty to the area, August, 2002, at http://users.pullman.com/brians/index.html.
Interview on the protests against the World Trade Organization for Web-based radio station in New Orleans, 1999.
“Current Changes in the U.S.S.R.: A Recent Visitor’s View,” panel of Russians and Americans discussing nuclear war, sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility, Spokane, Sacred Heart Hospital Auditorium.
“Women: Planning for the Future” (Facilitator), Northwest Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference, Moscow, Idaho, 1979.
“Sex in Science Fiction” (chair and speaker), Moscow Science Fiction Convention, 1979.
“The Radical Teacher,” Conference on English Education, Portland, Oregon, 1971.

Radio and Television Appearances

Radio interview about Common Errors in English Usage on Youth Radio, KPFT Houston, August 14, 2009.
Radio panel with author David Guterson about Snow Falling on Cedars, BBC World Book Club, February 7, 2009.
Radio interview about Common Errors in English Usage on The Lionel Show, Air America, December 18, 2008.
Panelist on World Book Club interview with Wole Soyinka, BBC radio, May 2007.
Radio interview about “Mr. Gradgrind’s Literal Answers to Rhetorical Questions, by Scott Simon for the National Public Radio Show Weekend Edition Saturday, Fall, 2007.
Radio interview about nuclear war in films: “Nuclear Disarmament: An Impossible Dream?” interviewed by Margot Adler for the National Public Radio show Justice Talking, October 9, 2006.
Radio interview about English errors on “Wordmaster,” Voice of America, August 23, 2005.
Radio interview about “Common Errors in English”, KUOW, Seattle, April 26, 2004.
Radio interview on Stanislaw Lem,Aeos Solaris and the Tarkovsky and Soderbergh film versions of it, broadcast January 25, 2003, Radio Free Europe (translated into Russian).
Radio interview on Common Errors, Nashville Public Radio. 2002.
Radio interview on nuclear war fiction, KXLY, Seattle, 1988
Radio interview on nuclear war fiction, KXL, Portland, 1988
Appeared in a Soviet documentary about the Seventh IPPNW Congress broadcast in the Soviet Union, 1987.
Radio interview on trip to Russia, KXLY, Spokane, 1987.
Radio interview on trip to Russia and research, KPBX, Spokane, 1987.
Radio interviews on current trends in nuclear war fiction on KIRO (Seattle), KING (Seattle), 1985; KRPL (Moscow, ID), KXLY (Spokane), 1984
“Nuclear War in Fiction,” segment on”Grassroots Journal,” KWSU-TV, 1984
Produced programs for women’s music program on Polish composer Graznia Bacewicz and Ella Fitzgerald, KZUU-FM, 1982
Produced and hosted weekly show, “Radio’s Golden Age,” KZUU-FM, 1982-1984.
“Children’s Picture Books,” KWSU-TV, Pullman, WA, 1978.
“The Pagan Origins of Christmas,” KUID-FM, 1975.
Panel on sex education, KSPS-TV, Spokane, 1974.
Debate with Nicholas Gier on Theism vs. Atheism on KUID-FM, 1973.
Panel discussion of a new Idaho obscenity statute, KUID-TV, 1973.
“The New Pornography,” interview, KUID-FM, Moscow, ID, 1973.

Articles about my work

(many others not yet listed here)

“Speaking of English,” by Peter Monaghan, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 28, 2004, p. A6 & A8.

