American Narratives of Homelessness. Literary Anthropology 4219-SC0011-OG

The course discusses literary anthropology as an interdisciplinary method of cultural analysis. Students will understand literary qualities of anthropology as well as anthropological features of narratives. At the beginning we will read theoretical works by James Clifford, Mrylin Cohen, Dominka Ferens and Jerome Bruner. Next we will focus on American narratives of homelessness and try to trace traditional narrative forms as well as discover their alternations in contemporary stories about and of unhoused people. The course presents several types of narratives: from rags to riches, tramp autobiography, activist narrative and discusses them in the context of testimony. One of the meetings is devoted to citizen journalism. Students will have a chance to become familiar with voices of those usually marginalized, since we will read not only about homeless people, but also analyze their own words expressed on their blogs, in books, in a comic book, or in the interviews they gave journalists and random citizens. Course literature includes works in literary and cultural theories, novels, reportages, ethnography, graphic novel, documentary movies, blogs and photography.

We will ponder on connections between narratives and possibility of cultural and social change.

Apart from regular participation in class discussion and giving a presentation in order to pass the course you can either write a classic academic essay or contribute to literary anthropology with your own short story or a reportage about homelessness in Warsaw or the place of your origin.

The course is recommended for those interested in American culture, cultural studies, literature, cultural anthropology, ethnography, journalism, social justice and social change.

Your level of English should be B2 or higher.
Trigger warning:
Please, note that the course is concerned with difficult life situations and traumatic experiences of homeless people including sexual harassment, rape, physical and psychological abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse.

Term 2023Z:

Kurs przedstawia antropologię literacką jako interdyscyplinarną metodę badań kulturoznawczych. Studenci zrozumieją zarówno literacki charakter antropologii kulturowej, jak i antropologiczność literatury. Na początku przeczytamy teksty teoretyczne Jamesa Clifforda, Merylin Cohen i Dominiki Ferens i Jerome'a Brunera. Skoncentrujemy się na amerykańskich historiach bezdomności, prześledzimy tradycyjne formy narracyjne oraz odkryjemy innowacje we współczesnych opowieściach traktujących o osobach bezdomnych i/lub przez nich opowiadanych. Kurs omawia kilka typów opowieści o bezdomności: od pucybuta do milionera, autobiografia włóczęgowska, historie aktywistów i przedstawia je w kontekście dawania świadectwa. Jedno ze spotkań jest poświęcone dziennikarstwu obywatelskiemu.
Studenci będą mieli szansę na zapoznanie się z głosami osób zazwyczaj marginalizowanych, ponieważ będą czytali nie tylko o osobach bezdomnych, ale także analizowali ich własne słowa - zapisane na blogach, w książkach, komiksie i wypowiedziane w wywiadach dla dziennikarzy oraz przypadkowych obywateli. Wśród materiałów kursowych znalazły się prace z teorii kultury i literatury, powieści, etnografia, reportaże, komiks, filmy dokumentalne, blogi oraz fotografie.
Zastanowimy się nad związkiem między opowieścią a szansą na zmiany kulturowe i społeczne.
Aby zaliczyć kurs student poza udziałem w zajęciach i przedstawieniem prezentacji może napisać klasyczny esej akademicki lub opowiadanie albo reportaż dotyczący bezdomności w Warszawie lub miejscu swojego pochodzenia.
Kurs polecam wszystkim zainteresowanym kulturą amerykańską, kulturoznawstwem, literaturoznawstwem, antropologią kulturową, etnografią, dziennikarstwem, sprawiedliwością społeczną i zmianą społeczną.
Poziom zaawansowania języka angielskiego potrzebny do uczestnictwa w kursie to B2 lub wyższy.
Ostrzeżenie:
Kurs dotyczy trudnych sytuacji życiowych i traumatycznych doświadczeń osób bezdomnych, w tym molestowania seksualnego, gwałtu, przemocy fizycznej i psychicznej, uzależnień.

Prerequisites (description)

Level of English needed for participation in the course is B2 or higher.

Course coordinators

Halina Gąsiorowska

Type of course

General:

foreign languages
general courses

Term 2023Z:

general courses

Mode

Classroom

Learning outcomes

Knowledge
Students understand specificity of literary anthropology and selected literary theories about cultural and social content in a text (Ferens, Bruner) as well as reflexive turn in cultural studies and anthropology (Clifford).
Students know:
- selected types of narratives about homelessness characteristic to American culture;
- aesthetics of Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism often present in American stories about homelessness.
Skills
Students are able to use methods of literary anthropology and analyze contemporary narratives about homelessness published in the US..
Social Competences
Students are able to critically perceive American media coverage of homelessness and narratives about homeless people.
Students are able to express and defend their opinion about problems of representation of homeless people in the US..
Students respect homeless people.

