This is an introductory writing course in the study of American culture through literature, photography, and film. Like writing courses in other disciplines throughout the curriculum, it is designed to develop critical thinking and writing skills in an intimate and collaborative intellectual environment.
Accordingly, we will look closely at the ways in which these forms of expression seek to represent the complexities of modern warfare. Among the questions that we will ask are:
• What makes modern warfare "modern"? In what ways does war give a nation, and its people, a sense of meaning?
• To what degree can art convey the experience of modern warfare? Are some forms of artistic expression more effective than others in this endeavor? How does modern warfare test the limits of artistic representation?
• What is the relationship between history and memory in the production of a national culture?
• What role do cultural products (books, movies, fashion, photographs, music, etc.) serve in determining a nation's attitude towards war? How do such products circulate throughout a society, and to what effect?
• What is the role and the responsibility of art in a nation at war? What is the role and the responsibility of the citizen?
As a "W" course in English, this class also intends to familiarize students with the fundamentals of literary analysis and academic writing; these include the development of a critical voice that speaks with precision, authority, and style; the capacity to read closely a written or visual text and to place that text in its larger generic, historical, and social contexts; and the ability to produce an organized and sustained argument, to name but a few. Toward that end, this course requires each student to produce three formal essays based on his or her interpretation of the cultural products under consideration. Between five and seven pages in length, each formal essay will be evaluated for its clarity, persuasiveness, and demonstration of original thought. Other evaluative means include quizzes and class participation.
