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Online VERSION of Laredo/Border Talk |
NUMERO UNO |
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| Erotic,
Neurotic, Semiotic:
American Literature [and Film] 1950 to the Present |
Whether you know
it or not, you are a connoisseur of the tales the United States of America
tells about itself to itself and to others: paterfamilias Uncle
Sam, Land of the Free/Home of the Brave, Washington and his Cherry Tree,
Ben Franklin flying a kite, ‘benevolent’ Pilgrims, etc. All those familiar,
delicious, and reassuring fables.  All
those marvelous and marvelously fabricated lies. And it is in the work
of American artists, our writers, directors, and graphic artists that we
find the remedy to these lies. Make no mistake about it, it is NOT that
Literature gives us "truth," rather, Literature provides for us the antibodies
that allow us to survive the virus-like hegemony of US mass culture. No
feel-good public relations spin, one finds in American Literature, film
and graphic arts a serious and not so serious meditation on the essential
conflicts defining our nation. American Literature is no Yes-man. American
Literature is not a public relations vehicle. Rather, these diverse works
reveal what is covered, probe in that which is secure. American Literature
is the flipside, the underbelly, the bad and the ugly in the good, the
bad, and the ugly. In short, it tells no lies and takes no prisoners. A
scandalous and delicious hodge-podge of erotic excess, neurotic invention,
and semiotic play, American Literature washes us in the scandalous and
intoxicating waters of representation. The films, books and art we will
encounter re-introduce us to our nation, to our present home in any case,
and provide us with the means to re-engage the U.S. American Literature
allows us to see Uncle Sam naked and prostrate, legs akimbo and vulnerable,
revealed in a new, potentially unflattering light. Chastened, startled
voyeurs, we emerge from our encounter with these narratives more critically
engaged and politicized students. To paraphrase media theorist Stuart Ewen
from All Consuming Images, by surveying eclectic and disturbing
examples from our national literature, cinema, and art, we end up less
mindless consumers worshipping a decoration of independence and more intellectually
complex thinkers carefully re-imagining our declaration of independence.
This class is open to all majors and all students; whether you are a second-semester
freshman or a graduate student on the 7-year plan, you’ll find something
you like in our classroom. Oh, and yes, I WILL take "crashers" through
Thursday February 6, 2001 IN CLASS. |
| films
art novels graphix
TEXT list REQUIRED TEXT AVAILABLE AT THE CAMPUS STORE, FTX, KB ETC. Howl and Other
Poems by Allen Ginsberg
REQUIRED TEXT AVAILABLE ONLY FROM THE IRSC / NASITIR HALL 103 Tijuana 1964: Una visión fotográfica e histórica/A Photographic & Historic View by Harry Crosby et al. REQUIRED TEXTS PURCHASED IN CLASS Blade to the
Heat by Oliver Mayer $8
REQUIRED
FILMS SCREENED FREE IN CLASS
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| WRITING
REQUIREMENTS
There will be one 3 to 5 page short essay due before spring break and one 7 to 10 page research imagination challenge due later in the semester. Occasional quizzes (only if a significant number of you pretend you are back in your high school parking lot), in-class writing challenges are also possible at any time, so do please come to class having COMPLETED your assignments BEFORE you walk into our stunning classroom. EXAMINATIONS There will be a final exam ON THE FINAL DAY OF REGULAR CLASSES (17, MAY 2001, THURSDAY) 9:30am sharp in our regular class location. It will be "comprehensive" to the extent that it will cover all the texts we have perused this term. ATTENDANCE You are expected to attend class and be prepared; every additional absence after 3 (three) absences will be rewarded with a 10% drop in your final grade. GRADE BREAKDOWN 33% attendance, participation, quizzes & in-class writing assignments;33% essays; 33% final; 1% ganas, chutzpah, drive, wit, humor PROFESSOR NERICCIO'S OFFICE HOURS AND CONTACT INFO My office hours are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 to 12:15 and by appointment in Adams Humanities 4117. You can reach me at 619.594.1524 or at memo@sdsu.edu. Don’t forget to visit our class website, oh yeah, wait a minute if you are reading this you are here!
TEACHING ASSOCIATES OFFICE HOURS AND CONTACT INFO Your smashing,
fabulous and utterly talented TAs for the semester are Spring
Kurtz & Travis Temple.
Ms Kurtz's office hours are Wednesday 8-10pm at the Love Library Media
Center, ground level under the starship enterprise glass dome in the library
of love! Mr. Temple's are on Mondays from 5:30 to 7pm in room "H" also
in the Love Library Media Center.
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