RUSS 193 - War & Representation

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Humanities & Social Science Sector. Class of 2010 & beyond. Platt. Representations of war have been created for as many reasons as wars are fought: to legitimate conflict, to celebrate military glory, to critique brutality, to vilify an enemy, to mobilize popular support, to generate national pride, etc. In this course we will examine a series of representations of war drawn from the literature, film, state propa^ganda, memoirs, visual art, etc. of Russia, Europe and the United States of the twen^tieth century. The course will be conducted largely as a seminar. However, I will also give occasional lectures on specified topics (especially, on the historical groundwork necessary to understand our largely literary readings). A common place of critical dis^cussions of war concerns the impossibility of the adequate representa^tion of exper^ience that in many ways defies understanding or even recall. In this con^nection, we will be developing a vocabulary of aesthetic and psychological terms relevant to the task of reflecting the impossibilities of life and death in wartime. The goal of the course is to acquire knowledge of literary and cultural history in social and historical context, and to acquire critical skills for analysis of rhetorical and visual representations.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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