Special Topics in Comparative Literature (390-0-1)

Topic

Law and its Discontents: Depictions of Criminality

Instructors

Mauricio Oportus

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L06: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:30PM

Overview of class

Law and its Discontents: Depictions of Criminality in Literature and Film

Course Overview:
"Law and its Discontents: Depictions of Criminality in Literature and Film" will explore the ways in which the figure of the criminal has been represented across national traditions throughout the 20th and 21st century, with a special focus on Latin American and United States contexts. By carefully examining aesthetic depictions of the "outlaw" -from the American "Cowboy" to the Argentinian "Gaucho"- this course will address not only the role that these figures have played in the construction of national identities, but will also explore their potential for unsettling our conceptions of lawfulness, institutional justice, and ultimately, of the nation itself. Thus, in analyzing written and visual cultural practices that revisit the figure of the criminal, this course will explore topics such as the relationship between legal order and violence, criminality and popular justice, as well as of the (out)law and civil society. Primary readings for this course (available in their original language and in translation) will include works from Franz Kafka, J. L. Borges, Angela Davis, Mariana Enriquez, Roberto Bolaño, Jane Campion, Ariel Dorfman, Justine Triet, and others.

Class Attributes

Face to face: In person, in campus space