First-Year Seminar (104-6-1)

Instructors

Alexander John Holt

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-410: Mon, Wed, Fri 9:00AM - 9:50AM

Overview of class

Contemporary climate activism and movements for degrowth and sustainable development have made us pay greater attention to our ecological footprint and the impact that our production of waste has on each other and the Earth's ecosystems. Alongside this growing interest in political ecology and environmental justice, artists, writers, and directors have drawn on various kinds of ‘trash' (e.g., debris, dirt, sewage, litter, as well as ‘trashy' individuals or places) as objects of intellectual and aesthetic fascination. In this course, we will focus on a handful of literary texts, films, and other works of visual art that approach waste in its provocative materiality and metaphoricity. In doing so, we will attend to the following questions, among others: How are some materials, people, and places devalued or made disposable? How does art attempt to return value to these discarded things and subjects? How do these artists and writers try to disrupt the economic, political, judicial, and social systems that produce these various kinds of ‘waste'? Since this course is a first-year seminar, we will also discuss various aspects of academic life and further develop our critical-thinking and writing skills.

Class Attributes

WCAS First-Year Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for First Year & Sophomore only
Add Consent: Department Consent Required
Drop Consent: Department Consent Required