The courses listed below are provided by the JHU Public Course Search. This listing provides a snapshot of immediately available courses and may not be complete.
What is poetry? And why don't we like it? Can poetry save the world? Can it save us? This First-Year seminar will explore what makes poetry turn ordinary language into something extraordinary, something necessary to our world. The course will involve reading poetry aloud, thinking about poetry in its many purposes, places, and forms, and you will be clapping, blogging, creating video and written projects about these. You'll attend poetry slams in Baltimore, visit bookstores, make some poetry, and most of all, talk and think aloud about language and its powers. Three assignments, spaced across term (75%), attendance/participation (25%).
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FYS: How Not to be Afraid of Poetry AS.001.192 (01)
What is poetry? And why don't we like it? Can poetry save the world? Can it save us? This First-Year seminar will explore what makes poetry turn ordinary language into something extraordinary, something necessary to our world. The course will involve reading poetry aloud, thinking about poetry in its many purposes, places, and forms, and you will be clapping, blogging, creating video and written projects about these. You'll attend poetry slams in Baltimore, visit bookstores, make some poetry, and most of all, talk and think aloud about language and its powers. Three assignments, spaced across term (75%), attendance/participation (25%).
Days/Times: T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Achinstein, Sharon
Room: Gilman 388
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.001.205 (01)
FYS: Games: History, Theory, and Practice
MW 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Gilman 130D
Fall 2023
From game theory to gamification, games have become a central part of everyday life. More and more, in fields as diverse as economics, entertainment, and education, the game has become the principal model for interpreting and interacting with the social world, and with ourselves. This First-Year Seminar will look at the history of games in the modern world, with an eye to understanding their increasing prominence in the 20th and 21st centuries. What social and technological changes brought about this shift? And yes -- we will play, and seek to analyze, some games as well (both analog and digital).
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FYS: Games: History, Theory, and Practice AS.001.205 (01)
From game theory to gamification, games have become a central part of everyday life. More and more, in fields as diverse as economics, entertainment, and education, the game has become the principal model for interpreting and interacting with the social world, and with ourselves. This First-Year Seminar will look at the history of games in the modern world, with an eye to understanding their increasing prominence in the 20th and 21st centuries. What social and technological changes brought about this shift? And yes -- we will play, and seek to analyze, some games as well (both analog and digital).
Days/Times: MW 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Room: Gilman 130D
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.107 (01)
Introduction to Literary Study
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Thompson, Mark Christian
Shaffer 2
Fall 2023
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
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Introduction to Literary Study AS.060.107 (01)
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Thompson, Mark Christian
Room: Shaffer 2
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.107 (02)
Introduction to Literary Study
MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Crisostomo, Johaina Katinka
Hodson 216
Fall 2023
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
×
Introduction to Literary Study AS.060.107 (02)
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
Days/Times: MW 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Crisostomo, Johaina Katinka
Room: Hodson 216
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.109 (01)
Robots, Androids, Slaves
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Nealon, Chris
Gilman 217
Fall 2023
Since the rise of Silicon Valley, tech enthusiasts and futurists have been debating the possibility of what has been called “the singularity” — the moment when artificial intelligence (AI) decisively and irreversibly surpasses human abilities. If this does happen, observers worry, it’s not just that robots will take our jobs; will we become subservient to our new robot masters? Will we become extinct, and not because of climate change? This course explores such questions through the lens of literature and popular media. We will watch several films from the last 15 years or so that depict the rise of AI. We will ask about the roles tat gender, race and class have in our imagination of the work robots do. And we will read a range of short essays that approach the question of labor and technology from different angles than mass media usually do.
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Robots, Androids, Slaves AS.060.109 (01)
Since the rise of Silicon Valley, tech enthusiasts and futurists have been debating the possibility of what has been called “the singularity” — the moment when artificial intelligence (AI) decisively and irreversibly surpasses human abilities. If this does happen, observers worry, it’s not just that robots will take our jobs; will we become subservient to our new robot masters? Will we become extinct, and not because of climate change? This course explores such questions through the lens of literature and popular media. We will watch several films from the last 15 years or so that depict the rise of AI. We will ask about the roles tat gender, race and class have in our imagination of the work robots do. And we will read a range of short essays that approach the question of labor and technology from different angles than mass media usually do.
Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Nealon, Chris
Room: Gilman 217
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM
AS.060.117 (01)
If The Walls Could Talk: Meaningful Environments in Literary Worlds
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Oliver, Xavier A
Gilman 313
Fall 2023
For most of us, the smaller details marking the four walls of a room that we find ourselves in for long stretches of time eventually blend into the background noise of our day-to-day lives--always present, but screened out of our active notice. But if the walls and objects all around us could talk—or at least be made legible to us—what stories might they have to tell? Faced with such seemingly insubstantial traces of the animate within the inanimate, we might well end up with a newfound appreciation for the word "haunted" in a day-to-day life that has largely been exorcised of all thought of indwelling spirits. In this course, we will read a series of texts that invite us to think more deeply about overlooked meanings, attachments, conflicts, and other social relationships embedded in private and public environments. In so doing, we will learn methods for carefully reading environmental details in literature that will translate to an ability to better grasp the meanings made manifest in our own day-to-day environments.
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If The Walls Could Talk: Meaningful Environments in Literary Worlds AS.060.117 (01)
For most of us, the smaller details marking the four walls of a room that we find ourselves in for long stretches of time eventually blend into the background noise of our day-to-day lives--always present, but screened out of our active notice. But if the walls and objects all around us could talk—or at least be made legible to us—what stories might they have to tell? Faced with such seemingly insubstantial traces of the animate within the inanimate, we might well end up with a newfound appreciation for the word "haunted" in a day-to-day life that has largely been exorcised of all thought of indwelling spirits. In this course, we will read a series of texts that invite us to think more deeply about overlooked meanings, attachments, conflicts, and other social relationships embedded in private and public environments. In so doing, we will learn methods for carefully reading environmental details in literature that will translate to an ability to better grasp the meanings made manifest in our own day-to-day environments.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Oliver, Xavier A
Room: Gilman 313
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.169 (01)
Literature and Visual Art
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Miller, Andrew
Bloomberg 168
Fall 2023
We’ll glance at the history of the relations between painting and literature, before turning to the art of the past 200 years. What has drawn writers to place their powers against those of painters (in particular)? How have they managed the comparisons? How might we understand the distinctive powers and limitations of these two modes of responding to human experience? While we may have an exam, writing assignments will constitute most of your grade.
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Literature and Visual Art AS.060.169 (01)
We’ll glance at the history of the relations between painting and literature, before turning to the art of the past 200 years. What has drawn writers to place their powers against those of painters (in particular)? How have they managed the comparisons? How might we understand the distinctive powers and limitations of these two modes of responding to human experience? While we may have an exam, writing assignments will constitute most of your grade.
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Miller, Andrew
Room: Bloomberg 168
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.207 (01)
William Shakespeare
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Daniel, Andrew
Gilman 186
Fall 2023
Who was William Shakespeare, and what can his poems, histories, comedies and tragedies tell us about our overlap with, and divergences from, the early modern world?
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William Shakespeare AS.060.207 (01)
Who was William Shakespeare, and what can his poems, histories, comedies and tragedies tell us about our overlap with, and divergences from, the early modern world?
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Daniel, Andrew
Room: Gilman 186
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC, ENGL-PR1800
AS.060.207 (02)
William Shakespeare
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Daniel, Andrew
Gilman 186
Fall 2023
Who was William Shakespeare, and what can his poems, histories, comedies and tragedies tell us about our overlap with, and divergences from, the early modern world?
×
William Shakespeare AS.060.207 (02)
Who was William Shakespeare, and what can his poems, histories, comedies and tragedies tell us about our overlap with, and divergences from, the early modern world?