Assessment criteria

- Participation in class discussion – 20% of the final grade
- Presentation (10-15 minutes) – 30% of the final grade
- Essay ( 6-8 pages) or a project ( a contribution to literary anthropology with a text about homelessness in Warsaw or in a student’s place of origin) – 50% of the final grade

Grading: 100-88/5; 87-73/4; 72-57/3; 56-0/2

Bibliography

Alger, Horatio. 1868/ 2002. Ragged Dick. PolyGlot Press. Available at Project Gutenberg (fragments)
Allen, John. 2004. Homelessness in American Literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Testimony. Routledge. (selected chapters) Anderson, Nels. 1923 / 1967. The Hobo. Sociology of the Homeless Man, The University of Chicago Press. (Introduction, “Hobohemia” and the 2nd part)
Bruder, Jessica. .2017. Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century. W.W. Norton & Company Inc. (chapters: 4,5)
Bruner, Jerome. 2001. „Self-Making and World-Making”. Narrative and Identity edited by James Brockmeier and Donald Carbaugh. Jon Benjamin Publishing Company.
Clifford, James. 1986. “On Ethnographic Allegory”. In .Writing Cultures. The Politics and Poetics of Ethnography edited by James Clifford & George Marcus, 98-122. University Press Berkely.
Cohen, Marylin.. „Introduction: Anthropological Aspects of a Novel”, Marylin Cohen (ed.) Novel Approaches to Anthropology. Contributions to Literary Anthropology, 1-26. Lexington Books 2013.
Felman, Shoshanna, and Dori Laub. 1992. Testimony. Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis and History. Routledge. (the first two chapters)
Ferens, Dominika. “Intersections of Literature and Ethnography in the United States / Prolínání Literatury a Etnografi e ve Spojených Státech Amerických.” Český Lid 103, no. 3 (2016): 371–418. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26426196.
Landowne, Youme, and Anthony Horton. 2008. Pitch Black. Don’t Be Skerd. Cinco Puntos Press. (graphic novel)
London, Jack. 1907 / 2005. The Road. Project Gutenberg e-book.
National Coalition for the Homeless. “STUDENT HOMELESS CHALLENGE PROJECT. Marking the Ability to Successfully Survive the Harsh Conditions of Life on the Streets”. National Coalition for the Homeless.
Rameau, Max. 2008. Take Back the Land: Land, Gentrification and the Umoja Village Shantytown. AK Press. (selected chapters)
Riis, Jacob. 1890. "Street Arabs". In How the Other Half Lives. Studies among the Tenements of New York.. Charles Scribner’s Sons. Project Gutenberg.
Sontag, Susan. 2003. Regarding the Pain of Others. Picador (selected chapters)

FILMS, BLOGS, PHOTOGRAPHY
Cody, Mark, dir. Umoja Village. Available at YouTube
Heffron, Richard T., dir. Samaritan: The Mitch Snyder Story. 1986. Fries Entertainment / LeVine-Robins Productions; available at YouTube Horvath, Mark. Invisible People TV.(videoblog)
Levin, Peter, dir. 2003. From Homeless to Harvard (available at YouTube)
Rader, Ruth. Ruthie in the Sky, http://ruthiessky.blogspot.com/.
Riis’s, Jacob. photographs, Museum of City of New York: http://collections.mcny.org/Explore/Highlights/Jacob%20A.%20Riis/
Sheptock, Eric. TickTock Sheptock [blog], http://streatstv.blogspot.com/
Singer, Marc, dir. Dark Days. 2000; Picture Farm Production; available at https://lookmovie2.to/movies/view/dark-days-2000
+ street photography presenting homeless people on Flickr and YouTube videos made by random American citizens that registered their conversations with homeless people
Zhao, Chloe. 2020.Nomadland.

Term 2023Z:

Alger, Horatio. 1868/ 2002. Ragged Dick. PolyGlot Press. Available at Project Gutenberg (fragments)
Allen, John. 2004. Homelessness in American Literature: Romanticism, Realism, and Testimony. Routledge. (selected chapters) Anderson, Nels. 1923 / 1967. The Hobo. Sociology of the Homeless Man, The University of Chicago Press. (Introduction, “Hobohemia” and the 2nd part)
Bruder, Jessica. .2017. Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century. W.W. Norton & Company Inc. (chapters: 4,5)
Bruner, Jerome. 2001. „Self-Making and World-Making”. Narrative and Identity edited by James Brockmeier and Donald Carbaugh. Jon Benjamin Publishing Company.
Clifford, James. 1986. “On Ethnographic Allegory”. In .Writing Cultures. The Politics and Poetics of Ethnography edited by James Clifford & George Marcus, 98-122. University Press Berkely.
Cohen, Marylin.. „Introduction: Anthropological Aspects of a Novel”, Marylin Cohen (ed.) Novel Approaches to Anthropology. Contributions to Literary Anthropology, 1-26. Lexington Books 2013.
Felman, Shoshanna, and Dori Laub. 1992. Testimony. Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis and History. Routledge. (the first three chapters)
Ferens, Dominika. “Intersections of Literature and Ethnography in the United States / Prolínání Literatury a Etnografi e ve Spojených Státech Amerických.” Český Lid 103, no. 3 (2016): 371–418. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26426196.
Landowne, Youme, and Anthony Horton. 2008. Pitch Black. Don’t Be Skerd. Cinco Puntos Press. (graphic novel)
London, Jack. 1907 / 2005. The Road. Project Gutenberg e-book.
National Coalition for the Homeless. “STUDENT HOMELESS CHALLENGE PROJECT. Marking the Ability to Successfully Survive the Harsh Conditions of Life on the Streets”. National Coalition for the Homeless.
Rameau, Max. 2008. Take Back the Land: Land, Gentrification and the Umoja Village Shantytown. AK Press. (selected chapters)
Riis, Jacob. 1890. "Street Arabs". In How the Other Half Lives. Studies among the Tenements of New York.. Charles Scribner’s Sons. Project Gutenberg.
Sontag, Susan. 2003. Regarding the Pain of Others. Picador (selected chapters)

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

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Description of 4219-SC0011-OG in USOSweb