Approaches to Teaching the Works of David Foster Wallace

by Stephen J. Burn (Editor), Mary K. Holland (Editor)

Overview

David Foster Wallace's works engage with his literary moment--roughly summarized as postmodernism--and with the author's historical context. From his famously complex fiction to essays critical of American culture, Wallace's 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 biographical, contextual, and archival sources and critical responses to Wallace's writing. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603293921
Publisher:	Modern Language Association
Publication date:	08/01/2019
Series:	Approaches to Teaching World Literature , #156
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	214
File size:	826 KB

Table of Contents

Part 1 Materials

Introduction 3

Novels and Short Fiction 3

Nonaction and Reviews 4

Readings for Students 5

The Instructor's Library 6

Part 2 Approaches

Introduction 13

Teaching Key Works and Genres

Teaching Infinite Jest Marshall Boswell 22

Last Words: Teaching The Pale King Stephen J. Burn 33

Teaching Wallace's Short Fiction Philip Coleman 42

Teaching Wallace's Pop Criticism Matthew Luter 52

Classroom Contexts

Infinite Unrest: "Octet,"' High School, and the Revolving Door of Metanarrative Mike Miley 59

Considering Composition: Teaching Wallace in the First-Year Writing Classroom Mark Bresnan 68

Wallaceward the American Literature Survey Course Takes Its Way Ralph Clare 75

Wallace as Major Author: Teaching the Oeuvre Jeffrey Severs 85

Digital Wallace: Networked Pedagogies and Distributed Reading Kathleen Fitzpatrick 94

Wallace and Literary History: Influences and Intertexts

After Deconstruction: Wallace's New Realism Mary K. Holland 101

Beyond the Limit: Teaching Wallace and the Systems Novel Patrick O'Donnell 113

Twenty-First-Century Wallace: Teaching Wallace amid His Contemporaries Robert L. McLaughlin 123

Wallace and World Literature Lucas Thompson 132

Intellectual and Social Contexts

Early Wallace and Program Culture Andrew Warren 144

Wallace and Philosophy Allard den Dulk 155

Desire, Self, and Other; Wallace and Gender Hamilton Carroll 169

Can Empathy Be Taught? Wallace's Literary Ethics Matthew Mullins 180

Notes on Contributors 187

Survey Participants 191

Works Cited 193

Editorial Reviews

"This is a wonderful book that will appeal to teachers at all educational levels. It offers a great deal both to newcomers to Wallace and to readers familiar with his work." —Kasia Boddy, Cambridge University

From the Publisher