ENGL 252 - The Borders of Literature: From Shrek to Marcel Proust

Institution:

Williams College

Subject:

English

Description:

The aim of this course is to understand literature as a medium intimately related to other media. We shall study contemporary theories of media and intermediality in order to better understand general questions about all art forms and media--but also to be able to specify the medium specific aspects of literature. Theories of intermediality will be the backbone of the course, and a wide variety of examples will be discussed and analyzed. We will begin with the introductory scene of Shrek (Adamson 2001) and move through a handful of example clusters: concrete "visual" poetry, high modernist musical description (short fiction by Mann, Proust, Joyce, Woolf), literary descriptions of visual art (ekphrasis); and Lieder/chansons/rock-lyrics from Schubert to Bob Dylan. We shall also analyze the widespread phenomenon of novel-to-film adaption, exemplified by way of the Beat-poem Howl and the recent film based on the poem and the trial against Allen Ginsberg (Epstein and Friedman 2010).

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

All readings will be done in English but students with knowledge of French, Portuguese, Spanish or German may optionally read portions of the reading in the original languages

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Seminar

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.williams.edu

Phone Number:

(413) 597-3131

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Four-one-four plan

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