Philip Nel > Courses > English 680, Sec. B: Dr. Seuss (Spring 2007)
Philip Nel > Books > Dr. Seuss: American Icon > Dr. Seuss course (Spring 2007)
English 680, Section B: Dr. Seuss
MWF 2:30-3:20 p.m.
ECS 017
 
Professor Philip Nel
Office Phone: 532-2165
Office: ECS 103
Office Hours: M 3:30-5 p.m., Tu 7:30-9 p.m., & by appt.
Virtual Office Hours: philnel@ksu.edu
Website: www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/
       
Paper Assignment: Undergraduates Grad Students
Class Presentation: Assignment Dates
Book Review: Assignment Due Dates
Other Assignments: Sighting Seuss Message Board
Syllabus last updated on Wednesday, February 7, 2007.
Required Texts:
Recommended Text:
Objectives:
        We will read Seuss's influences (including Edward Lear, Peter Newell, Hilaire Belloc, Palmer Cox), works by Seuss's contemporaries (Dick and Jane, Bemelmans' Madeline, the Reys' Curious George), and works by Seuss -- including a generous selection of his 65 books, as well as some of the Private SNAFU animated cartoons, magazine cartoons, and advertising work. We will also read Judith and Neil Morgan's Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel (the definitive biography), Richard Minear's Dr. Seuss Goes to War, my Dr. Seuss: American Icon, and important criticism (Art Spiegelman, Louis Menand, Betty Mensch and Alan Freeman).
Grading: Undergraduates | Graduate Students

Undergraduates:  

Points

  Due

Class Participation

100

  Daily.
Message Board 100   Weekly.

Presentation   

200

  In class, on day scheduled.

Paper

200

  In class, 4/30.
Sighting Seuss 50   In class, 4/4.
Midterm Exam 150   In class, 2/21.

Final Exam

200

  In class, 5/9, 4:10 - 6:00 p.m.

Total

1000

Graduate Students: 

Points

  Due

Class Participation

100

  Daily.
Message Board 100   Weekly.

Presentation  

200

  In class, on day scheduled.

Book Review

50

  In class, on day scheduled.

Paper

200

  Prospectus, 4/6; Final, 4/30.
Sighting Seuss 50   In class, 4/4.
Midterm Exam 100   In class, 2/21.

Final Exam

200

  In class, 5/9, 4:10 - 6:00 p.m.

Total

1000

Requirements: Class Participation and Attendance | Paper | Presentation | Book Review | Seuss Sightings | Message Board Board

        Class Participation and Attendance:
        Read everything, and come to class prepared to talk about what you have read. On the first day of class discussion for each assignment, you must have finished the reading and be ready to discuss it. By "the reading," I mean all of the text assigned for that day. This class will be based on discussion, so class participation is expected, and will count for 10% of your final grade. I reserve the right to assign homework or in-class writing projects that are not listed on the syllabus.
        Although it shouldn't be necessary for me to say this, I'll say it anyway: Class attendance is required. Since the class meets three times a week, you are granted three absences, but more than three will lower your final grade by one grade for each absence (e.g., B would become C). You cannot earn credit for work missed in class. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to discover what went on that day.
 
        Paper: Undergraduates | Graduate Students
        The paper must: be typed (preferably word-processed) and double-spaced; include a title, your name, and the date; and have numbered pages that are stapled or paper-clipped together. Late papers will be penalized one grade (e.g., B+ to C+) for each day late. For a full description of the paper assignment for undergraduates and the paper assignment for graduate students, please click on the relevant words in this sentence.
        Sources: Use the MLA method for documenting sources. Don't plagiarize. When you turn in a paper, you pledge that you have faithfully abided by the guidelines for documenting sources -- most grammar handbooks provide guidelines for documentation. Always remember: you must cite the sources of any ideas that are not your own. If you quote, paraphrase, or use another's ideas, you must give credit to the person whose ideas you are using. If you have any questions, please ask. If you plagiarize, you will automatically fail this course. For more information on Kansas State University's Honor System, please visit <www.ksu.edu/honor>.
 
