“Be the Change You Wish to See in the World” — Mahatma Gandhi
In this course, we read, watch, study, and discuss several of the great protest literature and films from different historical contexts. Our aim is to trace and discuss the discourse of protest as it manifested itself early in human history and then to determine how later writers augmented and reinvented this discourse. We will also analyze each work on its own literary merit by exploring some related history of each period to understand relationships between fiction and reform or social justice movement.
This class transcends traditional notions of a “lit” class and can be helpful to history, pre-law, sciences and engineering, and political science majors as well as English majors. This is also a useful class for those people trying to locate the psychological components of protest and for those who have protests of their own and would like to place them within a dynamic historical framework.
Requirements:
- Two short essays (3-4 pages)
- one research essay (5-7 with additional works cited page)
- informal reading responses
- final exam
- attendance
- and participation.
Texts:
(available at UHM bookstore)
- Dante, INFERNO
- Shelly, FRANKENSTEIN
- Dickens, HARD TIMES
- Darnton, THE GREAT CAT MASSACRE
- Milton, AREOPAGITICA (handout)
- Solanas, SCUM MANIFESTO
- Rhys, WIDE SARGASSO SEA
- Yeats, COUNTESS CATHLEEN
- DC comics, WATCHMEN (selections)
- Selected song lyrics and poems on handouts.
Selected movie clips from:
- BRAVEHEART
- HOTEL RWANDA
- WAG THE DOG
- THE MATRIX
- X-MEN
- BLOOD DIAMOND
- and several others.