Expository Writing (105-0-22)
Topic
‘lo-fi beats to study/relax to’ (Asian America’s C
Instructors
Irene Christian Kim
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 12:30 - 1:30
Meeting Info
Parkes Hall 213: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
We might say that the primary aesthetic or object of the late 20th- and 21st-centuries is "vibe" and its cognates: mood, energy, ambience, aura. That such seemingly vague terminologies nevertheless reflect a certain precision of judgment is testament to their potency as both evaluative criteria ("big mood," "it's a vibe") and aesthetic problem (what is vaporwave, exactly?), especially in a world predicated on the patterns and habits of commodity forms. Drawing from art objects and literary texts, this course will ask you to read across materialities and mediums with the aim of elaborating the relationships between the following concepts: race, media, décor, pattern, texture, scent, and ornament. What does the proliferation of nuclear technologies after 1945 have to do with elevator music? How might the history of air conditioning tell us something about Asian America after the Cold War? Taking our cue from the generic, political, and material provocations staged in the works of Asian American artists and writers like Pamela Lu, Tan Lin, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Nam June Paik, and Anicka Yi, we will work together to thematize the minor and major affects their works both cite and elicit—disgust, boredom, distraction, relaxation, irritation, amusement, awe—and query what stakes ambient, diffuse, and "minor" forms have for how we understand race today more broadly.
Learning Objectives
The primary objective of this course is to sharpen the rigor and precision of your thinking and writing. Approaching writing as necessarily processual and never perfectible, this course will help you further refine skills of reading, research, argumentation, revision, and organization through peer reviews and weekly writing exercises. We will think through how to cite evidence effectively in various genres (the academic paper, lit review, online article, tweets), and argue cogently and coherently within those genres. Considering the constraints and affordances of a variety of mediums, we will also consider questions of audience, style, and intent. It is my hope that the insights gleaned from this course will make you a more critical (and generous) reader and interlocutor.