Fall 2013 (September 4–December 19, 2013)

No classes, 11/27, 11/28, 11/30

The adage “all is fair in love and war” connotes a strategic iciness in two of humanity’s most commonly held experiences; it also betrays a disconcerting equation of humanity’s capacities for love and violence. This class focuses on texts, mostly by women from Europe and America, broadly related to the ideas and experiences of love and war as well as issues of race, history, and political activism. We will discuss both canonical and non-traditional texts, among them novels, poems, short stories, memoirs, academic articles/works, journalism, films, and music. This course emphasizes how these texts represent gender, how literature contributes to identity-formation, and how women have used the written word to change their social and imaginative conditions. This course is taught from a feminist perspective.
Dr. Patrick Brugh Monday, 9/9/2013–12/16/2013, [no class 10/14, 12/16] (Thematic)

The darkest genre in American cinema, with tales of crime, corruption, and anti-heroism. Film noir has its origins in German expressionist film, but as it developed it reflected and shaped post-World War II cultural anxieties about gender, race, power, and violence. Students will view films, read source novels, and consider important critical writings about the genre.
Dr. Randall Donaldson Tuesday, 9/10/2013–12/17/2013 [no class 10/15, 12/17] (Historical)

A multi-disciplinary examination of democracy and democratization, including domestic and foreign (U.S., U.N.) efforts to build democracy. Cases examined include post World War II Germany and Japan, Latin America, post-Communist Europe, and the Middle East.
Dr. James Quirk Thursday, 9/5/2013–12/19/2013 [no class 10/17, 11/28, 12/19] (Thematic)

Timonium

LS663.601: Between the Cracks: Reviving Neglected Texts

The focus of this course is works which too often go untaught, unread, unseen, and underappreciated because they don’t readily fit traditional generic or disciplinary expectations. Each of the works taken up will challenge received ideas and settled interpretive strategies. Students will be encouraged to read against the grain in ways both unsettling and liberating. The reading list will vary from semester to semester.
Mr. Louis Hinkel Wednesday, 9/4/2013–12/18/2013 [no class 10/16, 11/27, 12/18] (Creative)
Required of all students in their first semester

LS691.601: Writing a Life; Architecture of the Memoir

The popularity of life-writing genres has grown extensively in the past half century. Creative non-fiction, including the memoir, has supplanted some of the literary territory previously reserved for novels and other thinly-veiled fiction. Of all non-fiction, the memoir offers perhaps the most daunting research and exploration. The process of mining one’s own life for material offers an emotional challenge but also a substantial reward: a chance at fresh self-invention and self-interpretation. As well, the memoir offers a vision of how one’s life appears in the context of a creative work. Because of the proliferation of memoir genre, much theory has been developed to assess it.
Students will explore these concepts while examining diverse examples of strong memoirs from the past century, along with the writing of peers. The principal written work of the course will be the production of three formal sections of a personal memoir.
Ms. June English Saturday, 9/7/2013–12/18/2013 [no class 10/19, 11/30, 12/21] (Creative)