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Daniel, Andrew
Room: Gilman 186
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC, ENGL-PR1800
AS.060.223 (01)
African American Literature from 1900 to Present
TTh 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Jackson, Lawrence P
Gilman 219
Fall 2023
A survey of the major and minor texts written by African Americans during the twentieth century, beginning with Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition and concluding with Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
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African American Literature from 1900 to Present AS.060.223 (01)
A survey of the major and minor texts written by African Americans during the twentieth century, beginning with Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition and concluding with Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Jackson, Lawrence P
Room: Gilman 219
Status: Open
Seats Available: 11/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC, ENGL-GLOBAL
AS.060.223 (02)
African American Literature from 1900 to Present
TTh 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Jackson, Lawrence P
Gilman 219
Fall 2023
A survey of the major and minor texts written by African Americans during the twentieth century, beginning with Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition and concluding with Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
×
African American Literature from 1900 to Present AS.060.223 (02)
A survey of the major and minor texts written by African Americans during the twentieth century, beginning with Charles Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition and concluding with Toni Morrison’s Beloved.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Instructor: Jackson, Lawrence P
Room: Gilman 219
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC, ENGL-GLOBAL
AS.060.229 (01)
Nineteenth-Century American Literature: History, Philosophy, Insight
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Da, Nan
Gilman 186
Fall 2023
This lecture course will introduce students to the literature and literary culture of nineteenth-century America and its wider world. Focusing on history, genre and print practices, and culturally hybrid narrative logics, the course will move from the deeply curious and disturbing qualities of this body of literature to the origins and real asks of liberalism, progressivism, national and transnational ideology, secularism, and global modernity. Our core literary selection will comprise of nineteenth century American literature, including but not limited to the works Alexis de Tocqueville, Phillis Wheatley Peters, William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, Jane Johnson Schoolcraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Spofford, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Edgar Allen Poe, David Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Francis Parkman, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Yung Wing, and Sui Sin Far.
×
Nineteenth-Century American Literature: History, Philosophy, Insight AS.060.229 (01)
This lecture course will introduce students to the literature and literary culture of nineteenth-century America and its wider world. Focusing on history, genre and print practices, and culturally hybrid narrative logics, the course will move from the deeply curious and disturbing qualities of this body of literature to the origins and real asks of liberalism, progressivism, national and transnational ideology, secularism, and global modernity. Our core literary selection will comprise of nineteenth century American literature, including but not limited to the works Alexis de Tocqueville, Phillis Wheatley Peters, William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, Jane Johnson Schoolcraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Spofford, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Edgar Allen Poe, David Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Francis Parkman, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Yung Wing, and Sui Sin Far.
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Da, Nan
Room: Gilman 186
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC
AS.060.229 (02)
Nineteenth-Century American Literature: History, Philosophy, Insight
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Da, Nan
Gilman 186
Fall 2023
This lecture course will introduce students to the literature and literary culture of nineteenth-century America and its wider world. Focusing on history, genre and print practices, and culturally hybrid narrative logics, the course will move from the deeply curious and disturbing qualities of this body of literature to the origins and real asks of liberalism, progressivism, national and transnational ideology, secularism, and global modernity. Our core literary selection will comprise of nineteenth century American literature, including but not limited to the works Alexis de Tocqueville, Phillis Wheatley Peters, William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, Jane Johnson Schoolcraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Spofford, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Edgar Allen Poe, David Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Francis Parkman, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Yung Wing, and Sui Sin Far.
×
Nineteenth-Century American Literature: History, Philosophy, Insight AS.060.229 (02)
This lecture course will introduce students to the literature and literary culture of nineteenth-century America and its wider world. Focusing on history, genre and print practices, and culturally hybrid narrative logics, the course will move from the deeply curious and disturbing qualities of this body of literature to the origins and real asks of liberalism, progressivism, national and transnational ideology, secularism, and global modernity. Our core literary selection will comprise of nineteenth century American literature, including but not limited to the works Alexis de Tocqueville, Phillis Wheatley Peters, William Cullen Bryant, Washington Irving, Jane Johnson Schoolcraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Spofford, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Jacobs, Edgar Allen Poe, David Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Francis Parkman, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Yung Wing, and Sui Sin Far.
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Da, Nan
Room: Gilman 186
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC
AS.060.313 (01)
Literature of the Settler Revolution
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Hickman, Jared W
Gilman 388
Fall 2023
The nineteenth century saw the creation of an “Angloworld” as a result of what one historian has called “the settler revolution.” In perhaps the largest mass migration in human history, millions of English-speakers (and others) invaded Indigenous worlds in what have consequently come to be known as the United States, Canada, and Australia. This seminar offers an introduction to nineteenth-century Indigenous and settler Anglophone writing in the US, Canada, and Australia with a view to understanding the role of literature in inciting, interrogating, and resisting this settler revolution.
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Literature of the Settler Revolution AS.060.313 (01)
The nineteenth century saw the creation of an “Angloworld” as a result of what one historian has called “the settler revolution.” In perhaps the largest mass migration in human history, millions of English-speakers (and others) invaded Indigenous worlds in what have consequently come to be known as the United States, Canada, and Australia. This seminar offers an introduction to nineteenth-century Indigenous and settler Anglophone writing in the US, Canada, and Australia with a view to understanding the role of literature in inciting, interrogating, and resisting this settler revolution.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Hickman, Jared W
Room: Gilman 388
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15
PosTag(s): ENGL-GLOBAL, ENGL-PR1800
AS.060.344 (01)
Reimagining the Past: History and Memory in Asian American Fiction
T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Crisostomo, Johaina Katinka
Gilman 119
Fall 2023
In this course, we will be focusing on Asian American historical fiction to investigate the constitutive tension between fact and fiction in narratives about the past. What kinds of historical claims, if any, can novels make? How is historical memory transformed in the process of narration? How does the past continue to condition our present/future, and, conversely, in what ways is the past haunted by the present?
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Reimagining the Past: History and Memory in Asian American Fiction AS.060.344 (01)
In this course, we will be focusing on Asian American historical fiction to investigate the constitutive tension between fact and fiction in narratives about the past. What kinds of historical claims, if any, can novels make? How is historical memory transformed in the process of narration? How does the past continue to condition our present/future, and, conversely, in what ways is the past haunted by the present?
Days/Times: T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Crisostomo, Johaina Katinka
Room: Gilman 119
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/15
PosTag(s): ENGL-GLOBAL
AS.060.364 (01)
Utopias
W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Mao, Douglas
Gilman 119
Fall 2023
This course examines how writers have imagined perfect, or at least vastly improved, human societies from antiquity through our own day. Topics of particular interest will be the relation between individual liberty and social cohesion in utopian schemes, views on the nature of happiness and justice, and speculations about the ease or arduousness with which utopia might be created or maintained. Authors to be studied may include Plato, Thomas More, Margaret Cavendish, Edward Bellamy, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, H. G. Wells, E. M. Forster, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Octavia Butler.
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Utopias AS.060.364 (01)
This course examines how writers have imagined perfect, or at least vastly improved, human societies from antiquity through our own day. Topics of particular interest will be the relation between individual liberty and social cohesion in utopian schemes, views on the nature of happiness and justice, and speculations about the ease or arduousness with which utopia might be created or maintained. Authors to be studied may include Plato, Thomas More, Margaret Cavendish, Edward Bellamy, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, H. G. Wells, E. M. Forster, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Octavia Butler.
Days/Times: W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Mao, Douglas
Room: Gilman 119
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/16
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM
AS.060.375 (01)
Literary Studies as Data Science
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Da, Nan
Gilman 119
Fall 2023
This course introduces students to variety of approaches to literary studies, underscoring their common interest in the nature of data, its collection, and its analysis. Materials are drawn from the fields of British empiricism, Law and Literature, Marxist and Foucauldian critique, the Birmingham School, New Criticism, Genre Studies, New Historicism, Structuralism, Systems theory, Russian formalism, computational analytics, and the Sociology of Literature.
