Political Narratives in the Age of Bush and Obama

Sylabus

JMM604 Political Narratives in the Age of Bush and Obama Professor David Gutterman Wednesday, 8:00-9:20, 6 Credits   Course Description The United States is defined by stories.  It is a young country, comprised of people with different religions, ethnic backgrounds, languages, and changing borders.  In many respects, the United States consists of a series of ideas. In this course, we will examine the governing political narratives in the United States, particularly the defining narratives of era of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.   Presidents Bush and Obama have been the primary, but by no means the only, influential storytellers in United States during these early years of the 21st Century.  Together we will explore how the following five narrative themes have defined and directed American politics:

1) innocence,

2) abstinence and desire,

3) American masculinity,

4) Obama, Exodus and Joshua, and

5) privileged anger.  In this seminar, we will spend two weeks reading about and discussing each of the themes.   This course will be taught in English. Course Readings The readings for this course will be generally available as pdf files through SIS or through links available on the syllabus. I also want to note that there will be additional readings assigned that are not yet on the syllabus; these readings will be announced in class.   Course Requirements This is a seminar class, not a lecture course. The reading assignments for this course are rigorous and challenging. You are required to thoughtfully read every assignment.  When I say that you are required to read, I do not mean that you should mechanically scan every page, but that you should grapple with the ideas.  Mark up your text, read with a pen and paper, and write down ideas, questions, quotations, and points of confusion or contention.  Read for comprehension rather than completion, pondering every idea rather than looking at every word.  This means that you may need to read a section, think about it, read it again, write about it, discuss it, and then read it again.  So, "do the reading" means "engage yourself with the ideas of the texts." To stay prepared, plan for a sufficient amount of time to complete the assignment, and read aggressively.  Reading in this way will assist you in the second requirement:  Your regular attendance, careful preparation, and active participation are essential. Unexcused absences from class will have serious and significant detrimental effects on your final grade.  Come prepared to participate by doing the reading, reflecting upon the course material, and bringing to class issues, questions, and passages for discussion. Moreover, class participation does not simply entail speaking, but also listening in an engaged and respectful manner to the thoughts of your classmates.