        Presentation:
        Groups of students will sign up to present some contextual material for one of our class sessions. The presentations should be 10 minutes in length. I suggest that you rehearse your presentation to make sure that it comes in at or near to 10 minutes.
        Students must meet with me in advance to confirm the focus of their presentation.
        Each group must develop a brief handout (one side of one page or two sides of one page) which you can distribute to the class as a reference to the information and insights you will provide. The handout must include an annotated bibliography of relevant secondary sources.
        You will need to consult relevant resources (some on reserve, others available in the stacks or other library resources). As you might guess from these guidelines, you should plan to meet with your group at least once in advance of the presentation. When you meet with me, I may well be able to recommend some sources for your subject.
 
        Book Review (Graduate Students):
        Please note that the book review assignment is for graduate students only. Undergraduates should ignore this particular assignment.
 
        Sighting Seuss:
        During the semester, keep an eye out for Dr. Seuss. Any time you notice Seuss -- or one of his characters -- referenced in popular culture, make a note of it, including full bibliographic information. If you can keep a copy of the item in question, that would be even better. For some examples of such items, see the "Legacy and Influence" section of the Class Pack. For some examples of citations, see the bibliography for Chapter 6 of Dr. Seuss: American Icon, pp. 282-84. I would also prefer if you did not duplicate something mentioned in Dr. Seuss: American Icon.
        So, then, where will you find these references? Some sources may include television programs, movies, popular music, magazine articles, blogs, comic strips, email, poems, and advertisments (but not for Dr. Seuss books). You're looking for references and allusions to Dr. Seuss in popular culture -- moments in which people invoke Seuss, parody Seuss, identify with Seuss, borrow from Seuss, or otherwise appropriate Seuss. So, for example, please exclude any advertising created by an entity licensed by Dr. Seuss Enterprises. You're interested in what Seuss means to other people.
        On April 4, 2007, you will turn in the following:
    1. A close-reading of one of the items you've found. In other words, interpret this cultural artifact. For what purpose does it invoke Seuss? How does the creator of this object view Seuss? How do you know? Your interpretation should be a couple of paragraphs in length.
    2. A bibliography of all of the items you've found. I would like each person to find at least one, but there's no upper limit here.
    3. If possible, turn in the item that you have interpreted. If it's not possible, then it's not possible.
        Computing -- the Internet, the Message Board, and Email:

        The Internet: For your reference, a hyperlinked version of this syllabus is on-line. Go to <www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/> and click on "Courses." I have listed web and library resources, and provided a link to the paper assignments for underrgraduate students and graduate students.

        Message Board: Post comments to the message board once a week. An average posting should run about one or two paragraphs in length. In other words, your postings do not need to be long, but they must be substantive -- long enough to convey clearly the problem you are taking up and your point of view, connecting your comment to others' comments, as appropriate. I will monitor these discussions and assess a grade (at the end of the semester) based on the thoughtfulness of your comments, their ability to foster discussion among your classmates, and their responsiveness both to our readings and to your classmates' comments in class and on the message board. I may participate in these conversations, but I see the bulletin board primarily as a way for you to raise issues we haven't addressed -- or addressed fully or to your satisfaction -- during our regular class meetings. Though extra postings to the message board will not automatically replace participation in our class discussions, regular contributions above and beyond your weekly posting can certainly improve your class participation grade.
        You can access the message board via K-State On-Line:
  1. First, log in to our class on K-State On-Line.
  2. At top left, choose the "Collaboration" menu.
  3. Next, choose "Message Board."
  4. To post, you may either reply to a message (when you're reading a message, there's a "Reply" option) or begin a new thread (by selecting "New Thread" at top right).
 
        Email: My email address is philnel@ksu.edu. Please use the subject line. Due to the increased volume of spam, messages without clear subject lines will be deleted unread. If you need help establishing an email account and learning to use email, please visit the Office of Telecommunications at 109 East Stadium or <www.telecom.ksu.edu/> to find out what you have to do. Although I do not require you to use email, I encourage you to use email as a way of touching base with me. You can write me with questions, send a thesis statement or outline for an essay, make an appointment to meet me in person, or do anything else that could be handled with a quick exchange of messages. I tend to check email several times a day, but please keep in mind that I am not on-line at all times. You can access email at the various computer labs around campus: Hale Library, Student Union, 21 Nichols Hall, 22-25 Seaton Hall, 1-1A Dickens Hall, and 325 Justin Hall and in some residence halls (visit <http://lan.cns.ksu.edu/labs/> for more details).
 