×
Literary Studies as Data Science AS.060.375 (01)
This course introduces students to variety of approaches to literary studies, underscoring their common interest in the nature of data, its collection, and its analysis. Materials are drawn from the fields of British empiricism, Law and Literature, Marxist and Foucauldian critique, the Birmingham School, New Criticism, Genre Studies, New Historicism, Structuralism, Systems theory, Russian formalism, computational analytics, and the Sociology of Literature.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Da, Nan
Room: Gilman 119
Status: Open
Seats Available: 13/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.100.275 (01)
Passing in American Culture
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Mott, Shani T
Hodson 301
Fall 2023
This course explores passing narratives – stories that feature people who cross race, class, ethnic, or gender boundaries. We will consider what passing narratives can teach us about power and identity, especially as power is presumed to reside in the self and race is presumed to no longer matter.
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Passing in American Culture AS.100.275 (01)
This course explores passing narratives – stories that feature people who cross race, class, ethnic, or gender boundaries. We will consider what passing narratives can teach us about power and identity, especially as power is presumed to reside in the self and race is presumed to no longer matter.
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Mott, Shani T
Room: Hodson 301
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): HIST-US
AS.211.314 (01)
Jewish in America, Yiddish in America: Literature, Culture, Identity
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Spinner, Samuel Jacob
Gilman 381
Fall 2023
iddish was the language of European Jews for 1000 years. From the 19th century to the present day it has been a language that millions of Americans — Jewish immigrants and their descendants–have spoken, written in, conducted their daily lives in, and created culture in. This course will examine literature, film, newspapers, and more to explore how Jewish immigrants to America shaped their identities—as Jews, as Americans, and as former Europeans. What role did maintaining, adapting, or abandoning a minority language play in the creation of Jewish American identity—cultural, ethnic, or religious? How was this language perceived by the majority culture? How was it used to represent the experiences of other minoritized groups? What processes of linguistic and cultural translation were involved in finding a space for Yiddish in America, in its original or translated into English? The overarching subjects of this course include migration, race, ethnicity, multilingualism, and assimilation. We will analyze literature (novels, poetry, drama); film; comedy; and other media. All texts in English.
×
Jewish in America, Yiddish in America: Literature, Culture, Identity AS.211.314 (01)
iddish was the language of European Jews for 1000 years. From the 19th century to the present day it has been a language that millions of Americans — Jewish immigrants and their descendants–have spoken, written in, conducted their daily lives in, and created culture in. This course will examine literature, film, newspapers, and more to explore how Jewish immigrants to America shaped their identities—as Jews, as Americans, and as former Europeans. What role did maintaining, adapting, or abandoning a minority language play in the creation of Jewish American identity—cultural, ethnic, or religious? How was this language perceived by the majority culture? How was it used to represent the experiences of other minoritized groups? What processes of linguistic and cultural translation were involved in finding a space for Yiddish in America, in its original or translated into English? The overarching subjects of this course include migration, race, ethnicity, multilingualism, and assimilation. We will analyze literature (novels, poetry, drama); film; comedy; and other media. All texts in English.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Spinner, Samuel Jacob
Room: Gilman 381
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): INST-GLOBAL
AS.211.361 (01)
Dissent and Cultural Productions: Israeli Culture as a Case Study
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Stahl, Neta
Gilman 413
Fall 2023
This course explores the interplay between protest and cultural productions using the Israeli society as a case study. We will examine the formation and nature of political and social protest movements in Israel, such as the Israeli Black Panthers, Israeli feminism, the struggle for LGBTQ rights and the 2011 social justice protest. Dissent in the military and protest against war as well as civil activism in the context of the Palestinians-Israeli conflict will serve us to explore the notion of dissent in the face of collective ethos, memory and trauma. The literary, cinematic, theatrical and artistic productions of dissent will stand at the center of our discussion as well as the role of specific genres and media, including satire and comedy, television, popular music, dance and social media. We will ask ourselves questions such as how do cultural productions express dissent? What is the role of cultural productions in civil activism? And what is the connection between specific genre or media and expression of dissent? All material will be taught in English translation.
×
Dissent and Cultural Productions: Israeli Culture as a Case Study AS.211.361 (01)
This course explores the interplay between protest and cultural productions using the Israeli society as a case study. We will examine the formation and nature of political and social protest movements in Israel, such as the Israeli Black Panthers, Israeli feminism, the struggle for LGBTQ rights and the 2011 social justice protest. Dissent in the military and protest against war as well as civil activism in the context of the Palestinians-Israeli conflict will serve us to explore the notion of dissent in the face of collective ethos, memory and trauma. The literary, cinematic, theatrical and artistic productions of dissent will stand at the center of our discussion as well as the role of specific genres and media, including satire and comedy, television, popular music, dance and social media. We will ask ourselves questions such as how do cultural productions express dissent? What is the role of cultural productions in civil activism? And what is the connection between specific genre or media and expression of dissent? All material will be taught in English translation.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Stahl, Neta
Room: Gilman 413
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/10
PosTag(s): INST-CP, INST-GLOBAL
AS.225.318 (01)
21st Century Female Playwrights
T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Denithorne, Margaret
Krieger 103
Fall 2023
This is a writing intensive class exploring the current wealth of women playwrights, including Pulitzer Prize winners: Wendy Wasserstein, Paula Vogel, Lynn Nottage, and Jackie Sibblies Drury (2019 Prize for FAIRVIEW). We will discuss Script Analysis and read (and see) plays by numerous writers including Claire Barron, Kia Corthron, Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Ruhl, Danai Gurira, Caleen Sinnette Jennings, and Hansol Jung. This class will include a mid-term and a Final Paper.
×
21st Century Female Playwrights AS.225.318 (01)
This is a writing intensive class exploring the current wealth of women playwrights, including Pulitzer Prize winners: Wendy Wasserstein, Paula Vogel, Lynn Nottage, and Jackie Sibblies Drury (2019 Prize for FAIRVIEW). We will discuss Script Analysis and read (and see) plays by numerous writers including Claire Barron, Kia Corthron, Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Ruhl, Danai Gurira, Caleen Sinnette Jennings, and Hansol Jung. This class will include a mid-term and a Final Paper.
Days/Times: T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Denithorne, Margaret
Room: Krieger 103
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.300.372 (01)
Children’s Literature and the Self: From Fairy Tales to Science-Fiction
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Jerzak, Katarzyna El?bieta
Gilman 208
Fall 2023
It was more or less like this. They said:
- You know, Hela, you’re an anxious human being.
She:
- I’m a human being?
- Why, of course. You’re not a puppy.
She pondered. After a long pause, surprised:
- I’m a human being. I’m Hela. I’m a girl. I’m Polish. I’m mommy’s little daughter, I’m from Warsaw…. What a lot of things I am! (Janusz Korczak, Ghetto Diary)
This course isn’t what you expect. It is not easy. It is not even fun. We will tackle painful topics: orphanhood, loneliness, jealousy, death. You will learn that “Snow White expresses, more perfectly than any other fairy-tale, the idea of melancholy.” (Theodor Adorno) We will also deal with parenthood, childhood, justice, and love. We will not watch any Disney films (but we shall analyze some memes). So who is a child? “Children are not people of tomorrow; they are people today,” wrote in 1919 Janusz Korczak, pediatrician, pedagogue, and children’s author who proposed the idea of inalienable Children’s Rights. We will read folk tales from different cultures, discuss authorial fairy tales (Oscar Wilde), fantasy books (Tove Jansson’s Moomintrolls) and science-fiction (Stanisław Lem’s Fables for Robots). We will also investigate the special connection between children and animals (Juan Rámon Jimenez, Margaret Wise Brown). Many iconic children’s literature characters, such as J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, “a Betwixt-and-Between” with a Thrush’s Nest for a home, St.-Exupéry’s Little Prince, and Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking, are outsiders. All along we will consider how children’s literature reflects and shapes ideas of selfhood, from archetypal to post-humanistic ones.
