comparative literature 233: literature and film … read essays by michel de montaigne, giorgio...

An8-WeekOnlineCourseforFall2018•October22—December13,2018ComparativeLiterature233:LiteratureandFilm

TOPIC:ANIMALS,BEASTS,&CREATURESLecture201•GER[HU]•3credits•Instructor:DragoMomcilovic[momcilov@uwm.edu]

The animal goes by many names—beast, pet, guide, meat, creature, monster,being, family member. As such, animals activate different social, cultural andphilosophicalmeaningsabout theworldandourplace in it. Is theexpulsionofthewildanimalfromcitysettlementsamarkofitsnonhuman“otherness”?Isthedomesticatedpetorserviceanimalasignofoursingularaccomplishmentsandesteem as human beings? Is presence of the wild animal in nature and itsconnection to the landscape an expression of divine forces always atwork, orperhaps a reminder of our evolutionary origins?Which responsibilities dowehavetotheanimalworld?COMPARATIVELITERATURE233:ANIMALS,BEASTS,&CREATURES is a special-session 8-week online course that explores thesequestions in relation to the animal’s body, its habits and habitats, and itsconnections to the humanworld. Our course texts tentatively include selectedfolktalesandfairytalesofAesop,HansChristianAndersen,theGrimmBrothersand Lafcadio Hearn; animal stories by Franz Kafka, Julio Cortázar, and AngelaCarter;ArtSpiegelman’sHolocaust-themedgraphicnovelMaus;andaselectionof films, includingWernerHerzog’s troublingdocumentaryGrizzlyMan, AlfredHitchcock’s horror classic The Birds, Lasse Hallström’s coming-of-age SwedishdramaMy Life as a Dog, and Franco-Belgian animated feature Zarafa.Wewillalso read essays by Michel de Montaigne, Giorgio Agamben, Jacques Derrida,MartinHeidegger,JohnBerger,PeterSinger,andHarrietRitvo.SatisfiestheGER[HU] and L&S International Studies requirements. No prior literaturecourseworkorforeignlanguagetrainingrequired.

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