This section of English 213 will explore intellectual developments made during the 20th century in the areas of literature, film, and cultural theory. Students will need no prior experience with theories or representations of modernism or postmodernism. Our main objective will be to cover select texts in order to answer the following questions: What exactly were the interventions made in critical thought during the last century? What was specifically troubled by these interventions? And finally, what are the critical rewards offered by these interventions? Our basic course philosophy will argue that the intellectual developments encountered in the course must be measured by their impact on what we’ll term “culturally approved knowledge.” In other words, what did these 20th century texts change about both their respective media (i.e. how does Calvino challenge common conceptions about reading and literature)? And, how did these texts intervene into the socio-cultural landscape (i.e. how does Butler’s use of time travel help us think about race differently)?

To this end we are more concerned with the rewards and use value of the ideas developed during the 20th century rather than evaluating how true these ideas are to the concepts of “modernism” and “postmodernism.” Certainly, we’ll take up these terms during the course, but I want to resist using them as “check list” terms to identify what thought goes where. This course should be an exploration and confrontation with the multiple ways 20th century thought has developed and, more importantly, altered the intellectual landscape.

We’ll be reading Octavia E. Butler’s “Kindred,” Italo Calvino’s “If on a winter’s night a traveler,” and a selection from John Dos Passos’ “The Big Money.” We’ll also come to terms with Baudrillard’s investigation into kitsch, irony, and banality; Foucault’s discussion of panopticism; Zizek’s analysis of 9/11; the rhizomes of Deleuze and Guattari; and Barthes’ murder of the author. We’ll watch “Blue Velvet” by David Lynch and grapple with what Paul Coughlin’s calls the film’s “postmodern parody” of ideology. We’ll also traverse the virtual reality and simulations of David Cronenberg’s depiction of video game technology and reality in “eXistenZ.” Lastly, we will briefly cover select criticism on the above texts in order to further enrich class discussion and your own inquiry into the developments of 20th century thought.

Students will compose weekly GoPost responses online and submit two 5-page papers. Students will be graded on participation and the two papers.

Book List:
Butler, Octavia E. Kindred, ISBN# 0807083054
Calvino, Italo If on a winter’s night a traveler, ISBN# 0156439611
Course Packet

Films:
Lynch, David Blue Velvet
Cronenberg, David Existenz