×
Children’s Literature and the Self: From Fairy Tales to Science-Fiction AS.300.372 (01)
It was more or less like this. They said:
- You know, Hela, you’re an anxious human being.
She:
- I’m a human being?
- Why, of course. You’re not a puppy.
She pondered. After a long pause, surprised:
- I’m a human being. I’m Hela. I’m a girl. I’m Polish. I’m mommy’s little daughter, I’m from Warsaw…. What a lot of things I am! (Janusz Korczak, Ghetto Diary)
This course isn’t what you expect. It is not easy. It is not even fun. We will tackle painful topics: orphanhood, loneliness, jealousy, death. You will learn that “Snow White expresses, more perfectly than any other fairy-tale, the idea of melancholy.” (Theodor Adorno) We will also deal with parenthood, childhood, justice, and love. We will not watch any Disney films (but we shall analyze some memes). So who is a child? “Children are not people of tomorrow; they are people today,” wrote in 1919 Janusz Korczak, pediatrician, pedagogue, and children’s author who proposed the idea of inalienable Children’s Rights. We will read folk tales from different cultures, discuss authorial fairy tales (Oscar Wilde), fantasy books (Tove Jansson’s Moomintrolls) and science-fiction (Stanisław Lem’s Fables for Robots). We will also investigate the special connection between children and animals (Juan Rámon Jimenez, Margaret Wise Brown). Many iconic children’s literature characters, such as J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, “a Betwixt-and-Between” with a Thrush’s Nest for a home, St.-Exupéry’s Little Prince, and Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking, are outsiders. All along we will consider how children’s literature reflects and shapes ideas of selfhood, from archetypal to post-humanistic ones.
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Jerzak, Katarzyna El?bieta
Room: Gilman 208
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/25
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.107 (01)
Introduction to Literary Study
MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Favret, Mary Agnes
Gilman 313
Spring 2024
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
×
Introduction to Literary Study AS.060.107 (01)
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
Days/Times: MW 4:30PM - 5:45PM
Instructor: Favret, Mary Agnes
Room: Gilman 313
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.107 (02)
Introduction to Literary Study
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Thompson, Mark Christian
Shriver Hall 001
Spring 2024
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
×
Introduction to Literary Study AS.060.107 (02)
This course serves as an introduction to the basic methods of and critical approaches to the study of literature. Some sections may have further individual topic descriptions; please check in SIS when searching for courses.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Thompson, Mark Christian
Room: Shriver Hall 001
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.193 (01)
Fictions of Development
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Mao, Douglas
Maryland 217
Spring 2024
What does it mean to develop, to evolve, to grow up? And what's at stake, for authors having different investments, views, and experiences, in the ways human development (and other forms of development) are represented? This course examines literary and other treatments of growth of the past two hundred years. Authors studied may include Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, T. S. Eliot, Margaret Mead, R. K. Narayan, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Kazuo Ishiguro.
×
Fictions of Development AS.060.193 (01)
What does it mean to develop, to evolve, to grow up? And what's at stake, for authors having different investments, views, and experiences, in the ways human development (and other forms of development) are represented? This course examines literary and other treatments of growth of the past two hundred years. Authors studied may include Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, T. S. Eliot, Margaret Mead, R. K. Narayan, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Kazuo Ishiguro.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Mao, Douglas
Room: Maryland 217
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM
AS.060.216 (01)
Zombies
MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Hickman, Jared W
Hodson 316
Spring 2024
This lecture survey will attempt to answer why the zombie has become such a fixture in contemporary literature and cinema. We will track this figure across its many incarnations--from its late-eighteenth-century appearance in ethnographic fictions growing out of the modern cultures of racialized slavery in the Americas right up to twenty-first-century Hollywood blockbusters in which the origins of the figure in the cultures of racialized slavery are perhaps not overt yet continue to manifest. What are the implications of the zombie's arc from a particular human being targeted for domination by a sorcerer to a living-dead horde created by radiation or epidemic? "Texts" may include: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Edgar Allan Poe, "The Man Who Was Used Up"; H.P. Lovecraft, "Herbert West--Re-Animator"; Zora Neale Hurston, Tell My Horse; Victor Halperin, dir., White Zombie; George Romero, dir., Dead series; Edgar Wright, dir., Shaun of the Dead; Alejandro Brugués, dir., Juan de los Muertos; Colm McCarthy, dir., The Girl with All the Gifts; Colson Whitehead, Zone One; Jordan Peele, dir., Get Out. Fulfills the Global and Minority Literatures requirement.
×
Zombies AS.060.216 (01)
This lecture survey will attempt to answer why the zombie has become such a fixture in contemporary literature and cinema. We will track this figure across its many incarnations--from its late-eighteenth-century appearance in ethnographic fictions growing out of the modern cultures of racialized slavery in the Americas right up to twenty-first-century Hollywood blockbusters in which the origins of the figure in the cultures of racialized slavery are perhaps not overt yet continue to manifest. What are the implications of the zombie's arc from a particular human being targeted for domination by a sorcerer to a living-dead horde created by radiation or epidemic? "Texts" may include: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Edgar Allan Poe, "The Man Who Was Used Up"; H.P. Lovecraft, "Herbert West--Re-Animator"; Zora Neale Hurston, Tell My Horse; Victor Halperin, dir., White Zombie; George Romero, dir., Dead series; Edgar Wright, dir., Shaun of the Dead; Alejandro Brugués, dir., Juan de los Muertos; Colm McCarthy, dir., The Girl with All the Gifts; Colson Whitehead, Zone One; Jordan Peele, dir., Get Out. Fulfills the Global and Minority Literatures requirement.
Days/Times: MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Instructor: Hickman, Jared W
Room: Hodson 316
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC, ENGL-GLOBAL, MSCH-HUM
AS.060.216 (02)
Zombies
MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Hickman, Jared W
Hodson 316
Spring 2024
This lecture survey will attempt to answer why the zombie has become such a fixture in contemporary literature and cinema. We will track this figure across its many incarnations--from its late-eighteenth-century appearance in ethnographic fictions growing out of the modern cultures of racialized slavery in the Americas right up to twenty-first-century Hollywood blockbusters in which the origins of the figure in the cultures of racialized slavery are perhaps not overt yet continue to manifest. What are the implications of the zombie's arc from a particular human being targeted for domination by a sorcerer to a living-dead horde created by radiation or epidemic? "Texts" may include: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Edgar Allan Poe, "The Man Who Was Used Up"; H.P. Lovecraft, "Herbert West--Re-Animator"; Zora Neale Hurston, Tell My Horse; Victor Halperin, dir., White Zombie; George Romero, dir., Dead series; Edgar Wright, dir., Shaun of the Dead; Alejandro Brugués, dir., Juan de los Muertos; Colm McCarthy, dir., The Girl with All the Gifts; Colson Whitehead, Zone One; Jordan Peele, dir., Get Out. Fulfills the Global and Minority Literatures requirement.
×
Zombies AS.060.216 (02)
This lecture survey will attempt to answer why the zombie has become such a fixture in contemporary literature and cinema. We will track this figure across its many incarnations--from its late-eighteenth-century appearance in ethnographic fictions growing out of the modern cultures of racialized slavery in the Americas right up to twenty-first-century Hollywood blockbusters in which the origins of the figure in the cultures of racialized slavery are perhaps not overt yet continue to manifest. What are the implications of the zombie's arc from a particular human being targeted for domination by a sorcerer to a living-dead horde created by radiation or epidemic? "Texts" may include: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Edgar Allan Poe, "The Man Who Was Used Up"; H.P. Lovecraft, "Herbert West--Re-Animator"; Zora Neale Hurston, Tell My Horse; Victor Halperin, dir., White Zombie; George Romero, dir., Dead series; Edgar Wright, dir., Shaun of the Dead; Alejandro Brugués, dir., Juan de los Muertos; Colm McCarthy, dir., The Girl with All the Gifts; Colson Whitehead, Zone One; Jordan Peele, dir., Get Out. Fulfills the Global and Minority Literatures requirement.
