ENGL 151-03, The Figure of the Citizen, Spring 2008

Abstract

What is a citizen? How is the notion of citizenship formed and informed by rhetorical persuasion? This section of the writing course explores the ‘figure’ of the citizen, often placed in opposition to a range of non-citizens (women, slaves, immigrants, aliens, strangers, enemies, friends). While we will examine selected excerpts from classical and contemporary political theories addressing citizenship, we will be concentrating on the ways in which citizens get figured in texts. To this end, readings might include the play Antigone, Pericles’ funeral oration, More’s Utopia, and poetry by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, and Seamus Heaney. Less conventionally ‘literary’ texts will also be drawn from genres such as legal documents, letters, government exams, and journalism. We’ll touch upon debates surrounding the figure of the citizen in classical Greece, Renaissance England, and the United States; research projects will involve work at the National Civil Rights Museum. In common with other 151 classes, the course has three broad aims: to enable you to read critically, to encourage you to think independently, and to help you produce accurate and compelling prose in support of a thesis. Course requirements will include three essays, one longer research paper, and brief writing (and revising) assignments for every class session.