English R1B

Book List

Baldwin, James: The Fire Next Time; Charter, Ann (editor): The Portable Sixties Reader; Pynchon, Thomas: The Crying of Lot 49

Description

This reading and composition course will explore selected works of literature, music, and visual art produced during the 1960s. Placing emphasis on the relationship between artistic experimentation and social movements of the era, we will ask how innovative practices of language, image, and sound engaged with the more directly political events of the period (from the Civil Rights Movement to the protests against the Vietnam War and Women's Liberation). How have writers, visual artists, and musicians used their creative work to challenge militarism, racism, social and economic inequality, sexual violence and gendered discrimination? What role do poetry, popular music, and visual art play in composing new social formations and transformations?

Over the course of the semester, students will strengthen their capacities to make persuasive arguments as well as formulate compelling questions to guide their own final research projects. This course places particular emphasis on rhetorical analysis and literary critique. Writing assignments emphasize drafting, revising, and responding to peer feedback. In addition to several in-class writing exercises, students should expect to write two critical essays (5-6 pages) and complete a final research project.