engl 5650 fall 2018 flyer · title: microsoft word - engl 5650 fall 2018 flyer.docx created date:...
TRANSCRIPT
Fall 2018: ENGL 5650 (Section 001) Advanced Seminar in Literary Study (T/H 10:45 -12:05)
in/human(e): freaks & cyborgs
This course focuses on literary, cinematic, photographic, performative, and theoretical
depictions of “freaks” and “cyborgs.” We will ask how these texts compose and represent these liminal figures, how they use them to spur and shape their narratives, how they employ them
towards certain metaphorical ends, and how these figures engage, discomfort, move, and pleasure readers and viewers. In particular, we will investigate how “freaks” and “cyborgs” make possible
certain investigations of the category of the human, post-human, and inhuman, and raise questions about the centrality of the inhumane in the human experience.
Texts may include Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968), Katherine Dunn’s
Geek Love (1989), Suzan Lori-Parks’ Venus (1996), the movies Freaks (1932), Blade Runner (1982), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Precious (2009), and The Shape of Water (2017), and episodes of the
television series Westworld (2017).
Please note that these texts include R-rated films and depictions that some might find upsetting or disturbing; some of our texts portray violence (including sexual violence), exploitation, and abuse. We will, however, discuss such material
with sensitivity and respect.
Instructor: Dr. Angela M. Smith [email protected]
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
The Shape of Water (2017)