Controversial Classics

Description

Literature can provoke, offend and disturb as well as entertain. This course considers some of the most powerful and controversial works of modern literature. It examines the circumstances of publication, the nature of the controversy, and the cultural and critical impact of each work. The course shows how poems, plays and novels can raise searching questions about national, racial and personal identity, and looks at the methods used by writers to challenge their readers, as well the responses of readers to such challenges. Literature can provoke, offend and disturb as well as entertain. This course considers some of the most powerful and controversial works of modern literature. It examines the circumstances of publication, the nature of the controversy, and the cultural and critical impact of each work. The course shows how poems, plays and novels can raise searching questions about national, racial and personal identity, and looks at the methods used by writers to challenge their readers, as well the responses of readers to such challenges. One of the key questions considered on the course concerns the role of the writer in society. Can a writer react to social circumstances? Ought the writer to take a stand against injustice? Can a writer enable change to occur? Included on the course are texts such as: Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita , Art Spiegelman's Maus and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis .