Gerald R. Lucas

Professor of English · Digital Humanist

Contemporary Literature of the Body

The human body as a cultural artifact shaped by language, media, and technology.

January 10, 2002 Courses

Dali, City of Drawers, 1936

LIT 3073 · R · 6:00-8:50pm · CPR 202, USF · Spring 2002

Instructor Information

Gerald R. Lucas, Ph.D.

Course Description

In recent years, the human body has been rethought by science, philosophy, and art. Postmodernist views no longer see the body as something “natural,” instead viewing it as a place of intersection between various forms of cultural discourse, like media, medicine, morals, and materialism. This course will examine the body as a cultural artifact produced by language, how the ideals of our society are written on and through the body, and the body’s changing boundaries precipitated through emerging technologies. Many of the texts we will examine in this class contain explicit sexual material and/or strong language and/or violence. Please be advised.

Required Texts and Materials

  • Ballard, J.G. Crash.
  • Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange.
  • DeLillo, Don. The Body Artist.
  • Dick, Phillip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
  • Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye.
  • Rucker, Rudy. Software.
  • Course book of stories and essays from Gray’s College Bookstore by Petsmart and Target.

Major Assignments and Evaluation

Exams (70%): Two in-class and one take-home open-book exams covering vocabulary, identification, and interpretation. Grades are based on thoroughness, depth of insight, precision, and originality.

Class Participation (30%): Regular attendance and active participation are required. Participation includes discussion, quizzes, peer editing, film viewing, and other class activities. Quizzes should be expected for every assigned reading. Quizzes, other class activities, and homework assignments not explicitly outlined on this document will be factored into your final participation grade.

Course Schedule Overview

This schedule represents the ideal outline for our study this semester. Yet, like all best-laid plans, we will probably not be able to keep up with our agenda. Please be flexible and try to look and read ahead whenever possible. We will do our best to stick by this schedule, but we will inform you verbally and update this schedule whenever there is a change in or an addition to an assignment. Getting these updates is solely your responsibility. Therefore, this syllabus is tentative and subject to change contingent upon the needs of the students and the professor, and dictated by time and other constraints which may affect the course. This syllabus reflects only an overview of the assigned reading and other major course assignments. It does not always indicate other specific class session assignments or activities.

Dates Topic
Week 1: 01.10.02 Course introduction; contemporary literature overview; the body as a medium; film: Christopher Nolan's *Memento*.
Week 2: 01.17.02 Campbell "Who Goes There"; Cortazar "Axolotl"; Di Filippo "Big Eater" and "Little Worker"; Kundera "The Hitchhiking Game".
Week 3: 01.24.02 Burgess *A Clockwork Orange*.
Week 4: 01.31.02 Bear "Blood Music"; Rampo "The Human Chair"; Walker "The Abortion".
Week 5: 02.07.02 DeLillo *The Body Artist*.
Week 6: 02.14.02 Exam 1 take-home assigned; due no later than 12:00pm Friday, Feb 15. Submit a hard copy to the secretary in the English Department (CPR 348), or email an attachment (RTF).
Week 7: 02.21.02 Coover "The Babysitter"; Sterling "Deep Eddy" and "The Bicycle Repairman".
Week 8: 02.28.02 Ballard *Crash*; viewing: Cronenberg's *Crash*.
Week 9: 03.07.02 Ballard *Crash* (cont.); Bataille *Introduction to Erotism: Death and Sensuality*; article assignment: pick a scholarly article addressing *Crash* and be ready to discuss its main points.
Week 10: 03.14.02 Spring Break - No Class.
Week 11: 03.21.02 Exam 2.
Week 12: 03.28.02 Morrison _The Bluest Eye_.
Week 13: 04.04.02 Begin: Dick *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?*; viewing: Scott's *Blade Runner*.
Week 14: 04.11.02 Continue: Dick _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?_; homework due: find one article addressing the novel and one addressing the film, then write a one-page synthesis of both.
Week 15: 04.18.02 Di Filippo “One Night in Television City”; Ellison “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream”; Tiptree “The Girl Who Was Plugged In”; Gibson “The Gernsback Continuum” and “Johnny Mnemonic.”
Week 16: 04.25.02 Exam 3.
LIT 3073