Days/Times: MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Instructor: Hickman, Jared W
Room: Hodson 316
Status: Approval Required
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC, ENGL-GLOBAL, MSCH-HUM
AS.060.216 (03)
Zombies
MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Hickman, Jared W
Hodson 316
Spring 2024
This lecture survey will attempt to answer why the zombie has become such a fixture in contemporary literature and cinema. We will track this figure across its many incarnations--from its late-eighteenth-century appearance in ethnographic fictions growing out of the modern cultures of racialized slavery in the Americas right up to twenty-first-century Hollywood blockbusters in which the origins of the figure in the cultures of racialized slavery are perhaps not overt yet continue to manifest. What are the implications of the zombie's arc from a particular human being targeted for domination by a sorcerer to a living-dead horde created by radiation or epidemic? "Texts" may include: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Edgar Allan Poe, "The Man Who Was Used Up"; H.P. Lovecraft, "Herbert West--Re-Animator"; Zora Neale Hurston, Tell My Horse; Victor Halperin, dir., White Zombie; George Romero, dir., Dead series; Edgar Wright, dir., Shaun of the Dead; Alejandro Brugués, dir., Juan de los Muertos; Colm McCarthy, dir., The Girl with All the Gifts; Colson Whitehead, Zone One; Jordan Peele, dir., Get Out. Fulfills the Global and Minority Literatures requirement.
×
Zombies AS.060.216 (03)
This lecture survey will attempt to answer why the zombie has become such a fixture in contemporary literature and cinema. We will track this figure across its many incarnations--from its late-eighteenth-century appearance in ethnographic fictions growing out of the modern cultures of racialized slavery in the Americas right up to twenty-first-century Hollywood blockbusters in which the origins of the figure in the cultures of racialized slavery are perhaps not overt yet continue to manifest. What are the implications of the zombie's arc from a particular human being targeted for domination by a sorcerer to a living-dead horde created by radiation or epidemic? "Texts" may include: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; Edgar Allan Poe, "The Man Who Was Used Up"; H.P. Lovecraft, "Herbert West--Re-Animator"; Zora Neale Hurston, Tell My Horse; Victor Halperin, dir., White Zombie; George Romero, dir., Dead series; Edgar Wright, dir., Shaun of the Dead; Alejandro Brugués, dir., Juan de los Muertos; Colm McCarthy, dir., The Girl with All the Gifts; Colson Whitehead, Zone One; Jordan Peele, dir., Get Out. Fulfills the Global and Minority Literatures requirement.
Days/Times: MW 9:00AM - 9:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Instructor: Hickman, Jared W
Room: Hodson 316
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/12
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC, ENGL-GLOBAL, MSCH-HUM
AS.060.265 (01)
Nineteenth-Century British Novel: Figuring Out Your Life
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Gilman 55
Spring 2024
Reading major novelists from the nineteenth century including Austen, C. Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Conrad. We will pay attention to formal conventions, and relation to social and historical context.
×
Nineteenth-Century British Novel: Figuring Out Your Life AS.060.265 (01)
Reading major novelists from the nineteenth century including Austen, C. Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Conrad. We will pay attention to formal conventions, and relation to social and historical context.
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Room: Gilman 55
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/10
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC
AS.060.265 (02)
Nineteenth-Century British Novel: Figuring Out Your Life
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Gilman 55
Spring 2024
Reading major novelists from the nineteenth century including Austen, C. Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Conrad. We will pay attention to formal conventions, and relation to social and historical context.
×
Nineteenth-Century British Novel: Figuring Out Your Life AS.060.265 (02)
Reading major novelists from the nineteenth century including Austen, C. Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Conrad. We will pay attention to formal conventions, and relation to social and historical context.
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Room: Gilman 55
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/10
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC
AS.060.265 (03)
Nineteenth-Century British Novel: Figuring Out Your Life
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Gilman 55
Spring 2024
Reading major novelists from the nineteenth century including Austen, C. Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Conrad. We will pay attention to formal conventions, and relation to social and historical context.
×
Nineteenth-Century British Novel: Figuring Out Your Life AS.060.265 (03)
Reading major novelists from the nineteenth century including Austen, C. Brontë, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, and Conrad. We will pay attention to formal conventions, and relation to social and historical context.
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Rosenthal, Jesse Karl
Room: Gilman 55
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/10
PosTag(s): ENGL-LEC
AS.060.324 (01)
Literature on the Cusp: 1890-1910
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Nurhussein, Nadia
Gilman 377
Spring 2024
This course takes up literature from the decades just before and just after the turn of the 20th century, including novels, poetry, and essays by Emily Dickinson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Frances E. W. Harper, Henry James, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, and W.B. Yeats. Students will also engage with critical writing from the new academic journal, Cusp: Late 19th-/Early 20th-Century Cultures.
×
Literature on the Cusp: 1890-1910 AS.060.324 (01)
This course takes up literature from the decades just before and just after the turn of the 20th century, including novels, poetry, and essays by Emily Dickinson, W.E.B. Du Bois, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Frances E. W. Harper, Henry James, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, and W.B. Yeats. Students will also engage with critical writing from the new academic journal, Cusp: Late 19th-/Early 20th-Century Cultures.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Nurhussein, Nadia
Room: Gilman 377
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.325 (01)
George Eliot: Passion and Adulthood
T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Miller, Andrew
Gilman 388
Spring 2024
In this course we will read the major novels (and some essays) by George Eliot, one of the most intellectually engaging of British novelists. Her fiction explores ethical, social, and aesthetic issues concerning sexual politics, the limits of morality, the demands of family, the desperation of skepticism, and the capacities of the novel form. Students should leave the course with a heightened sense of the powers of the novel and the seriousness of its ambitions. Texts are likely to include Adam Bede and The Mill on the Floss, but our focus will be on her two last and most ambitious novels, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda.
×
George Eliot: Passion and Adulthood AS.060.325 (01)
In this course we will read the major novels (and some essays) by George Eliot, one of the most intellectually engaging of British novelists. Her fiction explores ethical, social, and aesthetic issues concerning sexual politics, the limits of morality, the demands of family, the desperation of skepticism, and the capacities of the novel form. Students should leave the course with a heightened sense of the powers of the novel and the seriousness of its ambitions. Texts are likely to include Adam Bede and The Mill on the Floss, but our focus will be on her two last and most ambitious novels, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda.
Days/Times: T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Miller, Andrew
Room: Gilman 388
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.351 (01)
The Latin Asian Imagination
W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Crisostomo, Johaina Katinka
Krieger 302
Spring 2024
This course explores the transnational convergence of Asians/Asian Americans and Latinxs/ Latinx Americans from a history of multiple imperialisms to the neoliberal, globalized present. We will situate the racialization of Asian and Latinx peoples within a larger, global framework and think critically about areas of solidarity and tension between these two multi-ethnic groups through readings in literature, history, and sociology.
×
The Latin Asian Imagination AS.060.351 (01)
This course explores the transnational convergence of Asians/Asian Americans and Latinxs/ Latinx Americans from a history of multiple imperialisms to the neoliberal, globalized present. We will situate the racialization of Asian and Latinx peoples within a larger, global framework and think critically about areas of solidarity and tension between these two multi-ethnic groups through readings in literature, history, and sociology.
