This course will be offered periodically and with varying content. It will explore the rich relations that exist between literature and politics, focusing on literature both as an instrument of political interest and as a product of political contexts.
Spring 2012: Aguado (12)
The World on Fire: Visions of Apocalypse in Contemporary Culture
Terrorism, urban riots, and large-scale accidental loss of life prevail much of the cultural landscape of our times. By focusing on the fracture of "security," in both its physical (9/11, terrorist attacks in Madrid and London) and symbolic contexts (identity wars in the former Yugoslavia and riots in the margins of Paris and other cities), students will analyze cultural productions that counterbalance these apocalyptic imaginings.
