COMP 253 Literature and the Body (Not offered 2006-2007; to be offered 2007-2008)
Some writers maintain that the creative experience is rooted entirely in the mind
or spirit. However, there are those for whom the human body, sometimes their
own, plays a central role, both in the process of creation and as a subject of
artistic inquiry. Whether through poetry, novels, sketches, or short stories, these
authors tell a very different tale of literary process, and it is focused on the
primacy of personal, physical experience. By way of Rabelais, Sorel, Gogol,
Maupassant, Kafka, Tanizaki, Dinesen, Babel, Mandelstam, and Borges, this
course will examine how different writers present and use the body as the
consummate vehicle of expression. We will also consider other areas of study
that are intimately related to the physical experience, such as asceticism, illness,
prostitution, and disability. All readings in English.
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: active class participation, oral
presentations, two short papers, and a final research project.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). (Cultural Studies)