Days/Times: W 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Crisostomo, Johaina Katinka
Room: Krieger 302
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/15
PosTag(s): ENGL-GLOBAL
AS.060.355 (01)
Poetry and Politics Today
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Nealon, Chris
Gilman 130D
Spring 2024
The history of poetry is full of political poems of every kind — odes, epics, dramatic persona poems. And the history of literary criticism is full of denunciations of poetry that gets “too political,” and loses sight of its job to give pleasure. In this course, we will look at a range of contemporary poetry that tackles political issues — things like the causes of climate change; immigration crises; white supremacy; patriarchal gender systems; the legacies of colonialism — and study the ways it accomplishes its goals while still giving us the kinds of surprise in language that poetry has always promised. Reading will include (but not be limited to) work by Tongo Eisen-Martin, Cathy Park Hong, Sandra Simonds, Stephanie Young, and Wendy Trevino.
×
Poetry and Politics Today AS.060.355 (01)
The history of poetry is full of political poems of every kind — odes, epics, dramatic persona poems. And the history of literary criticism is full of denunciations of poetry that gets “too political,” and loses sight of its job to give pleasure. In this course, we will look at a range of contemporary poetry that tackles political issues — things like the causes of climate change; immigration crises; white supremacy; patriarchal gender systems; the legacies of colonialism — and study the ways it accomplishes its goals while still giving us the kinds of surprise in language that poetry has always promised. Reading will include (but not be limited to) work by Tongo Eisen-Martin, Cathy Park Hong, Sandra Simonds, Stephanie Young, and Wendy Trevino.
Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Nealon, Chris
Room: Gilman 130D
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.356 (01)
Poetry and Perfect Worlds
W 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Mao, Douglas
Shaffer 303
Spring 2024
In this course, we will closely read poetic representations of perfect, vastly better, or singularly beautiful worlds in poetry from antiquity through the present. Matters to be considered will include the challenge of putting utopia into verse, relations between beauty and luxury, and the depiction of nature in a time of ecological crisis. Poets studied may include Theocritus, Tao Yuanming, Edmund Spenser, John Milton, Alfred Tennyson, T. S. Eliot, Lisa Robertson, Nikki Giovanni, and Juliana Spahr
×
Poetry and Perfect Worlds AS.060.356 (01)
In this course, we will closely read poetic representations of perfect, vastly better, or singularly beautiful worlds in poetry from antiquity through the present. Matters to be considered will include the challenge of putting utopia into verse, relations between beauty and luxury, and the depiction of nature in a time of ecological crisis. Poets studied may include Theocritus, Tao Yuanming, Edmund Spenser, John Milton, Alfred Tennyson, T. S. Eliot, Lisa Robertson, Nikki Giovanni, and Juliana Spahr
Days/Times: W 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Instructor: Mao, Douglas
Room: Shaffer 303
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.393 (01)
Geoffrey Chaucer: Ribaldry, Romance and Radical Religion
M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Cannon, Christopher
Smokler Center 301
Spring 2024
Geoffrey Chaucer is sometimes called the 'father of English literature', but the deftness with which he captured the variety of the human condition, in poetic forms that were each, in themselves, startlingly new, was in so many ways an inheritance too rich for literary tradition to absorb. One reason to return to Chaucer's writing now is to see how funny (and even obscene) verse narrative can be, and how compelling a fourteenth-century love story remains. It is also to open a window onto a culture entirely different from our own but in which the power of language (the role of free speech), the freedom of the individual, the status of women, violent tensions between cultures and ethnicities and the role of religion in civil society were not only topical, but made the more so by Chaucer's powerful political vision and thought. Chaucer is timeless because he wrote so well that he always rewards reading (and the Middle English in which he wrote is very easy to master) but he is always worth reading because reading him is at once so eye-opening and such a pleasure, a way of stretching one's sense of the present by understanding (really understanding) a particular moment in the past. This class will pursue such understanding by paying particular attention to Chaucer's masterpieces, Troilus and Criseyde and The Canterbury Tales. But we will begin with a quick and easy workshop on Chaucer's language, and try to define, along the way, some of the more interesting aspects of his style. Our goal will be to learn to enjoy Chaucer's poetry by reading it carefully enough to take the full measure of what exactly it was about.
×
Geoffrey Chaucer: Ribaldry, Romance and Radical Religion AS.060.393 (01)
Geoffrey Chaucer is sometimes called the 'father of English literature', but the deftness with which he captured the variety of the human condition, in poetic forms that were each, in themselves, startlingly new, was in so many ways an inheritance too rich for literary tradition to absorb. One reason to return to Chaucer's writing now is to see how funny (and even obscene) verse narrative can be, and how compelling a fourteenth-century love story remains. It is also to open a window onto a culture entirely different from our own but in which the power of language (the role of free speech), the freedom of the individual, the status of women, violent tensions between cultures and ethnicities and the role of religion in civil society were not only topical, but made the more so by Chaucer's powerful political vision and thought. Chaucer is timeless because he wrote so well that he always rewards reading (and the Middle English in which he wrote is very easy to master) but he is always worth reading because reading him is at once so eye-opening and such a pleasure, a way of stretching one's sense of the present by understanding (really understanding) a particular moment in the past. This class will pursue such understanding by paying particular attention to Chaucer's masterpieces, Troilus and Criseyde and The Canterbury Tales. But we will begin with a quick and easy workshop on Chaucer's language, and try to define, along the way, some of the more interesting aspects of his style. Our goal will be to learn to enjoy Chaucer's poetry by reading it carefully enough to take the full measure of what exactly it was about.
Days/Times: M 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Cannon, Christopher
Room: Smokler Center 301
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/15
PosTag(s): ENGL-PR1800
AS.100.323 (01)
Malcolm and Martin: Evolutionary Revolutionaries
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Jackson, Lawrence P
Ames 320
Spring 2024
This is a larger seminar-style course devoted to the writings attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X (El-Hajj El-Malik Shabazz). While the two the key African American male icons of the Civil Rights Movement era gained prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, they are typically discussed as representing two ideological camps: racial integration deeply committed to the idea of American exceptionalism and democratic perfection, and black nationalism, a non-state ideological move that adjudged the U.S. nation state on the same terms as any other imperial power. We will explore these binaries in their thought and the social movements connected to them, and also engage with multiple cinematic representations of the two figures that have carried them forward into contemporary times.
×
Malcolm and Martin: Evolutionary Revolutionaries AS.100.323 (01)
This is a larger seminar-style course devoted to the writings attributed to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X (El-Hajj El-Malik Shabazz). While the two the key African American male icons of the Civil Rights Movement era gained prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, they are typically discussed as representing two ideological camps: racial integration deeply committed to the idea of American exceptionalism and democratic perfection, and black nationalism, a non-state ideological move that adjudged the U.S. nation state on the same terms as any other imperial power. We will explore these binaries in their thought and the social movements connected to them, and also engage with multiple cinematic representations of the two figures that have carried them forward into contemporary times.
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Jackson, Lawrence P
Room: Ames 320
Status: Open
Seats Available: 9/15
PosTag(s): HIST-US, ENGL-GLOBAL
AS.211.387 (01)
Theories of Peace from Kant to MLK
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Frey, Christiane; Seguin, Becquer D
Gilman 381
Spring 2024
That the nations of the world could ever work together seems utopian, but also unavoidable: migration, war, and not least climate change make some form of global coordination increasingly necessary. This course will give historical and philosophical depth to the idea of a cosmopolitan order and world peace by tracing it from its ancient sources through early modernity to today. At the center of the course will be the text that has been credited with founding the tradition of a world federation of nations, Immanuel Kant’s "Toward Perpetual Peace" (1795). Confronting recent and current political discourse, literature, and philosophy with Kant’s famous treatise, we will work to gain a new perspective on the idea of a world order. In addition to Kant, readings include Homer, Erasmus, Pico della Mirandola, Rousseau, Jeremy Bentham, Emily Dickinson, Tolstoy, Whitman, Rosa Luxemburg, Gandhi, Hannah Arendt, John Lennon, and Martin Luther King as well as lesser-known authors such as the Abbé de Saint-Pierre, Ellen Key, Odette Thibault, Simone Weil, and Claude Lefort. Taught in English.