Miscellaneous Service

Donated large collection of nuclear war fiction to Holland Library, Fall 2007.
Donated a collection of science fiction by women authors to Holland Library, Fall 2006.
Exhibit of international Disney Comic books at Neill Public Library, Summer, 2006.
Exhibit of international Floaty Pens at Brain Education Library, Fall 2006.
Created a photo calendar of my regional photographs and posted it for free downloading on my personal Website, 2005.
Supplied photos of the McConnell Mansion in Moscow for a presentation by Kathleen Ryan of Design North to the Latah County Historical Society, July, 2005.
Supplied photo of Japan for Asia Program poster, WSU, 2005.
Identified and contributed music for presentation by Birgitta Ingemanson for the rededication of Thompson Hall, September 23, 2000.
Donated a large collection of comic books and other ephemera relating to nuclear war to Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in Holland/New Library, 2000.
Donated over 1,000 underground comic books, underground newspapers, and other ,Aeo60s-related items to Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in Holland/New Library, 2000.
Consulted with representatives of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension Service about distance learning via the Web.
Coached soprano Karen Wicklund on the pronunciation of words in Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky for a concert, Spring 1995.
Spoke on career planning at New Faculty Orientation, Fall 1993.
Selected and prepared color photocopies and captions from slides in my collection of popular culture nuclear weapons imagery for a touring exhibit entitled “Yes, In My Back Yard?” curated by Helen Slade, opening in Richland, Washington, February 4-27, 1992. Exhibit traveled to WSU, Spring 1996.
*Acting, from 1990 to the present, as agent and editor for Liubov Sirota, a poet living now in Kiev, who was injured by the Chernobyl explosion. I have arranged for her poems about the disaster to be translated and published and solicited from Dr. Adolph Harash of Moscow State University an introduction, which I also had translated. Selections were read to music on the National Public Radio program Terra Infirma on April 1, 1992; the poem “Radiophobia” was published in the August 5, 1992 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association; one other poem was published in New York Quarterly, all the poems and a revised version of the introduction appeared in Calyx , Winter 1992/1993, and in Selections on Words and Healing edited by Sue Brannan Walker & Rosaly Demaios Roffman (Mobile, Alabama: Negative Capability Press). The article by Dr. Harash has also appeared in the Canadian magazine Woman’s World. I continue to communicate with Sirota from time to time. One poem was reprinted in a Calyx Books anthology of women, Aeos poetry, 2002.
In late 1999 I edited, annotated, and added to the site pictures from the abandoned city of Pripyat and the Chernobyl reactor by Lyubov Sirota’s son Sasha. During January 2001, edited more pictures by Lyubov Sirota herself, with her annotations translated by Birgitta Ingemanson.
Advised Professor Yuri Mironetz of Far Eastern University, Vladivostok, on how to design and teach a course in science fiction (the first to be offered in Russia), 1992. Supplied Prof. Mironetz with numerous books and articles to aid him in his teaching. The course was successfully given Spring, 1993.
Compiled and edited an anthology of literature for use in World Civilizations (Gen Ed 110), consisting of mostly lyric poetry from many cultures, with an introductory teacher’s guide written by myself. Reproduced by the General Education Office and distributed to 110 instructors at the World Civilizations workshop, Summer, 1992.

Community Service

Member, film committee, Kenworthy Film Society, 2002-2007. I recommended many of the films shown at this nonprofit theater.
Computer Services for Pullman NOW and Palouse SANE, 1980s.
Membership Secretary, Pullman NOW, 1986-89.
Secretary, Washington State Conference of AAUP, 1983-84; reelected for 1984-86.
“Why It Is in the Interests of Whites to Combat Racism,” talk, Pullman, YWCA, 1983.
Speaker for NOW on Awareness Week Panel: “How can abortion be made as unnecessary as possible?” 1983
Judge, Pullman Chapter of NOW, essay context, 1983.
Secretary, Pullman Chapter of the National Organization for Women, 1982-83.
“The Causes and Prevention of War,” address, Whitman College, 1980.
Training draft counselors for the Walla Walla Society of Friends, 1980.
Panel discussion on draft registration, Whitman College, 1980.
Talks on the draft to various campus and community groups, workshops and training sessions, 1980.
Class on “Religious Themes in Science Fiction,” with Rev. Roger Pettenger, Common Ministry, 1977.
Free University class on children’s picture books, taught six times, 1977-82
Annual lecture on “Atheism and Humanism” to world history classes at Moscow High School, Moscow, ID, 1976-1988.
Coordinator, Community Free University, 1970-present.
Leader of various classes in the CFU, including two dealing with literature: “Intimacy” and “Contemporary Utopias”, 1969-1971.
Author of a draft counseling column for the Daily Evergreen, 1970-73.
Draft counseling, 1968-1980.

Humanities 303 Reason, Romanticism, and Revolution

A WebCT Course developed by Paul Brians 3 credit hours

Course Information

Course Overview

Goals

Course Outline

Resources

Course Work and Grading

Written assignments

Policy Information

Tips for Collaboration and Netiquette

Late Policy and Paper Revisions

Incomplete Policy

Academic Integrity

Disability Statement

Library Support

The On-line Writing Lab

E-mail

January

Plot Summary for Chapter VII

Notes for Chapter VII

Plot outline for Chapter V

Notes to Chapter V

Humanities 303
Reason, Romanticism, and Revolution

A WebCT Course
developed by Paul Brians
3 credit hours