Spring Semester, 2005
Beat Generation Women writers
Honr 201/401-15 2 cr.
Wednesday, 1-3 pm AH 214
We will read prose and poetry by the women who were at the heart of the literary and cultural revolution of the 1950’s and early 1960’s. Many of these women remained in the shadows of Beat generation greats like Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and Allen Ginsberg. Our readings will include memoirs by Joyce Johnson, Carolyn Cassady and Hettie Jones, as well as poetry by Hettie Jones, Diane di Prima, and others. We'll place these women’s writing in the social and political context of the late 40's, the 50's, and early 60's, and examine the relevance of Beat women’s writing to our own lives and times. We’ll also look at concurrent movements in music, film, and art.
Documentary films and movies will be shown during some of our classes. We’ll view excerpts from Rebels: A Journey Underground (a documentary); The Wild One (a vintage feature film starring Marlon Brando); Mona Lisa Smile (a contemporary feature film starring Julia Roberts); and Pull My Daisy (a vintage art film and an authentic production of the Beats), among others. We’ll use these films to examine the social context of the era in which Beat generation women writers lived and wrote. We will also discuss how these films and other media convey authentic portrayals or stereotypes of the Beats, based on our understanding of the Beats, and more particularly, the Beat women writers we read.
Students in this seminar will be required to write one major analytical or creative essay (7-10 pages), in addition to 1 to 2 page written responses to readings and films to share with the rest of the class.
Parts of this course will be delivered on Desire2Learn, the online course system in use at MSU, M. Instruction in the use of D2L features used in this course will be provided to students during initial class sessions. Some class meetings (schedule to be determined) may take place online instead of in the classroom.
For further information e-mail emily.kretschmer@mnsu.edu.