Topics in Literature and Ethics (288-0-20)

Topic

Crime and the Criminal in American Narratives

Instructors

Bill Savage
847/491-8916
1922 Sheridan Road, OUSA
Office Hours: By appointment

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-325: Tues, Thurs 1:00PM - 3:30PM

Overview of class

The United States of America was created by criminals. The "Founding Fathers" broke the law and rejected inherited cultural authority, and had they lost the Revolutionary War, they all would have been hanged as traitors. In the 250 years since that violent and transgressive national origin, we have worked to answer Hector Crèvecoeur's query: "What then is this new man, this American?" That question remains open. Race, ethnicity, class, and gender all factor into the cultural project of constructing American identity; so does lived experience. As writers and other artists depict, and so create, different ideas and ideals of American identity, they often deploy narratives that focus on Americans experiencing crime and punishment.

In this class, we will discuss the ethical philosophies of different sorts of law (written law, "natural law," "divine law"), individual criminal transgressions, and how the different sorts of punishment imposed by society (or by writers) factor into our ongoing understanding of American identity. We will also look at questions of book banning and censorship: can a text itself be a crime in some sense? Our fundamental question will be: What does it mean to be "a criminal"?

Evaluation Method

Participation in class discussion; brief written responses to each text; a personal essay; and several options for literary analysis papers of different lengths.

Class Materials (Required)

Readings will include Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson; Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby; Chandler, The Big Sleep; a variety of short stories; Ginsburg's "Howl"; and Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. Viewings will include The Maltese Falcon, Thelma and Louise, and Pulp Fiction.

Class Attributes

Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Face to face: In person, in campus space