First-Year Seminar
Shock of the New: The Experience of Modern Art
FYS 101-22
M/W 1-2:15 Jordan Hall 307
Susan Sutherlin
Office: JH 302A
Office Hours: Mondays 2-4 p.m. and by appointment
e-mail: ssutherl@butler.edu
Andrew Soliday
Graduate Assistant
e-mail: asoliday@butler.edu
Statement on the Seminar Topic
The term “modernism” is still being interpreted in 2011, although most cultural critics and thinkers believe we have entered the post-modern era. The movement in literature, visual arts and music which we will study entered its most productive phase between 1900 and 1930, although the “big bang” event that set these artists in motion could never be unquestionably located. Experimentation was the hallmark of the period, with increased attention to the irrational and unconscious elements of artistic expression. The modernists set out to break irretrievably from the old, and in their designs we find much of our contemporary selves. Our seminar will inquire into the nature of these expressions, what the modernists hoped to reject in their culture and what made them part of the larger spirit of their time.
Texts
Conrad/Heart of Darkness/Norton
Eliot /The Waste Land, Prufrock, and Other Poems/Waking Lion Press
Storr/Freud: A Very Short Introduction/Oxford
Walther/ Pablo Picasso 1881-1973: Genius of the Century/Taschen
Freud/Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria /Touchstone
Lawrence/Selected Stories/Penguin
Beckett/Collected Shorter Plays/Grove
Course Requirements/Policies
In this seminar we will concentrate on both writing and discussion as the primary means to explore the topic, with particular emphasis on the well-formed argument. To this end, there is one essay assignment, including research, as well as various writing exercises. The nature of a seminar requires participation by everyone; the idea is that our joint inquiry into this topic will produce far more creative and insightful results.
Grading
Grades are earned in the following manner: Informal overnight writing (40%); formal essay (20%); contribution to class discussion, additional writing assignments, quizzes (40%). See university guidelines for plagiarism and attendance policies.
Writing
Overnight writes are to be turned in at the beginning of each class period marked by an asterisk (*). These must be typewritten or neatly handwritten. The write should be a minimum of two pages as a response or commentary to the reading, including questions and tentative answers. Summary of the reading is not acceptable. No late overnight writes will be accepted.
An essay with critical sources will be assigned during the term (including the opportunity for one revision); see syllabus for deadlines.
Students will contribute this essay from FYS101 course for FYS university-wide, program assessment.
Learning Objectives for FYS Students:
- To reflect on “big questions” about themselves, their community and their world.
- To develop the capacity to read and think critically.
- To develop the capacity to write clear and persuasive expository and argumentative essays, with an emphasis on thesis formation and development.
- To gain an understanding of basic principles of oral communication as they apply to discussion.
- To understand the liberal arts as a vital and evolving tradition and to see themselves as agents within that tradition.
- To develop capacities for careful and open reflection on questions of values and norms.
- To develop the ability to carry out research for the purpose of inquiry and to support claims.
Academic Accommodations—Student Disability Services
It is the policy and practice of Butler University to make reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. Written notification from Student Disability Services is required. If you are eligible to receive an accommodation and would like to request it for this course, please discuss it with me and allow one week advance notice. Otherwise, it is not guaranteed that the accommodation can be received on a timely basis. Students who have questions about Student Disability Services or who have, or think they may have, a disability (psychiatric, attentional, learning, vision, hearing, physical, medical, etc.) are invited to contact Student Disability Services for a confidential discussion in Jordan Hall 136 or by phone at extension 9308.
SYLLABUS
August 25: Introduction—Discussion of the Foundations of Modernism
Picasso: Self-Portrait, 1972
*August 30: Heart of Darkness (Part I, 3-31)
September 1: IMA (European and American Galleries)
*September 6: Heart of Darkness (Part II, 31-54)
*September 8: Heart of Darkness (Part III, 54-77) and Picasso 7-26 (QUIZ 1)
*September 13: Picasso 33-44
September 15: IMA (African Gallery)
September 20: Stravinsky (lecture) Listening Assignment: Rite of Spring
Magritte: The Meaning of Night
*September 22: Eliot “The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock
September 27: IMA (European Collection)
September 29: Research Workshop (Irwin library)
*October 4: Storr’s Freud, Chapters 1-3; Young Dr. Freud (film) (QUIZ 2)
*October 6: Storr’s Freud, Chapters 4-6; Young Dr. Freud (film)
*October 11: Storr’s Freud, Chapters 7-10; Young Dr. Freud (film)
October 13: READING BREAK
*October 18: Freud’s Dora (Introduction and 1-52) (QUIZ 3)
*October 20: Freud’s Dora (53-conclusion) ESSAY DRAFT DUE
Munch: The Scream
October 25: TBA
October 27: IMA (Modern and Contemporary Galleries)
*November 1: Lawrence short stories (QUIZ 4)
*November 3: Lawrence short stories
November 8: Dada and Surrealism (lecture)/modernist film
November 10: Schoenberg music (lecture)
*November 15: Beckett plays (QUIZ 5)
November 17: IMA (American and Contemporary Collections)
November 21-25 Thanksgiving Holiday
*November 29: Beckett plays
December 1: Beckett plays ESSAY DUE (REVISION)
December 6: Beckett plays
December 8: Final Class Meeting
Duchamp: Nude Descending a Staircase