Some topics considered will be the relationship between creativity and analytic thinking, and between traditional logic and the logic of associational thought. We will explore the idea of play by reading works from coyote to Fight Game, and examining the play of words in our own work, all in the service of writing analytical essays of gaiety and power. The cultural debates of the late 20th century have often echoed earlier debates in Europe and North America. With particular attention to periods marked by questioning of and conflict over this tradition, we will ask why certain books have acquired this privileged status and what such a status implies about those books, about the notion of civilization, and about our experience as readers. Similarly, we will ask what motivates the opponents of this tradition, what their criticisms suggest about literary politics, and what consequences these debates have had.
Readings come from various domains including fiction, essays, and criticism.
Our attention to the issues raised by the readings will be supplemented by study of the rhetorical strategies deployed by the texts we read. Closely tied to the readings, frequent writing assignments will be directed toward developing critical thinking and persuasive argumentation. The primary purpose of this course is to develop your critical and interpretive skills as readers, and your persuasive, analytical, and rhetorical strategies as writers. The ways in which we will go about achieving these related goals of reading and writing will vary over the course of the term, yet the emphasis will always be on the development of critical thinking and the translation of this thinking into clear and well-written essays. We will write in response to our readings of these works and in response to the ideas generated in class discussion.