Topics in Literature, Film, and Media (215-0-01)

Instructors

Julia Ann Stern
847/491-3530
University Hall Room 415
Office Hours: Mondays 1:1:50; Tuesdays 10-11; and Thursdays 12:20-1

Meeting Info

Lutkin Hall: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This course charts lives on the verge of catastrophe, breakdown, self-immolation, or extreme violence as represented in some of America's most vibrant novels and films. We will discuss the role of melodrama, an 18th-century French moral form that took the place of tragedy after the Revolution made classic Greek, French, and Elizabethan plays illegal to perform. In all these melodramatic works, private obsession ultimately becomes public spectacle. We will read Charlotte Temple, A Tale of Truth (1791); Our N-g (1859); Quicksand (1929); and The Great Gatsby. Featuring seduced and abandoned teens; abused Black indentured servant children; multiracial women struggling in Harlem Renaissance culture; and charming millionaire bootleggers whose obsessions with lost love prove fatal, our texts trace the arc of America's fascination with excess. Focusing on obsession narrated in melodramatic form, we will then view the following films: Way Down East; Of Human Bondage; Sunset Boulevard; and All About Eve.

Teaching Method

Lecture and follow-up discussion.

Evaluation Method

Students will do frequent short in-class writing assignments and complete a mid-term and a final exam.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for English and Creative Writing students.

Associated Classes

DIS - University Library 4722: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Hall 318: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Hall 418: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM

DIS - Parkes Hall 222: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM