Topic:  "Representing Violence in Literature and Culture", meets
in discussion only TR

Americans seem intensely aware that violence is virtually
ubiquitous in our society, not only on our streets, in our homes,
exported overseas, but also on TV, in film, music, magazines,
newspapers, and literature.  This course is designed to make
evident the fact that, even if violence has always been with us
(Cain and Abel have been around a while), the kinds of violence
have changed through time, and the way we feel about it has been
very powerfully molded by the metaphors and methods through which
the fact of violence has been represented.  How feasible is it to
come to a definition of violence?  Do we understand and react to
violent acts differently depending on whether they are directed
towards individuals or towards masses?  How do we understand and
represent the differences between "legitimate" violence (like
war, self-defense, judicial punishment) and "illegitimate"
violence ( like terrorism, crime, vigilantism)?  What connections
can we draw between contemporary depictions of violence and older
representations--in Greek tragedy, for instance, or in scripture,
medieval romance, fairy tales?

The precise book list is not yet fixed, but it will include
literature from a range of styles and periods, and will touch on
such probable topics as heroic (and anti-heroic) violence in war,
crime and violence (from detective fiction to serial killers),
violence and gender (in everything from fairy tales to film
noir), race and violence, political violence, etc.

While our focus will be literary, we will regularly include
visual and media material as well.  STUDENTS SHOULD BE PREPARED
TO MAKE TIME FOR ONE OR TWO FILM SCREENINGS. Writing assignments
will be frequent, and will range from notebook jotting to in-class response papers to essays of
critical analysis and research
papers.  Students can expect to write approximately 30 pages over
the course of the semester.