SHUM 6626 - Author, Critic, Reader

Fall. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Enrollment limited to: 15 students. Not open to: undergraduates. Co-meets with COML 4621/ENGL 4926/SHUM 4626.

J. Elam.

What does it mean to have a relationship with a work of literature? This course explores three relationships between text and human: one of authorship and authority, one of critique and criticism, and one of consumption and reading. What are the social relationships imagined by each position? Thinkers and writers across the twentieth century have attempted to describe these positions under historical conditions ranging from authoritarianism and imperialism as well as from historical conditions of post-totalitarianism. Each section draws on essays, literary theory, and an exemplary novel to illuminate the stakes of these questions, for not only aesthetic theory but also political theory and history in the twentieth century.

For longer description and instructor bio please visit http://societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu/courses.