English 240Z Essay One Assignment Sheet Unit One: Brave New World Essay One – Four to Five pages – Due: 03 10 We begin our examination of the literary response to 9/11 by immersing ourselves in the politico-historico-philosophical milieu of postmodern America, an environment influenced as much by the French school of philosophy called poststructuralism as it was by a burgeoning form of global capitalism. In order to develop a deeper understanding of postmodernism we’re going to begin with a selection of texts that together compose an overview of the country’s sensibilities around the turn of the millennium. Each text – as you will see – is challenging in its own way and together will establish a manner of thinking that characterizes postmodernism, both as a literary period and a social practice. David Foster Wallace – an early proponent and eventual opponent of poststructuralism – offers in his novella, “The Suffering Channel,” an oblique account of 9/11 that is also an example of how literature was changing following the period of postmodernism’s dominance. The realm that Wallace allows his audience to enter through his work – the so-called New Sincerity period – is the Brave New World the unit’s title refers to. Understanding what makes this new world new requires that we look in two directions at once—back to postmodernism and its tenets, and forward to how the New Sincerity seeks to challenge the received wisdom of that literature’s values. Too, we will be looking at how 9/11 functions as a (possible) transitionary moment from one period to the next, how 9/11 seemingly demanded a sincerity that had previously been regarded as inaccessible or na ve. For your first Essay you will identify and think through a thematic connection between one of the three pillars of postmodernism and “The Suffering Channel.” Your Essay should include direct citations from the novella and at least one of the additional readings assigned in this unit. To focus your thinking and writing you may choose to consider and respond to one of the following questions:1 – How should the events of 9/11 be understood in light of this connection – How does this connection reflect (an) aspect(s) of America’s culture today – What kind of future does Wallace imagine we’ll occupy Why Points of consideration that will inform my grading: – Format/Structure: make sure to meet relevant MLA formatting standards (12 pt., T.N.R. font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, etc.), including an original title, proper heading, page numbers, in-text citations, and Work(s) Cited page (note: the WC page does not count toward the page requirement). – Mechanics: be sure to check spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and divide the Essay into logical/appropriate sentences and paragraphs. – Thesis: The thesis statement should be easily identifiable and require argumentation. – Length Requirement: the Essay should be four (4) to five (5) FULL pages. 1 To be clear, these questions are meant to catalyze your thinking. Please do not respond to each in turn—if one of these is useful to you then please organize your writing around a response to that one question.
