ENGL 346(F) The Human Face in the Modern Imagination (Same as ArtH 307, Comparative Literature 356, and INTR 346) (W)
This is a class about faces: how we think about them, how we represent them in images and words, and how we respond (or sometimes do not) to the meanings they express. Psychologists have shown that we are born with an innate preference for face-like visual patterns, and as our minds develop, the cognitive importance of faces only grows with age and enculturation. Idiomatic phrases such as "face to face," "to lose face," "to show one's face," and "two-faced" suggest how deeply intertwined is the human countenance with our everyday grasp of psychological concepts like mind, identity, and character. As Wittgenstein once remarked: "The face is the soul of the body." In this seminar, we will explore attempts by artists, scholars, and scientists to describe, comprehend, and sometimes even capture what makes the human face so special. We will look at images of faces and masks in modern literature and art (Wilde, Picasso, Pound, Bacon, Arbus, Warhol, Coetzee, Close, Burson, Viola, Sherman, Pineda); art historical writings about the face and portraiture (Pater, Gombrich, Brilliant, Koerner); philosophical reflections on the meaning of faces (Wittgenstein, Levinas, Deleuze); close-ups of the face in silent films (Griffith, Eisenstein, Dreyer); writings on faces and masking practices by anthropologists and sociologists (Simmel, Mauss, Bakhtin, Goffman); and psychological research on face perception and recognition (Ekman, Bruce, Young, Baron-Cohen, Farah).
Format: discussion/seminar (with occasional lectures). Requirements: active participation in class discussions, four 2-page response papers, and one 15-page research paper.
Prerequisites: a 100-level English course, except 150; it is recommended, but not required, that students have taken one course in art history or philosophy. This course may be taken for 200 level credit in art history. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). Preference given to English, Art and Comparative Literature majors.
(Post-1900 or Criticism)
Hour: RHIE