English 143B

Other Readings and Media

Robertson, L.: Occasional Work and Seven Walks from the Office for Soft Architecture; Mayer, B. and Clark Coolidge: The Cave; Smithson, R.: The Collected Writings (of Robert Smithson); Fitterman, R: Metropolis XXX; Weschler, L.: Mr. Wilson�s Cabinet of Wonder

Description

This class will mine site-specific writing and post-conceptual art. Collectively we�ll develop a critical vocabulary through readings; individually students will pursue forms of experimental research that will inform their own projects. Our readings will be organized around historic models of the writer as self-appointed, alternative guide or explicator, often moving (wandering in cities or sublime landscapes, leading official or unofficial tours) and just as often poaching from a range of non-poetic fields including anthropology, art history, science fiction, travel literature, philosophy, history, and science. Our precedents will include Restif de la Bretonne, Edmund and Jules de Goncourt, Francis Ponge, Bernadette Mayer, Robert Smithson, The Museum of Jurassic Technology, Mark Dion, Lisa Robertson, Rob Fitterman, The Chadwicks, and The Center for Land Use Interpretation.