ENG 4815 Fall 2020 Mariano

To consider something a text is to regard it as having pieces that can be assembled and made sense of together, that is, as having resources available for meaning-making practices. What is not a text, meanwhile, is not merely undecipherable, no ciphers are in evidence. It is resource-less. Textuality, then, is a matter of enormous empirical significance, with human stakes attached that are nothing short of what thoughts can be thought, what things can be made, and which persons can do the thinking and making. This course is aimed at exploring the dimensions of power that surround everyday sites of collective meaning-making, and will draw from a wide range of media and disciplines to focus on the metaphors, motifs, and other literary devices used to “figure” the text and put-it-to-use.

Course work involves heavy reading and in-class participation; several short written projects, including revision; and three, non-cumulative exams.