A Study of an American Prose Writer: Susan Sontag 3301-LA1311
The course offers a survey of literary and essayistic achievements of one of the late 20th century's most influential intellectual, Susan Sontag. To study Sontag is more than to learn about one, uniquely original author; it is to study the intellectual transformations of the 20th century, to revisit the history of the most important intellectual debates of the 2nd half of the 20th century in the US. Sontag's work documents the debates on e.g. the relationship between art and politics, the status of photograhy and other visual media, the role of language vis a vis illness (cancer and AIDS), the relation between gender/sexuality and art, or the ideological context of 9/11.
In class discussions students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Students know the seminal works of Susan Sontag and have a general knowledge about the intellectual trends 1960-2000 in the US.
In class discussions students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically.
Assessment criteria
attendance (max 2 absences)
reading and participation
final test (65%)
Bibliography
Works by Susan Sontag:
The Volcano Lover
Duet for Cannibals
Freud: The Mind of a Moralist
Against Interpretation
Illness as Metaphor
On Photography
Where the Stress Falls
Under the Sign of Saturn
Regarding the Pain of Others
Diaries, letters, magazine publications
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: