What is fiction, exactly, and why does it matter? In our screen-dominated era, these questions are worth asking and answering afresh.
Our course will examine the ways in which works of literature—likely to include novels and novellas by Nella Larsen, Jean Rhys, Chester Himes and Philip Roth—offer portals into both the public mores and private experience of their eras. We’ll examine each work through four lenses: 1. Technology; 2. Bodies and sexuality 3. Identity and exclusion, and 4. Notions of consciousness. We will also study the craft choices that enable their authors to achieve specific effects, with an eye toward physical description, point of view, and characterization. The conference will include creative in-class handwritten exercises aimed at accessing the unconscious and generating fruitful material. No previous literary training is necessary, and students of every age and discipline are welcome.
This is a 1-point Pass/Fail course that meets on Tuesdays from 2:10 to 4PM on October 6th, October 13th, October 20th, and October 27th ONLY.
