Skip to main content
Department of English
Search
Log in
Navigation
About
Current Office Hours
Diversity Resources
English Library
Faculty Statement Archives
Internal Dept Resources
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
University Writing Program
Video Guides & Worksheets
Visit us on Facebook
Major/Minor in English
Advising
Creative Writing Application
Honors Program
Internships
Literary Magazines
Major Requirements Guide & FAQ
Minor Requirements
Study Abroad
Why Major in English?
MFA in Creative Writing
Admissions
Events, Prizes, and Resources
MFA Program Faculty
Newly Admitted Grad Students
Resources
Ph.D. in Literature
About
Admissions
Newly Admitted Grad Students
PhD Alumni Directory
Resources
Courses & Schedules
People
News & Events
Off the Syllabus Podcast
Recent News
Contests
Contest Winners
Previous Contest Winners
Newsletters
You are here
Home
»
Courses & Schedules
English 159 - Spring, 2012
Topics in the Novel
Topic: Revolution and Revolt
Class Information
Instructor:
Jensen, Kristian
CRN:
94328
Time:
TR 1:40-3:00
Location:
115 Wellman
Description
What different factors lead people into revolution? How and why do revolutions begin? What do diverse revolutions have in common, if anything? Along with these questions, this course examines revolution in different contexts, both real and imagined, and interrogates the varying origins of revolutionary impulses. For example, revolutions are often against power structures, but they can also challenge ideas, beliefs, or ideology. The novels the course investigates span from the mid-nineteenth century to the late twentieth century, and contemporary revolutions around will also be considered in relation to those of the past. The course will also consider how factors like race, gender, culture, religion, and sexual orientation, relate to the dynamics of revolution. Arguments about power and class by Marx, Foucault and others will be contemplated in relation to the spirit of revolt. Is power illusory? Are revolutions inevitable? Are we moving increasingly toward the dystopic models of Huxley and Orwell, or are their oversights in these nightmarish prophetic visions of the future?
Please purchase the specific text editions selected for this course. See campus bookstore listings.
Grading
several one-page papers, two essays, group presentation, final exam
Texts
Benito Cereno
, Herman Melville
The Secret Agent
, Joseph Conrad
The Iron Heel
, Jack London
Brave New World
, Aldus Huxley
Native Son
, Richard Wright
1984
, George Orwell
Course Reader