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Controversy continues over the anti-Semitic statements in the work of Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot. In this course, we will use these debates as an occasion to consider the linguistic and philosophical questions raised when two special cases of language are brought together: modern poetry and hate speech. Speech act theory notes that it is possible to ¿do things with words,¿ in J. L. Austin¿s phrase ¿ your not married until you say, ¿I do.¿ The legal theory of hate speech has developed from a growing impetus to acknowledge that real harm can be done by words; proponents of hate speech codes suggest that it is even necessary to control certain kinds of language use. In the poetry of modernists such as Pound and Eliot, meanwhile, many of the assumptions about language use that ground speech act theory ¿ including intention and preferentiality ¿ are thrown into question. They claim, implicitly and explicitly, that poetry constitutes a privileged form of language not subject to evaluation by ordinary political and moral standards. Do these claims refute the argument that Pound and Eliot must be held accountable for the anti-Semitism in their poetry? How might we change the way we read them in the university environment if we do wish to hold them accountable? Can the modern poetry of Pound and Eliot help us rethink speech act theory?
COURSE FORMAT: Seminar
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: NONE Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-21-2005
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459