Course details

Name: ENGL - 250

Title: SPECIAL TOPIC: POETRY AND PERFORMANCE

Section: 01

Semester: Fall - 2010

Credits: 3

Description:
From the bards to the beatniks, performance has been an important part of how poets write, read, and are received by public audiences. However, the majority of literary criticism considers poetry as merely a textual entity. Is one’s experience of a poem ever just textual? How does one’s understanding of a poem shift when considering aspects of orality and performance? Is there a difference between a poetry “reading” and a “performance”? What are the roots of poetry in performance, and how are traditional notions of poetry transformed by current aesthetic movements and cultural practices such as hip-hop, spoken word, and poetry slams? In this course, students will consider the roles of textuality, orality, and performativity in the work of American poets since 1950 as well as the sociopolitical and commercial functions of verse in performance. As part of the course, students will write two major papers and perform a poem (no writing or theatrical experience is necessary).

Schedule: Monday,Wednesday From 1:00 pm To 2:15 pm

Graduation requirements:

• Any Literature (1e)
• Genre Study (Poetry)
• ()
• ()
• Other American (TE 1d)

Teaching Faculty: Somers-Willett Susan (somerswilles)

Is course canceled: No