There are plenty of ways to describe and categorize the literary developments that we label “modern and/or post-modern” during the twentieth century and into the present. A lot of what writers and artists were doing (or, perhaps more appropriately, re-doing) during the period has had to do with frustrating our assumptions about what reading and writing are. What are we “supposed to” pay attention to while reading? What, really, does literature “express”? Or is that even the right question? So much of literature reveals an urge to reconsider things “we” thought “we” knew, to explore the basement, as it were, as if for the first time: to unsettle the foundation of our very thought, to ask about where, exactly, we get our cultural identities. Not surprisingly, then, a lot of “modern and postmodern” literature is awfully difficult to read. While we may be tempted to hunt for “the moral of the story,” it’s very likely missing. If we find ourselves searching for “deeper meaning,” we’re likely to be disappointed. If we’re after a surefooted ending, a conclusion, a resolution, we’d best turn back now. But the experience can help us ask questions about what literature does: it can help us think, or it can itself become a way of thinking.

The reading load for this course will be intense and heavy. If you’re looking for a lighter load or a set of clear goals with measurable “payoff,” consider looking elsewhere. But if you’re compelled by texts and ideas that shake things up, that get a little uncomfortable, questions that might seem silly or strange at first, and you’re willing to spend a lot of time reading, reflecting, and writing, we’ll have a productive and exciting quarter. Writers may include William Carlos Williams, T. S. Eliot, A. R. Ammons, Leslie Silko, David Treuer, Susan Howe, Elizabeth Bishop, Ezra Pound, Allen Ginsberg, and others, as well as some short pieces by philosophers and theorists. You will be responsible for several short writings, ranging from single paragraphs to formal commentaries to blog posts, a small group presentation, and an essay of 6-8 pages.

Texts (subject to change):
William Carlos Williams, Spring and All
A. R. Ammons, Tape for the Turn of the Year
Leslie Marmon Silko, Storyteller
David Treuer, The Translation of Dr Apelles
Jim Jarmusch, Dead Man [film]
Course Packet