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Theories of Peace from Kant to MLK AS.211.387 (01)
That the nations of the world could ever work together seems utopian, but also unavoidable: migration, war, and not least climate change make some form of global coordination increasingly necessary. This course will give historical and philosophical depth to the idea of a cosmopolitan order and world peace by tracing it from its ancient sources through early modernity to today. At the center of the course will be the text that has been credited with founding the tradition of a world federation of nations, Immanuel Kant’s "Toward Perpetual Peace" (1795). Confronting recent and current political discourse, literature, and philosophy with Kant’s famous treatise, we will work to gain a new perspective on the idea of a world order. In addition to Kant, readings include Homer, Erasmus, Pico della Mirandola, Rousseau, Jeremy Bentham, Emily Dickinson, Tolstoy, Whitman, Rosa Luxemburg, Gandhi, Hannah Arendt, John Lennon, and Martin Luther King as well as lesser-known authors such as the Abbé de Saint-Pierre, Ellen Key, Odette Thibault, Simone Weil, and Claude Lefort. Taught in English.
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Frey, Christiane; Seguin, Becquer D
Room: Gilman 381
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/15
PosTag(s): INST-PT
AS.213.374 (01)
Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy
T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Gilman 479
Spring 2024
What does it mean to exist, and to be able to reflect on this fact? What is it mean to be a self? This course explores the themes of existentialism in literature and philosophy, including the meaning of existence, the nature of the self, authenticity and inauthenticity, the inescapability of death, the experience of time, anxiety, absurdity, freedom and responsibility to others. It will be examined why these philosophical ideas often seem to demand literary expression or bear a close relation to literary works. Readings may include writings by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Heidegger, Rilke, Kafka, Simmel, Jaspers, Buber, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, and Daoud.
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Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy AS.213.374 (01)
What does it mean to exist, and to be able to reflect on this fact? What is it mean to be a self? This course explores the themes of existentialism in literature and philosophy, including the meaning of existence, the nature of the self, authenticity and inauthenticity, the inescapability of death, the experience of time, anxiety, absurdity, freedom and responsibility to others. It will be examined why these philosophical ideas often seem to demand literary expression or bear a close relation to literary works. Readings may include writings by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Heidegger, Rilke, Kafka, Simmel, Jaspers, Buber, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, and Daoud.
Days/Times: T 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Room: Gilman 479
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/20
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.213.427 (01)
Lunar Poetics: Lucian to Kepler and Beyond
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Frey, Christiane; ni Mheallaigh, Karen
Gilman 132
Spring 2024
When the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in his famous "Somnium" (1608) creates a fictitious dream narrative in which the earth is observed from the moon, it becomes clear that the shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric worldview entails a radical change of perspective that can be achieved only by means of the imagination. What appears as a sunrise is in reality due to the earth's own movement. Where appearance and reality diverge, the new model requires a fictional account without which it remains incomprehensible. Orbiting around Kepler’s short tale, this seminar will focus on cosmic narratives and poetic explorations of outer space, from Lucian's True Stories and Icaromenippus (2nd century CE), one of the earliest literary treatments of a journey through space, Plutarch’s dialogue On the face of the Moon (late 1st century CE), to Godwin's The Man in the Moone (1638) and Kant's »Of the Inhabitants of the Stars« (1755). What is the epistemic function of literary representations of the cosmos? Are space-travel narratives thought experiments? What role does fiction and the imagination play in the science of astronomy? By pursuing these and related questions, this course will question common assumptions about the relationship of science to fiction and the literary imagination while tracing key junctures in the history of astronomy.
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Lunar Poetics: Lucian to Kepler and Beyond AS.213.427 (01)
When the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in his famous "Somnium" (1608) creates a fictitious dream narrative in which the earth is observed from the moon, it becomes clear that the shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric worldview entails a radical change of perspective that can be achieved only by means of the imagination. What appears as a sunrise is in reality due to the earth's own movement. Where appearance and reality diverge, the new model requires a fictional account without which it remains incomprehensible. Orbiting around Kepler’s short tale, this seminar will focus on cosmic narratives and poetic explorations of outer space, from Lucian's True Stories and Icaromenippus (2nd century CE), one of the earliest literary treatments of a journey through space, Plutarch’s dialogue On the face of the Moon (late 1st century CE), to Godwin's The Man in the Moone (1638) and Kant's »Of the Inhabitants of the Stars« (1755). What is the epistemic function of literary representations of the cosmos? Are space-travel narratives thought experiments? What role does fiction and the imagination play in the science of astronomy? By pursuing these and related questions, this course will question common assumptions about the relationship of science to fiction and the literary imagination while tracing key junctures in the history of astronomy.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Frey, Christiane; ni Mheallaigh, Karen
Room: Gilman 132
Status: Open
Seats Available: 12/15
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM
AS.225.318 (01)
21st Century Female Playwrights
TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Denithorne, Margaret
Krieger 103
Spring 2024
This is a writing intensive class exploring the current wealth of women playwrights, including Pulitzer Prize winners: Wendy Wasserstein, Paula Vogel, Lynn Nottage, and Jackie Sibblies Drury (2019 Prize for FAIRVIEW). We will discuss Script Analysis and read (and see) plays by numerous writers including Claire Barron, Kia Corthron, Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Ruhl, Danai Gurira, Caleen Sinnette Jennings, and Hansol Jung. This class will include a mid-term and a Final Paper.
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21st Century Female Playwrights AS.225.318 (01)
This is a writing intensive class exploring the current wealth of women playwrights, including Pulitzer Prize winners: Wendy Wasserstein, Paula Vogel, Lynn Nottage, and Jackie Sibblies Drury (2019 Prize for FAIRVIEW). We will discuss Script Analysis and read (and see) plays by numerous writers including Claire Barron, Kia Corthron, Theresa Rebeck, Sarah Ruhl, Danai Gurira, Caleen Sinnette Jennings, and Hansol Jung. This class will include a mid-term and a Final Paper.
Days/Times: TTh 3:00PM - 4:15PM
Instructor: Denithorne, Margaret
Room: Krieger 103
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/14
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.300.337 (01)
The Tragic Tradition
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Lisi, Leonardo
Gilman 208
Spring 2024
This course offers a broad survey of tragic drama in the Western tradition, from its origins in ancient Greece to the twentieth century. In lectures and discussion sections, we will study the specific literary features and historical contexts of a range of different works, and trace the continuities and transformations that shape them into a unified tradition. Key questions and themes throughout the semester will include what counts as tragic, the tragedy of social and political conflict, the bearing of tragedy on the meaning and value of life, the antagonistic relation between world and humans, the promises and dangers of tragedy for contemporary culture. Authors to be studied: Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, Shakespeare, de la Barca, Racine, Goethe, Strindberg, Lorca, and Beckett.
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The Tragic Tradition AS.300.337 (01)
This course offers a broad survey of tragic drama in the Western tradition, from its origins in ancient Greece to the twentieth century. In lectures and discussion sections, we will study the specific literary features and historical contexts of a range of different works, and trace the continuities and transformations that shape them into a unified tradition. Key questions and themes throughout the semester will include what counts as tragic, the tragedy of social and political conflict, the bearing of tragedy on the meaning and value of life, the antagonistic relation between world and humans, the promises and dangers of tragedy for contemporary culture. Authors to be studied: Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, Shakespeare, de la Barca, Racine, Goethe, Strindberg, Lorca, and Beckett.
