Literature of War
Term:
Fall 2008
Subject Code:
GLIB
Course Number:
5279
Much of literature treats of intense experience; war literature by its very nature deals with some of the most intense experience imaginable. In this course we will be concerned less with what the politicians and generals did and said, and more with what soldiers experience, how it shapes them and how war poets, memoirists and novelists shape their raw, chaotic experience. Interdisciplinary approaches to the material include myth (of the hero), post-colonial theory, and trauma psychology. Documentary and feature films will be watched and discussed. There will be weekly short (2-3 pp) papers posted on-line (you will be allowed not to 3) and an 8-10 pp integrative final paper. Philip Caputo, Jonathan Schell and Wayne Karlin have in the past visited class to talk about their experience and one will probably join us this year.
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