Kill Anything That Moves: The Vietnam War in Literature and Film
ENGL 244
Spring 2020
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 363 |
| Course Cluster: Asian American Studies |
This course examines various forms of literature and film to understand the legacies of one of the most transformative events in American culture and history: the Vietnam War. "Kill anything that moves" was the order that American soldiers reportedly received while on the ground in Vietnam, yet, to a large extent, the historical focus on the American experience of the conflict has overshadowed other perspectives. Thus, this class will take a comparative approach, exploring works by canonical and noncanonical American, Southeast Asian, and Southeast Asian American authors and directors. Among the diverse genres we will study are prose, poetry, graphic narrative, and narrative and documentary film. To think about the Vietnam War's broader relevance, we will situate the works under study within current debates concerning refugees, genocide, human rights, and the complex politics and aesthetics of war representation. Students will have the opportunity to investigate an under-studied aspect of the Vietnam War toward the end of the semester. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST)(ENGL)(ENGL-Literature)(HRAD-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Less than 50% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Thi Bui, THE BEST WE COULD DO: AN ILLUSTRATED MEMOIR Michael Cimino, THE DEER HUNTER Francis Ford Coppola, APOCALYPSE NOW Dang Nhat Minh, WHEN THE TENTH MONTH COMES Viet Thanh Nguyen, THE SYMPATHIZER Bao Ninh, THE SORROW OF WAR Rithy Panh, THE MISSING PICTURE Mai Der Vang, AFTERLAND Ocean Vuong, Night Sky with Exit Wounds
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Examinations and Assignments:
2 papers, final project, presentations |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the Literatures of Difference requirement of the English major and contributes to the American Literature and Race and Ethnicity concentrations. |
| Instructor(s): Nguyen,Marguerite Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: FISK404; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 25 | | SR major: 6 | JR major: 6 | | |
| Seats Available: -4 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 4 | JR non-major: 4 | SO: 3 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 28 | 1st Ranked: 9 | 2nd Ranked: 4 | 3rd Ranked: 7 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 7 |
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