Part One: Materials. Introduction -- Novels and Short Fiction -- Nonfiction and Reviews -- Readings for Students -- The Instructor's Library -- Part Two: Approaches. Introduction -- Teaching Key Works and Genres. Teaching Infinite Jest / Marshall Boswell -- Last Words: Teaching The Pale King / Stephen J. Burn -- Teaching Wallace's Short Fiction / Philip Coleman -- Teaching Wallace's Pop Criticism / Matthew Luter -- Classroom Contexts. Infinite Unrest: "Octet," High School, and the Revolving Door of Metanarrative / Mike Miley -- Considering Composition: Teaching Wallace in the First-Year Writing Classroom / Mark Bresnan -- Wallaceward the American Literature Survey Course Takes Its Way / Ralph Clare -- Wallace as Major Author: Teaching the Oeuvre / Jeffrey Severs -- Digital Wallace: Networked Pedagogies and Distributed Reading / Kathleen Fitzpatrick -- Wallace and Literary History: Influences and Intertexts. After Deconstruction: Wallace's New Realism / Mary K. Holland -- Beyond the Limit: Teaching Wallace and the Systems Novel / Patrick O'Donnell -- Twenty-First-Century Wallace: Teaching Wallace amid His Contemporaries / Robert L. McLaughlin -- Wallace and World Literature / Lucas Thompson -- Intellectual and Social Contexts. Early Wallace and Program Culture / Andrew Warren -- Wallace and Philosophy / Allard den Dulk -- Desire, Self, and Other: Wallace and Gender / Hamilton Carroll -- Can Empathy Be Taught? Wallace's Literary Ethics / Matthew Mullins.
Summary:
"David Foster Wallace's works engaged with his literary moment--roughly summarized as postmodernism--and with the author's historical context. From the famous complexity of novels such as Infinite Jest to the direct critique of American culture in his essays, his works have at their core essential human concerns such as self-understanding, connecting with others, ethical behavior, and finding meaning. The essays in this volume suggest ways to elucidate Wallace's philosophical and literary preoccupations for today's students, who continue to contend with urgent issues, both personal and political, through reading literature. Part 1, "Materials," offers guidance on editions of Wallace's works and critical responses to them. The essays in part 2, "Approaches," discuss teaching key works and genres in high school settings, first-year undergraduate writing classes, American literature surveys, seminars on Wallace, and world literature courses. They examine Wallace's social and philosophical contexts and contributions, treating topics such as gender, literary ethics, and the culture of writing programs." -- Publisher's description
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.