English 149-1 - Winter, 2012

Topics in Literature

Topic: Topic: Reading Hipsters

Class Information

Instructor: Hsu, Hsuan L.
CRN: 53859
Time: MWF 1:10-2:00
Location: 105 Olson

Description

Rather than try to pin down the hipster with a fixed definition, this class will explore subcultural themes and dilemmas associated with “hipsters” by sampling a range of texts and media. We’ll trace the development of hipster culture(s) from Thoreau to the present. We’ll look at the origins of the “hip” in jazz clubs, zoot suiters, and Norman Mailer’s account of the “White Negro,” then move on to contemporary incarnations of the hip in the contexts of suburban sprawl, deindustrialization, and urban “redevelopment.” Along the way, we’ll learn about urban farming, zines, graphic novels, and mumblecore film while reading essays about such topics as What Was the Hipster?, “Why the Hipster Must Die,” and “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization.” Among the questions we’ll consider are: How is hipster culture related to processes of gentrification, commodification, and revolution? Does hipster culture bypass capitalism or proliferate new sites and affects for capitalism to exploit? How does “hipster” function as an identity category, and how does it differ from other identity categories such as class and race? What are the defining characteristics and aims of a hipster aesthetic? What alternate narratives and social practices have hipsters produced and sustained? What kind of future is there for hipsters, or after them?

Grading

participation, presentation, and in-class writing 25%
short essay 15%
longer essay 40%
final exam 20%

Texts

Greif et al, What Was the Hipster?
David Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Tao Lin, Eeeee Eee Eeee
Arianna Reines, Coeur de Lion
Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More than You
Stephen Duncombe, Notes from Underground
Daniel Clowes, Ghost World
Jack Kerouac, On the Road
Aaron Cometbus, Double Duce