Schedule of Assignments
Subject to Change
[W] = Web. [CP] = Course Pack. [R] = On Reserve (at Hale Library). [R*] = Should be available on Reserve (but isn't yet)
Note: "through" means "to the end of" (not "up to"). Page numbers refer to the editions assigned.
Introduction: Childhood, Influences, & Early Works
January F 12 Introduction. Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat. Philip Nel, Dr. Seuss: American Icon, Introduction.
 
M 15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day
W 17 Judith and Neil Morgan, Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel, Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
F 19 Influences on Dr. Seuss. Peter Newell, The Hole Book (1908) [R]; Palmer Cox, excerpts from The Brownies: Their Book (1887) [CP]; a few of Rube Goldberg's "Inventions" [CP], excerpts from Hilaire Belloc, Bad Child's Book of Beasts (1897), More Beasts for Worse Children (1898), and A Moral Alphabet (1899) [CP]; George Herriman, Krazy Kat [CP].
 
M 22 Morgans, Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel, Chapters 4, 5, 6; Seuss, Early Work, items 1 through 12 [CP]; Nel, Chapter 4, to p. 101. MEET IN RARE BOOKS, 5th floor Hale Library.
W 24 Morgans, Chapter 7. Dr. Seuss, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937).
F 26 Morgans, Chapter 8. Dr. Seuss, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938) [R] and Horton Hatches the Egg (1940).
 
I Can Rhyme It All By Myself: A Seussian Poetics
M 29 Nel, Dr. Seuss: American Icon, Chapter 1, through p. 28. Edward Lear, selected limericks [CP]; Lewis Carroll, "Jabberwocky" [CP]. Dr. Seuss, McElligot's Pool (1947) and If I Ran the Circus (1956) [both R].

Presentation on Influences on Seuss's Verse.
W 31 Nel, Chapter 1, to end. Dr. Seuss, Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953), If I Ran the Zoo (1950), Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book (1962) [all R].
February F 2 Dr. Seuss, On Beyond Zebra! (1955), Fox in Socks (1965) [R], Oh Say Can You Say? (1979) [R], Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? (1970) [R]
 
Horton Hears a Heil!: The Politics of Dr. Seuss, Part I
M 5 Morgans, Chapter 9; Minear, Dr. Seuss Goes to War, to p. 114.

Presentation on Politics of Dr. Seuss from 1904 to 1945.
W 7 Minear, to end. Selected Private SNAFU cartoons (1943-46) [viewed in class].
F 9 Your Job in Germany [viewed in class]. Dr. Seuss, Dr. Seuss Went to War (Mandeville Special Collections, UCSD) [W]. Dr. Seuss, Yertle the Turtle (1958)
 
M 12 Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who! (1954), The Sneetches and Other Stories (1961). Nel, Chapter 2.
W 14 Betty Mensch and Alan Freeman, "Getting to Solla Sollew: The Existential Politics of Dr. Seuss" (1987) [CP].
 
The Doc in the Smock: The Art of Dr. Seuss
F 16 Dr. Seuss, The King's Stilts (1939), I Had Trouble In Getting to Solla Sollew (1965), Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? (1973), Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! (1975), Oh, the Places You'll Go! (1991) [all R]. Nel, Chapter 3.
 
M 19 Seuss, The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss (1995) [R].

Presentation on the Art of Dr. Seuss.
W 21 Midterm Exam
 
Postwar: From Thidwick to Dr. T.
F 23 Dr. Seuss, selected magazine stories [CP], Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose(1948) [R], Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1949) [R]. Gerald McBoingBoing (1950) [viewed in class].
 
M 26 Morgans, Chapters 10, 11. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953) [viewed in class].
W 28 The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Nel, Chapter 4, pp. 124-129. Morgans, Chapter 12.
March F 2

Dr. Seuss's Birthday. NO CLASS.
 
Learning to Read: The Cat in the Hat and What He Begat
M 5

Morgans, Chapter 13. Dick and Jane [read in class]. Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat (1957). Selma G. Lanes, "Seuss for the Goose Is Seuss for the Gander" (1971) [CP].

Presentation on Rudolf Flesch's Why Johnny Can't Read.
W 7

The Cat in the Hat (1957). Louis Menand, "Cat People: What Dr. Seuss Really Taught Us" (2002) [CP].

Presentation on Seuss Revising.
F 9 Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1958).
 
