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CS92PROD
Literatures of Lying
ENGL 262
Fall 2014 not offered
Crosslisting: PSYC 292

This jointly taught course analyzes the subject of lying in the disciplines of science and literature and investigates its status as a foundational principle and ongoing problem in both. Lying is an unusually elusive and contested subject, but our work throughout the semester is not to adjudicate ethical questions. Rather, it is to explore the desire to find veracity in the world, using these two domains. What is at stake for practitioners in both fields, as they assert their "truths"? How do the histories of the scientific method and the novel inform one another? Under what conditions are "scientific" and "literary" lies produced and interpreted as such? How can literature and humanities scholarship--including the dependence of both the novel and nonfiction memoir on firmly held, yet flexible, ideas about factuality--inform our understanding of science--and vice versa? How does the experience of producing, blurring, and adjudicating the lines between lie and truth drive scientific research and inform readers' experiences of fiction and nonfiction? Texts include philosophical works on lying; scientific studies on the detection of lies, including scientific frauds; fiction by Daniel Defoe and Henry James; and nonfiction by Mary McCarthy. Students interested in thinking beyond their usual comfort zones and participating in an interdisciplinary experiment are encouraged to apply.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (PSYC)

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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