ENGL 372(S) Thinking and Writing the Sublime (Same as Philosophy 302)

This course will be an intensive investigation of major texts in the theory of the sublime, with some attention to attendant theories of the beautiful, as well as to what may escape the opposition between the sublime and the beautiful. Primary questions of aesthetics will be analyzed in the light of language, politics and gender. How is the sublime enlisted in agendas that are not themselves aesthetic, like the concept of the nation, for example? How does one think and write about the unrepresentable? Readings include Longinus, Burke and Kant. There will also be attention to how thinking of the sublime and the critique of representation function in contemporary critical theory, with readings from Derrida, de Man, Hertz, Lyotard, and others. Requirements: one presentation (max. 20 minutes) and one major paper of about 15 pages. Paper topics need not be confined narrowly to material on the primary reading list. Relating theoretical texts to literary ones (Wordsworth, Radcliffe, the Shelleys, etc.) would make particular sense. Prerequisite: a 100-level English course, except 150 (formerly 103). (Pre-1800 or Criticism)

Hour: BALFOUR