M 12 The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. Stan and Jan Berenstain, The Big Honey Hunt (in the The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Beginner Books); P. D. Eastman, Go, Dog. Go!; Syd Hoff, Danny and the Dinosaur; Else Homelund Minarik, Little Bear, illus. Maurice Sendak [all R].

Presentation on Beginner Books and I Can Read Books.
W 14 Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham (1960), One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960) [R]; Theo LeSieg, Ten Apples Up on Top!, illus. Roy McKie (1961) [R*].
 
Adaptations and Advertising
F 16 Dr. Seuss, The Advertising Artwork of Dr. Seuss (Mandeville Special Collections, UCSD) [W].

Presentation on Seuss and Advertising.
 
M 26 Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957); Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) [viewed in class]. Nel, Chapter 4, pp. 117-124; Chapter 5, pp. 130-139.
W 28 Hutcheon, Preface from A Theory of Adaptation (2006) [CP]. Nel, Chapter 5, to pp. 139-146.

Presentation on Adaptation.
F 30 Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones, The Cat in the Hat (1971) [viewed in class].
 
April M 2 Bo Welch, The Cat in the Hat (2003) [viewed in class]. Nel, Chapter 5, pp. 146-167.
W 4 Welch, The Cat in the Hat (2003).

"Sighting Seuss" DUE in class.
 
F 6 Dr. Seuss, Daisy Head Mayzie (1994); Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky, and Lane Smith, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! (1998) [both R]
 
Dr. Seuss's Contemporaries
M 9 Iconoclastic Characters. Munro Leaf, The Story of Ferdinand, illus. by Robert Lawson (1936); H.A. and Margret Rey, Curious George (1941); Ludwig Bemelmans, Madeline (1939); Kay Thompson, Eloise, illus. Hilary Knight (1955) [all R].
W 11 The Imagination. Crockett Johnson, Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955); Leo Lionni, Frederick (1967); Margaret Wise Brown, Goodnight Moon, illus. Clement Hurd (1947); Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are (1963) [all R].
F 13 Fables & Landscapes. Virgina Lee Burton, The Little House (1942); Robert McCloskey, Make Way for Ducklings (1941); Esphyr Slobodkina, Caps for Sale (1940); William Steig, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1969) [all R].
 
Adults, Children, and Satire: The Politics of Dr. Seuss, Part II
M 16 Nel, Chapter 4, pp. 101-117; Morgans, Chapters 14, 15, 16. Dr. Seuss, The Seven Lady Godivas (1939) [read in Rare Books on day of class], "Matilda, the Elephant with a Mother Complex" (1938) [CP]; Alison Lurie, "The Cabinet of Dr. Seuss" [CP]; Dr. Seuss, "The Glunk That Got Thunk" from I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today And Other Stories (1969) [R]; Theo. LeSieg, Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should Be a Vet!, illus. Michael J. Smollin (1980) [R*]. MEET IN HALE 301 (Montgomery Family Conference Room), 3th floor Hale Library.
W 18 Morgans, Chapter 17; Dr. Seuss, The Lorax (1971). Items 5 & 6 from the "Legacy and Influence" section of the Course Pack [CP].

Presentation on Politics of Dr. Seuss from 1946 to 1991.
F 20 Morgans, Chapters 18-19; Dr. Seuss, The Butter Battle Book (1984). Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels, Part I, Chapter 4 (A Voyage to Lilliput) <http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/bk1/chap1-4.html> [W].
 
M 23 Morgans, Chapters 20-21; Dr. Seuss, You're Only Old Once! (1986) [CP], Oh, the Places You'll Go! (1990).
 
Legacy and Influence: Dr. Seuss and the Public Imagination
W 25 Robert Coover, "The Cat in the Hat for President" (1968) [CP]
F 27 Nel, Chapter 6. The items in the "Legacy and Influence" section of the Course Pack [CP].

Presentation on Dr. Seuss in Popular Culture.
 
M 30 Other "Seuss Sightings" & Seuss in popular music [to be heard in class].

Paper DUE in class.
May W 2 Morgans, Epilogue; Nel, Epilogue.
F 4 Conclusion and Review
 
W 9 Final Exam, 4:10 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. You must take the final exam on the day and at the time scheduled. NO EXCEPTIONS. MARK YOUR CALENDARS.

 

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