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First-Year Writing Seminar: Artists' Lives, Artists' Work

Semester and Year FA 2011
Course Number FIRST-UG323
Section 001
Instructor Yevgeniya Traps
Days Tue,Thu
Time 6:20 PM - 7:35 PM
Units 4.0
Level U
Foundation Requirement

Notes/Restrictions

Open to Gallatin first-year students only.

Description

What is the relationship between art and life, between the luxury of creating and the necessity of surviving? In this writing seminar, we will explore the many ways artists’ experiences and the circumstances of creation influence artists’ work. How are artists shaped by the societies in which they live? How do family background, historical events, political movements, social disruptions, and celebrity influence our creations? How do artists, in turn, shape their societies’ attitudes and values? Focusing on how art and writing reveal the effects of race, gender, sexuality, and politics in the second half of the twentieth century, we will consider a number of works in their contexts. Using writing as a way of thinking critically, students will produce descriptive, analytical, and literary-critical essays. Readings may include works by Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Sylvia Plath, Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag, and Joan Didion.

Syllabus

FIRST-UG323

Course Type

First-Year Program: Writing Seminars (FIRST-UG)

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