What persuades us that we understand a situation, that we know the players, their intentions, and the effects of their actions? Do we rely on a parent's, lover's, or leader's moral authority, or on our own sense of justice? Are we motivated by the coherence of their proposals or by our own emotional needs? All of the above? How, then, do we sort through layers of argument to detect ulterior motives and censored thoughts? Our class will focus on subtexts: hidden meanings, innuendo, ambiguity, veiled hints, omissions, and outright lies. We will consider how storytelling works to elicit particular responses in personal and commerical ads, travel brochures, cookbooks, political speeches, and street art. Tales of seduction by Perrault ("Puss in Boots"), Laclos (DANGEROUS LIAISONS, excerpts), Proust (SWANN IN LOVE, excerpts), along with Haneke's film of suspense and surveillance (HIDDEN) will focus our attention on techniques of camouflage and detection. The subtexts in these works will inform our own (thriller?) subplot of contemporary life, a creative project to top off the semester. Prereq: Fr 308.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU BA; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM
