Spring 2009

WGS 345 • Writing Alienated Self-Hon-W

Course Description

One of the most prominent themes of modern literature is alienation: from self, from body, from society. We will read contemporary authors, male and female, who deal with social ostracism, its causes and consequences, from perspectives ranging from the intensely personal to the more broadly political. We will determine to what extent in these texts the body is not merely a place of disconnection from oneself and of crisis of personal identity, but also a symbol of the disintegration of the entire social fabric. We will also show how literary treatment of these themes enriches sociological and psychological studies of alienation, and vice versa. Lastly, we will examine to what extent art and creativity can both mediate and palliate alienation.

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