Captive and Confined: Literatures of Imprisonment
ENGL 161
Spring 2018 not offered
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Is it more than just a metaphorical turn of phrase that causes us to speak of being held captive by works of literature and art? Or are there links between writing, reading, and being imprisoned that are as material as they are psychological? Our class will consider the relationship between spaces of confinement and writing to explore how various writers have used writing to respond to various states of captivity. Is carceral writing particularly captivating to readers, and if so, why? We will read texts about prisons (physical and psychological), as well as texts written in prisons, to explore relationships among writing, power, literacy, and freedom. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ENGL-Creative W)(ENGL-Literature) |
Major Readings:
Nella Larsen, PASSING
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH
Chris Abani, KALAKUTA REPUBLIC
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Examinations and Assignments:
For the first half of the semester, students will write short, guided, 1pp single-spaced response papers. These will hone students' ability to identify important themes in the readings, to find passages worthy of intense scrutiny, and to develop arguments about the works. Thereafter students will write two longer essays, which we will workshop inside and outside the classroom, to strengthen practices of structure, self-critique, peer-review, editing, and revision. |
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