Fall 2020 - HUM 309 D100

Literatures and the Arts Across Cultures (4)

Class Number: 7538

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 8, 2020: Thu, 2:30–4:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An interdisciplinary study of literary texts in translation and/or art forms across cultures and periods. Students with credit for HUM 381 or 382 under this topic may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

MODERNISM AND THE 20TH CENTURY AVANT-GARDES

In this course, we will examine works of literature and art raising questions about language, politics, and subjectivity in the historical and cultural context of the 20th century. We will consider in particular: 1) the crisis of language and representation, 2) the crisis of the subject; 3) the relation of modernism to modernity, and 4) the relation of aesthetics to politics in the wake of the crisis of capitalism that led to WWI.  

In charting the territory of the many aesthetic and cultural experimentations that took place in the course of the 20th century, we will consider questions of form and technique, cultural communities and networks, the radical breaks with tradition operated by different avant-garde formations, and, in some cases, the lapse or retreat into more conservative social politics.

Alongside literature and art, we will look at historical documents (statements, letters, and manifestos) that articulate the reflections, anxieties, and challenges of intellectuals about these times of radical change—times which comprised two World Wars, the rise of Fascism, totalitarian regimes, imperialism and decolonization, technological innovations, social oppression but also emancipation.

The course material focuses on Europe as a “dialogic space” rather than an identity. It will therefore include connections with American, African-American, Mexican, African, and Indigenous art as significant influences on and exchanges with European schools.

We will begin with a few 19th documents addressing the emergence of the modern before moving to the early decades of the 20th century to discuss writings that interrogate modern aesthetics, and the formulations of the historical avant-gardes. We will continue with the manifestos of different movements, from Futurism and Cubism to Surrealism and Anarchism, and the analysis of the genre of the manifesto. After the examination of the regroupings of the 1930s and the 1940s in the midst of the rise of Fascism, we will look at the neo-avantgardes, neorealism and new wave cinema, and indigenous art of the post-WWII period.

TEACHING MODE: Synchronous lecture – recorded ©.
This seminar requires a weekly two-hour contact “in class” for lecture and discussion. The remaining weekly two hours will be used by students for self-study and assignments on Canvas. The reduced contact hours are meant to lessen the impact of ‘Zoom fatigue’. We will also have breaks for coffee or just to rest eyes and ears. We will all work to build a vibrant online community to make the best of the current circumstances. Classes will start with the reading of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:


  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical development of literary and artistic experimentation in the 20th century and the connections among different cultural traditions (Europe, Americas, Africa, Indigeneity)
  2. Develop theoretical and analytical tools pertaining to different literary and artistic forms.
  3. Develop their own perspective regarding questions and debates addressed by 20th century intellectuals with regard to the political work of art and literature.
  4. Integrate historical, literary, philosophical, aesthetic, and political analysis.
  5. Communicate their ideas and the result of their research effectively and engage in class debate.
  6. Generate persuasive argumentation and support it through analysis of specific evidence.

Grading

  • Class discussion through Zoom 10%
  • Short paper on literature (4 pages) 20%
  • Quizzes x 2 (10% each) 20%
  • Canvas Discussion posts x 5 (5% each) 25%
  • Short paper on Art or Cinema (4 pages) 20%
  • Creative assignment (2 pages) 5%

NOTES:

Screenings:

  • Josef Kilian (Dir. Pavel Juráček and Jan Schmidt, 1964)
  • Hands over the city (Dir. Francesco Rosi, 1963)
  • Closely Watched Trains (Dir. Jiří Menzel, 1966)

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway [1925]. Penguin, 2000. (or any unabridged edition)
ISBN: 978-0141182490

Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time: Swann’s Way [1913]. Trans. William Carter. Yale UP, 2013. (or any unabridged translation; we will only read selections of this novel)
ISBN: 978-0300185430

Kafka, The Trial [1914-5, p. 1925] Trans. Breon Mitchell. Schocken, 1999. (e-book also available)
ISBN: 978-0805209990

André Breton, Nadja [1928] Trans. Richard Howard. Grove Press, 1994. 
ISBN: 978-0802150264

Bohumil Hrabal, I served the King of England [1971; p. 1983]. New Directions, 2007. (e-book also available)
ISBN: 978-0811216876

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2020

Teaching at SFU in fall 2020 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).