ENGL 2790

Lit! Literature and Intoxication

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2014-2015 Catalog.

This course explores ways that literature is a form of intoxication. Poetry and fiction have long been condemned for luring readers into decadence. Consider the Republic: Socrates bans poetry from his state. "Under the excitement of poetry," Socrates argues, citizens "neglect justice and virtue." Yet proponents celebrate imaginative writing for its mind-altering properties. A good novel is said to change one's thinking and even impart transcendence. In a letter, Emily Dickinson describes a potent buzz: "If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry." We'll read widely and closely to sample diverse literary highs and methods. We'll also consider humanity's complex relationship with intoxication and recent trends on college campuses.

Distribution Category (LA-AS)

When Offered Fall.

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