Days/Times: TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Lisi, Leonardo
Room: Gilman 208
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.360.305 (01)
Introduction to Computational Methods for the Humanities
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Lippincott, Tom; Sirin Ryan, Hale
Gilman 55
Spring 2024
This course introduces basic computational techniques in the context of empirical humanistic scholarship. Topics covered include the command-line, basic Python programming, and experimental design. While illustrative examples are drawn from humanistic domains, the primary focus is on methods: those with specific domains in mind should be aware that such applied research is welcome and exciting, but will largely be their responsibility beyond the confines of the course. Students will come away with tangible understanding of how to cast simple humanistic questions as empirical hypotheses, ground and test these hypotheses computationally, and justify the choices made while doing so. No previous programming experience is required.
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Introduction to Computational Methods for the Humanities AS.360.305 (01)
This course introduces basic computational techniques in the context of empirical humanistic scholarship. Topics covered include the command-line, basic Python programming, and experimental design. While illustrative examples are drawn from humanistic domains, the primary focus is on methods: those with specific domains in mind should be aware that such applied research is welcome and exciting, but will largely be their responsibility beyond the confines of the course. Students will come away with tangible understanding of how to cast simple humanistic questions as empirical hypotheses, ground and test these hypotheses computationally, and justify the choices made while doing so. No previous programming experience is required.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Lippincott, Tom; Sirin Ryan, Hale
Room: Gilman 55
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/20
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.360.306 (01)
Computational Intelligence for the Humanities
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Backer, Samuel Ehrlich; Messner, Craig A
Gilman 195
Spring 2024
This course introduces substantial machine learning methods of particular relevance to humanistic scholarship. Areas covered include standard models for classification, regression, and topic modeling, before turning to the array of open-source pretrained deep neural models, and the common mechanisms for employing them. Students are expected to have a level of programming experience equivalent to that gained from AS.360.304, Gateway Computing, AS.250.205, or Harvard’s CS50 for Python. Students will come away with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different machine learning models, the ability to discuss them in relation to human intelligence and to make informed decisions of when and how to employ them, and an array of related technical knowledge.
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Computational Intelligence for the Humanities AS.360.306 (01)
This course introduces substantial machine learning methods of particular relevance to humanistic scholarship. Areas covered include standard models for classification, regression, and topic modeling, before turning to the array of open-source pretrained deep neural models, and the common mechanisms for employing them. Students are expected to have a level of programming experience equivalent to that gained from AS.360.304, Gateway Computing, AS.250.205, or Harvard’s CS50 for Python. Students will come away with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different machine learning models, the ability to discuss them in relation to human intelligence and to make informed decisions of when and how to employ them, and an array of related technical knowledge.
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Backer, Samuel Ehrlich; Messner, Craig A
Room: Gilman 195
Status: Open
Seats Available: 6/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.362.201 (01)
African American Poetry and Poetics
TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Nurhussein, Nadia
Maryland 309
Spring 2024
In this course, we will follow the development of black poetry primarily as it has evolved in the United States. Beginning with the first published African American writers of the eighteenth century and ending with several important poets writing and performing today, we will consider the shape of the African American poetic tradition as commonly anthologized and as defined by our own theoretically-informed readings of the assigned literature. Attention will be given to both canonical and neglected literary movements and groups. Readings will include poetry and essays by Frances E.W. Harper, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Harryette Mullen, Tracie Morris, and others.
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African American Poetry and Poetics AS.362.201 (01)
In this course, we will follow the development of black poetry primarily as it has evolved in the United States. Beginning with the first published African American writers of the eighteenth century and ending with several important poets writing and performing today, we will consider the shape of the African American poetic tradition as commonly anthologized and as defined by our own theoretically-informed readings of the assigned literature. Attention will be given to both canonical and neglected literary movements and groups. Readings will include poetry and essays by Frances E.W. Harper, James Weldon Johnson, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Amiri Baraka, Harryette Mullen, Tracie Morris, and others.
Days/Times: TTh 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Nurhussein, Nadia
Room: Maryland 309
Status: Open
Seats Available: 11/18
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.362.402 (01)
Arts and Social Justice Practicum
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Stocks, Shawntay
Remsen Hall 140
Spring 2024
This course introduces students to concepts of social justice and practices of community-engaged artmaking. It also provides students an opportunity to explore the history and legacies of the Black Arts Movement, and contemporary intersections of art and social justice in Baltimore City. Local artists and scholars will share their expertise using art to challenge social injustice. In turn, students will examine their personal creative practices and how they can be used to create and advocate for change. Throughout the semester, students will develop individual art projects that respond to course topics and are rooted in the principles and process of social practice art.
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Arts and Social Justice Practicum AS.362.402 (01)
This course introduces students to concepts of social justice and practices of community-engaged artmaking. It also provides students an opportunity to explore the history and legacies of the Black Arts Movement, and contemporary intersections of art and social justice in Baltimore City. Local artists and scholars will share their expertise using art to challenge social injustice. In turn, students will examine their personal creative practices and how they can be used to create and advocate for change. Throughout the semester, students will develop individual art projects that respond to course topics and are rooted in the principles and process of social practice art.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Stocks, Shawntay
Room: Remsen Hall 140
Status: Open
Seats Available: 6/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.060.194 (83)
The Hollywood Novel
MWF 9:00AM - 11:15AM
Bakopoulos, Heleana
Summer 2024
Known as Tinseltown, La-La Land, Lost Angeles, the dream machine that privileges the few and leaves in its wake disillusioned starlets, down-and-out screenwriters, and uncredited extras, Hollywood has seized the imaginations of countless artists, not the least of which being novelists. Over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, several American writers have produced a small but distinct array of works in the only novelistic subgenre centering an industry: the Hollywood novel. With a grudge against the myth of the West and aesthetic roots in P.T.Barnum’s freak show, this subgenre devotes as much energy to the film industry’s triumphs as it does to the grotesquerie of Hollywood’s failures, exclusions, and false promises. In this course, we will watch a few exemplary films, listen to a radio-play, and read seven short Hollywood novels,
including two epistolary novels, a surrealist satire, a fictive memoir, a psychological novel, a work of science fiction, and a novel in the form of a screenplay. We will pursue the following questions:
What images of the United States emerge when writers foreground the film industry? What stylistic and narrative strategies do these novels derive from filmmaking techniques and technologies? If Hollywood deals mainly in make-belief, what are the realities that the Hollywood novel claims to unveil? Finally, in a culture increasingly occupied by visual media, how do Hollywood novels position their literariness in relation to cinema?
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The Hollywood Novel AS.060.194 (83)
Known as Tinseltown, La-La Land, Lost Angeles, the dream machine that privileges the few and leaves in its wake disillusioned starlets, down-and-out screenwriters, and uncredited extras, Hollywood has seized the imaginations of countless artists, not the least of which being novelists. Over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, several American writers have produced a small but distinct array of works in the only novelistic subgenre centering an industry: the Hollywood novel. With a grudge against the myth of the West and aesthetic roots in P.T.Barnum’s freak show, this subgenre devotes as much energy to the film industry’s triumphs as it does to the grotesquerie of Hollywood’s failures, exclusions, and false promises. In this course, we will watch a few exemplary films, listen to a radio-play, and read seven short Hollywood novels,
including two epistolary novels, a surrealist satire, a fictive memoir, a psychological novel, a work of science fiction, and a novel in the form of a screenplay. We will pursue the following questions:
What images of the United States emerge when writers foreground the film industry? What stylistic and narrative strategies do these novels derive from filmmaking techniques and technologies? If Hollywood deals mainly in make-belief, what are the realities that the Hollywood novel claims to unveil? Finally, in a culture increasingly occupied by visual media, how do Hollywood novels position their literariness in relation to cinema?