[ Wesleyan Home Page ] [ WesMaps Home Page ] [ WesMaps Archive ] [ Course Search ] [ Course Search by CID ]
Academic Year 2004/2005

Violence, Language, and the Novel
ENGL 321 FA

In her poem, "The Novel", Denise Levertov tries to decide whether destruction or creation is fiction's central mode. She decides on the latter: "something sundered begins to knit." The novelist Don DeLillo offers a different view: "the idea of death is woven into the nature of every plot." How is violence a problem for literature? How is it a solution? Is violence only a subject and theme or does it inhere in writing itself? Do we change the meaning of violence when we apply it to literature? Finally, how has violence of language come to be such a preoccupation for contemporary novelists, theorists and critics? These questions will guide our inquiry into the intersection of violence and literature.

MAJOR READINGS

Readings will include theories of violence, literary and cultural theory, and a number of contemporary novels. Selected texts may include: Judith Butler, EXCITABLE SPEECH; Kazuo Ishiguro, A PALE VIEW OF THE HILLS; Shoshana Felman and Dori Laub, TESTIMONY; Elaine Scarry, THE BODY IN PAIN.

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

One short essay, one research paper (15-20 pages).

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

This course is restricted to students who have completed ENGL201. While no further course is required, a familiarity with some theory is highly recommended. This course meets the English Department's Theory requirement.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: ENGL201 Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-21-2005

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email

Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459