Entertaining Social Change
AMST 315
Fall 2018
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
ENGL 309, FGSS 315 |
| Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory |
Our seminar advances critical entertainment studies. The fundamental question we will bring to all texts is: how has the systemic critique of social contradictions been popularized in modern times? We will consider the diverse strategies that progressive songwriters/performers, radical historians (working with cartoonists), and mainly moviemakers have developed to entertain Americans--teach, fascinate, persuade, provoke, and move them through laughter, tears, and not least of all ideas--so that Americans will be more inclined to entertain social critique that inspires social change. We will explore the popularizing (and selling) of social critique in several genres: art (Barbara Kruger); graphic history (Howard Zinn, Paul Buhle); songs/song lyrics of protest singers (Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs); folk-rockstars such as Jackson Browne, Ani DiFranco, Father John Misty; the political development of hip-hop (Gil Scott-Heron, NWA); politically edgy comedy (Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert); and movies (Spike Lee's MALCOLM X and WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, EL NORTE, SMOKE SIGNALS, NETWORK, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, MATEWAN, WALL STREET, THE BIG SHORT). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS AMST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AMST)(ENGL)(FGSS)(FILM-MN)(HRAD-MN) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Less than 50% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Movies include:
MALCOLM X, dir. Spike Lee (1992)
LENNY dir. Bob Fosse (1974)
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, dir. F. Gary Gray (2015)
CSNY DÉJÀ VU, dir. Bernard Shakey [Neil Young] (2008)
NO, dir. Pablo Larraín (2012)
NETWORK, dir. Sidney Lumet (1976)
MATEWAN, dir. John Sayles (1987)
99 HOMES, dir. Ramon Bahrain (2014)
WALL STREET, dir. Oliver Stone (1987)
THE BIG SHORT, dir. Adam McKay (2015)
Other texts include (others TBA):
Barbara Kruger, selected artwork
Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki, and Paul Buhle, A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF AMERICAN EMPIRE (2008) (graphic history)
Paul Buhle and David Berger, BOHEMIANS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY (2014)
Lenny Bruce, selected writings
Woody Guthrie lyrics, Pete Seeger lyrics, Jackson Browne lyrics, Ani DiFranco lyrics, Father John Misty lyrics, Gil Scott-Heron lyrics, Public Enemy lyrics, NWA lyrics
Thomas Frank, "Alternative to What?" (1997)
Malcolm X, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X (1965)
George Saunders, "Exhortation," in THE TENTH OF DECEMBER (2012)
Jake Rosenfeld,"Little Labor" (2010)
Thomas Geoghegan, WERE YOU BORN ON THE WRONG CONTINENT? HOW THE EUROPEAN MODEL CAN HELP YOU GET A LIFE (2010)
Thomas Frank, PITY THE BILLIONAIRE: THE HARD-TIMES SWINDLE AND THE UNLIKELY COMEBACK OF THE RIGHT (2012)
Matthew Desmond, EVICTED: POVERTY AND PROFIT IN THE AMERICAN CITY (2015)
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Examinations and Assignments:
Each student will write a brief "book": title page, contents page, 2-page introduction, chapter 1 (first 7- 10 page essay), chapter 2 (second 7-10 page essay), chapter 3 (third 7-10 page essay), 2 page afterword. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Each student will team up with another student a couple of times during the term to raise questions about the texts we are unpacking together. Most films will be streamed, but we may be viewing some that cannot be streamed on Sundays. |
| Instructor(s): Pfister,Joel Times: ..T.... 07:10PM-10:00PM; Location: CFH106; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 5 | | |
| Seats Available: 3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 1 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 3 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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