(Melville and Criticism)

As the title suggests, the class has a double agenda. On the one hand, we will read extensively in the work of Herman Melville, including early Polynesian and seafaring fictions, selected letters, Moby-Dick, the great series of tales, some of the late poetry, as well as a few of his most peculiar productions: Pierre, The Confidence-Man, maybe even Mardi. Such an overview of Melville’’s odd trajectory will help us address the mystery of what motivated him to write such stuff.

The other half of our attention will be taken up with a question about ourselves: what motivates, could motivate, should motivate, our own critical writing? Melville is a great figure to stage this question around, since many superb and original critics have written on him, critics both academic and non-academic (and we’ll try our best to think beyond that particular division as well). We’ll range around quite a lot, but will certainly look at many of the following: D.H. Lawrence, Charles Olson, C. L. R. James (whose book on Melville was largely written when he was incarcerated at Ellis Island), H. Bruce Franklin, F. O. Matthiessen, Charles Feidelson, Michael Rogin, Wai-Chee Dimock, Donald Pease. We’ll pay attention to Melville’s critique of civilization,” and those who comment on it. We’ll also spend some time looking at the queer Melville, and the criticism of Harold Beaver, Robert K. Martin, James Creech, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. And I would also like to take another look at a “formalist” or “deconstructionist” Melville, and the work of Barbara Johnson, Peggy Kamuf, Ann Smock, and several remarkable essays by Gilles Deleuze.

Students will be presenting at each meeting their findings, summaries, reactions to some selected critical work, and will be asked to prepare the seminar for their discussion, with an advance e-message. A final article-length essay will be the central requirement, the topic and approach of which is entirely open.

I have not set the reading list in stone, nor have I thought what might be useful to have read by the first meeting, and would be glad to meet with any prospective students over the next few weeks.